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#and they ruined my boy striker again

playcraze · 8 months

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So a lust ring demon (?) can easily have a better relationship with a silly clown and love him no matter what, even if he's ugly af ???? Meanwhile a prince of hell be going through wattpad shit with some mf he only met once like 25 years ago. And they still wanna say Stolitz is cute 💀

#anti stolitz #helluva boss critical #idk why but stolas made me so mad this episode when he ain't even done nothing #it was probably him saying 'get fucked little one' and acting like he ate #bitch plz 💀#and omg i wanted to rip blitz head off #i don't think i need to explain myself #and they ruined my boy striker again #that's okay he still bbg to me #anyway fizzmodeous for the win 🫶🫶🫶#next to m&m #shoutout to those two btw i hope they're having a goodnight 🫶🫶🫶

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showtoonzfan · 8 months

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Now that the episode is out officially, here’s my rant review of Oops!

PROS:

- Fizz and Ozzie were adorable and I honestly love them. Despite the sex jokes, you can tell they love each other for who they are OUTSIDE of sex. While I did wish we would have seen more, (like how Ozzie took him in and fell in love) they’re still adorable to watch. They’re the better version of Stolitz, can the show be about them instead?

- Brandon’s voice acting holy shit, he really knows how to sound like he’s in tears or is broken. As much as I hate the character and feel no sympathy, he displayed genuine and broken emotion very well.

- Alex Brightman Alex Brightman

Okay that’s it. Moving on to the Cons. Bear with me, it’s a lot and I go back and forth a bit. 😭

CONS:

So for a quick short summary, this episode:

- Once again puts more focus on the filler plot rather than actually focusing on the relationships between the characters, so all we're left with is a 10 second clip of Fizz being burned while the rest of the episode is surrounded on sex jokes/petty bickering and Stolas and Ozzie sitting around.

- Completely erases what made Blitz and Fizz's dynamic interesting in the first place because it retcons it with a dumb miscommunication trope about how Fizz actually wanted to see Blitz and Blitz tried reaching out to him. Not only does this feel like a cheap attempt to make Blitz out to be sweet/sympathetic and NOT the one in the wrong so Fizz can suck up to him, but this also makes no sense within the narrative.

- Has Fizz forgive Blitz despite him being the last person anyone would think would forgive him. (So honestly ruins Fizz himself because it turned him into a soft boy who's forgiving compared to the asshole he was in Ozzie's) All because Viv would sell her whole soul before she even remotely considers painting characters like Blitz and Stolas out to be the one's in the wrong.

- Takes Stolas out of the hospital completely, erasing all the drama/tension Western Energy had and proves that that episode was utterly pointless.

- Turns Striker from an interesting complex villain to a Saturday morning cartoon goon.

- Proves to us that Crimson is just a flat tool and gives us more prove that the world building rules Viv set up in season 1 legit don't matter.

-Ruins Blitz/Barbie's feud now because now you're making Barbie look like the one in the wrong since the fire was an accident. God forbid a female characters emotions in this show are justified.

But if you want my more in depth rants, it’s under the cut! (There’s a lot so bear with me lol)

- As usual WAAY too many sex jokes and swearing. It gets annoying and repetitive at times and some of them distract from the main plot. There’s a long and I mean LONNG dragged out joke of Fizz talking about Ozzie’s dick, then later saying he’s hard when Striker has a gun to his head, as well as Blitz making a joke about him and Fizz making out once they hug. Again, Viv can’t be serious for 2 seconds without an unfunny shitty gag. I genuinely wonder if Hazbin is ganna be like this, where a character is in a life threatening situation or a deep dark serious scene happens only for the next scene to be sex related.

- This is one of those “shit happens because the plot demands it” and it shows. Crimson and Striker COINCIDENTLY meet up with each other, and Fizz and Blitz just so HAPPEN to be in the same exact area they are. Viv wonders why we call her shit a fanfic and this is what we mean, when she creates wild wacky plots and focuses more on THAT rather than the actual character writing. This entire episode hinges on a useless poorly last minute planned kidnapping plot that didn’t need to happen. Also way to once again make the characters idiots so the plot can happen, cause Fizz KNOWS Ozzie worries for him and that the Greed Ring is dangerous, yet purposefully puts the spotlight on him.

- Stolas did NOT need to be in this episode. The plot completely ignores the fact that he was in the hospital the last time we saw him, and he’s only here for Stolitz banter. You’d think that a character admitting they have feelings for someone would be a big deal but he just flat out says it and it’s so underwhelming and feels half assed with no weight to it. Fan comics have made more dedication to this than Viv has. We're supposed to believe him too despite the show failing to actually SHOW us this. Same for Blitz ranting about how “nice” Stolas has been to him, laughing at his jokes and liking his posts…hey Viv, can we actually SEE that on screen so it’s more believable? Or are you only determined to show them sexually flirting? 😑

- Once again Viv felt the need to shove a B plot into this episode and this one sucks because it’s just two characters sitting and doing fucking nothing. It felt like Viv had no idea what to do with Stolas and Ozzie, and I refuse to believe that Ozzie just sat there knowing Fizz was in danger. If anything he would have said “fuck the paperwork” and went to save Fizz himself. Way to show that gif of Ozzie getting mad as a sneak peak to get fans excited, only to see that Ozzie spends the rest of the episode sitting in a dark room LMAO what a let down.

- Ozzie is weirdly chill and cool with Stolas and it’s something I don’t get. While he did say that Stolas had the real “spirit of Lust” in S1E7, it still gave you the impression that he was also more poking fun at Stolas rather than respecting him. The whole point of House of Asmodeous was that Ozzie outs him and publicly embarrassed him. Stolas literally was intimidated just by Asmodeous’s mere name, and hid his face around him. It seemed like Stolas certainly didn’t want someone like Ozzie to know about his private life especially since they’re both part of the Ars Goetia. Now here Ozzie is just cool with him and it feels like a missed opportunity for their dynamic.

- Stolas confessing his feelings about Blitz also makes…no sense narrative wise. I thought the whole point of The Circus and the ending to Western Energy was that he was realizing that Blitz didn’t like him that way and was finally waking up. I thought that’s why he was doing this whole crystal deal in the first place, so he can let Blitz go, yet the show keeps flip flopping and insisting that these two love each other and are good for each other. It’s really making you realize how this season and the previous stuff set up is becoming nonsense because the writers retcon EVERY damn episode. Also….why the hell is Stolas telling Ozzie his feelings for Blitz? Out of all people, why is it Ozzie, the person who outed Stolas and embarrassed him. Why is Stolas even respectful of Ozzie? He has no reason to, and he’s not under the impression that he’s dating Fizz either. I get that he needs the crystal but mentioning his love for Blitz makes no sense.

- Striker and Crimson teaming up to kidnap Blitz and Fizz was such an ass puller last minute decision. It feels overwhelming and underwhelming at the same time, more because it feels like Viv has no idea what to do with these two villain characters other than give them something evil to do to start the plot. Also…why…are they working together? It feels so random.

- Striker’s character especially is all over the place. First he’s working for Stella, then he’s painted as the best assassin in hell, and now he’s…looking for more work I guess and working for Crimson? Why? Does this guy even have a motive anymore? It feels like his character is just dangling around until Viv wants to use him for another wattpad kidnap plot and it ESPECIALLY shows when Striker escapes for the THIRD fucking time. Can this character/storyline actually GO somewhere or are you just going to keep introducing him and have him run away. 🤦🏽‍♀️

— How did Crimson not know who Striker is despite him being labeled as “the most popular assassin in hell”, and how the hell does Crimson know Ozzie and know all the information about him being in a relationship with Fizz?? Oh right because we needed the plot to happen somehow. Still, even if Crimson did know that Ozzie was the "weakest" and loved Fizz, (which….what about Beezlebub?)) he still should have known he was playing with fire. I get that he's supposed to be evil and intimidating but how could he have predicted that Ozzie would actually stand down and fill out the paperwork? He could have immediately came there and killed Crimson for all he knew. It's just distracting how..not planned this shit was.

- Fuck this episode for calling Striker a supremacist. It makes no sense?? Viv is trying SO hard to villainize him despite him being the one in the right and it pisses me off. He has every right to be mad at the upper class, he’s part of the lower class that we’re said Hell takes advantage of, but god forbid we call out Rich and powerful Stolas because that would mean he’s a b-bad person and we can’t have that complex morality! This is so not a “eat the rich” story and it shows bc Vivzie is rich as hell. Striker as a character deserves so much better man. Congrats writers, you had an interesting character and motive set up for him, now he’s nothing but a silly goon that you might as well kill off already cause you clearly don’t care about him. Crimson meanwhile is just a piece of paper, a boring plot device I could give less of a shit about. I thought his motive was to go after Moxxie, now he’s just doing fuck whatever because this show desperately wants a bad guy for their filler fanfic plots.

- We get more world building issues, Ozzie and Fizz are so determined to hide their relationship for obvious reasons, but then at the end of the episode just say “fuck it, no one would dare tell anyway”. So now they’re being open about their relationship and lmao I told y’all the newspaper scene of Ozzie being called out for being a hypocrite wouldn’t go anywhere. Even if Ozzie did threaten his workers to not tell, they can’t be so sure that someone wouldn’t see or snitch, it’s kinda a retcon too cause they were pretty lovey dovey in Ozzie’s. Still, it makes the characters look dumb and it makes the rules Viv set up for Hell once again not mean anything.

- We finally get to see Fizz’s backstory in action and it’s executed in the most underwhelming way possible. It’s literally a fucking 10 second clip of what went down, and rather than experiencing the event for ourselves, it’s in flashback mode but with Fizz’s voice talking over it. That’s it. I’ve seen fan comics/fanart that built this shit up better than Viv did, that actually took the slow time and dedication it needed, and here it feels like such an afterthought, like Viv could care less. Maybe if this actually was a character driven show like Viv claims, Stolas, Striker, and Crimson would be taken out of the picture and then that would leave us with PLENTY time to actually explore and develop Blitz/Fizz, bc most of this episode is just them pettily bickering and Stolas and Ozzie sitting around. But nah, we gatta have our fanfic kidnapping plot. Same goes for the reveal of Blitzo’s mom dying in the same fire. Glad to know that she got the same treatment Moxxie’s mom did, where we don’t even know her and yet we’re supposed to feel moved and care about her death. You nailed that one Viv. 👍

- I predicted that this episode would victimize Blitz and have the fire incident be an accident, (because Viv is a pussy writer and can’t make her characters actually do bad things like god forbid) but I never thought they’d actually have the balls to have Fizz forgive Blitz immediately in the same episode and pull the “actually turns out that horrible thing you did to me helped me in a way”- trope. Biggest flaw of the episode, fuck you Viv. I was actually going to applaud Blitz for taking accountability, but then the dialogue reminds you that an abuser wrote this, and he shifts his apology to “okay but I lost something too see so it’s not all about you” as if he’s fucking dismissing Fizz’s trauma and making it about himself. “I love flawed characters” my fucking ass. I would have smacked a bitch if I was Fizz because Blitzo loosing his mother in the fire too isn’t an excuse?? Fizz lost his fucking ARMS AND LEGS, and at the end of the day Blitzo STILL KNEW HE WAS HELPLESS IN THE FIRE BUT LEFT HIM BEHIND. He could have gotten help and came back, but didn’t. If this were a good show Fizz would have threw that apology back in Blitzo’s face and said “I don’t care if it was an accident or not, you still left me there and then proceeded to loathe me for years”. This is why Helluva will never be Bojack cause at least characters in that show who got treated horribly by him knew when to say “no, fuck you.”

- The episode retcons again, this time they make it out to be that Blitz TRIED contacting Fizz the years they were apart but no one would let him see him. Then they say that Fizz actually WANTED to see Blitz but assumed he didn’t want to, so their entire feud was solely because of miscommunication?? Number one, show don’t fucking tell omg. And number two, that makes ZERO sense. Blitz talked badly about Fizz in Loo Loo Land, and when they finally reunited in Ozzie’s, it was clear they fucking loathed each other. You got the impression that Blitz was petty and jealous just because Fizz was more popular, and Fizz not only loathed him for the accident, but liked to rub in his face about how much of a big shot he was. They literally do that in this episode too, so the episode is literally contradicting itself. Blitz and Fizz had multiple chances to meet up with each other, you can’t just say “oh they couldn’t because no one would let them”- So which is it? Did they hate each other because of bad blood, petty drama, or that they thought the other didn’t want to see them? Pick ONE Viv and stick to it, but she never does. Their feud was interesting and now you ruined it just to have some sweet happy ending. “Adult mature show” my ass lol.

-Bottom line is Fizz shouldn’t have forgave Blitz so easily, or forgave him period. I find it funny how he says “it’s hard to just forgive you” and then he literally does lol. I feel so bad for Fizz fans, him and Blitz’s feud was honestly interesting, so to see all of this go down in a half-assed piss poor way as if this was Care Bears is….wow. The fan interpretations had more thought and care put into this storyline but what else is new lol.

