#september 13th 2022 | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

arimiadev · 10 months

Text

why does aniplex want mahoyo to fail

I love visual novels. being a long time fate/stay night fan and only having heard of mahoyo from hushed whispers about its cinematography, I was super invested when it was announced to be coming to the west and I could finally play an official version of it.

however, a lot of people interested in type-moon works had never heard of mahoyo, let alone it getting an official english translation. but how? aniplex is publishing the game and they're one of the largest anime distributors in the world.

with the console release of mahoyo being almost exactly a year ago and the steam release being just 10 days away, I want to look over some of aniplex USA's bizarre and nonexistent marketing for one of my favorite visual novels.

let's clear up a few things, first.

mahoyo is the shortened form of mahoutsukai no yoru (not to be confused with mahoutsukai no yome, i.e. the ancient magus bride), which has been localized as witch on the holy night. mahoyo was a linear non-eroge visual novel released by type-moon in 2012, being one of the first scripts kinoko nasu (co-founder of type-moon) wrote back in 1996 and adapted into a VN many, many years later.

in April of 2022, a console remaster (switch, playstation 4) was announced with HD assets and voice acting, to be published by aniplex. notably, this console release would contain an english translation and was later confirmed in June to be sold in the west via online retailers. this was huge news, as this meant mahoyo would be the first type-moon visual novel (not including gameplay-oriented titles like fate/extella or fate/grand order) to be officially released in the west, as despite numerous fan translations, their more recognizable visual novels tsukihime and fate/stay night still had not received a localization.

type-moon is the developer behind mahoyo and aniplex is the publisher, meaning that type-moon made the game and aniplex is in charge of distributing (and marketing) the game worldwide.

timeline:

April 11 2022: Mahoyo rerelease announced for consoles (Switch & PlayStation 4), including English translation

July 4 2022: Aniplex confirms Mahoyo will be available to the West, localized under the name Witch on the Holy Night

October 14 2022: 2nd trailer released, more voice actor info announced

November 3 2022: physical pre-orders launched, demo version available

November 18 2022: Aniplex attends Anime NYC with Mahoyo

December 7 2022: Mahoyo released digitally on Switch / PlayStation 4 (Dec 8th in Japan, Dec 7th in America)

December 12 2022: Mahoyo reaches 110k units sold worldwide

January 27 2023: Mahoyo physicals release

July 5 2023: Mahoyo reaches 150k units sold worldwide

September 10 2023: Mahoyo announced for Steam via a now unlisted Aniplex livestream

December 13 2023: Mahoyo will be released on Steam (Dec 14th in Japan, Dec 13th in America)

some of the dates might be a little fuzzy, especially the release dates, as some sources go by japanese time and some go by american timezones, so just be aware of that.

now, let's talk a bit about mahoyo itself.

mahoyo is a masterpiece. it's a niche game not meant for everyone. its cinematography is top notch among visual novels. its writing style can be off-putting to people who want faster-paced stories. it's one of my most beloved visual novels I've ever played, and I've been in this field for almost a decade and have played well over 100 VNs.

mahoyo is a completely linear visual novel—meaning it has no choices or gameplay—that follows aoko, a high schooler mage trying to balance her perfect school president facade with her secret life as a mage, something she has to keep secret at the risk of death. this is one of the lesser known type-moon works but it's well beloved because of the care put into it.

if you've ever heard someone talk about it, it's almost impossible for them to not mention the visuals. mahoyo is one of the most visually impressive visual novels I've ever seen, with its inspired use of artwork and in-game animations. I cannot recommend this VN enough if you like modern fantasy and don't mind linear VNs.

before we dive into aniplex USA's marketing, I want to clarify a few marketing terms for people who don't market visual novels as a job. marketing is not just advertising—it's everything related to how a product communicates with potential users, including its branding, its packaging, its everything. when marketing a game, you have several different avenues: social media, press & influencers, trailers, store pages, and more.

today I want to show you how, based off what I have researched after a long, manic day, aniplex USA has failed mahoyo on all of these accounts.

so let's go back to its western release.

mahoyo has a few official english channels:

website

twitter

facebook

aniplex also has an official english twitter with almost 500k followers where they shared mahoyo very rarely—only 9 tweets about the game ever.

well, surely their other pages are more maintained right—

both accounts stopped posting July 10th/11th, with their last post being about mahoyo going on sale on consoles. let's look at their posts prior to this, though, starting with the twitter.

we can see that the twitter account was made in december of 2022. if we scroll down far enough (it's not hard, given they only have 33 tweets), we can see that their first tweet was on december 6th 2022:

let's go back to our timeline. can you tell me when mahoyo's remaster released digitally?

yes they made both of the english mahoyo social media accounts the day before the game launched

we can very easily add up the entire social media posts for the game thus far:

mahoyo english twitter - 30 tweets and 3 retweets

mahoyo english facebook - 27 posts

aniplex english twitter - 9 tweets

aniplex english facebook - 2 posts

no other english social media accounts were tied to the website, so these are the only ones I looked at. this means in total, there were only 68 social media posts for the console release of mahoyo by the publisher for english audiences.

but what about the steam release? after the game sold over 150k+ units on consoles, surely aniplex was ready to market it a bit more for pc users—

neither account has made a post about the upcoming steam release.

if we look at the twitter, they have 3 tweets since July that do talk about the upcoming steam release- however, these are retweets from the japanese mahoyo account.

we know that this twitter and this facebook account are the official social media for mahoyo as they're linked on the website, so they're definitely meant to be followed for game updates in the west. well, maybe the english aniplex twitter has posted about it—

none of the english aniplex or mahoyo accounts have made a single post about the steam release

that's right, the social media posts I counted above are the only posts for mahoyo on their english accounts, all dating back before the steam release was announced. since then, they have not made a single original post even mentioning the steam release.

meanwhile, the japanese mahoyo twitter has been hustling hard to promote the upcoming steam release—reposting trailers, character bios, and more almost every day with pretty good numbers.

in fact, the japanese mahoyo twitter did such a good job at marketing it that the aniplex USA twitter never mentioned the english mahoyo twiter, instead only @ ing the japanese one in tweets (despite the english one being linked on the website).

why they even bothered making social media accounts and then not running them despite being one of the largest anime distributors in the world I have no clue.

well, maybe they didn't need to rely on social media presence. maybe they were going for the in-person approach and marketing it at conventions.

mahoyo had basically no anime convention presence

the only reference I can find to aniplex notably promoting mahoyo at any western convention is this tweet of them at anime NYC. from someone who was at anime NYC, I've been told that they pushed the game heavily at their booth with TV screens promoting the game.

however, anime NYC is only one anime convention. you cannot hope to sell a game by just attending one anime convention. mahoyo might have had a presence at other american conventions, but I'm unable to find any images or news about this.

maybe they don't understand type-moon

aniplex is the publisher for fate/grand order, one of the most successful mobile games ever created. they're also the distributor for a majority of type-moon related anime, ranging from fate to garden of sinners to side series. aniplex's marketing team should have lots of experience with type-moon properties.

maybe it was promoted in other aniplex titles

I was also unable to find a news post in fate/grand order related to mahoyo's release, despite news posts for other type-moon series (namely fate but also things like melty blood) getting news posts in fate/grand order. I might've missed the news posts when looking back through FGO but I don't believe there was one.

maybe it sold well in other regions but not western ones

(I'm going to be referring only to the console release for these stats, keep in mind)

mahoyo released December 7th/8th 2022 with an english, japanese, simplified chinese, and traditional chinese translations. at the end of the release week, mahoyo's japanese twitter announced the game had sold 110k copies worldwide and famitsu reported that 66,344 of these units were sold in japan. this means we have around 43k units unaccounted for.

we know the game was available in english, japanese, and chinese languages but we don't know what regions. mainland china has a very large visual novel playerbase (I say this as someone who sells visual novels), which means if it were sold there then it's easy to say that a big chunk of that 43k units could be attributed to them—this also means it would be easy to believe that aniplex saw mahoyo selling worse in western countries and took this as a sign to not promote the game any more there.

but was it ever sold in mainland china? from what I could tell—no.

looking at pricing charts for the nintendo eshop and the playstation store, china is not listed on either. furthermore, searching the game's chinese title on the chinese playstation store does not bring back any results. it looks like the only predominantly chinese-speaking regions that were able to buy it are hong kong, taiwan and possibly singapore (the playstation store page for it doesn't look like it's available for purchase anymore).

so what does this tell us?

without any other numbers it's hard to tell how many of the 43k launch week sales came from english-speaking players, but even if we conservatively say that only around 20k of the 110k launch week units were from western countries, that's still almost a million in revenue (and remember, the physical limited edition of the game was available in english for $60, which is $20 more than the digital base version).

maybe the store page is so good they don't need to market it

here's a little secret: store pages matter a lot more than you'd think. there are entire job positions dedicated to tailoring store pages (like a steam game page) to make it perfect for the game's target audience. there's a science to it that includes the artwork, descriptions, tags, screenshots, and more.

let's see what aniplex did for the steam page of mahoyo.

A tale told with vivid colors and rich sound in a classic TYPE-MOON visual novel.

I don't know how to describe this short description charitably other than to say it sounds like a person who's never heard of a visual novel has been tasked with describing a visual novel.

this tells me nothing about the game other than it's a visual novel. I hope you know what type-moon is, because if you don't then you've learned nothing else from this. alright, well, let's look at the screenshots—

there's only 1.

currently as of writing this, there's 10 images uploaded as screenshots (no trailers, they keep adding and removing the trailers for some reason). 9 of these images are just the full artworks from the game while 1 is an actual screenshot.

