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nylwnder · 2 years

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have yourself a merry little christmas | john tavares

a/n: here’s number 6 of the very backed up christmas series! pls enjoy the fluffy little concept with the hottest dilf in town (i used his kids’ real names cause i think they’re so cute but let’s pretend that they’re older than what they are. i hope that's okay w yall!)

warnings: dad!jt x mom!reader & kids, pure fluff

word count: 1.03k

taglist: @bb-nhlqueen7 , @sebbyaho , @swedishprince88 , @nilspettersson , @boqvistsbabe , @oliviapangburn118 , @brandtsclarke , @stars-canucks , @drei-mrssvechii , @joeljuice

inspired by: have yourself a merry little christmas by judy garland

series masterpost: 10 days of christmas

“cookies!!!! santa needs his cookies!!” the kids exclaimed after asking what was next to do on this lovely christmas eve.

“cookies it is” i said as i headed to the kitchen, john already getting bowls and other tools we’ll use out.

every christmas john and i ask our two kids what they’d like to do to celebrate. as they’re still very young, they normally ask to do things for santa claus like writing letters and making him cookies. and every christmas it’s a great one, especially ever since i met john. he’s always a family man, but the minute he finishes his last game for the holidays his attention is 110% focused on our kids and me.

“good that we have enough chocolate chips this time” john says as i lay out all the things we’ll be needing on the island. the kids right beside me as they just came from washing their hands.

“i know, just make sure they don’t eat them all before we even get started” i said quietly knowing all too well how capable they are. he smiled in response.

“okay, let’s start making the batter. ax hunny, you can dump the flour in. and jace pass me two eggs” i said, as jace gentle passed me the two white eggs making sure not to let them fall.

“i’ll heat up the butter,” john says as we completely forgot to take out the butter earlier. jace adds in the sugars & vanilla that his dad prepared for him before i crack the eggs. after the microwave stopped, jt brought out the butter and place the right amount into the bowl so i could mix it.

“mommyyy, could you maybe tell us a story while we bake?” axton asks as he looks up at me with soft eyes. “a story?” i asked, not sure which one to tell.

“yeah a story! maybe when you and daddy first met?” jace asked, looking at the two of us. john looked at me and smiled, it was the first time they ever asked us that. i smiled as i looked down and stopped the mixer. “sure,” i said. “mommy can start” jt said as he rubbed my hand.

in my head, i looked back through all my memories and stopped at 5 year old me in my kindergarten classroom of my elementary school. “well, it all started in kindergarten! i was really nervous and scared on the first day, i didn’t know if i was going to make any friends,” the kids smiled as they could surely relate to the same feeling.

“later on when we began to play a game, we had to find a partner. and i stood there looking at everyone until one boy came up to me and smiled. he asked me if i wanted to be his partner, and when i said yes he took my hand and we moved closer to the group. that was the first time i’ve ever seen him, but he was so sweet and gentle and he made me laugh the whole day. we talked everyday after that, played in the sandlot at recess and sat beside each other all the time. he was the bestest friend i could ever have.” i said looking at john who had his eyes fixed on me, beaming the whole time.

our two boys looked at jt and jace asked, “did you love her the firsts time you saw her? like ummm, like love at first sight?” jt looked down at him, “well we were so young, but as we grew older-” “and closer” i added. “and closer, i began to love her, like that, very very much”.

the kids had poured in the chocolate chips as we talked, so i began mixing the bowl again. “wait, but daddy went to new york right? mommy, did you go with him?” ax asked as he sat on the island counter.

“no not exactly, i visited a lot, but mommy had to go to college so i stayed here while daddy went to new york to play hockey. but he promised me something the night he left”

“what was it?”

“i promised her that i was going to talk to her everyday, and that i was still going to love her so much, and that i was never going to forget her.” jt says as he lays a kiss on my head. i closed my eyes and remembered that night, knowing that he kept that promise. to move forward, when he came back to toronto, john did what he dreamed of doing - making sure he sealed the deal with me to allow us to make our own sweet family.

“wow daddy’s a romantic!” jace said as he walked to grab the pan to start placing the balls of cookie dough. we laughed, “he was. and he still is, trust me!” i say as john blushes, walking away to grab some parchment paper.

as we made small balls of the dough, enough to fit the whole pan, we placed it in the oven and let them bake for a couple of minutes. after we cleaned up the kitchen, ax asked “what about christmas? did you spend christmas together?”

“yup, daddy’s parents were friends with my parents so when they would have christmas parties, i would be able to see him! it was really fun.”

“what would you guys do?” jace asked, as i took out the pan of cookies after my buzzer rang. i set them to cool, and got some plates ready.

“we would eat a lot of cookies and other candy. we would sit down in front of the tv and watch all the christmas movies we could watch until we fell asleep.” john said as he grabbed some of the cookies and placed them on the plates, enough for the four of us as well as enough for santa. i poured us some glasses of milk.

“that’s what we do!” ax says as he smiles. “exactly,” i say as i hand them their cookies and we head to the living room. “it’s our family tradition!”

we then sit down and begin eating our soft and gooey chocolate chip cookies as we watch the original ‘rudolph the rednosed reindeer’. i laid my head down on jt’s shoulder, savouring every minute of our merry little christmas.

