#personally rooting for team ice

[soursoppi]

Who gets dibs on the chicken wing?

[felassan]

Edge – The Future of Interactive Entertainment magazine, issue #401 (October 2024 issue) – Dragon Age: The Veilguard story

The rest of this post is under a cut for length.

Update: this issue of this magazine is now available to buy from UK retailers today. it can be purchased online at [this link]. [Tweet from Edge Online] also, Kala found that a digital version of the magazine can be read at [this link].

This post is a word-for-word transcription of the full article on DA:TV in this issue of this magazine. DA:TV is the cover story of this issue. When transcribing, I tried to preserve as much of the formatting from the magazine as possible. Edge talked to BioWare devs for the creation of this article, so the article contains new quotes from the devs. the article is written by Jeremy Peel. There were no new screenshots or images from the game in the article. I also think that it contains a few lil bits of information that are new, like the bits on companions' availability and stumbling across the companions out and about on their own in the world e.g. finding Neve investigating an abduction case in Docktown.

tysm to @simpforsolas and their friend for kindly telling me about the article!!

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[image source]

Article introduction segment:

"[anecdote about Edge] We were reminded of this minuscule episode in Edge's history during the creation of this issue's cover story, in which we discuss the inspiration behind Dragon Age: The Veilguard with its creators at BioWare. Notably, director John Epler remembers the studio experimenting with a number of approaches during the early phase of development before eventually locking in to what the game was supposed to be all along, above all else: 'a single-player, story-focused RPG'. As you'd expect from BioWare, though, that was really just a starting point, as we discovered on p54." BioWare draws back the Veil and ushers us into a new Dragon Age

"BEHIND THE CURTAIN BioWare's first true RPG in age age is as streamlined and pacey as a dragon in flight. By Jeremy Peel Game Dragon Age: The Veilguard Developer BioWare Publisher EA Format PC, PS5, Xbox Series Origin Canada Release Autumn

The Dragon Age universe wasn't born from a big bang or the palm of an ancient god. Instead, it was created to solve a problem. BioWare was tired of battling Hasbro during the making of Baldur's Gate and Neverwinter Nights, and wanted a Dungeons & Dragons-like setting of its own. A small team was instructed to invent a new fantasy world in which the studio could continue its groundbreaking work in the field of western RPGs, free of constraints.

Well, almost free. BioWare's leaders mandated that the makers of this new world stick to Eurocentric fantasy, and include a fireball spell - since studio co-founder Ray Muzyka had a weakness for offensive magic.

Beyond that, BioWare’s storytellers were empowered to infuse Dragon Age with their own voices and influences, leaning away from D&D’s alignment chart and towards a moral grayness that left fans of A Song Of Ice And Fire feeling warm and cozy.

In the two decades since, the world of Thedas – rather infamously and amusingly, a shortening of ‘the Dragon Age setting’ that stuck – has taken on a distinct flavor. It’s something director John Epler believes is rooted in characters.

“There’s definitely some standard fantasy stuff in Dragon Age, but everything in the world, every force, is because of someone,” he says. “The idea is that every group and faction needs to be represented by a person – someone you can relate to. Big political forces are fine as background, but they don’t provide you with those interesting story moments.”

Dragon Age: The Veilguard bears out that philosophy. The long-awaited sequel was first announced with the subtitle Dreadwolf, in reference to its antagonist, Solas – an ancient elf who once stripped his people of immortality as punishment for betraying one of their own. In doing so, Solas created the Veil, the thin barrier through which wizards pull spirits and demons invade the waking world. In other words, many of Dragon Age’s defining features, from its downtrodden elves to the uneasy relationship between mages and a fearful church, can be traced right back to one character’s decision.

“The world exists as it does because of Solas,” Epler says. “He shaped the world because of the kind of character he was. That’s, to me, what makes Dragon Age so interesting. Everything can tie back to a person who to some degree thought they were doing the right thing.”

Perhaps BioWare’s greatest achievement in slowburn character development, Solas is a former companion, an unexploded bomb who sat in the starting party of Dragon Age: Inquisition, introverted and useful enough to get by without suspicion. Yet by the time credits rolled around on the Trespasser DLC, players were left in no doubt as to the threat he presented.

Determined to reverse the damage he once caused, the Dreadwolf intends to pull down the Veil, destroying Thedas as we know it in the process. The next Dragon Age game was always intended to be his story.

“We set that up at the end of Trespasser,” Epler says. “There was no world where we were ever going to say, ‘And now let’s go to something completely different.’ We wanted to pay off that promise.”

Yet almost everything else about the fourth Dragon Age appears to have been in flux at one time. In 2019, reporter Jason Schreier revealed that an early version, starring a group of spies pulling off heists in the Tevinter Imperium, had been cancelled two years prior. Most of its staff were apparently moved onto BioWare’s struggling Anthem, while a tiny team rebooted Dragon Age from scratch. That new game was said to experiment with live-service components.

“We tried a bunch of different ideas early on,” Epler says. “But the form The Veilguard has taken is, in a lot of ways, the form that we were always pushing towards. We were just trying different ways to get there. There was that moment where we really settled on, ‘This is a singleplayer, story-focused RPG – and that’s all it needs to be’”.

Epler imagines a block of marble, from which BioWare was attempting to carve an elephant – a character- and story-driven game. “We were chipping away, and sometimes it looked more like an elephant and sometimes it didn’t”, he says. “And then we eventually realized: ‘Just make an elephant’. When we got to that, it almost just took shape by itself.”

2014’s Dragon Age: Inquisition was an open-world game commonly criticized for a slow-paced starting area which distracted players from the thrust of the plot. The Veilguard, in contrast, is mission-based, constructed with tighter, bespoke environments designed around its main story and cast. “We wanted to build a crafted, curated experience for the player,” Epler says. “Pacing is important to us, and making sure that the story stays front and center.”

Epler is very proud of Inquisition, the game on which he graduated from cinematic designer to a lead role (for its DLC). “But one of the things that we ran into on that project was an absentee antagonist,” he says. “Corypheus showed up and then disappeared. You spent ten hours in the Hinterland doing sidequests, and there wasn’t that sense of urgency.”

This time, The Veilguard team wants you to constantly feel the sword of Damocles dangling above your head as you play – a sense that the end of the world is coming if you don’t act. “There’s still exploration – there’s still the ability to go into some of these larger spaces and go off the beaten path to do sidequests,” Epler says. “But there’s always something in the story propelling you and the action forward, and allowing you to make decisions with these characters where the stakes feel a lot more immediate and present. And also, honestly, more real.”

No sooner have you finished character creation than Dragon Age: The Veilguard thrusts you into a choice. As your protagonist, Rook, steps into focus on the doorstep of the seediest bar in town, you decide whether to threaten the owner for information or make a deal. Brawl or no, you’ll walk out minutes later with a lead: the location of a private investigator named Neve Gallus, who can help you track down Solas.

You proceed into Minrathous, the largest city in Thedas and capital of the Tevinter Imperium – a region only alluded to in other Dragon Age games. It’s a place built on the backs of slaves and great mages, resulting in tiered palaces and floating spires – a kind of architecture unimaginable to those in the southern nations.

“When your Dragon Age: Inquisition companion Dorian joins you in Orlais, in one of the biggest cities in Thedas, he mentions that it’s quaint and cute compared to Minrathous,” Corinne Busche, game director on The Veilguard, says. “That one bit of dialogue was our guiding principle on how to realize this city. It is sprawling. It is lived-in. Sometimes it’s grimy, sometimes it’s bougie. But it is expansive.”

Immediately, you can see the impact of BioWare’s decision to tighten its focus. Around every other corner in Minrathous is an exquisitely framed view, a level of spectacle you would never see in Inquisition, where resources were spread much more thinly. “When you know that you’re gonna be heading down a canyon or into this plaza where the buildings open up, you have those perfect spots to put a nice big temple of Andraste or a mage tower,” art director Matthew Rhodes says. “You get those opportunities to really hit that hard.”

BioWare’s intention is to make strong visual statements that deliver on decades of worldbuilding. “People who have a history with Dragon Age have thought about what Minrathous might be like,” Rhodes says. “We can never compete with their imagination, but we can aim for it like we’re shooting for the Moon.”

The people of Tevinter use magic as it if were electricity, as evidenced by the glowing sigils that adorn the dark buildings – street signs evoking Osaka’s riverfront or the LA of Blade Runner. They’re just one of the tricks BioWare’s art team uses to invite you to stop and take in the scene. “A lot of what you start to notice when you’re the artist who’s been working on these big, beautiful vistas and neat murals on the walls is how few players look up,” Rhodes says. “We design props and architecture that help lead the eyes.”

For the really dedicated shoegazers, BioWare has invested in ray-traced reflections, so that the neon signage can be appreciated in the puddles. There are also metal grates through which you can see the storm drains below. “The idea behind that is purely just to remind the player often of how stacked the city is,” Rhodes says. “Wherever you’re standing, there’s guaranteed to be more below you and above you.”

One of BioWare’s core creative principles for The Veilguard is to create a world that’s actually worth saving – somewhere you can imagine wanting to stick around in, once the crises of the main quest are over. To that end, the team has looked to ground its outlandish environments with elements of mundanity.

“A guy’s normal everyday life walking down the streets of this city is more spectacular than what the queen of Orlais is seeing, at least in terms of sheer scale," Rhodes says. “One of the things we’ve tried to strike a balance with is that this is actually still a place where people have to go to the market and buy bread, raise their kids, and try to make it. It’s a grand and magical city, but how do you get your horses from one place to the next? Where do you load the barrels for the tavern? It’s really fun to think of those things simultaneously.”

Normal life in Minrathous is not yours to behold for long, however. Within a couple of minutes of your arrival, the very air is ripped open like cheap drapes, and flaming demons clatter through the merchant carts that line the city streets. A terrible magical ritual, through which Solas intends to stitch together a new reality, has begun.

“We wanted the prologue to feel like the finale of any other game we’ve done,” Busche explains. “Where it puts you right into this media-res attack on a city and gets you really invested in the action and the story right away. When I think back to Inquisition, how the sky was literally tearing open – the impact of this ritual really makes that look like a minor inconvenience.”

Our hero is confronted by a Pride demon, imposing and armored as in previous games, yet accented by exposed, bright lines that seem to burst from its ribcage. “They are a creature of raw negative emotion,” Busche says. “So we wanted to actually incorporate that into their visual design with this glowing nervous system.”

When a pack of smaller demons blocks Rook’s route to the plaza where Neve was last seen, battle breaks out, and The Veilguard’s greatest divergence from previous Dragon Age games becomes apparent. Our rogue protagonist flits between targets up close and evades individual sword swings with precision. In the chaos, he swaps back and forth between blades and a bow. He blends light and heavy attacks, and takes advantage of any gap in the melee to charge up even bigger blows.

“Responsiveness was our first-and-foremost goal with this baseline layer of the combat system,” Busche says. Unless you’re activating a high-risk, high-reward ability such as a charged attack, any action can be animation-cancelled, allowing you to abort a sword swing and dive away if an enemy lunges too close. “We very much wanted you to feel like you exist in this space, as you’re going through these really crafted, hand-touched worlds,” Busche says. “That you’re on the ground in control of every action, every block, every dodge.” Anyone who’s ever bounced off a Soulslike needn’t worry: The Veilguard’s highly customizable difficulty settings enable you to loosen up parry windows if they prove too demanding.

Gone is the overhead tactical camera which, for some players, was a crucial point of connection between Dragon Age and the Baldur’s Gate games that came before, tapping into a lineage of thoughtful, tabletop-inspired combat. Epler points out that the camera’s prior inclusion had an enormous impact on where the game’s battles took place. “We actually had a mandate on Inquisition, which was, ‘Don’t fight inside,’” he says. “The amount of extra work on getting that tactical camera to work in a lot of those internal environments, it was very challenging.”

Gone, too, is the ability to steer your comrades directly. “On the experiential side, we wanted you to feel like you are Rook – you’re in this world, you’re really focused on your actions,” Busche says. “We very much wanted the companions to feel like they, as fully realized characters, are in control of their own actions. They make their own decisions. You, as the leader of this crew, can influence and direct and command them, but they are their own people.”

It's an idea with merit, albeit one that could be read as spin. “It’s not lost on me,” Busche says. “I will admit that, on paper, if you just read that you have no ability to control your companions, it might feel like something was taken away. But in our testing and validating with players, what we find is they’re more engaged than ever.”

There may be a couple of reasons for that. One is that Dragon Age’s newly dynamic action leaves little room for seconds spent swapping between perspectives. “This is a much higher actions-per-minute game,” Busche says. “It is more technically demanding on the player. So when we tried allowing you full control of your companions as well, what we’ve found is it wasn’t actually adding to the experience. In fact, in some ways it was detrimental, given the demanding nature of just controlling your own character.”

Then there’s The Veilguard’s own tactical layer, as described by BioWare. Though the fighting might be faster and lower, like a mana-fuelled sports scar, the studio is keen to stress that the pause button remains as important to the action as ever. This is, according to Busche, where the RPG depth shines through, as you evaluate the targets you’re facing and take their buffs into account: “Matching elemental types against weaknesses and resistances is a big key to success in this game.”

You pick between rogue, warrior and mage – each role later splitting again into deeper specialisms – and draw from a class-specific resource during fights. A rogue relies on Momentum, which is built up by avoiding damage and being highly aggressive, whereas a warrior is rewarded for blocking, parrying, and mitigating damage.

Those resources are then used on the ability wheel, which pauses the game and allows you to consider your options. The bottom quadrant of the wheel belongs to your character, and is where three primary abilities will be housed. “Rook will also have access to runes, which function as an ability, and a special ultimate ability,” Busche says. “So you’re bringing five distinct abilities with you into combat.”

The sections to the left and right of the wheel, meanwhile, are dedicated to your companions. Busche points to Lace Harding, the returning rogue from Inquisition, who is currently frozen mid-jump. “She is her own realized individual in this game. She’s got her own behaviors: how she prioritizes targets, whether she gets up close and draws aggro or stays farther back at range. But you’ll be able to direct her in combat by activating her abilities from the wheel.”

These abilities are complemented by positional options at the top of the wheel, where you can instruct your companions to focus their efforts on specific targets, either together or individually. Doing so will activate the various buffs, debuffs and damage enhancements inherent in their weapons and gear. “So,” Busche explains, “as you progress through the first two hours of the game, this full ability wheel is completely populated with a variety of options and different tactics that you can then string together.”

BioWare has leaned into combos. You might tell one companion to unleash a gravity-well effect that gathers enemies together, then have another slow time. Finally, you could drop an AOE attack on your clustered and slowed opponents, dealing maximum damage. The interface will let you know when an opportunity to blend two companion abilities emerges – moments BioWare has dubbed ‘combo detonations’.

“I like to think about this strategic layer to combat as a huddle,” Busche says, “where you’re figuring out how you want to handle the situation, based on the information you have on the encounter, and how you and your companions synergize together.”

Deeper into the game, as encounters get more challenging, Epler says we’ll be spending a lot of time making “very specific and very focused tactical decisions”. The proof will be in eating the Fereldan fluffy mackerel pudding, of course, but Busche insists this shift to fast action isn’t a simplification. “What really makes the combat system and indeed the extension into the progression system work is that pause-and-play tactical element that we know our players expect.”

The autonomy of The Veilguard’s companions doesn’t end with combat. BioWare’s data shows that in previous games players tended to stick with the same two or three beloved comrades during a playthrough. This time, however, you’ll be forced to mix your squad up at regular intervals.

“We do expect that players will have favorites they typically want to adventure with,” Busche says, “but sometimes certain companions will be mandatory.” Others may not always be available – part of the studio’s effort to convince with three-dimensional characters. “They do have a life outside of Rook, the main character,” Busche says.

"They'll fall in love with people in this world. They’ve had past experiences they’ll share with you if you allow them in and get close to them.”

Being separated from your companions, rather than collecting them all in a kind of stasis at camp, allows you to stumble across them unexpectedly. Busche describes an instance in which, while exploring the Docktown section of Minrathous, you might bump into Neve as she investigates an abduction case. “If I go and interact with her, I can actually stop what I’m doing, pick up her arc and adventure with her throughout her part of the story,” Busche says. “What’s interesting is that all of the companion arcs do ultimately tie back to the themes of the main critical path, but they also have their own unique challenges and villains, and take place over the course of many different intimate moments.”

Some parts of a companion’s quest arc involve combat, while others don’t. Some are made up of large and meaningful missions – as lavish and involved as those along the critical path. “While they are optional, I would be hesitant to call them side content in this game,” Busche says. If you choose not to engage with some of these companion-centered events, they’ll resolve on their own. “And it might have interesting implications.”

The Veilguard promises plenty of change, then, even as it picks up the threads of fan-favorite characters and deepens them, honoring the decades of worldbuilding that came before it. This is perhaps the enduring and alluring paradox of Dragon Age: a beloved series which has never had a direct and immediate sequel, nor a recurring protagonist. Instead, it’s been reinvented with each new entry.

“It’s a mixed blessing to some degree,” Epler says. “The upside is always that it gives us more room to experiment and to try new things. There are parts of the series that are common to every game: it’s always an RPG, it’s always about characters, and we always want to have that strategic tactical combat where you’re forced to make challenging decisions. But at the end of the day, I think what makes Dragon Age Dragon Age is that each one feels a little bit different.”"

Q&A Matthew Rhodes Art director

Q. Early BioWare RPGs were literary, with the emotions and detail mostly happening in dialogue boxes. How have you seen the studio's approach to visual storytelling evolve? A. This has been my entire career. When I first showed up at BioWare, it was at the tail end of Jade Empire, and then I was working on Dragon Age: Origins and early Mass Effect. The games had taken that next step out of sprites and 2D models, and it was like: 'How do we say more? How do we communicate more clearly?' During those early days, a lot of games depended on words to fix everything for you. As long as your character was talking bombastically, you could lend them everything that they needed. But as time went on it also became a visual medium, and it's been this long journey of trying to establish art's seat at the table. I've worked with some great writers over the years, and art is also an essential part of the storytelling. From Dragon Age: Inquisition on, I've been trying to stress with my teams that we are a story department.

Q. Is part of that also letting writers know that your storytelling assistance is available, to help them show rather than tell? A. On The Veilguard, that principle has been operating the best I've seen it. Where you would need a paragraph of dialogue in one of those exposition moments where a character just talks to you, we could sell that with a broken statue or a skeleton overgrown with vines. We've had more opportunities to do that on The Veilguard than most of the projects I've ever worked on combined.

To a hammer, every problem looks like a nail, and so in every department, writing will try to solve it with more words, and art will try to solve it with more art. I've bumped up against moments where it's like, 'As much as we could keep hammering on this design, I think this is actually an audio solution.' And then you take it to audio, and you don't get that overcooked feeling where each team is just trying to solve it in their silo. It's a really creatively charged kind of environment.

[main body of article ends here]

Additional from throughout the article --

Image caption: “Spotlights shine down from the city guards’ base as they pursue you through the streets of Minrathous.”

Image caption: “While most of your companions can be sorted into comfortingly familiar RPG classes, The Veilguard introduces two new varieties: a Veil Jumper and a private investigator.”"

Image caption [on this Solas ritual concept art specifically]: “The name previously given to the game – Dreadwolf – was a direct reference to Solas. Your former companion, now on his own destructive mission, still features, despite the name change.”

Text in a side box:

"RATIONAL ANTHEM The hard lesson BioWare drew from Anthem was to play to its strengths. “We’re a studio that has always been built around digging deep on storytelling and roleplaying,” Epler says. “I’m proud of a lot of things on Anthem – I was on that project for a year and a half. But at the end of the day we were building a game focused on something we were not necessarily as proficient at. For me and for the team, the biggest lesson was to know what you’re good at and then double down on it. Don’t spread yourselves too thin. Don’t try to do a bunch of different things you don’t have the expertise to do. A lot of the people on this team came here to build a story-focused, singleplayer RPG."

Image caption: “In combat you no longer control your companions directly – this is a faster-paced form of fighting – but you are able to direct them in combat, and can even blend their abilities in ‘combo detonations’.”

Image caption: “You’ll be exploring new regions across Tevinter and beyond – Rivain is a certainty, and that’s only accessible via Antiva travelling overland.”

Image caption: “There are three specializations per character class; on the way to unlocking them you’ll acquire a range of abilities.”

Text in a side box:

"MEET YOUR MAKER “Full disclosure: Dragon Age has traditionally not done skin tones well, especially for people of color,” Busche says. “We wanted to do a make-good here.” In The Veilguard’s character creator, you can adjust the amount of melanin that comes through in the skin, as well as test various lighting scenarios to ensure your protagonist looks exactly as you intend in cutscenes. “Speaking of our first creative principle – be who you want to be – we really feel these are the kinds of features that unlock that for our players,” Busche says. “We want everyone to be able to see themselves in this game.” For the first time in the series, your body type is fully customizable too, with animations, armor and even romantic scenes reflecting your choices."

Image caption: “Your companions are a mix of old and new – Lace Harding is a familiar face. Veil Jumper Bellara is new, with a new occupation, while Davrin is a new face with a familiar profession – he’s a Warden.”

Image caption: "Arlathan Forest is home to the ruined city of the elves, now a place of wild magic, Veil Jumpers and (allegedly) spirits".

Image caption: "Bellara is driven by a desire to learn more about the elves, rediscovering the shattered history and magic of her people."

[source: Edge – The Future of Interactive Entertainment magazine, issue #401 (October 2024 issue) - it can be purchased online at [this link].]

[alnair-jpg]

Olympics AU Info dump!

First, I am blown away by how much love the series is getting, thank you all so much! I do really enjoy all the comments and reactions in the tags. Know that they all delight me and the only reason I don’t reply to everything is because there are so many! But I read them all 💕

General questions:

Can you draw the designs or concepts? Write fanfic in this AU?

Yes of course! I’d love for you to tag me if you post them so I can see

Do they all know each other?

At first, I would say no- with the exception of Nico and Will (they’re developing a whole backstory in my head that I cannot and will not stop.). But they all meet in the Olympic Village after the opening ceremonies and quickly become friends. They all try their best to attend each other’s events. (Someone please tell me how Percabeth becomes a thing. Please. 🙏 )

Why didn’t Percy win gold?

Percy was an Olympic medalist in swimming before moving to diving. After competing in several swimming events and feeling like they were all just small variations of the same thing, he wanted more of a challenge. He chose diving to stay rooted in to the water, but to add a new dimension to his bodily awareness and control.

What’s Annabeth and Luke’s rivalry?

They most definitely trained together, and it was Luke’s skill that motivated Annabeth to aim for the Olympics. But, she wanted to compete for her home country, Greece, which Luke thought was just a shortcut since there was a clearer path to an Olympic team in a smaller country. Annabeth is constantly trying to prove to him that she would have made it to the top of the sport either way.

Also, apologies to the IRL fencers out there for the inconsistency. I know fencing is a gendered sport, and Annabeth’s gear/style are inconsistent, please forgive the oversight ☺️🫶

Volleyball?

The whole Hunters of Artemis are a volleyball team (that apparently has no country 😅). Thalia ends up the captain. When Reyna moves on from tennis they welcome her with open arms.

Rejected sports

Will as a runner. Canonically, he’s super fast, but just having him as a sprinter didn’t fit with his personality.

Will as a pole vaulter. Specifically the guy that lost because he was ‘blessed a little too much’ and knocked down the bar. I will not explain further.

Will as a gymnast. He was this || close to being a gymnast essentially modeled after Steven Nedoroscik, I had the sketch and everything. (I shared it here!) But when an anyonomous ask clued me into the sick medical team uniforms it all fell into place from there. (Thank you no-longer-anon @helyeahmangocheese !)

Percy in anything equestrian related. I see him not having the patience for all the formality of it all, but he definitely crashes Hazel’s shows and chats up all the competition (the horses.)

Annabeth on a sailing team. Also, related to that, Reyna on a sailing team. It was a fun idea, especially for Reyna and her history with pirates but ultimately it was really hard to capture in a few illustrations.

Nico in several winter sports. For consistency mostly. He could fit for a lot of winter sports - ice skating and snowboarding are my personal favorites.

Leo as a shooter. He would most definitely build his own gear and make tweaks to his weapon. Which would get him immediately disqualified.

Jason in discus. Jason as a basketball player. Golf is just… fitting. 😂

Other Characters I’ve been thinking about

(that may have art in the works… and may not actually be athletes!)

Clarisse

Meg

Grover

Rachel

Lester / Apollo

Mr. D

Chiron

[peachhcs]

Hiii!!

I was wondering if you could write something for samy and will based on this article: https://www.nhl.com/canadiens/news/my-man-mireille-boutin-on-michael-pezzetta?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=post&utm_campaign=CHCcontent&utm_content=EN-0514-MyMan

Basically the nhl team’s media people asking the players’ significant other questions about them. Thanks so much :))

my girl: will smith on samy hughes

hughes!sister x will smith au (samy + will)

nhl elite prospects interviews will about samy & their relationship!

1k words

this was suppperr cute to write. i swear will’s a yapper when it comes to talking about samy. i switched it from the article so it was will talking about samy, hope u don’t mind, but i loved this request!!

au masterlist

"we've been best friends since we were kids. everything just makes more sense when i'm around her."

UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN — samy hughes is known for her tough offense on the soccer field.

but off the field, she's the "best person i've ever known," according to her boyfriend, will smith, a boston college forward.

while in san jose for a development camp, the nhl elite prospects were able to catch up with smith to ask him how he's been doing, including how his new relationship's been treating him.

TELL US ABOUT YOUR DYNAMIC GROWING UP.

it's funny because we never hung out by ourselves a lot when we were kids. i was pretty attached to her older brothers [quinn, jack, and luke] and she was attached to my sister [grace smith], so we never really hung out that much until we were older. although, we always got along. when we did hang out we enjoyed talking to one another and poking fun as if we were siblings. we really didn't get closer until i moved up to plymouth for the usntdp.

WHAT CHANGED YOUR RELATIONSHIP FROM FAMILIAL TO ROMANTIC?

at least for me, as i got older, my feelings started changing towards her. i started seeing her as an annoying sister less and less and the more we hung out when i was in michigan, the more attached i grew i guess. we started just..doing stupid stuff together and i just really liked hanging out with her. all the times where i thought the things we did together was just a sibling dynamic, i slowly realized it was a lot more than that.

WHAT DID YOU GUYS DO ON YOUR FIRST DATE?

i took her out to dinner in ann arbor and then we walked around for a bit before sitting on a bench and just talking for hours. it was definitely weird at first, but we eased into one another and it was fun getting to know her on a different level than what i've always known her as.

WHAT ATTRACTED YOU MOST TO HER?

her personality for sure. she's super outgoing, always knows what she wants, very independent, super caring. we're very similar in many aspects, hence why we're best friends. she looks up to her brothers a lot which i admire because i also look up to them. i also enjoy her extensive knowledge of hockey because of her family, so it's easy talking about the game with her. she's just always been someone i go to when i need a shoulder to lean on and it's just so easy with her, you know? i love getting to call her so we can talk about our days together.

OF COURSE, HOCKEY'S IN SAMY'S ROOTS. DO YOU GET HER ON THE ICE WITH YOU EVER?

oh yeah, 100%. whenever we're back at michigan or in boston, we're on the ice. she's the one dragging me outside sometimes so we can play 1v1 or something. she's always had that love for hockey even if she doesn't play competitively anymore. i also love seeing her out there because it's what bonded us when we were kids, so it's nice still getting to go out and do it with her. somehow she still beats me too. she doesn't play for 4 months and then we're back on the ice together she scores 3 goals before i can even get the puck in my possession. the guys chirp at me whenever that happens if they're around.

HOW OFTEN DO YOU WATCH HER SOCCER GAMES?

every single one of them are on my computer. it doesn't matter what i'm doing. as soon as the live stream starts, i'm booting it up to watch. the guys love watching her play, so i always get to turn it on the tv and then we scream at the stream for two hours together.

SPEAKING OF THE GUYS, WE HEARD SHE HAS A GREAT RELATIONSHIP WITH YOUR LINEMATES AS WELL.

leno and perreault absolutely adore her which i think is really sweet. i was a little worried when i first introduced all of them back when we moved to mich, but the three of them grew close really quickly. sometimes i think they're more excited to see her than i am and that's saying a lot.

WE HEARD HUGHES IS A GREAT COOK. HAS SHE COOKED ANYTHING FOR YOU?

when we're at the lake house she loves cooking all of us breakfast. she makes a great omelette and french toast, like, the best i've ever had. we all go crazy for her breakfast in the mornings.

DO YOU GUYS EVER TRAIN TOGETHER DURING THE SUMMER LIKE RUNNING OR WORKING OUT?

i'm not a huge runner, but sometimes i will run with her when she goes out, or i'd bike along side her. our training schedules are pretty different, but when we're in the offseason we'd occasionally hit the gym together or do some casual workouts that won't kill us. she knows what the hockey training is like so it's no stranger to her when she does follow my lead. soccer, on the other hand, is a lot more sprints and footwork which is sometimes helpful for me.

CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT SOME OF SAMY'S BEST QUALITIES?

shes a huge team player. she's always looking out for those girls on her soccer team, helping them run drills, being someone to talk to—i really admire her for that. she's got a real big heart too. her love is so contagious. she's dependable, trustworthy, kind, beautiful—the list could go on coming from me.

ANY LAST WORDS YOU WANT US TO ADD?

i love her, haha. our parents knew way before us that we would end up together before we even knew. we've been best friends since we were kids. everything just makes more sense when i'm around her. this is probably corny, but i wanna spend the rest of my life with her. she's my rock.

[kairiscorner]

⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚ loverboy kotaro bokuto headcanons.

loverboy bokuto is very vocal about how attractive he finds you. he may not be the most articulate boy out there, but he never fails to compliment you every chance he gets. his smile is the icing on the cake, though–he looks a little brighter when he calls you pretty, beautiful, gorgeous, handsome, or just... "woah".

loverboy bokuto isn't one to focus on the physical aspects of the object of his affections too much. sure, he finds you drop dead gorgeous–but your looks weren't the only reason this big goofball fell head over heels in love with you.

loverboy bokuto adores seeing you smile and cheer for the team; it's enough to send him out of his mood swings and get back to being his 120%, giving it his all just to be able to say that today's match–his awesome spikes, receives, plays–they were all for you, the love of his life.

loverboy bokuto tries to be the perfect textbook suitor for you, getting you flowers and taking you to and from school, treating you to your favorite snacks when you're feeling hungry, showing you off to others because he feels so lucky being with you, never asking for you to be anyone else because you are simply too perfect for him to handle...

loverboy bokuto is also not the convention textbook suitor he hopes to be, though. he does all those things for you, but in the most chaotic, over-the-top, and extra ways he can think of. the team's already very aware of how great, amazing, and perfect you are; bokuto never fails to run his mouth of just gushing about you, you, you, and you.

loverboy bokuto rushes to your home, nearly screams to you a good morning, and smiles with the brightness of the sun on his sweet face–it's clear, he's a morning person when he's able to come take you to school.

loverboy bokuto doesn't go to fancy floral shops to get you flowers, he honestly just picks up the prettiest ones he happens upon on his way to pick you up. there's something really charming about the assorted garden flowers he picks up for you, even if they've got fresh dirt and some roots on them, the way he beams when he hands them to you, the way the colors just pop when you take a look at the bouquet he put together for you... it's sweet, very sweet of him; you can't help but fall for him a little more when he does it, and he does–every single day, to the point that the neighbors complain that he's kind of the reason why their flowerbeds are messed up.

loverboy bokuto gets demotivated easily when he hasn't seen you in a few hours. being a class away from you is like being light-years away from you–he can't focus in class, can't eat his lunch, can't even muster a, "hey, hey, hey!" let alone spike and give his 120% during practice when he hasn't seen you. he gets all mopey and emotional, and he just misses you dearly that he forgets how to function.

loverboy bokuto immediately cheers up and smiles from ear-to-ear, gets all jumpy and optimistic when you finally show up. he gets all clingy around you, not wanting to be away from you ever again, at least until practice is over and you two can head home together. he loves having you sit your pretty little butt down and watch him spike and win points during practice–because you're the reason he's all fired up now. he can finally scream his, "hey, hey, hey!" and point at you, telling you that was for you–asking you how cool he looked like that, smiling and chuckling to himself just how gorgeous his little lover is.

loverboy bokuto constantly searches for you in the crowds, hoping that among all who scream his name, you're there, too. the only reason he's giving it his all isn't just because he loves the sport, the euphoric feeling of spiking a ball down, getting over tall walls in front of him–but it's because he loves it when you're proud of him. and when he sees you, among all the faces in the crowd... he feels his chest flutter, his smile growing wider, a blush across his face as he screams to akaashi to toss to him once more for his beloved to watch him give it his all and win this match; because he wants to give you a reason to be proud of your dopey, adorable loverboy.

