i dont rly have patience so, we're playing ds3 & elden ring concurrently ^_^

wouahh. slugcat lineup of all my designs hehe. judge on its own though that slugcat is really big oops. im only gonna tag the main rw guys here but otherwise whenever i draw the others theyll have their own tag. ALSO SAINTS DESIGN IS A LITTLE OUTDATED BUT I DIDNT WANNA EDIT IT TO UPDATE IT

gatherer was the first slugcat purposed by sig, sent with a distasteful message - and is also technically hunter's sibling! and so is judge..... but judge's lore is for later.

individuals under cut!!!

survivor is albino i like them :]

just a guy... you couldnt say no to monk's little eyes could you

third sibling! i went really mint on this one i think

nightcat!! a winged purposed messenger. theyre blind because of a bioengineering fuckup and instead rely on tracking iterator signals, which they use their whiskers for.

hunter! uh oh rot and green blood due to green rot.

gatherer! hunter's "technically sibling" and sig's first slugcat. their tail is prehensile :] they're based on an iggy projection slugcat!

gourmand! oh love the her. cherish the her. i love gourmand. she has a little pouch for sluppies! she can fit about 8 or more in that pouch. she's big

artificer, copper/firedancer and phosphore/flashbang! firedancer has green fire and is thusly named copper hehe. not many notes on these guys :o i just really like artificer's design.

rivulet!! teal!! and i hueshifted my original gradient a bit to fit this. i like them a lot

speam and laceweaver! laceweaver was a spearmaster prototype that suns kept. laceweaver mentored spearmaster alongside another prototype i haven't designed yet. the others.... didn't make it. suns didn't send the gold pearl for me! thats something pebbles made himself. i did alter downpour a lot because there's some things i don't particularly like and downpour is only really an au thats adding onto canon. dont get me wrong i like it but uh oh ramble i'll get into that if prompted

(darker colors are used for the more echo-y saint doodles; the whites are just colors i use for snow) saint! though i've altered the tail pattern design a bit though, usually it's more like this when i draw it.

though this design is also a bit more echo-y but the tail pattern is the same regardless. also the wings uhoh i need to redo a ref for saint

(the dark brown is used for the scars with dodge layers of the same color ontop)

inv- or "the vestige! um. they bleed void fluid. thats why they have those scars. this is canon to my askblog. im working on the lore rewrite we'll get there soon

CONGRATS ON UR MILESTONE BABY!!! i’d like to request 🪸 CORALS !! with the idea of cowboy!james and innocent!reader in mind teeheeee <333

YAY babe thank you so much ily!!! challenged myself to use some slang hehehe

join the celebration

cowboy!james potter x innocent!fem!reader, 0.9k words, hurt/comfort, angsty

tw: (slight) violence, blood mention, toxic ex, swearing

James strolled over with the confidence of a man who'd already won his race. "How're you ladies doing tonight?" He asked you and your friends, leaning over to plant a kiss on your forehead.

"Well, bless your heart for asking," Mary Rose blushed, "we're fairin' just fine," she added, a huge smile on her face. James reciprocated it, but it wasn't as pleasant as hers had been.

When she turned around, you rolled your eyes and James chuckled, taking a seat next to you. "No need for jealousy, darlin', you know I'm all yours," he said, his voice deep and quiet. This time you were the one blushing, forced to hide your red face in the crook of his jacket.

It was a second later when you pulled away, and you noticed Mary Rose's glare from across the bench. James surveyed your eyes quickly, a touch of concern in his big brown eyes. "You alright there, sweetheart?"

You were quick to nod at him. Giving him your best smile, you asked, "when's that race of yours happening?"

He checked his watch on his wrist, then got up to stand. "Reckon it's about to start in a blink of an eye," he replied, grinning at you. "I'd be mighty honoured to have you by my side, darlin', will you come to cheer me on?"

Mary Rose was quick to speak up. "You bet your spurs we'll be there, cowboy!"

James looked at her with a small smile, then turned to you as she began getting her things ready. "I'll be front and centre," you reassured him, and his face brightened. "Wearin' my finest cowgirl hat," you added, giggling softly. "Now go show 'em how it's done."

Your boyfriend saluted you and head off to the races. "Yeehaw," Nellie squealed, tugging at your arm as you laughed along with her. "Let's mosey on down, ladies!"

While you climbed down the stands, hand-in-hand with Nellie, Mary Rose pulled you aside, her grip tight on your arm. "Don't think for a moment I didn't notice you cozying up with my ex. You better watch your back, partner!" Mary Rose's nails dug into your skin, drawing blood. She pulled away when Laura called her over, waving with a fake smile on her face.

You winced as you looked down at your arm, crescent moons left in her wake. You covered it up as best as you could, pulling your jacket on although it was mighty hot outside. Then, you returned to the race tracks to watch James ride.

"Ladies and gentlemen, gather 'round," the announcer clapped his hands excitedly, "we've got a lineup of fine cowboys ready to tear up that track. Among 'em, we got James Potter!" The crowd roared with enthusiasm as James made his way onto the track, a massive grin on his face. You waved happily at him when he blew a kiss to you good-naturedly.

Mary Rose turned around to look at you, glaring. "Say, (Y/N), I need to make a trip to the outhouse. Would you be so kind as to join me?"

You couldn't refuse, not with all of the girls surrounding you, so you nodded, even though James was about to ride. Mary Rose would have done much worse if you hadn't.

She gave you a smile, then pressed a heavy hand to your back, leading you to the bathroom. James, however, noticed your disappearance soon after, and swiftly mounted his horse. He quickly rose over to where the girls were stood. "Where might I find (Y/N), ma'am?" He asked Nellie pleasantly.

Nellie pointed over to the outhouse, and James nodded, saying, "much obliged, my friend."

He climbed over the fence, although the announcer was yelling at him to get back over and on his horse. James started to jog over to the bathroom, starting to get worried. "Shucks," he said under his breath, swinging the door open to find you cowering in a corner, a bruise blossoming across your face.

You managed to gain some confidence, however, and you struck a painful punch across Mary Rose's face, so hard that she stumbled backwards. "You bitch! I'm gonna-"

James stepped between the two of you. "Hold your horses," he said, his face hard. "I'd never lay a hand against a lady, but you raised a finger against my sweetheart. So I'd suggest you keep your distance."

With tears in her eyes, Mary Rose nodded and stepped out of the way. James turned to you, nothing but care and worry in his eyes as he surveyed the damage.

"James," you murmured softly, "any reason you're lingering 'round here instead of hittin' the track?"

He smiled, "I gotta take care of my girl, y'know? She's my top priority." James cupped your cheek, face softening when you grimaced in pain. "Shhh, I'm sorry, sweetheart," he crooned over you, wrapping you up in his arms, "don't you worry. I'm gonna take good care of you." He paused, making sure you were listening. "And I ain't one to make empty promises, darlin'."