[ join my taglist if you enjoyed reading! : click here <3 ]

#g’s christmas series!#john tavares #john tavares imagine #john tavares fic #toronto maple leafs #toronto maple leafs imagine #toronto maple leafs fic #toronto maple leafs fluff #nhl writing #nhl fluff #nhl fics #nhl imagines #hockey writing #hockey imagine #hockey fics

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blushinggray · 3 years

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Free! The Final Stroke screeching/reaction (spoilers)

AHHHHH I JUST WATCHED THE FINAL STROKE MOVIE TODAY IN THEATERS ON PREMIER DAY AND IT WAS LAKSJDFOAIFJWOEI to summarize it all, it was Very Gay, which was to be expected but they DID NOT have to get so freaking extra with it 😩😩😩

much screaming and many spoilers ahead

FIRST OF ALL, KIRISHIMA NATSUYA: HE WAS SO FUCKING HANDSOME DAFKJOIEFJOSIDJF. SO HANDSOME. SO HANDSOME AND STUPID AND OVERLY FRIENDLY AS WE LOVE HIM TO BE ALKDSJFOAIEW.

he was in the film for a total of maybe 5 minutes altogether, which was kind of a lot bc the film kind of was just putting all the characters back in for the sake of putting them in imo? for the fans, lol. so everyone could see their faves. and in these five minutes that he appeared, our mans:

bragged about his little brother he's so proud of

got laughed at by nao for being natsuya (aka dumb and straightforward) as usual

trained with sousuke (he was hanging out in the same pool with him, nao, and makoto to train and aid in sousuke's rehab training)

got a call from ikuya after the international swimming competition in sydney!!!! in that same cafe he's always at!!!! and he was with nao at the time he got the call. casual and cool as always, being the cool big brother or whatever. he ended the call with a curt, "you got it. see you. don't catch a cold."

HE WAS HANGING OUT AT CAFE MARON WHILE THEY WAITED FOR THE SYDNEY COMPETITORS TO COME BACK TO JAPAN. HE WAS BEHIND THE COUNTER WITH ASAHI (WHO WAS HOLDING BABY TSUKIMI IN A CARRIER ON HIS CHEST!!!!!) AND HE THREW HIS ARM AROUND ASAHI AND WAS GETTING SO CLOSE LIKE ALKSDJFAOIEJAOEI. I have absolutely no clue what he was saying at the time bc i was too busy freaking out and trying to hold in the sounds bc the theater was so quiet. but his GODDAMN FACE. HE WAS SMIRKING. SO HANDSOME 😩😩😩😩😩😩😩

and of fucking course, they were all out together at a restaurant when the sydney competitors came back, and he was like, "wth no one else is drinking alcohol tonight?" and nao was like "ofc not haha" AND YOU KNOW WHAT HAPPENS NEXT

HE FUCKING FALLS ASLEEP AT THE TABLE AFTER DRINKING AND EVERYONE IS SURROUNDING HIM AND PATTING HIM LIKE "dude..." and ikuya is sitting there like, omg can't believe this mess is my brother....

i thought that just might be his last scene in the film but then we show back up to the kirishima household and natsuya is eating some sort of luxury holiday(?) bento and ikuya is like "aren't you gonna save any for me?" and natsuya's like "of course not. this is for me, you gotta wait until next year xD" and then ikuya just fucking SNATCHES up several different foods and stuffs his face with all of them and natsuya starts arguing with him over them laskjdfoawiefjao where was this brotherly affection all this time?????

and then cut to a few seconds later, natsuya's bumming in his room on the floor like in s3 when ikuya comes in and tells him about his new future goals and alskdjfaoei brothers sharing their ambitions together 😩😩 WHAT IS GOING ON. EVERYONE GETS ALONG SO WELL NOW???

NEXT: we'll go back to the beginning i guess lmfao but they're preparing for some sort of university festival

we start off with an easily misunderstandable shoujo-style situation where asahi is talking to ikuya like, "i know it's your first time... you don't have to be nervous. i know you can do it." and ikuya's like "no! i can't 😣" like the tsun he is backed up against the wall. and then it turns out they're trying to make a mille feuille cake.... but everything he's made so far looked like crepes

and for some damn reason, KISUMI comes outta nowhere into the kitchen and is like "ooooh what's this? a mille feuille cake? although they all look kinda like crepes haha ^^" and then ikuya RUNS THE FUCK OUT OF THE KITCHEN, yelling, "i told you i couldn't do it!!!" like the fucking tsun he is... and asahi is yelling at kisumi like "why did you just say that!!!" and starts rubbing his knuckles into kisumi's head and kisumi's just laughing like, "oh did i do that hehe"

and for some reason... seijuurou is working at the booth in his speedo and swim team jacket. i mean i'm not complaining but sir.... PLS TAKE MY MONEY AND GIVE ME YOUR FAT OCTOPUS BALLS. (he literally started a batter mixing competition with hoshikawa inside the booth, like what are they even doing in the same booth???)

then rin and sousuke show up to ikuya, asahi, and hiyori(?)'s booth, and they're offering them the crepes and then they get into a conversation about smth that leads into them showing the embarrassing photos they have of each other?????? like ikuya has a pic of rin in his maid costume for some reason??? (tho it isn't shown) and rin shows an embarrassing pic of ikuya he has in his phone that he got from natsuya???????????? and then ikuya starts chasing after rin yelling at him to delete it lasdkjfoaei

and then haru is off to the side selling ugly ass bird mascots again lmfao. bc ofc he is. love that weirdo

BUT THE REAL KICKER HERE IS KINJOU!!!!!!!!!!!