[yeonboy]

𝐧𝐨 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 ♡ choi yeonjun.

If you had known that a fun night out eating junk food with your best friend that you have always harbored a crush on would turn this sour because he misunderstood your words, you would have kept your mouth shut. Now Yeonjun has gone radio silent on you and if you want to salvage your friendship, you will have to get over your feelings first because he will never forgive you if he finds out. Right?

❧ choi yeonjun x f. reader | 16+ | college!au ♡ best friends to lovers!au ♡ angst ♡ humor ♡ fluff

❧ 7 k words

❧ warnings! inaccuracies wrt college sports/scouting/ice hockey, profanity, suggestive language, suggestive scenes, discussion and exhibition of puck bunny behavior, mentions of slut-shaming, misunderstandings, miscommunication, jealousy, some pining, yeonjun is stooooopiiiid, yn is also stooooopiiiid, one (1) singular heavy makeout sesh that gets a little out of hand hehe (:

❧ note! hi, world! this is a sideblog i created v v recently, but you won’t find links to my main anywhere bec i’ve decided to be a catfish on this one (: LOL jk, i just wanted a fresh start. i will be cutting back on the hoeing around i used to indulge in w my writing on that blog, and keep this place as sfw as i can - we’ll focus on tummy-aching angst instead! w a happy ending ofc bec ya girl is a softie 😔

leave me feedback if you like this! follow for more! (:

❧ masterlist | inbox ⁘

"Dude, this has gone so fucking soggy, it's like chewing leather. Please stop eating it."

Your words of disgust and grimace of distaste were, unsurprisingly, nothing to deter your best friend from munching on the cold fries he'd left for the last when he'd been too busy gobbling down his burgers. Stuffing a handful into his mouth like an actual ape, he in fact wiggles his eyebrows at you in a challenge.

"I feel like I've seen an orangutan eat exactly the way you just did, Choi Yeonjun. Please stop."

That makes him giggle and clear his mouth, finally raising his hands in surrender. "Kay, I give up. They do taste like leather."

"Not even gonna ask how you know that… But this is why you're supposed to have your fries with the burgers and not after it."

"But they mess up my palate!"

When he pouts like that, it's so hard for you to believe that he's the university’s senior ice hockey team’s ace, their Center, their captain, and that he’s looking to get scouted professionally, this year. When he pouts like that, he takes you back to the time you first met him on the first day of your high school, both clueless freshmen with wide, innocent eyes full of huge dreams about your future.

Dreams that you're both very, very close to making a reality, now – him as a professional hockey player, and you interning at the law firm of your dreams.

Damn. Time sure flies fast.

“What? Is there something on my face?” Yeonjun tilts his head and you blink away from your thoughts, averting your gaze from his to instead stare at his shitty, soggy fries.

“Yeah. Stupid. A lot of it.”

Yeonjun rolls his eyes and rips a tissue out of the dispenser on the table to dab around his mouth just in case, and that gives you room to breathe in and out and try to will away the heat you can feel in your cheeks.

See, now, the thing is – you don’t necessarily have romantic feelings for your platonic best friend of eight years. That’d just be absurd and kind of creepy. But you sure as heck have always harbored a crush on him.

It’s just impossible not to! 

Guy has always been literally the most gorgeous human being you’ve ever seen, even at the universally ugly age of fourteen. He’s a gentleman, always kind to every single person in his life, would probably cut a limb off for a friend in need, and ever since your sophomore year of college, he’s gotten into manically coloring his hair, which…is seriously injurious to the onlookers’ health because dear God, the dirty blonde of his hair with the dark roots peeking through from his middle part? Makes your heart literally pound.

And he isn’t even doing anything! Other than being gross with a tissue paper and inedible fries, which should absolutely turn you off from ever liking anything about him, but it does the opposite.

That is another thing about him – he’s too freaking smooth and sexy about every damn thing in his life. The day his hair turned from black to blue, nearly two years back, he developed all these flirty charms on top of his kind ones. Now he isn’t just an insanely handsome dude who’d hold your hand to help you cross the road, but he’d also freaking wink at you when you thank him for his kindness.

You as in a person, not – not you. He’d never wink at you, you're too friendzoned for that. And it's kind of a blessing because you’d probably run the risk of jumping back into oncoming traffic if he did.

Wow.

You can’t count on one hand the number of times you have had to tug on the reins of your heart when it’s tried to take a flight, jumping off the cliff of your very inconvenient crush and into the bottomless abyss of having actual romantic feelings for him. Because that would be catastrophic. And not just because you fear he'd reject you and you’d lose the one person who means the most to you in the world.

“Should I get more burgers?”

Your gaze snaps to him in surprise. He’s pouting again, this time looking at the greasy fingerprints laden menu card kept on your table. The anxiety that had started to churn in your stomach at the prospect of your very concerning crush turning into something more, suddenly leaves and you huff out a small laugh.

“You’ve had six in the past hour, Jjun. I’d say stop for the night, maybe?”

“Hey, I have a big appetite!” He scowls at you. “And it’s close to midnight, already! You know I begin my diet for the season from tomorrow!”

You groan. “Well, then, why did you ask?”

“To be encouraged, of course! To be comforted.” He widens his eyes and blinks at you. “Or did you forget I’m also supposed to be nursing a broken heart?”

The groan you release at that is loud, drawn out and filled with a year’s worth of exasperation. This is the other reason why you catching romantic feelings for him would be catastrophic. His emotional quotient is seriously questionable when it comes to the matters of heart. If he could love a partner half as much as he loves dogs, maybe he wouldn’t be ‘nursing a heartbreak’ because of the fifth person that has dumped him since your final year began. And you aren’t even done with your mid-sems yet.

But you don't tell him that, instead patting on his leather jacket clad forearm with a fake sympathetic expression. “Ah, yes, poor you. My deepest condolences to your heart.”

He knows you and your bullshit and you know he does, so the attack that his hands launch at your throat in the next two seconds doesn't surprise you, and your defensively raised shoulders don't surprise him.

You're both dissolving into giggles, then, having nothing short of a wrestling match across the small cafe table. "I really liked Lea, okay?"

"Oh yeah? You didn't even—oof, that tickles! You didn't even know she was Kai's sister!"

At that he lets go of you and slumps back in his seat with a scowl. "Please don't remind me. I still worry he's gonna stab me in my sleep someday…"

You place a palm over your mouth to stifle your laugh. "To be fair, Lea shouldn't have been indulging in puck bunny behavior if she didn't want to be treated like one."

"Don't say that wo~rd," Yeonjun whines with his whole head thrown back. "She's Kai's sister! And she's younger than me!"

"Just by four months! Stop being dramatic, Jjun. She's a junior at college – she knew what she was doing."

Yeonjun doesn't look convinced. "I mean… I don't think she was with me only because I'm hockey captain. She knows all of HK's friends personally."

You wonder why he is defending her. Did he actually, genuinely like the girl? Romantically? What are the odds of Yeonjun finally making an attempt to open his heart up to someone and them ending up dumping him? He doesn't really look that dumped, though, so you figure that this must be out of some misplaced protectiveness he feels for one of his best friend's sisters.

Man should've thought of that before he dated her. Sigh.

"Yeah, which makes it worse." You wince when he frowns. "Come on, Jjun. She's known you since middle school but decides to make a move now? Only to break it off in three weeks because others are 'slut-shaming' her”—you make air-quotes around the term, rolling your eyes—“when they call her out for wearing another guy's jersey in preseason when she's supposed to be dating you. Can't tell me that's not manipulative and experienced puck bunny behavior."

Yeonjun’s eyes are wide when you finish speaking. “What…?”

“She didn't have feelings for you, Jjun! I mean, you obviously didn't have any for her either, but I hope you keep it that way with these girls. I highly doubt Lea even tried to get to know you at all, given how busy she was posting pictures of y'all on all her socials." His expressions haven't changed much, so you try to conclude your point quickly. “All I'm saying is, it is actually a good thing you’ve never taken these relationships too seriously. There’s more business than emotion with these clout chasers, Jjun.”

Yeonjun is gaping at you now and you're a little confused as to how to take it. Is he surprised at the revelation about Lea? You doubt that to be the case when the entire tale of their romance had been broadcasted all over the campus this past week.

So then…is he surprised at your opinion of things? You sure hope he isn't about to pick a fight with you because you're in no mood to concede. Not about this. Not when you've died multiple deaths every minute that Lea has spent being a pick-me by your best friend's side.

"I… She did have feelings for me, Y/N. They—the girls that I date all have some feelings for me, come on." He gives a small chuckle that is so wry, it makes you fidget in discomfort. “I haven’t taken these relationships that casually. I'm – I’m not some vain playboy, sleeping my way around the college.”

Okay, hold on – what?

What?

How did he take that away from your rant? He's really defending himself when you never even attacked him? When you never would attack him?

"Yeonjun, no… That's not what I'm trying—"

"Let's – let's just drop this." He looks distressed, and the frown on his lips makes your heart hurt. More so because you are the one who put it there. "You won't get it, anyways."

Now that – gives you a pause. "I won't…get it?"

He gets up, unbothered and unabashed, and walks with his tray of empty wrappers and inedible fries to dump it into the trash can near the exit of the cafe. You wordlessly follow, tilting your head in an attempt to catch his eye, but Yeonjun's got some 5 inches on you so you can't really force him to look at you when he doesn't want to.

And now he's walking out of the cafeteria.

"Jjun?"

He sighs and stops, looking over his shoulder, straight into your eyes with a bored stare. "What?"

"What? You're, like, not even gonna explain that last sentence?" 

This time you're the one with the wry chuckle while Yeonjun fidgets in discomfort. 

"What won't I get, Yeonjun?"

"Look, it's… well. You’ve always subtly looked down upon all the girls I’ve dated in college, and that was fine. You’re my best friend, you’re allowed to be a critic.” He shrugs with a nonchalant look in his eyes, but his lips are still twisted sourly. “But… I never realized you thought I was the problem. Someone so vapid that my only appeal is the fame hockey gets me.”

No… literally when did you insinuate that?

You're rendered mute, taken aback by how badly Yeonjun seems to have interpreted your words. He exhales and it sounds very loaded. You don't miss the way he keeps avoiding your gaze; nor the disappointed frown that decorates his forehead.

“You won’t get it because you don’t want me, you’ve never wanted me – and that is absolutely cool! But just because you like to have me as a comedic relief character in your life doesn’t mean that no one sees any depth in me.”

“A… comedic relief character?” your voice comes out low and hoarse and almost tattered, a little shrilly from disbelief. You're not even gonna touch on his 'never wanted him' claim because the rest of his speech has your brain actually spinning. “What the hell are you talking about? This isn’t about you – it’s about these girls… You’re my best friend, Yeonjun!”

“And yet you can’t find one reason why these girls would like me beyond using me for clout.” He gives a shrug and finally meets your eyes again. But his stare is absolutely vacant and unreadable. “You don’t use me for clout, though, and yet you keep me around. You obviously don’t care about my opinions, or you wouldn't have exchanged numbers with Changbin when I told you he was bad news. What else is there to our friendship other than laughing together, then?”

His words are like death blows – each syllable laced with a different kind of poison. Every inhale you take from the air his words have contaminated seems to sear a painful path through your lungs. Breathing hurts. Looking at him hurts. Your eyes are filling up and your tummy is aching.

There’s so much wrong with everything he just said, so much misinterpretation, so many actual blatant untruths, that you don’t even know how to begin correcting them. 

How did you even get here?

You’d only been trying to warn him about girls that might use him. You were only trying to protect his heart.

How did that turn into him thinking you don’t value your friendship with him? That you don’t value him?

“Oh, and by the way,” he continues, pushing both hands into his leather jacket and looking into the distance, “Changbin’s probably gonna ask you to cheer for him this season, which is kind of a big deal because… you know, this out final session and there will be professional scouts present and all. So if you decide to say yes…” He pauses and turns to look at you again, gaze tired and eyes lidded. “If you say yes, I hope you know it’ll mean a lot more.”

Why is he bringing up Changbin again? You’d only exchanged numbers to get that guy's incessant ass off your back – you haven’t even responded to a single text he’s sent you in the past two months. Cheering for him? In a season as important to their careers as this one? 

Absolutely out of the question.

Does Yeonjun not know you at all?

You’re about to tell him that, when he suddenly pulls his phone out with a sigh. “I’m planning to hand my jersey over to Chaeyoung – you know, running for senior cheer captain? Thought I’d ask for your opinion, but… You’ve already made that pretty clear tonight.”

Angry tears blur your vision and your heart hurts as if it’s dying a slow death in your chest.

Chaeyoung, really? So he’s skipping seamlessly from Lea to Chaeyoung. 

Of course. 

Why did you even bother worrying about his heart when he clearly doesn’t even have one. How could you forget.

Maybe it’s a good thing you never let yourself fall for Yeonjun beyond a crush.

“For what it’s worth,” you finally manage to mutter, brows furrowed and gaze focused on your worn out sneakers, “I’m sorry. I was trying to look out for you, not – not hurt you. You’re the most important person in my life, Yeonjun. I could never hurt you.”

You don’t wanna wait around to hear his response, so you just wordlessly walk away. Your dorms are hardly half a mile from here; you can shut yourself in your room and sob into your pillow in less than twenty minutes from now.

The fact comforts you enough to make you walk faster.

And also helps you ignore the pain that runs across your entire body when Yeonjun doesn’t even attempt to stop you.

You haven’t checked your phone in a while now but it has to have been over six am currently because you can hear your roommate moving around. Stealthily, you pull the comforter down from your face to peer into the dark room, only to hear a loud sigh echo around the place.

“You’re seriously still up?” Yuqi’s disappointed voice calls out. “The crying sounds stopped sometime after four so I reckoned you fell asleep.”

You wince in guilt. “Fuck, Yuqi, I’m so sorry I kept you awake—”

“Woah, what?”

She turns the lights on, suddenly brightening the room. Your roommate’s dressed in her cheer outfit, probably on her way to early morning practice. She is running for captain as well and the voting concludes in five days.

Cheer captain… Chaeyoung…

You can feel another bout of tears coming on, the back of your raw eyes stinging anew. Your head is pounding like someone’s cracked your skull open, but it still doesn't hold a candle to the ache that originates from your heart and makes your entire chest cave in on itself.

“Oh my God, babe, you look worse than you sound!”

You click your tongue and rub at your eyes. “I… Ugh, it’s been a weird night, Yuqi.”

She kneels beside you on the floor, face drawn in concern. “Are you okay?”

“I will be.” You try to sit up with her help. “I guess?”

“Oh, babe…” Yuqi sits next to you and draws you in an embrace. “What happened?”

“Y–Yeonjun,” you can barely articulate his name before your throat closes up again.

“Ah, man. What’d the idiot do this time?”

Yuqi has been your roommate and your closest friend since freshman year. Needless to say, she knows all about your friendship with Yeonjun and more than a little about your crush on him. She believes he’s too oblivious and doesn’t particularly like him for that reason. More often than not, you’re batting for his defense against Yuqi.

Right now, though, you feel like you’re gonna agree with every colorful word she uses for the guy.

So you tell her exactly what happened – give her a play by play of all the words said and reactions given, receiving hisses and grunts of annoyance in response, until you mention what he said about Changbin and Yuqi breaks your narration with a gasp.

“What the fuck?”

You just sigh and shrug a shoulder. “And he’s picking Chaeyoung to to wear his jersey for the most important season of his life, so I guess it’s whatever.”

“You know, it seemed to me like he was upset and acted out defensively… which would have been okay to a certain point, a misunderstanding that could be cleared out – had he not pulled that Changbin card. Why would he ask you to go after a teammate?” Yuqi tugs at the end of her ponytail in frustration. “And Chaeyoung? Literally the enemy? Now he's just an asshole.”

That last bit makes a small chuckle tumble out of you. “How… how is she, though? As a person?”

It’s so stupid of you to still attempt to look out for Yeonjun when he just dismissed your whole friendship. But you cannot help it.

“She’s… not a bad person, to be honest. As much as it pains me to admit.” Yuqi sighs. “She’s friends with the entire cheer team, friendly with the players, never been a bully to anybody. Hence why she’s running for captain alongside me.”

Should that comfort you? You believe it should. You warned your best friend about girls that might try to use him – and Chaeyoung sounds like she might not be that kind of a person. That’s good news, right?

So why does your heart seem to ache even more?

“Everything just...hurts, Yuqi. So much.” You tip your head against her shoulder. “What do I do?”

“Admit to yourself that you don’t just have aa crush on Yeonjun, for starters?”

You turn to look at her with surprised wide eyes. “What?”

Yuqi just rolls her eyes. “Come on, Y/N. You can’t move on if you don’t admit to it first, can you?”

Move on…?

Is that what you have to do now? Maybe. 

If you want to attempt to salvage any bit of your bond with Yeonjun, it’s best if you at least get rid of the affection that permeates the boundaries of platonic friendship.

“And then maybe text Changbin back,” Yuqi continues. “He’s their goalie. I’ve talked to him a couple of times, he’s nice. Kinda cute? If nothing else, he'll help take your mind off of Yeonjun and Chaeyoung.

You just exhale a deep breath. “Maybe.”

16:37 | changbin (: congratulations to yuqi! tell her i knew she would make it :D

↪ Haha thanks! Will do!

soooo our first match’s three days away kinda wanted to ask u something before that meet me at the lockers after practice today lol?

↪ Oh it’s Monday already right? ↪ I’ll see you at the lockers, sure! ↪ How does around 7 sound?

perfect~~ just like your eyes >.<

“Ew, man, ewww…”

You press your phone to your chest with a gasp, turning to glare at Yuqi. “Hey! It’s rude to read over someone’s shoulder!”

“No, what’s ruder is you not telling me how cringey this guy is!” Yuqi is very close to rolling on the floor, and you really can’t blame her. 

You’ve been texting back and forth with this Changbin guy for over a week now. He’s definitely nice and definitely more than a little cute, Yuqi didn’t lie to you. 

But – the way this dude flirts? Good God. 

Cringe must be an understatement. You have permanent goosebumps at this point because of how often you experience full body shivers out of the absolute secondhand embarrassment he has made you live through, every single day.

On the other hand, there's been radio silence between you and… him. Your best friend. His name sends a painful pang through your chest, so you've been avoiding even thinking about him. And Changbin's been a great distraction on that front.

That is not to say it has helped any feelings to blossom in your heart for the guy. His sweet but cringey self is a friend, at best. Your heart…is obviously elsewhere.

Things became so much clearer once you let yourself think everything over without any pressure and pretense, and admit to what you feel for your best friend, like Yuqi suggested.

Turns out you were wrong, after all. You really haven't succeeded at managing to stop yourself from falling further than a harmless crush for Yeonjun, because this constant hurt that has made home in your chest ever since he stopped talking to you? The wave of gloom that overtakes you whenever you so much as think about him? Surely a lot more harmful than what a crush warrants and surely surpassing best friend territory; by a leap.

The next step was attempting to move on with the help of Changbin, but that clearly fell flat on its face.

Exhaling a tired breath, you send a blushing emoticon back to the guy, and wonder why you're responding to his flirting when you know you've already failed and this is gonna end in tragedy.

“He sends you congratulations for making captain, by the way," you inform Yuqi when she's finally stopped giggling.

“Aw, did he say that was cool? As cool as your hair, maybe?”

You just groan and roll your eyes. “I’m gonna go see him tonight. He’ll probably offer me his jersey…”

That sobers Yuqi up. “Oh. So it’s time, huh? What’re you gonna tell him?”

You give her a wry smile. “What do you think?”

Understanding flashes across her face as Yuqi pats your shoulder in comfort with a sympathetic smile. “Well… At least you tried, yeah?”

Yeah… and failed spectacularly.

And are now hopelessly in love and helplessly heartbroken.

The locker rooms are nearly empty when you get there by seven. According to Changbin's text, he'll be there in the next five minutes and you are to wait by the rows immediately opposite the entrance to the bathrooms.

For a men's locker, the place is fairly clean and pleasant smelling. 

You're in the middle of inhaling a chest full of some citrusy fragrance when the pitter-patter of a feet reaches you – and then abruptly stops. The small gasp that meets your ears before you've even fully turned around is enough for you to recognise him. 

Why're you bumping into him here of all places?

He's been a ghost around the campus, as absent from your shared classes and the cafeteria as he is from your inbox – your life. 

But here he shows up – to catch you waiting for a guy he's always warned you against and only told you to accept when he was mad at you.

You're beginning to regret this whole thing you began with Changbin even though you're here to end it tonight.

Swallowing, you swerve on your heels to come face to face with a freshly showered Yeonjun, dressed in a fluffy hoodie and a pair of sweatpants. Your heart hammers against your ribcage, head filling up with thoughts of burying yourself in his embrace. His hair isn't fully dried yet, with some of it sticking to his forehead, but…what draws your attention is how gaunt and tired his face looks. 

There are large purple bags beneath his eyes and permanent frown lines around his lips. You're willing to bet this is not all due to the season's stress, because the last time you saw Yeonjun with dark circles was when you came down with a bad flu in high school and were bedridden for a week. He stayed by your side the whole time, despite both your mothers warning him about catching the infection, and barely slept.

You know it's a little unfair of you to think this way when you're the one that hurt him first, even if unintentionally, but you can't help wondering whether Yeonjun would still care if you caught a flu now. Would he even bother checking up on you, now that he's made it clear that he believes you don't think much of him and your friendship.

Does he still value you and your bond, despite the conclusions he's drawn about your feelings?

"What are you… oh."

Those are his first words to you in over a week, and the absolute disappointment on his face kinda makes up for the lack of verbal cues.

Your fists tighten on your sides, hating the way his eyes fill up with nonchalance and the way his lips purse. Why's he acting like he doesn't care? He should care!

But at the same time, you don't want him to think of you even worse than he has been. So you clear your throat and try to explain, "I've… I'm gonna clear things out with Changbin. Tell him I'm not interested so that he doesn't – he doesn't hope for anything more."

Yeonjun raises an eyebrow up, setting his jaw and lowering his eyelids. "You're good at that, aren't you? Ensuring that people aren't living with false hopes?"

Hearing his voice after so long fills your heart up with an emotion you're probably too inarticulate to explain. But his words, as snidely delivered as they are, confuse you. "What…?"

Rolling his eyes as if explaining himself to you is a waste of time for him, Yeonjun waves a hand in dismissal. "Nothing at all. He'll be heartbroken, though. Was really counting on you cheering for him. Are you absolutely sure you're not interested?"

His patronizing tone is a little too much for you, and even the lower pitch of voice he's using – one that you have always secretly fawned over – isn't able to curb your frustration. "Yes, Yeonjun, I'm sure. He'll live, he'll find someone else." And because you're beginning to feel irritated and jealous, you add, "If his second choice isn't Chaeyoung, that is."

You see the way a vein pops in his forehead and a sense of satisfaction runs through you at having struck a nerve. "Oh, so you've got words to say about Chaeyoung too, then? I thought you'd let her pass because she's famous enough by herself. Cheer vice captain, and all."

He's throwing you bait to rile you up, you know that – but you can't help the fiery fury that overtakes your senses either way.

Stalking up to him, you push a finger against Yeonjun's chest and glare into his wide, surprised eyes. "If you really think she's interested in you for you, go ahead and date her. Don't goad me into giving an opinion when you won't even care about it."

He brings a large hand up to wrap around yours, holding it tight in obvious anger. "Like you care about mine?"

"I'm literally here to say no to Changbin, Jjun! What the hell is your problem?" you yell out, pushing at his chest with your free hand – but to no avail because he holds your other wrist with his other hand as well.

"My problem is that you're saying no because you think this is beneath you!" he yells back, leaning from his towering form to bring his face to the same level as yours. "You think my girlfriends, my lifestyle – everything's beneath you!"

Your mouth falls open in utter shock because once again – this was never about him! "Yeonjun – no! For the last time, no, I don't think that! I don't think you're vain or unlikable, or that anything you do is beneath me, I just – I just fear someone will break your heart if you're not careful!"

"Is that so? You're not judgemental of the girls I date? Didn't you call Lea a – a puck bunny?"

"I didn't mean it like that!" you scream back and lean towards him, leaving barely inches between both of your fuming, frowning faces. "I was just getting metaphorical and, hell, maybe I was jealous because you've never asked me to cheer for—fuck…"

Panicked, you pull away from Yeonjun's loosened grasp, looking away from his raised eyebrows and open mouth.

You did not mean to say that. Not like this, not now… maybe never.

Face heating up like a damn furnace, you stumble away from your frozen best friend in a hurry. If he thought you were sabotaging your friendship before, he's going to absolutely hate you for harboring feelings for him. It's a blatant breach of his trust.

Shit, you should've begun to distance yourself when you first felt the tender tendrils of affection for the cutest fourteen year old guy you'd ever seen. You shouldn't have let those feelings fester – you shouldn't have let them grown into this beast that now stands to swallow your years' long friendship.

Tears prick your eyes, but there's no time to mourn right now – you need to get back to your dorm and bury yourself beneath a pillow before that.

But you've barely made it to the gates to the locker room when a firm hand grips your upper arm from behind and twirls you around. Back pressing into the wall, a gasp is torn from your chest when Yeonjun's huge, twinkling eyes cage you in. His arms resting on the wall next to you are completely unnecessary; you'd stand still through an apocalypse if he pinned you with this gaze of his.

"What…what do you mean you were jealous I never asked you?" he breathlessly questions, literal stars sparkling through his dark irises at you.

Now. If you were not adept at reading your best friend like a book, maybe you would have wondered if coming clean right now would make his eyes brighter or dim them instead. Maybe you would have debated whether lying your way out of this situation and apologizing later would be a good idea. Maybe you would have ducked from under his arms and made a run for it.

But because you have known this boy for more than seven years now, have observed every single expression of happiness and excitement that his face is capable of producing, have admired how adorable hope and anticipation looks on him – because you've loved him since the time you could barely even understand what love meant…you have no reason to doubt.

"I mean I wanted you to ask me, Jjunie. I wanted to be the one that'd be by your side, wearing your jersey and cheering from the stands for you," your voice comes out as a hoarse whisper, but Yeonjun clings onto every single word, given the stutters you can hear in his breathing. "I… I wanted you to look at me when you scored, point at me and tell everyone around us that…"

Your gaze flickers down his face, running across his nose to land on his parted, plump pair of lips. They spread a little to allow an airy chuckle to pass, and then form a wispy, questioning: "That?"

He's moved incredibly close to you, nearly touching your foreheads together and leaving an inch of space between your mouths. You look up into his eyes and they are hooded, spilling happiness, adoration but also something sincere.

"That," you rasp quietly, slowly in the small space between you, "that I'm your girl."

Yeonjun's exhale of minty toothpaste breath washes over your face, forehead tipping over yours and nose sliding against yours. When he speaks next, his lips brush the corner of your mouth and your body grows taut like a bowstring, ready to snap at the barest flick of his hands.

"Are you my girl?"

His voice has gotten incredibly lower and guttural and you just bring your hands up to clench into the fabric of his hoodie to ground yourself. Your eyes slide shut against the intensity of his own, breaths coming shorter and faster.

"I'd – I'd like to be. If…you'd have me?"

"Of fuck, baby, don't you know you've always owned me?"

You barely get a moment to process the term of endearment and the acceptance, let alone the actual depth and true implication of his words, when the softest pairs of lips you have ever felt brush against yours. Tentatively, so lightly that they almost tickle. Gasping in an exhale, you part your eyelids to find Yeonjun looking at you through a similarly shuttered gaze.

"Can I kiss you?" 

Oh God, oh God, oh God—

“Yes, please.”

The words have barely exited you before Yeonjun is erasing any remaining space between you completely by pressing his mouth fully against yours. His lips feel even more softer than they look, molding against yours like a pair of clouds. Combined exhales of relief leave the two of you, breathing just as in sync as your bodies are. Your hands move from his jacket to run across his broad shoulders and your fingers wrap around the back of his neck, pulling him impossibly closer.

As if waiting for you to do just that, Yeojun guides both his hands to your waist, bringing you closer to him, before one of them detours to run past your waist and down your thigh to hook around your knee. His mouth opens against yours, then, teeth biting into the flesh of your bottom lip. With a shuddering gasp, you hold onto him tighter and allow him to lick into your mouth, lost in the taste and feel of him.

His hand grips onto your leg to lift it from the ground and wrap it around his thigh, allowing him to slot his hips against yours perfectly. You can feel yourself spiraling, unable to form coherent thoughts beyond the heady rush of electricity that zaps through you with every pull of Yeonjun's lips. When you begin to grow breathless, his lips detach from yours to slip down your chin and press against your throat.

A mixture of gasp and whine escapes you, making his grip on you tighten and his lips turn bolder in their exploration of your neck. You feel his teeth scraping over your collarbone and shivers run through you, causing your back to arch and press further into his body. He groans against your skin and runs his hand up your leg to caress the delicate skin of your thigh.

You realise this is getting kind of out of hand because you've just confessed your feelings and you're still in the damn locker room, but your eyes can't help but clench shut as your fingers tug on his silky soft hair, silently asking him to keep going. 

But Yeonjun is far more in control of the situation than you are, given the way he turns his kisses from hungry to chaste, slowly. Pressing a closed mouth peck to your cheek, he rearranges his grip on you to pick you up with his hands beneath your thighs, and carries you to a bench. He sits down and drapes your legs over his own to make you straddle him, holding you firmly but softly in place.

He plants a soft, sweet kiss to your lips and rests his forehead against yours. Your eyelids part to the blurry sight of his shining eyes. It takes you a moment to realise you have tears in your eyes – and that he does as well.

With the softest smile that you have ever seen on him, Yeonjun brings a thumb up to your face and flicks at the corner of your eye.

"I've liked you ever since high school, you know?"

Your lashes flutter in fascination. "Really? But you never… you always…"

His cheeks grow pink when you scrunch your nose up instead of finishing the sentence, and he shuts his eyes. "You just never really showed any interest… You never looked jealous or bothered by my love life."

"I was being a good friend!" You chuckle when he rolls his eyes. "Besides, I had plenty to say about the girls you dated?"

He tucks a piece of your hair behind your ear, still looking at you with a soft gaze, but his lips have twitched into a devastating smirk. "But you never said I could date you instead."

A blast of heat flushes your entire face at his words. Remember when you said he never flirted with you and you were grateful for that? Yeah, you still stand by that. Your heart's racing so fast, it's a wonder it hasn't malfunctioned yet. Yeonjun reads your face, too, and pecks your nose with a giggle .

"I'm so sorry it took me so long to figure it out, baby," he then whispers to you, sounding so forlorn that the sound of his voice, especially with that pet name, makes you wanna cry again. "I should've realized you were jealous…"

"I'm sorry, too, Jjun," you whisper back, hands coming up to play with the drawstrings of his hoodie that your eyes focus on as well, suddenly hesitant to meet his open gaze. "I wasn't careful about my words and hurt you. I was a bad friend."

He chuckles at that, which draws your eyes back to his own again. "To be honest, I was more hurt because your words made me conclude that you would never like me back. So you literally don't have to apologize at all."

A smile blooms on your face. "Can I kiss it better, then?"

"Oh, you can always kiss it better, baby." Teeth flashing and eyes squinting, Yeonjun nuzzles into your neck, full of giggles that you mirror as well.

Right then, a call of your name resounds across the locker rooms.

Wait…

Fuck.

Changbin!

Yeonjun's wide eyes look at you with questions. You just sigh and shrug your shoulders.

"Back here, Bin!"

"Bin?" Yeonjun raises an eyebrow with his eyes narrowed, making you stifle a giggle.

"Should I try Binnie, then?" 

He gasps in outrage, threatening to bite into your cheek, while you lean away to escape him, still suppressing your laughter.

Footsteps echo across the hall before a gasp is heard at the end of the aisle you're seated next to. Changbin stands rooted to his place, mouth agape and eyes wide. You've corrected yourself in your seat, but – your seat's still kinda Yeonjun's lap.

"I… um?"

You purse your lips in apology. "I'm sorry, Bin. I can't accept your jersey."

"I… can see that, I guess…"

To his credit, Changbin doesn't look a lot upset. Just very confused. You decide to try and help him.

"I can, however, get you Song Yuqi's number if you want?"

Instant fireworks explode in his eyes. "What? The – the cheer captain, Song Yuqi?"

"Mm hm. Cheer captain, my friend, my roommate. You know, the one."

"Wow, Y/N, that'd be so cool, man! Thank you!"

And then Changbin's hopping his way out of there without another word. Yeonjun breaks into laughter the moment he's out of sight.