I really hate this, as you're not actually shown what the game looks like unless you look at the very last screenshot. this will absolutely lead to some people not understanding what they're getting into. what's worse is that some of these CGs are spoilers, especially one in particular featuring my wife touko.

why are we spoiling people instead of showing them screenshots? why not show people what mahoyo actually looks like??

there's also absolutely no use of the announcements section on steam. each game on steam can post announcements related to the game, including upcoming releases, new updates, and more. it's customary to post a steam announcement when a game has a release date announcement. mahoyo's steam page has none.

well they probably released the trailers in english for hype

I wish I had that much hope.

on mahoyo's english website, all of the videos listed are from the official type-moon youtube, which is their japanese channel. type-moon went through the effort to translate these videos. aniplex didn't upload these to their own youtube, where they already upload everything related to the fateverse and nasuverse.

searching up witch on the holy night brings up no results for the trailer—aniplex never uploaded the trailer to their channel.

maybe they got influencers to play it

according to steamdb, the max amount of viewers mahoyo streams have had on twitch was 71 viewers.

furthermore, if we check twitch and look for vods attached to mahoyo, we only find 4 videos total, all of which were posted in the past week. it looks like they didn't even reach out to streamers to play the console release, much less pay them.

over on the press side, it does look like they reached out to at least a few reviewers. for example, on the review by noisy pixel, they clarify that a review copy was provided by the publisher for review purposes. we can add that to the bare minimum of marketing—reaching out to press.

however, they did get for some other influencers to share the game! ...twitter game sale influencers, that is.

there's actually a lot more of these types of tweets for mahoyo than I was expecting when I searched it on twitter. as a friend pointed out, just because it says "#ad" doesn't necessarily mean these were paid for by aniplex—a lot of these links look to be referrals, which means they're getting a cut of any purchases.

let's recap

mahoyo released over 110k copies in the launch week for it's worldwide console release despite very, very limited marketing efforts from its publisher aniplex. now that the game has proven it can sell very well despite being a lesser known linear visual novel, aniplex has done no marketing for the steam release- no tweets, no influencer outreach, no localization of trailers, no announcements via steam, nothing.

so why?

why does aniplex want mahoyo to fail?

even after all of this, I still do not know why. to me, it's clear that the marketing team at aniplex were (most likely) given no budget for this game and just couldn't do anything with it, deciding to spend what little money they had on press outreach and an anime NYC booth.

but why? why didn't aniplex give them a budget, even a small one? why was their budget so tiny they couldn't even afford to tweet? to RT more posts from the japanese twitter? to share the already translated trailers to their own accounts?

I've heard a few excuses like "type-moon hates western fans and probably caused it" but this doesn't make any sense either. why would you authorize a translation of your game and allow your publisher to sell the game overseas but specifically make them not market the game (and what publisher would agree to that)? I've even heard excuses like "they just forgot it was coming out", to which I ask "how does an entire marketing team (a company the size of aniplex absolutely has a team(s) for marketing and not a singular person) forget a release for a game that's already sold over 150k copies?". the only excuse I've seen that I somewhat buy is that they did not have much faith in the game and relied almost entirely on fans doing word of mouth marketing for the game.

I don't think we'll ever get an answer. while I do believe the marketing team at aniplex was most likely given no budget for mahoyo, it still begs the question of why. why did someone at aniplex not want to give mahoyo a marketing budget? why are the japanese accounts for mahoyo and type-moon the only ones doing the marketing?

I hope the information I've provided here is accurate—if it's not, I'll try to update with corrections. I don't want this piece to cast hate towards the staff at aniplex or anyone involved with this projects, I'm just trying to assemble the pieces on what feels like a game being left to word of mouth. I've tried to include as many links to my sources as I could so you could come to your own judgements about what has happened regarding mahoyo's worldwide release.

mahoyo is a visual novel that's dear to me and will absolutely sell well on steam—with an estimated 50-80k wishlists, it's going to have a solid launch despite the zero marketing for its steam release. if you love other type-moon works or want to see an absolutely visually stunning visual novel, please check it out.

— arimia

#visual novel #visual novels #mahoyo #mahoutsukai no yoru #witch on the holy night #mahoyosweep #type-moon #visual novel game #anyway please play mahoyo #my articles

488 notes · View notes

digimonarchive · 2 months

Text

Digimon in all animated media - Anime, Movies and OVA

1st pic = Digimon Adventure anime (Japan: March 7, 1999 - March 26, 2000; USA: August 14, 1999 - June 24, 2000)

2nd pic = Digimon Adenture 02 anime (Japan: April 2, 2000 - March 25, 2001; USA: August 19, 2000 - May 19, 2001)

3rd pic = Digimon Tamers anime (Japan: April 1, 2001 - March 31, 2002; USA: September 1, 2001 - June 8, 2002)

4th pic = Digimon Frontier anime (Japan: April 7, 2002 - March 30, 2003; USA: September 9, 2002 - July 14, 2003)

5th pic = Digimon Savers / Data Squad anime (Japan: April 2, 2006 – March 25, 2007; USA: October 1, 2007 - November 2, 2008)

6th pic = Digimon Xros Wars / Fusion anime (Japan: July 6, 2010 - March 25, 2012; USA: September 7, 2013 - August 16, 2015)

7th pic = Digimon Xros Wars: The Evil Death Generals and the Seven Kingdoms anime (a.k.a Digimon Xros Wars part 2) (Japan: April 3, 2011 - September 25, 2011; USA: March 8, 2015 - August 16, 2015) **

8th pic = Digimon Xros Wars: The Young Hunters Who Leapt Through Time anime (a.k.a Digimon Xros Wars Hunters or Digimon Xros Wars part 3) (Japan: October 2, 2011 - March 25, 2012) ***

9th pic = Digimon Adventure Tri OVA (Japan: November 21, 2015 - May 5, 2018; USA: September 15, 2016 - September 20, 2018)

10th pic = Digimon Universe Appli Monsters anime (a.k.a Appmon) (Japan: October 1, 2016 - September 30, 2017)

11th pic = Digimon Adventure: (a.k.a Digimon Adventure 2020 or Digimon Adventure reboot) (Japan: April 5, 2020 - September 26, 2021; USA: November 19, 2022 - April 13, 2023)

12th pic = Digimon Ghost Game (Japan: October 3, 2021 - March 26, 2023)

13th pic = Digimon Adventure (Movie) short film (Japan: March 6, 1999; USA: October 6, 2000 as the first segment part of Digimon The Movie)

14th pic = Digimon Adventure: Our War Game! movie (Japan: March 4, 2000; USA: October 6 2000 as the second segment part of Digimon The Movie)

15th pic = Digimon Adventure 02: Vol. 1: Digimon Hurricane Landing!/Vol. 2: Transcendent Evolution! The Golden Digimentals movie (a.k.a Digimon Adventure 02 Vol 1 and 2) (Japan: July 8, 2000; USA: October 6, 2000 as the third segment part of Digimon The Movie) ****

16th pic = Digimon Adventure 02: Diablomon Strikes Back / Digimon: Revenge of Diaboromon movie (Japan: March 3, 2001; USA: August 5, 2005)

17th pic = Digimon Tamers: The Adventurers' Battle / Digimon: Battle of Adventurers movie (Japan: July 14, 2001; USA: October 16, 2005)

18th pic = Digimon Tamers: The Runaway Digimon Express / Digimon: Runaway Locomon movie (Japan: March 2, 2002; USA: October 2, 2005)

19th pic = Digimon Frontier: Revival of the Ancient Digimon!! / Digimon: Island of Lost Digimon movie (Japan: July 20, 2002; USA: October 23, 2005)

20th pic = Digital Monster X-evolution movie (Japan: January 3, 2005; USA: August 1, 2020)

21st pic = Digimon Savers The Movie: Ultimate Power! Activate Burst Mode!! movie (Japan: December 9, 2006)

22nd pic = Digimon Adventure 3D: Digimon Grandprix! short film OVA (Japan: July 20, 2000)

23rd pic = Digimon Savers 3D: The Digital World in Imminent Danger! short film OVA (Japan: July 8, 2006)

24th pic = Digimon Adventure 20th Anniversary Memorial Story Project OVA short films (Japan: November 22 2019 - December 25, 2020)

25th pic = Digimon Adventure: Last Evolution Kizuna movie (Japan: February 21, 2020; USA: September 29, 2020)

26th pic = Digimon Adventure 02: The Beginning movie (Japan: October 5, 2023; USA: November 8, 2023)

** This is the 2nd part of Digimon Xros Wars saga with Taiki, Kiriha and Nene on their adventure while Akari and Zenjirou are left out.

*** This is the 3rd part of Digimon Xros Wars saga with Tagiru, Yuu and Taiki as the protagonists. This 3rd part has the overly long title so we fans prefer to call it 'Digimon Xros Wars: Hunters' or 'Digimon Young Hunters'.

**** Yes, this movie has an overly long title. I had a hard time deciding whether to highlight it in bold or not.

Happy Digimon Day!

#Digimon #Digimon Adventure #Digimon Adventure 02 #Digimon Tamers #Digimon Frontier #Digimon Savers #digimon data squad #Digimon Xros Wars #digimon fusion #Digimon Ghost Game #Appmon #digimon adventure 2020 #picspam #digimon day #odaiba day #odaiba memorial day

112 notes · View notes

decolonize-the-everything · 6 months

Text

GENERAL STRIKE TIME BABEY. READ THE WHOLE POST.

While we're all mad at government sending money to Israel that police budgets are so inflated because of how often they pay settlements.

And also that it's a verified fact that our police train with Israeli soldiers. Remember when they were black bagging people in PDX? It reminded me of this ex-Israeli soldier talking about how they'd do the same thing to innocent Palestinians just to terrorize them and their neighbors. It was intentional terrorism when they did it.

Police budgets pay for all that.

Correction, we pay.

To put it more bluntly,

We pay for them to kill and terrorize people.

Just as our taxes pay for the deaths of Black and Brown people all over the world from Turtle Island to Sudan and Palestine.

In Dec. 2022, Louisville Metro Government agreed to pay Walker $2 million to settle lawsuits against the city. Metro government previously paid a $12 million settlement to Taylor’s family in Sept. 2020

We paid for Breonna Taylor's death.

And her murderers were never arrested btw. Not that there aren't still people trying to arrest them of course. But our money paid for their lawyers and wouldn't you know it, no charges have stuck.