APPARENTLY, HIS VILLAIN BACKSTORY COMES FROM HIS CHILDHOOD CRUSH (/exaggerated) ON HIYORI ALSKDJFOAIE WHAAAT. apparently he was that annoying kid in the playground who would go up to hiyori and bother him bc he wanted a friend. bb hiyori was literally like "why are you even talking to me so much?" in his sandbox. and bb kinjou is like, "well there's gotta be smth you like, right? what is it?" and hiyori's like "well i feel kinda happy when i'm swimming... :)" as images of ikuya flash into his mind, that gay ass

BUT KINJOU'S GAY ASS EYES START SPARKLING TOO AND THEN HE'S LIKE "I GOTTA LEARN WHAT THE BIG DEAL ABOUT SWIMMING IS" and he runs home, begs his brother to take him to the pool. but next time he brings his swimming stuff with him to the playground, hiyori isn't there anymore and apparently he left for america at that time (or smth). so poor baby basically got ghosted

but hiyori still knows him when they're older!!!! kinjou shows up when they're throwing out the trash after the uni festival and calls out to hiyori to taught him (which is where that bullying preview scene came from i guess) and alkfjeoiaejoaifj omfg it's like that estranged childhood friends (sorta) trope but it'll never go kinjou's way bc hiyori is and will always be in love with ikuya 😔

kinjou would make such a good yandere tho!!!! he has a feral expression on a few times throughout the movie, and during a race he gets super competitive mid-race and... ngl he was kinda sexy 😳 i'm actually kind of surprised by how taken i was with him in this movie. doesn't help that he's unfairly handsome and his hair looks fucking amazing. i MAY OR MAY NOT be exploring this man in the future..................

i also found the ending with haru pretty interesting!!!! it kind of hints at neurodivergence? smth along the lines of disassociation or multiple personalities? (guess 50% off was kinda right on that end lmfao).

he gets obsessed with beating albert wahlander, which is the most fired up i've ever seen him (to the point of almost hurting himself) and then the shadow or whatever effect albert has on haru kind of just overtakes him and pushes haru out of his own body in a way... it doesn't make sense to describe it this way, i know, but haru is literally watching himself say hurtful things to his friends while being overtaken by this... albert obsessed persona?

it's so interesting to see haru being the one obsessing over someone instead of the other way around for once!!! at the end of the movie (after all the credits) haru says the same thing he once said at the beginning of season 1? about how "at age 5, you're a prodigy. at age 15, you're a genius. at age 20(?), you're average." and this is def gonna be explored/concluded in the second part of the final stroke movie so i'm excited for that!!!! april 2022 come at me!!!!

there were SOOOOO many other things going on, plot wise and fanservice wise, and ofc kyoto animation was fucking TOP TIER SHIT. all the water effects... there was a shot where haru was looking at his reflection in the water and they make a drop fall and spread and shake his reflection in the waves and it was lafkjsefoiaeja fucking glorious. the soundtrack was lovely too. there was a RADWIMPS-esque beginning song and a sexy ass electric guitar buildup for kinjou (which may or may not be contributing to my growing obsession with him...)

AHHHH!!!! it was so good and everyone was so cute and handsome and gay and funny. we literally see every single character we've met before in some way, shape, or form lmfao. i might just go back to the theater and watch it again on one of the upcoming holidays this week.... SO GOOD. SO GOOD.

I LOVE ALL THESE GAY SWIMMING BOYS SO MUCH 😩😩😩

#free!#free! the final stroke #misc

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pixelated-pogues · 3 years

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Hey lovey!!! Congrats on 900!!! I’m so proud of you!!! Can I get an obx ship? My name is Kaity, I’m straight, I use she/her pronouns. Im a film major. I love to listen to Pop Punk music and draw. You’ll often rarely find me in short sleeves as I have a sun sensitivity but I still enjoy hanging at the beach and hiking. Sunsets are the most beautiful thing in the world to me right now. I’m a hopeless romantic. I have half brown half blonde hair and dark brown eyes but they turn amber in the sunlight. I have a semi-colon tattoo on my right arm. I thoroughly enjoy Chinese/Japanese food (especially anything with noodles). I’m as active as I can be but I do have panic attacks and night terrors along w/ an autoimmune disorder. My favorite animal is the sea turtle and my favorite color is burgundy. That’s pretty much me in a nutshell!

Xx -K🖤

hey bb! i’m so sorry for the delay! i’m moving tomorrow so things have been hectic and i kept forgetting about doing this!

okay so, i genuinely ship you with our boy jj ☺️

JJ would notice you at the beach carrying around a camera, filming your friends as they horse around in the sand while you guys wait for the sun to set. He didn’t talk to you then, but he was insanely intrigued by the girl with two colors in her hair carrying a camera around and mindlessly laughing about whatever was going on. John B immediately took notice and kicked sand at him, laughing, “Earth to JJ, are we going surfing or are you going to sit there daydreaming all day?” Of course JJ kicked sand right back before running towards the water with his board, John B following in suit.