"Poor guy kept asking me if it was okay to approach you and I kept saying we're just friends. He must be so confused, right now…"

You look at the boy who's still cradling you in his lap. "So. We're not just friends anymore, I hope."

He tightens his grip around your waist, eyes doing that thing where they switch from being rounded to suddenly narrowed and intense. "That depends. Do you kiss your just friends like that?"

You nudge his nose with your own, heart thumping at the intensity of his dark eyes and the reality of your changing dynamics with him. "Only the ones I intend to do more with."

Yeonjun's eyes widen in surprise and then narrow further with mischief. "Is that so, baby? Well, how about I take you to a nice dinner date tonight and then we can discuss what more can happen later, hm?"

"I'd like that very, very much." Swallowing past the lump of emotions that suddenly lodges in your throat, you bite your bottom lip and smile. 

He smiles back, but then brings a thumb up to tug your lip free. "Don't bite your lip, baby. You've got me to do that for you, now."

And then he kisses you again.

© yeonboy 2023 // do not steal, copy or repost. respect your local content creators, kaythanks.

[userlando]

✧･ﾟ 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐲𝐨𝐮

steve murphy x female!reader [11.4k] summary ⤍ you’d dealt with men worse than him in the academy and through your entire life really, but steve… he was something. warnings ⤍ enemies to lovers, reader gets hurt & nursed back to health, mentions of concussion, injuries and (brief) vomiting. a/n ⤍ i am, indeed, obsessed with steve at the moment so hope you aren’t tired of him yet. I had fun writing this so feedback would be appreciated!! also fun fact: I took a big fall and got a concussion last week so that’s what inspired me to write this lmao. anyway enjoy!! <3

Growing up, you aspired to be whatever bullshit stereotypical career society pushed you to be. Your mother was adamant to pump that belief into you as soon as you popped out, dressing you in princess clothes and gently scolding you when you expressed your desire to play with anything that wasn’t deemed feminine and shaped as a doll. The disappointments kept rolling through when you one day announced that you were going to become a cop, and your poor parents nearly lost their minds at the thought of their sweet daughter chasing criminals with a gun holstered at your side.

You couldn’t really blame them, but nothing had felt as right in your life as the day you became a DEA agent. It was a tough career because not only was it mentally exhausting and physically challenging, but the misogyny deeply rooted in that department really made your teeth grind.

There wasn’t a day that didn’t go by where you did your best to prove yourself, and it felt a little like a reward when you were asked to join the team down in Colombia to fight the narcos.

It was hard, you couldn’t deny that. Not only was it a male dominant space, but your two partners really did nothing to make your life easier at the start. Javier had softened considerably after a few weeks, and it felt a little like a reward when you realised one day that he’d stopped seeing you as a person with tits and an ass and started seeing you as an equal. It was fucked up, but it was a relief.

Steve though. Steve Murphy. The two of you butted heads right from the start. The man was a ticking bomb just waiting to go off; Anger issues and short, stubborn tempers wrapped up in a messy bow. There had been some comments coming from his mouth at the beginning, but you were strong enough to ignore them, smart enough to realise that the man’s words were coming from a place of inferiority and insecurity rather than hatred.

You only had so much patience to dish out though. A few months down the line in sweaty and crime riddled Colombia, and a handful of failed attempts to catch Escobar in the act, and you were fed up. You weren’t proud of the day where you finally snapped, but you were definitely in the right and that was something you’d stand by until the end of time.

It was just the icing on the cake, wasn’t it? When you’d followed up on a tip and ended up tailing one of Pablo’s sicarios through the town. You’d lost him and it had been inevitable, really. Those assholes were like snakes, and they sure slithered away from your grip like one. You’d gone back to the office, sweaty and angry and Steve had mumbled something about how you’d fucked it all up. It wasn’t your fault really, but that one passive aggressive comment had irked you so much so that you had turned around and socked him before Javier could predict the consequences and stop it. There had been a stunned silence, followed by Steve’s exclamation of “what the fuck is wrong with you” and you probably should’ve felt embarrassed by the way everyone had stopped and stared at you. But you’d been shaking with anger and you’d turned and walked out before anyone got another word in. The next day had been mellow, no one bringing up the fact that your knuckles were a little bruised or how Steve looked a little too red around the nose.

It didn’t put you and Steve in a better position, you weren’t friends and the usual stakeouts usually happened between you and Javier or the latter and Steve. Desk duty usually consisted of an Oscar worthy performance in the art of ignoring each other with the occasional snide comments and bickering. Javier was quick to shut them down though, before they turned into something uglier.

You were better than that. But you couldn’t help it, there was something that just really didn’t sit well with you when it came to Steve. He really knew how to dance on your nerves just by giving you a look, a noise from his mouth, anything. You’d dealt with men worse than him in the academy and through your entire life really, but Steve… He was something.

It was a Friday and another day in the office, consisting of working tirelessly with translating radio and phone calls. There was nothing you hated more than paperwork so sitting beside Trujillo and listening in on calls was something you were happy to do. It was gruelling work, but it paid off when you caught the voice of someone about a shipment coming in with a hefty amount of coke.

Carrillo had sent you all out on the hunt, ordering you to only get back if you had something to show off. You all were determined, and things had gone well up until the point where one of Escobar’s sicarios had caught sight of you sitting in your car. He bolted like a rat, and you weren’t far behind as you scrambled to chase him down alleyways and into apartments.

Shit had gone sideways though. It came with the job, really. One second you were jumping over railings, hot on the tail of one of the two men and you’d decided in the midst of chaos that you’d had enough. A bullet in the asshole’s kneecap would surely stop him from getting away. You’d reached for your gun and then… Nothing.

There was a moment where you didn’t know where you were or what had transpired, mind going scarily blank as you found yourself on your back and eyes blinking up at a painfully bright and blue sky. You frowned, wondering why everything felt so hazy right before your awareness crept up; Mind working overtime to make sense of how you’d gotten here. Your lips parted in a groan, scrunching your nose at the incessant ringing in your ear because what the fuck was that?

Panic shot through your body when your thoughts slowly started to piece things together, thinking that surely you’d been shot. But you weren’t bleeding, and there was no pain in your body that resembled the feeling of a gunshot wound.

You weren’t sure whether you were imagining a voice shouting your name, but it sounded panicked enough for you to twist where you laid on the rubble of rotten planks and god knows what. The zip of pain shooting through your entire body took you by surprise, and you let out a pained shout when you felt your head ache in a way you hadn’t felt in a while.

“Hey, hey, hey.” The voice was soothing, out of breath and you struggled to push yourself up into a sitting position to locate the voice among the general noise of cars and pedestrians of Bogotá. “Easy.”

It was like magic, how Steve appeared in your field of view out of nowhere and you realised a little belatedly that he’d been the one to shout your name. He got down on his knees and eased you back by the shoulders when you tried to sit up. Panic climbed in your throat at the fire hot pain blazing in your back and you tried to seek comfort in something familiar. Like Steve’s wide eyes or his moving lips when he talked.

“No, hey, stay there. You might have broken something.” He said, a little sternly, a little exasperated.

The tone of his voice brought a familiar comfort of it amidst the confusion swirling in your mind and it was enough to kick it into high gear. The natural response of going against everything Steve Murphy advised.

“I’m fine,” you insisted, swatting his hand away when he felt your arms and ribs up in search of anything broken. “I’m okay, Murphy. Can you stop feeling me up?”

Steve glared at you and you tried to ignore how the world was spinning, trying to focus on the blue of his squinty eyes.

“Only you’d try to play off a fall like that .” He shook his head, glancing up before settling his gaze on you again.

You followed his eyes, something in your mind clicking of what exactly had happened. The roof was way further up than you’d realised and you must’ve somehow miscalculated the length of the roof building and ran right into thin air in the midst of chaos.

“You okay?” He asked and you looked at him before attempting yet again to haul yourself up.

He didn’t protest this time, silently helping you to sit up without rattling your injured head too much. The world was still spinning though, and nausea settled deep into your stomach.

“Where’s Javi?” You asked instead, and Steve’s eyebrows jumped a little like he knew you were trying to dodge his question.

“He’s still chasing the fucker, but I don’t doubt he’ll come back empty handed.” The man replied, tilting his head to get eye contact with you when your head started to dip a little.

It was becoming slightly difficult to keep your head up, with the way it was pounding like someone had taken a bat to it. You barely registered the gentle hand Steve was sliding over your cheek, fingers spanning over the sensitive skin of the side of your neck under your ear. He slowly tipped your head back upright and sighed.

“I think you’ve got a concussion.” He noted and you hummed in what you hoped sounded like a sarcastic laugh.

“Thank you, captain obvious.” You murmured, bringing a hand up to the other side of your head where it was hurting the most. “It fucking hurts.”

Steve tried not to show it on his face but that one confession had surprised him. You weren’t one to admit when you were feeling discomfort, too proud to show any type of weakness. He remembered how you’d once sprained your wrist early on and you’d still went through with chasing down one of Pablo’s sicarios until you had him in handcuffs. Steve hadn’t realised you’d been injured, he’d only found out when he walked into a back room at the office and accidentally found you wrapping your wrist up like it was a walk in the park.

He would never admit it out loud, but that was the first time he’d felt respect for you.

You winced when he felt the side of your head, looking for blood or any type of trauma and he heaved a little sigh of relief when he found nothing other than a small bump.

“You’ll be okay, let’s get you up.” He said. “I’ll take you to the doctors and they’ll have a look at your head.”

You groaned in annoyance as he stood up, bending at the knees to help you up on your feet.

“I’m fine, I don’t need a doctor.” You insisted, but the spinning in your head said otherwise. Steve grunted when you stumbled into him, catching you before you both fell over.

You blinked up at him, trying not to glare too hard at the amused arch of his eyebrows.

“You sure about that?”

Your pride took a small hit when you realised that you had to lean on Steve way more than expected, letting him guide you out of the alleyway and out onto the streets. The noise of the rumbling cars and chatter of the people made your head hurt, and you squinted at the brightness of the sun. Whatever you did made your head hurt, and you suddenly longed for a long hot shower and your bed.

“Hey, there you are.” Javier’s voice said from somewhere and you didn’t bother to turn, stumbling a little when Steve halted his walking. “The fucker got away— What happened to her?”

“She fell off the roof, banged her head pretty hard.” Steve jostled you a little and you let out a small pained sound. “I think she has a concussion so I’m taking her to the doctor.”

“Fuck, okay, I’ll bring the car around.” Javier’s voice sounded frustrated and a little worried, and you found that the expression on his face matched his voice when he appeared in front of you. He reached a hand out and touched your chin. “You okay?”

Any other guy would’ve gotten their fingers twisted if they’d touched you like that, but Javier was Javier and you’d come to grow very fond of him. And he did seem genuinely concerned.

“I’m fine.” You said for the fifteenth time and Steve made a noise of annoyance at your stubbornness.

“Yeah, that’s what you keep saying.” His voice dripped in sarcasm and you shoved him weakly in the side.

“Shut the fuck up, asshole.”

Javier shot you both an amused stare, shoving a hand into his pocket to fish his keys out.

“Good to know you haven’t lost your fight.”

You flashed him the finger and watched him walk away with a laugh.

“Hey, whoa!”

You hadn’t felt how the world had tilted on its axis, losing your footing and crashing into Steve. He was quick to grab you and you made a noise in your throat when your head started pounding even more intently, pressing your forehead against the damp fabric of his shirt; Right against his right pec to ground yourself. You’d never so much as touched the man before, so you blamed it on you being concussed and too sickly to stand on your own.

Steve didn’t say anything, thankfully, wrapping an arm around your shoulders to hold you up while the two of you waited for Javi to bring the car around. You didn’t know how long you had run for, but it had been enough for you to work up a sweat so you guessed it was a distance back to the car. Which is why it was a surprise when the familiar Jeep pulled up so quickly, Steve ushering you into the backseat and you tried to make yourself comfortable for the long ride.

You didn’t know why you’d expected Steve to close the door and take his place in the passenger seat, a small scrunch forming in your brow when he got in right behind you and shut the door. He glanced at you, halting his movements when he noticed you staring a little too hard.

“What?” He asked, defensive.

“Nothing.” You rolled your eyes, turning your head just in time to hide the grimace at the ache that one small gesture induced.

It was a distance to get back to the part of the town where you all resided, the doctors emergency room not too far away from your apartment building. It was a blessing in disguise.

The ride back was long, or maybe it felt that way because your brain was too fried to keep up with the conversation your two partners were having. The sun beating down through the windows didn’t make it better, making you shift in your seat to avoid the beaming sun on your left side. That also meant that you’d shifted closer to Steve’s side, making you both awkwardly glance at each other and you to scoot back.

“You doing okay, mija?” Javier asked, glancing at you in the front mirror when he noticed your dragged out silence and you hummed.

Normally he’d be fighting to get you to shut up whenever you rode in the same car as Steve. Which happened a lot. He didn’t wanna voice it, but your lack of bickering and talking worried him a little. Steve was being unusually quiet too. Javier glanced at the blond man to your right, making a mental note to ask about the way he was sneaking looks at you whenever you weren’t looking.

“Head hurts.” You murmured in reply, leaning your head back against the headrest and closing your eyes to shield them from the brightness of the environment.

The movement of the car and the streets passing by you so quickly was starting to make you nauseous, and you willed yourself to not throw up. Although, doing it in Steve’s lap would surely bring some comedic relief on your part.

“Hey, no. No falling asleep.” Javi’s urgent voice made you blink your eyes open and you shot him a glare. “Yeah, give me that look all you want but you shouldn’t fall asleep until you’ve gotten your head checked. You know that.” He gripped the steering wheel a little tighter and shot Steve a glance. “Make sure she stays awake.”

The snort you let out was both unattractive and made your head hurt, making Steve roll his eyes and shoot you a look.

“How am I supposed to do that? She’s usually the one who can’t shut the fuck up.” He said and you gritted your teeth at the small jab.

“Maybe I would if you weren’t so fucking annoying.” You shot back at him.

“Me? Annoying?” Steve turned in his seat and you tried not to stare at the way the tightness of his jeans were making his thighs look huge. “You wanna talk about annoying, sweetheart? How about not falling of a god damn roof when we’re trying to catch those motherfuckers out there. You’re the reason he —“

“Steve!” Javier barked, a poor effort to shut him up because Steve continued.

“No, Jav. She fucked this up and you know it! We almost had him.”

“You’re making this my problem?” There was no hiding the sheer disbelief and anger in your voice. “You could’ve gone after him, I didn’t need you to come and save me like you’re some kind of fucked up white knight.”

Steve huffed out a laugh that sounded anything but joyful, positive, and it made your blood boil.

“Of course you’d say that, because when has ‘thank you’ ever been in your fucking vocabulary!” Steve was seething, looking on the verge of a meltdown but so were you. “You’re always too fucking proud.”

His accusing yelling and your anger was starting to get to you. It made the car feel entirely too tiny, like someone was compressing it and you knew that if you didn’t get your ass out of there then you’d do or say something you’d regret. Thankfully, Javier had just pulled up onto a familiar street, and it took you a second to recognise that you were just across the street from the hospital. Javier put the car in park and you scrambled to yank the handle of the door open, frustration and anger climbing in your throat when you couldn’t get the door open fast enough.

Everything was spinning and hurting, but you’d be damned if you spent another second in this car.

“You’re a real asshole, you know that?” Were your departing words and you didn’t spare any of them a glance as you climbed out.

It was difficult to make sense of direction with the way your head was pounding and spinning like you were on a merry-go-round, but you mustered all your strength into slamming the door of the Jeep closed.

You started walking across the road without looking both ways, thinking that the day couldn’t get worse even if you got hit by a car. Javier called your name a few times, giving up when he realised that it was futile and you hoped that no one would follow you because you definitely needed to cool off. They knew that.

A few painkillers and a bandaged upper arm was what you got after your impromptu doctors visit. Apparently, you’d cut your arm and it had bled without you knowing but it made sense with the way it had been hurting. But then again, your whole body hurt.

The doctor had looked at you sternly and advised you to be on bed rest for the next three days and you’d kept the scowl off your face, thinking that as long as Escobar and his men were running around causing mayhem, you’d be on your feet.

You walked out of the hospital slowly, a little more steady on your feet than when you’d walked in an hour ago. There was a slight pause when you realised that you would need to either walk home or call Javier for a ride, settling on the latter just as you looked up and spotted his Jeep parked across the street.

You started walking towards it, squinting to make out who was sitting in the car and steeling yourself for the agonising conversation you surely would have with Javier. He’d find a way to bring up what had happened an hour prior in his own evading way and you weren’t really in the mood for that. All you wanted was to go home and sleep the rest of the day. Surely, you’d earned that?

The window was rolled down on the passengers side and you walked around to peek in it, coming to a short stop when you came face to face with blond hair and blond mustache, rather than the black. Steve was sitting behind the wheel, one forearm resting on the wheel and he tilted his head to look out the window.

“Hey.” Was all he said.

But it was all you needed from him to turn around and start walking because there was no way you’d endure the short trip back to your complex with him.

“Wait, stop.” The urgency in his voice made you halt and you turned your head to stare at him wordlessly. “Get in the car.”

You arched your brow.

“Just…” he blew out a frustrated breath. “Get in the damn car.”

You didn’t know what possessed you to comply, but you found yourself climbing into the Jeep without a word being said. Steve cleared his throat and reached for the ignition, the engine of the beat up car rumbling to life. The sound filled the tense air and you didn’t even try to hide the way you were looking at the man’s side profile, trying to gauge his mood.

“Quit lookin’ at me.” He grumbled, stealing a glance at you when you didn’t avert your gaze. “Javier refused to come back for you, said I should do it.”

“Nice to know that you did it out of the goodness of your own heart.” You looked out the window, not feeling particularly sad about it.

You could hear your partner suck in a breath, like he was trying to keep himself calm.

“Can you just…” He paused, steeling himself. “Never mind.”

There were no more words exchanged between the two of you as he drove you back home. You didn’t know why, but there was some type of guilt festering inside you for treating him like shit after he clearly tried to help you when you’d taken that fall. You were quick to shove those feelings to the side though, convincing yourself that you had nothing to feel guilty about.

Steve parked outside the building where you all lived, shutting the engine off and you looked at him when you sensed him looking at you.

“Was everything… Okay?” He asked and you would’ve laughed in his face at his inability to act civil with you, but you didn’t have the energy for it.

“Yeah, just a concussion. Said I needed to rest.” You replied, leaving out the part where the doctor had said to have someone beside you for the first night.

Being woken up every two hours felt like a lot, and you didn’t have anyone to ask. Javier would’ve probably done it, but you doubted he’d be able to keep himself awake the whole night and would probably crash within five hours.

You clambered out of the car, taking in a deep breath to get rid of the sudden dizziness that came with being in a moving car and getting out. The door on the other side shut and Steve came around the corner, shooting you a weary look.

“You alright?” He asked and you hummed.

“No need to be carried if that’s what you’re asking me.” You said, opting to make your voice sound a little lighter rather than hostile.

Steve laughed through his nose, holding his hands up in surrender as he started walking to the door. You followed him silently, not pointing out how he stepped to the side when you reached the stairs and had you walking up in front of him.

You did, however, arch a questioning eyebrow when you unlocked your door and stepped inside; Noticing that he was following you in.

“What are you—?”

Steve stepped further inside, forcing you back until he had enough room to shut the front door behind the two of you.

“I’m staying with you.” He said simply.

“The hell you are!” The thought of him in your apartment felt a little bizarre, he’d probably never been here out of his own volition and knowing that he was the one that was gonna take care of you made you a little nervous.

Not that he was a bad caretaker or anything of the sort, but you didn’t have that kind of relationship with him. And you could take care of yourself fine.

“Look, I don’t want this as much as you do but you and I both know it’s either me or some other idiot from work who’s gonna be staying here.” He said and you scrunched your face up in a grimace at that thought. “Yeah, exactly.”

“Why not Javier?” You asked, toeing your shoes off.

“He’s… Working.”

Working. If that’s what you would call fucking sex workers for intel on Pablo. The thought made you raise your eyebrows in amusement.

Steve draped his jacket over your armchair and you made great effort to not point out how you had perfectly fine and working hooks to hang up his clothes, making your way to the little space of your kitchen instead.

It wasn’t a particularly big apartment, one of the smaller ones in the building but you had come to love it. Javier had gotten the bigger one, and you’d never been in Steve’s but you knew that it was on the more bigger side. Bigger than yours at least.

You switched the tiny fan on, watching it spin on the kitchen counter until it made you dizzy before looking away to find Steve standing awkwardly in the space between the kitchen and living area.

“Why don’t you go take a shower?” He suggested and it, for once, sounded like the best idea he’d ever had.

Nothing sounded better than a shower, and you nodded gently. You collected your clothes from your small bedroom and huddled into your bathroom, making sure to keep the door unlocked but firmly closed. There was no way of knowing if you’d end up passing out in the shower cubicle or not, and you weren’t too eager to find out.

The water felt like the gates of heaven had opened up and swallowed you whole, cold shower pelting your sore skin and no doubt soaking your newly bandaged up arm. There were little thoughts swirling in your mind, face tipped up towards the stream as you enjoyed the moment of reprieve.

You didn’t know how long you were in there for, but you emerged a moment later in freshly washed clothes and your hair wrapped up in a towel. There was still some soreness lingering in your body, your head having taking the worst brunt of it, and you could only imagine how you would feel tomorrow morning.

Steve was puttering around in the kitchen and you silently walked up behind and slipped up to sit on the barstool. He still hadn’t noticed you sneaking up on him and you took it as a chance to regard him in his natural habitat.

You had never seen him so… domestic. Office Steve was a different person, always had his grumpy game face on and a tension to his shoulder that never really went away. The only times you had seen him even remotely relaxed were the rare occasions where you’d all go out to a nearby bar and celebrate the small wins when something good happened, or drink yourselves to oblivion when shit went south.

Here, though? He looked almost content. You didn’t really know why, but the sight of him in your kitchen felt almost too normal. Like it was a usual occurrence for him to be standing in his socks, making grilled sandwiches in your kitchen.

You were so immersed in your thoughts that you almost jumped when he turned around, freezing his movement for a second before he registered that it was you sitting there and not some kind of intruder.

“Fuck, didn’t hear you come back.” He said, a little wide eyed.

He placed a plate of one grilled cheese sandwich in front of you and you stared. Your stomach rumbled at the sight of it and you vaguely remembered the last time you’d eaten was hours ago.

“You made me grilled cheese?” You asked, voice smaller than you would’ve liked it to be. Because… huh?

Steve gave you a look that screamed obviously, why would I not? Like it was a given that he’d make you food. Like you were crazy for thinking that he’d do anything else but take care of you. It felt like you had somehow struck your head harder on the rubble and dropped down to an alternate reality where Steve was actually being nice to you.

“Yeah, hope you don’t mind…” He trailed off, looking a little out of place all of a sudden. He swirled around and located a mug that was steaming, placing it in front of you. “I made you tea.”

It smelled like camomile and it made you stare into the mug like it was an alien. You looked up at Steve and narrowed your eyes a little in contemplation.

This was the same man that would take every opportunity given to fight with you. Who would push when you pulled and who’d spent the last year making your life a living hell. Not to say that you hadn’t returned the sentiment, you were just as much of an asshole as he was and it was a wonder that Javier ever tolerated the two of you in the same room. Which was every day.

“Thank you.” You said, and you really meant it.

Steve gave you a look and turned around again. You didn’t realise what that look meant until he’d brought a chair around to sit opposite side of you by the counter with his own mug of coffee and sandwich.

Of course you’d say that, because when has ‘thank you’ ever been in your fucking vocabulary. That’s what he had said earlier today in the car. It made you feel a little ashamed when you recalled just how many times Steve’d had your back without you stopping to realise it or worse: Thanking him for it. All you had ever done was repay him with your snark.

That’s why you both worked so well together out on the streets. You both had each others backs no matter what.

“Hey, um.” You paused and averted your eyes to look at the steam wafting up from the mug. Steve was looking at you, you could see it from your peripheral vision and it made you nervous. “I’m sorry. About today.”

And every other time. Maybe you were too fucking proud.

“You don’t have to do that.” Steve said, voice low and you pulled your gaze up to meet his. “There’s no need.”

You huffed out a frustrated breath, “Yes I do. Look, I was an asshole and you know it. I fucked everything up and you did nothing but help me.”

“You didn’t fuck anything up.” He said, knitting his eyebrows.

You tried not to let the blues of his eyes distract you, averting your eyes yet again to pick your sandwich up just so your hands would stop seeking each other out in that annoying wringing motion you always did as a nervous habit.

“Hey, if anything, I should apologise for saying that. The snake bastard was gonna slip away from our hands whether you had fallen or not. So don’t… don’t dwell on it. What’s done is done.”

What’s done is done. Wasn’t that the truth.

“Now eat your sandwich, gotta re-dress that thing after.” He nodded at your upper arm where the sad excuse of a bandage was holding on for dear life after absorbing so much water from the shower.

You both finished your meal rather quickly, and Steve urged you to finish drinking your tea because it helps with the headache, I swear it. You weren’t too sure about that, but he sounded convincing enough.

After downing some painkillers, you settled on the couch after going on a hunt for your trusty old first aid kit. Steve grabbed it from your hands and ignored your half-assed protests when you saw him pull it open to dig through it.

You insisted that you could do it on your own, but quickly shut up when Steve glared at you. You didn’t have the energy to fight him.

There was a silence as he redressed your cut, cleaning it up and murmuring sorries when you flinched at the sting. He was patient though, a concentrated look on his face as he worked meticulously. There was a gentleness to him, hands soft and face relaxed.

You knew that he could probably tell that you were staring at him, but if he knew then he didn’t show it. He was kind enough to let you ogle him without calling you out on it, but there was a small quirk of the corner of his lip that told you that he found it amusing.

“Quit squirmin’.” He admonished you softly, glancing up at you and you blew out a breath you didn’t realise you were holding in.

The fall must’ve really messed with your head because what the hell was wrong with you? This was Steve.

“There, all done.” He straightened his back and you didn’t think too hard on why you felt disappointed when he moved back from your close proximity.

“Thank you.” You said again, and once more, Steve looked surprised. It was a fleeting, subtle look but you caught it. And fuck was it starting to embarrass you. “What? I’m showing my gratitude.”

You expected him to shoot back with something that would start up an argument, like it always did. What you didn’t expect was for him to crack a smile, aimed at you. It was so rare to have it right in your face, crinkles by the eyes and lips pulled up prettily. It startled you.

“Whatever.” You said around a smile that you couldn’t keep from your face. “I’m going to bed so you can see yourself out. I have a spare key by the door that you can use to lock up.”

You stood up and tried to ignore the way Steve shot a hand out to grab at your hip in a way to steady your wobbling. It wasn’t so much a grab as a gentle whisper of a touch, but it was unexpected enough to turn your stomach around.

“You keep your spare by the d —?” He stopped himself from chewing you out by the sheer stupidity of it, shaking his head gently. “I’m staying here, nice try, sweetheart. You need someone to monitor you.”

You could’ve put up a fight, scold him for being so stubborn and push him out the door with whatever strength you had left in your body. But the gears in your sore head were turning, blood rushing to your head because Steve had called you sweetheart. It had always been some unpleasant nicknames and your last name coming out of his mouth when he addressed you. He’d only ever called you sweetheart once, way back in an argument and you’d given him hell for being so condescending.

What you’d felt then and what you felt now were complete opposite feelings and it caused a turmoil in your body.

“Fine.” You bit out, a delayed response and it made Steve narrow his eyes a little curiously.

You took a few short steps to your bedroom, not quite feeling like you wanted to leave Steve alone. Not that he’d do something, but it was a new feeling to want to be around him rather than in a different room than him.

He sat back on the couch and looked at you with his legs a little splayed out. It took everything you had not to squirm where you were standing outside your bedroom door. Where the fuck did these weird feelings come from?

“Want me to come tuck you in?” He asked when you lingered a little too long by the door, amusement lacing his voice.

“Who knew there was a sense of humour beneath all that grump?” You feigned shock.

Steve flipped you off lazily and you let out a laugh.

“See you in two hours.” You wiggled your fingers in goodbye and slipped into your bedroom, heart pounding a little harder than you’d like to admit.

You welcomed the softness of your bed with open arms, splaying yourself out on your stomach and pushing your arms beneath your pillow. There was no mistaking the sleepiness creeping up your body, making your eyelids heavy.

There was no telling how long you were out for, but it didn’t feel like enough when you were woken up from your dead sleep by something touching your arm. You blinked your eyes blearily and turned your head to find your partner hovering over you.

It took a few seconds for your brain to catch up because your first thought was what the fuck is Steve Murphy in my bedroom? but then the pounding of your head made itself known and you croaked out an ow.

Your entire body felt like it was on fire when you turned on your back, pulling your covers up to your chin in a poor effort to hold onto your sleep.

Steve tsked with a growing smile on his face and pulled at the covers a little when he realised that you were trying to go back to sleep.

“None of that.” He scolded you, handing you something and you squinted in the dimmed room. Water and your medicine.

“Nurse Murphy.” You joked, heaving yourself up slowly with your back against the headboard. You let out a pained moan when the room suddenly started spinning, an ache making itself very known on the back of your head.

“You alright?” Steve’s voice was cautious, worried when he saw how your facial expression changed from pained to alert in barely a second.

You opened your mouth to speak and was hit by a wave of nausea, throwing your covers off your body and pushing Steve out of the way because fuck, you were on a mission to not vomit all over your bed and the poor man.

The slam of the door rattled your brain but you were too focused on bending over the toilet seat, heaving until your stomach twisted in discomfort.

“Fuck,” you groaned out loud when you’d caught your breath, reaching shakily for the handle and flushing.

You vaguely heard Steve knock on the door, asking if you were okay and you made a noise in your throat that you hoped said yeah give me a minute. A quick brush of the teeth, a deep rinse and a gurgle of mouthwash and you felt a little bit better. Good enough to open the door and walk out.

Steve was sitting on the foot of your bed, looking a little troubled. You observed him for a second, and took in the room now that you were more alert and awake.

The curtains were drawn shut and you realised that it must’ve been Steve being considerate before he woke you up, because you didn’t remember drawing them shut. You didn’t know how to feel about that, so you set that thought aside to mull over for another day.

“Did you go home?” You asked, noticing his damp hair and clothing change.

He must’ve slipped out to clean himself up when you were out cold, and he confirmed your assumption by a nod of the head. Whereas before he had his jeans, blue t-shirt and signature brown leather jacket, he’d gone for something much comfortable. He was still in his jeans, a pair of blue ones and he’d changed his shirt to one with a collar and the top buttons unbuttoned. He looked good.

You silently walked over and sat on the bed, hearing it creak.

“Y’need me to a call a doctor?” He asked, eyes roaming your face for any sign of discomfort. “Or Javier?”

That got a smile out of you.

“No, I’m alright.” You held yourself back from rolling your eyes when he raised his eyebrows a little. “I’m not being too proud, I really am okay. Doc said this would happen, but it’s nothing to worry about.”

Steve blew out a breath through his mouth and nodded.

“Alright, if you’re sure.” He gestured with a limp hand toward your nightstand. “Take your medicine, and then back to bed.”

You obliged him, still feeling a little sluggish when you crawled back under the covers. There were no words exchanged and you didn’t say anything when he helped you draw the covers over you, but he saw your poorly hidden smile.

“Shut up.” He murmured, with no real heat behind it.

“You’re a good nurse.” You said earnestly, with only a little laughter in your voice. “Seems like you chose the wrong career, Murphy.”

Steve’s eyebrows jumped in playful disbelief, still hovering over you.

“You calling me a shit agent?”

You smiled, “If the shoe fits.”

You watched him shake his head, like he was holding back from something that you couldn’t put your finger on.

“You’re insufferable.” He laughed and you nodded.

“So I’ve been told.” You sighed a little, wiggling further into the mattress.

The next time you were woken up, it had gone dark and it took a second for you to adjust to the light when Steve clicked the bedside lamp on. You blinked rapidly and pulled the covers over your head. There was no telling if the man laughed at that, the covers rustled too much but you were pretty sure that you could hear his chuckling.

“You feeling alright?” He asked and you sighed.

“How many times are you gonna ask me that, Steve?” You sounded exasperated, not giving him your face to look at as you continued to hide beneath the covers.

There was a silence that stretched for a little too long and you suddenly worried that you might’ve sounded a little too mean. A little shame pierced your heart all of a sudden and you pulled the fabric back to reveal your eyes to him. He was still standing there but he didn’t look angry or like he was gearing up for a fight. He looked a little shocked. Baffled maybe.

“What?” You asked, suddenly worried.