- I’m really tired of these shitty annoying songs. If you’re going to get Broadway actors, please put effort into your songwriting and actually have them sing something good, not something that’s literally nonsense. This Fizz song sounds like it took less than a minute to write and Sam Haft was just thinking of anything he could think of at the top of his head. Also Why the fuck are Striker and Crimson just STANDING there while Fizz sings. They look like idiots, just SHOOT them omg. If this were a funny show, Fizz would have started his first note and Crimson just rolls his eyes and pulls his gun out.

- Fizz and Ozzie kill the lawyer but not…Crimson? Despite Fizz knowing what ring he’s in and even Ozzie knowing what he looks like? Same for Blitz, he doesn’t try to make sure Striker is dead. I get that the plot demands for these two to still be around, but there’s a way to keep them alive without making the main characters look like fucking idiots. Also Stolas just leaves without doing or contributing anything to the plot yay.

- Fizz: “Let him have it, you could say he’s earned it”— Uhm….Nope. Blitz did NOT earn shit. He didn’t even earn Fizz’s forgiveness. Last time I checked, the moment Blitz cried and said it was an accident, Fizz forgave him, knowing he didn’t mean it. What effort did Blitz do to “earn” that as well as the crystal? Because he saved Fizz and didn’t leave him behind for the SECOND time near the end?? Cause if so than the bar is extremely low. That’s the bare minimum, just because Blitz cried and felt bad about it doesn’t mean he should be let off the hook Viv. I hate this so much, what a shitty conclusion, it feels forced just so Blitz can have the crystal and just so the writers can once again paint him as the one in the right. It’s almost insulting that they make it seem like Fizz was in the wrong for assuming Blitz starting the fire too, same for Barbie.

God what a shitty day it is to be a Fizz fan, I’m sorry. The episode did NOT do him justice. Fizzarolli deserved better than that half assed gaslighting apology for someone who lost their arms and legs man, and I’m tired of the show letting every character suck up to Blitz and Stolas for their horrible treatment just because they feel bad. Not only that but the episode (as most recent HB episodes) was a huge time waster. Everyone was really hoping for an in depth walkthrough of his character/backstory but again, when he’s not with Ozzie, the rest/most of his screen time is dedicated to him being helpless and pointlessly arguing with Blitz, plus a long dragged out nonsense song that didn’t need to happen. It felt like SO much time was wasted when we could have used the runtime we have to dive deeper and see more, like….again it would have been nice to see Fizz’s life AFTER the accident and how he became well known as well as how he fell in love with Ozzie, but his backstory is briefly scratched upon in a single scene and that’s it, all because Viv wanted this filler plot and wanted to dedicate more time to THAT rather than actual character expansion/development, something we could have got had you took out Stolas and Ozzie’s B plot and Striker and Crimson.

Viv is so on her way to murder/ruin every character that isn’t Blitz and Stolas and I won’t be here to watch further. I’ll check out the Mammon music video thing but that’s it man, this show is going off the rails, Adding Fizz to the character adoption list!

#vivziepop critical #spindlehorse critical #helluva boss critical #helluva boss critique #helluva boss criticism #helluva critical #anti vivziepop #helluva boss #fizzaroiii #fizzaroli helluva boss #helluva boss oops #helluva boss review #vivziepop criticism

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iloveblogging2 · 3 months

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Blue lock boys reacting to you telling them your pregnant

warnings: angst, teenage pregnancies, mentions of getting an abortion (a lot), heartbreak etc

Isagi:

He loves you.

Everything about you, the way you act, your beautiful smile your encouraging personality, your rosy lips that just turn him on and makes him think of stuffs he shouldn't be thinking of

he really does but not like he loves soccer.

in the few seconds you told him about your pregnancy he has already analyzed how his life will take a turn if he accepts and takes care of the baby.

he won't have time to play soccer.

he can't become the best striker.

if he is here for you he wont be here for soccer.

all because he had sex too young.

like ego said you make your own destiny

"please get an abortion" he said piercing you with his deep blue eyes

"what" you asked you couldn't believe your ears

sure he had soccer and blue lock but at least he should accept the baby.

he isn't gonna leave you alone is he?

doesn't he love you

"abort the baby" he repeated "or i'll break up with you''

you couldnt believe your ears

"HOW DARE YOU HOW COULD YOU YOU WANT TO LEVAE ME BECAUSE I WANT TO KEEP THE BABY ISAGI'' you cried "I THOUGHT YOU LOVED ME"

this broke his heart but he had to continue he couldnt ruin his futeure because of a child

"i do' he replied ''thats why i'm asking you to abort it'' he said puttimg a hand on your shoulder

''so'' he began ''i'm leaving for the bluelock camp again so please abort the child or ill deny ever dating you'' he threatened

Nagi

''man what a hassle'' he accidentally said out loud

he didn't mean to sure that's how he felt but

He adores you

I mean

Sure you sometimes- most of the time you annoyed him sure but he did care for you.

especially the time when you just obeyed him

that wasn't normally your bubbly energetic and stubborn personality would do but for nagi you were willing

Nagi and you deserved each other.

you were still young

but you thought this was love

he made you smile when you think about him

which was everytime

everytime you think about you him

aaah you just wanna get married already and have his kids

that was probably why you agreed easily to have sexual intercourse

that means he feels the same way you thought

so why was he saying this

surely he didnt mean it right?

‘’sorry’’ he hesitated before he continued

“i dont think i can be a father, i have blue lo-”

Slap

“WHAT ABOUT ME !??, I HAVE TO QUIT SCHOOL MY PARENTS MIGHT NO THEY WILL KICK ME OUT AND YOU- YOU JUST WANT TO LEAVE!!!!’’

‘’LEAVE ME ALONE!!” he responded “IT’S NOT MY FAULT YOU ARE PREGNANT, ABORT THE BABY THEN IT’S A HASSLE TO KEEP IT”

Charles

Note: he is still a new character and i know nothing of him

‘'Are you sure it’s mine?’’

You and Charles have been dating for a while.

And while you barely see him because of his soccer career and neo-egoist league- you still loved him.

So when you found out you were pregnant you were elated

Since a baby is involved he would spend more time with you

After all its his child involved

You smiled when you thought of charles playing soccer with his little son

What would we name him you merrily thought

So it hurt hurt you a lot when he asked you

‘’Are you sure it’s mine?’’

“w-what” you replied in disbelief

“i mean” he yawned “i don’t know maybe you cheated on me”

“h-how c-could y-you s-uggest th-a-at" you asked tears welling in your eyes

This wasn’t how it was supposed to go

“woah don’t cry i-i just mean that maybe it’s a- mi-stake yeah, look im not ready ready to be a father and to be honest i dont think i like y-”

You burst into tears

You're so annoying Charles thought

He liked you but you just annoyed him in ways soccer could never

Soccer never asked for attention and tried to baby trap him

You made his heat skip a beat but no the way fighting a strong opponent in soccer did

When he thought about you- the rare time he did he smiled but when he thought about soccer it didnt just make him smile – it brought out a whole new monster

He can neglect and insult you but not soccer never soccer

To a normal person this sounded ridiculous

Soccer was a thing, a sport, a way of life to egoist like him.

YN was a human being- not that special

She didnt bring out a whole new ego- she was boring.

Also he knew if he accepted his role as the father of the unborn child he’ll have to spend more time with yn and not soccer

So he had to break it off right now and maybe convince her to get an abortion

“listen YN......”

Notes: Charles is a new character and i know nothing of him

if you have any requests you can ask me

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onceuponaoneshotfanfic · 10 months

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All Too Well (Superstar Ch 8)

'Cause there we are again when I loved you so

Back before you lost the one real thing you've ever known

It was rare, I was there, I remember it all too well

The Reader is left reeling after the Man City celebration.

Roy Kent x Reader

7.5k words

Warnings: Language, lots and lots of angst, some yelling

Finally! Thank you for sticking around through all the pain. Hopefully you can see the light at the end of the tunnel!

Read (Roy's Version) here!

“I don’t have go to work,” Keeley said to me as I handed her a travel mug of coffee. “I can cancel. Honestly, they can handle one shoot without me there to hold their hands,” she offered earnestly. “Or I can call Jamie to come spend some time with you, he wouldn’t mind, he adores you. The two of you could watch some telly, go out to lunch-”

I shook my head, my body feeling empty after releasing probably every drop of water through tears. “It’s fine, Keeley. I’ll probably just shower and put on a movie. Distract myself a bit.”

Her face was full of concern. “You sure babe?”

“I’m sure.”

Keeley sighed and began gathering her things. “Alright. But call me if you need me. Or call Jamie. We’ll be here in an instant, alright?” She pulled me into a suffocating hug, not caring about my morning breath or the ruined makeup that I couldn’t be bothered to take off the night before. “We love you, you know that?”

I nodded into her shoulder, a small part of me not wanting to let go. “I know.”

After Keeley left, I did as I said and jumped into the shower, planning on spending an unreasonable amount of time in there. The scalding hot water allowed me to feel something besides the aching in my heart. Despite what I’d thought earlier, there was still water in my body, because I sobbed the entire time I stood under the shower, trying to scrub the pain away along with the glitter from the club.

I only managed to get out the glitter.

I put on some sweatpants and let my wet hair drip onto the old t-shirt I’d thrown on. I wasn’t going anywhere; it didn’t matter what I looked like. I had just settled myself on the couch and was absently searching for a movie when I heard a knock on the door.

And, despite myself, I knew that knock.

Praying that I was wrong and that Keeley had sent Jamie to check on me after all, I hesitantly got up and walked to the door. With a trembling hand, I opened it, hoping to see the striker’s annoyingly pretty face in front of me.

Nope.

“Roy,” I choked out, blinking.

“What the fuck did you do?” he demanded, shoving past me and into my flat.

I closed the door behind him. “The fuck are you talking about?” I didn’t bother hiding the confusion on my face.

He ran his hands over his face, which looked like he’d barely slept the night before either. “Why the fuck did I get a bunch of texts this morning sending me this?” He held up his mobile to me.

Boy-Toy Roy Gets Laid with Aide

I blinked as I read and re-read the headline several times. “What the fuck is that?” I gasped.

“Someone overheard you telling Brittany Brett all about how you’re ‘shagging Roy Kent’,” he spat out, his face a deep red. “All about how I ‘take care of’ you.” He shook his head, hurt behind the anger in his eyes. “I fucking told you I hate the press. I fucking told you I didn’t want this fucking circus. And then you turn around and do this shit.”

“No, Roy, I didn’t-”

He held his hands up. “Fucking save it. I really fucking thought this-” He gestured between us. “-was different. That you were different. But you’re just like everyone else. Using Roy fucking Kent to get in the papers and make a name for yourself.” He scoffed, rolling his eyes. “How could I be so fucking stupid?” he grumbled, more to himself. “I was really stupid enough to think you’d want me, just Roy.”

I took a step towards him. “Come on, Roy you know I lo-”

“No.” His voice was strangled. “No, I don’t fucking know that. Not anymore” He sighed. “You just fucking stop talking about me, alright? I don’t want to make things worse, so I’m not going to ask Lasso to fire you. But you just leave me the fuck alone, alright?” He blinked several times, clearly pushing back tears. “Do at least that much for me,” he rasped. He turned and grasped the doorknob, yanking the door open and slamming it behind him.

My flat was too quiet, too still, after he left. I managed to get myself onto the couch, my head reeling with everything he’d just said. It had been one thing to have cracks on my heart; now it felt completely pummeled, destroyed to oblivion.

It was past noon when I finally dared to look at my mobile. As I feared, there were messages from my girlfriends, Keeley, and Rebecca, all sending me the article and asking if I knew anything about it. But the only message I cared about was from my mum:

Want me to come over?

It felt like only seconds after I sent my answer that she was at my door, pulling me into a hug the moment I let her in. Her arms tightened around me, her simple shh, shh more than enough to bring back all the tears I’d thought I’d run out of. She walked me to the couch, where I curled up into her arms and let out harsh sobs that I didn’t know I was capable of.

I’d had my heart broken before. Boyfriends dumping me, friendships ending, pets dying, failing tests. And each time, my mum held me and let my tears soak her collar as she stroked my hair, managing to make everything better just by being there. But this was a hurt that I knew a couple kisses from my mother wouldn’t fix. This was the kind of hurt that I knew I’d be carrying my whole life.

Roy was it. Not because I had this lifelong crush on him, not because he was my favorite footballer and it was destiny for us to end up together. But because he was Roy. He was the person I was always happy to see, who never failed to make me smile, who made me feel safe, who I could spend hours doing nothing with, who I wanted to spend forever doing nothing with. And I knew deep down that he had truly felt the same way.

And now it was gone.

I wasn’t sure how long I cried for. The only thing I knew for sure was that when I finally looked up, my mother was looking at me with pain in her eyes, that pain only a parent watching their child suffer can know.

“This isn’t about the article, is it?” she whispered.

I shook my head. “We broke up,” I croaked out, my voice nearly gone. “Last night. And this morning whatever this article is came out, and Roy came and told me off, and now I think…” A sharp pain stabbed me in the chest. “I think we’re totally broken.” My voice cracked. “I’m totally broken.”

Her arms tightened around me. “Oh, love,” she cooed.