Four years to the day after Breonna Taylor’s death, federal prosecutors are moving forward with a re-trial of one of the officers involved in the botched raid that ended her life. At a status conference Wednesday, U.S. District Court Judge Rebecca Grady Jennings scheduled Brett Hankison’s final pre-trial hearing for September 13th. His re-trial is scheduled to begin on Oct. 15. In November of last year, Hankinson was tried for violating the Constitutional rights of Breonna Taylor, her boyfriend, and three neighbors when he fired through two covered windows during the raid. Prosecutors argued he used excessive force when he shot into the apartment complex blindly. Taylor’s boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, had fired at officers executing the search, claiming he thought they were intruders.

And Myles Cosgrove?

Yeah we're paying him to terrorize more people. He got a job as a fucking sheriff's deputy.

Myles Cosgrove, the former Louisville police officer, who was fired for fatally shooting Breonna Taylor in a botched 2020 police raid and hired earlier this year as a sheriff’s deputy in Carroll County, rammed a resident’s truck with his cruiser Monday and then pointed a gun at the owner and several bystanders, witnesses said.

Witnesses told The Courier Journal that Cosgrove barreled into Happy Hollow Private Resort Park trailer park at a high rate of speed without his emergency lights on, then struck William Joshua Short’s pickup truck with such force that it sent the vehicle flying into a building, breaking off two cinder blocks.

And Johnathan Mattingly wrote a fucking book about it to make money off of his role in her murder. $15 on Amazon.

He also wanted to sue Kenneth Walker, Breonna's boyfriend. You know why? For damages and injuries he sustained while killing Breonna Taylor.

WE PAID FOR ALL THAT. ALL OF IT.

Our power is in our dollar.

American politics and officials don't care for our lives. It's why they're content to watch us protest for months. Because we're still going to work. We are the worker ants simply fulfilling our duty, receiving the bare minimum to survive for our labor.

We're still building their bombs. Paying our taxes, so much that hardly any of us could afford more than rent.

We are just drones fulfilling our purpose to the upper class who doesn't give a shit about us beyond what we do for them and how little we will do it for.

If we want change we're gonna have to stop working. We're going to have to deprive them of products they sell, of our taxes, of our low cost labor.

And the strike that UAW is planning in May 2028 has inspired a lot of others to start looking at the opportunity to join in.

If you haven't heard of it yet, a strike is when workers organize and stop showing up for work. And a general strike is a mass strike across various industries around similar demands or bargaining positions.

There have been multiple calls for a general strike since then, predominantly from individuals and groups on social media, which has often resulted in confusion about what a general strike would actually look like. To be clear, a general strike is not a protest or a rally, a single picket line, or a boycott. It is, as I’ve previously defined, “a labor action in which a significant number of workers from a number of different industries who comprise a majority of the total labor force within a particular city, region, or country come together to take collective action.”

Throughout history, workers have used this tactic as a nuclear option to shut down entire cities when needed, including Philadelphia in 1835, Seattle in 1919, and beyond.[...]

If even four or five of the unions representing the workers mentioned above banded together in a nationwide general strike, the entire country would grind to a halt. When Shawn Fain asks his fellow unions to set the timer for May 2028, what he’s really saying is, get ready to shut sh*t down and level the playing field between bosses and workers once and for all.

JOIN A UNION. AND TALK ABOUT THIS.

And make one of the demands out to be an end of American support to countries participating in apartheid and genocide.

End the taxes for police budgets and settlements. If they want police departments so bad then they should FIND funding for themselves like the government makes USPS do.

One of the biggest pushbacks we hear is that there is never any official backing for calls to a general strike. Well here it is! Make sure you tell EVERYONE

This could be a global strike if other countries choose to participate on the same date

No, I don't think Palestine has 3 years so in the mean time join a union, keep protesting, start rioting, answer Every call to action coming from a Palestine and Sudan and the DRC and sign this strike card

136 notes · View notes

tranzjen · 3 months

Text

🩷🩵🤍 5 Days Until my Surgery 🤍🩵🩷

(Picture taken September 1, 2022)

I'm very very excited for my surgery (it's my second gender affirming surgery but this one is more significant to me since it'll be top and bottom surgery) and I'm obviously counting the days until it and I thought some people might be interested in my trans journey 🏳️‍⚧️ So see part 6 below the cut.

Part 1 here

Me and my partner got back together and got a place together and we still live in this apartment together 🥰 I also worked at worked at a local amusement park over the summer that had some fun but mostly was horrible due to angry customers that kept misgendering me and kids making fun of me 🙃 But also I'll say I had one of my most euphoric moment when this little girl pointed to her winged eyeliner and said "you're just like me!" Bc I also had winged eyeliner at the time 🥰

(Picture taken June 6th, 2022)

Also, if the last Era was the peak of my egirl era on twitter than this was the fall of my egirl era 📉

I remember reaching 10k followers and thinking "ok I have enough of a following to try to make money off this." It's what a lot of egirls on there did and as I stated above, I hated my job. I thought briefly about streaming and YouTube but I don't really have the personality for streaming and was too self-conscious of my voice to do YouTube. And there were a lot of sex workers on twitter that I knew, followed, and admired. And there was quite the market for trans sexual content. Also I wanted to basically be paid to look pretty all day 🤷‍♀️ So, I made a OnlyFans account and started promoting it.

(Picture taken May 9th, 2022)

And I quickly got shadow banned for it 😂 And frankly, I wasn't really meant for sex work. I'm not really a sexual person. I do enjoy sexual acts but doing them for money killed my drive for it. I made a few hundred dollars but I didn't make enough content for it to keep it up.

Also, the shadow banned revealed how unhealthy my relationship with Twitter was. My self worth would be highly dependent on how well my posts did that day (I was still posting pictures daily). And I was hypercritical of my picture quality and my physical features. And developed a bad habit of comparing myself to girls I considered prettier than me. And with the constant misgendering from work, I was at a big low 🥲

(Picture taken September 17th, 2022)

I remember this was when there was first talk about Elon buying Twitter and I was looking for an alternative and well... ended up here.

(Picture taken June 2nd, 2022)

I remember the idea between this pic was clothes and accessories that weren't explicitly queer but gave queer vibes.

Also talking about queerness, I also participated in a Drag Show! I played a mushroom fairy!

(Picture taken August 13th, 2022)

It was organized by this local queer nonprofit that did a lot in the community and was already a big part of my life but would become a bigger part of my life.

Also this was when I was done with the curly girl method. And I like how my hair looks like this and it's easier 🤷‍♀️

(Picture taken September 4th, 2022)

Also love how often I get used out of this mushroom beret 😁🍄😁 (which is why I have 2 pics with it on this post lol)

Also an update on my love life at this time. I at one point had 4 partners very briefly and was part of a polycule over over 22 people. I remember one of my metamours made a chart showing all the relationships and it was complicated 😅 Also it was mostly online. Like 2 of my partners were long distance relationships.

(Picture taken Oct 2nd, 2022)

Around my 23rd birthday, I decided to do what was best for my mental health and quit twitter. But I had two last pictures because I got them from some followers who bought me things from my Amazon wishlist I made for my birthday.

(Picture taken October 29, 2022)

This one would be useful for the next era. And you can see a small part of my large collection of plushies (which I have a project in mind for 👀)

(Picture taken on November 8th, 2022)

And this was the last picture I posted on Twitter before quitting at 36k followers. I had already stopped posting on it for awhile so you can imagine my surprise when I got a big pink teddy bear 😱 And for all the work I put into that account, I consider this a pretty good prize 🧸💕

I consider Tumblr my last attempt with having a healthy relationship with social media. If this account goes away, I'll probably be done with Social Media 🤷‍♀️ I think I'm getting better at breaking those bad habits I developed on Twitter while still trying to enjoy the art of dressing up and taking selfies. But, I don't know if I'll ever have the drive for it like I did during my twitter days.

With my summer job ending and twitter as a way to make a living out of the window you may be concerned with how I recovered but I got really lucky and I'll go into detail on that tomorrow 😁

#trans journey #trans #girlslikeus #transfem #ok to rb #tranzjen pics #transgender

102 notes · View notes

fillinforlater · 11 months

Text

Masterlist No. 1 to 50

Here are my first 50 fics in order by release, starting with my debut. When you scroll down, you can find a lot of crazy other stories like and unlike it. Some of them have more than two idols. Feel free to back read whatever you like. You can also go through the rest of my NMS:

One-Shot Masterlist

Series Masterlist

IZ*ONE Masterlist

(Fic span: 13th September 2021 - 7th June 2022)

Castle of A Thousand Spiders - ft. Eunbi

Dazed - ft. Yeji, Yoojung

Say It Again - ft. Yerin

Commitment - ft. Dahyun

Classmating - ft. Minju

Welcome aboard, human - Spaceship: Horizon - Prologue

Unexpected ft. Hitomi - Spaceship: Horizon - Part 1

Cumming Home ft. Mina (TWICE) - Spaceship: Horizon - Part 2

Lawless ft. SinB, Eunha - Spaceship: Horizon - Part 3

Lucid Dream I ft. Giselle - Spaceship: Horizon - Interlude

-10-

Healing ft. JiU - Spaceship: Horizon - Part 4

Lazy but Laid - ft. Luda - Spaceship: Horizon - Part 5

The Star in Space - ft. Sakura - Spaceship: Horizon - Season Finale

Commas, Colons, Cumming - ft. Eunha, Umji

Four Cherries - ft. Chaewon, Mina, Sana, Minju

Ominous Oracle - Spaceship: Horizon - Prologue 2

Legendary Cookies - ft. Yuri, Sakura, Eunbi, Hyewon, Minju

Loathing Love: Lucky Loser ft. Hyewon, Eunbi

Cumforting ft. Minju (Sequel to Classmating)

Snake Invasion ft. Sana (Quickie: Phone Part 1)

-20-

The Smart Duck ft. Yena - Spaceship: Horizon - Part 6

Bunny Upside Down ft. Nayeon (Quickie: Phone Part 2)

Loathing Love: Liable Lady ft. Eunbi, Hyewon

Angel of Infinity +0 ft. Minju (Quickie: Phone Part 3)

Angel of Infinity +1 ft. Minju, Tzuyu (Quickie: Phone Part 4)

Angel of Infinity +2 ft. Minju, Yiren, Tzuyu (Quickie: Phone Part 5)