“You called me Steve.” He replied and you raised your brows.

That was his name, wasn’t it? You frowned.

“I always call you Steve.”

“You absolutely do not.” He suddenly gave an amused huff of laughter. “Always Murphy. Or fuckwad. Or asshole. Or—“

Your over the top groan cut him off and you stuck a leg out to kick him in the thigh. He jumped back with a laugh and you tried not to feel too wounded at that. His reflexes had always been better than yours. But you were the better shot so you had that going, at the very least.

“You’re an asshole.” You muttered lowly and Steve nodded.

“That’s more like it.”

You bit back a shut up, and placed the palm of your hand on the mattress to help you sit up in bed.

It was very dark outside, and you guessed that it must’ve been past midnight. Steve must’ve let you sleep in for longer, not waking you every two hours like planned. You didn’t ask about it, but if you did then he definitely would’ve lied. He would’ve spun a lie about how you probably needed the sleep.

Truth was, he had been dozing on your couch and watching shit TV, checking the clock obsessively and cracking your door open to make sure you were okay every hour. He didn’t want to wake you, but there was a slight worry that just wouldn’t let him rest when you’d fallen off the roof and that worry had only reached new heights when you got sick in the toilet.

He sat down on the edge of your bed and nodded at the steaming mug on the bedside table.

“Javi came by and dropped this,” he said, tracking your move when you picked the mug up. He averted his eyes when you pursed your lips and put them to the edge of the mug, dragging the palms of his sweaty hands against his sweatpant clad thighs. “Some miracle Colombian tea that’s supposedly good for concussions.”

Your lips stretched into a smile.

“Who knew Javier Peña could be so superstitious?”

Steve blew out a breath of laughter from his nose and shook his head at the thought. You took a careful sip and regarded him from the rim of the mug. He looked exhausted and tense, eyes a little puffy from the lack of sleep and he only made it more evident when he hung his head a little and brought his fingers to press them to his eyes. Like he was trying to rub some life into them.

You knew that gesture, had seen it a million times when you pulled late nights at the office. The embassy had been on your ass lately, and things had taken an insane and intense turn when Search Bloc got thrown into the mix. Carrillo was no joke, but you were all determined.

“Hey, you should get some sleep.” You said gently.

It was late and it had been a long day. You didn’t want to inconvenience him any further than you had.

“It’s fine.” He waved you off. “I’ll just sleep on the couch.”

That made you frown deeper because you knew that couch was a couch from hell. It was springy, and could take your back from feeling amazing to sore in an hour. Your armchair was a little better, but a man as tall and wide as Steve would never find a comfortable position in it.

You knew that realistically, you could’ve sent him on his way and let him sleep in his own bed. That’s probably what you should’ve done considering everything.

What you did instead was probably a bit out of line, but you tried not to think too hard about it when you placed the mug down on the side table and reached back to push the covers back a little.

Steve followed your movements silently and gave you a questioning glance.

“You can sleep here.” You said, a slight shake in your voice.

Steve opened his mouth at that but quickly shut it when he didn’t seem to find the right words. You could see the cogs turning as he regarded you silently, probably wondering exactly how hard you’d hit your head. It wasn’t something you could blame him for. If someone had told you that you’d offer Steve to sleep in your bed with you earlier today, you’d have punched them square in the nose for even bringing such an outrageous imagery to your mind.

Maybe you were tired, maybe it had been a little too long since you’d had another human being in the same bed as yours. Someone who could provide comfort and warmth and make you feel like you weren’t sleeping with one eye open.

“You sure?” He asked gently, just in case you’d managed to change your mind in the span of a few seconds.

Don’t fucking read into it, was what you probably would’ve said if it was the old you. The one who’d fight him on everything.

What you did say, was something you hoped was reassuring enough for him to get into bed and to stop him from looking at you with those fucking blue eyes of his. “I’m sure.”

There was a drawn out silence as he navigated around the bed, gingerly sitting down on the other side and you carefully averted your eyes to avoid his when he laid down beside you. It was clear that he didn’t want to push any boundaries by yanking the bedding over him as well, content with laying on his back and giving you the covers but it felt… wrong. So you covered his legs and sighed like it wasn’t a weird thing to do.

Because it was weird, wasn’t it?

“This is…” Steve trailed off, but you knew he was mirroring your thoughts and you couldn’t help the laugh that escaped you.

He gave a smile of his own when you turned to nod at him.

“It is.” You agreed. “I hope this doesn’t mean you’re going soft on me, Murphy.”

He let out an unattractive snort that made you smile, sinking down into the bed so you were on your back.

“And here I thought we were finally becoming friends.” He turned on his side and gave you a half smile.

You didn’t know why that tilt of his lips jarred you, but it reached deep into your bones and you found yourself unable to look away from his lips.

A sigh escaped your lips and you tugged the covers up a bit more in a poor attempt to eradicate the sudden butterflies in your stomach.

“Friends.” You muttered with a ghost of a smile on your lips. “Is that what we are?”

Steve hummed, causing you to glance at him from the corner of your eye. He looked to be contemplating it and you suddenly wished that you could reach into his mind and pull out every thought that was going through it.

It was a new feeling. Never had you ever felt like even hearing what was going through his head because you didn’t have an interest for it. Whatever you needed to know, you could read it in his body language and in his eyes. The man wore his heart on his sleeve and he probably didn’t know about it. There was so much you could get just by observing him.

“I’d say we’re on the right track.” He finally replied. “We’re not fighting, haven’t been for the last… Six hours.”

That got a startled laugh out of you and it seemed to please Steve because he grinned as he settled back in bed again, eyes up on the ceiling.

It was outrageous, but true. The two of you could hardly go an hour without arguing. Javier had once pointed out that it wasn’t malice but rather sexual tension and you’d punched his arm so hard that he’d yelped. He never brought it up again.

The thought of it being sexual attraction rather than anything else between you made you panic a little.

“I’m sorry.” Steve said, breaking the comfortable silence and that caused you to turn your head to look at him.

He mirrored your movement.

“For what?” You asked, genuinely confused.

“For being a dick.” He squinted his eyes in the dim light, like he was struggling to find the exact words he wanted to say. “I haven’t gone easy on you, from the moment we met until today. And you were being nothing but nice to me that first day.”

You had been. Polite rather. But Steve hadn’t given you the time of day and you weren’t perfect; You held grudges and could be kind of petty when there was no need. With Steve and his short temper, and your own issues? It was only natural for the two of you to clash.

“I haven’t been nice either, you know.” You pointed out and Steve placed an elbow on the mattress and rested his head on the open palm of his hand.

“I guess we both have been pretty shit.” He said and you nodded, because yeah. You had been. “I think you intimidate me.”

That got a laugh out of you. The thought of Steve Murphy being intimidated of you was so absurd. But the man wasn’t looking like he was kidding and you raised your brows.

“You’re kidding.” You smiled. “Why would you be intimidated by me?”

“Because.” He said like it was obvious, huffing out a laugh when you frowned; Feeling completely lost. “Fucking look at you. You came walking in with your head held high and you’re headstrong, ready for anything and anyone. There’s not a single soul in that office who’d dream of going against you.”

You groaned in disbelief, bringing your hands up to cover your face because you were starting to feel warm all of a sudden. Receiving so many compliments from the same man who’d given you nothing but grief the past year was overwhelming.

“No, really.” He insisted. “You’re so confident in everything you do. And you’re gorgeous and so fucking stubborn.”

That had you separating your fingers over your face, just enough to look at him through the gaps. Gorgeous? Surely you were dreaming. This wasn’t real.

But he was looking at you like he meant every word he had said and you weren’t sure how to feel. It made it all so confusing and odd, but it also made a warmth settle in the pit of your stomach; A feeling you hadn’t felt in years. It was simultaneously both terrifying and thrilling.

“Thank you.” You said softly, muffled into your hands and that had Steve smiling from where you could see him.

“You need to stop thanking me or it’ll get to my head.” He joked, probably to break the forming tension and you felt a pang of gratitude at that gesture.

“We wouldn’t want that.” You said, ignoring the small hitch in your voice when he reached out with his free hand to pry your hands off your face. He didn’t let go, stretching one hand out between you two and sliding his fingers between yours in a strangely intimate manner. “Your head is already too big. Won’t fit through the door.”

He laughed and it prompted a giggle out of you.

The conversation that took place for the next hour was gentle, intimate and it felt so natural that you never wanted it to stop. You talked about the little things that you probably would’ve known about each other way earlier if you’d skipped the animosity and became friends instead. Your respective families back home, your childhood, hobbies and everything in between.

It still felt strange but it also made you see him in an entirely new light. He looked relaxed and even happy, eyes tired from the long day and late night, hand still playing idly with your fingers where it laid between you. It was… pillow talk, minus the sex.

Your conversation drifted to a stop when your eyes were starting to droop, yawns interrupting your sentences until Steve eventually took pity. He scooted closer to you and you regarded him silently, wondering what he was about to do. There was a slight disappointment settling in your chest when you realised that he was, in fact, reaching for the lamp on your side of the bed and not reaching to kiss you.

It was an odd thought to have, but you would be a liar if you said that you hadn’t thought of it through the night.

Him reaching for the lamp put him in close proximity of you though, and a zip of heat shot down your spine when you realised that he’d reached over you and put himself half on top of you in the process.

You blinked up at his face, close to yours, feeling rather awake all of a sudden and you only had a few seconds to take in every little fleck and scar on his face, the blue of his eyes, before he turned the light off and plunged the room into relative darkness.

The moon was providing enough light through your small window for you to make out the shape of his face, and your lips parted of their own volition when his eyes suddenly flicked down and looked right at you. He’d finally realised the position he’d put you both in, a breath away from each others faces and torsos awkwardly pressed together and you watched his eyes flick from one of your own eyes to the other.

You tried to suck in a breath, not even realising that you had been holding it in, but it was stolen right out of you when Steve suddenly closed the minimal distance between the two of you.

The press of his lips was soft, but you felt it all the way down to your toes. It took you by surprise, but you collected your thoughts and pulled yourself together quickly enough to reach up with your hand to grab at his hair when you felt like he was about to pull away at your lack of reaction.

It was like that one movement of your hands was the trigger, because he fell into you and pried your lips open with his; A breathy moan being exhaled into your mouth and you gasped at the hotness of it.

He kissed you until you felt like your lips were starting to chap, pulling away to catch his breath and allowing you to catch yours. Your head was spinning, the intensity of it all surprising but not unwelcome.

You brought a hand around to span over his jaw and neck, thumb stroking the plump bottom lip of his.

“You okay?” You asked, a little breathless.

The question seemed to catch him off guard, and he pulled back his head far enough to look you in the eyes. As if he was searching for the answer in them.

“Yeah,” he nodded slightly, running his fingers through the strands at the top of your head. The feel of it made you shiver slightly. “Are you?”

You nodded mutely, beckoning him closer by the use of your hands and you couldn’t help but notice how easily he fell into you without hesitation. It made you smile against his lips, your hands drifting lower to his back and grabbing at the material of his shirt. The sound he made against your mouth had you clutching desperately at him, seeking out his hand to guide it under your sleep shirt.

“Oh fuck,” he cursed quietly when his palm closed over the flesh of your breast. He squeezed until you moaned, arching your back into his hand. “You’re gonna be the death of me, sweetheart.”

You let out a breathy laugh, pulling back long enough to look at him but that didn’t last long, eyes fluttering shut of their own volition when his thumb brushed over your perky nipple.

“Oh, Steve.” You whimpered and it was like music to his ears.

That one small sound out of your mouth paired with his name had him going lightheaded in a second, all the blood rushing south and he had to remind himself that it couldn’t go further than this. Not tonight at least. You were still recovering from your concussion and he didn’t want to push it.

So, he mustered up all the strength in his body to pull himself up, heart squeezing in his chest when your lips followed him. Like you weren't ready to let him go, and you really weren't.

“You need sleep, sweetheart.” He said gently, hoping that you wouldn’t take it as rejection.

You pouted at him, aware that you probably looked a bit childish doing it but you couldn’t help it. He stroked the pad of his thumb over your cheek softly and you sighed, nodding in understanding.

“I know.” You agreed finally, heart nudging up your throat when he leaned down to press a kiss to your mouth.

Steve laid back down, but he was closer than before and it made something warm settle in your chest. He didn’t protest when you rolled over to cuddle into his side, preening a little at the comfort of his chest and the feel of his arm around you.

It was the safest you’d felt since you moved here.

And that’s probably why you fell into oblivious sleep faster than you ever had.

Monday rolled around and that meant real life was back in order, forcing you out of your little bubble of bliss you’d managed to create during the weekend with Steve. He’d been oddly domestic and sweet, not pushing for anything and settling with the odd kiss here and there as he made you dinner and ran you baths. He’d remain respectful through those too, opting to sit on the tiled floor and very pointedly not look at your naked body as the two of you carried pleasant conversations and gentle kisses.

Javier stopped by on both Saturday and Sunday, both times when Steve had gone out to get food or a change of clothes. It was weirdly lucky timing, but you were happy to avoid the inevitable questions that would surely come along with Javier and his undying curiosity.

The office was just as you’d left it on Friday, everyone bustling around and working as they always did. Carrillo wasn’t in his office from what you could see as you walked past, but your two partners were sitting by their desks as you approached them.

Both of them glanced up, but only one of them spoke up.

“Hey, welcome back.” Javier gave you a nod.

“Thanks,” you dropped your bag under your desk and draped your jacket over your chair, trying very hard to remain natural. “Busy morning?”

You glanced around.

“Nah,” Javi grunted. “Should’ve just stayed home for another day.”

That made you break your resolve, stealing a glance at Steve who’d been sitting quietly on the other side of the desk. He was looking at you and you both shared a glance before you made a little noise in your throat and looked away.

“One more day at home and I’d go stir crazy.” You said, like you hadn’t been spending it with the very same man who everyone thought you loathed.

“Sure.” Javier murmured lowly, absentmindedly. His eyes were locked on a piece of paper in his hands and you took that as your chance to get out of the conversation.

You turned and started walking toward the small kitchenette where they kept the good coffee machines, suddenly craving caffeine because something told you that it was gonna be a long day. You revelled in the silence of the empty room when you walked in, hunting down a clean mug and locating the coffee beans.

The hum of your colleagues out in the office was a comforting sound, tapping your nails against the counter and watching the machine work to spit out piping hot coffee into your mug.

You had exactly two seconds to react to the hand that grabbed your waist, heart rate spiking dangerously before the familiar scent of cologne hit your nose. It was curious, how much that one detail calmed you down from your fight or flight response.

“Jesus, Steve.” You hissed out quietly, turning in his arms when he placed both hands on either side of you on the counter; Effectively caging you in. “Way to give me a heart attack.”

The man leaned closer to your face and smiled, nuzzling his nose against your cheek before pressing a kiss against the skin there. You bit back a smile.

“I like it when you call me Steve.” He said, voice low and intimate.

You brought both your hands up and placed them on his pecs, feeling the hard muscle beneath the layers of clothing he wore. It was probably your imagination or even wishful thinking, but you swore you could almost feel his heartbeat picking up speed.

“That’s your name, idiot.” You laughed, not meanly because there was a fondness to your smile that Steve had come to know and adore.

He pressed forward, brushing his lips against yours in a teasing manner until you had enough of it, chasing his lips when he pulled away with a laugh.

“Greedy.”

“Shut up.” You whispered, tilting your head and slotting your mouth against his.

The kiss definitely wasn’t the most passionate one out of all the ones you’d shared during the weekend. But it still made your knees weak all the same, heat pricking your scalp when he pushed forward and put the majority of his weight on you. The hard plane of his body made you feel feverish, and you let out a small moan into his mouth that made Steve’s skin pimple in goosebumps.

A distinct ringing of a telephone reminded you of where you were and you gently pushed him off, glancing over his shoulder and sighing in relief when you noted that you were still the only people in the room.

Steve wasn’t even looking, too busy taking in the plumpness of your lips and he had to stop himself from puffing his chest in pride at the sight of your smeared lipstick.

He brought a thumb up to clean it off and you blinked at him, feeling your insides go soft at the small gesture.

“You want some coffee?” You asked softly, turning in his arms and he pushed off the counter to stand beside you instead.

No, just you. But he didn’t say that, pushing his mug forward a bit on the counter instead.

He watched you pour the coffee into both mugs, studying your side profile quietly as you prepared the coffee. You looked adorable, and his fingers itched to grab at every part of you. But he knew that he had to contain himself. There was no way that he’d ever break the one rule you’d decided to set.

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

"Can we keep this on the downlow?" You'd asked on Sunday morning, hands crossed over each other where they laid on his chest, chin resting on them.

It had been quiet, serene and Steve had gotten only a little distracted by your lips and the way the light seemed to catch perfectly in your eyes. You'd looked downright angelic and it was only when your lips tugged in a small and shy smile that he realised you'd asked him a question.

"Sure." He'd agreed easily, letting the palms of his hands stroke up the sides of your body, as if he was trying to memorise every curve of your body.

"It's just that..." You trailed off, adjusting yourself where you laid between the long expanse of his legs. "I don't want people to talk, you know?"

He knew exactly what you meant. You'd worked hard to be where you were and there was no doubt that you'd start to get treated differently if they found out about the two of you. He respected you too much to do anything but agree with your boundaries.

"Hey," he murmured gently, bringing a hand up to smooth down your hair. "I'll do whatever you want me to."

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

Steve snapped out of his little daydream when you suddenly turned and gave him an award winning smile and he had time to think of how fucking lucky he was to see that directed at him, before you leaned up to press a kiss to his lips. You wiped your thumb across his lip, most likely a poor attempt to wipe the evidence off him, and walked out with your coffee.

He collected his scattered thoughts, blinking down at his mug and he was surprised to find that you’d taken the time to make him his coffee exactly how he liked it. Fuck.

“Hey, Javi.” He heard you greet the man sweetly who’d most likely stepped into the kitchenette, hearing him grunt in response.

Steve had managed to collect himself when Javier appeared in his field of view, pouring hot coffee into his mug casually and shooting the blond man a strange look.

“What?” Steve asked defensively.

Javier looked to be biting back a smile, looking a little bit too smug for Steve’s hackles not to rise.

“Nice lipstick.” Javier complimented him. “What shade is that?”

[jun-of-love]

kiss cam - lee seokmin

summary: an extra ticket. a pathetic stranger. a kiss cam. what could possibly go wrong?

tw: none

words: 1.7k

genre: fluff

pairing: yn × dokyeom

a/n: dk is the cutest most precious talented man ever- i was overwhelmed with his sunshine and spontaneously came up with this. hope you like it :)

It’s been a month or so.

A month since you saw your ex, who was once the light of your life, soundly sleeping in some other girl’s arms, butt naked at that. You grimace as the scene plays out in your head again, making you feel the same way it did the first time it happened. You had immediately cut off all contact from him to the point that you had moved to a new place, just so that he didn’t have any access to you. You wanted to see him grovel and beg for your forgiveness, or at least take excruciating revenge for wasting two years of your life, but you let it all go for your own peace and self-respect. All of these drastic measures, yet your stupid heart mourned the absence of the heartless man.

You looked the tickets on your table. You had gone through hoops to get a hold of them, the key to the best seats possible for the finals of the Ice Hockey tournament. While you personally had no interest in the game, your ex was super into the niche sport- the tickets were supposed to be his early birthday gift. You shook your head, trying to get out of the sobby mood. So what if he wasn’t here? You went above and beyond for these tickets, and you will have the best possible experience of the game anyone can have!

Easier said than done, you thought, as your loneliness pinched more with every couple or big group of friends passed by you. They didn’t have the best seats like you did, but they were surely going to have the best time with their friends and partners. You were seriously contemplating giving away the tickets and going home when you heard exasperated yelling by the ticket verification stand. It seemed like a man was throwing a tantrum, and the authorities were close to calling the security on him. The man turned away angrily, sniffling and wiping his tears.

You carefully approached the man, partly because you intrigued by his condition, and partly because he was hot. Everyone knows that stranger danger reduces by 30 percent if the stranger is hot. 50 percent if he is smoking hot.

“What’s the matter? Are you okay?”

The man looked at you. Even with his tearful eyes and runny nose, he had a certain charm about him. The kind that made you want to hug him till he felt okay. Pathetic charm, if you will.

“I got scammed. The agent I bought the tickets from sold me fake tickets and I’m obviously not able to reach him now-” He put his head in his hands. “I really wanted to watch this game, it’s the last game my favorite player is going to play before he retires.”

You take a look at his jersey. He supported the same team you were planning to root for- mainly due to the reason because that is the one that played opposite to your ex’s favorite team. You eyed the two tickets in your purse, feeling a flutter in your stomach- you might not have all that a terrible time today.

“You want to accompany me? I have an extra ticket.” You asked him, already knowing his answer.

“Are you joking right now? Are you another scammer? Please, I don’t have any money left, please don’t play with my feelings.” He seems so innocent; you resist the urge to pull his cheeks.

“I don’t know, do scammers give away tickets for free?” You say cockily, clearly enjoying this too much.

“For free?!?!?!!?” His eyes almost fell out of their sockets. “Why would you do that!?”

“Because I bought these tickets to watch the game with my boyfriend, but he decided to cheat on me and now he’s my ex and I’m at this game alone with an extra ticket in my hand.” You offer him the ticket, “do you mind being my date for tonight?”

“Date?” He asks, his eyes round and expressions eerily similar to a cute puppy.

“You know what I mean!” You cleared your throat. “Anyway, yes or no?”

“YES!”

The entire time you took to reach your seats, your date did not stop talking for even a minute. By now, you knew that he came from a family of four, his best friends were called Jeonghan and Mingyu, none of them had any interest in this sport which is why he was alone. He was not shy around people (evidently so) and his favourite colour was green. It did not get boring though, for some reason. It just made you want to know more about him.

Once you were settled in your seats, you decide to disturb your date from his awe of the view, “You never told me your name.”

“Oh, I’m so sorry, I’m Seokmin. You can also call me Dokyeom.” Seokmin flashes a smile that could soothe a crying baby.

“Why would I call you Dokyeom if your name is Seokmin?”

“It’s actually because my mom and my dad had differ-”

“Never mind, hello, my name is y/n.” You put your hand forward. “Nice to meet you.”

Seokmin smiles again, shaking your hand. You didn’t know the standard time duration of a handshake, but you were sure yours was taking a bit too long. You shyly remove your hand from his, and ask the most embarrassing question of the night, ”So before the game starts, can you tell me a little about the team we’re supporting right now? I know nothing.” You bite your lip, hoping he wouldn’t take offence at the statement.

Seokmin laughs a little, “I will try to let you know as much as possible, but feel free to ask questions even during the game if you want. I like to share my interests, you know.” And off he went, about the players and their positions, and who played the best and who was the weakest and his favorite player who was retiring- and you had to fight yourself to pay attention because all your damn mind could think of at the moment was how kissable his lips are and how endearing he looked with all his excitement. A month without any action and you were already losing your marbles. You nod along with him until the horn goes off signaling the beginning of the match. Seokmin jumps up at the sight of the players and cheers for them, leaving you to wonder how a person can store so much excitement in them.

Gradually, you started getting into it. The complicated sport seemed so easy now, almost too easy. You knew which players were reliable, and you found one or two that you would root for. Everyone around you felt like your childhood friends, cheering for your favourite team. You look at Seokmin, who shook your arm every time something exciting happened in the game, its been an hour since you both had been acquainted, and his wide smile had not budged even for a second. You feel warmth in your heart as you realize, you were having so much fun.

For the first time in thirty days, you were not moping around or crying, but actually smiling, ear to ear at that. Enthusiasm had to be contagious, because if not, why were you yelling at the top of your voice, clapping till your arms hurt and high fiving everyone around you? Maybe it was the atmosphere, maybe it was his beautiful smile, you felt a special fondness towards Seokmin, the kind that made you blush every time he grabbed your hand.

It was the intermission, and both of you were relatively relaxed since your team had been doing pretty well. You were explaining your exact job description to him, since he seemed so curious about everything in your life. Almost like it was his life’s mission to write a biography on you by the end of those three hours. You just noticed how he still hadn’t let go of your hand, when you were interrupted by loud audience cheers; it was the crowd’s favorite pastime: the Kiss Cam.

Personally, you loved things like these. You loved how couples were caught off-guard with their faces on the screen, and then continued to have their own little moment. Embarrassingly enough, you had pictured yourself getting proposed (by your snake of an ex) on one of such instances, where the kiss cam would focus on you both and then he would pull out a ring and-

A particularly loud cheer from people around you woke you up from your thoughts. A part of your imagination had come to life- you were indeed on the kiss cam screen. With Seokmin at that. You both meet eyes and you feel awkwardness seizing every nerve of yours. While he is busy calming down the crowd with hands, making the ‘X’ gesture and shaking his head politely, you wonder if this was an opportunity to do what you had been wishing to do all this time. As the crowds’ cheers of “Kiss him! Kiss him!” get louder (have people always been so nosy?), you grab him by his shoulder, whispering in his ear, “Can I kiss you?”

He smiles softly, putting his warm hand on your neck, “I was hoping you’d ask.”

He closes the gap between you two by putting his lips on yours, pulling you in by the back of the neck. You could hear the crowd react, but you didn’t care- your senses were overloaded by his expensive perfume and how good his lips felt on yours. You deepened the kiss, your hands around his neck, playing with his hair. He puts an arm around your waist, pulling you closer than possible. His body feels hot and perfect to yours it feels to good to be true. That is until a middle-aged woman coughed loudly behind you, forcing both of you to pull away.

People were now minding their own business, looking put off even, by the overboard of affection portrayed by you. These were the same people that put you in that spot in the first place, you scoffed at the thought. You turned to Seokmin, who was already looking at you with the most doe-eyed gaze possible. You giggle, “What is it? What do you want to say?”

“Would you go out on a date with me? Like officially?” He bites his lips, as if he doesn’t know the obvious answer.

“Sure,” you smile cockily, “but you’re paying.”

“I’ll pay for every date ever if it means I get to kiss you again.”

[ratatatastic]

"Local kid makes good. Matthew Tkachuk, Stanley Cup Champion. So how does that sound? Stanley Cup Champion?" "I think it sounds better and better each time I'm hearin' it. It's been—I think—almost 2 months, I don't even know? Time has been flyin' but it just—each day is more and more incredible thinkin' about it." "So you're here to throw out the first pitch with Jayson Tatum, you're both Chaminade proud, like, you knew each other back then, you were friends in high school, and you're still friends—tell me about that relationship." "Yeah, it's been really incredible watching him—I think we both started out in the league very similar years. I might've been a year before when he was at College but it's been absolutely incredible to follow along his journey, and his career. I still keep in touch every now and then. I know we've played Boston the last few playoffs and he's been to a few of the playoff games for me. I went to one of his playoff games last year when we were in Boston. So really, really cool just to watch him, it was really cool to see him play in person. I'm excited to see him, and throw out that pitch with him today."

los angeles dodgers @ st louis cardinals pregame | 8.18.24 (x)

"When you guys were younger—both obviously stand-out athletes—did you ever imagine you would be a Stanley Cup Champion one day? And he would win a NBA Championship with the Celtics? Did that ever cross your minds?" "No, I mean, he was way better at his sport than I was at my sport when we were that young... I think I had a pretty good idea that he was gonna be a star basketball player. I guess you don't really think about Championships at that time of your life. You always dream about it but do you really think its gonna happen? And for us to do it, you know, within a week or however long apart from each other, it just—what a great time for all of our friends and family, and people that are just supporting us in St. Louis. I feel like St. Louis with not having teams to—you know, in their city to root for, I feel like they really kind-of hopped on and rooted for us and the Celtics. That made us, especially being from here, made us feel really special." "City was behind ya, one hundred percent! Let's talk about the final. You guys were up three-zip, it goes to a Game 7. What's that like?" "It's not supposed to be easy! I feel like it wouldn't have made sense or worked if it, you know—wasn't that scenario. It was always gonna be a long series. For us to win the first 3 and then lose the next 3—I mean, that wasn't ideal but at the end of the day we were comin' back to our incredible fans in Florida for a Game 7 Stanley Cup Final. What an incredible environment! That is a dream game! You always talk about the Game 7s when you're younger, and those are the moments you dream of, and I got to live out a dream this year." "What was it like sharing it with your pop? You know in the postgame coverage, I see your dad all over the place, your brother, your sister, your mom—what was it like sharing it with them?" "It was amazin'! Just handin' the Cup to my dad on the ice afterwards was super special there—the moment where he was actually in the locker room after the game when, you know, friends and family were startin' to come down, and I got to hand it to him, we got to beer-shower him, he got to lift it up in front of all my teammates, they were all goin' nuts for him too! Because they know that he played such a long time, and unfortunately wasn't able to win one in his playing career but I think he would've, you know, traded that all and done it exactly the way it happened for one of his boys to win it. It was such a family—It was such an incredible time for our whole family and I'm so lucky to have such great support from them." "Fun to watch too! Last thing before we let you go. You look good in the Cardinals red, Cardinals cap—there was a time where your dad, Big Walt, liked the Red Sox... please tell me you're a Cardinal fan..." "I am a Cardinal fan! Yeah, that time is—I was a big David Ortiz fan so when he was on the team like he was...him and Albert [Pujols] were my two favourites so it's actually pretty cool I got to hang out with Albert over summer in a golf tournament—the ACC tournament out in Lake Tahoe. He was one of my sports heroes! Yeah, I've been a Cardinals fan ever since I can remember with Albert." "Congratulations on getting the Cup, thanks for the chat!" "Yep, thank you!"

[fiapartridge]

catching fire au | devils' golden girl

jack hughes x hockey!player

summary: jack and riley have a conversation during training camp and surprise! it doesn't end up with them making out on the ice...

warning(s): jack's an asshole (again!)

a/n: this one's short! but i love their little conversation there's so much tension between them. i can't wait until they're like super flirty and he's like fingering her under a table or something LMAO

taglist (send in an ask or dm me if u wanna be on the taglist for this au!): @hockeyboysarehot @lunnnix

SECT. I: TRAINING CAMP DAY TWO.

THE RINK WAS cold and empty. Only a couple of stragglers roamed around the practice facility, making sure the doors were safely secured to its hinges, the ice was resurfaced, and the pucks were in their correct placement. The red and white banners hung along the walls echoed greatness, providing a sort of unease in the pit of Riley’s stomach. She knew she was great; she deserved this, but had the doubts gotten to her head just the tiniest bit? Definitely.

Leaving her helmet on the bench, Riley skated a couple rounds on the ice, getting a feel for the area before everyone would come barreling in, making this space their own. Yesterday was overwhelming to say the least. The guys were fast—faster than any of the players in the NCAA—and they were much stronger. She was scared that Jack’s words were going to turn out being true; that Tom, who had taken a chance on Riley when everyone else had doubts, and Lindy, who was one of the only people who treated her like all of the other players during the game yesterday, were going to find out that she’s not what they wanted for this team. Or worse, they were going to ship her off to Utica and she wouldn’t even be in the NHL anymore.

She must’ve gotten lost in thought because when she turned around, she wasn’t the only person on the ice anymore. 

“Saw your pics.” Riley scoffed upon hearing his voice, Jack Hughes. Jack had that voice that made you look. His voice was distinct: mid-tone, but not childish but not exactly adult-sounding. He was dressed in black sweats and a thin gray Devils quarter zip, a stick in his hands and a puck at his feet. “Looks like you’re the Devils’ golden girl now, huh?”

With an eye roll, she glided ahead. “Jealous?”

“Of the 32nd pick in the draft?” He wrinkled his face, shrugging. “Think I’m fine where I am.”

Swiftly stealing the puck from his stick and seamlessly transferring it to her own, Riley glided around the boy, watching his expression morph into a sign of annoyance. “You know, I always wondered why only one brother showed up to Luke’s games at Michigan,” she smirked, emitting a disapproving ‘tsk’ sound as she skated up and down the ice. “But you know, it kinda makes sense now. His other brother just had too much of an ego to show up for someone he loved.” Drawing near to the boy, she leaned in, just close enough for her words to burrow beneath his skin. “I mean you…by the way,” she slyly grinned. 

Jack furrowed his brows, rooted in place as he observed the girl effortlessly skate circles around him. “You don’t know anything about me,” he retorted.

Riley shook her head. “I know you’re not exactly a physical player, unless it’s when you’re coming after, well…me,” she chuckled. “Your core and lower-body strength can be compared to any kid in juniors, and your puck protection,” she gestured to the puck at her feet, the one she swiped from Jack the moment he hit the ice, “is abysmal at best. And I don’t even want to mention your skating because…I think we all know how bad that one is.”