You smiled up at him. "No doubt in my mind, cowboy."

we're almost to the halfway mark, so i thought i'd share another progress update on this little (big) project!! (previous update)

i've almost finished drawing half of all the assets (according to my spreadsheet) and then we can start assembling them into a "book." the bulk of the assets are characters/costumes, but i've also completed several props and started working on some backgrounds as well. I need to decide how the book will be laid out before i make much more progress on those, though. i've been trying to hold off on finishing the principal cast because i think saving them for ~dessert~ will keep me motivated to power through the rest, but i'm so anxious to get to them because i want to play with them in photoshop and put them on their associated backgrounds like little paper dolls 🙈 so that's why ballet tuxedo!dmitry doesn't exist yet, and why i've yet to color the rest of anya's act ii wardrobe.

anyway. progress in my workflow is hardly ever linear, but you can kind of see how i approach the rendering process from these images, i hope. the drawing carries the weight of the image so that step always takes the longest, since getting the likeness, the proportions, the folds, and the expressions right is the most important. if any of that looks off no skillful painting or rendering can save it.

and then i always color skin first because everything else (clothes, hair) goes on top of skin. you can see the color palette i'm using is the same for almost all of them, though act ii requires a few more saturated hues than act i (bright blue, some reds, and green every once in a while). coloring the rest in doesn't usually take very long. once the flats are down i go in for a final pass, laying down those patterns and textures that always give me a hard time lol. and then i clean up and recolor the line work and mark it as done! since i'm working digital i use alpha lock and clipping masks for that.

director's cut commentary of each image included (under the cut bc this post is already so long):

anya's act ii lineup. her phtk outfit is the only one i've marked complete (the linework on the others is still black and need just a few more touchups). I've yet to lay in the flats for the maroon travel coat because i think the drawing needs more work. i might change a few things on big red, maybe her expression, but i haven't decided yet.

dmitry's act ii lineup (sans tuxedo). he just needs a final pass on the first two on the left, and then his finale look is finished, because it's the same from act i :)

vlad's act ii lineup. he's almost done, just needs a final pass on the finale and phtk outfits.

lily's act ii lineup. i'm going to redo the pattern on her neva club dress (linda cho i love u but god) but otherwise she's all finished.

the dowager's act ii lineup. she's done! :) maybe i'll find something to pick at later but rn i'm marking her done lol.

petersburg citizens from rumor! i think these guys are all done. there are more people i could include, but there isn't enough variation on the costumes to make it worth it imo.

neva club patrons. the only two marked complete are the two on the left, sergei the doorman/the male server and count leopold. i still need to find a good reference for the female server lol.

the press! just the men for now lol. i used the obc program as a reference for this one, so i'll get the two ladies in soon :)

the hussies! i've marked it complete, but. we'll see if there's more adjustments i can make.

there's still more i've completed that's not pictured, but i'll definitely share more soon. act i is nearly finished entirely, which is cool, and the only big ensemble sheet i've yet to make much progress on is everyone in phtk. i may end up just drawing one or two people from that and then copying them with different patterns because, honestly, the shape of the dresses and suits are all very similar. hopefully that won't be boring to look at lol.

if there's anything in particular you'd like to see/have any questions, or even suggestions, lmk!! and follow my 'anastasia illustrated guide' tag for more updates :)

Hi, Chai! I've been following you for a bit, mostly for the RG content, and I've recently seen you talk about your other non-RWBY interests when I realized that I'm really curious on what other media do you like? (Be it shows, movies, music, games, books, etc.)

Oughh this is a very good question. I'll put them under a read more cause I have a feeling I took this question too literally and it might get just a little bit long because of that. 💦

I'm generally very passive with the media I consume and only draw as much RWBY as I do because RG has had me in a vice grip since V8E1 and isn't letting go anytime soon. 💀 But I do engage with lots of other stuff too! This isn't an exhaustive list, just ones I like lots or re-watch often enough.

Anime

I probably watch this stuff more than anything else. My favourite of all time is probably The Eccentric Family, both seasons. The art direction and the messages of the story just hit very hard for me and I re-watch it pretty much every year. My second favourite is Kekkai Sensen (i prefer the first over second season as they switch directors).

As for others enjoy:

Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood

Silver Spoon

Yona of the Dawn

Snow White with the Red Hair

Kyousogiga (recommend if you liked Kekkai Sensen)

A Lull in the Sea

Chaika the Coffin Princess [Now why does that name sound so familiar 🤔]

Anohana

Been really enjoying this season's shows and am looking forward to the Winter 2024 lineup (Dungeon Meshi and Yubisaki to Renren at the same time!!)

Shows

Dragon Prince

The Owl House

Good Omens

Games

Nier (2010),

Transistor

Pyre

Zelda Series (Ocarina of Time & Spirit Tracks are my favourites)

Nier: Automata

Honorary mentions to Grand Chase (an old MMO i used to be obsessed with), Avalon Code (a niche DS game that I really liked), Fire Emblem Awakening (a classic) and Animal Crossing (that I played like it was my day job in 2020).

Movies

Can only think of two live actions and the rest are animated/anime 😭

Stardust

Scott Pilgrim vs. The World

Howl's Moving Castle

HTTYD (1 & 2)

Kubo and the Two Strings

The Wind Rises

From Up on Poppy Hill

Penguin Highway

Books

I don't read as much as I did when I was a kid, but my top three are probably Runemarks, Howl's Moving Castle, and Stardust (I like the last two a lot because I liked their movies).

Webcomics

Used to be really into these and wanted to write my own before Webtoon kinda... gentrified the entire industry. But hey, I can still talk about some of my favourites!

Shaderunners (queer heist in a roaring 20sish setting)

Witchy (queer south East Asian inspired fantasy adventure)

Kochab (sapphic story between a skier that gets lost and meets a fire spirit I think? It's final updates are going up this month!)

Lady of the Shard (all time favourite. queer polyam lovestory between a goddess and her acolyte. Complete. I reread it every year, I love it so much. The rest of the authors work is also great, you might know them from Cucumber Quest).

Then lastly...

Music

I mostly listen to indie/folk more than anything else, with a bit of jazz/R&B thrown in for flavour. Favourite artists are probably:

San Fermin

Flock of Dimes/Wye Oak

Of Monsters & Men

Maggie Rogers

Florence & the Machine

Paper Kites

Matthew and the Atlas

Halsey

This list obviously isn't exhaustive because I have the memory of a goldfish but those are the highlights that came to mind at least.

Sorry for the long list, but thank you for the question!! It was fun to put all these in one place.

Well, we're back! But with a catch? As I said, I am hoping to slowly make a comeback to my ClanGen stuff, and so this will be the beginning of that! However, there was a slight hiccup when I got rid of my old computer and got this one, I couldn't figure out transferring my save file from one computer to the other. Not wanting to restart a whole new clan AGAIN, I decided to play as if I was now playing with the next generation of Dewclan's cats.

So this is the lineup of the new Declan, where we will begin again on my return. Several of these cats are the kits, or grand-kits, of previous Dewclan cats, after they had begin to settle among their new mountainous territory. ~~~ After being established for many seasons, the many warriors of the other clans still refused to accept Dewclan as a worthy clan in their own right, and not a mis-matched group of misfits. Others took the chance to leave a clan where they felt rejected and devalued to join one who they truly wished to give their loyalty to, and so Dewclan's number began to grow slowly. Some among Dewclan began to whisper that Almondstar, who had been a good leader for establishing the clan, had failed in making the other clans respect them. She was able to unite her own clan members together, but was too gentle and soft-pawed to strike out at the other clans and demand respect, or force the issue if needed. As clan numbers swelled, it became clear that there were two fractions forming within Dewclan. Those who were willing to draw blood to demand respect, and those who were not.