She stayed for a few hours. For a while, she just held me while I cried. Eventually, she put on the telly and moved to my bedroom to get a load of laundry to wash. Then to the kitchen, where I could hear her making more than enough food to get me through a couple of days. By the time the sun began to set, she was back on the couch with me, folding clothes as we watched some trash reality show.

“Have you read the article?” Her question was barely above a whisper.

With a sigh, I shook my head, wincing from both the mental pain and the realization that I had a stinging headache, the kind that comes after so much crying. “No, not yet.” I paused. “Is it bad?

My mum let out a small hum of pity, her gaze focused on the trousers she was folding. “It’s… not great.”

I grabbed my phone, went to the text from Keeley (Babes, have you seen this???), and opened the link she sent.

My face burned as I read the article. It was crude, painting me as a gold-digger, only interested in Roy for his fame, his money, even alluding to the idea that I may have gotten my job because of him. Although the article didn’t name me, it was sickening to see myself talked about so callously, to see private details about my relationship shared without much thought. And it suddenly made sense why Roy was so angry with me that morning, why he looked so livid and betrayed. I wouldn’t want anything to do with me either if I’d read this article.

“It makes me out to be an absolute slag,” I choked out, fighting the urge to throw my mobile across the room.

“You’re not,” my mother assured me, taking my phone and putting it on the coffee table. “I know you’re not. You know you’re not.” She gave me a squeeze. “And Roy knows you’re not.”

I shook my head. “He thinks I did this.”

My mum held me for a moment, choosing her words carefully. “He’ll come around,” she murmured. “If he really loves you, if he’s really the fella for you, he’ll come around.”

If only he would.

After three days of dodging phone calls and text messages, I finally answered when Ted called.

“How’re you feeling?” he asked, genuine concern in his voice. “Keeley said you got food poisoning. Golly, I don’t think I’ve ever had food poisoning last three days before. Must be awful.”

“Oh, yeah. It’s pretty rubbish,” I muttered. “But I’ll be back tomorrow, alright?”

I could almost hear Ted’s smile through the phone. “Aw, I’m so glad, hon’. We all miss seeing your face. Roy misses you most of all.” He let out a small laugh. “You should see him, even more grumpy than usual, he might as well be hangin’ out with Snow White.”

My heart leapt into my throat at the mention of Roy. “Uh-huh,” was all I could get out. “I should rest so I’m ready for work tomorrow. Thank you for checking on me, Coach.”

“We’ll see you tomorrow!” he called cheerfully before we hung up.

‘Tomorrow’ came much faster than expected. I dragged myself out of bed, my entire body heavy, and slowly forced myself through the motions: shower, breakfast, teeth, makeup, clothes. I agonized over an outfit to wear; wearing anything Richmond made me feel sick to my stomach. I found a random jumper and put it on, not bothering to look in the mirror; all I’d see was the tiredness in my eyes that no makeup could conceal.

Arriving at the Dog Track was worse than getting ready for it. Immediately my eyes were drawn to one thing: that stupid giant black car. Of course he was already there. Of course.

I parked clear across the lot, not caring about how many steps that added to my walk. As I entered the building, I did my best to ignore how hard my heart was hammering in my chest. My knuckles were white from gripping my bag so tight, and I knew my face was just as pale. Each step I took towards the changing room was heavy with the knowledge that the closer I got, the more real this all became. Roy wouldn’t greet me with a clandestine smirk. He wouldn’t glance over to see if the other gaffers were around so he could give me a kiss. He wouldn’t spend all day sending me texts about our after-work plans.

He wouldn’t be my boyfriend.

The chatter in the changing room quieted as I entered. I nodded to the boys, who offered tiny waves and quiet greetings, welcoming me back. No one quite looked me in the eye. It made sense; even though none of them knew about Roy and me, they had all suspected there was something between us, even if it was just a mutual attraction. And honestly, it was painfully obvious who that article was speculating about; I was one of the only people at Nelson Road that Roy publicly tolerated, and I had been at the club that night. It didn’t take a genius to put the pieces together.

It was Jamie who nodded to me, making full eye contact and offering a wide grin as if it were a normal day at the Dog Track. “Welcome back. Food poisoning all better then?”

He’s an angel. “Much better, thanks.” I smiled at him, focusing on his face. “Got plenty of catch-up to do, so I’ll see you later.”

Jamie shot me a wink, his friendliness giving me just enough strength to turn my attention to the offices. Ted and Beard sat at their desks, feet up and coffees in hand. Ted was speaking animatedly as Beard nodded, neither one noticing me until I was in the doorway.

“Call me John Travolta, because Welcome Back, Kotter!” Ted exclaimed, jumping to his feet. He walked over and threw an arm around my shoulder. “I was starting to think you’d run off on us and gotten a job at another club.”

I managed a small chuckle. “My dad’d kill me if I worked for anyone but Richmond.”

Ted nodded. “Loyal. Gotta love it.”

A cynical snort from the adjoining office sent a jolt down my spine. It also caught Ted’s attention.

“Guess who’s back, Roy!” he called, steering me to the door I had spent all morning dreading. “And looking better than ever, I might add.” Ted shot me a grin. “Well, we better start heading to practice. Roy, you think you could hang back and catch her up? Thanks.” He didn’t wait for an answer before turning on his heel and walking out, Beard following him out through the changing room.

I stayed frozen in the doorway, avoiding turning my head towards Roy. Out of the corner of my eye I could see him still sitting at his desk, fists clenched, jaw set. I was thrown back to our first meeting, the day I started at Richmond, when he looked so annoyed by my existence. Now, however, he was more than annoyed. He hated me.

Doing my best to ignore the pit in my stomach, I went to my own desk and started taking out my things. I figured Roy wasn’t about to tell me a thing, but I figured I could piece together what I’d missed pretty easily. Plus, I could always go snooping around Ted’s desk if I needed to. Right as I was opening up my email, something caught my eye.

“Where’s my sticky note?” A lump formed in my throat. My little orange sticky note, the one that read “To my biggest fan. XOXO Roy Kent”, was gone. I turned around in my seat to face Roy, who still hadn’t moved. “Did you really fucking take it?” My voice was small, overflowing with all the hurt I’d been holding the past few days.

When he didn’t answer, I swiveled back around, letting a couple silent tears splash onto my desk. I couldn’t believe he’d take it, probably crumpled it up and thrown it away. Maybe even ripped it up. It was a stupid little sticky note- a joke more than anything else- but it felt like someone had yanked my heart out of my chest and taken out to the pitch to be kicked around by the guys.

“I didn’t fucking take it.”

I spun around, eyes wide. Roy’s head was turned to the side, only showing me his profile. His fists were still clenched on top of his desk.

“I didn’t take the note,” he repeated. “Keeley came in on Monday to grab some of your work shit. She took it with her.”

“Oh.” That was all I could say before I thought to add, “’m sorry.”

With a grunt, Roy stood, still not looking at me, and trudged out of the office, presumably to the pitch. I sat in my chair for a while, not moving, trying to block out all my thoughts. My attempt at emptying my brain was interrupted by a tiny knock on my door.

Keeley waved at me. “Hey, babes.” She walked over and sat in Roy’s chair, rolling it close to me. “Glad you’re back.”

I nodded. “At least someone is,” I sighed. I stared down at her shoes, all purple and shiny and way too high for me. “Keels, did you take my sticky note?”

She tilted her head. “Your sticky-?” Her eyes lit up. “Oh. Shit, yeah. When I was getting the stuff I brought to you on Monday I grabbed it. I kind of figured you wouldn’t want that thing staring at you the day you came back, you know?” She paused. “I hope that was alright. I didn’t chuck it or anything. I can go get it for you if you want.”

“No, that’s fine,” I hummed. “You did the right thing. It would’ve crushed me to see it up there. Just wish you’d let me know; I asked Roy about it.”

Keeley’s eyes nearly popped out of her head., “You guys talked?”

I snorted. “Barely. I asked if he took the note, he told me that you did.” My voice grew miniscule. “He wouldn’t even look at me.” A few tears spilled into my lap.

“Oh babe.” In an instant, Keely was out of the chair and was instead crouched down in front of me, stroking my arm sweetly. “It’s alright. D’you need to go home? I could drive you. Rebecca wouldn’t mind.” She paused. “She doesn’t know of course, but she assumes the article has something to do with you.” Keeley shook her head. “Shit piece, by the way. I’m trying to ask around and find out where the hell it came from, it’s absolute slander-”

“It’s my fault,” I whispered, wiping my wet cheeks. “At the club, Brittany Brett was all over me, and I got so mad I let it slip that I was dating Roy. I can only assume that either someone was listening in and twisted everything, or that she went and told a reporter just enough for them to run with.” I shook my head. “I’m such an idiot.”

Keeley squeezed my arm. “Hey.” Her voice was gentle. “Maybe you made a mistake. But this isn’t your fault. The damn media has no respect. Believe me.” She thought a moment. “Could you tell Roy about all this? Wouldn’t that help fix things?”

I shook my head. “He doesn’t want to see me. Or talk to me. He probably just wishes I’d drop dead.” I buried my face in my hands. “I kinda wish it too,” I joked dryly.

“Hey now.” Keeley pulled down my hands. “None of that rubbish. Just… give him time.” Keeley nodded. “Give him time.”

Time seemed to be all there was. Without Roy to keep me busy, I found myself alone in my flat most nights. No Roy, no Phoebe, no Oscar. Just me, on the couch eating takeaway and watching garbage reality shows. I went out with my friends a couple of times, but my heart wasn’t in it.

They’d initially asked me about Roy and the article, which I quickly shut down. I explained that Roy and I had a professional relationship, maybe a friendly one at times, and that the article was nothing but rubbish. Whether or not they believed me, they stopped bringing it up.

I did my best to avoid my parents’ house. On the rare occasions I did go over, I noted that while all my awkward teen photos were back, the photo of me with my cardboard cutout was still missing. I didn’t even bother going up to my old room; my dad was kind enough to run upstairs if I needed something from there. He was also thoughtful enough to not ask a single question about what happened; I assumed my mum filled him in on the necessary information.

At work, most people treated me gently. Only Jamie, Ted, and Beard treated me normally; Jamie because he knew all the details, Ted and Beard probably because they knew none of the details. Everyone else had bits and pieces, some true, some completely fabricated. But everyone knew that something was going on.

All that time was what led to me sitting on my couch, eating something I barely registered and watching something I didn’t care about, when a quick knock came from my door.

“Hello? You home?”

Frowning, I walked over to the door and opened it. Jamie Tartt stood there, holding a box in his hands and looking uncharacteristically bashful.

“Um, hey Jamie.” I blinked a few times. “What’re you doing here?” Jamie Tartt at my door in a neon pink hoodie and a fanny pack strapped to his chest was not something I’d planned on seeing, maybe ever.

He cleared his throat and took a step inside, looking nothing like the cocky player I knew. “I, uh, have some stuff for you.” He nodded down towards the box. “From Roy,” he added quietly.

My eyes darted to the box. Inside I could see my things from Roy’s house, things I’d left there over the past few months. A lump formed in my throat as I tried to hold myself together and not break down in front of Jamie freaking Tartt.

“Oh. Right. Thanks.”

“Should I… put it somewhere?”

I closed the door behind him, not willing to have any of my neighbors walk by and witness what felt like yet another humiliating moment. “Uh, yeah, just there by the couch.” Jamie did as I asked easily, then faced me expectantly. I sighed. “Thanks,” I repeated.

He offered me a tight smile. “You alright?”

“Yes. No. I don’t fucking know.” I let out a dry laugh. “Sorry you got roped into doing this.”

Jamie shook his head. “’s alright. He’s my friend. You’re my friend. I don’ mind doin’ stuff for my friends.” He glanced at the box. “Want me to, uh stay while you go through all that? I won’t watch or nothing. Just so you don’t have to be by yourself.”

My heart melted at the offer I didn’t know I needed. Keeley had a good one. “That’d be nice. Thanks, Jamie.”

He flopped onto my couch and took out his phone. “No problem.”

While he started scrolling through obnoxious TikToks, I knelt down and started rummaging through the box. Clothes, the extra toothbrush that I kept by Roy’s sink, my favorite mug for tea, the books I’d left on his nightstand, the Spice Girls CD he reluctantly let me play in his car. Every piece of evidence that I spent almost as much time at his place as I did at mine.

Well, almost every piece.

“Jamie,” I started, frowning. “Was this all there was?”

Jamie nodded absently, scrolling to a new video. “Yeah. That’s all he gave me.” He glanced at me. “Somethin’ missing?”

I nodded, digging through the box once more. “One of my Richmond sweatshirts. My favorite one, actually. Had it since I was in uni. It’s kind of my good luck charm. Like, every time I’ve worn it, I aced an exam, or the Greyhounds won, or my mum made my favorite dinner without me having to ask. And I know I left it there.”

“Want me to ask him about it?” Jamie offered.

“No,” I sighed, putting down the mug I’d been holding. “He, um, probably hasn’t found it yet. It’s fine. I’ll survive.”