Infuriated, Jack skated towards Riley, his eyes ablaze with envy. "And what about you, huh? You can't play defense, your puck handling is all wrong, and it's as if you've never been on a team in your entire life. College hockey might have gone easy on you, but welcome to the big league. Not everyone is going to be as forgiving."

“I appreciate your concern—”

“Not concern,” Jack cut off.

Riley’s smirk only grew. “I’m not scared of a couple of big guys. And what are you? 5’7?”

Jack rolled his eyes. “I’m 5’11.”

She hummed in response, angering him further. Skating closely, she placed a hand on his shoulder. Whispering, allowing the weight of the moment to linger in his mind, she said, "See ya later, Jacky."

[royallyprincesslilly]

Title: Message My Heart {One Shot}

Lewis Hamilton x Famous Reader

Warning: Cursing, Heavy Angst, Some Fluff, PLENTY OF WORDS,

Words: 8.2k

Summary: You are a famous and jaded singer. You’ve closed yourself off from others and even experiences. However, one unexpected comment changes everything.

Note: Let's pretend we all can't recognize or man in .2 seconds from a super pixelated shot of his forehead alone. Let's pretend that we never followed this man a day in our lives. LOL

As always, thank you for reading! I appreciate it!

If you enjoyed this, please, LIKE, COMMENT, REBLOG!!!

***NOT Edited/Proofread***

~~~~~~~~

You'd posted this on a whim, as a joke and nothing serious. It was a night you should have been kept away from your socials, a night of heavy drinking, illicit smoke passing your lips, and hours and hours of dancing until your legs were sore and the bottoms of your feet were numb. A night of laughs, tears, anger, and joy. A night all in the hopes of forgetting the loneliness of your existence.

Though you were never alone you always felt it. You were always surrounded by at least 10 people at any given time, always having someone snap your picture, scream your name, begging for an autograph, for you to smile, for you to pose this and that way, for a moment of your time, your voice, your heart, your life.

It was exhausting always being on display like you were 24/7 entertainment and not a person. Everyone believed you belonged to them and hence you had no right to privacy, no right to be human or left alone. Everything was always so intense and fast-paced, so sexualized and impersonal. You guessed it was the price to pay for the life you chose because of the vocal talent you possessed and oftentimes you believed you had no right to complain because you had chosen this, though you had no idea what this really was all those years ago.

You groaned, wrapped your fur blanket around your naked figure then took a heady sip of your mimosa. Then you scrolled through the comments underneath your post. You rolled past comment after comment of men giving you their sexual fantasies which ranged from mild to very depraved. You were beyond shocked that people would actually speak filth like this on social media for the world to see and not feel shame.

As you scrolled, you also noted how most of those sexual fantasies were deleted. That told you that your social media team was on it and doing the job they were paid handsomely for.

Your ringing phone drew your attention and without looking you knew it was your manager. You sighed then answered.

"Yeah."

"What were you thinking posting that? What did you think would happen?"

"I wasn't thinking."

"Damn right you weren't. The ways that statement could be taken."

"It's not like it was meant the way it was taken! Look I am not going to apologize for the depravity and lewdness of most of the male population. I will not take responsibility for that, nor do I deserve you calling me to belittle me about it."

With that, you ended the call. He was on thinner ice than he'd ever been before. You were ready to fire his ass before but now you were past ready. Your anger tried to overtake you but you recited the mantra you'd learned from your Balinese getaway where had a strong spiritual awakening that made you confront just how bad a shape you were in.

It took 7 repetitions but at the end of them, you felt more rooted in your strength. You continued scrolling rolling your eyes at comments that were weird or cringe then your finger hovered over the screen as a particular comment caught your eye.

Blessedbeyondmeasure44: Take you away from everyone who makes those beautiful eyes empty and sad so I can gently caress and love away the pain that shines through wrapped around the lyrics of every slow song you put out that your voice so hauntingly expresses to the world. I would just simply love you for all you are that you hide from the world and all you wish to be that you fear you can never be.

For a very long time, you sat there staring at the words in a complete daze. You sat there so long that you actually forgot to breathe. When your chest burned and your head got light, you gasped filling your lungs. You then read the comment again.

Holy shit, you thought.

Who was this person? So many things raced through your mind. Was this just some random person, some random response? Did they know you? How was everything he said so on point? They'd seen through your eyes. Heard the pain. Slowly you began hyperventilating but quickly you got yourself under control. Who was this?

You clicked their name but found their account on private. You contemplated messaging them but quickly decided against it. It was stupid to do.

So you went about your day fulfilling your obligations and doing everything you normally would. Smiled for the cameras, posed for pictures, signed endless autographs, chatted with fans, kept everything PC, shook hands, and gave the people what they so thought they were owed. Every bit of yourself.

However, as your day progressed and winded down you couldn't stop thinking about the comment, and the more you thought about it, the more your curiosity increased. So by the time you were on your way home for the night, you went back on social and sent a follow request before you chickened out, then closed the app.

Though you tried to forget it, you didn't. So as you ate dinner, watched TV, showered, did a little work then wrote some lyrics you had it in the back of your head. When you checked it you couldn't help but smile as you found your request had been approved. However not much was posted in the way of a face. There were plenty of animal pictures, landscapes, and abstract things but nothing to tell you who this person was.

So with nothing to quell your curiosity, you backed off of their page ready to close the app all together when a red '1' appeared indicating you'd received a message. It took all of 5 seconds for you to open it.

Blessedbeyondmeasure44: Didn't imagine this would be the end of my day when I started it.

You smiled. Hell neither did you.

You: Me neither.

Blessedbeyondmeasure44: To what do I owe the pleasure?

You thought about your possible response. You couldn't just tell the truth...could you? After some minutes you bit the bullet.

You: Why did you comment that?

You watched the three dots appear and disappear 5 times as you anxiously waited for their reply. You imagined all the things they could say, all the ways you'd possibly misread the situation and made a wrong decision. Just when you thought you couldn't take it anymore, came a lengthy response.

Blessedbeyondmeasure44: I was just being honest and some more honesty would be that I've been following you for a long time and been a fan for about the same time and there is something about you. Something ethereal, something poetic and hypnotizing.

You: Ah. Another fan of my looks. Okay. I get it.

Blessedbeyondmeasure44: This has nothing to do with your looks and everything to do with your aura. To be truthful I am convinced you look 1000 times better without the layers of makeup and lashes. It cheapens your beauty. The glow around you has changed over the years. It began beautiful and golden and has morphed into copper, then rust, now it is barely visible and just a shimmery black as if you are a former shell of who you were.

Talk about a stab in the gut. You read their words over and over and thought back to something the Dali said in Bali. It was something similar, something just as profound. A shiver rushed through you producing goosebumps along your flesh.

Blessedbeyondmeasure44: I posted that comment because I saw you and wanted you to know it. I wanted you to know that while the world wants something--everything from you I want nothing but to give something to you.

The tears in your eyes made your lids heavy. You fought the inevitable struggling to keep them at bay.

You: And what's that?

The reply was lightning quick as if he knew you'd ask.

Blessedbeyondmeasure44: Safety and love.

That was it. That was all it took for your bottom lid to give up and release the floodgates. Your tears cascaded down your cheeks and they didn't stop for long minutes that turned into hours until you'd cried yourself to sleep.

~~~~~

-12 Weeks Later-

A stranger's kind words to a random drunken post ended up being a gift from the universe. Every time you talked which was every day now he put you at ease. It was like having the worst case of poison ivy that nothing soothed but that one salve you decided to try on a whim. He was that salve and every time you spoke his effect was one that mystified you.

Your moods improved, intrusive thoughts decreased, and depression staved off. Hell, even your outlook had changed. Once everything was bleak. You saw the worst in everyone and everything. You were Ms. Pessimistic always with the defensive wall because you expected everyone you encountered to be trash. Now, that outlook had changed and because of the chance you were giving him and him not fumbling it was slowly changing your mind about people.

When you asked him what his motives were, he simply said to be your friend because you looked like you needed one of those more than someone to tell you how beautiful you are or break your back. That answer floored you. Never had you had a man who wanted to be your friend as opposed to something else--something more.

So friends was what you became. He became one of your biggest supporters always cheerleading you on through social media. He was the ever-present positivity your negative mind craved. His light and vibe were contagious and soon they'd infiltrated your whole outlook. He even got you into jogging, which you hated. Every morning at the ass crack of dawn you were jogging together sending snapshots of the view you were zipping by, short text messages throughout, and even voice messages.

You often decompressed together either watching a movie, playing against one another on gaming platforms, or just doing the same activities in your own towns. Through it all, you still didn't know what he looked like still didn't know who he really was and though you were curious, you also were afraid to rock the boat.

When your friends found out about him they often badgered you into figuring out who he was. They even offered to do a deep dive investigation on social to figure it out. You knew they could crack the case in a few hours but again the fear told you not to.

"What are you afraid of?"

It was a good question that one of your best friends, Alaana, asked as you sat with both of them in your theater room watching the latest release on Netflix. Twiddling your fingers, you avoided her eyes.

"Do you think he's a perv?"

Your other friend, Takia, gasped as she shot upright. "That he's a catfish?"

"Who is he catfishing as? She doesn't even know who he is let alone if he looks like who he says he is," Alaana pointed out.

"So what is it? Afraid he's butt ugly?"

The two cackled together as if they were the best stand-up comedians alive while you gave them your best unamused expression.

"Just tell us," Alaana whined.

"Rocking the boat."

They stared at you in confusion which made you even more frustrated. With a kiss of your teeth and a sigh you continued.

"Disillusionment. What if finding out who he is or what he looks like rocks the boat and destabilizes everything? What if things change and not for the better? Like I have no idea how this man I know nothing about was able to--"

"Bring back the Y/N before you got famous and jaded?"

The three of you nodded and sat there in silence for a few moments as if giving that silence to your former self as a show of sorrowful recognition.

"He hasn't even done anything. He's just been...there."

"The universe usually brings us what we need at the time we need it. What if he is what you need?"

"I've thought about that the last few weeks. I don't know how but somehow the way I think of him has changed. I daydream about him and get giddy when I think of him. I don't remember this with anyone else and it's weird because I don’t know him in the slightest."

"You like him," Takia accused.

"I don't know him."

"Girl, please. You've been talking to this man every day for the last 3 months. Every day. You know his routine, know his likes, dislikes, and dreams. You know him so just take the next step. Maybe you guys can make things work past friends. His first initial message to you was that he would love away the pain and love all you are that you hide from the world and all you wish to be that you fear you can never be."

Hearing his earliest words spoken made goosebumps skirt across your skin. They still affected you, still made you weak.

"No lie at first I thought it was creepy but seeing how pure and innocent it has turned it doesn't make me cringe anymore. I think at least find out who he is then decide."

"What if he's some normal guy who is like a doctor or teacher?"

"Would that make you think twice?"

"Normal people don't do well in this world. It's hard to understand and adjust to."

"Or maybe he is in this world."

"Making anything work in this world sucks especially if they are already in it."

"Which is the more appealing one?"

Just then your notifications went off. Checking it, you found a new message from him.

Blessedbeyondmeasure44: I'm sorry I'm on a business trip and it has been a crazy day. I'm all yours now. How are you?

You smiled and typed out a reply.

You: No need for sorries. I can't expect to have you all to myself 24/7

Blessedbeyondmeasure44: And why not? It's nothing short of what you deserve.

Lite fluttering butterflies took over your stomach making you burrow deeper into the couch.

You: So are you saying if I want you 24/7 then you're mine?

Blessedbeyondmeasure44: Even if you don’t want me I’m yours.

"Oh my god," Alaana squealed.

Glancing back, you found Alaana peeping over your right shoulder and Takia over your left. Both had literal heart eyes.

"Ask for a picture," Takia badgered.

"Tell him you'll send one too," Alaana backed up.

Shaking your head, you chewed your bottom lip trying to stick to your guns though the curiosity was killing you. Just then, another message came through.

Blessedbeyondmeasure44: Scared you off?

You chewed more intently on your bottom lip as you thought over his words. You weren't scared in the slightest.

You: It takes more than that to scare me.

Blessedbeyondmeasure44: Good to know. So the real question is, could you--would you want me?

Seconds later, an image came through and you sat there dazed staring into the most beautiful pair of brown eyes you'd ever seen.

"Wooooow," Alaana and Takia said in unison.

"That there is a beautiful man," Takia added.

She was right. Though you could only see his eyes you could see that they were kind eyes and kind eyes said a lot about someone. It had been a long time since you'd looked into a pair of kind eyes and now faced with his, you wanted nothing more than to stare into them for the foreseeable future.

"Holy Shit," you exclaimed.

"Right. Girl, I can tell he fine. I can tell these things. You can see it in the nose bridge. That's a nose bridge of a fine piece of man," Alaana said.

"The nose bridge? Come on Lana, I would have said the eyebrows and the lashes. Like, did he go to the lash bar or something? I'm jealous," Takia added.

You heard them but nothing was registering. His eyes held you captivated.

Blessedbeyondmeasure44: Take your time. I'll wait.

And wait he did. Your friends booed you for not answering with a resounding "hell yeah", but you didn't let it phase you. Tucking your phone away, you tried your best to focus on the rest of the movie while ignoring the big elephant trunk sticking out of your phone as if to remind you what was happening in it. You didn't need the reminder. Your mind was already thinking and overthinking the exchange.

By the time your friends had gone to sleep it was almost 2 in the morning and no matter how you tried, sleep evaded you. So with your phone in hand, a bottle of wine in the other you trekked to the pool and set yourself up. It took less than 5 minutes for you to end up back on your messages. 6 hours had gone by since his last message. 6 hours you'd left him on read. 6 hours you'd thought about his words. You pressed the audio record button then sighed.

"Even before you sent that picture...I could and would want you."

Your finger hovered over the send button and it was fear again that stood in your way. So as you did 12 weeks ago, you took a deep breath, closed your eyes, and pressed send. After, you dropped your phone on the lounger, grabbed the bottle of wine, and took a hearty gulp of the sweet red liquid. This brand had a higher alcohol content than most of your whites which meant it would be the best 'no thinking' wine for you. It would make it easy to relax and just exist in the moment. You leaned back and gazed into the sky. You were far enough away from the lights and glitz of the city that you could see the stars and tonight you were glad for it.

Releasing a sigh of contentment, you realized it had been years since you felt this calm. It was easy to get lost in the view which is what you did. By the time your notifications went off again, you'd had half the bottle of wine. It was a voice message.

His normally deep voice was even deeper now. He sounded as if he'd just woken up or was very intoxicated and in the mood for nothing but sin. You pressed your knees together as a sensation you hadn't felt in years washed over you--desire. Who in the fuck was this man to have this power, you wondered incredulously.

"Wow. I honestly didn't expect you to reply. I'm pleasantly surprised."

Smiling you took another mouthful of wine.

"Sorry it took so long."

"It's all good. No need to apologize. I understand you better than you think."

"How exactly? You've never met me."

"I actually did, once. It was in passing and I guess I didn't make an impression so..."

Your eyes bugged as you wracked your brain trying to figure out if you'd seen his eyes before. There was no way you'd forget eyes like those.

"Trying to think over all the people you've met through your life to see if you remember me?"

He sounded amused.

"I was trying to figure out how I could not remember eyes like yours. Since I don't think it's possible I'm going to say you're full of shit."

The recording that came next put the biggest smile on your face and set those butterflies flapping again. His laugh was a thing for masturbation.

"Real talk though."

"So safe to say you're not a teacher or CEO of some major company."

"Ha, no not a teacher. As for a CEO of some major company...that's pretty accurate."

You continued to think over who he could possibly be but nothing was sticking. The only thing that was sticking was more and more curiosity and confusion.

Blessedbeyondmeasure44: As I said before. You'll know when you're ready and when you are ready...really ready for me I will be there.

You stared at his words. They were words he’d sent before. Words he'd patiently abided by. Words he apparently meant. Your heart in your chest purred as of it were blissfully soothed and content. Staring back up at the stars you gaped in wonderment.