Darkfleck, the clan's Deputy, begun to feed the whispers that their clan needed to be willing to do what needed to be done to be seen as a full clan, and he became a secretly opposing pillar to Almondstar for a few years. Whisper into her ear and pulling strings where he could, to try and make her see his reasoning. She however refused to budge. As Dewclan's numbers continued to grow, and kits began to be born to more of the clan members, the fractions between the two opposing groups only widened, until they could no longer remain hidden among the shadows. A war broke out, not between two opposing clans, but among generations of Dewclan warriors with incompatible views. As the dust settled, it was the group who favored a more aggressive approach to the other clans, who came out victorious. Many Dewclan warriors were dead, and the clan was left with less members than they had had since they first formed their clan and entered the mountains. From among the victors, a leader was chosen, and any of the opposing side who would not submit were dispatched. The leader gained his nine lives. Several moons later, when Starclan hadn't made clear who they wanted for a Medicine cat, the new leader simply appointed one he could control. With a new Leader, Deputy and Medicine cat in place, the clan knew they would have to spend some time recouping and rebuilding before they would be fit to demand their place among the other clans, so for now they bid their time. But soon, they declared, Dewclan would have their day to demand respect. A demand, which if refused by the other clans, would be paid for in blood. ~~ Above is the new Dewclan year 1 lineup! Next I will be showing you each of them, and giving you a bit more of a deep-dive/background on them all. Then I'll be drawing up their story again going forward!

Fast track to your heart pt 2

Pairing: Jake Martin x f!reader

Warnings: none? Mistaken identity, southern hospitality, fluffy

Word count: 1.8k+

This one is total fluff to make up for the dark beginnings to this series :)

The plane ride was alright. Non-eventful in truth. There had been some turbulence, but not enough to terrify you. You were ushered off the plane quickly after landing. Getting your bags and heading to the customs portion.

Pulling your documents from your carry on, just to be safe. You stand and wait in the lineup. The border officer gives you a nice big smile, welcoming you to their booth.

"Where are you going today hun?" It was an lady around 50 with a nice smooth southern accent. 

"I'm moving here, today is a new day." Doing your best smile, you said this as evenly as you could. The lady laughs at how nervous you appear to be.

"Relax honey, do you have your paperwork?" You nod and hand over your papers, including passport, license and lease papers. "OK, it all looks good. I'm just gonna have to call your landlord and double check. And do you have an employer yet?" 

"I've not gotten a job yet, no. I'm still recovering from an accident at my last job. I'll be looking in the next few days though." You supply her with your landlord's phone number and wait for her to get off the phone. 

"OK honey, what type of work experience did you get?" The lady was clacking on her keyboard as she carried the conversation.

"I've been working on cars since I was small, family business." Your face heats up, normally if you told people what your family did they would recognize your last name.

"Oh, brilliant. My son's shop needs another technician, if you are interested?" You nod your head violently. 

"Oh yes please, that would be amazing!!" You think for a minute. "But we aren't in North Carolina are we? Is his shop out there?" 

The lady huffs a little laugh, "yeah, he works out there. I'll get him to pick you up from the airport out there. Now get going or you are gonna miss your flight." She ushers you toward the gate of your next flight. "And tell that son of a bitch to come and visit soon." You laugh as you hurry to the gate waving at her as you board.

The whole flight you were ecstatic. The weight of the world seems to have lifter from your shoulders. You briefly wonder how long it's gonna feel that way. Before the thoughts of what happened at home flood your mind. You push those thoughts away, opting to watch the toddler on the seat in front of you. With their caring parents, being coddled as the plane taking off frightens them. This is it, you think. It's why you decided to come here. Forget about your past, at least for a little while. Pretend like you had a nice upbringing. 

Complete fresh start, including job, house, country. You just can't draw up the courage to change your name. Your family name means something to you, and you aren't going to forget it.

This plane ride was significantly faster than the last. Touching down much sooner than your cross continental journey. People around you clapping as it lands. Why are they clapping? You couldn't say, but it was nice. It felt like they were cheering on your new chapter. The start of your journey to where you hope you belong.

This time getting off the plan was much different. You went through the security there very easy, your passport stamped with the customs from the last airport helped a lot. The man asked you to step aside for a pat down. 

"I would feel more comfortable if I had a female guard pat me down please." The man nods. 

"We just need to take a quick x-ray of your casts to make sure nothing is being smuggled." You agree and after a couple quick flashes of the machine, a lady comes in to pat you down. She was very nice and had you take off your outer layers, checking to make sure nothing is in your clothing. 

"You set the metal detector off when you passed by. That's why we pulled you. But there's nothing on you. Do you have a piercing we don't know about?" The lady looks toward the lower half of your body and your chest. "Sometimes intimate piercings set them off." Your gave goes bright red.

"Actually ma'am. I have screws in my forearm and my ankle. I've broken both and they had to put them. They are only a couple months old." The lady nods. She lets you get dressed and then escorts you to the baggage claims. 

You thank her quietly and wait at the belt patiently for your bags. Your bag gets swooped up before you can grab it, a man with sand hair and a yellow shirt starts walking it toward a pretty girl. Who do they think they are?

"Du Arschloch!" Said man turns, along with most people in the airport. "You in the yellow shirt, that's my bag." The man looks confused. Looking between the bag and the girl at his side. 

"You aren't Y/n, are you?" The girl frowns and shakes her head. "Well why did you tell me you were?" The man was actually quite amusing, he was obviously not the sharpest tool, but he looks like he can do some damage.

"I thought you were hitting on me?" The girl has a very nice soft British accent. "Why did you think my name was y/n?" 

"My mom told me to pick up a nice girl with an accent from the airport!" You laugh at his confusion. Hobling over to them as best as you can.

"Hi, I'm y/n. Your mom works at the customs department of the airport, yeah?" The man's face lights up. 

"Yeah!" His smile took up the whole of his face. "Hi, I'm Jake. I'm here to help you to the garage and your house." He puts his hand out for you to shake, matching up with left hand, the one that was casted up.

Jake looks at your wrist in curiosity, poking it lightly. You wiggle your fingers, scaring him a bit. His smile came back and he laughed a little. 

"C'mon, I'll bring you to the garage." Jake grabs for the bag you hold behind you with your good hand, also grabbing your carryon. He pulls both big suitcases behind him with your carryon straps attaching them. Grabbing your right hand with his free left one. Pulling you alongside him to the outer portion of the airport.

Pulling you all the way out to his truck. Throwing your bags nicely into the back, he takes you to the front of his truck, opening the door and helping you to get in. Your knee decided to act up now. Not allowing you to support your body to get in.

"Oh, are you ok? Do you need help?" You nod at Jake, your face bright red. Embarrassed for needing his help, and angry at yourself for not being able to get in his truck. His hand comes up and rubs your back sweetly.

"Hey, it's ok to need help. If it makes you feel better, I can't tie my shoes." You laugh through your unshed tears. "It's true, Kevin helps me. Now let me help you please?" You look into his eyes, him seeing your unshed tears. 

"OK." Jake grabs the left side of your waist, securing you to the front of his body. Carefully grasping your left thigh with his other hand. His smell invades your nostrils, a nice vanilla and lavender filling up your sinuses, a couple hints of car oil and grease.

"OK, are you ok if I lift you up?" You nod at the man. He grunts as he slowly hoists you onto the passenger seat. Helping you to get comfortable. Adjusting your braced leg to the right position.

After he made sure you were sitting in comfort, he jumped into the driver's side, helping attach your seatbelt from his side. The same scent overpowers your nose as his face comes an inch to yours. His breath also fills your senses. He oddly smells so sweet, just like strawberries and bananas.

With the drawing sound of your seatbelt, he pulls back to the driver's side, a small smile on his face.

"You know? You smell really good." Your face heats up at the compliment. "Like you don't smell expensive and tacky, you smell nice and simple. I like that." 

You roll your eyes as you laugh at his joke. "Drive dumbass," you softly bring his hand to the wheel and turn his keys that are in the ignition. 