A Collection for a Special Date: Part I ft. Minju

A Collection for a Special Date: Part II ft. Minju (fluff)

A Collection for a Special Date: Part III ft. futa!Minju

Not-So-Cute ft. Jiheon - Spaceship: Horizon - Part 7

-30-

Scandal ft. Dahyun (Quickie)

Hot Helping Hands ft. Momo, Chaeyoung (Quickie)

Eleven to One: Impossible Taming ft. Ahn Yujin (Eleven to One Universe)

Changer ft. Xiaoting (Quickie)

The Neighborhood knows ft. Minju (Quickie)

Eleven to One: Easily Tempted ft. Yujin, Minju (Quickie) (Eleven to One Universe)

Plank ft. Heejin - Spaceship: Horizon - Part 8

Needy. Greedy. Breedy ft. Minju (Collab)

[The one] who won [?] ft. Gaeul, futa!Chaehyun, futa!Dayeon

Let It All Out ft. Somi (Quickie)

-40-

Eleven to One: Into the Next ft. Yujin, Eunbi (Collab) (Eleven to One Universe)

In Vino Veritas ft. Heejin (Quickie)

Carry a Stranger ft. Yoojung (Quickie)

Energy Restored ft. Jeongyeon (Phone: Part 6)

[These] two [won] too ft. Chaehyun!, Dayeon!, Mashiro, Xiaoting, ChoiYujin!, Gaeul, AhnYujin, Rei! (Kep1er & IVE)

Eleven to One: Mandatory Lesson ft. Yujin (Collab) (Eleven to One Universe)

Revelation in a Shower ft. Gowon

Loathing Love: Lusty Loop ft. Hyewon, Yuri

LOYAnaL ft. Chaewon, Winter (Quickie)

Labyrinth of the Six ft. E:U, Sihyeon, Aisha vs Yoohyeon, Sua, Gahyeon

-50-

GO BACK TO THE MAIN MASTERLIST POST

#kpop smut #female idol smut #girl group smut #male reader insert

247 notes · View notes

the-aussie-knight · 10 months

Text

Name: Kitten Natividad

Born: 13th of February 1948

Died: 24th of September 2022

Cause of Death: Kidney Failure

Movie: AIRPLANE (1980)

Measurements: 44G-28-39

Fact: In Australia, Airplane was released as Flying High. It was a huge success and the first of it’s kind for this particular type of practical comedy. To this day, it remains a very funny film, however some might consider most of it’s content as offensive.

#Kitten Natividad #18+ Movie Clip #18+ Adults Only

191 notes · View notes

milligramspoison · 1 year

Text

Let’s connect the dots, we’re gonna theorize real quick 😵‍💫

Obviously back in August, Frank posted a fortune cookie, which seemingly hinted (or confirmed, however you wanna take Frank’s story as) that something was coming at some point in the future.

Obviously, the last time Frank posted a fortune cookie, which was in February 2022, we got Foundations three months later in May 2022.

The miracle we witnessed was them dropping Foundations a few months after this was posted.

And of course, this isn’t the first time he’s done this either- he hinted at the mini MCR reunion in May 2017 with a fortune cookie, MCR’s first time spotted together since the breakup in 2013.

Now let’s go back to Frank’s August 2023 fortune cookie- what are we waiting for exactly?

Well, there’s a few things, actually- MCR5, LOTMS2 announcement, another tour announcement, Eagles as the next single, etc.

Starting Tuesday night, I and some other MCR blogs got the same exact ask at the same exact time.

We all received this ask asking us if we’re seeing MCR at WWWY in 2024. Of course, as of writing this, the 2024 WWWY lineup has yet to be announced.

We all had received more similar asks asking us pretty much the same thing but worded differently and also gave us some info- I’ll show the ones I got personally that gave us info.

No one had heard anything at this point in time as far as I’m aware! So we were all pretty convinced that we were getting trolled.

Earlier today, a mutual of mine on tiktok came across this screenshot below on twitter.

This seems to be the origins of those asks we received on Tuesday night.

Of course, we knew MCR was gonna tour again, Gerard’s expressed a shit ton of interest for it at various of shows throughout the tour.

And based on the fact Frank remained in LA from late August to early September after the Dunes tour ended and also posted the fortune cookie while he was there, we can assume that they were more than likely in the studio together.

But let’s connect this discord message to Frank’s August 2023 fortune cookie.

“Let’s finish this up now, someone is waiting for you on that.”

That’s what Frank’s fortune cookie said. And like I stated earlier, we’re waiting for MCR5, LOTMS2 announcement, another tour announcement, Eagles as the next single, etc.

The discord message is stating an announcement from MCR could come within the next 2-3 weeks.

While that would dismiss the Friday the 13th theory, as that’s 7 days away as I’m writing this, it makes the Halloween theory more possible.

Halloween is a little over 3 weeks away and is one of the theorized dates of MCR doing something, whether it’s an announcement of some sort or them dropping a single.

Frank, like he’s done in the past with fortune cookies, was telling us something. And if this announcement does happen in the next 2-3 weeks, whether it’s a tour announcement, an announcement of a surprise single like Foundations was, etc, that’s what Frank was possibly telling us through his fortune cookie.

Of course, this is a theory, so this could all be wrong. And we don’t know how true the discord message and the anonymous asks some of us received are, so of course, take this all with a grain of salt.

#i remembered frank’s fortune cookie and connected it with what’s happened this week!#mcr #my chemical romance #my chem #mcr5

175 notes · View notes

fullcoffeemoon-nem · 1 year

Text

Timeline Theory

First update: 09-21-23

Second update: 11-14-23

Third update: 05-01-24 (+ S2 Theory link)

Last update: 06-03-24 (+ S2 Theory upload)

——————————————

Hi there!

After another re-watch and the head to pay attention to the small details, perhaps I have reconstructed a possible

Timeline of Helluva Boss

It would be better to define them as hypotheses. First of all, here is an outline of the episodes and their release dates.

I know, I also included the one whose title we know, just for the sake of general overview. The theory for the moment covers 2 seasons out of 4 announced.

Here the synthetic timeline. From the estimate version I have removed the year here, we'll get to the reason.

Here I also report some of my thoughts:

Already from the first episodes there's a strong focus on clocks and time, it is much more striking in Oops, where Asmodeus' clock marks the whole day.

I'm not sure about the year, but also from the analyzes carried out later, 2021 could be the year of the narrative arc that goes from Murder Family to Ozzie's.

(*) The Verosika's tour t-shirt was official and linked to the episode, at the moment I'm undecided on its validity at the year level, althought the date could be very possible.

However, my research started with Seeing Stars because it's the first episode to feature an almost specific date: the 20th of a 30-day month.

In my opinion it could be April chronologically and it's agreed with the information in the subsequent episodes.

The only problem is that the full moon would't coincide with what was marked by Blitz.

Noteworthy:

Blitz's calendar suggests that the full moon that month is the 14th.

Stolas wrote in the Western Energy chat that Blitz was supposed to come that evening and that therefore the full moon was the 20th.

We are certainly either in 2021 or beyond given Moxxie's coin in Seeing Stars.

From the chat we can understand that:

About a month passes between the trio Ozzie's - Queen Bee - The Circus (1 moon)

About 3 months (3 moons) pass between Seeing Stars and Western Energy

Western Energy is placed a week before Oops and among these the week told in Unhappy Campers

From Millie's flyer we know that her and Moxxie's mission ends on Friday July 17th. We know from Blitz that this lasted a week, so it started on Monday 13th July.

According to what Striker says to Crisom, Western Energy should be set around July 11th and Oops around July 18th.

We should be in 2022 though, but in that case July 17th was a Sunday.

In Mammon's magnificent concert Blitz says on the call with Ozzie that it's a weekend.

There are two options:

It could be set on the week parallel (July 21-22th or 28-29th) to the events of Western-Unhappy-Oops.

It could be set on the following month (August).

Here we come to the gap:

(*) The Mammon's official t-shirt is clearly linked to the episode, but the date (2023) and month (October) cause the information to conflict.

So, at this point we have this options:

The official t-shirts are tied exclusively to the release date of the episode.

They are official or at the date level, or at the year level.

They're official and we're actually 2 years removed from Murder Family.

I think it is more canonical to consider a connection with the month of July shown in the episode and maintain the hypothesis.

Seeing Stars -> April

Wester Energy to Oops -> July

Full Moon → September 29th

I'm pretty sure about the Apology Tour

A month of crisis for Blitz seems like the minimum to me and it's also enough for Stolas to enter a phase of rejection.

——————————————

With the LVL UP on April 29th we got a new trailer for the second part of the second season. In addition, we also have a preview of the Stolas and Blitz duet from the next episode.

I dedicated a post for analysis, opinions and spoilers here.

I'm going to integrate the episodes and data into the theory as they come out.

——————————————

In the end, I report here some of the most interesting posts from Blitz and Stolas' Sinstagrams, due to that they're the only two accounts that hide canonical information.

(Thanks @timkontheunsure for the source)

I underlined my opinion, they certainly respect real events but I don't think that in terms of dating they are canonical.

What a mess...

What do you think about it?

Have you noticed any other details that could clarify the mystery? Make me know it and let's solve the mystery together :}

Bye~

#blitzø #helluva boss #helluva #stolas #stolitz #vivienne medrano #vivziepop #spindlehorse #helluva millie #moxxie #moxxie helluva boss #loona helluva boss #striker helluva boss #fizzarolli #helluva boss asmodeus #helluva boss theory #helluva blitzo #helluva boss timeline

282 notes · View notes

k-evans-reads · 4 months

Text

In Living Color

Chapter 26

We do NOT give permission for our works to be reuploaded, translated, or reposted on any other site. Our work is our own.

Previous | Main Masterlist | In Living Color Masterlist

September 13th, 2022

“Alright, cut! That was a good one so that’s a wrap for today.”

Hearing those words was like music to Chris’ ears. He’d been on set since before the sun had risen in the sweltering Atlanta heat and he was ready to call it a day. Chris only stayed to chat with his co-stars for a moment before walking off the set, ready for a shower and quiet evening at his rental with Dodger, but he would soon find out he was in for anything but.