"Wow."

~~~~~~~

-4 Weeks Later-

You: I'm ready.

You stared at the message you'd sent 30 minutes ago. You couldn't believe you'd mustered up the courage to send it let alone actually meant it. In the last 16 weeks, there had been more than enough things that were working for him than against him. He was kind, funny, patient, funny, gentle, honest, gracious, spoke of his faith in things in such a way that instilled faith in you. You'd gone from not seeing the point in continuing if emptiness was all that awaited you to wanting the next day to come so you could experience new things through and with him.

Takia asked you a week ago if you'd fallen in love with him and though you were apprehensive to give her any response your heart lurched and thudded even more strongly within your chest. Since then, you'd thought even more about meeting him.

Today you woke with a stronger desire to meet him, touch his skin and see if he smelled how you imagined, like vanilla, cedar, spiced and fragrant musk, an open field of lavender, and lemon thyme and ripe citrus. You just wanted to be in the same room to see if you were romanticizing a stranger for his kind words or if there was really something there.

"You'll be late if we don't leave now," your new manager Iyla said.

Since firing your old manager and having Iyla come in who was always in his shadow because of how obnoxious he was you'd felt better and better about your career. She'd really stepped up in the past few weeks and showed you what you already suspected, that she was good at what she did and was a much better fit for you.

Once you were out of the hotel and in your car on your way to the venue you were set to perform at, you harmonized your new song trying to make sure you had everything right. It was partly because of how much of a perfectionist you were but also to distract yourself from the silence on his end from your message.

You tried not to think that he'd seen it and left you on read or that he was not on the same page as you anymore or that he'd changed his mind about you. There were so many thoughts and possibilities running through your head that work was the only way to quiet them.

20 minutes later you arrived at the Versace show where you were going to perform. This would be a first where live music was used for the models to walk the runway rather than backtrack. When Donatella had approached you with the idea you leaped at the chance. Half of your closet was filled with Versace so there was no way you'd pass this up.

"This is so iconic," Iyla said as she readjusted your altered vintage Versace dress. The material fit you like a glove and accentuated all your striking features.

"You will be the first ever to perform at a Versace show, hell any show that isn't the VS shows. You are about to break into another layer of this atmosphere, forget the stratosphere," Iyla said with a wide smile.

There was something about her that always made you comfortable. Her vibe always gave off excited and caring big sister and you loved that.

"Are you nervous?"

You wiggled your hand to show her how in the middle of the fence you were.

"Don't be. You look amazing and we already know your voice is sublime. Talk about an Indica trip."

You smiled already feeling calmer. As you walked the black and gold carpet you smiled for the cameras and did a few interviews. Overall everyone was looking forward to the performance and the show. Across the way, you heard a commotion. The photographers went into a tizzy and fans that were mingled together across the street looking on screamed. It sounded like a K-pop concert instead of a fashion show. People loved fashion but they didn't get this crazy for it.

Carning your neck you tried to see what the fuss was all about and instead saw fans losing their ever-loving shit.

"Oh my god, it's Lewis Hamilton," one screamed.

You'd heard the name plenty of times but you'd never paid much attention. All you knew was he was British and did some kind of sport. You watched on as he stepped up on the carpet and posed in his all-black outfit. You watched on for a few moments curious as to what all the hype was. He was too far away for you to make out much of his features but from what you could make out, you had to admit he was attractive.

Though you felt Iyla tapping you to tell you it was time to move you couldn't. There was something about him that was so captivating. Alas, you had a performance to kill. You turned and saw Donatella approaching you with a huge smile.

"You look even better than I thought you would."

"That's kind. Thank you but I am only the vessel for this beautiful piece of art you've created."

The photographers screamed for you both to pose so they could get the shot and that is what you did for almost a full 10 minutes. No amount was good enough for them, they wanted more and more and more.

"Ah, Lewis. Come, come, come. Join us!”

You spun and found the same man from a few minutes ago approaching. His smile was wide as he looked at Donatella but when they shifted to you his smile slipped. At the sight of that for some reason, your belly sank. Did he know of you and didn't like you?

As quickly as the smile disappeared it appeared again. He embraced Donatella kissing both her cheeks as he exchanged pleasantries. You caught a whiff of a scent that couldn't be cologne. It had to be him. It was strong but not in an overpowering way. Though he didn't stand too close to you, you could catch notes of spiced wood, and rich floral undertones that smelled as if fragrant flowers had been gently smoked over a fire to unlock their deeper fragrance. He smelled good--mouthwatering even.

Donatella turned to you, "Do you know Y/N? Have you met?"

Your eyes met and instantly the feeling of familiarity washed over you.

"Uh--,” you began.

"No, I've never had the pleasure, Lewis said holding out his hand for yours.

You placed it in his palm and felt the familiarity shake you again in the form of a sharp but almost comforting jolt. Neither of you budged though.

"Are you sure? I swear I feel like I've seen..."

"Trust me if I had ever been properly introduced to you, I'd remember."

His eyes held you locked in place. There was something familiar about them but you knew you'd never met him before. He was right. You were sure you'd remember eyes like his. Lewis suddenly dropped your hand, then slipped to the other side of Donatella to take part in the photos. Then like a thief in the night he was gone. Who was that you thought to yourself.

As showtime approached, you tried to forget the strange encounter and the way your body came alive from his scent. The more you tried to forget the more you focused on it but instead of thinking of the man you'd just met you kept thinking about the one you'd been talking to for the last several months.

A notification came up, sending you to your DMs.

Blessedbeyondmeasure44: Ready for what exactly?

Seeing his message your belly fluttered. It truly had been a while since you'd had a reaction like this to anyone.

You: You know what. Ask me again.

30 seconds ticked by, then a minute, and the whole time you tried not to chew your lip. When another message came in, again your belly flipped.

Blessedbeyondmeasure44: Do you want me?

Seeing the rephrased question instantaneously brought up your anxiety. It was direct on purpose because he wanted an intentional answer. Not a possible or hypothetical one. Oh, you thought. This man was different from any other little boy you'd encountered and every fiber of your being said take a chance.

Unable to resist, you bit down on your bottom lip and chewed forgetting all about your plum-painted lips, and prepared to type your reply but before you could get a letter down Iyla called your name telling you it was showtime.

5 minutes later, you were backstage waiting for your cue. You would be the first to walk out and down the runway as if you were one of the models. You'd then take your seat and begin. You should have been nervous about it but you weren't, you were more nervous about the message you were about to send.

A few of the models gave you hugs and thumbs up for support just before the stage manager gave you a nod for you to go. Once you stepped through the threshold, you took note of just how many people were there. The creative director had done amazingly on the set and ambiance. The large pool in the center of the runway space really was a vibe. The audience instantly erupted in applause as you stuck your beginning pose for dramatic effect.

What a dream you thought as you took your first step down the sleek white platformed runway. There were plenty of little girls who dreamed of this moment and here you were living it. It had been a while since you were open enough to feel gratitude but here and now you felt it in full force. Another thing to credit the man who still hadn't revealed his name for.

As you walked you noted the plethora of celebrities that sat around the runway at their posh-looking garden tables watching every move you made. You saw singers, actors, models, and even athletes from varying fame levels. On your turn, you saw Dwayne Wade who was seated next to Lewis Hamilton. Both men gave you an appreciative and polite head nod as you passed. When you got to the end of the "U" shaped runway you stopped and the audience again applauded you.

Once you were seated behind the piano, you adjusted your microphone and got ready to get down to business. As the first chords of the piano played for the intro you fully gave yourself to the track. A few lines in and the models began walking showing off the art that had taken months to prepare.

The song you'd chosen tonight was new. It was something that had come to you since you'd begun your interactions in your DMs. It was softer than the songs from your last album which was quite heavy. The lyrics were flirtatious, the melody fun and soothing but it was still somehow all you.

20 minutes later you'd sang 4 new songs and was in the middle of a piano solo that would close out the show. When Donatella stepped out after the model precession went by, you added some flair to the solo giving Beethoven and Bach a run for their money. The audience clapped and whistled as you showcased your musical abilities, abilities that had gotten you your current fame and status. Upon the grand finale, you hit the perfect ending chords making Donatella laugh.

The two of you walked on either side of the line of models toward the center of the "U" shaped runway to meet and join hands. She gestured to you making the audience applaud and cheer. You did a dainty curtsy then motioned to Donatella and cheered loudly which promoted those around you to do the same. You stood there allowing the photographers to take pictures for a few moments. When you glanced down you realized you were standing directly in front of Lewis whose eyes were glued to you. The smile on his lips was soft and the look on his face was endearing. You wanted to ask why but you shook it off.

2 hours later after endless pictures, interviews, autographs, and tens of flirtatious men trying to either get your number, get you to give them your number, or convince you to leave with them for the night; you finally had time to yourself. You finished your glass of champagne, leaned on one of the 9-foot tall hedges, and scrolled through your phone.

Blessedbeyondmeasure44: Your voice is still haunting and amazingly beautiful, but your eyes are no longer sad and empty. God, you are gorgeous like this.

Smiling, you took a deep breath.

You: I want you.

You were sure of that now.

Blessedbeyondmeasure44: Are you sure?

You: Yes. I've spent the night having CEOs, oil tycoons, actors, models, athletes, artists, and men from every other profession you can think of flirt with me, attempt to spend the night with me, and try to create some sort of connection only to fail miserably because all I can think of is you and the fact you haven't once flirted with me or tried to convince me to spend the night with you.

Blessedbeyondmeasure44: I didn't know you wanted me to.

You: I didn't either. Now I do. I want you to. I want you to do all of that.

Blessedbeyondmeasure44: What if I don't want to convince you to spend the night with me? Spending the night with you is the least of what I want to do with you.

You: What do you want?

Blessedbeyondmeasure44: I want your days. I want your afternoons. I want your trust. I want your honesty. I want your vulnerability. I want your mind. I want your heart.

Once again he'd stolen your breath.

You: And what do I get in return?

Blessedbeyondmeasure44: I will give you smiles. I will give you laughter. I will give you joy. I will give you honesty. I will give you my days. I will give you my afternoons, my nights. I will give you my loyalty. I will give you trust. I will give you vulnerability. I will give you my mind, my heart, and only when you are sure you can match me I will give you my body and all the passion and fire you can stand.

Wow, you thought.

You: I'm in Cannes for a few days. I fly out the day after tomorrow. How can we meet?

Blessedbeyondmeasure44: Depends. How badly do you want it?

You: I'm not thirsty or anything but a hard 9.

A voice message came through of him laughing. Then another.

"I'm glad you can hide your thirst but I won't. Not anymore. I'm at 100."

It was your turn to send a voice message of you laughing.

Blessedbeyondmeasure44: Glad you find my suffering funny. I'm currently in Cannes too. If you trust me enough we can meet tonight.

Your brows rose. He was in Cannes too? What a coincidence.

You: Tonight then.

Blessedbeyondmeasure44: Tonight.

You felt all sorts of giddy now. It overshadowed the nervousness that was trying to overtake you. Fifteen minutes later, as you left the fashion show venue, another message came through.

Blessedbeyondmeasure44: Vieux Port, 12. Tell this to your driver and they will know where to go.

You smiled then attached a photo of yourself from the night and sent it.

You: Me now so you don't miss me

Blessedbeyondmeasure44: Jeez. You're beautiful Y/N.

You: It is a bit unfair that I still don’t know your name.

Blessedbeyondmeasure44: You'll know when you see me.

You dropped Iyla off at the hotel with an excuse of wanting to sightsee then you took the drive to the port. On the way you texted her the location you would be in case you bumped into trouble. With the window down, you relaxed into the scents of Cannes. Baked goods, salty sea air, citrus, and sand. It all smelled wonderful. You'd been here tens of times before but this was the first time you'd taken time for yourself to mellow out. You were in a completely different headspace than you were on previous trips and it felt so freeing.

15 minutes later, your driver pulled up to find 2 people, a man, and a woman, already waiting there. Your phone vibrated with a notification.

Blessedbeyondmeasure44: I sent Verona and Linus to escort you. They are waiting at the port. I promise you're safe.

Another message came with 2 pictures and vouching credentials. Sighing, you relaxed again. He had thought of everything. As you approached the two they smiled.

"Verona? Linus?"

"Yes. Ms. Y/L/N?”

"Yes."

"Wonderful. Please follow us we will take you to the vessel," Verona said.

As you walked behind them you couldn't help but wonder what vessel and how he'd pulled all this together in less than an hour. Who was he exactly? It took all of 3 minutes until Linus and Verona both stopped in front of a lavish yacht that looked like it was at least 3 stories.

"Whoa."

"Ms. Y/L/N, after you," Linus said with an outstretched arm pointing to the boarding plank ahead.

You stood there for several moments thinking about things again. Were you really going to get on this yacht with someone you’d never met before? Were you really going to be this trusting?

Blessedbeyondmeasure44: I had Verona and Linus provide your driver with the details of this yacht before he left. I've told him to give it to your manager so they know where you will be and how to contact authorities if you aren't returned safely. I’ve also asked them to check in with you every 30 minutes using a code word they choose. I don't want you afraid of me Y/N. If you are afraid I won't think anything of you turning around and we can try this another way, a more public way with your manager present. Whatever you're comfortable with.

You didn't know if it was game or not but his words calmed you. Maybe it wasn't his words and the fact that he thought ahead and provided these securities for you to feel safer. A call from Iyla came through then.

"OMG, Y/N. Wow. I have so many questions and I want all the details later but your code word is Calamari. I will call every 30 minutes."

She sounded excited and you had no idea why.

"Got it."

Just like that, she ended the call. Why was she so excited? You wondered if she knew something you didn't as you put your phone in your bag. With a breath, you crossed the plank and allowed a man dressed similarly to Linus and Verona to lift you onto the yacht.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome. He is waiting on the top deck. Follow this hallway to the steps at the end and up you go," Verona instructed.

With a nod, you were off. As you walked you noted just how luxurious the yacht truly was. Did he own this? If he did he was possibly in or close to your tax bracket. You weren't sure if you should be happy about it or leery. If he was in your tax bracket it could mean he was a celebrity as well. At that thought you paused on the 4th step on the stairs.

You thought about celebs that you'd tried to get to know or date and cringed. All of them were slightly weird with quirks you couldn't handle on top of your schedule and responsibilities. A celebrity relationship took a lot and you didn't know if you could give any of it.

"You're getting ahead of yourself, Y/N."

You took a breath and continued. When you reached the top of the stairs your jaw dropped. There were candles and flowers everywhere. Slowly you looked around and realized they weren't just any flowers, they were your favorite flowers.

"Oh my god," you whispered.

With a step forward you took in your 360 view and you knew that no matter who he was you wanted to try for him. As you looked behind you, you walked backward distracted by the beauty surrounding you. He'd somehow managed all of this in under an hour. Somehow he'd filled the entire top deck with all your favorite things. Your favorite flowers were covering every surface of the floor. Your favorite scented candles were lit and their scent wafting in the air. Your favorite snacks and treats lining the railing on the left. Your favorite fruit lining the right railing.

"He's really been paying attention," you softly said.

"Of course I pay attention. You're important to me."

You stumbled to a stop but kept your back to the voice. You recognized his voice. You recognized it from your messages and even tonight. Suddenly, everything swirled in your mind as it slowly came together.

Hi, Y/N."

You took a deep breath and turned. Your jaw dropped while everything fell into place as you looked into eyes you'd seen before this moment. They were eyes you'd looking into mere hours ago.

"I'm Lewis."

He smiled and your heart skipped a beat but words escaped you. He didn't speak again, he waited with his hands clasped behind his back. He wore the same full black outfit from earlier but he looked even better in it now with the candles and flowers as his backdrop.

"I--you--oh my god. You're--”, you began.

"Blessedbeyondmeasure44? Yes, I am."

The silence stretched for a long moment before you snorted.

"Bullshit."

Lewis chortled in return then let out a chuckle.

"I've said it before but God I love that you have no censor and say the first thing that comes to your mind."

Your eyes bugged. He had said that before.

"No. You're not."

Lewis smiled and took a few more steps to you, "How can I prove it to you?"

"Prove?"

You wracked your brain trying to make sense of this and come up with a way he could make you believe this.

"What was the first thing I said to you in DMs?"

Without hesitation, Lewis spoke, "After you sent a follow request I said I didn't expect that this was how my day would end and you said me neither."

You raised a brow. "What was the last thing we did together?

"We went to the beach. You went to Crystal Cove in Laguna Beach and I went to La Concha because I was in Spain at the time. You sent me a beautiful picture of a cave and said it was one of your secret spots. It was called--.”

"Dana's Point," you finished as he proved his point.

"I can show you the messages, and our pictures including the one you sent earlier so I wouldn’t miss you. I wouldn't miss you though Y/N. You stand out no matter what."

He took another step to you leaving only a few inches between you. He reached out and took your hands.

"I have missed you though. I've missed you in so many moments that I wished you were with me, so many experiences I wished I had with you. I missed you every time a message of yours came in. I even missed you in my dreams."

You lifted your hand and cupped his cheek while staring into his eyes.

"I knew I saw those eyes before. I felt it."

Lewis smiled. "I'm sorry. I didn't want to do this in front of those cameras and the crowd. I'm sorry I wasn't 100% truthful."

You smirked.

"Your message."

Lewis cupped your cheek in return. "Your voice is still haunting and amazingly beautiful, but your eyes--," he paused then cupped your other cheek. Using his thumbs, he softly slid them across your cheekbones. "Your eyes are no longer sad and empty. God, you are gorgeous like this."

Tears welled your eyes and you scoffed.

"Now you flirt with me."

A chuckle fell from his lips and if you hadn't fallen for him before you definitely had now. You hung your head and shook it.

"I am so stupid. This whole time."

"You're not."

"You're Lewis Hamilton. I am sure any other woman would have recognized those eyes. I had no clue. Hell, I don’t know the first thing about you, not really. Yeah, you're a racer but other than that..." you shrugged.

Lewis lifted your head his hands now cupping your skull. It put you on high alert at just how large his hands were. "Hey, love that you had no clue. I love that you don't know me. It was refreshing. I loved these last few months of you knowing me and me knowing you without the extra stuff."

"We know the extra stuff now. Oh my god, from the ruckus on the carpet of the Versace show you're a huge celebrity. How in the world---."

Before you could continue your freak-out Lewis' lips were on yours. It was like you’d stuck your finger in an electrical socket. Your entire body came to life as if his touch was life itself. His soft lips slowly pressed against yours before he opened them enough to take your top lip between his. From there all thought escaped you.

When one of his hands slipped around your waist you moaned unexpectedly. Where had that come from? Your body had no trouble following along. You pressed yourself closer to him relishing the tingles that skirted across your lips and everywhere he touched. Just as you were going to sink your fingers into his braids, Lewis pulled away keeping his forehead to yours.

"Do you want me?"

His voice was low and deep and it wrapped around you pulling you closer to him.

"I-I don’t see how I can have you."

Again Lewis kissed you. This time he delved his tongue into your mouth wrapping it around yours, teasing you to open more for him. When you did it was because you moaned. He took advantage of that opening and kissed you in a way that said he was not letting you go. His moan melded with yours and you felt his other hand tighten as he held your skull. Tearing his lips away, he panted as harshly as you were.

"Do you--want--me? Because I want you Y/N. I want you even knowing the obstacles in our way. I want you more than I have wanted anything in a long time. I want you in ways that surprise me and make me year all at once. I'm not saying this will be a walk through the park. I'm saying I want to walk together with you from this night on. Do you want me too?"

He had to be kidding. Who in their right mind would say no after that? You snorted then laced your fingers together behind his neck thrusting yourself flush against him.

"I want you more than anything. I want you in my life. I want to really run with you though I hate it. I want to go to beaches together and have movie nights truly together. I want to see the same sunrise and sunsets you see. I want to touch your skin like this whenever I want instead of thinking about it. I want to smell you every day. Yes, Lewis. I want you too."

The look in his eyes held you in place as did the tightness of his arms that were now wrapped around your waist holding you possessively against him.

"I can't wait to give you the world Y/N," Lewis said in such a way you knew he meant every word.

"I don't need the world, nor do I want it. I just want you."

His smile was the cutest thing and you knew you'd never get tired of it.

"You have me. Next up...the world."

You smiled then giggled when he lifted you in the air and spun you around. You laughed louder loving the way the sound came from the very depths of you and how authentic it felt. When he put you down you were at the railing looking out to the ocean.

"Started from a DM now we here," Lewis said making you snort.

"Started from a DM soon the whole world will fuckin hear bout it."

Lewis threw his hands up.

"Ayyyy!”

You laughed loudly and soon he joined in. When he wrapped his arms around you again he gazed into your eyes but said no words. Slowly both of you moved closer until your lips softly touched. Neither of you moved. You took the time to savor the feel of your skin connecting in a way your minds and souls already had. A way that he had retaught you, a way that he so patiently and diligently worked for and it all started when he messaged your heart.

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

TagList:

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[charles-leclerizz]

AISHA PATEL

"You walk a fine line between beautifully macabre and uncharacteristically psychotic."

AP77 🇮🇳

Nickname : Phataka [hindi : Firework]

Born : April 13 2002

moodboard

First and only child of Priya Patel & Arham Patel, both Indian born adults.

ESTP

Slytherin

Neutral Evil

Aries Sun , Leo Moon , Gemini Rising

[NOTE!: Thank you so so much to @witchthewriter for natal chart lessons, Hogwarts house, MBTI and the Moral alignment, links and in depth explanations. Made making this character sketch, so much fun!]

Social media

instagram

twitter

twitch

pinterest

spotify

tiktok

Interviews

VOGUE - Racing in Style: Aisha Patel's Fashion Journey

GQ - The Gentleman Racer: Aisha Patel's Grooming Tips

ESQUIRE - Beyond the Checkered Flag: Aisha Patel's Life Off the Track

HARPERS BAZAAR - Beauty Beyond Borders: Aisha Patel's Global Perspective

ELLE - Breaking Barriers: Aisha Patel's Impact on Motorsport

VANITY FAIR - Driven to Succeed: Aisha Patel's Philanthropic Vision

ROLLING STONE - The Soundtrack of Speed: Aisha Patel's Musical Influences

PEOPLE - Family First: Aisha Patel's Personal Journey

TOWN & COUNTRY - Luxury Living with Aisha Patel: Racing in

INTERVIEW MAGAZINE - Artistic Vision: Aisha Patel's Creative Perspective

ALLURE - Trackside Beauty Secrets with Aisha Patel

ARCHITECTURAL DIGEST - Home Sweet Home: Inside Aisha Patel's Racing Residence

FOOD & WINE - Fueling Victory: Aisha Patel's Race Day Recipes

ENTREPRENEUR - Driving Success: Aisha Patel's Business Ventures

TRAVEL + LEISURE - Globetrotting with Aisha Patel: Racing Around the World

HEALTH - Mindful Racing: Aisha Patel's Mental Fitness Routine

FASHIONISTA - Trackside Trends: Aisha Patel's Racing Fashion Forecast

TECH CRUNCH - Driving Innovation: Aisha Patel's Tech-Savvy Approach

TIME - Racing Against Time: Aisha Patel's Journey to Success

OPRAH MAGAZINE - The Power of Positivity: Aisha Patel's Inspirational Story

Introduction

Aisha Patel, born and raised in the United Kingdom to Indian immigrants, Priya and Arham has finally made it to the big leagues! Having nurtured an intense interest in racing and motorsport, often watching Formula One races with her family, her long-time dream is finally coming true.

Her parents, much like most Asians, tried to push their daughter into a more stable profession but soon relented as they watched her skill grow and her flame burn like an inferno.

When it came out that Porsche would be replacing the beloved Haas F1 team on the grid, she jumped at the chance, displaying her racing skills in F3 & F2 by dominating the podiums and impressing a talent scout who hand-picked her for the spot.

Aisha is an ambitious woman, determined and headstrong as she blazes through any blockages that may present themselves whilst consistently pushing herself to the limit both on and off of the track.

Her confidence is infectious as she holds her own candle, always perfecting her skillset whilst embarking on her travels to becoming the first South Asian woman to win a World Drivers Championship. Yet, she remains humble, remembering her roots and maintains a down-to-earth persona that embraces all of those around her.

Driving style

Aisha's driving style is ruthless and aggressive, she becomes a killer when on track as the adrenaline fills her up to her ears and all she can think of being first and staying first.

Although, the young driver has also proven herself to being one of the most calculated on the grid, maintaining her killer instincts whilst upholding an ice cold strategy, whether her race engineers like it or not. She can easily adapt to different tracks and wastes no time in becoming one with the tarmac beneath her wheels.

Yet, she still needs to mature her driving sense, sometimes some fights are not worth it and are not worth sacrificing a front wing for. Her predator like rivalries can sometimes leak over into post-race cool downs, and it has been observed, one too many times that she has been squaring up drivers who made, in her words, "A wrong fucking move, and cost [her] a podium." despite their seasoned years in the game, and her lack thereof.

Radio Snippets

[NOTE! : Graphic created by me [@charles-leclerizz]]

📍Australia, Melbourne

⎯ AP77 : “Guys, is it just me, or did I just see a kangaroo trying to overtake me? What's the strategy for dealing with wildlife on the track?”

📍Monaco, Monte Carlo

⎯ AP77 : “Can someone remind me which one is the gas pedal and which one is the brake? I feel like I'm playing Dance Dance Revolution with these hairpins.”

📍Canada, Montreal

⎯ AP77 : “These curves are more confusing than deciphering my ex's cryptic texts. Can we dial up some clarity with the next strategy update-”

📍Austria, Spielberg:

⎯ AP77 : “Yodeled my way through the last turn like a true Alpine pro. Can we add some lederhosen decals for good luck?”

📍Italy, Monza:

⎯ AP77 : “These curbs are bumpier than a rollercoaster. Can we add some extra suspension or a chiropractor on standby?”

📍Japan, Suzuka:

⎯ AP77 : “Think I found Godzilla's cousin on Turn 3. Can we arrange a family reunion after the race?”

📍USA, Austin:

⎯ AP77 : “Can we paint the car like a cowboy hat for the next race? Yeehaw vibes for extra speed.”

📍Brazil, Interlagos:

⎯ AP77 : “I may have mistaken the Senna S for a dance floor. Can we get some rhythm in the next set of turns?”

📍Mexico, Mexico City:

⎯ AP77 : “Trying to break the lap record to earn a lifetime supply of tacos. ”

📍Belgium, Spa-Francorchamps:

⎯ AP77 : “Eau Rouge, more like Eau Confusion with all these ups and downs. Can we add a rollercoaster warning sign for the next lap? ”

📍Netherlands, Zandvoort:

⎯ AP77 : “Feeling more like I'm dodging tulips than racing on a track. Can we add some windmills for the full Dutch experience? Over.”

honourary tags [for special pookies] : @disneyprincemuke, @weekendlusting, @woozarts, @mellowarcadefun.

[mrdogface]

So I finished Birds of Prey (1996 - 2009).

Highs:

known unrepentant homophobe Chuck Dixon accidentally wrote a pretty incredible bi sapphic story during his tenure on Birds of Prey, although much of the queering does come from the artists working on the books. We all know the “call me Barbara” moment – apparently, after the audience reaction to that, Dixon started leaving notes for artists like “be careful and make sure the audience doesn’t misinterpret this scene” lol. 

imo, the realization of Helena Bertinelli’s arc happens in the Birds of Prey. She is finally removed from an environment where she needs and is actively craving Batman’s approval, and she ends up thriving, infiltrating the mob and earning the “good work” from Bruce. Personally, I would’ve preferred if her character moved completely away from Bruce’s opinions of her, and it kind of does, but Gail SImone does close that arc off by giving it to her. 

Gail Simone uses the series as a who’s who of women in DC, showcasing a number of minor and often underrated women, from returning classic characters like Ice to giving Zinda Blake / Lady Blackhawk a second chance at comics relevance (Lady Blackhawk’s best story in the Birds of Prey, imo, happens under Tony Bedard, concluding the character’s arc from her 1950s roots). 

Infinity, introduced very late in Bedard’s time on the team, is a severely underrated nonstarter superhero and it is criminal she never went anywhere. Weird ambiguously Australian ghost girl? Hello??

Barbara as a character who learns to accept her disability. A lot of people, including Dixon and Simone, tend to point out that Barbara learns to be a superhero in spite of her disability, but that’s not the interesting part imo. I think the more interesting story here is that they almost accidentally cobbled together a very genuine character arc of Barbara initially being insecure and doubtful that she’ll be perceived as an equal, as romantically desirable, as a real leader in the superhero world, all this stuff, due to the chair. What we end up seeing is her growth into someone who realizes she’s accepted within the bubble of people who are relevant to her, and that the bigotry of people who aren’t can be made irrelevant simply by building one’s life without them. Her disability isn’t written as saccharine inspiration porn (I think it actually veers too far in the other direction at times; at its worst, it’s a point of grimdark melodrama lol) and it isn’t something she “overcomes” in the classic superhero sense of getting a magical wheelchair or psychic powers, and imo in the superhero genre that’s rare and valuable. The execution isn’t perfect but for me it’s very close. 

Lows:

Chuck Dixon makes Barbara and Power Girl do an accidental war crime lmao. dw, both DC editorial and the fanbase ignore this and the less said about it the better.

Dixon really likes James Bond, Indiana Jones (surprising because Indie keeps beating up his friends) and other travel-adventure stories, so throughout his run Black Canary keeps ending up in exotic locations… and judging the people there, before doing some insane “World Policing.” The racism is uhhhhhhh

Simone ties the Birds into the wider DC universe and it does, frustratingly, hit a point where you need to be either really up-to-date with other books or cracking open google to know who a lot of characters even are. This is kind of just how DC works in the mid-2000s, frustratingly. She’s also forced to work with a lot of off-screen deaths, like Ted Kord’s death should be an enormous thing for Barbara, but we have deadlines to keep and we can’t be certain people have been keeping up with Jaime Reyes, so gogogogo

Misfit and Black Alice. They never worked for me. I hate Misfit’s whole archetype of zany comics fan who acquires powers. Making her Jason Todd-adjacent by giving her the sad homeless backstory did not sell me on her and felt like a cheap attempt to make a nonstarter character function. Black Alice’s whole thing devolves into a “stay on your meds, emo kids” PSA. Just very clumsy 30-somethings-writing-teens material. 

the last arc, set in DC Silicon Valley, kind of sucks. The Calculator isn’t an interesting villain to me. The chemistry between characters after Dinah leaves never feels right. 

it all ends with Barbara believing she's lost her edge, writing a signed note, peacing out, and dumping her adopted homeless kid friend on Helena after getting her ass kicked by the Joker. The last page: Ganthet lamenting that she's in a wheelchair, "to be continued in Oracle: The Cure." oy.

[tobiasdrake]

Digimon Adventure 01x35 - The Fairy of Odaiba! Lilymon Blooms / Flower Power

Previously on Digimon Adventure: Vamdemon didn't even realize he had the ultimate Chosen Children Collector's Item in his possession until he'd already taken it out of the package. Amateur move. Can you really even call yourself a Chosen Children fandom nerd if you can't even name all eight Partner Digimon? What a scrub. Fake nerd vampire.

This is another episode that I've been eagerly waiting for! Now, at long last, it's time for the best evolved Digimon in the show to debut. Yes, even the Ultimates/Megas.

We open on the Rainbow Bridge. Traffic is congested due to Vamdemon's fog bank, slowing traffic both for drivers and for the public transit system.

Tachikawa Keisuke, Mimi's dad, is on his way back to Odaiba. He checks his watch and sighs. It's 9:02 PM.

Keisuke: I'm screwed.... Announcement: Please excuse this interruption in your travel plans, but the train must slow down due to heavy fog.

We find Vamdemon up on top of the Fuji Broadcasting Center or FCG, which overlooks Tokyo Bay across from Daiba Park. Vamdemon is performing an eerie incantation with his hands, conjuring up the fog bank.

Vamdemon: Soon this fog barrier will be complete. Then this land will turn into Hell. Hmhmhmhm Ah Ha Ha Ha Ha....

In the dub:

Keisuke: (checks watch) Oh boy.... Announcement: Due to the continuing heavy fog, we'll be experiencing some delays up ahead. Please bear with us. (Cut to FCG Building) Vamdemon: Ha! It's almost done. Huhuhuhahahahaha!!! Soon now, not in fire or ice but in fog, this world will be mine! Huhuhuhahahaha HUHUHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

Kinda feels like "this world will end" would be the natural follow-up to "not in fire or ice but", but maybe that's just me.

Out in the playground late at night, Mimi is feeding Palmon. Unlike the other Partner Digimon who can just eat leftovers from their Partner's dinner, Palmon has to plant her roots in the dirt.

She's not impressed.

Palmon: Tokyo's soil doesn't taste very good. Mimi: Guess what? This place used to be part of the sea. Palmon: ... Mimi: ^_^ Here, you can have this. Palmon: Thank you!

Mimi's little anecdote there is an attempt to explain why Palmon's not enjoying the soil. Odaiba is a man-made island constructed from transported soil, some shipped in and some drudged out of the water. Palmon's eating ocean dirt.

Though they do have a bunch of parks there, so maybe Palmon's being snobby.

Mimi pours bottled water onto Palmon's roots for sustenance. Palmon seems much happier about that, right up until Mimi suddenly throws a sheet over her in a panic. She hears footsteps.

Mimi: (wrestling with the sheet) Shh! Quiet!

Keisuke, walking home from the station, comes into view and spots her.

Keisuke: Huh? Mimi! Is that you, Mimi!? Mimi: PAPA!!! Keisuke: What are you doing out here so late? Mimi: Uhhhhhh nothing special. I'm here to pick you up.

See, this is why Mimi rarely lies. Because she is the worst at it.

In the dub:

Palmon: Yuck! This soil's polluted! Tastes like gasoline and old candy wrappers! Mimi: I've got this bottled water! Try it; It's fresh and pure as a winter morning in the Swiss Alps! At least, that's what it says on the bottle. Palmon: Okay! Pour it on my roots! (enjoying) Mmm, yummy. Yodelayheehoo! (BLANKET) Mimi: Hush!

American kids aren't going to understand Mimi's comment about Odaiba's history, so the dub team came up with a different explanation for Palmon's dissatisfaction. American kids do understand pollution. Especially 90's kids, who grew up in a time when messages about personal responsibility to clean up our planet were everywhere.

The rest of Mimi's dialogue space is used for a charming exchange about mass-produced mineral water.

Keisuke: Mimi? Is that you? Mimi, what are you doing out here? Mimi: Oh! Hi, dad. Keisuke: You should be inside. Mimi: Well, you see... Uh... I was just waiting for you!

To sell her panicked claims, Mimi plops her hat down on top of the giant lump of bedsheet in her arms. Absolutely nothing to see here! Just a sweet and trustworthy face that is definitely not up to anything.

Nothing suspicious here AT ALL.

Mimi: You're home late today. Keisuke: The train took its time because of the fog. Hey, I have to ask, what's in the blanket? Mimi: EHHHHHHH!?!?

Mimi practically screams with alarm at Keisuke's question, then grabs his arm and starts speed walking home, practically dragging him along.

Mimi: Let's hurry home, Papa! Mama must be worried! Keisuke: Uh....

THE BEST at lying. XD Look, don't go to the Crest of Purity if you want talented deceit.

Dub Mimi lies a little better.

Mimi: So Daaad... Why are you so late, anyway? Keisuke: It's this fog. It's got everything tied up in knots. Say, what's that you've got under your hat there? Mimi: Oh, it's just a, uh... (Mimi grabs Keisuke's arm and starts pulling him) Mimi: Brr, it's getting cold out here! We better hurry up and get home or Mom will be worried!

She does not scream in her father's face because of the question, though she's still clearly trying to change the subject. Consequently, the original version is funnier, though I like the dub's addition of "It's cold out here!' to Mimi's avoidance waffling.

Once they're safely tucked away in Mimi's room, she explains herself.

Wow, her room is small. Taichi and Hikari's room is a lot bigger. Though, to be fair, it has to fit two kids.