"Yes ma'am, but first, are you hungry?" 

Jake pulls up to the speaker of McDonald's. "What do you want, lovely?" You take a second to think about it and tell Jake. He orders you and him some food. 

"Hey Jake, here you go." You hold out a handful of bills, waiting for Jake to take them. 

"Y/n," he said in a serious tone. "That's not money." You struggle to breath as your laugh invades his ears, he decided he quite liked your laugh. 

"It is, take it. Come on. Sei kein Scheißkerl." Jake's face changes. His serious face, now concerned. 

"Bless you." His hand rests on your shoulder. Your laugh isn't contained anymore. 

"What the fuck do you mean? 'Bless you'? I said 'don't be a shithead.' Jesus you Americans." Jake laughs lightly. 

"OK, fine. I'll take it. But this is fucking monopoly money." That comment makes you laugh even harder. You and Jake were having too much fun. "When we get to the garage I'll show you what real money looks like."  You laugh lightly at him. 

"Yeah show me slow poke. Ich habe dir meins gezeigt, zeig mir deins." You wink at him. He looks dead serious this time.

"Did you just flirt with me in gibberish?" You only wink again. Pushing your lips out, blowing a nice little puckered kiss at him. "Oh man, you are one hell if a woman. Let's get you fed and to the garage. I will personally beg Bobby to let you on the team if I have to. You are way too much fun." 

Pulling up to the garage, in the back where their supplies get dropped off, Jake looks over at you. "You wanna know something?" You nod as an answer. "I think me and you are gonna be really great friends. You haven't called me an idiot once in the time we've known each other. That basically never happens. Thank you." He reaches over and places a kiss on the side of your cheek, before slipping out of the car.

Taglist:

@likedovesinthewnd @neptuneswritingwork

x Undertale | Zirius in Different AUs

Mafiatale 👥🧤

x Zirius wouldn’t be Mettaton’s official lady but rather his right hand lady that deals with his “night” work. She still owns her club and conducts her own sperate business work, but when Mettaton calls for her she’s there. She’s more on the aggressive side and calls the player “sweetheart” out of spite. Her style changes form 70s disco to 1920′s old Hollywood. She always carries a mace with her. Secretly Mtt and her are together and have nearly been caught being a little too snuggly.

Underswap 🌟💿

x Zirius switches with Mettaton (And he switches with her, my friend told me he step in and swap with Nap just to keep things neat). She’s become so arrogant  and only sees her dreams as the her main priority. Her personality is more so all the negative aspects of normal Mtt. She is a giant simp for Mtt though and every time she has a show she finds a way to bring him out even if it means him just waving at her and leaving. She’s not a megastar like Mtt is but shes a up and coming.

OuterTale 🌌🌠

x Zirius never left space and is a lost nova trying to find home. She creates music and plays out loud in hopes of getting a response from anyone to help guide her. She met Mtt due to his shows by accidently picking up his signal, they talk almost every night and Zirius gets to live broadcast her music with his fans. Mtt wants to explore the farther depths of space to find Zirius and bring her to where he is. They never meet.

UnderFell /MafiaFell 👿👥🧤

x Zirius is Mtt lucky lady but they fight over the smallest things. Zirius accent is changed to a heavy southern one and she wears more business casual clothing. She isn’t a DJ but a music producer who cons young artist into selling their SOULS to her to keep her alive. She wants to take over the kingdom but Mtt tells her its pointless because the monsters will never accept her like they would accept him. But they do love each other and if you pick a fight with one you pick a fight with both. No one lands a hand on Mtt’s lady.

InkTale 🎨🖌️

x Alphas created Zirius when she hears of the love between Zirius and Mtt in another world and thinks it be fun to play match maker (with two ocs). When Zirius is fully brought to life she’s actually self aware and she has broken memories of other worlds. She wasn’t just a constant nova for one world, her memories were scattered through every timeline. She is Mtt muse. 

Some color variations for SBR AU Trish... I think I like the first two dresses best but I still can’t decide on her hair. This is probably her antagonist outfit and she’ll change into more casual clothes once she becomes an ally.

SBC - USA 🇺🇸 Vs England 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 : Pre Match Analysis

New year, new England right? That definitely seems to be the plan but as it's England we are talking about - who knows?

Since the teams last met, the USA have won the World Cup, the CONCAF Cup, their last 11 matches and qualified for the Olympics. England on the other hand , welllll 😬 it hasn't exactly been plain sailing winning just 2 of their last 7 matches since facing the Americans. However, there's no need to start blasting star spangled banner just yet.

The FAWSL has been in full swing with the majority of Lionesses players getting regular game time compared to their US counterparts who have been in pre season and their only real main action was Concaf with teams that seemed to barely trouble the US.

Parris and Greenwood have been playing regularly for Lyon and we can only hope that they have been positively influenced by their worlc class teammates. Parris has been decent infront of goal netting a total of three goals.

However, the real person to look to for goals will be Bethany England. She is the joint top scorer in the FAWSL with 14 goals to her name and has recorded 4 assists meaning she trails Miedema by 4. England has proved to be a big game player delivering superb goals against top teams like Man City in crucial moments. Her ability to have excellent long ranged shots will be invaluable against teams like the US being able to test Naeher from range.

The introduction of the young players like Patten, McIver, Fisk and Co will hopefully create a new atmosphere around camp and be a good learning opportunity for both young and old with Euro 2021 in the back of everyone's mind. Personally, the most exciting new player is Chloe Kelly who currently has 9 goals and 1 assist who will definitely add a new edge to the England attack.

Obviously, two major names are missing from the squad. Bronze and Mead. Two very influential players who are very important in the attacking build-up. Mead provided a vital link between attack and defence and strengthened the left wing whereas Bronze dominated the field and her ability to charge down the right will be missed (for now, she's only injured guys they'll both be back soon ahaha). This leads me to question whether the style of play will be changed from England's normal use of the wings as two of their vital buildup players on either side of the pitch are missing and I don't believe anyone has the capability to fill the hole they've left so MAYBE tactics have been altered but then again it's Neville so 🤷‍♀️.

It's hard to predict a starting lineup.

Potentially it will be :

GK: Telford - Neville loves experience even though I'd prefer Roebuck as she's been getting decent game time however has just recovered from a recent injury

DEF: Daly, Houghton, Bright and Greenwood - So obviously no Bronze so I'd imagine Daly will be RB. Neville will unfortunately go for experience so that means a Bright/Houghton CB pairing. I'd prefer a Williamson/Bright pairing but Neville will stick with our captain and hopefully Bright will play to the standards she's been performing to at Chelsea. Not going to get started on Houghton l, I'll give her the benefit of the doubt for now as she was okay in the Chelsea game. I think Greenwood potentially at LB.

MID - Nobbs, Walsh, Scott - Once again, experience 🤷‍♀️ Players like Hemp, Stanway or Staniforth could be a sub later on in the match. Nobbs will provide a good linkup between attack and defence. Walsh will be more of a defensive mid whilst Jill, bless her hasn't got the edge she used to in international games so let's hope she steps up abit.

ATT- Parris, White, Duggan - I would love to see Beth England start however it'll most likely be White. Duggan and Parris on the wings to enable the use of the wide areas however I think it'd be better to go 4-4-2 and play England and White together up top.