Jamie joined me on the floor, sitting cross-legged and laying his hand on my arm. “Fuck yeah you will. You can survive anythin’, you hear me?” He looked thoughtful. “Would it help if I told you that Roy’s even more fuckin’ miserable than usual?”

I shook my head with a small chuckle. “I don’t think it would.” I laid my hand on top of his. “But thanks for trying, Jamie.”

He smiled at me, a soft, friendly smile, different than the one he usually wore on the pitch. “Anytime.”

As I strolled through the supermarket, I caught a flash of familiar blonde. My heart stuttered as I tried to focus on finding something to make for dinner. Maybe if I quickly grabbed what I needed, went straight to the clerk, walked out swiftly, I could avoid-

“Hi!”

Phoebe beamed up at me, still in her school uniform. At the end of the aisle, her mum held a shopping basket, an embarrassed look on her face.

“Hey, Pheebs,” I managed, trying to sound as excited as the child who stared up at me. “How’re you, sweetheart?”

She gave a small nod. “I’m fine, thank you.” A frown twitched on her face. “I’ve missed you. How come you don’t hang out with me and Uncle Roy and Oscar anymore?”

A lump formed in my throat. “Oh. Well, see, your Uncle Roy and I…” Fuck. How do you tell an eight-year-old girl that you and her uncle broke up and your heart is currently sitting in a million little pieces, and each piece was still desperately in love with him?

“Hey there.” With perfect timing, Roy’s sister approached, a tight smile on her face. “Sorry about Phoebe, she just sprinted on over the moment she saw you.”

I shook my head. “No, no it’s alright-” I stopped myself, realizing we were now nothing more than acquaintances. “It’s alright, Dr. O’Sullivan,” I finished.

Sadness flashed across her face for a moment before the forced smile returned. “Well, it’s good to see you.” She probably wanted to get out of the conversation as quickly as I did.

But Phoebe had other plans.

“Are you still coming to my ballet recital?” Her blue eyes, filled with childish hope, bore into mine. “You promised,” she reminded me.

Fuck. I glanced up at Dr. O’Sullivan, whose face was now a complete grimace. “Oh, yeah, of course.” What else could I say? “If, um, if your mum can get a ticket for me.”

Dr. O’Sullivan’s face softened. “Yeah, I can get you one.” She smiled at me- a real smile this time- and nodded. “I could drop it off at Nelson Road, if you’d like, next time I drop Phoebe off with-” She stopped. “Next time I drop her off,” she finished.

I shrugged. “You can just leave it with Higgins. Or Will. Honestly, you could even leave it with Dani Rojas. They’d all make sure it got to me.” I was starting to babble.

She gave me a pity laugh. “I’ll make sure it gets to you,” she assured me. She turned to Phoebe. “Love, why don’t you go pick out an ice cream for us to have after dinner, hmm?” Phoebe scurried down the aisle before her mother finished her sentence. Dr. O’Sullivan turned back to me. “Hey,” she started softly. “You don’t have to come if it’s too uncomfortable. Phoebe’ll understand.”

“I’d like to go,” I confirmed. “If it’s alright with you, I mean. I don’t want to intrude or make things… weird.”

“Things’ll definitely be weird,” Dr. O’Sullivan said with a dry laugh. “But it’d mean the world to Phoebe. We’d love to see you there.” She paused, clearly unsure if she should continue. “Listen. I don’t know what happened between you and my brother. But I will say that Phoebe misses you. I miss you. And if you don’t come to the ballet, I completely get it. But please don’t avoid us because you think we don’t want to see you. Alright?”

I hadn’t realized that tears were forming in my eyes until they threatened to fall. “Alright,” I whispered. “Friday, right?”

“Friday,” she confirmed as Phoebe ran back, holding up a box of ice lollies.

Phoebe looked up at me, clutching her ice cream. “I’ll see you at my recital, right?”

I nodded. “Yes. I’ll bring pink roses,” I promised.

Immediately, Phoebe wrapped her arms around me. Without hesitation, I hugged her back, giving her a tight squeeze. God, I missed her. I missed taking Oscar for walks together. I missed sitting on Roy’s back porch, taking turns reading out loud. I missed taking her out to get groceries so Roy could make dinner for the three of us. I missed going over to her house and laughing with her mom while Phoebe and Roy played together. I missed being part of Roy’s family.

I blinked back the tears before letting go of Phoebe. “I’ll see you two Friday then,” I managed to choke out.

Dr. O’Sullivan and Phoebe each offered me one more smile and wave- Phoebe’s smile taking up her whole face, Dr. O’Sullivan’s smile filled with sadness- and then they were gone. I squeezed my eyes shut, pretending that my heart didn’t just manage to break even more than it already had, and made myself finish my shopping.

“You’re really going?” Keeley looked at me with concern, clutching one of Rebecca’s pillows. “You don’t think that’d be too hard?”

I shrugged, picking at a loose string on my jumper. “It’ll be hard as fuck,” I admitted. “But it’s Phoebe. She doesn’t deserve to have me break my promise just because… because…” I trailed off, unable to finish, staring down at the ticket Higgins had handed me earlier that afternoon that now sat on Rebecca’s coffee table.

Rebecca joined us on the couch, shoving a glass filled with something from her bar into my hand. “But no one would blame you for not going,” she pointed out.

With my permission, Keeley had filled Rebecca in on all that had happened. She was a bit miffed to be kept in the dark for so long, but she quickly got over it in favor of being a supportive friend. She’d gone so far as to offer to move me to a different office or even a different position at the club, but I declined; Roy was right, it was best not to make things look worse. Instead, I allowed her and Keeley to schedule daily check-ins with me to make sure I was feeling alright.

“I’d blame myself,” I argued. “No matter what’s happening with me and Roy, I made a promise to that little girl. And I’m going to be there, no matter what.” Even if Roy is there. Even if he brings Brittany fucking Brett or some other gorgeous woman.

Keeley patted my knee lovingly. “If you’re sure you can handle it,” she murmured. “But if you can’t, you just text me and I’ll meet you at whatever bar you want, and we’ll drink until London runs out of booze.”

Rebecca added her hand on top of Keeley’s. “Me too.”

I stared at their hands, the hands of my friends who made me feel loved, who made me feel strong, like I would survive the pain I was feeling, despite the deep ache that still rested in my chest. I placed my hand on top of theirs. “Thank you,” I whispered.

We sat and chatted for a bit more before I reminded them that I had work to do and headed down to my office, feeling good about my decision to attend the ballet. Avoiding looking at Roy, I settled myself into my desk and looked at some emails I hadn’t gotten to yet that day.

For the millionth time since he arrived at Richmond, Dario poked his head into the office, beaming when he saw me, greeting me in his usual complimentary way. Even with his back to me, I could feel Roy tense up, the heat radiating off of him and smacking me in the face.

I grimaced at Dario, hoping he’d see it as more of a smile. “Need something?”

He shook his head. “No. Well, yes.” He paused, glancing over at Roy, who was still as a statue. “Could we talk privat-”

In a flash, Roy was up and stomping out of the office, the way he often left these days. With a sigh, I turned back to Dario. “Go on then.”

His radiant smile had returned. “Would you like to have dinner with me sometime?”

“Oh.” I prayed that Roy was far, far away from this conversation. I prayed that he never found out about it. While I was at it, I prayed that I’d misheard the question. “Dinner?”

“Yes.” Dario nodded, clearly excited. “With me.”

I blinked a few times. “I, um, don’t think your girlfriend would like that very much, hmm?” I asked, trying to keep my voice light and friendly, as if this chat wasn’t causing me absolute turmoil. “She’d probably murder me.”

Dario shook his head earnestly. “Oh, you have not heard then? Brittany broke up with me.”

This conversation cannot get worse. “Really?” Despite my best efforts, my voice shook at this development.

“Si. She said that, while we had fun, she wanted something more serious, and she did not want it with me.” He shrugged, clearly taking his breakup better than I was taking mine. “I will be okay though. Especially-” He grin once again filled his handsome face. “-if you go to dinner with me.”

I shook my head. “Thank you, Dario, but I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“Because of Coach Kent?” He raised his eyebrows at me. “Because I know everyone says you have a crush on him, but honestly, belleza, I think you and I would have more fun together.” He paused, thinking. “Besides, he is going to get back with Brittany any day now.”

“I’m sorry?” If my heart sank any lower, it would be in the ocean by now.

He nodded. “This is what Brittany told me. She and Coach Kent are going to get back together.

This man needs to get out of my office before I start crying. “Thank you for asking, Dario,” I started, trying to keep my voice even. “But I’m going to have to say no to dinner.” Without another word, I got up and walked briskly past him, through the changing room, and out to the parking lot, where I sat in my car and cried.

I composed myself and went back to work before leaving to go get ready for the ballet recital. The theatre was walking distance from me, so I allowed myself a nice stroll, figuring that being outside would be good for me. On my way, I popped by a flower stand to pick up pink roses for Phoebe, taking great care to pick the prettiest, brightest ones I could find. Even if I felt like my world had ended, at least I’d get to see the smile on that little girl’s face when she saw the flowers I’d promised her.

When I arrived, the theatre was already packed with families, all excited to see their tiny children jump and dance about. I snuck a glance at my ticket and asked an usher to point me in the direction of my assigned seat, right on the aisle. I heaved a sigh of relief as I sank into it, unable to believe my luck. I hadn’t run into anyone I knew, so I’d have the whole show to prepare myself for the inevitability of coming face to face with-

“Oi.”

My head snapped up. Roy stood over me, programme clutched in his hands. His frown seemed permanently etched into his face these days, and his eyes were unreadable as they stared down at me.

“You came,” he grunted.

All I could manage was, “I came.” I swallowed hard, praying my tight grip didn’t squash my flowers.

Roy squinted at the letter on the arm of my seat. “I think that’s me,” he mumbled, pointing at the empty seat next to me.

“Oh,” was all I said. I stood, intending to step out into the aisle so he could go in, but before I could shift, he made his way past me, having to press his body against mine in the tiny pathway between rows. My heart fluttered at the first bit of physical contact we’d had in weeks; his body felt so familiar, so comfortable. More than anything, I wanted to freeze that moment, feeling his warm chest pressed against mine, feeling like home.

It was far too soon when he settled in his seat and I dropped back into mine. I fidgeted with the flowers in my hand, heart hammering so loud I was sure Roy could hear it.

“You brought them.”

I turned to him. “Hmm?”

He gestured towards the roses on my lap. “The fucking roses. For Phoebe. You actually brought them.” He raised his thick eyebrows at me.

“’course I did,” I answered. “I promised, didn’t I?”

He stared at me for a moment, looking as if he was really seeing me for the first time. “You did.” He turned his attention to the empty stage. “Phoebe’ll be excited,” he mumbled.

I couldn’t think of anything else to add until I noticed Roy fiddling with the programme in his hands. “Shit, I didn’t see the programmes,” I muttered, starting to stand so I could find where they were being passed out before the show started.

Roy let out one of his signature sighs and held his up. “Have mine.”

“You sure?” I asked as I sat back down. When he nodded, I took the programme out of his hand. “Thanks.”

With a curt nod, he took out his phone and checked the screen. “Fucking hell, is this thing ever gonna start?”

Unable to resist slipping back into old patterns, I snorted as he returned his mobile to his jacket pocket. “Why? D’you and Jamie Tartt have a hot date or somethin’?”

“No,” he huffed. He paused, tapping his finger on his knee, eyebrow raised. “D’you and fucking Dario Vargas have one?”

My heart stuttered as I frantically shook my head. “What? No. Why the hell-”

“Ladies and gentlemen, please take your seats, the show is about to begin!” an annoyingly bright voice called over the sound system.

It took every ounce of strength I had to sit in my seat and turn my focus to the dancers onstage. All I could think about was Roy, sitting beside me. Roy, watching his niece dance. Roy, who didn’t start yelling the moment he saw me. Roy, who gave me his programme.

After the show ended and the dancers had taken their tiny bows, Roy nodded to me. “My sister’s supposed to meet me out front with Phoebe. You can come with me.” He paused. “If you want.”

I nodded. “Thanks. I, um, I’d like to give Phoebe her flowers.”

“Alright.” He stood and gestured towards the exit. “Let’s go then.”

I stood up and exited the row. For just a millisecond, I felt Roy’s fingers brush mine before quickly pulling away. When I glanced back, he was wearing his stoniest expression, looking ahead of me into the crowd, but the pink tint to his cheeks was undeniable. My heart slammed against my chest; he forgot. For a brief moment, Roy Kent forgot he hated me. He forgot that we weren’t together. For a brief moment, he had reverted to the Roy who would naturally grab my hand as we walked through a crowd. The realization brought a new ache to my chest, a dull one now, anchored in… well, hope.

We briskly walked outside the theatre, weaving our way through the crowd of families all trying to find their own little dancers. I glanced at Roy, wondering if I should revisit his question about Dario and me. After all, Roy was the one who brought it up in the first place.

“Roy, I-”

“Uncle Roy!” Still clad in her leotard and tutu, Phoebe burst through the cluster of people around us, launching herself into Roy’s arms, her mother trailing behind her.

He squeezed her back before letting go. “You did a great job,” he praised, nodding emphatically. “Some of those other kids absolutely fucked up, but not you.” He poked her on the nose. “Fucking amazing.”