After that, you always seemed to be at the same places as him at the same time. Each time he saw you, he grew more interested by the small things he noticed. The way you always seem to be wearing long sleeves and how you carry a battered sketchbook around with you seemingly everywhere you go peaked his interest too.

You were by yourself at the Wreck, eyes focused on whatever you were drawing in your sketchbook, when he finally made up his mind to talk to you. He came up beside you, stealing a glance at your drawing before he said anything.

“That’s really good,” he complemented, startling you out of your thoughts. Your face turned a light shade of pink as you jumped, nearly knocking your cup over in the process. “Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you.”

“You’re fine,” you laughed in embarrassment, pushing your hair behind your ear. “Thanks, the idea has been stuck in my head for days, but I can’t seem to do it justice when the pencil actually hits the paper.”

“Are you kidding? This is unreal, do you mind?” He questioned, gesturing towards the book for approval before you push it towards him. “These are really good.” He flipped through the pages in your sketchbook, appreciating each drawing before one caught his eye, halting his movements. “You drew me and my friends,” he stated, in awe of the detailed drawing of the pogues on the beach.

“Oh, oh god that’s so embarrassing. You must think I’m a creep,” you gushed, moving to grab the book from his hands.

“No, not a creep. I’m intrigued. Why us?”

“I’m filming a little documentary of what life’s like in Outer Banks. It’s really just a personal project really. You guys seem to be a great subject for the project, and I like doodling people that I find interesting. A weird connection between the two I guess,” JJ found himself shocked at your words. The whole concept was so cool to him and he immediately asked if you wanted to meet the pogues.

That’s how you ended up meet everyone. You quickly meshed with the group and it wasn’t long before you and JJ officially got together.

——

-This boy would LOVE letting you film him.

•Whether he was doing some ridiculous trick, hanging with the pogues, or he was just being his goofy self, he loves being in front of the camera.

-He’d let you talk him through all things related to filming and why it interests you so much. He’s all for listening to you talk about the things your passionate about.

-You’d spend days chasing sunsets, hiking through hidden places on the island, and nights at the chateau with the pogues.

-John B and Pope would give him hell for being whipped, but they’re secretly just happy that JJ found someone that makes him happy.

-I can totally foresee the two of you JAMMING to pop punk music. JJ would be jumping around head banging, screaming the lyrics to songs while you focused on whatever you were drawing at that given time.

-He’s also be so gentle with you. He learned how to help you through your panic attacks and always made sure to hold you for as long as you needed after.

-Honestly, I think the boy would be WHIPPED. He’d be so protective of you and would absolutely spoil you in any way that he could.

——

I didn’t intend on giving a lil imagine AND a bit of a headcanon buuut I loved the idea of this so much that I couldn’t NOT do it.

#900 celebration #lys speaks #ships

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broadstreetmisfits · 6 years

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Running Wild (Dylan Strome) - Chapter 1

“Okay so why do you want me here?” I asked my dad as we pulled into a hotel parking spot.

“Because I want you to relax a bit and enjoy your summer Lauren!” My father, Rick Tocchet said

“But that requires me to come with you to the NHL draft? You know I don’t care about hockey.” I explained.

I rolled my eyes and we got out of the car. I was dragged along to Sunrise, Florida for the 2015 NHL Draft. We checked in and headed up to our floor.

“Okay well the team is in town and we’re meeting at Marlins Park. I’ll catch up with you later.” I told my dad and walked into my room.

I had just finished my freshman year at Arizona State University, where I play softball. Along with being a catcher at ASU, I am also honored to be a part of Team USA.

Anyway, I changed into some workout gear and drove to the nearby Miami Marlins Park. I parked the car and entered through the player’s entrance. I walked up the stairs and into the dugout where most of the team already was.

“What? We can’t find a softball diamond anywhere?” I asked as I put my gear down

The girls greeted me and then continued their warmup. I joined them and did some stretches on my own. Kelly Barnhill and I went to one of the bullpens to work on pitching and catching. After that, we joined the rest of the group and took batting practice.

I stepped up to the plate, my bat in hand. I took a few swings then got in my stance, ready for the pitch. One of our coaches tossed it, I swung and it went deep into left.

“That woulda been outta here if we were in a softball diamond.” I heard someone yell.

I took another practice swing before stepping back into the box. Another ball was tossed, it was clearly out of the strike zone so I didn’t even bother swinging.

“Good eye Laur!” One girl yelled

The next throw was right down the middle. It was too perfect to not hit. I swung, felt the ball hit my bat and watched it go through center. When I thought it was losing speed, it would only go farther. Before I knew it, the ball was in the stands. The team erupted in cheers. I tossed my bat, walked over to them and they congratulated me.