So the result. I think it'll be a draw or narrow US win. However in last SBC, the USA were not in top form and didn't play as well as they could so who knows what could happen 🤷‍♀️

(A/N: So I'm back with another one of these - waheyy 😎👉👉. Hope(not hoeo🤦‍♀️) you all thought my ramblings weren't a complete mess. Let me know your thoughts! Hope you all enjoy the game 😁)

be my fire in the cold (and I'll be waiting by the mistletoe) - 2/25

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[Fanfiction] // [ao3]

[Previous Chapter] // [Next Chapter]

Chapter Summary: Rachel still doesn’t quite understand what an understudy is despite the fact that she is one; Brittany gets caught blushing far more often than she’s used to.

Chapter 2: there were sweeties and chocolates and toys and lights

//

The matinee goes far more smoothly than most people thought it would, but it’s not that it went well that surprises Brittany, it’s that people thought it wouldn’t. She doesn’t really make it a habit to listen when the company gossips, partly because there’s always a lot of mean gossip surrounding her and Mike and Tina since they’re all principals and Brittany just prefers to ignore it all, and partly because Mercedes always keeps her well informed anyways, usually when she’s changing Brittany into her costume or helping with her hair and makeup and Brittany has no choice but to listen. She when she hears people marvelling at how well Santana’s handled the show, despite the fact that she was literally only hired two days ago, she’s more than a little surprised that people are surprised.

She’s comfortably close with Quinn and Artie, not enough that they seek each other’s company outside of the show, but enough that she doesn’t mind having lunch with them between shows. And it’s because she doesn’t mind having lunch with them that she knows Santana Lopez is more than qualified to run the show, maybe too qualified if the copy of her resume Artie snuck them was anything to go by; and beyond that, she knows that Tina and Mike trust her completely, so she was never too worried about the change in production stage manager. Based on the complete and utter surprise of most people as they file into one of the larger rehearsal room for a quick meeting, Brittany realizes that she’s in a minority.

She spots Mercedes and Sam giggling together and blushing, so she heads over to them and collapses onto the floor beside them. None of the children are at the meeting, they’re all getting lunch with their parents and friends before the show at five, and though the meeting isn’t mandatory for the teenagers, there’s a couple of them gossiping in a corner. The entire rest of the company and all of the department heads, along with most of their departments too, are squished into the room. The mirrors lining the walls make it look like there are even more people than there actually are, and Brittany knows how nerve-racking it can be to stand in front of so many people with the mirrors multiplying them tenfold, but Santana looks calm and collected as her and Quinn break away from the small team of stage managers and stagehands in the corner to address the room.

It’s a typical meeting, and they go over some minor changes that Santana’s suggested to make backstage less congested during a couple scene changes, and despite the slight grumbling throughout the company, who like their routines perhaps too much, Brittany finds herself nodding along. They’re all changes that Brittany can easily see making the flow backstage so much smoother, and she briefly wonders why they haven’t always been doing it, but then she remembers their old production stage manager and how absentminded Holly can sometimes be and she’s not all that surprised. Their old production stage manager was a little all over the place, to say the least, and while Holly is an amazing director, but she doesn’t quite have the focused, meticulous, mechanical brain needed for stage managing. It’s refreshing to have a production stage manager that, despite having stepped foot in the theatre for the very first time about forty-eight hours ago, obviously seems to know what she’s doing.

The topic changes as Santana and Quinn address some of the dance corps, and Brittany finds herself tuning out of the conversation in favour of staring at Santana. She should probably be paying attention, but Santana does this cute little furrowed brow thing when someone interrupts her and Brittany kind of wants to smooth it out. She also talks with her hands a lot, and Brittany finds her eyes drawn to the movement of her arms as she gestures around or fiddles with her notebook. She’s completely lost to admiring Santana’s quiet grace in her movements when dark eyes catch on hers suddenly and something jolts up her spine, starting near her tailbone and tingling up towards the base of her skull as she sits up a little taller. She thinks maybe Santana’s just scanning the crowd and Brittany happened to see her when she glanced in Brittany’s general direction, but Santana’s eyes linger unmistakably on hers and it makes heat crawl, hot and prickling, under her skin until she’s pretty sure she’s blushing all the way down to her bellybutton. It’s been a very long time since Brittany got caught staring at a pretty girl, and she desperately pretends that her complexion doesn’t allow everyone to see exactly how fiercely she’s blushing.

Mercedes nudges her with her arm, smirking deeply as she glances between Santana and her, and Brittany curses herself for getting caught staring not just by Santana, but by her best friend as well. She’s pretty sure that she hasn’t felt this embarrassed to be caught staring at a girl since she was only questioning her sexuality in high school, and it doesn’t help that she knows that Mercedes is going to give her the third degree and relentlessly tease her as soon as they’re alone in her dressing room before the evening show. Mercedes continues to smirk at her even as Brittany resolutely refuses to acknowledge her; the worst thing about this is that she won’t even be able to escape from her best friend’s teasing after she leaves the theatre considering that Mercedes’ bedroom is about fifteen feet from her own.

She refocuses on the conversation as soon as she feels like she’s not about to burst into flames and Santana is asking if there’s any questions. Quinn winces beside her, as does half the company, while the only person who ever has ‘questions’ shoots her hand into the air, almost before Santana finishes talking. A wave of stifled groans goes through the company as Santana points at Rachel, whose arm is ramrod straight; Brittany’s been in ballet for almost as long as she’s been walking, and even her posture isn’t as straight as Rachel’s arm when she has a question.

“Yes, I was wondering if you have given any thought to changing the cast lineups to include more of the under-appreciated talent in this room. I would be willing to offer—”

“I’m sorry,” Santana interrupts, looking politely annoyed, “You are?”

Rachel draws herself up with an affronted air, and this time the company doesn’t try even hide their collective groan. “Rachel Berry, Marie’s understudy. I’m sure you’ve heard of me already.”

Santana glances at Quinn in barely concealed confusion, but Quinn just widens her eyes and subtly shakes her head.

“My talents, and I am sure you must be well aware of them, are wasted unless I am on stage in the spotlight,” Rachel continues without prompting. “My star shines too bright and it is a misuse of my talents to keep them hidden away in a lowly understudy roll—”

“Do you— Do you know what an understudy is?” Santana asks, her bewildered tone completely betraying her polite expression.

“Of course I know what an understudy is,” Rachel says haughtily, “As I’m sure everyone here knows, I was on Broadway in the prestigious revival of Funny Girl.”

“Yeah, for like a second,” Brittany mutters. Beside her, Mercedes and Sam snort and choke back their laughter.

Rachel continues to ramble, and Santana continues to look adorably baffled before she finally blinks out of her daze. “Look,” she interrupts loudly, waiting until Rachel awkwardly trails off, “I didn’t do the casting, I have no clue how well you dance, but I trust that Holly casted the correct people for the job, and I’m more than certain Tina’s earned her spot. And besides that, I have nothing to do with Tina’s ability to perform on any given day, and unless she calls in sick or injured, you will not be going on as Marie. As is standard of any understudy.”

“Yes, but—” Rachel starts. Brittany meets Tina’s eyes across the heads of people, and the pure, unfiltered annoyance in them as she rolls them at Brittany makes her bite down, almost painfully, on her lip so she doesn’t giggle too loud.

“No buts,” Santana says, her voice slowly growing more curt and clipped, “this is how shows are run. You are the understudy, you only go on if the principal cannot. Shows have done this for like, literally, a century. And I don’t know why you don’t know this, or why you seem to think I don’t understand how theatre works and will just put you on whenever you feel like it. But I have a feeling you aren’t going on unless Tina comes down with the bubonic plague.”