“Thank you!” She turned her attention to me, her eyes bright. “You came!” She wrapped her arms around me.

I couldn’t help but laugh and hug her back. “And you were wonderful!” I let her go and held up the flowers. “I believe someone was expecting these.”

Her smile widened. “My pink roses!” She took them from my grasp, burying her nose in them. “Thank you, thank you, thank you!”

Dr. O’Sullivan beamed at me. “Thank you so much for coming.” Without warning, she reached out and gave me a hug, the way she had done each time I left her house after dinner or when she came over to Roy’s to pick Phoebe up. A warm, friendly hug that told me she was happy to see me.

When we let go, I saw Roy eyeing me, his expression neither full of the adoration it used to hold nor the anger he’d displayed the past few weeks. It was just… thoughtful. Gears were turning behind his eyes, and I’d have let the Greyhounds be relegated again for a glimpse of what he was thinking.

I cleared my throat and turned back to Phoebe and her mum. “Thank you again for inviting me. I should get going.” With a small wave, I turned around.

“Where’re you parked?”

The sound of Roy’s gruff voice froze me in my tracks. “I, um, walked.” I blinked at him; I didn’t need to tell him that my flat was close by. He knew.

He nodded, that thoughtful expression still on his face. “I can drive you home. If you want.”

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Dr. O’Sullivan raise her eyebrows. I ignored her and cleared my throat. “Sure. That’d be nice.”

Roy gave his niece and sister each another hug, then nodded down the street. “’m this way,” he mumbled.

The walk to his car was silent, but it was a different silence than the one that had clouded our office these few weeks. It felt much closer to the silence we used to share on his couch or in bed; comfortable. Once we got to his car, we both reached for the passenger door at the same time, just avoiding contact.

Roy cleared his throat and looked down. “Old habits,” he grumbled, yanking the door open for me. He quickly crossed to his side and started the car as I got myself settled. As he pulled out onto the street, he cleared his throat again. “You didn’t get to finish earlier.”

“Finish what?” I asked, although I knew exactly what he was referring to.

A giant sigh escaped his throat. “About Dario Vargas,” he answered through gritted teeth. “I know he asked you out. All that ‘talk privately’ shit.” He paused. “Not that it’s my fucking business.”

I crossed my arms. “You’re right. It’s not your business,” I retorted. I lowered my voice. “But I do want you to know, I turned him down. I’m not over-” I stopped myself from saying I’m not over you. “I’m not interested in him,” I finished.

Roy nodded. “Well, I’m glad.” He paused. “I mean, I’m glad you’re not going out with someone you’re not interested in.” He quieted, tapping his fingers on the steering wheel as he thought. “Oscar misses you.”

My heart somehow managed to crack again. “I miss him too,” I whispered.

“Yeah, he’s always fucking looking at the door, like he’s fucking waiting for you. Sniffs around where you liked to sit on the couch.” He glanced at me out of the corner of his eye. “If you, I don’t fucking know, wanted to pick him up and take him for a walk sometime, that’d be fine.”

I didn’t hesitate. “I’d love that.”

Roy’s mouth twitched, something I hadn’t seen in weeks. “Thought you would. Oscar’d love it too.”

“Could I pick him up tomorrow? After the match?”

Roy nodded. “Yeah. That’s fine. Just text me, yeah?”

I couldn’t help but smile. “Yeah.”

We were quiet for the rest of the drive, but it didn’t feel as painful. For the first time since the club, I didn’t feel like I was sinking around Roy. In fact, I felt the very real possibility that we could eventually be… well, maybe not friends, but friendly. It was the most I could hope for.

He parked in front of my building, his eyes flickering up towards my flat. “Alright then?”

I nodded, ignoring the sting that came from the realization that he wasn’t walking me up, for the first time ever. “Alright.” I got out of the car, unable to help but note that the stupid black car lingered until I was inside the building.

In my apartment, I moved around like I was walking on a cloud. Something in the car had felt so different, and it felt good. As I prepped something for dinner, I felt my mobile vibrate in my pocket. When I looked at the screen, I saw I had a simple text message from Roy Kent⚽:

Hey. Think we could talk?

Taglist: @optimisticsandwichgladiator @giggling-sewer-ginger @katdahlali @sonyume @djarindroid @reading-blogs @thezimi @benedictscanvasmain @wibblywobblyvampywolfystuff @puckyou-forpuckssake @old-enough-to-know-better73 @ladygrey03 @soundofboots @justsomefunshit @geekgirl1996 @tedssweaters @queen-of-dumbasses @miaalltheway @di-essere-amato @shakespeareanwannabe @hotdoglamp @mal-adaptive-dreams @allthetroubleiveseen @netflix-addict @callmecasey81 @forgetmeaway @royalestrellas @kingleahhh @lemoonandlestars @ghxxxf

#roy kent superstar #he's here he's there he's every fucking where #roy kent #roy kent fanfic #roy kent fic #roy kent x reader #roy kent fanfiction #ted lasso #ted lasso fic

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murderluv23 · 8 months

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This episode was fucking EVERYTHING!! Fizzarolli is so damn cute, HELP ME!! I laughed so many times during it. Fizz was absolutely the comedic highlight, as I knew he would be. He's so witty and sassy. Not to mention obviously such a genuine complete sweetheart and giant softie. And so, so sensitive. Fizz is so precious.

He has a soft spot for pups for fuck's sake!! Are you kidding me?!

It's so fucked that Blitz lost his mother in that same fire that severed his friendship with Fizz. The only thing I will say is that I think it would have been more interesting if the action itself wasn't an accident but the severity of the consequences was. But what it was is still okay. That's just my take.

It's even more fucked that Fizz experienced that accident on his birthday. I can't imagine how traumatic that must've been. Poor thing.

And my GOD!! BLITZ AND FIZZ'S HUG AT THE END?! FUCKING STOP!! I'M GONNA CRY!! THEY'RE SO CUTE!!

(Also, yes, Blitz - making out would've ruined the moment. Fuck off for one second. Geez. Fizz's absolute vitriolic disgust after, lmao.)

And FUCK! Fizz near the end sobbing in the fire??? Baby boy, no!!

I kid you fucking not I audibly said "Blitz, if you do not save him, I swear I will NEVER forgive you!". Blitz would've forever been on my shit list if he had abandoned Fizz. No joke. No exaggeration. I would've hated his character permanently. He is already on questionable terms with me right now- that would've settled him in the seething hatred bracket.

Fizzarolli is best boy and this episode just affirmed that.

Also, love how much of a sweetheart Ozzie was this episode. He gave me quite the few laughs himself. His dynamic with Fizz- even though I don't ship them- is effortlessly charming and eons more healthy than Stolitz's nonexistent boat. (You thought I'd get through this without shitting on Stolitz at least once? HA! You're funny.) Ozzie is still a favorite of mine as well and it's nice to see how gentle he actually is. Stolas being a nerd, loving to read, and relaxing Ozzie was super cute. Wouldn't mind more of their friendship. Just- wish it won't be used as more Stolitz fuel. Though to be honest that's obviously too much to ask for. Had that with Fizz already.

NICE seeing Crimson again!!

Lmao, Striker is SO done with running into morons who can't stop making his threats a sex thing for five seconds. Ace mood. Also, obviously, good to see him, too.

And that distraction bit with Fizz was gold.

My King. Our King. Bask in his glory. Bow before him. Grovel.

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mblack-93 · 2 months

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AFTG fic idea

Hi! I have some fic ideas for All of the Game fanfics, and want some opinions!

Pretty please? I have put some snippets of the stories with the ideas!

You can vote at the bottom for which fic I should write!

The options are;

First: Neil is not the only freshman to start at the Foxes that year, but Mike/Michaela (an androgynous person) is the other (Dealer or Striker?) They have known Andrew for years and are because of that 'adopted' into the Monsters. What nobody knows is that they are the daughter of Lola. They hate their mother and become very protective over Neil. *maybe pairing with Kevin, or with Neil/Andrew*

Snippet from this story;

''So it's true? You're a whore?'' The bitch sneers.

Michaela laughs and gives them a frightening grin. ''I never did say what my services are, did I? It's just funny that everyone always assumes it has something to do with sex.'' She purrs.

Neil has stiffened next to him, and she can't blame him. Now she knows who he is, her 'killer' smile probably makes him nervous. She knows she looks like her mother that way.

And after all, her mother is none other than his father's right hand.

Second: Neil gets badly hurt during an attack by his father, and his mother needs to leave him for a couple of weeks to get them off their trail. Neil passes out in a warehouse and gets picked up by the police and put into foster care because our boy will never say anything about his parents. There he meets Andrew at the Spear house. (you can probably imagine the horror they go through) before his mother finds him again and kidnaps him, but not before torching the house. Neil thinks Andrew is dead and is grieving, while Andrew survives the fire barely (he has some bad scars.) Andrew gets adopted by the Minyards and follows canon until Neil comes back into play in Arizona. *Andriel*

Snippet from this story;

Andrew is frozen, he had not expected to ever see Abram again. He truly thought the kid died. His only friend. He thought-

''DREW!'' Abram cries out and throws himself in Andrews's arms, and even after all these years, Andrew recognizes Abram as if he's his own touch and doesn't flinch away. No, he pulls him tighter against him, hugging him like they have never been separated. He is the only person who can touch him without warning. The only one he even wants to touch and someone who never has made his skin crawl.

''I thought you died,'' He hears Abram whisper against his ear; Andrew feels more than hears the hitched, pained breath that leaves Abram.

''I can say the same, idiot,'' He tells Abram gruffly, making the other boy snort. Christ, he's taller than Andrew now. The asshole, how dare he?

Third: Neil never ran with his mother and has grown up with Kevin in the Nest. When Kevin's hand is broken, Neil gets him out and brings him to the Foxes, he also gets Jean out, but has to pay the price himself. Then after months of silence and Kevin being sure his friend is dead, he turns up at the Foxhole Court. He has made another deal with Ichirou. If he can disgrace Riko, and kill him afterwards, he has earned Kevin's and Jean's continued freedom. He never made a deal for himself. *A Neil/Andrew/Kevin pairing*

Snippet from this fic;

''You are still going to play, Kevin Day-'' A chuckle escaped the red-haired boy before him. ''-You will not let him win, and you will not give up. You will play Exy-'' ''But-'' A hard tug shut him up before he could say more. ''You are going to play Exy and show the world that those numbers mean nothing.'' He gestured to Kevin's cheek before pointing to his own. Nathaniel's had just been tattooed yesterday, before the match that ruined everything.

Kevin sucked in a breath and whimpered when Nathaniel started wrapping his hand up in bandages. He then shoved a bottle of Vodka in Kevin's lap and ordered him to drink, which Kevin did without complaint. It dulled the pain, even if it was just a little.

Kevin spaced out for a moment, but before he knew it, Nathaniel was in front of him again—this time with a duffle bag slung over his shoulder and a phone pressed against his ear.

He talked in rapid Japanese, and Kevin tried to focus on what was being said, but he could only make out a few words.

''-dangerous-'' ''Broken investments-'' ''Anything.'' ''-get us out.''

Thank you for leaving your vote ❤❤❤❤

#fanfic #aftg #all for the game #the foxhole court #the raven king #the kings men #neil josten #andrew minyard #kevin day #andreil #kandreil #oc character #palmetto state foxes

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nyxofdemons · 1 year

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okay okay okay. im so normal. im so so normal about this

some thoughts on the new episode:

*inhale*

MOXXIES DAD FUCKING SUCKS. I DONT EVEN HATE CASH AS MUCH AS I HATE CRIM. GOOD WORK TEAM IM FUCKING SEETHING ABOUT HIM (in a good writing way)

I LOVE THE GREED RING!!! the music is PHENOMENAL? i am obsessed with the soundtrack when they're first flying in, it's STUNNING

MILLIE AND MOXXIE BOTH DATED CHAZ. I WASNT EXPECTING THIS?? ITS SO FUNNY HELP

blitz being pissed at "THERE'S SOMEONE WHO FUCKED BOTH OF YOU?" GAJSBSV HES SO JEALOUS???

the fucking boat movie quote

listen chaz is funny and all but i fucking hate him for what he did to moxxie. die die die my boy deserved BETTER THAN THAT

I LOVE THE SCENE OF MOXXIE AND BLITZ MEETING!!! oh my god its so cute. blitz's annoying optimism and it cheering moxxie up almost instantly. MOXXIE HAVING A SOFT SPOT FOR KIDS (THE SOFT LITTLE SMILE WHEN BLITZ MENTIONS LOONA??)

"you called him a friendless horsefucker" and blitz changing it to "horseless friendfucker" as if the lack of horses is more notable. blitz's obsession with horses will literally never not be fucking golden

crim smacking moxxie was actually such a fucking incredible scene. like don't get me wrong i'm ready to kill him with my bare hands but the way this scene was DONE. the intensity and tension break was fucking PHENOMENAL. the same thing happened with moxxie's fight with striker. i could talk about this forever but the way the scene is shot and the camera angles and everything make it feel SO intimate and have such a close-up kind of fear to them.

