#sometimes ralf has rights

[fenudel]

Some interesting snippets from an interview Ralf Schumacher gave Sky Germany about the Mick/Haas situation (w/ translations):

Ralf Schumacher criticises Haas management heavily

Former racing driver Ralf Schumacher has criticised the team leadership at Haas in light of his nephew's impending exit from Formula 1.

Mick has shown that he has potential but you had the feeling that the team, especially Günther Steiner, wasn't satisfied no matter what Mick did, the 47 year old told Sky.

"It almost has to be something personal"

"This whole behaviour cannot be explained by normal standards, (…). I think Günther Steiner cannot deal with the fact that someone else has the focus on them in the team. He likes to be the one on the centre stage", [he] criticised the boss of the US-team.

"You can't call this personnel management"

Meanwhile, [he] left no good marks on the team management of the Haas racing team.

"You have to motivate your employees", [he] found. His nephew has to read in the media every time that he isn't constant enough.

"Any reference to self-criticism is lacking there"

"I would've been happy if Günther Steiner had asked himself wether they were actually good enough as a team. How many mistakes have they made? How often did they leave their drivers hanging strategy-wise?" [he] said (…)

[00lari00]

Alex and Alice (the lady and the tramp)

Based on this reblog by @bluetorchsky, I wanted to tell you a bit about them and at least a summary of their story because I really think they're cute and their love is kind of… funny XD And I also wanted to see Violin and Accordion reacting to Alex! They can work together and Alex likes to play the guitar! At least their boys can give Alex some tips and teach him a few things… XD

Name: Alexandre Cunha (Alex)

Age: 34

Nationality: Brazil

Skills: Can play the guitar, can fight capoeira very well and generally defend himself using his bare hands and strength, doesn't use weapons much but sometimes likes to use a baseball bat.

Curiosity?: He is trans

He joined the toppat clan when he was 16 years old, his parents were in debt with the clan so they literally sold their son to try and pay off their debt (Early Sir Wilford and Billy G era). Despite Alex's bad situation, Ralf (AKA Right Hand Man) took care of Alex as his apprentice and taught the little recruit everything he knew about fighting and defense, often almost treating him like a son but with heavy fighting training.

Over time he has become a tougher and more reserved person, and he respects Ralf a lot for teaching him all this, for teaching him how to be a stronger person. And now he's a Toppat bodyguard… and that's where Alice comes in

Name: Alice Svensson

Age: 32

Nationality: Swedish

Skills: Very good at arguments and managing things in the clan next door if her cousin Sven Svensson. They taking care of things like money and plans for the clan. She is very good at persuading and use words to her advantage.

She joined the clan when she was 23 years old (Near the end of Terrence's era), she comes from a rich mafia family. Her and Sven's family is... Complicated, in this family everyone has to be successful or a source of pride for their parents... If you cannot achieve your goal or come second, you are weak and incompetent. This caused a rivalry between Sven and Alice since childhood, Alice sometimes teased Sven for not being enough, although she regrets it a little now... Because they both suffered for the same thing.

As she is an important member of the clan due to being from a mafia family, she hired Alex as her bodyguard and right-hand man.

Alex didn't like having to obey her at first, but he started to get to know her better and understand why she was a person who was sometimes selfish or sophisticated. He liked how delicate she was and wanted to protect her and be loyal to her... She is sophisticated like a lady and he is quiet, serious and loyal

As always he is afraid to take the first step in the relationship and is actually very shy, but she also started to like him. I LOVE HOW DIFFERENT THEY ARE XD KAKSJSKAKJ 💕💕 Could someone teach Alex about love... 👀

Tag: #only1toppat!au

[everybodyisasebfan]

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Sky Germany’s best of Norbert Vettel as co-commentator during FP3 at the Austin GP. 

Translation under the cut!

*** 

​​Norbert, welcome to the team, we are glad to have you!

***

It would be a pity for Mick because Mick is actually- I know him personally, I find him a very decent, nice person, who stands with both feet on the ground. Very down to earth and it would be sad- and he has brought the performance, always, whether in formula 3 or in formula 4 or in karting. It's not as if he came last or was in the midfield and advanced because his name is Schumacher. He has shown that he can win championships. You can't imagine that someone like Mick... but that's the way it is in this business, very strange at the moment.

***

Sascha: That was Alex Albon’s girlfriend. I don't know her, do you know her Norbert?

No, I'm not like that in the paddock. I'm with the guys in the pits, I talk to the mechanics. These are the people who make a difference, and it has to be said that they all do a great job.

S: I've noticed that you often go to see the mechanics, the ferrari ones as well.

The guys who worked on the car, I still get along with them. There are always two classes, there are the ones on the pit wall, they’re... the politicians and there are the ones who work. It's like real life, the politicians don't have a clue or have never gotten their hands dirty, and the guys who do the work, you have to thank them.

***

Let's say that Lewis was used to winning for a long time. It's not about being first or second or setting the best time, a race is a race. But there also comes a time when, as they always say, you first have to be able to lose before you can win and sometimes it's the other way around.

***

I form my own opinion because I was a mechanic for Sebastian myself. For me, they all boil water, the water isn't hotter, it's just more expensive. Sometimes you don't understand them, they can't see the forest for the trees or the trees for the forest.

***

S: Sebastian has a beautiful helmet.

Yes, I think it's cool, very peace and love. I think it's very fitting for America: Woodstock, cool times like in the 70s and 80s. It gives me goosebumps.

(both laugh)

You are the way you are. I can't pretend to be someone I'm not, I am who I am. I think some people might need subtitles to understand me, but if I tried to speak High German, I think that would go a bit awry.

***

When we were in Suzuka, that's what he loves so much, the speed.

S: Yes, we saw that. 

That's the way it is. Suzuka is a track that you have to... as Sebastian might say, you have to have the balls to go into the corner and keep your foot on the pedal.

***

S: Now come the two Alpha Tauri, Gasly and Tsunoda, maybe you can see a difference there.

Ralf: That one is a bit slow.

S: That's right.

A bit slow...

Ralf: Yeah, he's probably on a cool down lap.

That's such a cramp.

(they all laugh)

Ralf: That's such a cramp. Unfortunately that's modern Formula One, whether you like it or not.

Modern Formula One. The cars are so long, when you see them in reality, they’re almost like minivans.

***

They’re adjusted to be so hard, it's like a plank. When they hit the barrier (...) it's like a kart, it lifts the rear axle. That's how hard the machines are now.

***

With Mick in Japan, you have to wonder what they were thinking, I have no idea.

S: When he was left to drive on wet tyres for a long time. 

They were hoping that someone would make a mistake at some point and they could then use the safety car, which did not happen.

***

The car is tailored to Max like a fist to an eye. Or, in other words, maybe he's just able to get the most out of the package. 

***

When you read, "Mick cost us millions," that's nonsense. The millions they've wasted, they've blown themselves. With strategy and whatever else. You can't just dish it out, you also have to be able to take it. That's always the problem, they never want to take it. It's always the person sitting between the steering wheel and the engine who gets the blame.

***

S: Norbert, I had a lot of fun.

I also had a lot of fun. I hope people understood most of what I said and I would like to thank all the viewers and also Formula One - or motorsport as a whole. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for everyone. I hope I didn't talk too much käs.

S: Absolutely not! The feedback was great, we got lots of great messages, I'll show you those in a moment.

Thank you very much!

[blackhakumen]

Mini Fanfic #1081: A Surprise of the Making (King of Fighters)

8:56 p.m. Outside of Chizuru's Apartment............

Shingo: (Walking Down the Halls While Talking on the Phone) Are you sure that mission of your tonight isn't going to be too dangerous? (Eyes Widened a Bit in Fear) Or life threatening?

Leona: (On the Other Line) We're only making a simple delivery, Shingo-Kun, it's fine. Besides, do you knpw that I've managed to complete and survive throughmany dangerous missions in the past before, right?

Shingo: I do! I just.....(Looks Away While Blushing and Rubbing the Back of his Head Back and Forth) I couldn't help but to worry about you sometimes, you know?

Leona: (Smiles Softly) You have nothing to worry about, Shingo-Kun-H-HEY!

Shingo: (Starts Getting Worried) Leona!?

????: Hey there, champ!

Shingo: WHAT DID YOU DO TO- Wait. Is that you Mr. Jones?

Ralf: (Lets Out a Heartdy Laugh on the Other Side) The one and only! Just wanna chime in to 'Hi' and reassure you that your Leona-san here is already in good hands!

Leona: Major, give me my phone back right now!!

Ralf: In a minute, Leona, I'm just about done here.

Shingo: ('Sighs in Relief') Well, if you really say so, then I guess I have nothing worry about then....

Ralf: (Smiles Brightly) Exactly! Oh and also, this may or may not be super important, but our colonial here says he wants to see ya in the next two months.

Shingo: (Eyes Widened Again As He Hears the Sound of Glass Shattering in his Self Conscious) C-Coloniel?......Two months?......

Ralf: Yep! He said he wanted to meet you a lot sooner than that, but ya know? Duty calls as always, ya know? ('Heh') But uh yeah. Get yourself prepared by then and best of luck to ya, kid. You are gonna need it. (Chuckles Lightly)

Leona: Ralf. Phone. NOW.

'SMACK'

Ralf: AUGH!....(Winces in Pain on the Other Line) Ah god....

Leona: (Resumes her Conversation With Her Boyfriend on the Phone) I am so sorry about that! The Major hasn't told you anything too embarrassing, did he?

Shingo: (Immediately Comes Back to Reality) Oh! N-No, no it's nothing like that at all! He just wanted to say 'Hi' and stuff....On an unrelated note, but.... is it...possibly true that the colonel is expecting to see me in the next two months?

Leona: (Yells at Ralf Some More on the Other Line) You told him that!?

Ralf: Blame your dad, I'm just the messenger here!!

Clark: Would you two keep down? I'm driving here!

Leona: ('Sigh') Sorry, Major Steels. (Resumes Back to her Call) It's true. My father has requested to see you for some time now. But I don't want you to worry about that right now, okay? (Smiles Softly Again) You should relax and enjoying your night with Kyo and Ms. Kagura-san.

Shingo: (Takes a Deep Breath Before Speaking) Yeah, I'll try. (Smiles Softly) I'm gonna miss you all night though.

Leona: I'm missing you already. But I'll be sure call you first thing in the morning. (Puts on a Bit of a Seductive Smirk on her Face) Be sure to expect a lot hugs and kisses when I get back~

Ralf: (Starts Smirking Teasingly) Ahh~ Is that flirting I see?

'SMACK'

Ralf: OW!

Clark: You were asking for that one.

Ralf: SHADDUP!

Shingo: (Chuckles Lightly) I can't wait already! I love you~

Leona: I love you too, Shingo-Kun~ So much~ Have a very good rest of the night, okay?

Shingo: You too. Bye. (Ends his Call Before Looking Up at his Reached Destination and Nodded) ('Hmph') Right on time. (Knocks om the Door Three Times) Shingo Yabuki's here!

Kyo: (Inside in the Room) Door's open!

Shingo: 'Kay! (Happily Opens the Door) Who's ready for Anime Binging Nig-

Shingo eyes starts to widened once again as he sees Kyo sitting forward on Chizuru's lap staring at the boy, and ooking as if they were about to kiss at any moment with one or two kiss marks is already imprinted on both sides of Kyo's face.

Shingo: ....................Wrong room. (Closes the Door Before Quickly Sprinting Away) Elevatorelevatorelelevatorelevatorelelevator ElevaTOR-

Shingo abruptly stops moving once he hears the door opens few feets behind him

Chizuru: Shingo-Kun wait! Please don't go!