I went back down to the dugout to get some water and put my gear back on. We were planning on having a little scrimmage before the end of practice. I climbed back up the stairs and onto the field. The batting cage was taken down and everyone was ready to play. I took my spot behind the plate and the scrimmage began. When I returned to the dugout after the top of the first, I was told I was third in the lineup and so I stripped my gear off yet again. I guzzled down some water and popped a piece of gum in my mouth. Valerie was in the batter’s box and Kasey was on deck. Valerie pop flied out to right field. One out. As Kasey walked to the box, I took her spot on the on deck circle. Delanie was pitching and I knew her tendencies pretty well. She was one of the pitchers for ASU. I got my swing in sync with her pitching and watched Kasey. She hit a little dribbler in the hole between second and third. She reached first base and it was my turn to bat. I took a swing before stepping into the batter’s box. I got in my stance and prepared for the pitch. I fell behind 0-2 due to foul balls. I continued to fight back until I was ahead 3-2. The next pitch was right down the middle. I swung and hit the ball in the dead center. It launched over the outfielders and into the stands. My team erupted into cheers and I jogged around the bases. Our first and third base coaches congratulated me as I passed them. Kasey was waiting for me at home plate.

The scrimmage ended and our team ended up winning 3-2.

After my team’s little celebration, I packed up my bags and then drove back to the hotel. When I arrived, I found a coach bus in the front of the building. I parked the car and made my way towards the entrance where the bus was.

As I passed by the bus, the doors opened and well-dressed young men started to walk off. I ignored them as I made my way inside the hotel and to the elevator. When the elevator doors opened, I entered and hoped that none of them would follow me in.

Unfortunately, that was not the case. I pressed the button for the level my dad and I were staying on – three – and that’s when the boys flooded in.

“Three please” One of the guys said as he walked in. His short brown hair was well kept and his eyes were dark like a freshly brewed coffee.

“It’s already at three you dumbass” The guy following him whispered to him but it was loud enough for everyone, including myself to hear. The other guy had dirty blonde hair that was a little less well kept than the other guy’s and had bright blue eyes.

Instead of acknowledging their presence, I simply pulled out my phone and began to scroll through Twitter. Without even looking up from my phone, I could tell that all of the guys’ eyes were on me as I stood in uncomfortable silence.

Thankfully, the elevator reached the third floor before any of the guys could say anything. However, half of the guys followed me down the hall while the others went to go the other way. The hall was dead silent with the exception of the footsteps.

After what felt like forever, I finally reached my door. But of course, once I thought I was fine, I found the brunette from earlier going to the door next to mine.

“Hey” He smiled at me

“Hi” I awkwardly smiled back hoping I wouldn’t have to engage in a long conversation.

“I’m Dylan” the boy introduced himself

“Lauren” I replied

“How was your workout?” He asked

My eyebrows furrowed. How could he possibly have known where I was? That was when I looked down and realized I was still in my practice clothes and was all sweaty. “It was good.” I answered

He nodded in response. “Well I gotta get going. My friend and I are gonna go practice before they cover the ice. I hope to see you around.”

“Have fun, I guess. I’ll probably see you around.”

When I entered my room, I somehow found myself genuinely smiling. Fortunately, it quickly went away. I went to grab some clean clothes and hopped in the shower.

When I finished, I dried myself off, got dressed, and then walked back into my room where I found my phone ringing. It was my dad. Great. He’s probably gonna have me do some stupid errand because he forgot something.

“Hello?” I asked when I picked up

“Hey Laur, I need you to do me a favor.” Yup. Nailed it. “I need you to come over here and bring me my suit jacket.”

Even though he couldn’t see me through the phone, I rolled my eyes. “Really dad? You forgot your suit jacket again?”

“Yeah, I did. Please just bring it. I’m in the BB&T Center, office 179” He said and then hung up.

I groaned, but put on my shoes and got ready to go. I quickly made my way down the hall to my dad’s room where I grabbed his suit jacket. After exiting his room, I headed towards the elevator.

I saw it closing, so I yelled for whoever was in there to hold it. Fortunately, they were nice enough to do so. When I finally reached the doors, I found Dylan and his friend standing there.

“Thank you” I said quietly as I walked into the elevator with the boys.

“No problem” Dylan smiled

There was an awkward silence for a few seconds before the other guy broke it. “You do know how to get to the BB&T Center, right?” He asked

“Yeah, it’s roughly a five minute walk” Dylan answered and then turned to me. “Do you wanna come?”

Before I could answer, the other guy butted in “Not to be rude, but do you know her?”

Dylan turned to his friend. “Connor, why would I invite random people to a very private facility?”

“Because you can be an idiot at times…” The guy who was obviously Connor said

“I’d love to come, but I actually have to go run some things to my dad.” I interjected before the two of them started arguing. “But thank you for the invitation”

The elevator reached the lobby level and the three of us got out. When we exited the building, we went our separate ways; I went to my car while the boys got on the sidewalk to go to BB&T.

After a few minutes of driving, I arrived at the BB&T Center. I saw no signs of the boys when I pulled into the back parking lot. I climbed out of the car with my dad’s suit jacket and made my way to the entrance. As I approached the doors, the security guards smiled and held the door open for me.

“Good afternoon Miss Tocchet” They said and I walked in

“Good afternoon” I smiled back

Once the doors closed, I groaned. I’m not gonna lie, I hated being associated with my father almost everywhere I go. The only place I can really be recognized as myself is the softball diamond. There, it’s just me, my teammates, my coaches, and all the fans cheering us on.