Chris had made some headway through his plans when he stepped out of his set trailer, his costume long gone and instead dressed in loose shorts and a tee-shirt. He called goodbyes to everyone as he headed to the parking lot, figuring Josh and Dodger had already gone home, but soon he was stopped in his tracks.

“Chris! Hey, hold on,” he heard Josh call, turning to find his long-time friend – and assistant – jogging over to him with Dodger by his side.

Chris paused, letting Josh catch up to him. He could see the rest of the cast slowly making their way off set, either to the wardrobe trailer or to their own trailers, and the line of cars waiting to take them all home. “I thought you already left for the day?” He asked Josh, surprised to see him, but with a small grin as he reached down and greeted the excited, and tired, dog.

“No, I took Dodger on a longer walk but your phone has been blowing up. Jamie keeps trying to call you and asked me to have you call him back as soon as you can,” his friend explained quickly with a serious tone.

Chris pursed his lips and furrowed his brows, unsure why Jamie, of all people, was trying to reach out to him right now. He’d kept in loose contact with Mark and Jamie since Nat moved, occasionally texting them but mainly just keeping up with them through social media and Nat. “Jamie? I wonder what that’s about?” He asked, knowing this was out of the blue.

“I don’t know but here’s your phone,” Josh told him, handing the phone over. “Let me know later if anything is up.”

“I will, thanks Josh,” he said with a tight grin, pocketing the

Chris could feel the anxiety building in him as he took Dodger’s leash from Josh, thanking him again before going to the car service that the production provided and climbing into the back with Dodger sitting down on the bench seat right next to him. He clicked on Jamie’s number, returning his call as his leg bounced with anxiousness as the phone kept ringing and ringing until it went to voicemail.

Although Chris’ brain loved to torture him with all the what if’s, he thought that this maybe was a good sign. If there truly was something urgent or earth shattering that he was so desperate to get a hold of Chris, he would have kept his phone on him and answered his call. Chris almost wanted to laugh to himself now as he relaxed in his seat on the drive back to his rental, thinking about the quirky best friends of Nat, knowing that he probably would be getting a call about something ridiculous that would make him erupt in laughter, but also remembered just how long it had been since he’d gotten those funny calls from Nat or either of her best friends, knowing that things had changed since she moved.

He tried not to worry about it as he got to his rental and climbed in the shower, happy relax after the long day, but he had just climbed out and changed into his sweatpants and a comfy tee-shirt when his phone ran from where it sat on the bed next to his sweet pooch who was curled up. Chris grabbed the phone and put it on speaker, greeting his friend with, “Hey man, how are you? It’s been a while.”

“It has been, but um, Chris are you on set?” Jamie asked, his voice muffled as he moved around on the other end of the call.

Chris’ brows furrowed and his hand froze on Dodger’s side, noting the urgency in Jamie’s voice. “No, I’m done for the day. I just got back to my rental… why?” He asked, his shoulder tense with anxiety as Jamie hesitated.

The other man let out a shuddering sigh before he confessed, “I need to talk to you.”

Chris shut his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose. “That doesn’t sound good,” he murmured.

“It’s not,” Jamie agreed, his voice turning sad and sympathetic. Jamie took a deep breath before he explained, “I was in San Francisco today and Chris… Nat is not doing well.”

If Chris had been nervous before, it was nothing compared to the fear that flooded his body at that simple explanation. He wanted to not believe it, wanted to call Jamie a liar, that this wasn’t his Nat they were talking about. “What? What do you mean?” He finally asked, his voice unsteady and fearful.

Jamie’s voice was low, sad, and defeated when he told him, “She’s not okay, Chris.”

“Jamie, I need you to tell me what’s going on. I don’t understand,” Chris all but demanded him, unable to stop his brain from spiraling. Nat was…. Nat. Resilient, flexible, and strong, with a stubborn streak that rivaled his own. It was his last concern that she was ever going to be anything but okay. She’d rolled with every last one of his wild ideas, schedules, and asks of her for the last year, and he couldn’t see where anything changed to push Jamie to make this call.

“She’s incredibly depressed, Chris. She’s super skinny, she doesn’t eat much and I found out that basically none of the office there in San Francisco hardly even know her. They said she just comes in and works all day in her office and goes to meetings and doesn’t say much and then goes home,” Jamie explained, listing off every reason that caused Chris’ heart to practically shatter. He couldn’t believe everything he’d missed, everything she’d been hiding from not only him, but her family and friends as well. His heart began to race anxiously as Jamie continued, “Yesterday night I stayed with her and by the time we went out to dinner and got back to her apartment she was practically falling asleep. She has no energy and looks like she’s going to burst into tears at any moment.”

Chris’ mind raced as he still tried to pinpoint exactly where and when everything went south for her, knowing that he hadn’t seen all of that when he visited in early July. Sure, she’d been overworking herself, but that was a losing battle Chris had been trying to fight with her for almost a year now. All he knew was Nat being a near workaholic, and he figured with the move, she had been throwing herself into the only thing she was familiar with up there. “What’s going on? Is it something with her job? Or did something happen? She hasn’t said a word to me,” he finally answered, clearing the lump in his throat away.

“I don’t know. I tried to talk to her and she wouldn’t say anything… you know how stubborn Nat can be,” Jamie explained with a sigh, sounding just as frustrated and concerned as Chris felt.

Chris’ mind was still moving faster than he could catch up with, and he frustratedly admitted to the other man, “I just can’t believe she hasn’t said a word of this.”

“I don’t know why she hasn’t but Chris, but I’m really worried about her. Things are not good and I don’t think anybody knows,” Jamie explained, sighing as he paused. “Everyone came in early this morning for a meeting so I’m going to send them all home early so maybe call her in a little while? My flight for LA is in a couple hours so she’ll be alone.”

Chris nodded, taking note of the time on the alarm clock next to him. “I will,” he promised, knowing Jamie knew that already.

“Chris... She’s not herself. She needs help so don’t take no for an answer, okay?” Jamie gently suggested, with more muffled sounds filtering through the call from the office in California. Chris listened intently, but his attention was split as Dodger whined nervously, looking up at his owner anxiously.

Chris smiled sadly to himself, reaching his hand down to pet Dodger reassuringly. “I won’t. Thanks for telling me, Jamie,” he thanked the man, not knowing what he would’ve done had he not known the truth.

As they hung up the call, Chris tried to pass the time between then and when he could call Nat in any way – turning on CNN, only to not pay attention to it. Texting Eric, asking if Nat had said if anything was wrong, only to hear “She hasn’t said anything to me, everything’s sounded okay.” That only made Chris more worried, knowing how close Nat was to Eric. She was so close to him, in a way that made Chris only hope to one day have that relationship with a child of his own.

But it seemed like they were all in the dark, and once forty-five minutes had passed, Chris raced to open his texts with Nat. There still had been nothing since early that morning, when she liked his text about when he’d be on set that day. But he pushed down the hurt at that and instead hit the FaceTime button and called her, wanting to see her for this.

He was thankful when Nat answered, but instead of being greeted with her face, he could only see a ceiling. “Nattie, are you at home?” He asked, getting to the point almost immediately. He couldn’t beat around the bush with this, not when he felt like he was about to break down at any minute as he pictured everything Jamie had told him.

Nat’s brows were furrowed when she adjusted the camera so he could see her, and he let out a sigh as he finally looked at her. He’d seen her in fleeting calls and random pictures over the last few months, but he’d never been able to see the change in her until today. The weight loss, evident in her face, the light, nearly all gone from her eyes, the way her once-fitted shirt now hung off of her shoulders, and the bags under her eyes… the ones he knew weren’t there the last time he saw her. It all hurt, scared, and alarmed him, but most of all, he felt frustrated with himself that he was too stupid to see past all reassurances to notice all these things months ago. “Yeah, why?” She brushed him off, a single brow raising.

“What’s going on Nat?” He asked her point blank, eyes moving over hers as he stared at his phone. He could even see the way her hair was thrown up, messily, with strands falling out of her bun, slicked back against her scalp in a way that told him she hadn’t been taking care of herself there either. And he knew it wasn’t by choice. She was exhausted, something she had told him repeatedly in the previous months. He’d always brushed her off, feeling it was just her not handling the move great. But now he saw the truth, he saw it in every shift of her eyes, the slimness of her wrist as she tucked her hair behind her ear, how heavy the undereye bags were…. He hated himself most of all for missing this, letting it get to this point.

“What do you mean?”

“Jamie called me and told me that you’re not doing well. He said you’re depressed and that he’s really worried about you,” he explained, his voice almost clinical to disguise the sheer panic he was feeling at everything.

Nat waved her hand, her voice small as she told him, “That’s just Jamie. You know he’s the dad of the group and he’s just worried because it’s been a couple months since I’ve seen him.”

“Nat, if you’re struggling, you can talk to me,” Chris tried to reason with her, feeling more anxious with every dismissive comment she made. Dodger shifted against his leg, rolling onto his back as he drifted to sleep, and Chris watched Nat carefully, hoping her walls would finally go down.

“I’m fine, it’s just different settling in here is all,” she whispered, shrugging as she glanced away from the camera.

“It’s been almost five months though,” Chris pointed out as he arched an eyebrow. “Did it take you that long to settle in when you moved to LA?”

She huffed out a breath, stubbornly telling him, “That was different because I met Jamie and Mark right away. You said it yourself that I just need to give it time.”

“Is it this job? Is that what this is or is it something else? Do you miss LA?” He questioned, practically grappling at straws here. He didn’t want to push her too far, but he had to get to the bottom of this now. Nothing good would come from throwing his hands up and walking away, not when she was hurting as much as Jamie suggested. This had to get out of her system now, for both of their sakes.

“No, I want to be here. This is the dream job. This is what I worked toward so I’m going to do it,” she explained, but he didn’t believe her. He didn’t believe her back in April, and he would never hold that over her head, but he’d lost her somewhere between then and now. Everyone had, it seemed, but the only thing he was sure about now was that Nat was convincing herself everything would get better as she clung to her work like a lifeboat. “I’m the one who wanted this promotion. It’s not that. I’m fine, Chris.”