Shingo: Uh.....(Does a Surfer Like Accent) Like, who is this Shingo dude you're talkin' to? This is uh.....Bud. Bud....Peterson at your service.

Kyo: (Puts on a Deadpinned Look on his Face) Shingo, we know it's you.

Shingo: Again, bruh, I don't know whatcha talkin about! (Let's Out an Awkward Chuckle) I clearly said the name's Pete.

Kyo: Didn't you just say it was Bud?

Shingo: (Immediately Starts Sweating Bullets) Uh....Yeah, but.....but like.....Some people call me Pete sometimes and....(Chuckles Awkwardly) You know how neighborhood gets sometimes when it comes to nicknames-

Chizuru: Shingo, this us getting ridiculous. Let's go back inside and talk about this.

Shingo: (Slightly Turns his Head Around) But-

Chizuru: (Puts on the Old Fashioned Sad Puppy Dog Look) Please?~

Shingo: (Stares at Chizuru's Eyes For a Brief Second Before Finally Sighing in Defeat) Okayyyy......Let's go.

Few Seconds Later Inside of Chizuru's Apartment.....

Shingo: (Sitting on the Middle Side of the Sofa Twiddling his Fingers a Bit) So, you guys are.....a thing now?

Kyo: (Proudly Nodded) Yep.

Chizuru: (Smiles Softly) We've actually been a thing for quite a while now.

Shingo: Oh really? Fir how long?

Kyo: A half a year, give her take.

Shingo: Huh. B-But wait. How did this all started and.....Whatever happened to you and Yuki-san, i-if you don't mind me asking.

Kyo: (Shrugs) We broke up a while after the 15th KOF tournament ended. We wanted a lot different things, so it didn't work out in the end. A few weeks after that trainwreck later, I bumped into Chizuru again, talked and hangout a lot more than we usually did when we were a team until we started catching feelings for one another.

Chizuru: It took us a while to get used to one another, but it wasn't long until we eventually started to let our feelings run it's course thanks to a lot understanding and communication. And it was here and there that we started to truly love each other. (Hugs Kyo's Arm) Just the three of us~

Shingo: Awwwww~ (Raises an Eyebrow in Confusion) Wait. Three of us?

Kyo: Oh yeah, I forgot to tell ya. We're in a three way relationship.

Shingo: With who?

'Door Opens'

????: I'm heading out.

Shingo: (Eyes Widened Yet Again) That voice.....D-Don't tell me......

Shingo slowly turns around to see a man with short red hair walking out of the bedroom wearing red pants, a black leather, and holding a guitar case in his hand. The redhead in question was none other than Kyo's "eternal rival"....

Shingo: IORI YAGAMI!?

Iori: (Turns to Shingo as He Gives him a Simple Nod) Yabuki. (Turns to His Two Lovers Beside Him) I take it you three are getting started on that Anime Binge Watching Night or whatever?

Kyo: Yep. We're just filling the poor kid in our relationship is all.

Iori: (Looks Back at Shingo's Very Surprised Look) I see.

Chizuru Do you have everything you need for your band session tonight?

Iori: Everything's right here in this case.

Chizuru: Good. Now, make sure you call us if you need anything, okay? (Gives Iori a Peck on the Lips) We love you~

Iori: Love the both of you back. Keep Kyo out of trouble.

Kyo: (Smirks at Iori) Only if you stay of one yourself, edge boy.

Iori: Fuck you.

The two rivals share a short kiss together before Iori starts walking towards the door, causing Shingo's jaw to drop even more.

Iori: (Opens the Door) Have a good night or whatever.

Chizuru: (Happily Waves Goodbye to Iori) You too, dear~

Kyo: See ya.

'Door Closed'

Kyo: Annnnnnnnnd cue the loud, surprised yelling in 3. 2. 1.

Shingo: YOU TWO ARE DATING IORI YAGAMI!!?

Kyo: (Snickers a Bit) What? You couldn't tell by the smooch fest a few seconds ago?

Shingo: (Glares at Kyo) I COULD TELL JUST FINE, THANKS! I thought you two hated each other!

Kyo: Yeah, we still do.

Shingo: THEN WHY ARE YOU DATING HIM!?

Kyo: (Shrugs) Because I love him?

Shingo: THAT DOESN'T EVEN MAKE A LICK OF SENSE!

Chizuru: Shingo! Calm down. Remember our breathing exercise.

Shingo: BUT-

Chizuru: Do it now, mister.

Kyo: (Raises an Eyebrow in Confusion) You guys do exercises together?

Chizuru: Only with yoga, meditation, and breathing. It helps calm his nerves.

Kyo: (Snickers a Bit) Damn. Are you his mom or something

Chizuru: Yes, now move aside. (Walks Over to Shingo and Help Him Take Deep Breaths) Now breathe in......

Shingo: (Dies What his Senpai Says and Breathes In)

Chizuru: .....And breathe out.

Shingo: (Exhales)

Chizuru: Okay, one more time. In.....

Shingo: (Takes One More Deep Breath)

Chizuru: ......And out.

Shingo: (Exhales One Final Time)

Chizuru: There you go. Are you feeling calm now?

Shingo: ('Sigh') I am. So you and Kyo are....dating Iori altogether now, huh?

Chizuru: (Simply Nodded) That's right. I know it may seem hard to believe given our.... less than friendly history together.

Kyo: And his track record of being a dick.

Chizuru: (Sighs While Rolling her Eyes) Yes, that too. And I don't condone any of previous actions, especially what he did to you in the past.

Shingo: (Frowns in Silence)

Chizuru: But deep down, we know there's a whole lot more to him than he wants you to believe. (Places her Hands on her Chest) And there is no doubt in my mind that he loves us just as much as we love him.

Kyo: (Smiles Sincerely) He is our mopy jackass after all.

Chizuru: (Pouts at her Boyfriend) He's not a jackass, Kyo. He's more of a mopy kitten if anything.

Kyo: ('Scoffs') Yeah right. He wishes he was cute as a cat.

Shingo watches as two of the Three Sacred Treasures playfully bickers at one another over their significant third half. They seem to really fond of him all things considered. And while the fighter in training may not like or trust Yagami himself, it's....kinda nice to see him found two people he could love and cherish for the rest of his days despite everything. But to make sure the fondness between these three doesn't deceive him completely......

Shingo: H-Hey.

Kyo: (Gives his Attention to Shingo Along With Chizuru) Hm?

Chizuru: Yes, Shingo-Kun?

Shingo: I.....(Rubs The Back of his Head Back and Forth) Don't wanna pry on your relationship too much, but......(Turns Back to the Duo With a Genuine, Serious Look on his Face) Has he been treating you two right? Like, at all?

Kyo: What are you, our dad?

Shingo: (Comicallly Glares at Kyo) Just answer the question already!

Kyo: Alright, alright. If you must, then yes. Iori has been treating us good. Even if he is a emo prick.

Chizuru: He's still a bit rough around the edges. (Smiles Softly) But I can assure you that he's just as much of a sweetheart as you are.

Shingo: (Eyes Widened a Bit) Wait. Really? Compared to me?

Chizuru: (Giggles Softly) Of course~ I can't think of anyone else sweeter than you, dear.

Shingo: Awwwwww- I-I mean! (Clears His Throat) Okay....Okay. If that's the case, then I guess I have nothing to worry about.

Kyo: Finally got your appeal, dad?

Shingo: (Comically Glares at Kyo Again) Stop calling me that! ('Sigh') But yeah. I'm fine with you guys dating him. Sorry for making this a huge deal out of it....

Chizuru: (Smiles Softly) Don't worry about it. You were out of the loop of this topic for a while now that you were bound to find out eventually.

Kyo: True. (Starts Smirking Again) But now that you know about our little secret......(Place his Arm Around Shingo's Shoulder) It's about high time you tell us how you managed to go out with Heidern's little princess.

Shingo Oh God, who told you- (Turns to See Chizuru Excitedly Smiling At Him Before Sigh) Never mind.....

Chizuru: (Happily Joins in on the Shingo Huh) Shingo-Kun!~ You still haven't shared me the details during that time. I wanna know!~

Shingo: Okay, okay, I'll tell you. But can we please get something to eat first? I'm starving here!

Kyo: Me too actually.

Chizuru: ('Sigh') Alright. I'll order us pizza. (Points at Shingo With a Pout on her Face) But you still owe me an explanation, mister.

Kyo: That goes double from me too.

Shingo: (Rolls his Eyes) I'm aware.....

Happy Birthday, Shingo Yabuki !!

@thelexhex

@tamrinthian

@helsic

@keyenuta

@theweebmaster31

@albion-93

@ma-lemons

[meowstix]

RAT'S BIGASS LIST OF (TRUE AND CORRECT) BSB HEADCANONS

i've listed most of these before in previous posts but since i added onto that via reblog additions they aren't in the main tag. however, i want to make as many people look at these as possible, so i am making this absurdly long post compiling them.

kyojyu trans.

after the events of v-force, zeo went on to pretty much start a new life with a new identity. during this process they Also transed their gender (i'm not sure on the specifics of this one admittedly, but as you might have noticed i do hc zeo as using they/them pronouns that much i'm sure of)

speaking of post-season antics, brooklyn retired from beyblading after g-revolution and is now focusing on ornithology

speaking of which. points at brooklyn. autism

honestly. i think the entire main gang is also neurodivergent i'm not even exactly sure what but i refuse to believe they're neurotypical.

i think at some point i hit rei with my aro beam i'm not even sure why (i probably just wanted to hit Somebody with the beam) but he's aro now why not.

so those top euro bladers right. ralf, olivier, giancarlo, and johnny. them. they're in a polycule.

ok these last two are gonna be fucking stupid so bear with me here. first i joked about this one before but steve got hit by the down with cis bus before the start of g-rev and that's why he's in the hospital (kyojyu and zeo were on the bus obviously)

daitenji is divorced from zagart. he is also divorced from soichirou. maybe throw in volkov for good measure why not. every time this guy gets a divorce the other person goes on to commit atrocities this man is a fucking menace to society

you know how like with ghost stories sometimes it's like if you try to take a picture of the ghost the picture gets all messed up. it's like that with sacred beasts too, though the world tournaments probably have some way of getting around that.

it's also effectively random who can see sacred beasts! like there's Some factors i guess but there's no specific big one other than "if you have a sacred beast you can see them no matter what". but yeah this leads to.. a LOT of debate over whether they're real even outside of beyblading discussion. takao vs yuriy either settled this debate or made it even worse.

judy ABSOLUTELY knew what she was doing when sending genbu's bit to max. i don't know how she ended up with it but i wouldn't be shocked if it was through her work with the PPB and honestly i'm still kind of 🤨 about them so it's probably for the best this Literal God ended up with some preteen

i think during the bega arc while the main gang was figuring out how they'd handle all of that king and queen were probably getting into so much shit. like obviously the focus is more on these Former World Champions (and Current World Champion) but in the background there's also just these two other decently strong bladers who are completely unaffected by bega's monopoly on parts because they've never been getting parts legally in the first place AND YOU CAN'T REALLY TRY TO RUIN THEIR REPUTATION EITHER BECAUSE THEY JUST DO NOT GIVE A SHIT

kai, rei, and daichi all out here in the getting sensory overload gang. congrats daichi you’ve gotten 1 (one) headcanon.