"okay, first off, dad, i'm bisexual" "yeah, gay!" "FOR FUCKS SAKE" RHKAHWKABSVS

SORRY IM SORRY MOXXIES DAD BEING LIKE,,, VAGUELY HOMOPHOBIC YET STILL TRYING TO FORCE MOXXIE TO MARRY CHAZ. ITS SO FUCKING FUNNY GSKABQBD

seeing moxxie shrink and close up on himself hit SO CLOSE TO HOME,,, mox doesn't really censor himself at all with blitz - even though blitz is technically above him, they're still equal enough that moxxie will constantly snap back at him. seeing moxxie be so anxious and falter and stutter and hold his tongue is just..... god it feels so realistic and well done. im going to sob

THE FLASHBACK FUCKING DEVASTATED ME. GOOD FUCKING MORNING. oh my god baby moxxie and his mother and watching as crim ruins everything. im going to be sick

CHAZ'S MUSICAL NUMBER. THE EMOTIONAL PUNCHES AND THEN THE COMEDY ARE SO WELL TIMED GHAKABANSB

CHAZ AND BLITZ HOLY SHIT. I HAVE SO MANY FEELINGS ABOUT THIS??? i mean for starters it was fucking hilarious but like. oh my god. the stolitz implications (will stolas find out?? how will he feel??? does this tie into stolas giving him that crystal??? SOMETHING ABOUT BLITZ BEING SO DISSATISFIED WITH CHAZ GIVES ME STOLITZ FEELS. something something stolas being the best he's ever had and/or him LIKING stolas so much that he's not really enjoying being with anyone else??? HELLO????

MOXXIE STANDING UP TO HIS DAD!!!! GOOD FOR HIM!!! when he hit the table and crim jumped! combined with the calm and cold voice... GOOD SHIT

the priest officiating the wedding is so fucking funny. guy who doesn't get paid enough for this shit

THE MUSIC AGAIN!!! ITS SO GOOD

MILLIE MY WIFE MILLIE WITH A KNIFE MILLIE THE LOVE OF MY LIFE

SHES SO COOL

I LOVE MILLIE SO MUCH

she ripped out a dude's spine and strangled someone else with it??? oh 👀👀👉👈

anyway i am having one million thoughts that i can't put into words but in conclusion!! GOOD episode good shit i'm emotionally devastated and will not be recovering for many many days <33

#mine #helluva boss #helluva boss spoilers #helluva boss exes and oohs #e: exes and oohs

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chaifootsteps · 8 months

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His line of thought was interrupted by the sound of an adult man wailing as he tried to pour more alcohol down his throat, only to miss entirely and have the thing get thrown straight to the floor.

"Satan– (hic) fucking damnit!" Blitz yelled, grabbing at his horns and pulling on them a bit. "This shit alwayss happenssss to me! FUCK!" He tried to get up from the stool, only to fall face first on the floor after missing the step. Striker only watched, with the face of someone seeing a small dog accidentally trip and fall while trying to walk for the very first time. The man was just kind of pathetic, but it was still pretty entertaining.

"Need some help down there, partner?" Striker teased, sipping his own drink. Couldn't get too intimate now, right?

Blitz stopped, moving his head slightly to meet Striker's gaze. Oh, fuck, he's being SO fucking embarassing right now. He's going to get a terrible grade at impressing the cool guy. Something both normal to fear and possible to achieve.

"Ohhhh, uhh, heyyyy Strikerrr-" He said, clumsily trying to get up by balancing himself on the stool, almost falling again in the process. "Haahh– you uhm, didn't see that, did youuu?"

"I saw every part of it. And it was very funny."

"Hahahahahaha yeah I beeet it was you snake." Blitz finally sat back down again, holding his face in his hands. "Satan's ass… that'sss so embarassin' on my endd."

"It really is." Striker said, handing him the water bottle with a small smile. "Now come on, drink up. Don't need you throwin' up all over somebody today, yeah?"

"Yeah… probably not." He took it in his hands, brushing his fingers against Striker's gloves for a second, and then quickly turning away. "Uh… thankss. N'such."

They both stay quiet for a bit while Blitzo drinks, still kind of regaining his senses from falling, and Striker notices how his eyebrows furrow again.

"...How come you're out drinkin' on a different ring all by yourself eh? Bird boy wasn't interested in accompanying ya?"

Blitzo's face contorts more, and his grip on the water bottle tightens a lot. Probably the wrong subject to bring up.

"Oh, he's never fuckin' interested if the topic isn't sex. Doesn't even matter."

"Right." He coughs awkwardly. "What about ya employees? Are they not around for a couple of shots?"

"I kinda ruined their date, so I don't think I even have employees at this point.

Hm. Another miss. This comforting shit is hard.

"...Well, don't you have anyone else you can talk to?-"

"Listen, if you're trying to make me feel bad here for not having any friends, it's working, and I'm REALLY not in the mood to deal with that." Blitzo snaps, turning away

"Well, I'm not. I guess I just-" Striker bites his tongue, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly. The words don't come out right. He ends up sighing, "I dunno. I figured someone like you would have plenty. You're not half bad."

Blitzo widens his eyes, like he just heard the most outrageous thing ever. "Really-?" He then coughs, looking away again. "Uhhh. I mean, thanks. I guess.

Silence falls between the two again, but there seems to be a mutual understanding. Blitzo glances back and forth between his water and Striker, who by now is just tracing the glasses' rim with his finger boredly. His eyes watch the ripples in the glass, and for a second Blitzo swears he could see him looking back with those bright yellow eyes…

"...Yer starin."

"Hm-? Oh, sorry. I'm…uh, drunk." He lied. Badly. "ANYWAY I really should get going huh! Wow, this night has been way too long-" he gets off the stool, searching his pockets for any leftover money to pay for his drink, and maybe Striker's nicety if he's got anything aside from coins. "I really should get goin', but it was nice seein' you Striker-" He takes out a few crumpled up bills and leaves them on the counter, then he turns to Striker and puts the rest in his hand. "Consider this uh, payback for not killin' me back at the harvest moon festival. Real lost opportunity, honestly, you shoulda taken it heh-"

Blitzo didn't expect to have the money put back on his hand with a certain gentleness.

"No. I don't need your money, Blitz. And it wasn't a missed opportunity, because my offer never left the table." He gets off his seat, and puts a hand on Blitzo's shoulder, "You have potential, but it's up to you to see it. Once you end up valuing your services…" He gets closer, smiling mischievously, "Well, then you come back here and find me, yeah?"

Blitzo felt a shiver run up his spine, but it wasn't out of fear, no. It was good. Really good. "...Yeah, I'll uh, check you out, Striker…"

"You better." He lets go, fixes his hat, and walks away. "See around, Blitz. And remember to call."

Blitzo is confused for a second, only to notice a business card hidden between the bills on his hand. He's left in the bar dumbfounded for a moment, but eventually makes a move on to leave. He swears on every sin out there that it gets harder every day to reject Striker's proposal…stupid handsome bastard.

[End! Hope you like it :)]

Absolutely wonderful. I read it in both their voices and wish it was canon; thank you for reminding me of just how much I utterly love these two.

#Anonymous #BlitzStrike #Helluva Boss #actual blog post

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gardenofchrome · 6 months

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My Type [C. Hansen] [p.2]

Continuing from the first oneshot requested by @screechinginthevoid <3

⠂⠄⠄⠂⠁⠁⠂⠄⠄⠂⠁⠁⠂⠄⠄⠂ ⠂⠄⠄⠂☆

"Attention: Striker Eureka, Azure Matador. Report down to the launch bay in T-minus 3 minutes."

Chuck straightens at the announcement, wiping the sweat from his brow. His insomnia led him to wake up at extremely early hours of the morning, so he decided to make the best of it by working out with the few pieces of equipment in his quarters.

He snatches his jacket from the wall before heading over to his father's room. "Up, old man!" He says, banging on the door.

The door immediately opens, Herc brushing past him. "Jesus Chuck," he murmurs tiredly. "I'm not deaf yet."

Chuck scowls but continued running through the hallway. "You know that Jaeger that's going to drop with us?"

"No clue. Probably one of the news ones that got brought in."

The J-TECH officers slip the polycarbonate shell over you and your partner as Chuck and Herc walked in.

He tries to let his slightly shock register on his face, instead disguising it with a smirk. "Rough night?"

"Shut the hell up Chuck, some of us need sleep." You say, rubbing at the bag beneath your eyes.

You and your partner leave towards your Jaeger- pastel violet and black paint covering its large metal frame.

The J-TECH officers quickly secure the driver's suit on the Hansen's, the duo rushing out to the ever so elegant Striker Eureka.

"You guys ready?" Your voice greets over the communications link as they get ready in the compod, slightly drowning out LOCCENT.

After a minute, Chuck nods. "All systems clear, ready to initiate the drift. Just try and keep up."

He could practically hear your grin from across the link. "Right back at you, pretty boy."

The kaiju is massive.

The Category 2 'Crystaldrifter' drug itself through the murky water of the bay slowly, its razor sharp tail whipping back and forth.

You try to calm yourself, your stomach twisting up into tight knots like it always did. 4 times before you had faced a kaiju in your 250 foot tall suit of armor and 4 times the hellspawn ended up dead at your feet.

"Azure," Herc's calm voice came through the link. "Distract it. We'll go for the kill."

You swallow hard. "Alright. Just make it quick."

"Some of us have the best model instead of a rustbucket about to fall apart." Chuck says.

"Chuck, I'm seriously going to beat your a** once we get back," you reply as you flip a few switches on the console, the cannon on your mechs shoulder lowering down to position.

"Ion cannon, fully charged in t-minus 1 minute." A robotic voice announces.

Striker Eureka moves from your side, moving as gracefully as a giant robot could in the water, probably ruining a few fishes day.

The kaiju notices, its wide maw opening to reveal a set of teeth that looked like it could crunch through a few hundred layers of industrial steel like it was a Dorito.

"Ion cannon, fully charged," it says as relief washes over you. "Ready to fire."

Your partner presses a small red button, a series of clicks echoing through the compod in response, the cannon making minuscule adjustments, before releasing the blast.

But it only leaves a small burn mark across its moldy green hide, pissing it off more than harming it. Sweat coats your brow.

Thankfully, Herc's plan had worked. They had managed to sneak up behind the kaiju as it was distracted with you, and stabbed it directly into the neck, electric blue blood spilling out and splattering the Jaegers.

Meanwhile, you and your partner prepared the cannon again, waiting for the right opportunity.

Crystaldrifter opens it hideous mouth, tail flicking towards Striker, slashing across the abdomen. Your heart drops. "Striker! Look out!"

Your partner presses the red button quickly before the kaiju has the opportunity to close it, the red-hot beam going into its mouth.

Its eyes rolled up and fell backwards, blood surfacing on top of the polluted water. But you didn't care about that, as your mech surged through the water over to Striker, metal joints straining.

"You guys ok?" You ask through the commlink, the other Jaeger holding its abdomen.

"We'll live," Herc says. "Let's call for cleanup."

Back at the shatterdome, you run over to Chuck immediately when you get out of Azure, not bothering to take off your driver's suit as you grip his arm. He pushes his mop of sweaty hair back, smirking. "Couldn't keep up, now could you?"

You shove him roughly. "That's for calling Azure a rustbucket and for making me worry, you dumb, cocky, piece of s***."

You tug him into a hug, the polycarbonate shells of the armor smashing together. "I hate you," you mumble into his neck. "Yet somehow I still want to be around you."

Chuck placed his head on top of yours, slightly hiding his flushed face. "Couldn't have said it better myself, Y/N/N." He whispers, placing a kiss on top of your forehead, your face suddenly turning as red as his.

⠂⠄⠄⠂⠁⠁⠂⠄⠄⠂⠁⠁⠂⠄⠄⠂ ⠂⠄⠄⠂☆

Cue Herc and your partner giggling in the background and taking photos to blackmail you guys.

Possible rewrite in the future.

#for you #pacific rim #kaiju #chuck hansen #jaeger #jaegers #striker eureka #hercules hansen #herc hansen #pacific rim oneshot #giant robots #friends to lovers #reader insert #oneshot #fanfic #the drift #mako mori #hermann gottlieb #newt geiszler

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helluvashitposter · 1 year

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This is the first time I'm gonna get in on reviewing the new Helluva boss episode because this was the one I was most excited for! But before I do that, I'm saying it now:

I saw a lot of negative reviews were focused around the Ozzie texts between Stolas and Blitzo and well...I'm sorry guys but my main focus is on THIS MAN RIGHT HERE

So without further a dooooooooo...

I honestly enjoyed Striker in this episode! I love seeing a wackier side of him and not just edgy edge lord, low voice, "I'm gonna eat your kids" through the whole episode. I understand why some people were super disappointed in him not being as threatening as he was in the first episode, but hey. This is a cartoon about dumb demons and sex, I try not to take it too seriously already! (⁠๑⁠•⁠﹏⁠•⁠)

(I also wanna say this now, I was also one of the people taken back by the change in voice actors, but I ain't even gonna let that bother me too much: I know folks like Norman are gonna be mighty expensive or too busy to keep around. As sad as it is, if I can get used to Stolas new voice, I can do the same for this one as long as it means more Strike!)