“Nattie, you’re lying to me. I know you’re lying,” he clarified, his voice firm as he ignored her attempts to interrupt. He looked at her dead-on, eyebrows raised as he firmly stated, “You’re lying to Jamie. You’re lying to Eric. You’re lying to me and I think you’re lying to yourself.”

He just sat there staring at the screen as he watched panic settle on Nat’s face. Chris wasn’t even aware just how true those words were. Nat had been lying to herself for so long, ignoring everything other than putting her nose to the grindstone and ignoring her emotions. He watched as tears glossed over her eyes but he wanted to push her a little more, he wanted to get her to fully open up and he gently went on, “We’re just all worried about you. I love you Nattie and I want you to tell me the truth.”

Chris saw her face on the screen seemingly frozen for a moment before he watched her last defenses crumble and the tears start flowing down her cheeks. Her shoulders slumped and a hand went up to rest on her face as her body shook with her sobs. He hated to see her this way, but wanted her to be open and honest, even if his heart had to break as he watched her fall to pieces.

“I don’t even know how. I don’t know what to do,” she admitted through gasping breaths, her chest shuddering as the emotions finally came to the surface. The tears poured out of her eyes furiously, and Chris finally – and sadly – saw Nat for the first time in what felt like months. Her guard, walls, and defenses were all down, and she was finally ready to be honest with someone.

“Just talk to me, baby,” he pleaded, desperation replacing the fear and anxiety from earlier. His heart was shattered as he watched her fall apart, wanting nothing more to pull her into his arms and tell her they’d get her through this. But he couldn’t. She was alone, truly alone, in San Francisco while he was stuck in Atlanta, with a busy schedule for the rest of the week.

“I hate it here, Chris. I hate it so much. I hate this job and I don’t feel like anyone likes me and I have no friends and I don’t know how to do half of what I’m doing and so then I have to go home and work even more just to get caught up and I miss you so much and feel like I’m never going to see you again,” she spoke, her voice moving so quickly that she occasionally stumbled over her words.

He watched with a frown, feeling helpless as he asked, “Nattie, why didn’t you talk to me? Why didn’t you tell me this was going on?”

“...I tried… but you’ve been so busy,” she whispered, a hand moving to wipe her face. “And I just didn’t know how.”

“Nat, this is just a job. If you hate it, that’s okay,” he told her, a frown on his lips. He knew it wouldn’t happen overnight or in an instant, but he was trying to get her to take this role off a pedestal and put it back on the ground. At the end of the day, it was a job, just like the film role he had right now. Was it a great opportunity for anyone to get offered it? Of course. But it didn’t mean she wasn’t allowed to change her mind, to realize it wasn’t right for her, or to walk away from it. But she needed to get there herself first.

“You don’t understand, Chris,” she began, shaking her head as she took a shuddering breath. He couldn’t have prepared himself for what was coming when she added, “This was my dream job. This has always been the sign that I'd made it. That everything my dad worked for truly paid off. That I wasn’t the screw up little sister… that I wasn’t just a joke. And now I have it, and I hate it and I can’t seem to make it work. I failed at my dream.”

His eyes shut and his heart was done for it as she shared that insecurity, and he whispered, “Oh Nattie.”

Chris wanted to reassure her, wanted to remind her that this was just a job. That this didn’t prove anything and sometimes losing a dream makes room for something new but he knew that none of that would help in this moment. Right now all he could see was the love of his life on the other end of this call completely heartbroken and crying her eyes out and he felt that there was nothing he could do about it.

“I just can’t do this anymore, Chris. I can’t hardly get out of bed in the morning anymore,” her voice crackled as she dissolved into tears once more. He felt as if his heart was being squeezed when he watched her crumble on the other side of the screen and all he wanted to do was to be able to just take this all away.

“Nattie, baby I want you to listen to me,” his own voice was laced with emotion but he tried to speak with assurance as he told her, “I have a couple more days on set before I have the weekend off but then I’m going to come out, okay? Everything is going to be okay. I’m going to call your dad and see if he could fly down there tomorrow and be with you until I get there.”

“He can’t, he has to work more because a bunch of people quit,” Nat muttered before seeming to slip back into her indifference that came with her depression and just shrugged, “It doesn’t matter, I’ll be okay.”

Chris just shook his head, knowing that he wasn’t going to let her keep going this way and stated, “No, this is what got us into this position in the first place. I can’t sleep knowing you’re like this, baby. I’m going to figure something out.”

“I don’t want you to have to do that just because I’m a mess. I just need to suck it up,” she muttered again while looking down at something he couldn’t see.

“Natalie Marton, there is nothing in this world more precious to me than you. I don’t care if I have to drop out of this film to come be with you, I’ll do it,” he said without a second thought. This was his girl. His Nattie. The person he wanted to be his forever and he’d be damned if he let anything come between them or him being able to help her. “Just stop trying to be so strong for just a minute and let me help you.”

Chris watched her sit there for a moment, tears still falling out of her eyes before she just nodded before he kept on, “It’s going to be okay, honey. I love you and it’s going to be okay.”

He watched her weakly nod before he followed his instructions to get in bed and try to relax but he couldn’t do that himself. There was no way he’d be relaxing knowing that Nat was on the other side of the country, completely heartbroken and beat down. He couldn’t sit still after the call ended, and he definitely couldn’t have gone to bed after all that. Not when Nat was sitting alone, miserable, and had finally admitted what she’d been dancing around for months.

Chris had seen a few texts pop up on his phone during the call from Eric, the messages verging on both worried and concerned, and felt that he at least owed her father some explanation after reaching out earlier. When Eric declined his call, he immediately texted Chris back, explaining that he was working and couldn’t talk but could text. While it was reassuring to Chris that he wasn’t the only one who’d been left in the dark about all of this, he felt bad for them when Eric said he couldn’t even go down to visit and help Nat out with everything this week due to a ferry driver shortage in Washington. There was no one to cover his hours and no way this emergency request off would be granted, and Chris’ brain began thinking through everything.

Emily would understand. He’d known her and John for years, and was friends with them both. She’d been an amazing costar so far, and he’d hate walking away…. But this was for Nat. He didn’t have any immediate obligations with Netflix beyond this film, and even if he burned this bridge, it was one bridge.

But the more he thought about it, the more he considered the strain he’d put not only his friends on the production under, but the hundreds of staff and crew on the film…. He just wasn’t sure. As he did in every situation he faced like this, he dialed his Ma’s number, hoping she’d be able to guide him in the right direction, or tell him he was being stupid and of course he should call his agent to tell him he had to leave.

After he caught Lisa up to speed on everything, almost too fast for how chaotic the last few hours had felt, he sighed. “I’m just so fucking worried, Ma,” he told her, running a hand through his messy hair. “I’ve never seen her like this and when I talked to her it just… it sounded bad.”

“My poor Nattie,” Lisa sympathized with the woman that she’d come to love so dearly over the course of her dating Chris.

“I was going to fly out there Saturday morning once I’m done filming but I don’t know…” Chris truly couldn’t figure out the answer to all of this, knowing that either decision he made would hurt someone. But with Eric unable to go, Nat’s sisters having their own children and obligations, Mark and Jamie both working, and Nat having missed out on having a mom, he just didn’t see any other solution for how to help her get through this. He reached out to rub a hand across Dodger’s soft fur, needing that bit of comfort himself before telling his mother, “I’m thinking about dropping out of Pain Hustlers so I can just go out there now.”

“Is it that bad, Chris?”

“It’s pretty bad,” he honestly told her. Just thinking about what Nat looked like on that screen, every bit of joy and happiness that made Nat, Nat was completely gone. She was broken and Chris wanted to be there to help put her back together. “Ma, it just fuckin’ broke my heart to see her like that. And Eric can’t go because he’s working doubles because they’re already down people.”

Without hesitation, Lisa presented her own solution, “Chris, let me go out there. I could fly out early in the morning,”

“I wasn’t asking you to do that,” he wanted to clarify, not wanting her to feel obligated to fix all of this.

“I know you weren’t, but I want to. I love Nattie and I’m worried about her too and I hate knowing that she’s out there all alone and dealing with all of this by herself,” she seemed to put his own feelings into words.

A long sigh poured out of him as he ran a hand through his hair anxiously, “That’s why I’m thinking it might be better if I just drop out of this film because even when I fly out on Saturday, I’ll have to come back Tuesday morning.” He knew that he could help for the weekend, but didn’t see how this could be solved in just a few days. There was nothing more important to him than Nat and her well-being and didn’t want anything to stand in the way of him being there for her since he had missed out on doing that the past few months.

“Honey, we both know what a big hit that will be if you drop out,” Lisa tried to bring in the reality of his obligations back up before reminding him, “I know you’re worried about Nat, but it’s going to be okay. Let’s just take this one step at a time. I’ll go out there tomorrow and then you can come on Saturday and we’ll figure all of this out, okay?”

“I don’t know what I’d do without you, Ma.”

And those words were even more true than he realized over the coming days. Knowing that Nat was being taken care of by his mother was the only way that he was able to stay working in Atlanta and having the realistic updates from Lisa allowed him to have the full picture of what really was going on. It brought him so much comfort knowing that Lisa was taking her to work, bringing her lunch and was with her in the lonely evenings but it still wasn’t the same as him being there himself.

He wanted to be able to look in her eyes and hold her to know that she really was there and assure her that it would be okay, even though he didn’t feel it himself. Chris wanted to be with her so much that it hurt and the second that he was done on set that Friday night, he couldn’t wait until the following morning to fly to her and chartered a flight to take him to San Francisco then.

Chris had texted his mom to tell her that he was coming but found out that even then, Nat had already gone to bed. He knew firsthand how much anxiety and depression could exhaust your body and he was glad she was getting rest. When finally he landed in San Francisco, he got a car to take him to the small apartment where he stepped inside and shared a long hug with his mother. There was so much to talk about between the two of them but in this moment, all that mattered was his Nattie. He needed to have his own eyes on her and quietly let go of his mother to walk down the tiny hallway and open the door to her room.