boris and sergey sound like 4kids sword knight and blade knight. the thing is that who sounds like who constantly switches so at any given time one of them will be near incomprehensible and there’s no way of telling which. it’s not like they have much if any personality in the first place so i can make up stupid shit

kyojyu has pretty much become hiromi’s semi-reluctant partner in crime, except the crime is powerpoint presentations detailing the most well thought out but also utterly stupid (and illegal but like. this is the BBA team we’re talking about with their track record they’ll be fine) plans any of the other team members have seen in their life. atleast one of these either has already gone through or will be executed in the future

takao has also kickstarted some stupid shit albeit it’s generally more akin to #clayisoverparty if you've heard of that

i think bakuten shoot might be the first piece of media i’ve had a significant number of lgbt headcanons for. anyway mao is bi and emily is an aro lesbian.

after the events of g-rev the entire situation surrounding bega is just generally considered an absolute shitstorm. like we’re talking like community lore here if that makes sense. someone probably wrote an r/hobbydrama post about it well over a decade later.

you know how they mentioned that like thirty years prior to the events of the show zagart had stolen that one sacred beast rock and then they never explain what happened to it. that's how zeo like, Exists despite the question of "how the hell do you create a replica that perfect of a human being in two thousand fucking two". mf is basically held together by sealed away sacred beasts

this one i mostly thought of because i was looking through the manga version of the battle tower stuff. in the animeverse i feel like zagart and volkov possibly knew eachother at some point. quick note here whenever i think abt v-force i generally just. pretend psykick Isn't There. I Do Not See Them. since they're basically just a middleman but ANYWAY. honestly this idea is very funny to me because like you have these two guys trying to create artificial sacred beasts right? and Child Soldiers McWar Crimes over here is doing animal experimentation n shit, still fucked up of course but then over on the other hand. the guy who's trying to bring back his dead son ends up basically just straight up brainwashing people

another very much canon-contradictory v-force one, actually i know i was talking about this one a few days ago. anyway yeah kane, salima, and the other two guys had very much taken interest in zagart's research on sacred beasts! they looked up to this guy! and this motherfucker went "yeah i'll take advantage of these literal teenagers" can you TELL i like leaning into the concept of zagart just being an absolute shit person even if his motivation was sympathetic

DEDICATED KAI SECTION BECAUSE I THINK HE'S NEAT :3

he is ABSOLUTELY the kind of motherfucker to wear shorts in cold ass weather

also this guy knows hand to hand combat. probably beat up atleast one person during his time as a Whole Ass Gang Leader tbh

speaking of which i think that time period is probably where like. almost all of his experiences with social settings before the world tournament came from. also he probably got updogged around this time i think

so you know how i brought up the daitenji's divorce shenanigans? going by that kai really out here being the focus of the world's most batshit custody battle huh

kai was NOT having a good time with the whole celebrity (or atleast. in terms of whatever the scope for beyblading is) thing. you throw this very much traumatized teenager with a sketchy ass past into the spotlight it’s not gonna go well

i was just talkin abt this one earlier but he is gay and ace.

and of course. last but most.

[transeuropexpress]

Record Mirror interview with Ralf Hütter, conduced by Mark Cooper (1982)

I mean, let's start with the obvious, and perhaps the funniest thing about this interview. The photo on the first page is of Florian and they spelled 'Ralf' as 'Ralph' underneath it, despite the fact it's spelled correctly everywhere else. Some poor editor wasn't too interested, it seems... anyway!

"Ralf Hütter is the voice of Kraftwerk. He writes the words and gives the interviews, talking in the kind of perfect English which no English person can manage... Ralf is small and precise, giving an overwhelming impression of neatness. Like Kraftwerk, he likes a joke. Bad puns are his favorite and he underlines them with his eyebrows as if to explain, "I make joke" ... Polite and shy, Ralf is extremely reasonable and pleasantly ponderous -- like German bread."

Mark Cooper gives a strange first impression of Ralf, which I suppose isn't all that strange in itself for a Kraftwerk interview. First considering the header ("I'm not nuts," is he or isn't he?) which leads you to suspect Ralf is actually unusual, then being described as "ponderous" and "normal to the point of being weird," Cooper appears to have something of a grudge against him. In fact he admits to it, writing that "A part of me is convinced he's quite mad, another that he's dangerous," which... okay? I can't conceive of any reason why interviewers keep bringing up this concern of Ralf (and Florian) being dangerous somehow, whether that's in reference to the way they use their instruments or in their own persons, besides being a bit sensationalist. Kraftwerk was something new, something unlike anything else, and the members presented themselves in a very manicured and un-sensational way... so you have to make something up. Being clinically precise and intimidating fit right into both the German stereotype and idea of being robotic.

Which isn't to say it's all bad. Cooper also describes Ralf as having a sense of humor, which he acknowledges Kraftwerk incorporates into their music, and that he's polite, rather pretty, intelligent, and earnest. Ralf has nerves -- he's "Germanically human." Well, enough about the people, what about the music?

"In love with machines, Kraftwerk spends a good deal of time extolling a world in which humans would live happily and equally with machines and just about as much time portraying a world of frightening uniformity in which humans, like 'The Model,' have lost any individuality and become as machines"

Hmmm... This interview is from 1982, so through the album Computerworld. While rough, I feel, in description, it's right to say there's a split between Kraftwerk's depiction of machines as friend and foe. Computerworld especially explores the imminent use of computer technology to monitor citizens, but also revels in the possibilities of everyone having their own personal computing machine (I'm composing, I'm controlling || I beam myself into the future!). This isn't a new sentiment from them. Ich bin Ihr Deiner und Ihr Herr zugleich...

"Their music extols order to a point beyond the classical, to a point where I sometimes wonder whether the record's stuck, all the while evoking one constant emotion, loss."

I have to admit, when I first listened to Kraftwerk albums I also thought they could be repetitive. Now I hear them differently, through a lens of biased love and admiration, so.. well... anyway, I have to agree wholeheartedly with Cooper's last line there. Yes, Kraftwerk's music is uniquely melancholy. It's the best word for it, a sadness you can't really place. In hindsight, 'loss' could be a good word, the loss of a dreamed future that never came to be. Then, perhaps, the loss of a present reality which was freer and less monitored. Trans-Europe Express is so achingly romantic you can't help but let the post-card views flash through your mind, marred here and there with bombshell craters. And Radio-Activity... that needs its own post.

"I ask Ralf if he thinks he's normal. The question seems to shock him"

Well I should think so. asshole. Cooper says Ralf's being either 'clever or naive,' which is 'just like Kraftwerk.' Unfortunately I think he's right again because Ralf does admit to feeling out of place when he was a kid and I mean, he's never wanted to incorporate himself or his projects into the mainstream, really. Kraftwerk never worked with another band/artist to make music. Ralf openly explains that the aesthetics and values of Kraftwerk should remain distinctly separate from the flashiness of rock n roll, that Kraftwerk began to define their own (and Germany's own) type of music, specifically to break way from the popular anglo-American scenes.

Ralf: "I was out of touch with others... But since we made Kraftwerk and discovered our productivity by making our own music and pushing off the old classics, we found our normalcy. We closed ourselves in and started the Kling Klang studio and asked, 'Where are we? What do we want to play? What is happening?' Now we're social workers, we have a holistic approach to our work."

Alright. I'll skip the armchair psychology but finding normalcy by closing yourself off from the world and doing it your own way... then there's the disregard of 'old classics' which might be a bit of arrogance coming through because I know for a fact Kraftwerk admires the work of many influential past artists, though he may just mean they were throwing off the shackles of expectation and formulae.

"Kraftwerk are more like some weirdo's notion of the normal than the scruffy, day-to-day normality that most of us endure. Ralf: "It's very basic and so very honest. You can't call it anything else but work."

When I go to hell there'll be a Kraftwerk journalist tied to a chair and a demon will hand me a baseball bat or other blunt instrument. Or maybe that's heaven? Anyway stop being so mean. Even if you're correct. Or be more accurate -- I wouldn't say Kraftwerk is truly trying to look "normal." Their aesthetics are polished and purposeful, as much a message as any punk rock group wearing patched-up secondhand leather jackets. The people behind Kraftwerk aren't supposed to be part of the spectacle, really -- they're made almost to blend in with their machines, appear the same as each other, give the impression of mechanical perfection as much as human care to human sense of style. None of which is overwhelmingly normal to me. But yes, they look more 'normal' with their shirts and slacks than traditional bands, and yet much neater than your average person on the street.

Then there's Ralf's philosophy on work. Musikarbeiter.

Ralf: "We are suggesting that people re-think their whole working situation, co-operate with one another and become productive. This is how work should be whether you are a musician, a journalist or a dentist."

A little ironic for the guy who just said he closed himself off to work on his music. But there's three other people in the Kling Klang Studio at that time, so, point still stands? He really wants the perception that he and the other members of Kraftwerk are workers, and derides the common notion of what working is. Ralf calls it slavery, says that the promise of a holiday doesn't excuse ten months of hard and unfulfilling work. But he and the other Twerkers, if you will, go into the studio for 'eight to ten hours a day, each shift,' so what gives? Like he said earlier, they do holistic work. Kraftwerk defines its own way forward instead of 'conforming,' as Cooper writes, and it would be better for everyone if the working world allowed for human expression and creativity, the ability to experience art in a way more than superficially observing it, if people could build from the ground up instead of scaffold the crumbling foundation. Well now that's very nice, if it were feasible. Cooper writes that "In insisting that they are workers like everybody else, they only succeed in making 'work' glamorous -- their work." And I have to agree to an extent. Yes, making music is work, and yes, making music is an occupation far removed from the realities of the average working man. It's easy to say from the outside how things should be, and I don't mean to say Ralf is wrong -- capitalism is hell -- but I always that the sentiment was a little self-important. What I'm doing is ideal.

"I tell him that, in the context of pop, remaining faceless is inevitably just another ploy, a means of making people more interested in them than less. Kraftwerk are in danger of becoming a gimmick. Kraftwerk pretend to reduce their making of pop music to the level of all health jobs."

I won't speak too much to this point because I constantly chide myself for finding the members of Kraftwerk fucking fascinating, precisely because I know just enough to be curious and not enough to stop speculating.

Ralf: "We were always very rhythmical. We always hated 'electronic' music whose connotations were intellectual only. We introduced the body to electronic music." And the heart? "The heart is a muscle so you could say we introduced the muscle." This is one of Ralf's jokes.

I'd like to know what electronic music he's referring to here, because I know that Karl is a big fan of Stockhausen, whose music I wouldn't necessarily dance to at the club. Also I just really like the quote about introducing the body to electronic music, because it's very close to the man-machine concept and it's kinda hot

"Unfortunately this attitude isn't reflected in Kraftwerk's own stage show in which the four figures of Kraftwerk operate their studio onstage while their audience stare on in awe and, mostly, in silence."

This is supposed to be calling out hypocrisy. It refers to how Ralf is quite comfortable in discos because there's no real ego to it and 'the spotlight is on everybody.' Then again, how on earth are you supposed to do a live show otherwise? And I think the whole 'looking so normal it's weird' thing we talked about earlier was supposed to alleviate some of the attention, too.

Ralf: "We are very anarchic, or rather, maybe we are what comes after chaos. And our machine-like state is maybe a step to being born in a new society. By bringing machines back to life again, we make them our friends. We treat them cooperatively as an equal part of the working process."

Wont lie "Maybe we are what comes after chaos" goes hard as hell. Because it's almost true, with how he's always talking about rebuilding a cultural life after it was destroyed by WW2. And then I'd like to interpret the machines as friends as almost a 'keep your enemies closer' type of thing. Computers and technology are an inevitable counterpart of human life and work, so best to get to know them now before they're too complex to comprehend. Keep them friendly, domesticated, in the interest of good.