Mimi: I'm sorry. It'd be nice if you got away with pretending to be a stuffed animal, but I don't want them to think I have bad taste. Palmon: Bad taste? (wilts) You mean me? Mimi: Ehehe, don't read too much into that. Palmon: :( (Long, awkward pause) Mimi: Tehe!

That last line from Mimi is basically like a "Teehee!" She's trying to raise Palmon's spirits. But Palmon is so fucking offended by what Mimi said.

In the dub:

Mimi: Sorry, I could have pretended you were my doll or a stuffed animal, I suppose. But I have a reputation for good taste to maintain. Palmon: I'm in bad taste!? (wilts) Is that what you're saying!? Mimi: Oh ho ho, Palmon, I didn't mean it that way! Really! Palmon: :( (long, awkward pause) Mimi: Really!

The wording's a little different but the core idea still gets across. Mimi says some offensive shit to Palmon and then fails miserably when she tries to backpedal.

This builds off of what we saw in the first episode of the kids' return to Japan. Remember when Mimi completely bailed on Palmon because she saw her human friends? All Mimi ever wanted was to get home, to be safe again, and to stop having to do all this Chosen Child and Digimon conflict. She took being drafted as a child soldier harder than anybody.

She has never wanted to be a part of that world.

Meanwhile, out in their tiny apartment's dining room, Mimi's parents are fucking adorable.

Satoe: I made kimchi fried rice and topped it with whipped cream and strawberries! How is it? Keisuke: (nom) Mm, it's good! This tastes so great! Satoe: Yay! Eat as much as you want! Say, 'Ahh!' Keisuke: Ahh! Satoe: Ahh!

That last bit is delivered over a closeup of the kimchi so it's not clear if she took the spoon and is feeding him or what. Either way, they're adorable. At least somebody in this group has zero family drama.

The Tachikawas may be squeezed into a fucking closet but they love and cherish each other dearly.

In the dub:

Satoe: I made this dish up myself. I call it shrimp-fried rice with whipped cream and strawberries. Well? Keisuke: (nom) You've really outdone yourself this time, honey. Satoe: You mean it!? Oh, I'm so glad you like it! You mean it!? Keisuke: I mean it! Satoe: Really!? Keisuke: Really!

Yeah, they're just as cute over here.

Though I have to say, the size of Mimi's tiny-ass apartment is inadvertently hilarious in the dub after all that time spent playing her up like she's the heiress to the Bezos fortune.

Meanwhile, across town at Cram School, Jou's life is ruined.

Narrator: Around this time, Jou was in the city outside Odaiba. Jou: A 54. This is the worst grade I've ever gotten in my life.

Gomamon pokes out of Jou's duffel bag.

Gomamon: Cheer up! Life's full of ups and downs.

This meager encouragement works, bringing a smile to Jou's face.

Jou: I should call home and tell them I'm being kept after classes today. (Jou tries to call) Recording: The number you have dialed is not in service. Jou: That's weird. There's no reception.

The dub cuts the shot of Jou's graded test. At this point, we're pretty far past trying to conceal Japanese text from the audience; In fact, there's Japanese text on the windows of his cram school, which the dub keeps. So I imagine they cut it so they can lie about what it says.

Joe: I can't believe I got a C! There goes Med School. And my dad wanted me to call right away and tell him my grades! Gomamon: (pops up) A C? Forget about Myotismon; This is a real disaster! Joe: (smile) You're right. Clearly this grade is the result of all of the stress from the monster attacks. Gomamon: Well, if you can't get into medical school, I'd try politics.

First off, they undersell the severity of Joe's bad grade. 54 isn't a C. That's an F. The Japanese system is a little different from the American one but 59 and under is still an F. Jou is here to prepare for his entrance exams, which will determine the quality of middle school he's able to attend, and he fucking failed the test.

It's a good thing this was a practice! Jou is brutally unprepared to return to academia. Probably because he just spent the last four months or so on an alien planet foraging for berries and trying not to be killed by monsters. It's hard to study algebra under those conditions.

I do like that the dub makes a direct connection between Joe's bad grade and the Digimon battles, though they undersell that too.

They also removed Jou's attempt to call home, which sets up the signal problems that Vamdemon's fog bank is creating for Odaiba. He mentions he's gonna, but he never makes the call and finds out Odaiba no longer has phone service.

Jou isn't the only one having signal reception problems. In Yamato's single-dad apartment, even tinier than the Tachikawa home, the TV's gone to static. He attempts multiple esoteric poses with the TV remote to try and bring the signal back.

Yamato: No! Come on, work! (pose) C'mon! (pose) How (pose) about (pose) this!? (surrender) Ugh... It was just getting good!

In the dub:

Matt: Oh no! Gimme a break! Come on! (goes through all the poses without saying anything, then surrender) Aw, man! Right when it was about to get to the best part!

So, bad nights all around, it seems. Let's not forget that Taichi and Hikari are out there having the shittiest night too.

While Vamdemon's doing his fog ritual up on the roof of the FCG Building, his father Hiroaki is working late inside. We join him at a vending machine, retrieving his change to put into his wallet. His eyes linger on an old family photo from happier days.

Suddenly, one of his colleagues runs past.

Hiroaki: What's going on, Chioka? Chioka: Ah! Ishida-san! You're awake? We've got big trouble! None of our station's transmissions are working! Hiroaki: What!? Chioka: No one knows what's causing it! It could be a system crash or something faulty in the electronics. Both transmission and reception are down!

Nobody ever suspects Rooftop Vampire. But, up top, Vamdemon finishes casting his fog spell.

Vamdemon: No one will escape. That includes, of course, the Eighth Child. Hmhmhm HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!! AH HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!

The dub renames Chioka.

Hiroaki: Hey! What's going on, Charlie? Charlie: You're awake! I was just coming to get you! The whole system's gone down! Transmitters, satellite feed, the whole shebang! Hiroaki: What!? Charlie: If it's a system glitch, it's like the Godzilla of all systems glitches! But we can't even check it out because communications are down too! It's like the end of the world or something! (Meanwhile, on the roof) Myotismon: No one will escape! No one! Not even the Eighth Child! Hmhmhmwahahahaha! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

I really like Charlie referencing Godzilla, because that's a pop culture reference that someone in Tokyo might reasonably make.

Returning to wherever Jou's cram school is, we find him unable to return home.

Announcement: Due to heavy fog in Odaiba, we will not be able to provide train service to that area. It may be some time before service is restored. Jou: Even the public phone booths don't work. What a hassle.... Gomamon: (peeking out of duffel bag) This world has its problems too.

Over in the dub, the effects are even worse.

Announcement: Due to a systems failure, all trains will be delayed indefinitely. We apologize for the inconvenience. Joe: The pay phones don't work either! What's going on? Everything's falling apart! Gomamon: (peeking out) It could be worse. We could be stuck on the train!

All trains. The signal-scrambling fog in Odaiba is so bad that it's nuked the entire train network in the greater Tokyo area. Was that necessary, Myotismon? Little bit overboard there, bud.

Back at the FCG Building, Hiroaki confers with his team about what's happening. Well, with two of the three; Sakurada is listening to a tape cassette while Hiroaki chats with Chioka and Yuki.

Chioka: The broadcast system's been going haywire ever since the fog showed up. Hiroaki: So it happened while I was tossing out the papers.... Yuki: None of our phones are working either. (Hiroaki throws on his jacket and starts to walk away) Yuki: Where you going!? Hiroaki: Isn't it obvious? I'm going to investigate. That's our job. Yuki: Understood.

Yuki and Chioka move to follow Hiroaki. Without missing a beat, Yuki yanks the headphone cord out of the radio on the desk, disturbing Sakurada.

Yuki: Sakurada-kun, let's go. Sakurada: O-Okay!

With the headphones unplugged, we can hear that he's been listening to the chanting of sutras, like the one Jou used to weaken Bakemon way back when. Something to chase away the ghosts and demons that could be emerging from the fog.

In the dub:

Charlie: Everything started going wonky ever since that fog came in. Yuki: Even my cell phone isn't working. Of course, it wasn't working before but still... (Hiroaki throws on his jacket and starts to walk away) Yuki: Hey, where are you going? Hiroaki: To earn my pay! To investigate this thing. That's what I do, after all. Yuki: We'll come with you. (Yuki pulls out the headphone cord) Jeremiah: Huh? Radio: Believe in yourself. Say it. "I believe in me." Good.

Yuki's expositional line that all the phones are down is replaced by a laugh line. We're kinda losing track of the fact that the phones have been disrupted. This is two references to the phones that have been replaced, with the only remaining one being Joe's ambiguous statement that the pay phones in the train station don't work.

Yuki says nothing when she yanks out the headphone cord so now it looks like she was messing with Sakurada, now named Jeremiah as revealed later in the episode, for funsies.

As with the Bakemon episode, the religious chanting has been replaced by self-help affirmations. Next time I meet a possessed kid, I'm taking them to a TED Talk. Apparently that's the trick.

At the Yagami residence, a terrified Hikari peeks out at the night through the curtains.

Hikari: ...Tailmon....

Taichi sits up and leans out of the bottom bunk.

Taichi: (determined) Wait for tomorrow. I'll call everyone tomorrow morning, and then we can go save her. Agumon: Hikari-chan, Taichi is worried too, but you should get some sleep. Hikari: (closes curtains, defeated) Mm....

Hikari climbs up into the top bunk and pulls the blanket up.

Taichi: Can you sleep? Hikari: (covers her face with the covers) I'll try. Taichi: Good. Leave everything to me.

Hikari is distraught. Holy shit, her face in this scene is heartbreaking.

In the dub, Kari wakes Tai up on purpose.

Kari: Hey, Tai? Do you think Gatomon's okay? Tai: (empathetic) Sure she is, Kari. First thing tomorrow, we'll go find her. Agumon: Don't worry, I think we'd better go to bed. We'll need our rest to fight Myotismon. Don't want to fall asleep on the job, do ya? Kari: Okay.... (Kari climbs up into the top bunk) Tai: You scared, Kari? Kari: (covers her face with the covers) Not really. Tai: Attagirl. Leave everything to me.

Tai and Kari talk about Gatomon like she just ran away from home. Agumon goes too far the other direction. Uh, no, Agumon; Kari does not need her rest to fight Myotismon. The plan is still that she goes nowhere near him.

I do like the way the dub uses Kari's last line. Juxtaposing her dialogue against the animation of her hiding her face under the blanket, to convey that she's not as tough as she's trying to act. Her voice even quivers a little. That bit is perfect.

Mimi peeks out of her room to say goodnight to her parents.

Mimi: Have a good night!

Then she realizes Palmon popped out with her and has to stuff her back into the room, while still awkwardly smiling to her parents.

Parents: Good night!

Meanwhile, at Yamato's place, he's written a letter to his father.

Letter: To Dad: There's boiled mackarel in the fridge. Underwear in the laundry. Yamato: He's working overtime again.

Yamato tries the TV again, but still only gets static.

Yamato: This is so weird.

In the dub:

Mimi: I'm dying my clothes pink again! (Mimi stuffs Palmon back into the room) Satoe: Okay!

At 11 PM!? Why!? Weird-ass line change!

The dub cuts Yamato's letter but keeps the dialogue.

Matt: Looks like Dad's working late again. (Matt tries the TV again) Matt: Something weird's going on!

No boiled mackarel for Dub Hiroaki, it seems. Gabumon probably ate it all.

Hiroaki and his team continue working to bring the FCG Building back up. They've taken a van out to go scout the mystery fog and figure out how far it extends.

Hiroaki: And so, this is what the fog encompasses. Chioka: It only covers Odaiba. Yuki: It's like someone is controlling the fog. Like a wizard or something! Sakurada: ...maybe we should go back to the station.

Superstitious Sakurada is not pleased about being out in the Ominous Wizard Fog. He's immediately proven correct when the ground shakes suddenly, rocking the van. A colossal monster stomps through the night, passing in plain sight near their van.

Sakurada: K-k-k-k-- Chioka: (claps a hand over Sakurada's mouth) Quiet! Yuki: You saw that too, right!? Both: Mhm!

The Fuji team pile out of the van for unclear reasons.

Hiroaki: Perhaps the fog has something to do with these kaiju....

Yamato's dad is on the right track. These things are, indeed, related.

Over in the dub:

Hiroaki: The fog's disrupting our entire area! Charlie: Why isn't any other part of town seeing fog? Yuki: It's like some alien power's controlling the fog bank with magic or something. Jeremiah: Magic? Stop trying to scare me! (Giant Digimon stomps past) Jeremiah: What's that!? Charlie: (claps a hand over Jeremiah's mouth) Keep it down. Yuki: You both saw it!? Both: Mhm! (Everyone exits the van) Yuki: Good! At least I know I'm not the only one going crazy! Hiroaki: What's the connection? Somehow, the fog's tied in with all these monsters we keep seeing.

Pretty straight adaptation. It's phrased very differently but all the key points are hit. Yuki also gets a silence-breaker as they're exiting the van so she can punchline the "You saw it too!?" moment.

Suddenly, getting out of the van is proven for the bad idea that it was.

A swarm of Digimon attack the crew from all directions. Yuki screams while the narrator goes into the rundown.

Gizamon is a Child-stage Virus-type Aquatic Mammal Digimon. The name comes from the onomatopoeia for a sawing motion. Gizagiza. They're the sibling evolution to Gazimon, evolved from a Pagumon that didn't get hugged enough. Their evolutions that have appeared thus far are Devidramon, Flymon, and Raremon.

Narrator: Gizamon. Though they prefer to live underwater, these ferocious Child-stage Digimon can jump like frogs on land. Hiroaki: Careful, everyone!

The swarm descends upon the Fuji team.

In the dub, the Gizamon do their own rundown.

Gizamon: Let the human scream! It doesn't bother us Gizamon! We travel in packs, creating terror! Whether on land or underwater! Hiroaki: Everyone, get in the car!

Good advice! I don't know why we got out of it!

We leave our Fuji crew there, under Gizamon assault. Time passes, and we come to the following morning, when news crews outside the city have discovered what's become of Odaiba.

Takeru and his mother Natsuko are watching the news, where a helicopter pilot reports on the fog bank.

Reporter: It's fog! This fog has completely covered Odaiba! We cannot contact anyone inside! The safety of Odaiba's residents remains unknown.

Takeru dramatically drops his spoon in his cereal bowl and stands up.

Takeru: (determined) I have to go. Natsuko: Takeru! Takeru: (more firmly) I have to go! Onii-chan and Papa are in there!

Staring at the fog bank on the screen, Natsuko's mind drifts to images of Yamato and Hiroaki superimposed against the fog. Then Takeru snaps her out of it.

Takeru: Let me go! Natsuko: ...okay, we'll go together.

They're going to have a hard time getting into Odaiba, but Natsuko agrees to go look for Yamato and Hiroaki.

In the dub, they use Takeru's point about Yamato and Hiroaki as a silence-breaker, in place of Natsuko thinking about them herself after he says it.

Reporter: An impenetrable fog has sealed off the main district of the city. Incoming reports also verify that all communication systems appear to have been rendered useless. T.K.: (drops breakfast and stands up) I'm coming, Matt. Nancy: T.K.! T.K.: I have to go! You don't understand; Whatever happens, they'll need me there. Nancy: Mm-mm. T.K.: Aww, mom! (superimposed images) Matt is there! And so is Dad! We can't just leave them! Nancy: Oh... Alright, then. We'll go together. Get your coat, son. T.K.: Yeah!

I feel like, as a parent, she should be scrutinizing the line "Whatever happens, they'll need me there," a bit. That's a weird thing for her kid to say about a mysterious weather phenomenon.

Takeru can come off like a scared kid who's just determined to help his brother and dad, but T.K. said a weird thing and Nancy should be questioning it.

Meanwhile, Hiroaki bursts into Yamato's room. His clothes are ripped and ragged and he's shoveling food into his mouth from a bowl while using his foot to nudge his son awake.

Hiroaki: Yamato! Wake up! Yamato: D-Dad? What happened to you!? Hiroaki: I'll tell you later! Hurry up and get dressed!

No change in the dub.

We next move to Shimbashi Station, pinpointing Jou's location. The sun has set and come back up, and still Jou hasn't made it home.

Jou knocks back an energy drink before getting up and starting to walk.

Gomamon: Jooooou... Where are we going!? Jou: Hinode Pier. Maybe the boats are still working.

That's a good idea. For reference on the map, the Red Marker is Shimbashi Station, where Jou is now. The green circle is his destination, Hinode. It's not too far; About a mile's walk. The black circle, as usual is Daiba Park, with Odaiba to the south and east of it.

The dub cuts Jou's energy drink. Poor Joe; He has to deal with fatigue the old-fashioned way. It also takes off the specific location reference, but keeps the main point.

Gomamon: Joe, where are you going? Joe: Down to the pier. Maybe we can get in by boat.

Meanwhile, in Odaiba, Yagami Susumu (Taichi's dad) is at the train station trying to commute to work. A clock shows the time as 6:02.

Announcement: Due to an unknown incident, train service has been suspended. Susumu: What the...?

Before he can even think about that, the station is filled with the sound of screams. Phantomon enters, flanked by four Bakemon.

Phantomon is a Perfect-stage Virus-type Ghost DIgimon. You might think they're the evolved form of Bakemon. That'd be the natural conclusion to make. Weirdly, no. Though Phantomon is a Nightmare Soldier, they do not evolve naturally from any Digimon and exclusively require Jogress, like Pumpmon.

Bakemon's natural evolution is Vamdemon.

Susumu: W-WHAT ARE THOSE!?!? Narrator: Phantomon. A Perfect-Stage Ghost Digimon whose giant scythe with chains is his trademark. His special attack is-- Phantomon: SOUL CHOPPER!!!

Before the narrator can even finish the rundown, Phantomon cuts him off to attack the ceiling display. Presumably to get everyone's attention.

Phantomon: By order of Vamdemon-sama, you are all coming with us!

Yeah, this quiet conflict has been getting steadily less quiet with each "mysterious kaiju battle" but now it's gone loud. With the revelation that the Eighth Child has been found and not by him, Vamdemon is not playing anymore. This is an invasion. You are all under attack.

The dub seems to get a little confused here.

Announcement: An announcement will be made when service has been restored. We apologize for any inconvenience. Susumu: Poor kids... (Screams and ghostly wailing) Susumu: Huh? WHAT IN THE WORLD IS THAT THING!?!? Phantomon: (rundown) I'm Phantomon. You don't want to be near me or my frightening little friends when I start to swing my... Phantomon: SHADOW SCYTHE!!! (Phantomon cuts down the display) Phantomon: Myotismon requests your presence and he won't take no for an answer.

Susumu's line, "Poor kids...." seems disconnected from anything that's happening. The only explanation I can come up with is that maybe they think he's in Shimbashi Station, watching Joe leave dejected?

I can see why they might think that. We cut from outside a train station to inside a train station so logic follows that it's the same train station. That is such an easy mistake to make, if that's what happened here.

But it's not; Susumu is in Odaiba trying to go to work. Vamdemon's forces are not rounding people up on the outside of the fog bank.

Morning comes to the Takenouchi residence. Piyomon seems to have recovered from her Pyokomon cooldown.

Piyomon: Where are you going so early in the morning? Sora: Soccer club's morning practice. I'd like to talk to Taichi about what we should do, as well. I'll be back by breakfast, so keep quiet, okay?

On her way out, Sora says farewell to her mother, who's chopping vegetables in the kitchen.

Sora: I'm off! Toshiko: (unenthused) So long. (thinking) Again with soccer....

Toshiko's still not about Sora's hobby.

In the dub:

Biyomon: Are you really going to soccer practice today? Sora: Tai will be there, and I really need to talk to him about our plan of attack. Besides, I could use the practice. (Sora heads out) Sora: MOOOOM!!! I'm going to soccer! Toshiko: ... Sora: Mom? Toshiko: ... Sora: Well, I'll see you in a little bit. Toshiko: ...

Toshiko gives Sora the complete cold shoulder. Fucking harsh. Continuing the trend of dub Toshiko being meaner than original, who at least gave Sora a courtesy goodbye.

A minor note, but Toshiko's activity changes between versions. She's chopping vegetables in the original but washing dishes in the dub. We see her doing something at a kitchen counter, and the sound effects fill in the blanks.

At this point, I'm fairly convinced that they would give the editors a silent copy of the animation and everybody's voice recordings, and the editors just had to cut it together with whatever sounds looked right for the scene. There's a lot of these little effects changes or outright missed sound effects throughout the series.

Meanwhile, at the Yagami home, Taichi and Hikari are trying to call around like promised. Unbeknownst to them, an army of bakemono, of wicked spirits impersonating a human guise, have invaded Odaiba and are moving from home to home.

Taichi: (at the phone with Hikari) This is weird.... Yuuko: Taichi, don't you have morning practice? Taichi: This isn't the time for that! Yuuko: Oh, is that so...?

At once, in synchronized motions, the bakemono ring many doorbells.

Yuuko: (teasing) Look, your teammates came looking for you.

Yuuko prances off to go get the door, leaving Taichi and Hikari with the malfunctioning phone.

Yuuko: Yes, yes, hello there-- AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!

The clearly inhuman bakemono pushes Yuuko down, then drops its guise and reveals itself to be a swarm of Bakemon. Three Bakemon swarm into the house. Agumon throws open the bedroom door, firing back at them with a Baby Flame to protect Taichi and Hikari.

Taichi & Hikari: (relieved) AGUMON!!! Yuuko: TAICHI!!! HIKARI!!! AHHHHHHHH!!! Taichi & Hikari: MOM!!!!

Three Bakemon carry Yuuko away while more flood into the apartment.

In the dub:

Tai: Oh, great. The phone's still out. Yuuko: Oh, your poor father. I hope he's not stuck in the subway. Tai: We're not watching that video again! Yuuko: The TV's still out, sweetie.

This is a little confusing but the "video" Tai's referring to are grainy shots of the bakemono moving into position and ringing the doorbells. The dub implies that the Kamiya family are watching this happen as a movie while it is also happening in real life?

I think the grainy horror movie effects on the bakemono shots might have thrown the dub team.

(Doorbell) Yuuko: I wonder who'd be dropping by unannounced? (Yuuko gets up to go answer) Yuuko: Coming! Hello? ... AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!! (Bakemon attack; Agumon fends them off) Tai & Kari: AGUMON!!! Yuuko: TAI!!! KARI!!! AHHHHHHHH!!!

The original version of this scene flows better, because Yuuko riffing Taichi about skipping soccer practice connects directly with Sora's preceding scene. Though the dub version does try to connect to a previous scene as well, through Yuuko fretting over Susumu.

After commercial, we go to a few more homes under bakemono assault.

Keeping Palmon under a blanket, Mimi and her parents find refuge in an elevator.

Keisuke: It's okay now. Satoe: What were those things!? Mimi: Mama, I can explain--

Before Mimi can explain, the elevator arrives at its destination and opens to about a million Bakemon. The Tachikawa family screams in unison and we cut away.

In the dub, Keisuke takes charge with a silence-breaker.

Keisuke: Run! This way! Hurry! (Family enters the elevator) Keisuke: Alright, we're all safe now. Satoe: Yeah, but honey, what are they!? Mimi: It's a long story, Mom! (Ground floor, Bakemon central)

Mimi doesn't even try to bring them up to speed this time.

Cut to the Takenouchi home. We arrive in time to see several Bakemon blasted out the door by a beam of Magical Fire. Toshiko is about having a heart attack.

Toshiko: Y-You... You're not a stuffed toy!? Piyomon: (fiercely) Where does soccer club hold their morning practice? Toshiko: (shaking with terror) In the elementary school's schoolyard.... Piyomon: I have to hurry. Sora's in danger!

When Piyomon says that, Toshiko suddenly stops shaking. All of her fear evaporates in an instant.

In the dub:

Toshiko: You just talked! I saw you! I thought you were a stuffed animal! Biyomon: Well, life's full of surprises! Where's the soccer field? Toshiko: It's down at the school! Why do you ask? Biyomon: All you need to know is: Sora's in trouble! I've got to find her!

She did a little more than talk, Toshiko. She blew a bunch of ghosts away with a spiraling death beam. XD

The Bakemon gather the people of Odaiba together at the Big Sight convention center. Vamdemon instructs PicoDevimon on where to go from here.

Vamdemon: Separate the adults from the children and have each of the children meet Tailmon. We'll go through them all in sequence. PicoDevimon: Why overcomplicate it? Killing them all would be much quicker. Vamdemon: That doesn't suit my aesthetic. But.... (Tailmon is raised by a crane behind him) Vamdemon: You understand, of course? If you play dumb, they will all die for it.

Vamdemon doesn't have a good answer for PicoDevimon but honestly, Vamdemon's right. If you kill all of the kids without ever confirming that the Eighth Child is among them, then how can you really know for sure that you got them? What if they weren't here after all? What if they got away?

If you didn't get them, then you won't even know that this isn't over.

And even if you did, you won't have the certainty of it.

Set the haystack on fire without finding the needle and you'll never really know. You'll never have peace of mind again.

All this talk of mass slaughter's a bit too dark for the dub, of course.

Myotismon: We'll start by separating the children from their parents. Ah, how they'll scream and weep! Delicious!

The next two lines between DemiDevimon and Myotismon while they fly in are cut, replaced by various Bakemon going "Gyarkle snargle blark". Miscellaneous monster noises in place of tactical discussion.

Then, as Gatomon's being raised on the crane, she addresses Myotismon.

Gatomon: I guess you're not as powerful here in the real world as you thought you were! Myotismon: Power isn't anything I'd concern myself with if I were you, especially since you don't have any! You little traitor!

She's awfully uppity for someone who's hanging limp from a crane while Myotismon is holding all the cards and there's no sign of impending rescue. I don't know what about this situation could possibly make her think this is an appropriate context for an "Aha, see how weak you are!?" type Gotcha.

Cut to Yamato, Gabumon and Hiroaki hiding out on a scaffolding. Evidently Hiroaki's "GET THE FUCK UP AND COME WITH ME" moment earlier was him successfully getting his son clear of the impending bakemono assault. Good for him.

We've also skipped the recap on Yamato's part, it seems.

Yamato: Tell me what's happening! Hiroaki: I don't know either! But in the meantime, both of you stay safe here. Yamato: What about you, Dad?

Through the construction beams of this little hidey-hole they're in, the FCG Building can be seen right across the way.

Hiraoki: I'm going to the station. I need to contact the outside world and tell them what's happening here. Gabumon-kun, is it? Protect Yamato for me. (Hiroaki starts walking away) Gabumon: Yes, sir. Yamato: Be careful! Hiroaki: Yup. (Hiroaki leaves) Gabumon: Are we sure about this, Yamato? Yamato: We have to trust my dad.

Gabumon's iffy about letting Hiraoki go out there alone, but Yamato has faith in the man.

(I don't. What happened to the rest of his crew? Did they get eaten by Gizamon?)

In the dub:

Matt: Now, will you tell me what happened, Dad? Hiroaki: I hardly know, myself. But I want you to stay here out of sight. Matt: Where are you going? Hiroaki: The station. To try to find some way to communicate with the outside world! Smoke signals! Anything! You'll be safe here; Stay with Gabumon. (Hiroaki starts walking away) Gabumon: How do you know about me!? Matt: But Dad... HOW!? Hiroaki: Never mind how! Just be safe! (Hiroaki leaves) Gabumon: You know, I think he likes me.

According to the dub, Matt has said nothing to Hiroaki about the Digimon and just dragged Gabumon's limp, heavy frame over here. Nonetheless, Hiroaki is so well-informed that he actually knows all about Gabumon already. Uh. Somehow.

In the dub's defense, we did skip Yamato recapping things for Hiroaki and that is a little confusing. The giveaway that Hiroaki has very recently learned about Gabumon for the first time is when he addresses him as "Gabumon-kun ka."

Using か ka to end a sentence recontextualizes the preceding sentence as a question. It's basically the Japanese question mark. Hiroaki is saying Gabumon's name as a question, as if he's unsure about it.

This is implicitly something they already had to talk about on the way here, and Hiroaki only kind of gets it. But it's still pretty vague and rushed-through, and as a result the dub winds up making a grand mystery out of it. We're never going to find out why Hiroaki has known about Digimon all this time, because he hasn't.

Meanwhile, at the Yagami family's apartment complex, Taichi has a plan to save Yuuko.

It is exactly what you'd expect of a Taichi plan, and it does not go well.

Yuuko panics when she sees Greymon explode out of the apartment complex. Presumably the neighbors' bad days also just got worse because that did a lot more damage than just taking out one apartment.

In fact, the Yagami apartment is about two or three floors down from the top of a thirteen-story complex. They made sure to go down to first or second floor before doing this. So none of the apartments they just cratered are theirs. XD

In any case, Yuuko quite reasonably flips the fuck out when Godzilla joins today's festivities.

Yuuko: A DINOSAUR!?!? NO!!!

As Greymon turns, Taichi and Hikari are on his left shoulder.

Taichi: This isn't what it looks like, Mom! Greymon, save Mom! Yuuko: NO!!! MY CHILDREN!!!

Greymon stomps over towards Yuuko, but he's suddenly cut down by a sharp slash to his arm, spraying black blood everywhere. His assailant, Phantomon, leaves it at that.

Phantomon: It's useless to resist. (thrusts his scythe to indicate direction) Now! Take them all to Vamdemon-sama!

The Bakemon force-march their captives in the direction Phantomon indicated. Yuuko desperately tries to push through the crowd

Yuuko: TAICHI!!! HIKARI!!! Greymon: MEGA FLAME!!!

Greymon suddenly lobs a sucker punch at Phantomon from his spot on the ground. Phantomon teleports before it can hit him, causing Greymon's shot to "harmlessly" blow off another chunk of the complex. But it buys them a second to act.

Greymon: I'm sorry, Taichi. I promise to save your Mom later! Right now, we have to run!

Given that it's been less than twelve hours since we tried MetalGreymon and only got one shot out of him, Greymon's probably right. We aren't in good shape to throw down with Phantomon. Greymon bails, leaving poor Yuuko down there not understanding a thing she's seeing.

Taichi & Hikari: MOM!!! Yuuko: SOMEBODY HELP!!! MY CHILDREN!!!

Right now is a bad time to be a parent in Odaiba.

In the dub:

(Greymon explodes from the building) Yuuko: Oh no! Another monster! Tai: Don't worry! This monster's on our side! Get my Mom, Greymon. Hurry! Phantomon: SHADOW SCYTHE!!! (Greymon falls to the ground, bleeding) Phantomon: Well, Greymon, it looks like your time is up. (thrusts his scythe to indicate direction) Get the rest of the crowd! Yuuko: NO!!! STOP!!! Greymon: NOVA BLAST!!! (Greymon chases off Phantomon with a sneak attack) Greymon: Sorry, Tai, I'm losing it... We'll get your Mom later... Right now, we've got to get out of here! (Greymon books it) Kari: MOMMY!!! Tai: MOM, WE'LL BE BACK!!! Yuuko: KARI!!! TAI!!!

Gotta say, I love Phantomon's dub voice. In the original, he's a high-pitched fast-talking goober. The dub plays him for ~woo spoo~ooky ghost but with a hint of menace and edge in it that really works.

Very minor quibbles: "A DINOSAUR!?!?" was a funnier reaction than "Oh no, another monster!" Also, Phantomon doesn't call his attack in the original; Greymon suddenly stopping and spewing blood comes as a total unexpected shock.

Over at the soccer field Taichi was supposed to be at, Piyomon and Toshiko have a great plan foiled by a timing.

Pulling back the hoods on their makeshift Bakemon disguises, Piyomon and Toshiko look across an empty soccer field already pilfered by bakemono assailants.

Piyomon: We were too late.... Toshiko: (fearful) Sora....

The dub seems to think there's a trail here.

Toshiko: We'll follow them and find out where they've taken her! Biyomon: But will it work? Toshiko: ...we'll see....

It's not clear who they intend to follow, since the Bakemon are already long gone and they're standing alone in an open field. Maybe they plan on finding some other Bakemon at work elsewhere in Odaiba and following those ones.

In any case, they will be at Big Sight next we see them, so this dialogue serves as a gap-bridging purpose to explain how they get there.

Following their train of thought, we find Sora among the crowd at Big Sight. Mimi creeps up on her from behind.

Mimi: (grabbing Sora's shoulders) Sora-san! Sora: Ah! (Mimi sits next to Sora) Sora: They caught you too, Mimi-chan? Palmon: (peeks out from under the blanket) Want me to evolve?

Sora takes a quick look around the shopping center.

Sora: The enemy is all around us. Let's lay low for right now. Palmon: Got it.

The girls have an ace up their sleeve. They just need to pick their moment.

In the dub:

Mimi: (grabbing Sora's shoulders) Sora? It's you! (Mimi sits next to Sora) Sora: Oh no, Mimi! They got you too? Palmon: (peeks out from under the blanket) Psst! I can Digivolve any time. Just say the word! Sora: (looking around as she speaks) There's too many people and too many of them. (finishes) Let's see how this plays out. You'll be our trump card for later. Palmon: Got it.

Differently phrased but same ideas.

Sora takes a look around the station and finds Yuuko with Susumu. Yuuko is weeping inconsolably.

Yuuko: The children... THE CHILDREN.... Susumu: Calm down! Yuuko: I CAN'T!!! That orange dinosaur must have eaten them by now....

Sora approaches Yuuko to offer what she knows.

Sora: Please don't worry. Yuuko: Sora-chan? Sora: The dinosaur is with us. He's going to come here with the other good Digimon and save us.

I'm glad someone was here to explain this to Yuuko. Can you imagine?

In the dub:

Yuuko: I can't stand it! I can't stand not knowing! Susumu: Calm down, dear.... Yuuko: How can I calm down!? For all we know, that monster's devoured the children by now! (Sora approaches) Sora: Don't worry; He's one of ours. Susumu & Yuuko: Huh!? Sora: There's a lot more where he came from. We've got some powerful friends. Besides, we've got truth and justice and all that good stuff on our side!

Susumu comes off as a dick in both versions. Japanese Susumu tries to get Yuuko to stop crying by barking it at her as an order. Kinda harkens back to his drunken "WHERE MY CHILDREN AT!?!?" midnight antics from the OVA. Susumu's in that grey area where he's not abusive but he still kinda sucks.

Meanwhile, dub Susumu has this whiny sound to his voice like "Ugggggh I can't believe she's doing this right now...." He's passive-aggressive instead of aggro-aggressive but still comes off as unsupportive.

Hey, Susumu? Your children have been eaten by Godzilla. You could stand to care a little about that.

Without the context of what she's talking about, Sora sounds a little deranged in both versions. But original Sora is concise and to the point about her wild rambling, while Dub Sora wanders wildly off-topic and starts ranting about superhero themes.

In her defense, she's 11. Static Shock took a lot of cues from Batman comics early in his career, before he was retconned into the DC Animated Universe proper and met Actual Batman.

The actual problem with the dub version is that Yuuko provides zero contextual information that Sora could possibly use to realize she's talking about Greymon. Sora has to conclusion-jump to her role in this scene based solely on the description, "that monster".

Dressed in their Bakemon disguises Toshiko and Piyomon arrive at Big Sight.

(You know, there's something deliciously ironic about a human masquerading as a fake bakemono. Turnabout is fair play, assholes.)

Toshiko: Where could Sora be? Piyomon: Let's have a look inside. Toshiko: Yeah. ...um, Piyo-san, this might be a strange question but has Sora ever said that she hated me? Piyomon: Never! In fact, what she said was this.

Piyomon flashes back on Garudamon's debut episode, just after they escaped Vamdemon.

Sora: I was acting just like my Mom. Pyokomon: Sora.... Sora: That's when I realized my Mom loved me all along. Pyokomon: Ehehe! I felt it too! I felt your love! Sora: Hehe, I'm sorry about that. (Return to Present) Toshiko: (taking off her hood so we can see her smiling fondly) That girl....

Aww, now Toshiko's up to speed on Sora's character development.

In the dub:

Biyomon: Well, if you can't beat 'em, join 'em. Toshiko: Now let's go inside and find Sora! Biyomon: Right! Toshiko: Wait. This may be a strange question but, did Sora ever say... Did she tell you... Does Sora hate me? Biyomon: What!? Oh boy, do you have it wrong! (Flashback) Sora: Then I realized I was worried about you just the way my mother worries about me, and now I know for sure. My mom loved me all along. Yokomon: And it was your love that helped me Digivolve, Sora! Sora: I'm glad! (Return to Present) Toshiko: (taking off her hood so we can see her smiling fondly) Sora....

The start of this version flows awkwardly. They have Toshiko be the one to say we should go look inside, and then Toshiko interrupts Toshiko's plan to ask her question.

Also, I don't think Biyomon knows what that phrase means. "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em!" would have been a great line the first time we saw the Bakemon disguises. However, for the second scene that they're disguised in, it comes out of nowhere.

Inside Big Sight, the parents and two Chosen Children make plans. By which I mean, Susumu is trying to get himself killed in a fit of machismo.

In addition to the Yagami and Tachikawa parents, Hiroaki's crew have joined the party.

Susumu: Understood? The men will take down the guards. While we're keeping them busy, you take the women and children and you run. Yuki: Understood!

Susumu's plan of attack is "We'll get 'em with our masculinity!" This is why women live longer. That said, I see where Taichi gets it.

Suddenly, a big green mascot pats Yuki on the shoulder.

Chioka: Eh? Susumu: Do you want to help too? Mascots: (silently nod) Satoe: (standing up) Excuse me.... Susumu: What is it? Satoe: Please don't make my husband participate in such a dangerous plan! Keisuke: Huh? Hey, now-- Satoe: (to Keisuke) Not now, Sweetheart. (to the group) There are plenty of men here, so my husband doesn't have to join in, right? Susumu: Uh, ma'am, that-- Satoe: (bawling) HE'LL DIE!!! IF MY HUSBAND DIES, I'LL FOLLOW HIM IN DEATH!!! Susumu: Uhhhhh okay, okay, I understand! Well then, Tachikawa-san, you escort the women outside. Satoe: (stops crying INSTANTLY and embraces Keisuke) Isn't that great, Sweetheart!?

I also see where Mimi gets it. Tachikawa Satoe is Life Goals. She just made Yagami Susumu back the fuck off. This woman is pink as fuck and stone cold.

The dub cuts out Susumu and Yuki's initial lines, opening this scene on the mascots joining the conversation. It also gives them dialogue.

Yuki: How could it be worse? Mascot: You could work for minimum-wage in a foam rubber suit with kids kicking you all the time. Right guys? Mascots: (nod) Right! Satoe: (standing up) Ahem. Mimi: What is it, Mom? Satoe: I just can't stay in this place one second longer! Keisuke: Well, you've been wanting to get away; Look at this as a vacation. Satoe: (to Keisuke) WHO ASKED YOU TO TALK!?!? (to the group) I'm sorry, children, I didn't mean to yell. It's just that I'm not used to being held captive by creatures from another world. Chioka: Don't worry, lady; You'll get used to it. Satoe: (bawling) But I don't wanna get used to it! I wanna go home and sleep in my own bed! I wanna live life to the fullest! I wanna clean lint out of my dryer! I wanna pick up after my doggy! I wanna know what's happening on my soap operas! Wahhhhhh! Satoe: (stops crying INSTANTLY and embraces Keisuke) I'm so glad I got that off my chest.