There she was, fast asleep underneath a pile of blankets but even underneath the bulky fabric, she still looked so tiny. His heart just hurt seeing her this way but there also was a piece of him that felt more at peace than he had this entire week, knowing that he was finally able to be with her. He quietly took off his shoes and jacket, leaving them on a chair before gently climbing into bed next to her and resting a hand on her back.

Even in the dim light, he could see her puffy eyes flutter open and without a word, they filled with tears as her arms latched around his neck like a vice. He held her tightly, breathing in her scent as his own tears started falling down his cheeks as they clung to one another in a way they never had before. Chris knew that there still was so much ahead of them, so much to be sorted out and fixed, so much fear and uncertainty, but none of that seemed to matter in this moment because he was here with her and that’s all he wanted.

A/N: This was the final completed chapter we had from last year. While we have a halfish chapter written, we probably will not have the time to actually finish it. Let us know what you guys would prefer - a half chapter and brief synopsis of the end, a summary only (no chapter), or something else.

#chris evans fanfiction #chris evans x ofc #chris evans story #chris evans x original female character #chris evans fic #chris evans x oc #original female character #chris evans fanfic #real person fiction #real person fanfiction #chrisevans #christopher robert evans #original content #in living color #original character #chris e #chris evan fanfiction #fic rec #fanfic

68 notes · View notes

misshoneyimhome · 1 month

Text

➼｡ﾟ Love Me Harder I William Nylander

[Pilot]

Sofie Boch de Lacour's life takes an unexpected twist when she's tasked with organising her ex-fiancé's engagement party, reopening old wounds she believed had healed. At the same time, NHL star William Nylander, under constant scrutiny from the press, considers a bold fake relationship to regain his privacy. As their paths cross, an unforeseen connection develops, challenging everything they thought they knew about love and second chances.

Tropes & Warnings: William Nylander x ofc, fake relationship, no warnings

Author's note: So, this is the pilot chapter of a story I've been working on 😊 I'm not entirely sure yet how long the series will be, but it's been my little off-season project 😉 I'm a bit nervous about posting this, but without further ado, I hope you enjoy it 🌺

Please note: the season in this fic is set in 2024/25. However, I started writing it before the schedule was released, so it's entirely fictional (the schedule is based on the 2022/2023 season) 😉

Word count: 3.5K

➼｡ﾟ

“I’m a motherfucking Starboy.”

Saturday, September 13th 2024

Sofie gazed at herself in the mirror, her eyes resolute. "You can do this," she murmured, attempting to reassure herself. "It’s just another day at work, nothing more." She forced a smile, practising how she’d face him tonight.

Her outfit was flawless: a tight navy blue pencil skirt and a fine white silk blouse, epitomising her professional demeanour. Her make-up was perfectly applied, exuding confidence, and her hair was styled in an elegant French knot.

"You’ve got this!"

___

Sofie Boch de Lacour seemed to have it all - or almost, anyway.

Growing up in a cosy, welcoming home just outside Copenhagen, Denmark, with her parents and three siblings, everything seemed to be just right. There was her older sister, Amelia, a powerhouse in Economics and the epitome of a boss lady. Then there was her older brother, Charlie, a dedicated and ideal family man with his wife, Rosaline, and their two kids. And lastly, there was Nicholas, the youngest, a rising star in ice hockey for the Malmö Redhawks.

Needless to say, the parents were beyond proud, beaming at their accomplished children.

Sofie, however, was a bit different. While she did well in school, she never stood out. Her job as a Booking and Reservations Hostess at the Radisson Hotel was decent, but hardly remarkable, and her free time revolved around a small, loyal circle of friends. In short, her life was perfectly average and nothing extraordinary.

Yet, a part of her yearned for more.

Although Sofie had spent years convincing herself that she was content with her life, a part of her still wanted to stand alongside her siblings on that golden pedestal, and perhaps even start a family of her own someday. But with those achievements seeming distant, she opted instead to travel the world, seeking new horizons and fresh perspectives. So, at the age of 24, after completing her studies in Hospitality and Event Management, she volunteered in underprivileged areas and explored the grandeur of bustling cities and serene countrysides. Along the way, in far-flung corners of the world, she immersed herself in diverse cultures, music, and cuisines, encountering people whose kindness left an indelible mark. And though her journey wasn’t without challenges - unpredictable weather, miscommunication, even some precarious moments - it was all part of her grand adventure.

Towards the end of her travels, during a final stop in Canada, Sofie felt weary and craved the tranquillity of home. Yet, just as she prepared to return, fate intervened, and she crossed paths with Anthony Beaulieu — a successful Canadian in Toronto’s financial district, a few years older, and impeccably dressed as if plucked from a Vogue cover. And drawn to his success and her long-held dreams of a small family, Sofie quickly fell for him. So, within months of casual dating and sharing incredible moments near and far, she boldly decided to relocate to Toronto and live with him.

For three years, Sofie and Anthony built a life together, navigating their careers while creating cherished memories. Sofie secured a role as a Booking and Event Coordinator at the Fairmont Royal Hotel, while Anthony ascended in the world of economics and financial investments, steadily climbing the career ladder. Then, on a balmy summer evening on a beach in Greece’s most romantic setting, Anthony knelt before Sofie with a diamond ring gleaming in his hand and proposed, whisking Sofie into a fairy tale.

It was just too good to be true.

So, naturally, that dream swiftly shattered upon returning to their daily routines, where Anthony's attention gradually shifted towards another woman, claiming they shared more common interests.

And perhaps he was right. Daisy, younger than Sofie and vastly different, craved stability in her homeland, aspiring to a high-end lifestyle and the role of a stay-at-home wife - a stark contrast to Sofie's dedication to hard work and community service. While Sofie found fulfilment in helping others, Daisy revelled in luxury, only concerned with her own well-being.

Sofie naturally didn’t particularly like the woman, but she reminded herself that Daisy was simply a young woman who had faced no real challenges in life, whether financial or otherwise. She was just a woman who fell in love with an engaged man.

Heartbroken, Sofie's engagement ended just six months after the proposal. Despite this, she chose to stay in vibrant Toronto, unwilling to abandon the life she had built. Continuing her job that she enjoyed, she found solace in true friendships and shared a home with Samantha; a friend of a colleague who needed a roommate. Sofie treasured her close-knit circle, finding additional comfort as her younger brother Nicholas seized an opportunity to play hockey in Montreal.

In essence, Sofie's journey persisted. Despite setbacks, she remained steadfast in forging her own path and embracing the life she had carved out for herself.

___

Nearly a year had passed, and a day Sofie could never have anticipated arrived: the day she would be organising an engagement party for her former fiancé and his new partner. Sofie was convinced that Anthony had chosen the Fairmont Royal York Hotel deliberately to spite her, yet he insisted it was all Daisy’s preference. And using his extensive network and familiarity with hotel managers, he ensured his new love’s desires were met.

The situation was a stab to Sofie's heart. Despite having no desire to get back with Anthony and acknowledging that Daisy was indeed a better match for him, the circumstances still cut deep.

Yet, on the day of the event, Sofie maintained her professionalism impeccably. She ensured every detail was flawless, transforming the Ontario room into a scene of elegance with soft lighting and fresh flowers, perfectly capturing the joyous occasion. Her colleagues praised her for her poise and dedication, unaware of the emotional turmoil she was enduring.

As the guests began to arrive, Sofie then retreated to a quiet corner, observing from afar. She watched Anthony and Daisy socialise with their loved ones, their happiness palpable, while she made sure the event unfolded according to plan.

As the night wore on, Sofie found herself in need of a breath of fresh air. Despite her best efforts to act professionally, a mix of anger, frustration, and hurt still lingered within her. So, stepping outside into the alley behind the hotel, she took a deep breath, the cool evening breeze a welcome relief from the heated atmosphere inside. And absent-mindedly, she leaned against the wall, closing her eyes and mentally escaping, completely lost in thought.

Meanwhile, in the Canadian Room, the Toronto MLSE Foundation was hosting their grand start-of-the-season charity event. The room was adorned with elegant decorations, shimmering lights, and lavish flower arrangements, creating an atmosphere of sophistication and celebration. It buzzed with lively conversations and laughter, the clinking of glasses, and the occasional cheer from a successful auction bid. Servers weaved through the crowd, offering trays of gourmet hors d'oeuvres and sparkling champagne, while a live band played smooth jazz in the background, adding to the ambiance of the event.

It was a night where the worlds of sports and charity came together, offering an opportunity for the Toronto Maple Leafs hockey players to step off the ice and mingle with distinguished guests and sponsors. Amidst it all, they participated in various games and activities to raise funds for underprivileged communities.

And among the crowd of players, William Nylander was deeply engrossed in a game of air hockey. His focus was intense as he tried to outplay his usual teammate but now opponent Ryan Reaves, but luck wasn't on his side that evening. His teammate Max Domi stood beside him, offering words of encouragement and occasional teasing remarks. And behind them, their friend and teammate Auston Matthews chuckled, enjoying the friendly competition as William faced another frustrating loss.

Looking up from his game, William let out a deep sigh, catching a glimpse of a side door leading to the hallway. The need for a brief escape from the crowded room and relentless socialising tugged at him. "I'll be right back," he told his friends, excusing himself from the table. With a nod from Max and a grin from Auston, William then made his way through the throng of guests, heading towards the door for a moment of solitude.

____

William Nylander was an exceptional hockey player, a key star for the Maple Leafs whose talent earned him praise and attention throughout the 23/24 season. From the Global Series in his hometown of Stockholm to being voted into the All-Star Game in Toronto, William had become a prominent figure in the spotlight. He was even set to feature in an upcoming NHL documentary, which delved behind the scenes of the greatest league in the world - fueling William’s already blazing fame.

Hockey was even a familiar realm from childhood for William. His father, Michael, had been an NHL player, leading the family across North America as he pursued his career. Despite the constant moves, William found his home and forged his own hockey path in Toronto. And one of his greatest dreams came true at the beginning of the year when he finally signed an eight-year contract extension.