Anyway, I made my way to where are the meeting rooms were and began looking for room 179. After a few minutes of searching, I finally found it. I knocked three times and then the door opened to reveal my father.

“Thank you so much sweetie. I was looking like a complete idiot without it.” He said as he took the suit jacket from my hands

“Yeah, of course” I replied halfheartedly as he turned away and shut the door in my face, but it opened not even a second later

“Oh! I completely forgot” My dad said “There is a banquet tonight. You need to be there and make friends.”

I was about to protest, but he closed the door in my face yet again. Why should I have to go to some hockey banquet? I don’t even like the sport.

I turned away from the door and found my way out to the concourse to look around. Even though my dad was a professional hockey player, and now a coach, I’ve never payed attention to any of the arenas I’ve gone to – with the exception of Gila River Arena of course.

Eventually, after who knows how many minutes of searching, I found the concourse. I walked around for a little bit, when I heard the all too familiar sound of pucks and skates hitting the ice. I went to the first tunnel that lead out to the seats.

Most of the ice was fresh, with the small exception of all the marks the two guys who had to be Connor and Dylan were making. The boys began to shoot pucks at the net, most of them going in, but there were a few exceptions. I watched as Connor took a puck and shot it, but missed. That was when a female’s voice filled the arena.

“You missed” The girl said as she walked out onto the ice. The boys turned around to see who spoke.

“I’d like to see you do better, sweetheart” Connor smirked

I couldn’t tell you what the rest of the conversation was because I was too mesmerized by this girl talking to these big names like they’re nothing. She grabbed Connor’s stick and walked over to where the closest blue line was. I watched as she wound up and shot the puck right into the net. I had to restrain myself from applauding, this was easy for the guys – they play the sport.

I was about to turn around and go back to the concourse, when I heard footsteps nearby. I had no idea if I was in forbidden territory or anything so I dove to the nearest row of seats to hide. Even though the person, who was probably a security guard from what I could tell was standing right next to me, I could barely make out what he was saying. It was something about a Gretzky… the name sounded familiar but I couldn’t tell you who that was.

A few minutes after the security guard walked down the tunnel, I got up from the ground and went down the tunnel to the concourse as well. I somehow managed to find my way out of the massive arena and drove back to the hotel.

A/N: I really hope you like the first chapter! Pleeaaaseee give me some feedback of either this or one of my other writings. It can be positive or constructive, I just love hearing your guys’ opinions.

#dylan strome #arizona coyotes #tuscon roadrunners #my little raccoon #connor mcdavid #mcjesus #i love both of these losers #and honestly dylan doesnt get the love and appreciation he deserves

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sawthefaeriequeen · 7 years

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6, 14, 17, 20, 21, 35, 36!

6: Which book was the last one youreally, really loved?

Answered here!

14: Name a book where the movie/tvadaption actually was better than the original

Ohhhh, I turned this over in my head a lot — Howl’s MovingCastle? But I liked that as much as theoriginal! It doesn’t count! Stardust? But I only read a little of the bookbecause I couldn’t connect with it! It’s not a fair comparison!

Then I remembered Stand By Me (adaptation of Stephen King’sThe Body) existed and all bets were off the table. :D

Don’t get me wrong, the book was good – I think Stephen Kingis a great writer even though I am a chicken and have read a grand total of twoof his books. It’s good in a gritty,end-of-summery way and I loved his sensory prose. But the thing is it’s very muchframed as an older guy looking back at a time long gone. There are jarring moments where Gordie (main character) drops little bombs inadvance ala Death in Book Thief, like“Teddy, what a crazy kid, man. Oh, by the way? He didn’t make it very far inlife. Anyway, on to the story of ouradventure…”

And that’s okay! That’s how some stories are told! I justprefer how the movie told this story,where the four boys’ adventure is front and center, where you can watchchildhood innocence being lost’ as it’shappening, and you don’t have theretrospective view of older!Gordie.

Another thing, the movie is a lot more, well, tender with the characters. They’re a lot more demonstrative andaffectionate with each other. The book-to-movie transition of the characterswas pretty faithful (and all the kids’ acting is so good!), except they madeGordie more fragile and introverted. Which actually served the story better. Because it’s so much moresatisfying , then, that the movie makes Gordie more proactive, and changes itup so that it’s he who saves the day and saves Chris (aka the gallant tough-guyBFF who is the one in this role, in the book).

I think the very last one is why I prefer the movie,honestly. Even Stephen King said “wow, I should’ve thought of that!” when hesaw it.

17: If you owned a bookshop whatwould you call it?

Lol, probably a bad pun with my name in it. I mean, justlook at my Goodreads name.

20: Bestsummer read?

Hah, so Ihave this unapologetic thing for contemporary YA summer books. I unabashedlylove Sarah Dessen (especially the books that take place in the beach town,Colby), and the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (although not the last one,which made the old, crinnge-y mistake of thinking ‘adult’ meant dark and miserable).