Speaking of Striker, the main criticism I keep seeing is that he was too egotistical, and because of that statue everyone is just saying he was another Chaz. But I honestly don't get this one?

Striker was ALWAYS just as entitled and self centered in the first episode: Did we forget this man literally made a song all about how awesome he is (That didn't even rhyme) And his speech to Blitz where he talked about how he was above the imps? The statue seems pretty in character for him! Striker has always sucked his own dick, maybe it was a little overzealous but definitely not enough for me to say he was just a full blown Chaz!

Plus, that man still took his job pretty damn serious! Never once was Striker incompetent or a dumbass in this episode. He knew his mission and he was damn malicious about, I mean if you gonna try to tell me this man wasn't just as bloodthirsty as he was last time-

This man has never once hesitated to hurt anyone who gets in his way or just for the fun of it and I think it still shows greatly here!

All and all, I have to disagree with everyone saying his character was "ruined" or "too Chaz like" Striker definitely did not spend the episode going on and on about how his dick is the biggest or how everyone wants to fuck him like Chaz would. (R.i.p Chaz, I love you sweetie!) As left field as the statue was, it definitely didn't steal from the fact that this man was once again determined to finish his job. Which got taken away from him by Stella at the last minute, which he was super bummed about, but he does get paid extra soooo! 🎉🎉🎉

(Full disclaimer: I didn't really care for the Stella part of the episode, I do like the voice actor for snowy owl though. But overall they really were just there...it's really hard to say anything about it other than the fact that she didn't want Stolas killed sooooo (⁠＠⁠_⁠＠⁠;⁠))

Now for the big stuff: The pacing.

I have to say...I do have to agree with everyone when they say the pacing was all over the place. I have to admit: With all the trailers that we were getting, I was expecting this bad boy to be long as hell! At least a good 25 to 30 minutes because we were getting all kinds of things! But man...

Even though the little vet visit was funny, and I am a huge fan of that cute lil goat doctor, it did take away from the actual tension. I came here for badass Striker! And not to mention M&M barely got time to shine as well! The pacing really was just:

BOOM! STRIKER KIDNAPPED STOLAS--

Loona scared of vet 🥺

BAM! MOXXIE AND MILLIE ARE GONNA TAKE ON STRIKER BY THEMSELVES, OOOOOO POWER COUPLE--

Blitz and Karen yell at each other 🤬

RAAAAAH, STRIKER STABBY STOLAS, MILLIE AND MOXXIE CRASH THROUGH ROOF THOUGH, IT'S TIME FOR THE MOST EPIC FIGHT--

Loona got her shot 😊

I feel like we totally got robbed on a much more epic fight and some shades thrown from M&M and Striker, especially when it was a highlight of the trailer! These two being able to properly settle a score with Striker would have really made for such an amazing tension scene since they were the main ones who were affected by him in the first episode. LIKE GUYS, LET MOX AND MILL SHINE WHEN BLITZO ISN'T AROUND, I BEG YOU! THEY'RE AMAZING TOO!! 😭

I will stand by everyone when they say: WE NEED MORE MILLIE DAMNIT!

The ending with Stolas definitely tugged at my heart strings, I won't lie! But again, I'm not here for the Stolitz angst, I was just here to see Strikey boy. WHO DIDN'T DIE, SO YES! TAKE THAT TWITTER!!! MY BOY GETS TO HUNT ANOTHER DAY, AND NOT ONCE DID HE GET HIT BY A TRAIN, IN FACT HE APPARENTLY LOVES THEM SO HA!!

All and all, I will say Harvest moon was peek Striker. It's gonna be hard to ever top that, Norman Striker will forever be missed! But at the end of the day, I did enjoy seeing my favorite cowboy again, and there's apparently some more lore behind him as well that we'll hopefully get to see in the later seasons. I'm just glad I can easily sleep tonight knowing that he wasn't just killed off in the second episode we get him in! 🙏

So it was a good time all around! Especially watching it with my favorite person 💕

#helluva boss #helluva boss spoilers #helluva striker #helluva moxxie #helluva millie #helluva blitzo #helluva stolas #Helluva boss is one of those shows you gotta watch casually #dib squeaks #I'm too scared to tag this as criticism

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g-on-ef · 1 year

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Helluva Boss season 2 ep 3 review THERE WILL BE SPOILERS

It's been a while a long while since I've done one of these but this is the first episode since episode 5 that hasn't pissed me off in the first five minutes and was able to somewhat enjoy it but omg I said it once and I'll say it again viv does not have one single clue what she's doing wit her characters but we are getting ahead of ourselves so let's start wit the good before we get to the bad.

Genuinely love that this was a Moxxie center episode cause it's about damn time my boy got the attention he deserves and it's not him getting punched every three seconds -_-

I personally love Chazz design I thought he was fun and enjoyable {at first} and I loved that he and Moxxie had a relationship together not gonna lie I was screaming I ship them especially the flashback ^^

Ummmm ...

IS THIS SUPPOSED TO BE MY BABY STRIKER ??? !!! YALL IS THIS SUPPOSED TO BE MY. BABY. STRIKER ??? !!!

Regardless I'll take whatever crumbs I can get ^^

Baby Moxxie was adorable !!!!

The relationship between him and his mother was adorable I feel like she was the reason for his love for musical I loved her ^^

I also love we got Moxxie saying he's bi it's always refreshing to see characters refer themselves as part of the lgbtq community

No Loona speaking omg I'm so happy we didn't have Loona talking at all because honestly she would've made the episode worse

Now onto the bad parts -_-

Maybe is because English isn't my first language but didn't Moxxie said he was born in Wrath ??? So did he move to Greed ??? If so was it when he was a baby or ??? I'm just confused on that part.

No one not Viv not her crew hell at this point not even SOME people of the Fandom know what to do/think of Millie.

The whole episode she was either a rabid animal or resorted to Moxxies wife/the blood thirsty woman of the show like how is she a main character always getting side line for everyone fuck man even Loona gets better treatment than her and that sucks cause Loona is down right awful

The fat jokes weren't funny the first time and guessed what they aren't funny the 18th time !!!

I get homophobic implications cause its hell 🤪 {every time I say that imma add that face} but umm the dildo jokes ??? Like I genuinely didn't get why that needed to be added but it is what is I guess.

So you mean to tell me both Moxxie and Millie slept wit Chazz but this episode didn't bother focusing on Millie on how they met Like da freak ??? Also while I loved Chazz the first few minutes I got annoyed wit him like really Viv you're gonna make the bisexual character a horny person that fucks everything wit two legs and have his whole personality around sex ??? Also was I the only one disgusted wit Blitz sleeping wit Chazz ??? Like how the freak we got there ??? !!!

Gotta be honest did not like that Moxxies VA also voiced Crimson I was expecting something more intimidating like something like Striker I guess but that's just me

Also back to the dildo joke ummm someone tell me why we were having a moment that should have build an intimidating moment only to ruin it wit the dildos ... ... ... like I said before Vive has no idea how to handle serious topics without turning it into a joke and have the entire scene lose its importance and value.

Like the build up the dinner scene it was leading up to a serious conflict that was creating tension and hell even the slap had me shocked and Crimson bringing fear into the audience only for it to come tumbling down with the dildos hell even after the threat Crimson gave as Moxxie was leaving I couldn't take seriously because the scene kept showing them.

Hell even wit Moxxie being upset and hurt I couldn't take serious cause of the whiplash that came right after

Can someone please explain why is there a priest in hell ??? Or better yet why is there a jail in hell ??? Like why are we even having Charlie's hotel idea if there's jail and rehab in hell like ??? Does Viv even understand the world she's created ??? Like does she even remember the world she's created ??? Cause why create a hotel that's supposed to help sinners when Hell has REHAB AND A JAILING SYSTEM ??? !!!

ALSO SOMEONE ANYONE PLEASE EXPLAIN TO ME THE HIERARCHY OF HELL !!!

Are imps at the bottom ??? The shark demons ??? Like does anyone at Spindle even remember their own rules for the show ??? !!!

Anyways that's it for my complaint of the day but anywhore those are my thoughts and I'm sticking to them !!!

#helluva critical #helluva boss critical #vivziepop criticism #my thoughts #vivziepop #anti helluva boss

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alexas-fandom-and-random-blog · 1 month

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extremely curious what's ya stance on strixxie and striker himself nowadays!

Woooo boy! Well I've written an over 130.000 words fanfic on Strixxie and a sequel on the works plus a couple of smaller ones on the side so you can safely say I'm still very much OBSESSED with the pair!😍

I love all of the nemesis tropes they have in canon! Their antagonistic chemistry is top notch and I stan all flavors of enemies to lovers that have the potential to come with it! I love the mutual canon animosity and constantly challenging each other vibes that I can be delulu with and interpret as thick sexual tension!

Some darker problematic stuff is honestly still a big part of the appeal to me as much as mushy stuff could be depending on execution and aaaaaah I just adore ships that can have such range!

Plus it gives me stuff to grab onto in canon like Striker fucking drooling in their last encounter like hello???? And also of course Moxxie being a little badass and pulling that glorious uno reverse on him that had me weak fahscahfagafavavsfksfs!😫💞

Ahem.

Yeah.😅

As far as Striker goes he's still my fave character! But I do think the harvest moon festival had him at his peak and some elements got a bit messed up with Western Energy. They didn't completely ruin him tho. The only parts I couldn't stand were some jokes I thought really didn't work for him like that god-awful statue and a couple of random outbursts of anger I found ooc.

If they kept those away along with the questionable decision of having Stella call him off for that reason and him revealing all his cards as an assassin so publicly prior, honestly the rest I don't mind at all. The entire Stolas torture scene in a vacuum is absolutely flawless, along with the fight with M&M. Those were some good shit. Especially with Moxxie hehe😏 I really loved how they showed much of Striker's character via that fight, like being cunning and badass and reveling on the challenge. Very fun villain stuff to see!

And I enjoyed him in Oops even if the plot to bring him there was contrived. He was handled a lot better I think. Again excluding some questionable logic like why would Fizzarolli's performance ever distract everyone like that. But eh comedy is subjective and all.

Speaking of which I really hope the team up with Crimson wasn't an one off thing cause wooo boy is that plot point fascinating!!

Both of Moxxie's majorly thematically villains teaming up is just ripe for juicy drama. I am wishing for a follow up on that so badly!!!!

So yeah overall still love Striker a lot while choosing to ignore some elements of his character that the writers added and that annoyed me and that's the tea. Well that's my general experience with hellaverse in general anyways. Along with the pacing that messes some stuff up.

I can't wait to see him again! And more Strixxie scenes too!

Thanks a lot for the ask!!

Getting the chance to gush over all this is always very fun!😃❤️

#strixxie #anon #answer #alexia talks #helluva boss #moxxie #striker #meta #pardon the shameless advertising lol😆#helluva boss critical #i suppose #tagging just in case

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astridsfavs · 5 months

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First Favourite Character

So this is my blog, where I shall ramble about my fav characters. Isn't that fantastic? And I figured I should start with the most famous viddy game franchise of all.

Tetris Super Mario! Mario has a sheer ocean amount of characters, through the platformers, kart racers, party games, RPGs, there's a million bajillion nerds to choose from. So is it the Brothers themselves I love? Princesses? Koopas? Or is it...

WARIO!

The big bad German/Italian/Something Anti-Mario. Super Capatalist Fucker. sigma male. I've loved Wario since day 1. My first Mario game was Super Mario Land 2, the game Wario debuted in (and it came out in Europe the month after I was born, so like, I was a newborn baby with Wario in my life. (the game boy was my parents, not mine originally)). Like, I didn't even know who the fuck Bowser was, or Luigi. When I was a wee bitch, I knew Mario, Wario, and the three fucking pigs who ruined my life in Mario Zone.

We also, at some point, got the first Wario Land game, and I liked the heavier, stronger style of gameplay, and the treasure hunting aspect. The collecting of coins gave the same "yes" feeling as collecting the rings in the Snoic. And the world evolving as you go through the game made it so cool. The tide coming in after finishing world 1, so early levels now are flooded, MT Teapot's lit crashing down and changing some of it's levels layout. And most importantly, Wario with his evil crosseyed grin, a fucking bastard of a man.

And to be honest, for a long while, that was it for me and Wario for a long while, I loved these two games, but I never like, played as him in Mario Kart 64 when we got our Nintendo 64, I was always Yoshi. I had borrowed a copy of Wario Blast from a friend once. And when we played on the playground, like, if we played Mario, which we did shut your mouth, I played Wario and just, "Elbow Bashed" everything (I didnt realise til long later it was a Shoulder Bash actually shut up), and doodled fanart of Wario in "Smash Bros 2"(he was just another Mario clone, but with yellow fireballs instead of red)

Anyhow, years later, I got Wario Land 3 from Woolworths, and that unlocked some shit in my brain because from then on, he was my guy. The cartooney transformations, and the way Wario behaved was like, that was the shit, and then Wario Land 4?! I was in, I am in and in for life! I love this cartooney shit!