Rachel continues to argue, starting to criticize Santana’s running of the show and her experience, and as Rachel starts to move on to Santana’s personal character, Brittany can tell Santana is starting to lose the calm, collected exterior she’s had all meeting. Brittany leans back in her chair and surveys the room, sensing the rest of the company starting to shift around and glance at each other, and waiting for her opening. Sure, she hates Rachel as much as the next sane person, and she’s usually really good at just zoning her out, but she forces herself to pay attention to whatever is coming out of Rachel’s mouth because Santana’s far too cute to lose her temper in front of the entire company on just her second day.

The next time Rachel takes a breath to continue her rambling, Brittany tilts her head and dons her practiced look of confusion. “Does anyone else hear that? It sound like a cat getting its temperature taken,” she calls, just loud enough to be heard by the company, “All I can hear is screaming.”

There’s a small wave of chuckles that go throughout the room, and a small wave of oh it’s just Brittany being Brittany eye rolls too, but it shocks Rachel enough that she stops talking, her mouth freezing half open. Quinn takes the moment to quickly clap her hands together and dismiss everyone, and Rachel’s complaints are lost to a crowd of people quickly standing and trying to escape the room.

Brittany barely notices, because Santana’s amused and relieved dark eyes have landed on hers, and Brittany’s stomach flips over as Santana offers her a small smile, mouthing thank you across the room.

Santana has dimples and her nose scrunches up when she smiles, and Brittany’s pretty sure she’s already a goner.

//

The evening show goes even better than the matinee, and though there’s some slight confusion at the top of the first act, by the time intermission rolls around the backstage traffic is far less congested than usual thanks to Santana’s suggestions. Brittany can’t help the touch of smugness that colours her smile as she heads back to her dressing room while she listens to the gossip, which has changed from how surprised everyone is with Santana not completely failing to how impressed they are with her improvements. Sure, it’s not like the changes were Brittany’s own ideas or anything, but she feels like one of the only people who never doubted Santana for a second, and she’s proud that Santana’s proved them all wrong in less than twelve hours.

As soon as she reaches her dressing room, Mercedes is already there waiting for her. She helps Brittany out of her costume and tiara, before carefully unpinning her hair even though she doesn’t have to, while Brittany fights to peel her bodysuit and tights off, tossing them in the general direction of her tiny closet before carelessly peeling off the tape around her toes and dunking her feet in the bucket of ice by her couch. She hisses at the instant relief, and Mercedes just laughs and shakes her head.

“I gotta drop Sam off at his apartment a little early today,” Mercedes says, “Do you want me to swing around and pick you up after?” Brittany nods quickly; she ices her feet after almost every show, but the cold never fails to shock her body and steal her ability to speak. Mercedes tosses her the sweater she wore to the theatre, and Brittany quickly pulls it over her head, shivering as the cold seems to creep along her veins. Mercedes starts to head for the door, but suddenly stops and glances back at Brittany with a wicked smile. “Don’t think you’re getting out of talking about what happened at the meeting today, Britt-Britt,” she teases. Brittany groans and, despite the cold, she feels heat crawl under her skin again. Mercedes chuckles at her and waves her goodbyes as leaves, leaving the door cracked open. As soon as she’s gone, Brittany leans forward for her phone, quickly lighting it up to check her messages. There’s a couple promotional emails and a notification from instagram, but nothing from her mom, and she has to remind herself that no news is good news.

Movement from the hallway catches her eye and Brittany glances at the door, only spotting a flash of black as someone walks past. She briefly hopes it’s Santana, partially because she wants to talk to her and congratulate on the shows today, and partially because she wants to feel that same bright lifting feeling she did last night when she showed up in her dressing room doorway, but mostly because she has something to give her.

As soon as her teeth start chattering she realizes that the ache of cold has been replaced by the numb feeling that means she probably left her feet in the ice too long, and she quickly draws them out to dry them and pull on her warmest pair of socks. She takes her time wiping her makeup off and slipping into her comfiest and most worn pair of sweats just as she hears a knock at the door. She calls her invitation and hears the door creak open as she turns to greet her visitor, fighting down the flash of hope that curls beneath her sternum, which proves fruitless when she sees that it is Santana standing there just like she hoped. She’s wearing a cute leather jacket, a red scarf looped loosely around her neck, looking ready to head home for the evening, but what really catches Brittany’s attention is the small smiling playing on Santana’s lips.

“No banging shoes tonight?” Santana asks in lieu of greeting.

Brittany grins. “Wasn’t on the schedule,” she replies with a teasing shrug, “I didn’t work them too hard tonight.” Santana grins and hovers in the doorway, and it’s only then that Brittany notices the notebook in her hands. “You doing notes tonight?” she asks.

Santana starts a little and blinks away her surprise, seeming a little surprised by the notebook in her hands for a moment before she recovers. “Oh, god no, I just came down to see Tina quickly,” she laughs, “I barely had time to breathe during the show, let alone focus on doing any notes.” She holds up the notebook with a small smile. “Tina just gave me this in celebration of my first official show. It’s kind of a tradition.”

Brittany grins. “That’s cute,” she says. “It must be nice having people at the theatre you already know.”

Santana nods and her smile turns fond and a little nostalgic. “Tina and I were roommates all throughout college,” she explains, “And then she started dating Mike in our third year, and they’ve been nauseating adorable and loved up ever since.”

“They’ve been dating for that long?”

Santana laughs, leaning against the doorframe. “Oh yeah. If you think they’re bad now, you should have seen them when they just had crushes on each other through our second year. Adorable? Absolutely. Annoying oblivious? Definitely.” Brittany giggles. Tina and Mike are the most stable couple she knows, inside the company and out, but now she kind of wishes she could have known them before they got together. “They’ve been my best friends ever since,” Santana says, and though she rolls her eyes a little Brittany can see the fondness crinkling her eyes and tugging at her lips.

“That’s sweet,” Brittany says.

Santana shrugs a little and brushes it off with an embarrassed, “Yeah, well,” before straightening up a little. “Are you heading out soon?” Brittany barely has time to blink before Santana gets this bright, breathless, wide-eyed look and she starts talking again. “I mean— Because I’m on my way and Tina’s already gone so. I figured I’d check with you and— You know, see if you needed company,” she finishes lamely.

Brittany’s not quite sure if there’s a more adorable person on the planet, and she quickly assures Santana that, yes, she was just leaving too. She gathers her coat and shrugs it on, tugging a hat over her ears and sliding into her sneakers before heading to the door, collecting her wallet and phone from the coffee table on her way. Santana takes a step backwards down the hall to let Brittany out and she dig her keys out of her jacket pocket so she can lock the door.

She’s just about to turn the key when she remembers the whole reason she was hoping Santana would stop by in the first place. “Wait!” she says suddenly, shoving the door back open with a little more enthusiasm than strictly necessary, the sound of the doorjamb protesting the harsh movement echoing throughout the dressing room. “I have something for you!”

Santana watches her curiously from the doorway as she rummages around on the vanity in the dark until her fingers close around what she was looking for. She quickly crosses the room again, and Santana steps out into the light of the hallway while Brittany hides her tiny gift behind her back. “I, uh, saw this today and I got it so, um, so you have something to remember your first official show by,” she rambles, quickly biting onto her lip so more words don’t escape her as she hands the gift to Santana. It’s a tiny plastic figurine she saw through a toy shop window that morning on her way to the theatre, a flat circle of painted snow with the Sugar Plum Fairy dancing in the middle, surrounded by Marie in her white nightgown and the Prince in his soldier uniform. She’s pretty sure it’s supposed to be an ornament, but she cut the ribbon off so now it’s just a simple figurine.