However, with great fame comes great responsibility. And in a hockey-mad city like Toronto, media scrutiny could be intense. While the players generally accepted it as part of achieving their NHL dreams, invasive media intrusion into their personal lives - fuelled by social media for views, likes, and comments - was unwelcome. Despite embracing the spotlight most of the time, none of them wanted paparazzi following them or their loved ones with sensationalised stories.

And when William suddenly found his name plastered across headlines, discussing his personal life and speculating about his relationships, it infuriated him. While he appreciated the spotlight for his hockey skills and perhaps a bit for his fashion sense, all he truly desired was recognition for his on-ice performance - as a top player who scored goals and supported his team. He resented people focusing on his health issues or spreading rumours that suggested he only reached the NHL due to his father's influence. And above all, he valued his privacy and wished his personal life to remain just that - private.

___

So, seeking what little freedom he still felt he had, William walked towards the door leading to the alley behind the hotel, lost in thought about the swirling rumours surrounding him potentially appearing on Sweden's 'Ex on the Beach.' His steps were quick and purposeful, each one echoing his frustration, as he pushed the heavy door open with a forceful shove.

"Ouch! Fucking hell!" a female voice exclaimed as the door collided with her. "What the fuck?"

William quickly looked to see a woman rubbing her head where the door had struck her. She glared up at him with a mixture of irritation and pain, her eyes narrowing and her lips pressed into a thin, angry line.

"Excuse you?" Sofie retorted sharply, still simmering with frustration and residual irritation from her ex's engagement party earlier. Her voice carried the sting of someone who had been pushed too far.

Exhausted from the relentless attention at the charity event, William felt a surge of irritation himself. He had no desire to deal with anyone, let alone a potential fan lurking outside. So, letting out a sigh, he stepped fully outside and faced the girl he had accidentally bumped into. His shoulders were tense, his jaw set in a hard line.

"Excuse me? Maybe you shouldn't be blocking the fucking door like that," he scoffed, his tone edged with weariness. "What were you even doing here? Spying on us? Hoping some player would come out and give you an autograph if you hung around long enough?"

Sofie looked at him with a curious expression, her eyebrow arching in disbelief. Who did he think he was? Crossing her arms over her chest in a defensive posture, she exuded defiance.

"First of all, I was just trying to get away from another event, and I didn’t realise I was standing in front of a door... And second, I'm not some crazy fan snooping around for a stupid autograph. Do you think you're rock stars or something?" Sofie half-laughed with a snort, a hint of contempt in her voice. Her eyes sparkled with a mix of anger and amusement, daring him to contradict her.

William was slightly taken aback. Part of him felt a small relief that she wasn’t another groupie looking to hook up with hockey players, yet he couldn’t help but be offended by her audacity to speak to him like that. Exhaustion mixed with prickling irritation, he let out another sigh.

"Well, sorry then," he muttered.

"What was that?" Sofie asked, feeling slightly irked by his dismissive tone.

"I said sorry, alright," he repeated, a touch louder and with a hint of impatience. His hands clenched into fists at his sides, a physical manifestation of his struggle to keep his temper in check.

"Well, I suppose that wasn’t so hard," Sofie retorted.

Normally, at this level of exhaustion, William would let it go, not wanting any confrontation at the moment. But her remarks struck a nerve, and he couldn’t let them slide. So, he squared his shoulders, meeting her gaze head-on.

"And what about you, then?" he responded, looking at her seriously.

"What about me?" Sofie shot back, her stance shifting slightly, as if bracing for a verbal duel.

"Shouldn’t you say you’re sorry? For standing in the way," he challenged.

Sofie raised an eyebrow and spoke mockingly, "Oh, I’m sorry, was I in your way, starboy? Oh, you’re right, I am so, so sorry," her tone dripping with sarcasm, each word a barb aimed at his ego.

And with a small huff, Sofie then turned on her heel and headed back inside, her steps deliberate and confident, leaving the self-important hockey player behind her.

William let out a huff as well, thinking she was full of herself and rolling his eyes at Sofie's departure. Then, taking a deep breath of the crisp autumn air, he savoured the moment for just a few seconds before returning to the evening's event. He simply tried to shake off the encounter and focus on getting through the rest of the night, yet the memory of her defiant eyes lingered in his mind.

___

Wednesday, October 9th

"Come on, man, let it go!" Alex's voice echoed in Swedish through the condo as he sprawled on the sofa, his feet propped up on the coffee table. "And stop reading that stuff... it's not doing you any good, believe me."

William lounged beside his brother, the setting sun casting warm tones across his spacious 28th-floor condo. He sighed deeply, his frustration evident. Yet another day brought intrusive articles delving into his personal life instead of celebrating his hockey skills. The media's relentless focus on his relationships, or lack thereof, irritated him like an insistent itch he couldn’t ignore.

"I know, I know," William responded wearily. "But it's everywhere, Alex. I can't avoid it. Every time I check my phone, there's another headline speculating about who I'm seeing or what I'm up to."

Alex Nylander, William’s younger brother and trusted confidant, understood the toll the media scrutiny was taking on William. Despite being a slightly less prominent hockey player himself, playing for the Toronto Marlies as of this season, and not receiving as much media attention, Alex had seen firsthand how fame could invade personal privacy.

"Yeah, it's tough," Alex acknowledged, glancing at his brother with a sympathetic expression. "But you can't let it get to you. They’ll always be looking for something to write about."

William exhaled heavily once more. "I know, I just can’t," he admitted. "Shit, if only I could do something to get them to stop writing about this stuff and let me focus on hockey. Why does it even matter if I see a new girl every week? Just because I have the option to hook up with anyone I want."

Alex chuckled knowingly. "Yeah, man, they're always on the lookout for the next juicy story."

William pondered Alex's words, his gaze drifting to the old framed photo of him lifting a championship trophy when he was just 12 years old. "Yeah, but it's exhausting," he confessed wearily. "I just want to play hockey."

Alex noticed his brother pause for a moment before a mischievous idea sparked in his tone. "Hey, why don’t you just say that you’re in a relationship? Tell them you’re off the market, then they won’t have anything to write about."

William considered the suggestion, remembering the backlash from previous encounters with media scrutiny. "Hmm, yeah - but then they’ll start asking questions… like who she is and all that. Remember what happened with that blonde girl last year?"

“Ah yeah, and then she couldn't wait to get her name everywhere…” Alex recalled with a disappointed grin. Another deep sigh escaped William's lips, his thoughts momentarily distracted by the sound of his dogs padding across the hardwood floor. Then during the brief silence, Alex seized the opportunity with a playful suggestion. "What if you just find someone - anyone really - and, I don't know, pretend to be in a relationship, like strike a deal with her? Then it won’t matter what they ask about. You just say that you’re in a relationship with this girl and she’ll agree - end of discussion."

William chuckled at the audacity of the idea, a slight smile appearing on his face. "What, like fake dating? That’s wild, man."

"Come on, bro, you know, like celebrities do all the time when they're tired of rumours and stalkers. They just pretend to be in a serious relationship to shut down the fake news," Alex explained.

William pondered the unconventional strategy, glancing over at his two beloved doodles lounging beside him on the sofa. The concept of a fake relationship seemed strange at first, yet oddly appealing. Perhaps it wasn’t such a bad plan after all. He could use a break from the relentless media poking. And maybe - just maybe - telling everyone he was taken would finally shut them up.

But then his mind churned with possibilities and concerns. Who could he trust enough to play such a significant role in his life, even if it was all just for show? He needed someone reliable, someone who could convincingly act as his partner in front of the cameras and, more importantly, someone who wouldn’t complicate his life further.

As he contemplated, William felt the weight of his decisions pressing down on him. "It might actually work," he murmured. "I just need to figure out who would be the right person for this."

____

Thursday, October 10th

Sofie’s heels reverberated through the lavish corridors of the Fairmont Royal York Hotel, their sound muted against the polished marble floors that gleamed under the shimmering light of crystal chandeliers. The hotel's grandeur never ceased to impress her, from its lofty ceilings adorned with intricate mouldings to walls adorned with timeless artwork.

However, today, the splendour of the hotel felt less significant as Sofie made her way to her manager Cynthia Moore's office - a summons that typically heralded new challenges or demanding events. Or worse…

Pausing to gather herself, Sofie smoothed the fabric of her navy pencil skirt before lightly tapping on the door.

"Come in," Cynthia’s voice called out from inside. Sofie entered, immediately sensing a hint of tension in Cynthia’s demeanour as she looked up from her impeccably organised desk. With a graceful gesture, Cynthia invited Sofie to take a seat, her expression a blend of empathy and determined professionalism.

"Sofie, thank you for coming in at such short notice," she began, her tone gentle as she folded her hands on the desk. "So, as you may have guessed, I have a special assignment for you."

Sofie nodded with a smile, studying her manager with interest. "Of course, Cynthia. What can I do for you?" she asked, her voice steady yet tinged with curiosity.

Cynthia paused briefly, collecting her thoughts before continuing. "It involves an upcoming wedding we’re hosting here at the hotel. The client has specifically requested that you oversee the event. The entire event."

Sofie's brow furrowed in genuine surprise. "Me? But I mostly handle bookings and corporate events. I don't have much experience with weddings."

"I know," Cynthia acknowledged with a hint of regret, her gaze steady as it met Sofie's. "But this client has insisted on your involvement. And... this could be a significant opportunity for you, Sofie - an opportunity to broaden your skill set, enhance your resume, and potentially earn additional bonuses." Her expression softened momentarily, a hint of admiration in her eyes. "While I'll miss having you on my team, I want to see you grow and seize every opportunity in your career."

Sofie absorbed Cynthia’s words, contemplating the implications of this unexpected turn. Despite her uncertainty, she found comfort in Cynthia's unwavering support and belief in her capabilities.

"Well, I'm always up for new challenges," Sofie responded with a genuine smile, though a touch of apprehension lingered in her eyes. "Just one question - whose wedding are we planning?"

Cynthia took a deep breath. "It’s... Anthony Beaulieu’s wedding."

Sofie's heart sank. “Oh, fuck…”

#love me harder #William x Sofie #wn88 imagine #william nylander fic #toronto maple leafs fanfiction #nhl fanfiction

38 notes · View notes