Thing is though, again. that was it, I'd now play as him in the Wii games, Strikers, Smash, Kart Wii and Party. But I never played WarioWare until THIS year actually on the GBA Console on Switch. But that doesn't matter. There is SOMETHING about Wario that draws me in, even if I can't afford his own games.

So what do I love? I love an Anti Hero, I love powerhouses, I love selfish agendas (and Wario's love for gold being the drive for all his adventures is selfish AF) and I love hidden hearts of gold, Wario with Shokora shows he isn't entirely selfish, willing to team with others, heck he's got a huge group of friends in Warioware, and even when with the Mario gang, he pals around with Waluigi.

I love that he is allowed to dress up compared to other Mario characters.

He has so many outfits, this isn't even all of them. I love playing as him in Mario 64 DS, I know he's "The Worst" in the game, but punting goombas to hard it takes like 5 seconds for them to land and die is just a silly little fun. I love he is able to punch the fuck out of Tox in Shifting Sand Land.

I love he's a suer arrogant, rude, brash, super like, macho manly man. An Alpha actually, like, man has women throwing themselves at him, and some men too probs. He's a bitch dickhead, but he draws people in, and bitch like, me too.

Also he has the best cast of characters in the Mario series. Mona? Shokora? Syrup? Jimmy T? fuckit the whole warioware crew? Bonko the CLown or whatever his name is? All iconic!

ALSO! SAKURAI. Mate, bud, I love you, listen, Smash is fantastic, Kirby is superb, Kid Icarus Uprising is yum. But my fucking god, Wario is the WORST repped character in Smash. Like Sonic might have a basic spindash only style moveset, which is a bit boring, but whatever. Wario? We got a shoulder bash and his bike, yup, that's it. And a weird amount of farting, calm it down man.

Also give me a Next Level Games made Wario game, it would be so cool. Listen I know Strikers Charged did the fating rubbish too, but Striekrs 3 showed me they got Wario's character down to a T.

So this is my first post, so I'm figuring out the format of my rambles, it might get more organised in the future, but maybe not, maybe people like the way I write. Who knows.

ANYWAY! RUNNERS UP!

PRINCESS DAISY- I will be her.

WALUIGI! Not a meme, he is such a funny, Wacky Races goofy character, Next Level Games puts so much life into his animations in the three Strikers Games, he's a fantastic loser self-pitying dweeb. WAAAA.

#super mario bros #super mario #astridsfavs #rambling blog #blog #longpost #long post #wario land #waluigi #princess daisy #wario #warioware #Wario is the best #mario #smb #Charles Martinet's Best Voice

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crystalelemental · 1 year

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I pulled SC Steven 1/5, and was tempted to go for 3/5 anyway. His kit is entirely supportive, he doesn't strictly need it, but I thought man, there's no way this guy's all that useful for Gauntlet. His tools are great, but too few use, right? Surely he suffers.

He does not.

General Overview Now before anyone asks, I'd like to note: yes, I am using 5*s here. While my preference in these is to showcase how well a unit performs by pairing them with commons, I've decided against holding to that. Sometimes, the 5* options is just...more consistent, and I'm rather tired of some of the clears that are downright headache-inducing to clear on pure F2P. I feel like, with scout tickets especially, older 5*s can be considered as substitution for the sake of time and sanity. I'll still be doing CS clears with all F2P though. I'm just so tired of Gauntlet runs that are frustrating and rely on like the same three tools.

SC Steven is really good. Even with no MPRs, he gets shit done. Some stages are more challenging than others, based on what they are or are not immune to. But by and large, he is able to supplement damage extremely well.

But. As predicted, his limitation is opportunity cost. Some of these stages are a right pain in the ass. BP Surge is damn near mandatory for Uxie, Cobalion, and especially Tornadus. Very often you need a flinch bot covering support on stages with that level of threat. Melony and Elio are godsends. He cannot operate without someone covering weather-setting for him against Moltres. MAYBE if the striker has flinch. But you'll never guess who sucked too bad to make it work. You'll NEVER guess.

All this to say, Steven at 1/5, uninvested, performs his duties perfectly. Everything beyond that is just icing on a particularly nice cake, and honestly I've never loved the frosting, I'm more of a central cake kind of person. Just a thin layer to add sweetness, but some people just pile that shit on and it's overpowering and not even that good, I can't even taste the cake at this point.

Vs. Tapu Bulu As a rule, I looked at options that were physically inclined first and foremost, even if that meant stepping into 5* territory. And who is more put-upon as a physical Flying-type Striker than our boy Nate? Who, as you can see, hit his final sync for 50k. SC Steven pumps damage like crazy, man. Stacks of moves up next also turn Fly into an absurd nuke, which is...just a delight.

Vs. Tornadus BP Surge is mandatory. Like, listen to me, having inconsistent paralysis rates on you damage dealer doesn't work. I did consider Sophocles, but also Tornadus has Self Cleanse, which has ruined a win more than once by just blocking that last sync outright, so I went with Elesa. BP Sophocles tried. Steven stacked his damage so high that Wild Charge killed him. Elesa has better recovery options so she's able to endure hitting so hard it cuts half her HP through Standfast 9.

Vs. Terrakion This one I'm not proud of, but Terrakion's tough. SC Lillie has to be here, you need some kind of disruption. I realized later that Terrakion isn't immune to Sleep, and Melony could've done an okay job too, but I am not going back. Bianca was chosen as the damage dealer, because Steven, as specified, cannot handle gimmicks. Which means your damage dealer or support needs to be able to set the needed field effect. On thing I think is worth noting is that Steven also does not come close to stopping Terrakion's offense. Even after three Buddy Leer, it's got +4 attack by the end. It just goes too hard.

Vs. Cobalion Oh look. Surge again. This fight is a good example of SC Steven being largely about timing. Delaying first sync here actually works. Applying all three Leer, then hitting SEUN on Blaine as he sets Sun, will destroy Bar 1 before sync. Anything less will fail. Pull similar shenanigans in Bar 2 to clear that. Provided Surge doesn't go down too hard, Bar 3 can be taken out without SEUN or Sun at this point, provided you've stacked physical moves up next to +6 on Blaine. Flame Wheel will hit for like 7k, so spam Fire Spin in advance to preserve them.

Vs. Azelf Is it cheating to use a flinch bot? Maybe. But Lusamine doesn't survive this thing otherwise. SC Steven's applications of Moves Up Next can be preserved on Lusamine by using Bug Buzz. SEUN will allow sync to deal great numbers. I do want to impress something though. The number shown is Bug Buzz with SEUN. That as like the full HP bar. Lusamine just ended that guy.

Vs. Uxie Time to learn a technical skill! Fun fact: No Evasion and Restrain count as status changes for the purposes of Bar 2 Uxie! Additionally, the condition for Buddy moves is to select them, not to activate them. Meaning, get Uxie's first HP bar low, and set to deliver the final blow with your damage dealer, then add Steven's last Buddy move use. When the HP bar drops, and Uxie shifts into Bar 2, Leer will still activate, applying Restrain, and allowing full damage for the duration of that bar. Restrain cannot be removed. This leaves him a little vulnerable, as Bar 3 now only has status, but the damage reduction is also less severe, so careful play can still win. That said, this was spooky.

Vs. Latios I mean, this is kinda cheating, but by now you get the idea. I wanted to see how well he did with Ghetsis, given that his Buddy move kicks off both of Ghetsis' relevant multipliers. It's good, but not like...stupid, you know?

Vs. Latias Okay, I'm a little proud of this one. Very similar to Uxie, you conserve one Buddy move use until the transition to Bar 2, where No Evasion allows all your attacks to hit, until it can never evade again. So long as you can nuke its HP before the sudden +6 evasion, you're in business. Even Mud Slap isn't a concern now. The real win is Lodge Lillie, whose Synchro Healing on sync keeps the entire team rolling. Stacks of Physical Moves Up Next is mostly useless on her, until Petal Blizzard happens. Then it's decent spread damage to take out sides.

Vs. Regirock Rebuff in phase 1 does nothing for your Steel strikers that are designed for this fight. But it does do something for Tank Dawn! The physical defense boosting and heavy Grass-type damage is pretty great, allowing for fast clearing of that first phase. Once in Bar 2, SEUN and Moves Up will allow Wikstrom to break down the rock pretty quickly. That said, gauges are real bad. This is one of those fights that's a lot cleaner at 3/5 with the extra speed boosts.

Vs. Entei MU is Arbok for gauge control on Rosa. I really like Lodge Rosa. I like Rosa in general, really, and I like Dewott. But it's got a lot of issues. Issues that SC Steven solves beautifully. Added damage on both move and sync, debuffs defense to -6 in three moves, has a rebuff to apply. SC Steven and Lodge Rosa are really good together. I probably should've swapped in Hitmonchan instead of Arbok, so Rosa could get attacking earlier, but I forgot about Steven's ability to buff speed when he hits a No Evasion target. That's right, there was a better comp. Don't even need flinch. Though 3/5 Steven could supply it.

Vs. Moltres Elio's sleep works so long as weather is changed. Candice is stupid powerful on sync. The goal of this was really to find something that used Steven's physical defense debuffs, and could supply their own weather. Fun fact. Initially, I wanted to use Lodge Blue and Grant. Go for the flinch thing. See if Grant could deal real people damage on sync with SEUN. Turns out, Bar 2 fucks them all up, and even with two 60% flinch chances, Moltres is so punishing that it isn't consistent at all. Elio it is then. Candice, good work as always girl. Just wish that when you hit the random 10% freeze, it didn't result in Moltres throwing out goddamned Flare Blitz and nearly killing Elio.

#sync pair testing #SC Steven #gauntlet sweep

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alindakb · 2 years

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Slow Dance

They sit around the table. Pansy sits next to Draco, followed by two empty seats, where Blaise and Daphne had been before they moved to the dance floor. Harry sits on Draco’s other side, fumbling with his bow tie again.

Draco takes a sip of his drink. They are all silent. If only Blaise and Daphne would come back. Or if Weasley hadn’t moved a table over, so he could chat with his team-mates. Harry’s team-mates, who keep looking at them as if Harry has committed a crime or something.

Granger drops back in her seat, next to Harry. “Neville knows how to dance,” she says. Without asking she takes Harry’s drink and finishes it.

“Great,” Harry says. He doesn’t look away from his hands. Draco is sure he can feel the eyes of everyone on them. Maybe they shouldn’t have come. They’ve only been out for a short while. The school hasn’t gotten his head around it yet, that their star striker is bent and dating the gayest kid ever to walk through these halls.

“Yes, they are the light of the party,” Pansy tells Granger. Her eyes hover over the low cut of Granger’s dress. Something about perfect boobs was what Pansy had said when she spotted Granger this evening. Draco doesn’t get it. Granger looks as she always does. Only now she wears a dress instead of her school uniform.

“Want to go get some more drink?” Granger asks. “And let these two wallow alone.”

“Sounds good,” Pansy answers. Draco hopes that she knows that Granger is taken, and as straight as they come, if Harry is to believed. Which is saying nothing. But still, Granger seems happy with Weasley. Unlike Harry. He doesn’t seem happy at all tonight.

Harry’s hands adjust his bow tie again.

“Let me,” Draco says. He takes over from Harry and fixes the tie in place. Then he takes Harry’s hand and pulls him from his seat. “We’re not going to let anyone ruin our first school dance as a couple,” he says. No matter how narrow-minded the football squad is.

“Draco, I don’t know,” Harry sputters.

Draco doesn’t stop. He pulls Harry with him to the dance floor. “You want to be here with me, don’t you?” he asks.

A private smile forms on Harry’s face. “Yes,” he says.

“Well then, dance with me,” Draco says. He puts his arms around Harry’s waist as the sounds of a piano replace the fast song that was just playing.

Harry bites his bottom lip and then puts his arms around Draco’s neck. “I can’t dance,” he says.

Draco leans in a little closer. “Just follow my lead,” he says.

And Harry does. They sway on as Elvis Presley sings words that are more true than ever before. Even now, when Harry looks as if he wants to run from the room and hide away in a closet, Draco can’t help falling even more in love with him.

As the song goes on, Harry relaxes in Draco’s arms. He lays his head against Draco’s shoulder, leaving no question of why they dance together.

Draco looks around the room. Some students looks aren’t all that friendly, but Draco doesn’t care. They will just have to adjust, because Draco won’t hide how he feels. Not as long as Harry doesn’t need him to. Draco spots Pansy at the edge of the dance floor. She smiles at him and raises her glass. Draco nods his head and then looks back at the dark curls that hide Harry’s face.

“You’re so brave,” Draco tells him. “Thank you.”

Harry lifts his head. A small tear slides over his cheek and his eyes glister. “Thank you for making this night perfect,” he says. And then he leans in again, only now to lock lips with Draco, who doesn’t hear any of the shocked sounds around them as his world starts and ends with the boy right in front of him.

MASTERLIST

@hdcandyheartsfest

#drarry #hdcandyheartsfest2022 #draco malfoy #harry potter #school dance #muggle au #pansy parkinson #hermione granger #nervous harry #drarry drabble #fluff

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