Santana takes it carefully from Brittany, as if it’s made of fragile glass and not toylike plastic. Her fingers trace delicately over the dancing fairy and Brittany suddenly feels heat crawl and creep under her skin. Usually she’s not this prone to blushing, if anything she prides herself on making others blush, but Santana must have some innate connection to the blood vessels in her cheeks because they always seem to be super aware of her presence.

“I know it’s— Kind of dumb or childish or whatever,” she mumbles. She’s always been told by that too many people that, even if she is a principal dancer with one of the most prestigious dance companies in North America, but she understands how important it is to rediscover how to have fun; life’s far too hard and messy and cruel to take yourself too seriously, and Brittany’s found that sometimes the only thing you can do is have fun and laugh. But people have made her feel insecure about it for so long, all the way back in middle school when having sleepovers and playing pretend with her little sister suddenly wasn’t cool anymore, that it makes her nervous to drop her caution around people other than her sister or Mercedes or Sam because they almost always disappoint her.

“No,” Santana says quickly, shaking her head sharply, and when she glances up at Brittany her eyes are shining and bright with something Brittany can’t name. “It’s perfect,” she whispers, “Thank you.”

The heat in Brittany’s cheeks continues to prickle her skin, but as she kicks one foot behind her other she already knows it has less to do with nervous embarrassment now and more to do with how bashful-giddy she feels when Santana directs that smile at her. “You’re welcome,” she murmurs, “You deserve to remember today. You did amazing.”

Santana’s eyes never leave hers even as her smile widens and she whispers her thanks again. Brittany feels too much all at once and fumbles with her keys before quickly turning to lock her door, finding Santana’s eyes still on her when she turns back around. “Shall we?” Brittany asks, gesturing down the hallway.

Santana nods quickly, finally glancing away to look at the figurine in her hand before tucking it carefully in her jacket pocket.

Brittany finds it really easy to talk to Santana as they head out of the theatre, and the earlier heat creeping under her skin starts to fade as they navigate the halls. Santana can make Brittany laugh really easily and Brittany kind of really, really likes that, but Brittany quickly finds that what she likes even more is making Santana smile, because Brittany’s never felt more accomplished than when her deadpan makes Santana’s dimples crease her cheeks, and even better than that is saying something that makes Santana toss her head back as bright carefree giggles spill forth from her.

The make it to the front lobby far sooner than Brittany wants to, and as soon as they step out into the chilly air, her phone buzzes with a text from Mercedes telling her that she’s here just as a dark SUV pulls up. “That’s my ride,” Brittany says. They both pause, still smiling at each other, until Brittany shakes herself out of her daze and whispers a quick bye as she heads for Mercedes’ SUV.

“Hey,” Santana calls just as Brittany’s hand lands on the handle of the passenger door, “Thanks, for today. You know, at the meeting.”

Brittany feels something warm and bright and fond curl in her stomach. The feeling isn’t something she’s ever really felt before, but it reminds her of camping with her parents to celebrate the first time she ever won gold a competition, when she would huddle closer to the fire until it would feel like its warmth was blooming from within her cheeks and and chest instead of from the fire itself. “You’re welcome,” she murmurs, and despite the rush of the city around them Brittany feels a little bit like it’s just them on the sidewalk for a moment. “Goodnight, Santana,” she says softly.

Those dimples crease Santana’s cheeks and makes Brittany’s breath hitch just a little. “Goodnight, Brittany.”

🐈DRAWING MIRICO🐈

Quick sketch video that turned into a full portrait of my character Mirico (Mee-rree-co). She's been around for quite some time, shape-shifting throughout the years. She plays a very important in role in this tale so you'll be seeing more of her soon...

"Iii see how you look at Miri. *Side-eyes* You look at Miri a lot. *Pouts* You're a bad boy, you're a really badd boy. But ya better know, if you want my sisty, you better keep my sisty, ya big baddy. Not just cauz she's beautiful like Momma was oor cauz she's strong like Pop-Pop is, nope, not none of that, but becauz, becauuuz Momma couldn't have babies, and Mirico changed that, know whyy? *Bumps shoulder* Ask whyy silly. [Sigh. Why?] Cauz she's a miracle baby. And miracles are good, so a good miracle girl deserve a good miracle boy-which you are noowt...so make a miracle by bein' a miracle by bein' a good boyy. *Projects claws* You can start by not lookin' at my sisty's butt *Growls* or I'll scratch yours while you sleep'." ~Kico

Transitional lineup of old to new style in monochrome and chromatic formation [Note: I'm never satisfied].

Instrumental by AnnoDomini Nation

'Injury, injury again' Dybala, tears during substitution out... "I'll come back as soon as possible!"먹튀검증

먹튀검증먹튀사이트먹튀검증사이트먹튀 검증  먹튀 사이트 먹튀 검증 사이트

After the opening goal, Paulo Dybala (27), who was injured, finally shed tears. Dybala was determined to return as soon as possible.

Juventus defeated Sampdoria 3-2 in the 6th round of Italian Serie A for the 2021-22 season held at the Allianz Stadium in Turin, Italy on the 26th at 7:30 pm (Korean time). With this, Juventus jumped to 9th place with 8 points (2 wins, 2 draws and 2 losses).

Juventus, who succeeded in escaping to a draw in the last round against Spezia, challenged their winning streak. Coach Massimiliano Allegri formed the best lineup, including Dybala, Alvaro Morata, Manuel Locatelli, Federico Chiesa, and Juan Quadrado, and went to Sampdoria.

Early in the morning, Juventus took the lead. In the 10th minute of the first half, Dybala, who took over Rocatelli's pass in a chaotic situation in front of the penalty box, succeeded with a shot aimed at the corner of the goal and scored the goal. But Dybala's performance did not end there. Dybala, who felt muscle pain in the 22nd minute of the first half, was eventually substituted with tears, and Juventus rushed in Dejan Kulusevsky.

After that, a brawl ensued. Juventus widened the gap with Leonardo Bonucci's penalty kick (PK) in the 43rd minute, but Maya Yoshida's goal allowed Sampdoria to catch up. In the second half, Juventus fled with a goal from Locatelli, but Sampdoria followed again with a goal from Antonio Candreva. After five goals, Juventus won 3-2.

After the match, Italian media paid attention to Dybala's injury. Dybala left the game in pain early in the morning despite the opening goal. The relay camera showed a scene in which Dybala wiped tears with her uniform, adding to the sadness. After Cristiano Ronaldo's transfer, the dependence on Dybala is high, so it is fatal for Juventus.

After the game, Dybala posted on SNS after the match, saying, "It's unfortunate that I left with an injury, but I'm happy to win. I'm already thinking about coming back as soon as possible." Details of his injury have not been revealed, but his appearance in the UEFA Champions League (UCL) match against Chelsea during the week is uncertain.

For the Love of the Game

Hey, guys! I haven’t been writing any fics as of late because of school and because my creative streak right now is Awful, but somehow an idea came to me after watching SirEnobMort’s playthrough of “Mario Super Sluggers” on the KoopaKungFu channel on YouTube, particularly the ending cutscenes of the challenge mode and what might have possibly gone on between those two scenes. Really, I just wanted to put a little more depth into them. Enjoy!