Ralf: "Being brought up in Germany, there's not much that anyone can tell us about order. Order in Germany wasn't invented by the Nazis -- it was there before and it continues afterwards."

He said shut the hell up for once about the Nazis I'm tired of hearing the same question over again

"And yet there is something dubious about this new world, something cynical and overarranged, something altogether too healthy.. Ralf: "We're not interested in alcohol and other forms of darkening your mind... otherwise you're just abusing yourself. We have done this but now we have more confidence in the things we do." "An order beyond the older order, a simple and productive world of clean humans and clean machines."

I can tell you right goddam now that Ralf is being pretentious because Karl definitely wrote about getting quite drunk and wondering how Ralf could maintain such self-control. So the 'we' in his quote or more of a 'me.' On what Cooper writes: again, it's that melancholia just now mixed with his own reservations. Ralf is presenting a very orderly picture (which isn't quite reality) and I can imagine it may be disconcerting to hear in conjunction with music which, when first released, sounded beyond computerized, although after his mention of Nazis I feel his description is getting a little too referential.

Ralf: "In Germany there is a saying, 'If your morals are ruined, you can live quite easily.' The word 'morality' implies a certain codex from Hollywood and we work outside that. In German music we are observers, more concerned with mechanics and realism."

Kraftwerk's music never paints a clear picture (except for the condemnation of nuclear energy, although after the original release of Radio-activity which had no such decision) of the subjects it discusses. It leaves you guessing, it leaves you thinking, it makes you do the work. American media hates that. American media wants a good guy and a bad guy, demands a clear moral picture (Hays Code, anybody?) and as such limits what the public consumes, because artists can get blocked at the door. Of course, it's not just American media, but we're naming Hollywood here, and I'm thinking of modern Disney too.

Ralf: "We are not macho or anything, we are more androgynous."

Very swag ☑️ Electronic waves are an androgynous medium, after all... and to be real, this is an important part of Kraftwerk's aesthetic. The humans aren't supposed to be important, so who cares what they are? Kraftwerk separates itself as much as possible from anglo-American music scenes, so the forceful masculinity that's often perpetrated is thrown out the window. Androgyny and ambiguous messages in their music go hand-in-hand.

[occult-roommates]

5 fun facts about Ralf

What could be the grand finale of the fun fact series, but I decided to add Matteo last minute so...Anyway, here’s Ralf.

1) Growing up, he did not really care about knowing his biological family. It’s only when he had his own kids he started looking for it. Then, when he found out they were pretty much all dead anyway and his bio mom was not in the right place to raise him, he stopped caring again. He does sometime wonder however how his life would have been had he never been adopted though. Also, I wasn’t originally planning on introducing his parents at all, but I always intended on him being a formerly fucked up teen who managed to end up as a happy-ish adult. However, when I decided to make a post showing all of the main cast parents, and realized I didn’t had Ralf’s ones, I decided to make him adopted. Why? Simple, all of the younger characters I made their parents first and then picked the “create a child” option in CAS to make them. However, I do not like doing the other way around of creating the parents after the kid, so I decided Ralf was gonna be adopted as to explain why he doesn’t look like his parents. Then I decided the reason he was such a mess is because he has adoption trauma. It also tied in nicely with Akva’s plotline in season 1.

(Though I find like he still somewhat looks like his adoptive mom...and just like his sisters he has a huge ass)

2) He has zero spice tolerance, and like he said once “a bit of a sensitive stomach”...This does not stop him whatsoever to try to eat as spicy as possible, even if he regrets it literally every single time afterward. Like, he no joke met his wife cause he showed up to the ER thinking he was having a heart attack and it turned out to be heartburn. His wife was a nursing student.

3) Before deciding to become a pilot, he wanted to pursue a more creative field like music or art. However, not only did he lacked support from everyone in his life except his bestie/boyfriend Konrad, he doubted too much his own ability to succeed and he gave up on that. He tried going back into it in his 30s along with his son, but when he passed away it became too painful and he hasn’t made any art since.

4) He also used to have a fuckton of clothes because he cared about his look when he was younger, and just cause he liked collecting them. But, as he got older most just don’t fit anymore and he can’t be arsed to buy new one as he doesn’t really care about his look, so it’s pretty much just the blue pastel flowers shirt most days now.

5) At some point, he almost converted to Christianity cause he dated an extremely religious girl. But not only did he later found out she dated him literally cause she wanted to “redeem him from his sinful way” (aka him being a little slutty bisexual Jew), her family really, really hated occult, especially werewolves and spellcasters. This made him very uncomfortable cause you know...Konrad’s a spellcaster, duh.

Also bonus fact but he sounds like the guy in this video

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(ok this one’s a joke i think his voice is like really deep i was just trying to lighten the mood a little bit...anyway matteo’s next and then im done with the fun facts)

[misiwrites]

4KINGDOMS RE-READ ADVENTURE part 8

Chapter 33: the tyka hide-and-seek

this one got a pretty banging opening paragraph ngl

takao's daily hobby is just running around the garden finding kai. then talking to him. and kai is like fuck off. and takao is like ok :) i'll come again tomorrow! (and he does)

ralf's been setting up traps for miguel in the castle AJSDBHGD i forgot

so eventually takao is like wait. why do i always know where kai is. YER A WIZARD TARRY

the scene of him finding kai in the labyrinth is cooler than i remembered, pleasant surprise

this was a well written chapter. i got nothing to say. pleased

Chapter 34: the elders promise rei a reality tv appearance

yes we are back to rei unfortunately

it's the second time he talks about himself as a zoo animal. on brand. i mean white tigers are very rare

rei finds a library book that talks about some ancient king having invented the qiang spear fighting and he's like HA HA! FUNNY JOKE! AS IF A BYAKKO-OU COULD BE DOING THAt

oh lol rei thinking that he'll be able to do whatever he wants when he turns 18. you think! i have bad news for you

also rei feeling like he's been abandoned in the palace, better get used to that too. it feels weird reading this now after having worked on the newest byakko-ou chapters because here rei is still all preserved about olivier and doesn't like him much. but he does like the elders enough still to start talking to them in the council

holy shit rei is such an ass, talking shit about both olivier and mathilda here left and right

always thought myself it's fucking funny that daitenji is one of the elders. like idk what kind of role you'd expect him to have but here he is. a tool

this also was actually an interesting chapter, i can't believe i've written good things sometimes. a lot of tension thrown around between the elders and olivier and rei here. i can see this is where i was starting to plan the story much more systematically than before, probably started using my physical notebook for musing

Chapter 35: romantic tyka apple tree garden date (that involves blood)

takao: it was almost funny that kai carried me out of the garden like a princess! but not quite.

AGAIN WITH THE COTTON (CANDY) CLOUDS

takao keeps having weird experiences in the garden and kai is like, it's your magic. and takao is like i don't have magic, and kai is like yes you do. and takao is like no i don't. and kai is like yes you do and this is why. and takao is like wow you said more than 5 words to me in a row

takao is adorable being like "i thought i was pretty mature for having accepted that i didn't have any magic even though i'd been SO disappointed about it earlier!" yes you are a good mature boy. when you let yourself process things first which you never do

okay here, my favourite line that i have ever written, when takao takes a good grip on ryuushinken and gives it a pull. put this in as the quote when you in the future refer to me as a famous author with beautiful prose:

It slid out like sausage in gravy.

Chapter 36: rei gets his ass handed to him by sir livliv

takao is having a mental breakdown over his magic because it's SO uncool, but also over kai leaving soon (or so he thinks)

rei's life is boring and slow again, is it ever anything but

i sure had fun coming up with what kinds of metal-related magic rei's ancestors had. one of them is just uri geller. the one who ate coins was fun

olivier is trying to make rei LOOK AT THE FOLDER! LOOK AT THE FUCKING FOLDER YOUR MAJESTY!!!! and rei is like i can't i'm gay. and runs off to have a call with max

wowow max being like I WOULDN'T MIND FAKE BEING SICK AGAIN SO I COULD LIE IN BED FOR A FEW DAYS! be careful what you wish for in my fic. idiot

he also calls rick "a little bitch"

max telling about his adventures in okkusu like yeah rick was a total ass, we didn't get along at all, hated everything about it. then we had a big fight. now we are friends. and takao's reaction is "Fastest way to a dude’s heart is to punch him in the face"

rei getting all jealous that max has people other than him in his life. it sure is a struggle to be a rei in love.

it's also a struggle to be a rei being told by olivier that he's a stupid little shit who thought he could do things behind his knight's back while olivier knew everything all along

and then this line probably exists in about 100 different variations in the story, because rei never learns

Olivier seemed to read right into my thoughts – which he always did, and would always do, and truthfully I had been a complete fool for ever forgetting the extent of his powers of observation.

so, like takao&ralf, rei&olivier have a nice little king&knight moment of promising each other they'll share everything with each other from now on. and then they actually do! unlike ralf and takao

this chap was not well written tho. it probably took me two hours to go on a quest to fix just about every part of this in some way. i wasn't a good writer after all, emergency over everyone can go home

Chapter 37: max is back

and he was supposed to be all mature and let his feelings for rei fade away but he comes back and is like I FOCKIN MISSED HIM!!!!!!!!!

Ah, well. That only meant that I would have to start over. (But I allowed myself to admire his sad, beautiful face for just a bit longer first.)

i know right. who doesn't love a beautiful sadface

giancarlo being all proud that he got to solve a thing with olivier. he also in love.

gianni is surprisingly smart in this chap and tells max he should focus on the north instead of going around trying to fix rei or whatever. fair. he's also the one suggesting that. you know your highness. why don't you just go to the west to meet the other kings. and max is like. it's not as fun as repeatedly risking my life for rei tho

[sawyer-sees]

where exactly do they live?

No fixed address. Sawyer currently lives in a camper van and parks it wherever he can get away with it at night; he is thinking about moving into the house Mo is setting up/has set up, but after constant close quarters at the Essex House he sort of likes having his own space.

nice, nice! do they live there on their own or does your muse have a roommate / roommates?

All alone! It’s not really big enough for two to live in, though he can squeeze in a guest on occasion.

okay but tell us their favorite part of their place? what’s that one part of their home that makes them happy and they’re always just there?

His favourite part is the table with attached bench seating! He built it himself -- the van is a fixerupper so he’s having to do it all himself and it’s very much not finished yet. The table was the first thing he did so in his mind it’s associated with the pride of having built something himself, and he loves having a peaceful place to sit with his morning coffee.

-  MORE UNDER THE CUT

alright next question, what about their room– is it clean or messy? bare or overflowing with things? tell us about it!

Surprisingly not cluttered, for a van. Sawyer’s not had much time to accumulate stuff yet, but at his heart he’s not a very tidy person. He’ll leave his plate on the table until he has to wash it for his next meal. The only ‘clutter’ he really has currently is sheets upon sheets of charcoal drawings he’s been doing. He used to be a fairly keen artist before Essex, but he sort of lost the passion for it. Now that he’s free, he’s trying to get back into practice but it’s a struggle as he has a lot of nerve damage in his hands, so fine details are hard.

does your muse like having people over / how do they feel about people invading their space?

The only guest he’s had thus far is Ralf (of Ralf’s Repair Shop fame) but he enjoyed it! It was nice showing off the work he’d done both internally and externally on the van, and Sawyer makes a mean one-pot stew. He’d not like people there all the time because he very much needs his space right now, but once in a while it’d be nice to have company.

if their home was on fire, what are the three things they’d grab and save before running out?