I alsopicked up The Unexpected Everything by Morgan Matson last year because she wasdoing a signing here and I figured, eh why not. I’m really glad I did becausethat book had all the ingredients for my ideal summer book which were 1) girl goingsoul-searching and finding fulfillment, 2) romance I can get invested in, withactually-lovable nerd love interest 4)All sorts of shenanigans that make you wish you were right there, and 4) FRIENDSHIP – a strong group of lady friends,and a couple of guy friends too (and her love interest gets seamlessly integratedin the friend group, which was particularly delightful!), 5) Strong familybonding. # 5 was particularly nice in thisbook because usually, in the Summer Books, they only come to anunderstanding with their Estranged Family Member* at the end of the story. Here,she and her dad start actively repairing their relationship almost midwaythrough the book, and it’s great.

*there isalmost always one!

21: Best winter read?

Oooh, okay, so I lovewinter books because obviously I live in a place without any snow at all. Sogrowing up, everything about wintery settings seem like a completely magicaluniverse* to me and I always devoured the obligatory ‘snow books’ thatcame in Sweet Valley, Baby-Sitters Club, American Girl etc. I mean, my favoritechildhood coloring book was one about the Arctic Circle.

Anyway, my favorite of those was The Bobbsey Twins At Snow Lodge. Such a delightfulwish-fulfillment book, that one. Some of the highlights:

1) The obligatory mystery was set in this tiny cozycabin battered by snowstorms and the twins all had to spend Christmas there! Mybb id was so pleased at all the loving descriptions of wind howling and crazycold snow falling because in tiny!me’s head, they were sort of like the typhoons we get all the time, except excitinglydifferent.

2) Of course, by the awesomeness of coincidence,their two cousins had to get away from their parents for Christmas too, becausePlot Reasons, and the Bobbseys are only too glad to take them in. “We can havea cousin Christmas!” I played with my cousins almost every weekend at thattime, and I thought that was most excellent.

3) Copious and charming descriptions of hotchocolate, of a grandfatherly guy who drove an actual sleigh around town givingpresents to children, of having dress-up parties because there was nothing todo (and I loved that, because we did that too!), of a secret undergroundpassage that of course was connected to the cabin, and of an oldfashioned Christmas where you had to hand-makeyour presents for your loved ones. I was so charmed.

4) Back to the hot chocolate, because seriously. Inone of the scenes where the twins are fighting a sudden snowstorm to get backto their cabin (which was another thing that pleased my tiny id.Because parents totally let their 7-12 year old children go boating and hikingby themselves all the time, yup) theyhave to take a break and so they take shelter under a convenient tree. And oneof the cousins whips out a freaking chocolate bar and melts snow using a thermos and a convenient lighter andmakes hot chocolate right then and there for all of them to enjoy. I was all D:D: D: hot chocolate that wasn’t Milo or chocolate balls (which, cacaofarming is/was a thriving business in myhometown )?! What sorcery is this?!

(And um yes, at some point I tried that trick with a candleand a chocolate bar. It did not work and I was Sad.)

*even the Madeleine L’Engle one where Vicky is trapped on anisland in Antarctica! And that one Sweet Valley where they have to fight forsurvival in an ice cave! And the one where the Baby-sitters are getting creepedby a stalker in a ski lodge. Because hey, I always I knew they’d survive and atleast it wasn’t happening to me.

35: Name a book you consider to beterribly underrated

Answered here!

36: Name a book you consider to beterribly overrated

It kind of pains me to say, but whatI’ve read of the Lynburn books by Sarah Rees-Brennan.

I wanted to like it! Her Demon series totally appealed me on a viscerallevel with its characters and the relationships between them (even though I willbe the first to admit that it’s really flawed as well). And the Lynburn series was set in a mysterious town with a spooky old house to be investigated – it had a similar setting to so many adventurebooks I loved as a kid and a teen; it shouldhave been catnip to me.

And yet I felt lie SR was trying TOO much to pile the quirk andWhedon-esque dialogue on, to the point that they piled and piled and thecharacters did NOT feel like characters to me. They felt like caricatures. And therewere all the yay-ain’t-I-clever moments that threw me out of the story becausethat can’t possibly be realistic – likethe scene where the dad leaves her with Jared (who he doesn’t even know) in her room and all Dad can sayis wisecrack, wisecrack, wisecrack and he leaves them both for the night? Sorrybut no way an Asian parent is ever gonna act like that, EVER, no matter howcool they are.

The thing that also really annoyedme is, it seems she gave all the big, juicy flaws to her male characters, andher female characters were just ‘quirkily nosy’ and ‘quirkily misanthropic ’but omg love them! Love them! Please love them, they’re awesome because I sayso! Eyeroll. Just…eh, lady, do you nottrust me to love a girl character with huge flaws?

Lastly, I quit in the second book becauseI kept seeing exchanges like this, which… say what you will about MaggieStiefvater, but she is still way better at writing a realistic woke teenager.For example, I like that scene where Blue tells off the condescending old guy (withAdam quietly supporting) because her dialogue doesn’t seem to me so darn contrivedand Tumblr-post-perfect as SR’s above. Those scenes were all over the place and they just threw me out of the book. As in, I stopped reading.