For 8 and a half straight innings, Mario and Bowser's respective baseball teams were at each other's throats. The score was still 0-0 at the aforementioned Koopa King's home turf (literally; his castle was currently housing a temporary baseball field next to a lava dam). Athletes from both sides were sweating bullets, probably enough altogether to outweigh even the heaviest of King Bills. Batters ran through pitchers practically every other hit, and because of that, the fielding lineup never started (or ended) with everyone in the same position twice in a row. By the time the top of the 9th ended, Mario and Bowser were running out of strategies, instead just going back to their respective lineups from the beginning of the game. Everything lead right up to this moment as Mario took his place in the batter's box to face Bowser, captain against captain, enemy against enemy. There were two outs, with the bases loaded, and to raise the stakes even higher, Bowser was at a full count of 3 balls and 2 strikes. How Bowser ever ended up being on the "away" side on his own field was beyond his knowledge; wonky coin toss, perhaps? Either way, if they scored at least one run, they would win, and the giant complex that was the Baseball Kingdom would be out of the Koopa King's control for sure. He wiped some sweat off his forehead. Who would have guessed that baseball was so much pressure? All he and his friends wanted to do was hit the diamond and have a little fun! Determined to win, he made an impulsive move, in true Mario fashion: he eyed the huge statue of Bowser jutting out from the lava dam in center field, and pointed just above it it with his bat. Yes, he was calling his own shot. Mario could hear his teammates draw a collective gasp. Why not? he thought to himself. He read about someone else doing it once, a man called Babe Ruth (That couldn't have been his actual name, right?) and it worked for him! He eyed Bowser, who sneered and wound up. Mario braced himself for a fastball, and... *Crack* The second the bat made contact, he knew immediately that this was one of his best hits. He watched the ball fly high into the air, and sure enough, it flew towards the same direction as the statue at center field. It wasn't until a few seconds later that he heard a sizzling noise from the lava dam. He couldn't believe his ears; the ball actually sunk into the lava dam! And with that, the game was done. Mario's grand slam at the bottom of the 9th put his team in the winning position of 4-0, breaking the long, scoreless run against Bowser and his minions. Every teammate in the dugout met him at home plate, hoisting him up and tossing him into the air. Bowser, on the other hand, was so filled with rage that he smashed his bat into the ground. When that wasn't enough to grab the team's attention, he roared as loudly as his lungs could allow. Immediately, the crowd dropped their red-clad captain as they turned to Bowser, wondering what the fuss was about. "NO! I was really trying, and I still lost!" he exclaimed. Lifting up his bat, he continued his angry tirade. "But I'm not done yet, and I'm not giving up! I WILL beat you! I'll–" "Hold it, Bowser!" From among the crowd, Peach emerged and walked up to the raging king. "Baseball Kingdom is a place for EVERYONE to enjoy baseball," she said calmly. "Come on. A little friendly competition never hurt anyone, right?" That made him grow flustered. "N-No! Don't be ridiculous! Play with you chumps? I'd rather...I mean–" He was interrupted when Bowser Jr started whining. "Aw, Daaaad! I wanna play baseball! Let's all play together like she said!" The elder tried to shush him to avoid embarrassment. "But son, I–" Peach giggled. "I think the decision's been made!" She turned to her friends. "Come on, everyone!Let's celebrate! Let's throw a party for Baseball Kingdom, and all the memories we made here!" "One step ahead of you, Peach," Daisy said. "Let's all meet up at the Cruiser! There's more than enough space for everyone on board!" The crowd cheered, and all began making their way out of the stadium toward the ship, including Bowser's minions. The only stragglers left after the crowd died down were Bowser, Jr, Daisy, and Luigi, who was just about to leave when Daisy approached him. "Are you coming?" he asked. "I'll get there a little later," she replied. "It seems I have some convincing to do." "You're inviting them?! They're gonna burn you alive!" "Don't worry about me," she said. "You go catch up with the rest of them. I'll be there soon!" There was a hesitant look in his eyes, but he nodded slowly. "Okay. I'll tell them." "Thank you! Oh, and tell Peach to save a little bit of food for me, won't you?" She kissed him on the cheek and ran off in the koopas' direction. Luigi blushed. Typical Daisy, he thought as he exited the stadium. She's always so happy, it's contagious. I wonder if it'll rub off on those two... *** "Why can't we go with them?" Jr sulked. "It looks like fun!" "He's not wrong, Bowser," a voice rang from by the stadium door. They turned their heads and found Daisy walking toward them. "I think a lot of people would appreciate it if you joined us. Besides, all your minions are at the Cruiser. Shouldn't someone be there to supervise them?" "They'll be fine," Bowser grumbled. "I can always hire more, anyway. These minions are useless." "Maybe that's why they left," reasoned the princess. "Since you're such a bad sport to them all the time, they must have gone off to find other captains who won't bully them so much. You don't see your son insulting his team, do you?" The king ignored her, instead continuing to address his son. "Jr, I think it's past your bedtime. You should be getting some sleep." "But I wanna go to the Cruiser," Jr objected. "If the rest of the team is there, why shouldn't I go?" "Well, I did invite everyone," Daisy said. "And I think he'd have a really nice time there. Look at your son, Bowser," she said as she knelt down to Jr's level. "Look at his poor little face. He looks so sad, and cranky and tired...maybe even a little hungry after such an exhausting game! All he wants to do is hang out with his team and have some nice food!" The little prince's eyes lit up. "There's food?" "Yes, there is. Every cook in the kitchen has whipped up a whole bunch of stuff for just about everyone there! But if you don't hurry now, then all the food will be gone!" She stood back up and looked at Bowser. "And I think I know someone else who can't say no to free food." With that, Daisy extended her hand. "Come on, Bowser," she said. "For the love of the game?" The Koopa King was puzzled as he looked at the outstretched princess's hand, the exact same hand that had once smacked him into oblivion. How could he trust someone who, compared to Mario, Peach, or anyone else, was practically a complete stranger? And yet there was something convincing about the way she stood unflinchingly in his presence, her large, wide-set eyes practically staring into his soul, her tiny arm reaching out to him. Even Jr was egging him on. "Come on, Dad! It's just like the pretty lady said! For the love of the game!" Well, if his son was okay with it...then who was he to refuse such an offer? He shook her hand and let a tiny smile make its way across his face. "For the love of the game." She beamed. "Wonderful! Let's go!" *** Before long, they had reached the top floor of the Cruiser, where everyone was outside, crowded around various tables and watching a fireworks show. Bowser and his son eventually found a place to sit down and have some food, even though there wasn't much left. Even so, he didn't mind having the smallest slice of cake while his son had a slightly larger sherbet bowl. In the meantime, Daisy was happily chatting away with Yoshi, Peach, Luigi, and Toad as they munched on some other leftovers and watched the fireworks. "I don't know how you did it," Toad said. "I would have been shaking in my boots the whole time!" Yoshi shuddered in agreement. "Well, I wouldn't want them to be lonely, would I?" she answered. "Especially poor little Jr. And Bowser will do just about anything to make his son happy." "How did you get Bowser on board?" Luigi asked. "I kinda figured that, really deep down, there was a little part of him that just wanted to join in on the fun with us! No serious competition about it; just letting loose and hitting the diamond while we try to push alliances aside, even if it's only for a short time." "Even if he still has fleeting thoughts about taking over the Mushroom Kingdom from time to time?" Peach inquired. "As long as his mind is distracted from those things, even for a little while, then we're okay." "Well, it lets me breathe a little easier, and Mario and Luigi, too, I'm sure." Peach turned to Luigi. “Where is your brother, by the way?" "He and Donkey Kong are running the fireworks show in the next stadium over," he replied. "He has jokingly referred to it as a 'Home Run Derby' of sorts." "Well, shouldn't we go down and watch them hit some homers?" Toad suggested. Yoshi nodded in agreement. Daisy smiled. "Why not? Let's go!" The friends ran for the exit of the Cruiser, hoping to catch a glimpse of the "Home Run Derby".