One, his pewter hog’s head ring. It was a gift from Harley (on account of you bein’ so pig headed, man, ha ha!) and when he focuses his psychometry on it he can relive the memory of receiving it. It had been such an unexpected gift, the twins not usually being hugely demonstrative, that it really made him happy. Two, his record player. He managed to thrift one pretty cheap and catching up on all the music he missed over the years is just about the only thing keeping him sane right now. Three, a Judas Priest t-shirt he got at a gig in 1985. He and Harley dragged Lia there, and she’d been terrified, but it turned out to be one of the funnest nights of his life. Just good wholesome singing, screaming, and underage drinking, unmarred by any unpleasantries. When he holds it he can relive that night over and over. It’s a bit too small now since he was sixteen when he got it, but he still wears it sometimes bc we support men’s rights to wear crop tops in this house, damnit!

@c23tasks

[ultimatedaywriter]

Gravedigger's Mania CH1

“Is a poor man more virtuous than a rich man?” Old Jim asked. In his sermon voice, Old Jim recited a passage he heard back when he lived in the godless theocracy. How Old Jim managed to make it hundreds of miles through noman’s land and swamp to become a gravedigger, Vincent didn’t know.

“No, I’m poor, and you can have your watch back,” Vincent said.

He didn’t mean to do it, but sometimes he couldn’t help but take things from other people. Kleptomania was a serious disease, and if he wasn’t in the republic, he would have already lost both hands.

By the sun, it was nearly his turn to start digging again. Vincent often took the longest since he didn’t have the gravedigger class.

“Thanks, it was my father’s; how many attributes do you have now?” Old Jim asked.

While Old Jim was talking, Vincent watched Ralf inspect the corpse sled. Necromantic spells on the bodies kept them fresh from the battlefields of no man’s land. They shouldn’t move, but one clearly twitched like a roach with a crushed head. Only in their line of work, when things twitched, often it was still alive or returning to unlife.

“9 and give me a hand,” Vincent said.

He had 9 attributes and only needed one more to have a set of 10. He could take a class that would fit him the best. Old Jim told him about it. For twenty years, he has used his low status to cheaply get blood for his sister. There were laws to afford the classless some benefits, but they were helping less each year. Most of his profits came from theft laundered through his gravedigging job. It was all for his little sister to keep her on the right side of the law.

“Am I the only one who reads the safety guides?” Old Jim asked.

Vincent pulled Ralf away from the sled as a body fought its way out from the mound of corpses. Old Jim raised his shovel and bashed it on the head. He would like to say the skull split like a dropped melon, but that would be a lie. It split for a moment, and then the broken skull fit itself back together. Only werewolves and their ilk could heal like that. Vampires looked more like reversing time or flowing water. Either way, what he was seeing, wasn’t it. He didn’t want to get close to something that could withstand Old Jim’s Gravedigger lvl97 strength.

Gravediggers weren’t martial classes but could shovel through rocks without a problem. So old Jim stabbed the man in the chest with his shovel and threw him into the half-dug hole. From there, together, we started burying it.

Once it was buried, Vincent sighed with relief before checking his human species tab.

Human lvl0 exp 95/100

He never knew if he helped people for the exp or because he liked helping others. Old Jim would say it didn’t matter, but it did to him. Vincent was close to crossing into his first level, and it wasn’t even a class. He didn’t know anyone with levels in human. Most chose to get bitten by a vampire, werewolf, or turned into a traditional undead.

“I’ll go tell Resneck he will want to know we have a bunch of were creatures rising,” Ralf said.

Old Jim spat on the ground. “Good luck with that. I haven’t seen him all day; we’re better off running.”

“What do you mean by that? If he isn’t here and we run, they’ll see us as prey, and we’ll be swarmed.” Ralf said.

They were damned if they did and damned if they didn’t. But, like rats in a wooden box, there was no easy way out. Vincent pressed a hand into his pocket and winced.

“Here are your coins back. I forgot they were in my pocket.” Vincent said.

He pulled the coins out along with Resneck’s amulet. The clearly enchanted item would sell for a few gold pieces if he could find a fence to take it. All he needed was to be reported as a thief capable of stealing from the royal family. Then, Vincent would be shipped off to the front lines and made to take a thief or black ranger class. Raiding the camps of the enemies and stealing supplies was a great way to die from a knight’s mace.

“Thank you; if we survive this, remind me to sock you in the nose for your trouble,” Ralf said.

“Sure. Do you want your dagger back?” Vincent asked.

“That would be wonderful, thank you,” Ralf said.

Vincent returned his stolen goods and waited for what he knew would begin their doom. The sun set behind a broken stock tower. One of the only guard outposts in the Stock Countryside. The next tower with anything resembling a black knight was twenty miles away. A black knight might not think the deaths of a few gravediggers to raise were monsters was a fair trade. After a were creature’s first transformation and kill, they chilled out and gained control over themselves.

“I heard if you ate plenty of garlic, they would leave you alone.” Old Jim said.

“What’s Garlic?” Ralf asked.

“Contraband, my sister hates it,” Vincent said.

The other three men in their group were new and about ready to bolt. He couldn’t blame them. Vincent might have bolted, too, if this was his first time. Experience had taught him those who bolted were often killed first. Once, the were creatures erupted from a nearby corpse sled and ripped a man in half.

“The black knights will come; we’ll see the silver fangs on black shining soon enough.” A man said.

“What hallucinogens is that guy on?” Vincent checked his stats and compared them to the nearest werebat. If he wasn’t mistaken, that was the breed of, were beast they were dealing with. Well, they were in lands of the great family Camazotz so that was to be expected. But, growing up, he knew werewolves, werehynas, werebears, and even a werehorse the werebat was new. “Did lord Kan decide to try infecting vampires with a were-creature strain again?” Vincent asked.

The others looked shocked at his words, except for old Jim. “What are you guys gawking at? We need to get some distance?”

“We aren’t far from the shelter; if we can get to it in time, we can wait this out until morning,” Ralf said.

Before Vincent could say how unlikely they were to hide from creatures with eco location in a cramped hole in the ground, a bat with a 70-hand wingspan stabbed its talons through Ralf’s shoulders and carried him off screaming.

“The tower is our only chance.” Old Jim said.

Vincent moved in a fast march with his group. The sun had already halfway descended the tower as they made their way there. Men screamed before giant bats took them in the fading light. He pushed one man out of the way of talons, only for another bat to get him. While they didn’t run, they hurried to the tower and saved a few people. Old Jim’s shovel knocked a few bats away, keeping them mostly safe.

“Why do you have 9 attributes and no class?” A guy from their original team asked.

Old Jim answered for him. “Nobles in the godless theocracy don’t take a class until they are nearly my age. They instead collect different attributes until they have 10 of them. Then when they take a class, they get an 11th secret attribute.”

“I’ve never heard of that.”

“Yea, it's from the godless theocracy; why would our republic need their filth. I heard over there humans have levels like vampires and werewolves.” Another man said.

Vincent was trying to do something similar. It wasn’t a taboo so much as it was difficult in his current culture. Saving people’s lives took a lot of grit. Instead of becoming a liability himself, he had to run into danger and help.

“How strong are the bats? Can we fight them at all?” One man asked.

“Vincent, you’re the numbers guy; what do you think?” Old Jim asked.

The classless 30-year-old man used scan; his eyes glowed blue, his gaze fell on one of the bats, and he felt a headache coming on.

Charles lvl26

Species: Werebat lvl4

Class: Bloodreaver lvl22

He scanned a few more and found similar results. Vincent let his eyes return to normal and shook his head.

“That bad,” Old Jim said.

“None of them are below lvl20, and they all have a martial class that synergizes with their werebat species. I can’t see titles, so they could be much stronger than expected.” Vincent shivered while he crunched the numbers in his head. “They could one hit kill Old Jim, and he’s the strongest guy here. Even a Black Knight would have trouble with them 1v1 add more, and it’s a death sentence. They are overspecialized in dealing damage to high HP enemies. Blood reavers get armor piercing at lvl20.” Vincent said.

The classless human pulled at his hair, trying to think of anything.

“We need a backup plan if the tower doesn’t work. Where are we close to.” Old Jim said.

Vincent thought about it. “Dragon’s Log would be safest.”

He thought about the flesh-eating parasites, mutated monsters, and dragons that used that place as a dumping ground. The classless human added an asterisk by safest. If they went in, there were some places to hide away while the werebats tromped through and picked a fight with something more powerful than them.

Vincent knew he had to get home to his sister. That thought was enough to spur him on and get him through the dark mood. To that end, he pulled a man from stepping into a sinkhole. He happened to have the best night vision around.

They reached the broken stack tower, and Vincent hammered on the door. A werebat dove low, and Old Jim smashed it to the ground with his shovel. The old man fought the creature while the others beat it with shovels.

“Go away.” A voice like grinding rocks said.

“We need help; our minder has gone missing; a citizen of Camazotz is in danger.” They all knew the black knight wouldn’t open his door for them. They were gravediggers, the lowest of the low in the republic. They needed to mention their minder if they wanted the knight to help them. Even a dhampir was a full citizen because he had the name Camazotz. Vincent waited for the man to either open the door or say something. Instead, he heard the bolts in the door clink shut, leaving them trapped.

“Fine, be that way. If you need help, don’t come crying to us. They can fly genius, and I’m sure you’ll make a great meal.” Vincent didn’t get a reply. The man had already returned to his duties. But then, a bright light stole his attention. Old Jim had finally become a lvl100 gravedigger and could choose another class. “Damn it, Jim, they are all coming for us.” On their wings, the monsters flew after them in a swarm.

Black ghastly energy swirled around Old Jim. He had chosen a class already. His second class shown from a quick scan.

Old Jim lvl101

Species: Human

Classes

Gravedigger lvl100

Black Berserker lvl1

He couldn’t believe it. Old Jim was someone. If he abandoned them and fought carefully, he could survive until morning, maybe with a few levels to show for it. After that, he would immediately join one of the many soldier companies and gain a higher status in the republic.

Old Jim took out his pipe and held his hand out to Vincent. “I would like my hash back.”

Vincent didn’t know how it ended up in his pocket but handed it to Old Jim all the same. The old man lit his pipe and pointed towards the Dragon’s Log.

“Not without you,” Vincent said.

“You’re a good boy Vincent, but you need to take care of that sister of yours. She is a brat; when you’re not around, that mouth of hers will get the both of you in trouble. Thanks for saving me.” Old Jim said.

This was it. Vincent knew it at that moment. Old Jim wasn’t walking out of his next fight. Light enveloped him as he gained his first level after 30 years of life. He hugged the old man and joined the others to escape the werebats. The creatures still picked apart their numbers as they fled until they were preyed upon by the monsters in the dragon’s log.