This whole exchange sucks. They cut Susumu's entire ill-conceived plan of attack and replaced it with the mascots whining about their jobs. Uh. Nice filler dialogue but we were talking about something important.

This also means that Satoe sticking it to Susumu to defend her husband's safety gets cut. Instead, she just whines for ten seconds straight then abruptly stops for no reason. Where the original was a nice "Like mother, like daughter" moment, here we see "Like daughter, like mother"; the dub screws Mimi like this a lot too.

Keisuke and Chioka's lines are pretty bullshit too. "Think of being kidnapped by Thriller like it's a vacation?" "You'll get used to being abducted by monsters?" What the hell are these men on about?

Before the attack begins, Sora notices that Sakurada has been hugging his radio and listening to a tape through this entire conversation.

Sora: What is he listening to? Yuki: Sakurada-kun? When he gets stressed out, he listens to sutras. Sora: Sutras?

Sora flashes back on what she learned from her Jou-senpai back on File Island.

Jou: To counter ghosts, you have to chant a sutra and pray for God's grace! Sora: Chant what!? Jou: By chanting the sutra, Bakemon-sama will lose his power!

Back in the present, Susumu is raring to go.

Yuuko: Honey.... Susumu: It'll be fine. Now, let's go, everyone!

The men suddenly attack the Bakemon crowd. Susumu, Chioka, Sakurada, and the mascots all grab metal bars and start swinging at any ghosts they see.

(Credit where it's due, getting them with raw masculinity seems to be working.)

Yuki: EVERYONE, STAY WITH ME!!!

Unfortunately, all of Susumu's ghost-punching doesn't amount to shit once the crowd is past him. More Bakemon descend on the fleeing Odaiba citizens from the front.

Sora: Listen to this!

Sora turns on Sakurada's stereo at full volume, blasting the Bakemon with Buddhist sutras. They fall helpless to the ground.

Sora: Now! Hurry! Hurry!

The crowd of hostages escapes Big Sight into the daylight! Well, what daylight can pass through the fog bank, anyway.

In the dub, since we didn't use the planning scene to plan, Sora abruptly decides we should come up with a plan.

Sora: Enough of this! We need a plan! Yuki: Yeah, Jeremiah! Why don't you help us instead of listening to those mind-over-matter tapes all the time? Sora: What'd you say? (flashback) Joe: The only way to weaken Bakemon is with mind over matter. Sora: Huh!? Mind over what!? Joe: It's an old Roman technique. You repeat a phrase over and over again and it helps you focus your mind. (Return to Present) Sora: That's it! We need some of you to attack the Bakemon, creating a diversion while the rest of us come up with a Mind Over Matter chant! Yuuko: What's that mean? Susumu: Just do what she says, alright?

Having to remove the religious elements of the Bakemon episode now has a knock-on effect that makes this scene absolutely ridiculous. Sora's plan is rooted in absolutely nothing but a bunch of nonsense Joe said to her one time that inexplicably worked.

Made even funnier because of the way they butchered the previous scene. Like. All of these adults were ready to sit here and wait to die until Sora said we should give the Bakemon a self-help seminar. And now they're like, "FUCK YES. I pledge my sword to the inane ramblings of this preteen." XD

So the assault begins.

Susumu: Half of you come with me! LET'S GET 'EM!!! (Charge!) Yuki: Women and children, follow me! (Bakemon attack the crowd) Sora: PUMP UP THE VOLUME!!! (Sora holds up the radio) Crowd: BAKEMON LOSE YOUR POWER!!! BAKEMON LOSE YOUR POWER!!! (The Bakemon fall to the ground and the crowd escapes)

The curse of the Mind Over Matter chant continues to plague this scene. Sora said we need to come up with something but then they just reuse Joe's. I guess they got impatient.

More glaringly, the plan is for the crowd to chant something. When Sora holds up the radio, nothing comes out of it. They have no recording saying "Bakemon lose your power". How would they? It's the crowd that all chants the words at once.

So. Like. Why did she take Jeremiah's radio away from him and then brandish it at the Bakemon if it has no bearing on this fight?

Escaping into the foggy daylight, Satoe cheers.

Satoe: Yay! We made it outside!

Whoops, too early for jubilation. We have a third new Digimon to analyze this episode.

DarkTyranomon is an Adult-stage Virus-type Dinosaur Digimon. They're from the Pagumon evolution tree like Gizamon, but are not available for Gizamon to evolve into. They're basically peak evolution for their tree's Adult-stage; A well cared for Pagumon will become Gazimon, and a Gazimon that's well cared for and supremely well trained will become DarkTyranomon.

Satoe: There's another one! Narrator: DarkTyranomon. A ferocious Digimon whose heart and body were infected by a computer virus. His special attack is Fire Blast.

While everyone panics, Keisuke gently pushes Satoe off of him with a fierce look on his face. He runs off into the crowd.

Satoe: Where are you going!?

Jumping into a nearby motor scooter, he scoots into action to avenge his earlier emasculation.

Keisuke: I am... A MAAAAAAAAAAN--

DarkTyranmon's gigantic claw slaps the scooter and sends Keisuke flying ineffectually through the air to his doom. This is why women live longer.

In the dub:

Satoe: We made it! We're safe at last! DarkTyranomon: (exists) Satoe: Oops, spoke too soon. Palmon: (rundown) It's DarkTyranomon! He was actually a nice guy once until he was taken over by an evil computer virus and his personality did a 180. (Keisuke suddenly separates from Satoe and runs into the crowd) Satoe: Huh? Where are you going? Keisuke: (scooter) YOU COULDN'T BE IN SAFER HAAAAAAANDS-- (Swipe)

A lot of the comedy of this scene didn't make it through. Satoe's reaction to DarkTyranomon is too reserved. Since we lost Keisuke's emasculation in the earlier butchered scene, we also lose the punchline to it here; He suddenly makes shockingly bad choices for no reason and it's not half as funny.

That said, Palmon's diegetic rundown covers all the pertinent information and is good.

Watching Keisuke fly through the air, Mimi has feelings. That she punches DarkTyranomon in the face with.

Mimi: PAPAAAAAAAAA!!!

Palmon rushes through one of the fastest evolution stock animations we've ever had to preserve the momentum, then uppercuts DarkTyranomon to the ground. Our ace in the hole has now officially been launched.

While Togemon's keeping DarkTyranomon busy, the Tachikawa women hurry to Keisuke's side.

Satoe: Are you okay, Honey? Keisuke: I am, but I made a fool of myself. Satoe: No, that's not true. You were very cool out there! Keisuke: Really? Satoe: Really! (hugs Keisuke) Keisuke: REALLY!? Satoe: REALLY!!!

While Gomez and Morticia are enjoying each other's company, Togemon and DarkTyranomon are still having it out. DarkTyranomon has hoisted Togemon up into his claws, giving her a great vantage from which to juggle punches into his face.

Mimi: Hey, this isn't the time for that! Keisuke: Once in a while doesn't hurt. Satoe: Yeah! Mimi: But you're always like this!

Mimi's parents wear their hearts on their sleeves. Again, it's easy to see where she gets it from.

In the dub, Togemon gets to quip as she comes out.

Mimi: DAAAAAAAD!!! (Palmon evolves and Togemon uppercuts DarkTyranomon) Togemon: Back to the Stone Age with you! Mimi: Dad! Daaaad! (The Tachikawa women run to Keisuke) Satoe: Honeybunch, are you okay? Keisuke: Ugh... I guess I made a fool of myself, huh? Satoe: Mm-mm. Don't be ridiculous. That was the bravest thing I ever saw! Keisuke: Really? Satoe: Really. (hugs Keisuke) Keisuke: You mean it!? Satoe: I mean it! Keisuke: Oh, honey.... (Fight raging) Mimi: Uh, Mom? Dad? I hate to ruin this love fest but maybe we should run for cover or something!

Dub Mimi is a lot more supportive of her parents' mushy PDAs, which means we lose a funny gag and a fun bit of characterization.

Unfortunately, the fight takes a turn while the Tachikawa parents are having their moment.

DarkTyranomon throws Togemon down on her back, then follows up with their Fire Blast.

Mimi: Ganbatte, Togemon! Togemon: (pained) ...I'm trying to ganbatte....

As a reminder, ganbatte is the Japanese cultural construct of perseverance in the face of tremendous hardship, using hard work and dedication to pull through and overcome the impossible.

While Togemon's struggling, the Bakemon regroup. They chase the crowd back inside the convention center. Sora runs around blasting the sutra with Sakurada's radio, but there's only so much she can do.

Mimi: Why? Why!? Why are they doing this to us!?

We see Susumu's group inside, still fighting it out with the Bakemon. Back out here, the regrouped Bakemon swarm towards Mimi's parents.

Mimi: (tears in her eyes) I can't let this... I WON'T LET ALL OF THESE DIGIMON DO THIS!!!

The dub puts a commercial break on Togemon getting Fire Blasted, which is a pretty good pick for a commercial cliffhanger. Then we return on Mimi inexplicably telling Togemon to abandon everyone.

Mimi: It's no use! Save yourself! Togemon: (pained) I got it under control, no problem.... (Bakemon regroup) Mimi: Oh, this is the end. It's over. Myotismon will rule the world. (Bakemon swarm towards Mimi's parents) Mimi: (tears in her eyes) This is terrible! Now my family's going to suffer and so are my friends! There's got to be something I can do!

The dub doesn't play Mimi's meltdown half as hard as original Mimi's. Mimi has never wanted to be a part of that world, and now all the hardship and trauma has followed her home. She's never understood why this has to be her life.

Here, it's basically a tantrum that actualizes her power. Not unlike the one from that destroyed Devimon's Black Gear. Not unlike the one her mother just used to vanquish Susumu. The Tachikawa women channel incredible power when they let their feelings run wild.

Mimi doesn't want to have to fight these Digimon conflicts. She just wants it to stop. So her feelings erupt and she claims the power that will make it stop. Mimi fights so that she won't have to fight again.

Dub Mimi falls into despair because the bad guys are winning. Then she quietly decides to try and help, and somehow that's sufficient to light her Crest. It lacks both the emotional power and the resonance with her storyline to this point.

Mimi's overwhelming feelings cause her Crest to ignite. Togemon CHOU-SHINKAAAAAA!!!

Let's have a warm round of applause for the best evolved form of an Adventure 01 Digimon, Lilimon!

Mimi: Togemon evolved? Lilimon: FLOWER CANNON!!!

Lilimon announces herself by pelting DarkTyranomon in the chest with her Flower Cannon, and we go into her rundown.

Lilimon is a Perfect-stage Data-type Fairy Digimon. She would not release as a V-Pet until several months after this episode aired, when she became part of the 0.5 rerelease for Wind Guardians - Replacing Blossomon as Togemon's Perfect evolution.

Mimi: Lilimon? Lilimon: Hi! Mimi! Narrator: A Perfect-stage Fairy Digimon who flies through the sky using the four wings on her back. That is Lilimon! Her special attack is Flower Cannon.

Between letting Phantomon cut him off and now changing up the typical rundown format so he can respond directly to Mimi, the narrator's rundowns have been pretty fun this episode.

Lilimon: (teasing) Am I in bad taste? Mimi: Not at all. You're so pretty! And cute! Lilimon: Thank you!

Once the rundown's finished, Lilimon immediately pays off the "bad taste" bit from earlier and makes Mimi eat her words. As she should because Lilimon Best Evolution.

The dub calls her "Lillymon", not only changing out the second I for a Y to shore it up into English but then promptly misspelling the word "lily" with a second L. Um.

Mimi: Where'd she come from!? Lillymon: FLOWER CANNON!!! (Lillymon blasts DarkTyranomon) Mimi: Whoa! Who are you!? Lillymon: It's just li'l ol' me! Lillymon: (rundown) Or should I say "little old us"? I'm Palmon and Togemon too! This is just my fully Digivolved form. You can call me Lillymon! Lillymon: Am I in bad taste? Mimi: No way. I'm sorry I ever said that. Lillymon: No biggie!

Dub Mimi apologizes for the objectionable comment, while original Mimi gushes over how cool Lilimon is. Both are valid ways to play this scene. It does make Dub Mimi come across as a little more mature than Original Mimi, but it wouldn't be the first time.

Though I'm not a fan of how 2/3 of the dub exchange including the rundown have to be spent explaining how Digivolution works to Mimi. Really? We're how many episodes into this?

DarkTyranomon tries to take a swipe at Lilimon from behind, but she's too nimble and easily dodges it.

Lilimon: Ehehe! Try and catch me if you can! Mimi: Be careful! Lilimon: Hey, Mimi! Your tears of purity helped me evolve. I want to cherish that heart of yours. That's why.... Mimi: What are you going to do? Lilimon: Watch this! HANA NO KUBIKAZARI!!!

Though her Flower Cannon is spoken in English, her second attack Hana no Kubikazari is in Japanese. It translates to "Flower Necklace". Lilimon zips around DarkTyranomon's neck, creating a ring of flowers that pacifies them.

Lilimon: I've removed the evil virus from them using my flower power. They're not our enemy anymore. (pets DarkTyranomon) Good boy. Mimi: SO COOL!!!

Lilimon can produce flowers that unfuck viruses. There is so much we could do with that!

In the dub:

Lillymon: Whoopsy! You'll have to be quicker than that! Mimi: Be careful! Lillymon: Your wish to save your family and friends brought me into existence. Mimi, you're a very special girl even though your wardrobe sometimes clashes. Mimi: What do you mean? Lillymon: Later! Right now, I have a dinosaur to tame! (Lillymon creates the Flower Necklace but doesn't call the attack) Lillymon: My flower wreath counteracted the evil computer virus, so he ought to be as gentle as a lamb from now on. (pets DarkTyrannomon) Nice Tyrannomon. Thattaboy.

Lillymon's too busy quipping to queue up her decision to use the Flower Necklace, despite the fact that explaining said decision is the point of her heartfelt monologue. She chooses mercy for DarkTyranomon to reflect Mimi's disdain for all this violence and desire for a peaceful life.

Mimi fights so that she won't have to fight anymore. Respecting her values, Lilimon uses her powers to end this without having to fight.

Unfortunately. And very symbolically. Mimi cannot have the peace she desires.

Vamdemon: Are we having a tea ceremony? BLOODY STREAM!!!

Mocking the hyper-femininity of this sweet moment we're having, Vamdemon cuts in and executes DarkTyranomon. One lash of his attack is all it takes to make DarkTyranomon disintegrate into pixels. The only thing left behind is the Flower Necklace, which hangs in the air for just a moment before falling hopelessly to the ground.

Vamdemon has seen Mimi and Lilimon's mercy, and answered that there will be violence. There will be blood. Mercy is not an option so long as he's driving this war.

Lilimon: How could you do that!? Vamdemon: Hmph. All I did was rid myself of unnecessary rubbish. You're next. BLOODY STREAM!!!

Vamdemon lashes at Lilimon with his whip. She darts away, dancing around his attack and returning fire with Flower Cannon. The fight is back on.

From here, the dub starts putting scenes out-of-order again. This is the last scene in their version, so we're gonna come back to this when the dub gets here. For the original, we leave Mimi here for the episode to go check in on how everyone else is doing.

Jou has finally made it to Hinode, only to discover that the boats are shut down too. He's so distraught, he starts complaining about the education system.

Jou: The boats won't work either... How do I get through that fog? Gomamon: Jou, don't they teach you that in cram school? Jou: Of course not! Stuff like how to make a fire or how to wash dishes? You never learn that in a cram school! Gomamon: Then what do they teach you? Jou: Who cares about that? What matters right now is that fog.

In the dub:

Joe: I should have known. What made me think the boats would be running when nothing else is? Gomamon: It could be worse. We could be stuck in some crazy-- Joe: Please stop saying it could be worse. I have news for you, pal: It is worse! The whole world is stuck in turmoil and we're waiting for a ride into town! Gomamon: We might as well just give up right now. Joe: Well, I wouldn't go that far. After all, it could be worse. Myotismon: Ahahahahaha HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! Joe: Huh!?

Jou's dissatisfaction with the education system is replaced by a funny exchange about the phrase "it could be worse". Which is then inexplicably interrupted by Myotismon laughing so hard he can be heard three miles away at Hinode Pier. DemiDevimon must have just told a hell of a good joke.

I think they just couldn't come up with a valid reason for Joe to suddenly look at the fog when Jou says "What matters right now is that fog."

Takeru and Natsuko are on a train heading in; They're still far enough out that they haven't been stopped yet.

Hiroaki is sneaking around the FCG Building, avoiding a patrolling Bakemon.

Hiroaki: (thinking) Maybe if I try the satellite broadcast... That might work.

In the dub:

Hiroaki: Maybe if I can just get to that satellite dish....

Taichi and Hikari run past the scaffolding where Yamato's hiding out with Gabumon. Taichi is carrying the exhausted Agumon on his back. He's also holding Hikari's hand so she doesn't fall behind.

Taichi: Are you okay? Agumon: Eh, sort of.... Yamato: TAICHI!!! Taichi: Huh? Yamato: Over here! Taichi: Yamato!?

Taichi joins Yamato inside the partially constructed building. The boys go talk things through while Hikari tends to Agumon's injured arm.

Hikari: Does it still hurt? Agumon: It's gotten a lot better. Yamato: WHAT DID YOU SAY!?!? Taichi: It's true! Hikari is the Eighth Child!

So now three of the eight Chosen Children know the truth about Hikari.

In the dub:

In the dub:

Tai: You okay, Agumon? Agumon: I've felt better. Matt: TAI!!! Tai: Huh!? Matt: UP HERE!!! Tai: Matt!? Is that you!? Hey, we gotta talk! (Cut to interior) Kari: You feel any better? Agumon: A lot better; Thanks, Kari. Matt: What!? You're kidding me! Tai: No, it's true! Kari is the Eighth Child!

I really like Tai's "We gotta talk!" here. Delivered with all the urgency of someone who has news that will blow Matt's mind. And he does!

Meanwhile, back inside Big Sight, Sora's plan has run its course. This little rebellion is over.

Phantomon destroys Sakurada's radio, disarming Sora of her only weapon.

Phantomon: Try chanting the Buddha's name this time so you can die a peaceful death!

Phantomon is referencing a Buddhist belief that dying with the Buddha on your mind will positively affect your dharma and allow you to reincarnate into a better form than you would otherwise. You don't have to do the chanting yourself; Others can chant it for you. The important thing is that the Buddha is the last thought on your mind when you pass.

Two eerily grounded Bakemon approach Sora, grabbing her by the arms.

Phantomon: Your life is mine! Bakemon?: Not so fast! Phantomon: What.

Toshiko and Piyomon shed their garments, with Piyomon evolving instantly. Birdramon rushes Phantomon and the Bakemon horde, buying Toshiko and Sora a moment to reunite.

Toshiko: (embracing Sora) Sora... (After a moment, they stand up) Sora: Mom... Toshiko: You have to escape, Sora. Sora: You come too!

More Bakemon reinforcements close in on them. Toshiko stands out in front of her daughter, barking at her.

Toshiko: HURRY UP AND GO!!! Sora: MOOOOOOM!!!

Toshiko and Sora may not be able to connect over their interests, but if there was ever any doubt that Toshiko loves her....

The original episode ends here on Sora's scream.

Over in the dub, Phantomon has the unenviable task of having to try and make a deadly threat out of a self-help mantra that wasn't even coming out of the radio to begin with.

Phantomon: Enough! That new-age psychobabble won't help you where you're going, my pretty little miss!

He almost succeeds but then he gets super weird in the last four words. He also then clarifies that this wasn't a veiled threat; He really is dialing the violence down and just intends to put Sora in captivity.

Phantomon: Seize her! Take her away! Bakemon?: Boo! Phantomon: ...what? (Biyomon Digivolves) Phantomon: Oh, it's just a bird. A large bird, I grant you. (Birdramon rushes them) Phantomon: A LARGE ANGRY BIRD AUUUUGH!!!

Though the "Boo!" line is weak, the silence-breakers added to Birdramon's attack are amazing. Gold star. XD

Toshiko: (embraces Sora) Sora.... Sora: Oh, Mom. I'm so.... Toshiko: There's no time now, Honey. You've got to get out of here! Hurry! Sora: But what about you? (Bakemon reinforcements arrive) Toshiko: GET MOVING!!! I'LL BE FINE!!! Sora: NO!!! MOTHER!!!

This lands almost as hard except for one confusing point. Was Sora about to apologize to Toshiko for this morning's drama? Apologize for what? Going to soccer practice?

Maybe she meant to apologize for being unfair to Toshiko over the knee injury way back when. There was blame to go around there. But in recent memory Sora hasn't done anything wrong.

I don't know. It's not bad or contradictory for Sora to have apologetic feelings towards her mom given their relationship as a whole. Just a little awkward that she's trying to apologize right now for something that has barely been touched on in this episode, in a scene she wasn't part of.

Finally, while the original ends here with Toshiko's sacrifice, the dub loops back around to end with Mimi and Lillymon facing off against Myotismon.

Mimi: We woooooooon! Myotismon: We'll see about that. Back to the Digital World with you! (DarkTyranomon dies returns to the Digital World safe and sound) Lillymon: You are such a bad sport! Myotismon: You meddlesome little flower child! It's time I plucked your petals! CRIMSON LIGHTNING!!!

They then cut the footage of Lilimon dodging Vamdemon's attack and returning fire with her Flower Cannon, leaving her fate more ambiguous and desperate than seeing her give as good as she gets against Myotismon might have otherwise.

Narrator: Will Lillymon withstand Myotismon's Crimson Lightning or will Mimi lose her best friend? Next time on Digimon: Digital Monsters!

XD None of the above; She dodged it, asshole. Fuck out of here with your patriarchal false dichotomies!

Assessment: Lilimon is the best and her debut episode sees the plot ramping up, as Vamdemon abandons all pretense of a stealthy infiltration now that he's narrowed down the Eighth Child's location to a single district. We aren't sneaking around doing Animorphs shit anymore; We are going loud and doing last five or so Animorphs volumes shit.

The parents are now in on it, to varying degrees, and it's great to see them stepping up for their kids. Mimi's parents are adorable and hilarious, Sora's mom is trying to reconcile, Yamato's dad is a badass, and Taichi's dad beat up ghosts with a metal bar.

I said it before, but you really can see the traits that trickled down into the Chosen Children embedded in their parents. Where they inherited their best qualities, and also their worst.

The dub is fantastic for about 2/3 of the episode but then shits the bed once we hit Big Sight and never fully recovers. It does slowly recover, but never fully.

[neonfretra]

nhl teasm...

my team loyalties immediately dissolve in favor of the funniest possible outcome. florida i will willingly curse you for a game seven sharks interview, vgk you mean nothing to me if it means the yotes sweep you, kraken you mean nothing to me if it means a sharks shutout, the san jose sharks will never be usurped in the chain of preference because they are gods personal sacrificial lamb and every joy they experience is like blood in the water and my heart hungers like a mouthless stomach.

for sake of readability i refer to teams by name here, sorry if this shows up on your favsies team tags </3

every single team WILL be discussed in terms of the sharks . be warned .

nhl teams tier list below the cut because i yap too much for a cute graphic. our conversations arent long but you know what is. its this. dont talk to me at all, actually.

MY teams!!!

San Jose Sharks

san jose sharks u are the only thing that has ever mattered 2 me. pickles cup on the HORIZON and RAPIDLY APPROACHING.

MY GIRLS......!!!!! if you want to love a team make a primer about them. i think of everything hockey relative to the sharks. i can name most of their players.! (it takes me genuine conscious thought to tell apart cmd, drai, lars because of their similar facial hair for reference. luke kunin and justin bailey though NO PROBLEM ^_^)

fighting team through and through! who CARE if we down two and got twenty seconds remaining, players WILL be gunning down the ice...! its always a bit of a shock to watch other teams just kinda. wander about?

people who like winning will tell you that the important part of the sport is winning. wrong! it is HONOR and WHIMSY. and sometimes IMMENSE AMOUNTS OF NIHILISM . i think its good for you to root for a basement team. really gets you out of that winning is everything mentality cause if i got my feelings too wound up about how the sharks performed i would not have a blood pressure measurable by conventional means anymore

also, nothing on this team is permanent. i look at old rosters and can name like. five of them. we made the MOST moves at the trade deadline. every single captain has had trade rumors going around about them. somehow, we are still living on the high of that game seven. you know the one.

there are four people in the lb tag on a good day. if you are joining the sharks fandom hi! ^_^ sorry for takin your favorite guy!

BEST DRESSED TEAM IN THE LEAGUE!!! our logo? CUNT. our teal? CUNT. our cute little teal helmets to go with visiting uniforms? CUNT. our black alternate jerseys? CURSED AS ALL HELL. also, CUNT. over 5% of our wins this season happened in the califin jersey which is to say ONE GAME. and we looked GOOD AS HELL doing it. year one of the team, sharks sold the MOST merch in the league because our logo before the current logo? CUNT.

i think the sharks makes me a worse person.

Seattle Kraken

my first team! ^_^ really awesome and active community on tumblr, i really like the community wide decision to be whimsical through thick and thin, if you want to get into hockey id definitely suggest them !!! sports are a social interest to me <3

also, one of the best dressed teams IMO! LOVE the red accents (& how they use black in their visiting jerseys), and especially a fan of how their goalies gear picks up on it!

also, the pride runs deep team, the put a tentacle on a pride flag dont even need to mention its for hockey team

also, i love their fish toss. the past tense of yeet is NOT yaught.

i recognize a quite a few of their players! unfortunately, quite a few of their players are prone to injury. hope they resign QUITE A FEW OF THEIR PLAYERS. ^_^

Vegas Golden Knights

HEEL TEAM!!! hate them or love them you NEED them for your narratives. and GOLLY do people hate them! this has made me root for them more. haters be strong, but by god i stay stronger xoxo

a team you DEFINITELY need a sense of humor to love publicly tho. this blog SUPPORTS taking weeks if not months long sick leave <- literally a sharks fan, if u arent feeling 100% get your rest AND get your paycheck im so serious

i think they need to DOUBLE DOWN on being the most las vegas thing to ever be outside of las vegas! they got glittery gold jerseys! pyrotechnics on every home goal! the big tacky slot machine! gold helmets! the whole opening segment! vgk become the disney villain team u were always meant to be!

also, tomas hertl is on this team. tomas hertl i miss u. everyone may be mad gm mike grier traded him to a franchise rival but hes a wizard TO ME for getting ltir resident hertl to a team he wanted to be on!!! please win a cup for tommy vgk

sharks exwifes teams

Tampa Bay Lightning

anthony duclair you are just as beautiful as you were the day i lost you ...

also, i am LEGITIMATELY infatuated by their storm jerseys (image from the unofficial nhl uniforms database)

girl i want you so bad

would you believe this jersey personally shot up my opinion of them

Dallas Stars

joe pavelski makes me feel hit song "its over isnt it" from show steven universe emotions. hes THE shark exwife. hes been gone for 5 years (goinf on six!) and every time we play against the stars they keep having long lingering shots on pavs and randomly bringing up how hes SUCH a great player ohhhhh pavs youre the greatest thing we have ever lost... they do this after someone else has scored a goal btw LMAO. i genuinely get surprised when i watch a cast with the stars that ISNT lingering on pavs. have a good retirement pavs <3

the second player i recognized the face of on the stars was mason marchment because he has piercing blue eyes and strikingly dark eyebrows. hes orbs.

i think their plaioffs thing was funny as hell. i dont even read it like. ai as in artificial intelligence, ive been reading pl-eye-offs. theyre funny for that + getting dragged for it, apparently? i hope they do it again (& get dragged again)

im sorry dallas stars for personally cursing you to lose round 2.

im also sorry dallas stars for writing almost entirely about joe pavelski here . he haunts the sharks so bad. i actually did start rooting for the stars because of him though LMAO

HI ID ALSO LIKE TO ADD THAT WE GOT TY DELLANDREAS FROM THIS TEAM! i love snatching everyones beloved players this cant keep happening

my friends teams (that i have imprinted on like a duckling) ^_^ hey speakin of ducks

Los Angeles Kings

BEST PENALTY KILL IN THE LEAGUE! <- dont fact check me

i like making up silly ways of referring to game terminologies and the kings are an endless supply of on theme jokes <3

.i was made fond through word of big save dave and i personally love watching everyone shadow box with the ghost of la kings

i regularly followed them in the regular season ^_^ and then the post season happened .i think i may have cursed them terribly

PLEASE LET YUOR YOUNGER PLAYERS IN . PLEEASDE.

Anaheim Ducks

team i am fond of but never watch the games of because they overlap with every other team i watch LMAO

i was um. also made fond of them through their goalies. i may be predicable. THEE if a goalie makes more than 50 saves in a game and still lose then they have the right to chase they team around with a machete team

but maybe the REAL way to my heart is a team that is healthy (do you remember healthy centers and veteran presence) and law abiding (one of the most penalized teams) that loves doing things like completing passes (um. <3) . which you will

also, witnessed the funniest exchange on one of my posts of like. two or three people? realizin that the ducks new logo is a duck foot

also, i think the seattle series has been one of the most bizarre series of events ive watched by far

Minnesota Wild

you are like an in law to me

TO BE COMPLETELY HONEST. wild is like up there as one of tumblrs popular teams to me! alongside the kraken and. the pens? idk i stay to ONE corner of the internet (the sharks) i think the community is very sweet :)

also, i think the 7-10 game with the canucks was hysterical, that was the only time ive watched back a game and it was worth it 100%

also, i have drawn one of your players with cat ears its OVER for nyall

Edmonton Oilers

i know nothing about your players. darnell nurse 5 own goals i wambt you

ANOTHER TEAM YOU NEED A SENSE OF HUMOR TO LOVE PUBLICLY .! godspeed oilers mutuals yall are like a beautiful ant raft to me. hold on tight together! ^_^

also, we beat the oilers this year and are noted career low for a guy named cmd if you know him . IDK hes a lil underground . so like. >:3

sharks exwives teams the sequel

Calgary Flames

nikita okhotiuk you are the worlds funniest girl to me. gets traded on the trade deadline, plays 9 games total, BREAKS IIHF RESTRICTION TO PLAY FOR CSKA MOSCOW. WORD ON THE STREET THEY STILL WANT HIM BACK. i dont know nothing about the flames otherwise LMAO guys . guys i miss okhie . my turnover princess.... .

i feel like everyone i know has beef with them. um. my beef is that they scored 13 against the sharks that one time in 1993.?

please god stop playin scary

Pittsburgh Penguins

exwife exhead coach/cheerleader david quinn i miss you and your web of connections and networkin like no other...! seriously he knows like. everyone. gets along with everyone and has a strange and unusual beef with sweet cousin kevin labanc. .and hes connectionsing and networkining out there with the pens! ^_^ comin full circle if you even CARE!!!

i root for these teams for absurd reasons

Ottawa Senators

i root for them when idc about who they against because theyre my brother in basement

Nashville Predators

roman josi

i have pavlovs dogged myself into getting hype as hell over him from this image. no i dont want to talk about it

i could not pick him out of a lineup BTW this is the only photo of him i look at

i think they could afford to be even more yellow in uniform

if you asked me to tell you one thing about this team id genuinely run empty

its all goalies and sharks associations . i have nothing to defend myself with here

Carolina Hurricanes: i know like... 3? of your players who are deeply endearing to me and nothing else. yeah one of them is a goalie can you look the other way please (pyotr kochetkov, seth jarvis, brent burns)

Detroit Red Wings: alex lyon is on this team! i miss radim simek . hes not dead we just snatched him off the cuda captaincy and sent him to detroit.

Philadelphia Flyers: they have gritty on this team and also sam ersson!

Arizona Coyotes/Utah Somethings: i thought their yotes logo was the cutest thing :( they matched with the roadies! honestly massively bummed we dont get the yotes on account of WILD as hell management decisions utah somethings is NOT a snub btw, ive seen the sharks cast refer to them as that and i think its really funny. the blue in the uniforms is cute though ^_^

St. Louis Blues: we series swept them! sorry stl anything for tommy

Boston Bruins

Buffalo Sabres

New York Islanders

Vancouver Canucks

Montreal Canadiens

Chicago: i know two different people that said they played better hockey wearing a chicago jersey . their opinions of this differ WILDLY. if you play hockey, consider it. for science.

i regularly forget/confuse these teams

Winnipeg Jets+Columbus Blue Jackets

i forget the cbj exist regularly igm so sorry. i confuse them with the winnipeg jets because i keep thinkin theyre both planes. who i also gorget with astonishing regularity . i dont know nothing about either them beyond that

Florida Panthers

i genuinely have a really hard time telling them and the preds apart????? NOT EVEN THE SAME COLORS BUT OKAY!

darling of the playoffs RN i think! i like the playoffs, everyone gets so mean LMAO

keep fans in your thoughts at this time because BOY HOWDY. THEY NEED IT.

Toronto Maple Leafs

I FIRGOT THEY EXISTED TOO. I WAS SCROLLING NHL DOT COM SLASH TEAMS TO MAKE SURE I GOT THEM ALL AND . THEY ARE AT THE BOTTOM BECAUSE I GORGOT THEM. IM SORRY TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS. also, mario ferraros childhood team ^_^

i dont hate them BUT...

New Jersey Devils

but also one half of an employee mackblack said they had him play before he was totally ready to come back on an injury ONSE TIME!! and ive not trusted them since

also one half of an employee kaapo kahkonen is on this team! he played 6 games, lost 4, got injured in 2, and the only game hes won was his season first shutout.

they have VERY pretty promotional graphics and also eyebrows

a lot of sharks go to the devs and vice versa which is always really funny ^_^ we got at LEAST four devs-to-sharks guys off the top of my head (we traded okhie and got vitek vanecek, maintaining the delicate balance of it all) and the devs got timo mimo. who also got very pretty eyebrows. timo mimo...

New York Rangers

but hey what are they doing to exwife barclay goodrow over therr . when i said i wanted him to win a third cup i didnt mean i needed him to do it in the era of the pickles comeback . his um??? his contract terms???

nyr yuo are nothing to mme and i wish five thousand years of famine upone you . san jose sharks i do NOT think we shoulda been able to do this. its just a workers rights thing hello

Washington Capitals

but CAP FRIENDLY. GIVE IT BACK. actually seething with rage at this new development. you must understand . if you want to love a team make a primer about them. if you want to love accessible databases write a primer.

also WAIT WAIT BEAUTIFUL FAILHORSE PIERRE LUC DUBOIS IS ON THIS TEAM NOW? please make sure you give him a sparkly star sticker if he does well a game and also peel his tangerines for him and also

[zoesblogsposts]

o 625 words to know in your target language o

There is a really interesting blog called "Fluent Forever" that aids foreign language learners in tricks, tips and techniques to guide them to achieving fluency "quickly" and efficiently. One of the tricks is to learn these 625 vocab words in your target language, that way you have a basis to start delving into grammar with ease as you can understand a lot of vocab right off the bat. Plus this list of words are common across the world and will aid you in whatever language you are learning. Here is the list in thematic order

• Animal: dog, cat, fish, bird, cow, pig, mouse, horse, wing, animal

• Transportation: train, plane, car, truck, bicycle, bus, boat, ship, tire, gasoline, engine, (train) ticket, transportation

• Location: city, house, apartment, street/road, airport, train station, bridge hotel, restaurant, farm, court, school, office, room, town, university, club, bar, park, camp, store/shop, theater, library, hospital, church, market, country (USA,

France, etc.), building, ground, space (outer space), bank, location

• Clothing: hat, dress, suit, skirt, shirt, T-shirt, pants, shoes, pocket, coat, stain, clothing

• Color: red, green, blue (light/dark), yellow, brown, pink, orange, black, white, gray, color

• People: son, daughter, mother, father, parent (= mother/father), baby, man, woman, brother, sister, family, grandfather, grandmother, husband, wife, king, queen, president, neighbor, boy, girl, child (= boy/girl), adult (= man/woman), human (# animal), friend (Add a friend's name), victim, player, fan, crowd, person

• Job: Teacher, student, lawyer, doctor, patient, waiter, secretary, priest, police, army, soldier, artist, author, manager, reporter, actor, job

• Society: religion, heaven, hell, death, medicine, money, dollar, bill, marriage, wedding, team, race (ethnicity), sex (the act), sex (gender), murder, prison, technology, energy, war, peace, attack, election, magazine, newspaper, poison, gun, sport, race (sport), exercise, ball, game, price, contract, drug, sign, science, God

• Art. band, song, instrument (musical), music, movie, art

• Beverages: coffee, tea, wine, beer, juice, water, milk, beverage

• Food: egg, cheese, bread, soup, cake, chicken, pork, beef, apple, banana orange, lemon, corn, rice, oil, seed, knife, spoon, fork, plate, cup, breakfast, lunch, dinner, sugar, salt, bottle, food

• Home: table, chair, bed, dream, window, door, bedroom, kitchen, bathroom, pencil, pen, photograph, soap, book, page, key, paint, letter, note, wall, paper, floor, ceiling, roof, pool, lock, telephone, garden, yard, needle, bag, box, gift, card, ring, tool

• Electronics: clock, lamp, fan, cell phone, network, computer, program (computer), laptop, screen, camera, television, radio

• Body: head, neck, face, beard, hair, eye, mouth, lip, nose, tooth, ear, tear (drop), tongue, back, toe, finger, foot, hand, leg, arm, shoulder, heart, blood, brain, knee, sweat, disease, bone, voice, skin, body

• Nature: sea, ocean, river, mountain, rain, snow, tree, sun, moon, world, Earth, forest, sky, plant, wind, soil/earth, flower, valley, root, lake, star, grass, leaf, air, sand, beach, wave, fire, ice, island, hill, heat, nature

• Materials: glass, metal, plastic, wood, stone, diamond, clay, dust, gold, copper, silver, material

• Math/Measurements: meter, centimeter, kilogram, inch, foot, pound, half, circle, square, temperature, date, weight, edge, corner

• Misc Nouns: map, dot, consonant, vowel, light, sound, yes, no, piece, pain, injury, hole, image, pattern, noun, verb, adjective

• Directions: top, bottom, side, front, back, outside, inside, up, down, left, right, straight, north, south, east, west, direction

• Seasons: Summer, Spring, Winter, Fall, season

• Numbers: 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20 21, 22, 30, 31, 32, 40, 41, 42, 50, 51, 52, 60, 61, 62, 70, 71, 72, 80, 81, 82, 90, 91, 92, 100, 101, 102, 110, 111, 1000, 1001, 10000, 100000, million, billion, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, number

• Months: January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December

• Days of the week: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday

• Time: year, month, week, day, hour, minute, second, morning, afternoon, evening, night, time

• Verbs: work, play, walk, run, drive, fly, swim, go, stop, follow, think, speak/say, eat, drink, kill, die, smile, laugh, cry, buy, pay, sell, shoot(a gun), learn, jump, smell, hear (a sound), listen (music), taste, touch, see (a bird), watch (TV), kiss, burn, melt, dig, explode, sit, stand, love, pass by, cut, fight, lie down, dance, sleep, wake up, sing, count, marry, pray, win, lose, mix/stir, bend, wash, cook, open, close, write, call, turn, build, teach, grow, draw, feed, catch, throw, clean, find, fall, push, pull, carry, break, wear, hang, shake, sign, beat, lift

• Adjectives: long, short (long), tall, short (vs tall), wide, narrow, big/large, small/little, slow, fast, hot, cold, warm, cool, new, old (new), young, old (young), weak, dead, alive, heavy, light (heavy), dark, light (dark), nuclear, famous