[lennies-blog]

This ask might be a little bit confusing so I hope you don't mind but I wanna share my thoughts on the current situation. Right now I feel very frustrated with the whole Mick and Haas (aka Guenther Steiner) drama, but the hate Mick recieves is getting out of hand. I've heard that Sky Germany plays a huge part in it, they are very biased towards Mick while they like to hate on other drivers like Kevin, also I've heard that they don't really care about Seb and appearantly Ralf Schumacher likes to make negative comments about everyone except Mick. I don't know if it's true but since Ralf seems to be a dickhead I can imagine it. Now they criticized that there is so much pressure on Mick and that it's Haas' fault, but then they make a full drama out of guenther steiners words (I've read the translation and it doesn't sound as bad as germans made it sound like.. however still not a fan of steiner). So aren't they the ones that put even more pressure on Mick with their pre race shows? I've also heard that he gets a lot of hate from german fans, but tbh I've only seen german fans so far that like to shit on Kevin to defend Mick. Mick himself on the other hand seems to be very affected (understandable) by all this drama, you can see his laugh is mostly fake and he's being sarcastic and annoyed, also he never really answers questions he avoids them and gives basic answers to be political correct. Also in post race he appearantly blamed it on haas that kevin has a better pace? (i only read translation so I can never say if this is really the case so that's why I ask you hahha) I find it so weird because we talk about a 23 year old and his second year in f1, his first year with an actual working car, now people are saying he wont get a seat in the next season. Are people always so cruel to new drivers, or is it because of his name? I know he made mistakes, he crashed, he didn't get into the point but he gets so much hate, I am confused if this is really normal (I am watching only since last year...) what is your opinion on all of this? Do you really think he won't get a seat next year? Sorry if this was too long to read...

Hey there! 👋 First of all thank you for your ask, I always love to talk to others or engage 😊

I can understand a lot of what you said. To be clear, I have only started watching last season as well and I am not a huge expert, I can only tell you my pov poverty everything I see/read/hear. I might have been influenced slightly by watching the races in German, but Mick was an instant favourite of mine and is now my absolute favourite driver 😊 (This is why I'm doing all of this in the first place, with this blog with all the translations, to support him and spread content among fans)

The German media/TV hosts are definitely biased towards Mick and Seb/ anyone with German connections in general. They want the audience to be able to connect with drivers/Germans by their shared nationality and language, which is why they so so many interviews with Mick and Seb in the first place. I started watching all the interviews more extensively / attentively during theast past of last season and I think they always kind of had a bigger interest in Mick, but also kept a respectful distance. My brother in law once mentioned that the name Schumacher still has a huge meaning and influence in the paddock, which is also part of the reason why Mick hardly ever/never gets personal questions, especially about his dad. I think last season especially he had this 'protection' still being a rookie and basically driving a tractor, everyone was so nice to him and very hopeful. Seb on the other hand lost that years ago. They are harsher on him, ask him more dirfficult/triggering and sometimes brutally honest questions. I've noticed a change in their attitude and also questions towards Mick during the last few races. I have the feeling that now that Haas is slightly more competitive they suddenly expect so much of Mick and that might in part be due to his name. I personally don't like Ralf that much, but he does not always go down on Mick but actually defends him in equal parts. What I don't like is the fact that when the Sky Germany team asks questions that are unfair, too personal or push the drivers' (or Günther's) buttons purposely they always act so nice and smiley and laugh while asking the questions as if its perfectly normal. I was actually a bit shocked about the interview with Günther, I think he is being treated unfairly and he told them straight so their faces that they make a lot of the stuff up and put wrong words into his mouth.

I agree with you that the ones (the media) always suggesting that there might be bad blood or a lot of pressure are actually the ones creating the pressure. I hope that in the future they try to back off of Mick, he is doing what he loves, he naturally always gives his best as every driver does and doesn't need all those bad comments as a 23-year-old. Of course, it comes with the profession but people could still be nice.

Mick also didn't blame Haas that Kevin had better pace, he just said that he didn't know, since he hasn't seen any of the data yet and could therefore not answer that question. I also don't engage that much online (especially where there are no good vibes and I don't have twitter), so I don't know if Kevin gets a lot of hate from German fans, I sincerely hope not 🥺 but the German commentators rarely mention him. I do believe and sincerely hope Mick gets a seat next year! There are a lot of factors that come into play as he is still a driver for the ferrari academy and they can be part of the decision making processes who gets a seat at Ferrari, Haas and Alfa Romeo.

So as Toto said, just let Mick drive! 😊 better races will come and it does not do any good to always address his lack of points and to his face.

I know this is not twitter but anyone who wants to add something or say their opinion, please feel free to do so, comment or send me a message or anything 😊 I'm always happy to engage with others as I don't have that many F1 friends to do so! But please keep it nice 🥺

[jesuis-melodrama]

(1) Thanks so much for answering my ask. I love your story, even though it breaks my heart to see Adrien cut himself off from meaningful relationships due to being hurt so many times. I understand this infinitely, but it’s still painful to read about a favorite enduring it. Though after reading your latest, maybe Denis will be good for him. Or terrible. Or maybe he'll be terrible for Denis. It's hard to tell lol

(2) I hope that once he is able to recover more, he will be able to form meaningful connections. But with a name like ‘Overkill’, I am also aware that a “bad” ending is very much on the table. I’m excited to see what you do with it. Anyhow, thank you for letting me pick your brain. Sometimes when I am writing I think, “Am I championing empathy too much? Am I being too positive?” (3) Even though I LOVE exploring the negative side of Adrien’s empathy (making excuses for his father and others as you mentioned.) The only point he seems to become aggravated with harmful parties is when they cause a lot of harm to someone besides himself. He was ok with Lila until she attempted direct harm on Ladybug and Marinette. And he distanced himself from Chloe after she repeatedly harmed the class. (4) His father’s harm (as far as he knows) is more covert and, as far as he knows, only he suffers the brunt of it. So he’s willing to allow harm when the red flags aren’t glaring and/or he’s the target (his forgiving attitude toward Felix in ‘Felix’). Which is …unhealthy to say the least. I think once his father is revealed to be Hawkmoth, he will become less forgiving. (5) Anyway I question myself too much lol Your story reminded me that balance is always good so thank you for that. I'm excited (and terrified) to read more.

Love happily-ever-afters, but don't really believe in 'happy' endings. I think I prefer the term 'optimistic' endings, and if you've read my other Miraculous fanfictions, there'll be a better understanding of what I mean. But, yes, to an extent, there's not really a 'good' ending on the table for Overkill. But Adrien's main goal is recovering, and as he said in Chapter 9, he fully intends to change, and achieve a goal like that for himself.

You are right, there is an extent to Adrien's empathy, he's not that self-destructive, in Season 4, he has given Chloé an ultimatum and cut off connections with her, and visibly showed Lila his disgust of her, making her understand that there is nothing more he is willing to do for the question of 'them'. His father is another issue, Adrien definitely knows there's something wrong there (if he has to hide aspects of it from his classmates), but he's not only a child, he's dependent and vulnerable. Even if he becomes an adult, in canon, it might take him years to realise what exactly is disconcerting. And if Gabriel is revealed as Le Papillon...the reason why he's terrorizing Paris should also be revealed, and that'll be a difficult dilemma for Adrien to pick a side of.

Denis is one of my three favourites of the fictional lovers I've created for Adrien (Ralf and Maximilian are the other two), and there's a romantic, mysterious image there, I really adored the scene of the two of them smoking in a half-lit, run-down bar, while watching Paris lose its head outside the scratched window. Adrien has been a terrible boyfriend before, but the fun things about strangers, meeting people once, is that you don't need to commit to anything, or even put up any façade, one night is all they're going to see of you. Be the unrealistic, impossible version of yourself you don't think you'll ever be.

Questioning is fine, I've changed so many aspects of Overkill in its writing, re-developed and changed passages of its plot and characters so much, I feared I might've lost grip of the story. It's fine to question, but there comes a time to realise that if you don't finish the work, it'll never be published.

Fear what's coming of Overkill, because after this lull, after Fashion Week and a little vacation, Act III is starting.

Thank you for your question.

[blackhakumen]

Mini Fanfic #995: The Past We Hardly Knew.....(King of Fighters)

11:23 at K and Kula's Apartment.......

TV: (Woman Transforms into a Another Woman With Whitish Pink Hair on Screen)

K': (Louges Around on the Sofa) So Rose was that Pink Diamond lady the whole time, huh?

Whip: (Lowers the Book She Was Reading From her Face While Seating Next to K' on the Sofa) You know, I've always figured those two would have some sort of connection to one another. (Starts Frowning a Little) But to live a double lift for thousands of years and have her own retainer kept it a secret on top of that?....('Sigh') I mean, The dedication is sort of commendable, but I feel sorry everyone else who been in the dark about all of this....

K': (Shrugs) It was bound to happen one way or another. And it ain't gonna be too long before one of them snap-

TV Screen: SHE LIED TO US!

K': (Points at the Screen in Front of Him) See? Like that.

Whip: I'd be upset too if that were to ever happen to be. (Starts Frowning Again) But then again, I...really shouldn't be the one talking right now....

K': Still thinking you know who?

Whip: Sometimes. I know I shouldn't, but Krizalid was like a brother to me.....At least until i told him we weren't related. (Looks Up at the Ceiling) Well, wherever he is, I hope he's doing okay out there at least.

K': Hey, as long as he doesn't try coming out for our necks, then I don't care where he goes.

Whip: ('Sigh') I'm sure we'll be able to deal with him when that time ever comes.....I won't like it.

K': (Shrugs Again) Neither do I. But at least I get to chance to pummel his pompous face again.

Whip rolls her eyes before continuing reading her book. As the silence begins to grow larger in the atmosphere, the lieutenant of the Ikari Warriors couldn't help but have this feeling of uncertainty before lowering her book down turning back to her little brother.

Whip: Hey, K'? Can I.....ask you something?

K': (Turns Back to Whip) Uh....yeah. (Mutes the TV With the Remote in his Hand) What's the question?

Whip: Well, it's......related to our past. Do you.....ever think about it sometimes.

K': Yeah. Not as much as I used to, but....(Looks Up at the Ceiling) I do wonder what our parents been doing nowadays and....if they've ever bothered to look for us. But even that in it of itself feels like wishful thinking at this point.

Whip: Yeah, but.....(Smiles a Little) It would be nice to see them again one day. (Turns to K') You think they'll take a liking to Kula and Max?

K': I don't see why wouldn't. Tin man's one of the biggest softies out there and the twerp's too much of a headache to ignore altogether.

Whip: (Gives K' the Big Sister Glare) K'.

K': What? She's annoying. I still love her though.

Whip: (Crosses her Arms) ('Hmph') You better or I'll might have to convince Ralf to give you a few extra hours on your training routines.

K': (Groans While Facepalming Himself) Don't remind me.....He's even more of a drill sergent than your own colonel.

Whip: (Starts Snickering) Seriously? He's your colonel too, ya know?

K': Unofficially. I never said I wanted to join your little army club in the first place. ('Sigh') Buuut I guess I would be lying if I said I didn't tolerate any of your company.

Whip: (Clasps her Hands Together Right Beside the Side of her Face With a Playful Smile) Awwwww~ Has my grumpy little brother finally gotten soft himself?~

K': (Rolls his Eyes in Annoyance) Yeah and I've been choking on it ever since, no thanks to you assholes. Which reminds me.....(Hands Whip a Teal Colored Card) Here.

Whip: (Opens the Card K' Gives him and Sees the Words "Love and Appericate you" From the Inside) K', what's this?

K': A Mother's Day card I got from the store yesterday. (Rubs the Back of his Head Back and Forth While Looking Away) You're not my mom, but....I do appericate everything you've done for me as of late.

Whip: (Heart Begins to Melt in Pure Happiness as She Pulls K' into a Loving Hug) Oh, K'!~ You really have become a sweetheart!~

K': (Already Has a Deadpinned Look on his Face) Again. No thanks to any of you assholes. Your love and kindness has ruined my image.

Whip: (Snickers Again) What image? Of being lazy gremlin?

K': Of being cool and not taking shit from anyone.

Whip: (Shrugs) Eh. I'd say you're average at best.

K': I hate you already.

Whip: (Kiss the Top of her Little Brother's Head) Love you too, bro.

K' grumbles while blushing some more.

@illyrilex

@tampire

@keyenuta

@cyber-wildcat

@theweebmaster31

@ma-lemons

@caleb13frede

[burnsopale]

So back in August I ensconced myself in a cabin on a mountain to do some writing, and I decided to do a take on the classic “Volkov returns from prison”-scenario.

I got five chapters and 35 000 words in and I will never ever finish it because I have no dicipline. So I figured I could at least share some of the readable bits with you.

Working title: Ashen Characters in this clip: BBA, Russian boys, PPB, mention of the Euro-team Setting: 7 years after season one, Russia, a beyblade park in the evening Summary: Volkov has escaped from prison, attacked PPB headquarters and taken back Black Dranzer. The Russian boys have been living with the PPB, and were used and hurt in the attack. Yuriy left with Volkov for unknown reasons. Daitenji Kogoro has gathered the troops and sent them to Russia to find out what Volkov is up to. Meanwhile, Kai’s grandfather is on his deathbed, and Kai is struggling to deal with it.

The crowd swelled, until there was no way that Takao was going to get any kind of private conversation with his friends. He gave up on the notion for the present, and threw himself into matches. He played the kids who wanted to, holding back as much as he could and leaving Seiryuu simmering in the blade, but eventually they called for a match between Takao and Kai.

Takao loved blading against Kai; somehow, he could never do less than his best against Dranzer, but when Kai now took his place on the other side of the small, grounded dish, something felt off to Takao. Kai looked dull, like he was going to the dentist and just had to get it over with. He fitted Dranzer into the shooter with a look like he was miles away.

“Hey,” Takao said, having to raise his voice a little to get past the crowd. “Are you there?”

 Kai looked up, a little surprised. “What sort of trash talk is that? Are you there?”

 “Just checking. I’ll be in your care.”

 “You’ll be under my heel,” Kai said darkly, and now Takao knew something was wrong, but a beybattle had always been Takao’s way to get through to people, so he just bent his knees and raised Dragoon in front of him.

 “Tri, dva, odin! Idi strelyay!”

 Out of the corner of his eye, Takao saw Emily startle, but he’d have to wonder about that some other time because Seiryuu would not be contained any longer and came out roaring.

Dranzer took Dragoon’s attack head on. Seiryuu bent over it like he was confused as to why Suzaku wasn’t joining him. For the longest moment, Kai just stood there, while Takao watched in disbelief.

 Then, as if he was lifting a great weight, Kai breathed in and cried, “Suzaku!”

 Even the vermillion bird herself didn’t so much soar out of the bit chip as climb laboriously out. Seiryuu hissed, offended by this poor showing, and the battle was over in less than a minute.

 Kai picked up Dranzer and went to stand next to Boris and Kyouju without even commenting on the results. The audience was, thankfully, satisfied, but Takao was not.

 He played Eddie and got a much better match out of him; Trypio was one of those tricky blades that you needed strategy and forward thinking to beat.

 Afterwards he got a chance to say two words to Emily about Kai.

 “He is going through a tough time,” she said.

 “Yeah, but he doesn’t usually let it hurt his blading.”

 “He can’t still be grumpy about the finals?” she wondered.

 Takao shook his head. “Nah, he agreed Ralf deserved that one.”

 Emily nodded, biting her lip in pleasure as she thought back. “Ralf was incredible. It was a team win, but he had the best individual result. The data output was like a laden buffet table.”

 “Ooh, buffet! ... Did he lose at all?” Takao didn’t think he had, but he hadn’t been able to catch every battle.

 “Hmm. Rai came close; lightning is good against such massive holy beasts, and it was close for Kai too of course, but no one can quite top the sheer mastery Ralf has over Griffolyon.”

 “It’s not mastery; it’s teamwork,” Takao insisted, frowning.

 “Call it synergy, then,” she said, shrugging. “Ralf knows his business, that’s all I’m saying. They all do, those European bladers.” She chuckled. “You know, Ivan calls them Earthquaker, Wingshaker and Heartbreaker, from back before he learned their names.”

 Takao matched the nicknames to their right bladers in his head. “... What does he call Johnny?”

 “The hedgehog.”

 “What about you?” he asked, nodding to the dish where Max was getting ready to battle Steve. “Are you going to play?”

 She shook her head, a look of pain crossing her sharp features. “Trygator is ... missing. He was taken in the attack. Volkov has it.”

 For a moment, Takao found nothing to say. Inside he was boiling. “We’ll get him back, Emily,” he vowed, clenching his fist. “I swear it.”

 She smiled a dangerous smile, not unlike a crocodile’s. “Yes, we will.”

 Eventually the group detangled themselves from the crowd and began to journey home. The world was growing dark, but the sky was still pale above. Long stretched of road lay without light, which came in handy when they had to escape from a few fans who apparently wanted to know where they were staying.

 They stopped on the lawn outside the hotel where Emily and company were staying, and Takao finally got to ask his question.

 “What happened?”

 The others looked at each other, except Boris who looked down, and Kai, who now said a brief goodnight, reminded them where to meet in the morning, and walked away. Max made a soft sound, but didn’t try to stop him. Kyouju seemed torn between not wanting to pry and dying to know.

 Emily made it easier by briefly telling them of her encounter with Peter Trotty. “Turns out his real name is Trotsky. He’s one of three Borg spies that have been undercover in the PPB for years. Or rather, one of the three we’ve found so far.”

 “What did he mean by that thing he said? Baba who?”

 The Russian boys shifted their feet. Sergei’s lips pulled back from his teeth in a silent snarl.

 Kyouju could, as usual, not help doing a bit of teaching. “Baba Yaga is the name of a witch in Russian fairy tales. She is an old woman who rides through the woods on a mortar, and lives in a house that stands on four chicken legs.”

 “Chicken legs?” Max echoed doubtfully.

 “She is sometimes an enemy, but can also help the hero or heroine, if they do the tasks she sets them.”

 “In this case,” Sergei said, “she is a real woman. She was in the abbey. She trained us, Ivan and me, and sometimes Yuriy.”

 “Don’t ask about her,” Ivan said, putting his hands over his ears. “I hear the creaking in my head all the time. I thought I was rid of it. I thought it was over!”

 “She is dead,” Sergei said with conviction. It sounded like something he needed to believe. “She was old when I came to the abbey; she must be dead. But they had her voice on a tape recorder and ... it’s hard to disobey.”

 “Fuck her!” Ivan exclaimed, and then grew suddenly pale as if he had said something dangerous. “No more,” he said, more lowly. “She’s a fairy tale now. Only fit for scaring children.”

 For a while they stood in silence, and then Kyouju asked the other question, the one that had been hanging over them all day. “Why did Yuriy go?”

 “Because he’s an idiot!” Boris said, holding up clawed hands like he would like to wrap them around Yuriy’s throat. He turned away and roared behind his teeth up at the darkening sky. “He’s a stupid mudak! Fuck!” He kicked a turf of grass so dirt sprayed up. “Fuck, fuck fuck!”

 They watched him stomp repeatedly on the uprooted bit of turf, and then move on to a flower that was unlucky enough to stand nearby.

 “What Borya said,” Sergei agreed.

 “But we’re to blame too,” Eddie added, pulling his jeans jacket around himself like he was cold. “We thought we were doing a good job making them feel at home.”

 “We thought Michael was taking care of Yuriy,” Steve said, stern with himself. “But Michael and Yuriy are nothing alike. It didn’t work out.”

 “And we didn’t notice,” Eddie finished.

 “Don’t talk like that,” Ivan hissed. “Like we were your homework!”

 “But you were,” Emily said in her factual, merciless way. “At first. Then you became our friends. Now you are ours, whether you like it or not. You won’t rest until Yuriy is liberated, but neither will we. He’s coming back home with us.”

 “We’re with you too,” Max said quickly.

 Takao and Kyouju nodded determinedly.

 “The first step is to figure out where Volkov is and what he is planning,” Kyouju said.

 “And that means getting to bed, so we are ready for tomorrow,” Emily added. “Come on, boys. I promised Judy I’d tuck you all in by ... well not this hour, but she doesn’t need to know that.”

 Takao, Max and Kyouju watched them go, Sergei grabbing Boris by the lapel and pulling him away from the flowers he was chewing up. Then they turned and headed for their own hotel and their beds.

 “What do you think we’ll find tomorrow?” Max wondered.

 “We’re going back to the abbey,” Takao answered. “We could find anything.” A feeling of foreboding was growing in his stomach.

 Takao surprised everyone by being the first to get up that morning. He was too keyed up to sleep any longer. He was digging into his second round of breakfast when the others arrived, but politely stuck around to keep them company until they too were finished. It gave him time for round three anyway.

 “You’d think I don’t feed you,” Dad said as he brought his plate to the table.

 “You’d think Grandpa doesn’t feed you,” Takao retorted, looking at the mountain of food on his dad’s plate.

 Kyouju sipped his tea, two slices of toast with honey lying neatly on a plate in front of him. “Like father like son, I suppose.”

 “They snore like father and son too,” Max said, yawning as he took a seat between Kyouju and Kai.

 Kai smiled. He had his own room.

 Their friends arrived from the other hotel a little before ten o’clock, and at ten precisely, two large black cars came to a halt in front of the hotel doors. A huge man stepped out of the first car. He had bushy moustaches and bushy eyebrows, and a great big belly, and he wore shorts, sneakers and a yellow Hawaii shirt that looked deeply out of place in the middle of the city. He shook hands with Takao’s dad, and with Kai and Emily.

 “Hello hello, everywan,” he said, sounding exactly as jolly as you’d expect, like a big Russian santa. “My name is Gregor Gregorovitsj. You can call me Gregor. I will be your guide today. I understand that some of you will be coming with me to look at the papers and other inventory that we cleared out of the abbey, while some others of you,” He looked to Takao’s dad. “Want to go see the abbey for yourself.”

 He looked at them expectantly. Then his eyes alighted on Sergei, and travelled to Boris, and down to Ivan.

 “Oh.” He said. He scratched his head. “... They didn’t tell me why you wanted to go there. Why would you want to?”

 “You haven’t heard about Vladimir Volkov escaping from prison?” Emily asked.

 Gregor looked surprised, and then a little embarrassed. “To be honest, nobody tells me anything. I am only archivist, but I speak English, so they sent me. I have never been guide before.” He frowned. “But if that man has escaped ... hmm ... that explains some things. I may not be told anything, but I do hear things.” He frowned a little more. Kai cleared his throat, startling him out of his thoughts. “But we should get going! Okay, those who want to go to abbey go in the first car; the driver knows way, and someone will meet you there to show you around. Everyone else, in second car with me.”

 “Who is going where?” Takao wondered. “I’m coming with you, Dad.”

 “As am I,” Kai said.

 “And me.” Boris took a step away from his own group towards theirs. “You won’t find anything without one of us going with you.”

 Kai turned to him. “Then it should be Ivan or Sergei.”

 “No,” Boris said simply. “It will be me.”

 Emily pushed her glasses up and surveyed her troops. “Sergei is taking point on the textual evidence, and Steve and I read enough Russian to aid him. Daitenji Kogoro mentioned a warehouse with inventory, so Eddie and Ivan are going there.”

 Kai rolled his eyes in disgust. “And how do we know you won’t have another episode?” he asked Boris bluntly. “You think going back to that place won’t trigger any memories?”

 Boris lifted his head stubbornly. “There will not be an episode. I am going.”

 “You are not safe,” Kai growled.

 “Stop it!” Takao placed himself between them, facing Kai. “If Boris says he will be fine, then he will be.”

 “Why?” Kai sneered. “Because you believe in him?”

 “Because I trust him,” Takao answered.

 Dad put a hand on Kai’s shoulder. “Don’t worry, Kai; we’ll be together the whole time. If anything should happen, we can handle it, but I think Boris knows best if he will be alright or not.”

 Kai shrugged off the hand. “I agree,” he spat. “I just also think he would lie about it.”

 Emily, Eddie and Steve were looking on in confusion and shock, while Ivan and Sergei’s faces were growing dark.

 Boris said something in Russian that was clearly an offer to throw hands, and Kai turned back to him like he absolutely meant to take that offer and go through Takao if he had to, until Max suddenly stepped in front of Kai and drove him backwards.

 “That’s enough, Kai!”

 Takao exhaled in relief as he saw Kai’s attention snap to Max with the irresistible awareness that Max always commanded of him.

 “This isn’t about Boris,” Max said, putting his hands on his hips and leaning forward like he was at work and lecturing one of his kindergardeners. “It’s about you. If you don’t want to go to the abbey, then you don’t have to! But don’t take it out on Boris!”

 Kai’s face got all red and pinched.

 Max straightened up and exhaled. “Kai.” He shook his head. “I’ll come too, and like Kinomiya-san says, we’ll go together, and if you’re scared I can hold your hand and then it will be fine-”

 “Just get in the car,” Kai said in a strangled voice and immediately followed his own advice.

 “Guess I’m coming with you,” Max said, nodding to himself like he thought he had done a good job, and Takao thought so too.

 Max had a way of diffusing – or confusing – Kai that sometimes came in handy.

 Takao just wished they could get to the heart of the problem. This was not about the abbey, he didn’t think so, though it was about going together, and about being lonely even when you were surrounded by friends.

 “Well,” Gregor said, swinging his hands back and forth by his sides. “That was awkward. Would you like to go now?”

 Kyouju decided to go with Ivan and Eddie to the warehouse, and so the teams were agreed upon.

 Takao didn’t know what Daitenji-san wanted them to find in that black stone labyrinth, but as they left the city centre and began to near the desolate edges where Volkov had picked up so many of Moscow’s orphaned and abandoned boys, his feeling of foreboding grew stronger. Something was waiting for them. Something they were not prepared for.

[donnysmoodsonthepitch]

hey, no worries about your reply being late, plus i'm always interested in hearing more about the tactical side of things!

from the few games i've seen of united, i would think so too. the players don't seem to understand how when/how to make basic runs, much less move about to drag around defenders or press cohesively - it's very interesting, because for someone who's touted as the mind behind the whole gegenpress revolution, rangnick seems to be unable to make his players do it consistently. i think this is a problem with bruno too - he has g/a, but it's because he does a lot of 'heroballing' that other midfielders wouldn't because they'd just pass to their forwards and let them do the job. hence why i'm not the biggest fan of him, because people losing the ball often with chaotic passes are the thing of nightmares for me. united players seem unable to string together even basic passing sequences and from what i remember of the match they played vs wolves when unsure about what to do, are prone to booting the ball about randomly and frequently losing possession carelessly. as someone whose club is fairly possession based, with highly technical midfielders, united's midfield genuinely makes my eyes bleed to watch sometimes.

they do need a dm or maybe at the bare minimum a double pivot, but given their current roster, it won't work. matić can't go the full 90, i don't consider mctominay or fred as dms or disciplined enough to play a pivot, and pogba? well. let's not go there. barcelona, oddly enough, might have the same problem - aging dm, system that needs a dm, and younger midfielders who aren't lone dms. i maintain that frenkie isn't one, and if you're going to play him like one you'd be better off benching him altogether, but that's a can of worms i'll open another day.

i raised 4-3-3 as a point because that opens the doors to lampard putting him as the most advanced in a midfield 3, which will be way better than if he tries to make donny as a pivot or worse, a lone dm. i also though palace might be a better idea from a stylistic point of view - but i feel like what's most important right now is that he gets minutes to pick up form and problem solve from there. what stresses me most is, at least based on his chelsea tenure, lampard doesn't understand balance the greatest, which might be the thing that gets him killed - if he tries to field both donny and dele as advanced 8s, i can't see how that'll end in anything but disaster given everton's lacklustre defence. would very high ball retention be part of the solution? maybe, but who knows - but maybe playing donny as cam with dele out wide on the right (shifting into a front 4 almost in attack??), like what poch did for the 2019 cl final might work nicely. anyways, if lampard plays donny like how he would've been played at chelsea, i think we'll be okay. if not, we'll see how it goes, but i think he'd be slightly idiotic not to play to donny's strengths with finding/creating space and generally feeding the ball, which he'd have seen first hand while managing chelsea.

This one will be a lot longer and much more harsh than the previous one because I.... don't agree with you on many things...

First thing first, Ralf Rangnick. While I agree with you that Man United players' offball movements are suck, I heavily disagree that Ralf Rangnick has barely made any significant changes on these players. Look at these pictures:

If you've watched Pep Guardiola's teams, you must be familiar with the line: "Touchline is the best defender". As you can see, Man United players immediately pressed Lukas Rupp when he was going to receive the ball and forced him to the touchline. It's not like Man United players don't press, it's more like they don't know how to press properly, when to press and when not to. Ralf Rangnick has quite solved that problem.

Second, of course Bruno attempts a lot of heroballing, but that doesn't mean he will have high G/A and you really think that midfielders' duty when they have the ball is just passing to the striker and letting them do the rest? Let me quote that down here:

he has g/a, but it's because he does a lot of 'heroballing' that other midfielders wouldn't because they'd just pass to their forwards and let them do the job

Bruno has the mindset of a shadow striker, plus the fact that the team was built around him (hence the name Bruno United), that's why he has high G/A. It doesn't relate to his heroballing, Hollywood-like passes at all because their accuracy is low and even a Donny who seldom looks for risky passes, lacks of creativity still achieved an impressive G/A stats during his time in Ajax.

Strongly agree with you on Frenkie isn't a single pivot. Sometimes I yell: "FOR FUCK'S SAKE" at the computer when Bayern fans want to buy this boy because: "He's better fit in Busquets's role and Barcelona is forcing him to play in an offensive role". Frenkie is better offensively, and while he's also good at defensive work, playing him there means taking away what's best of him.

The reason why I brought up the 4-3-3 was because the misconception on players and formations. Players don't shine in a certain formation, they shine in the right role. You can put him in box-to-box role in a double pivot or a CAM in a 4-2-3-1 and that's okay. It isn't necessarily 4-3-3. That's why I said that: "If Lampard puts him in the anchor role of this formation, his team will fuck off". The point is giving him freedom and playing him offensively.

I really expected Donny to go to Palace and many others did think so:

From @UtdArena

But even in a Palace with a strong backline, there is still a number 8 lurks in the background to provide the remaining No.6 support when Conor Gallagher moves forward. In certain situations, such as low-block teams, that eight can push forward to form a 4-1-4-1, otherwise it just stays as 4-2-3-1. I don't know much about Everton's personnel to make sure that both Donny and Dele Alli should play as #8s in a 4-3-3, I think I may do more research on this.

On Lampard, I guess I have to elaborate further on my words. From what I read (just a few articles so I don't think I'm right, I'd definitely read more), Lampard prefers his wide attackers to move centrally and his teams mostly rely on overlapping wingbacks and crosses. That tactic prevents players like Kai Havertz and Timo Werner from reaching their full potential since Timo Werner is a wide attacker who exploits and stretches the backline while Kai Havertz roams the attacking third and runs beyond the attacker. That's why I'm quite nervous about Donny and Dele Alli under his hands.

Sorry if I had offended you, this is about tactics so I want everything to be precise. If you want to talk about this topic more, maybe DM me, but ask box is always welcome 😘

[occult-roommates]

Surprisingly enough, the answer to the question “Do you have a dad” was more complicated than Ralf thoughts...

Akva: Well, I mean...Yeah, biologically speaking I do. My parents got married at 19, and my mom got pregnant during the honeymoon, though they were 20 when I was born...Which weirdly enough is the exact same age I got pregnant and then had a baby but...Anyway, when I was two they had my little brothers, they’re twins, their name is Michael and George, and- Ralf: Michael and George? Akva: Yeah, we’re Guyanese so it’s pretty common there for people of Indian descent to have extremely English name. I mean, it happens elsewhere too but like...You get what I mean. Ralf: No I was more surprised cause it’s um...well...George Michael. Akva: Oh...Somehow I never realized that, and the worst part is considering the fact my mom loves 80s music this might very well be on purpose. Also fun fact, my name, Akvamareen, is not an actual one, it just means aquamarine in Hindi. Neither of my parents can really speak it, but my mom has always been a bit of a hippie and when she found out I was gonna be a mermaid, since she’s herself a human and only my dad is a merman, she thought it would be a really cute way to honor our ancestry and also that I’m a mermaid. Ralf: You’re dodging my actual question. Akva: Uh, yeah...So anyway, then a year after the twins were born, my parents divorced, my mom got custody, and my dad moved to Newcrest. You know, it’s next to San Myshuno so I still could visit him on weekends. However, a few years later they tried making it work again and so when I was 7, my sister Indranie was born. However, this did not last long and before she even turned one, they had broken up yet again. This time though, my dad found a new job in Copperdale and he moved there. Ralf: Where is that? Akva: In Colorado. So you know, not exactly on the other side of the country, but still pretty far away. 

Ever since, Akva barely ever sees her dad. Sometime on holidays, but rarely for more than a few days. As to make this worse, he’s never the one to reach out to his children, which makes her feel like he simply does not care all that much about them. At least he paid for child support.

On top of that, out of four children, Akva was the only one to be a mermaid, which just made her feel a bit alienated from the rest of her family. She also just rarely saw the paternal side of her family in general as they were still living in Guyana, unlike her maternal side which has been living in San Myshuno since Akva’s mom was a toddler. Her dad moved all by himself in that city at 18 for college.

Akva: What makes me extra sad is that before that, my dad is pretty active and he’s the reason why I got into sport in the first place. We would play soccer together at the park and stuff. Maybe he regretted starting a family so young and so he tried to run away from it...I’m not sure I wanna know. Ralf: Uh, that’s weird how your siblings include a pair of twins and one that was born when you were seven. Cause my sisters are twins who were born when I was seven...Which also is what started the downfall of my own relationship with my parents, as I told you earlier. Though thankfully for you, you still had your mom. Akva: Did this caused you to have a bad relationship with your sisters? Ralf: Nah, Gisela and Sabine (that’s their name in case you couldn’t tell) did nothing wrong and we’ve always got along great. Sadly, our age gap mean they were too young to ever stood up to me properly and now they... Akva: They what? Ralf: They think I’m dead alright. It’s also why I haven’t spoke to my parents in so many years. I’m sad I can’t see my sister anymore, but I had to cut the bridges with my family in Leipzig if I wanted to remain sane in Windenburg. Akva: WHAT??? Ralf: I gotta go to the bathroom.

Was he literal? The fact he left the conversation so abruptly means probably, but like...no way he faked his actual death right? Faking your death in this day and age is near impossible anyway...Nah, he’s probably exaggerating a bit for dramatic effect.

Sadly, Akva could not go looking for him, as her flight was about to start boarding soon. Guess she’ll have to ask him next time. And hopefully this time, he will accept to teach her how to fly.

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