And okay, people love this series alot, maybe for the same reasons I dislike what I’ve read of it. That’s cool . Ijust get a bit bristly when it’s touted as soooo much better than herprevious one, because for me, sometimesless is more.

#queenofattolia #replies #the written word

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braddavis2410 · 6 years

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You’re Still In First Place, Pittsburgh Pirates

My Dearest Pittsburgh Pirates,

I said that I wanted a 4-2 week and you delivered. I’m rather impressed. The week started with a snow out in Chicago on Monday which is when we last spoke. You followed that up by winning two out of three against the division favorite Chicago Cubs. Not easy to pull off on the road though Anthony Rizzo’s trip to the disabled list certainly helped your cause. You didn’t have to face Yu Darvish or Jose Quintana though both of them are off to rough starts anyway. They also didn’t have to face your best pitcher, Jameson Taillon, so it all evens out in the end. You followed that with trip to Miami to play the Derek Jeter owned, rebuilding Marlins. After losing game one in sloppy fashion, you rebounded to win game two 1-0 on Saturday thanks to two bunt base hits and capped it off with a solid 7-3 victory behind a strong outing from Ivan Nova. You are 11-4 and still sit atop the National League Central. You are tied for the second best record in the NL and you are tied for the fourth best record in all of baseball. The bats weren’t as electric this week but you kept finding ways to win which is a sign of a (gulp) good team. I hesitate to use that term simply because it’s still so early and things like Corey Dickerson having the highest lineup drive percentage and the highest WAR in baseball seem unsustainable. The pitching has been better than expected and even the bullpen seems to hopefully be calming down. Who knows how far this will go but all I know for sure is that so far I’m very much enjoying the ride.

Jameson Taillon has become the unrequited ace of this staff. After him, the second-best pitcher in the rotation has by far been Trevor Williams. People might think that his current record of 3-0, his 1.56 ERA, and his 1.21 WHIP are unsustainable statistics. I’m not going to sit here and pretend that he will keep those numbers but his 3.03 FIP is a stat that’s far more interesting to me. It’s not out of the question that he could have a consistent mid 3’s ERA because that’s what he’s been doing for a year now. Over his last year as a starter, Williams is 10-9 in 28 starts with a 3.74 ERA and a 1.30 WHIP. Batters splits over that time against him are .251/.324/.380 for a .704 OPS against. He has given up 14 home runs in 163 2/3 innings over that time. That means he gives up one homer every 11.7 innings. All of those numbers include a BABIP (batting avg of balls in play) of .290 which is high and could also go down. Those aren’t exactly ace-type numbers but they are really good if that’s your #3 starter. And keep in mind that he’s young and still learning. He could conceivably improve as he gets older. If he continues like this, the idea of Taillon, eventually top prospect Mitch Keller, and Williams at the top of the rotation becomes very attractive. We will see if the league figures Williams out and if he will have to adjust to keep performing at this level. So far getting him in a trade for a coach that ended up getting fired anyway looks brilliant.

The bullpen still left a lot to be desired after last week. I begged for Neverauskas and Smoker to be demoted for Siegrist and Schugel while not being fully aware that Schugel was coming back from an injury and just started a rehab assignment this week. Siegrist still hasn’t reported to AAA so it seems unlikely we will see him anytime soon, if at all. You did finally send down Smoker and Clay Holmes who was brought up after Musgrove hit the DL. You brought up Kyle Crick, the reliever you received as part of the Cutch trade. He’s a hard thrower with upside so you would hope he can at least be a better option than Josh Smoker. Richard Rodriguez, signed to a minor league deal this offseason, was the other pitcher brought up. He’s at least interesting because his last two years in the minors have been very good. He’s sported ERA’s of 2.53 and 2.42, WHIP’s of 1.10 and 1.05, and a .216 batting average against in both seasons. In those two seasons, he pitched 152 1/3 innings, walked 43, and struck out 161. Those are dominant numbers. He got lit up in five innings in the majors last year but that’s a ridiculously small sample size. He’s a hard thrower but he is already 28. Sometimes you wonder why someone who is so good in AAA hasn’t got more of a chance in the majors. I like his upside so we will see. This week you also acquired Enny Ramirez off waivers from Washington. He will report in the next day or two which hopefully means the demotion of Neverauskas is finally upon us. Ramirez threw 55 2/3 innings in the majors last year for the Nationals with a 3.56 ERA and a 1.40 WHIP. His 10.5 K/9 were impressive and his 3.7 BB/9 were not. He pitched 75 2/3 innings the two years prior in Tampa Bay with WHIP’s of 1.73 and 1.53. That’s not good. I like that he has major league experience and if this is our last option out of the bullpen, I feel a lot more comfortable with him then our previous options. Hopefully these additions can stop the bullpen carousel that could very well be a season long issue.

I’ve spoke extensively about how important keeping Polanco healthy is to your season, even after only one hit the entire weekend. It’s very important to keep Francisco Cervelli healthy too. Let’s start with the fact that he currently holds a .904 OPS, a 135 OPS+, and that he’s been extremely clutch sporting a 1.274 OPS with runners in scoring position including 2 homers and 12 RBI’s. The job he does behind the dish might even be more vital. Every pitcher he’s ever caught raves about the help he provides them. Ivan Nova decided to resign with you partially because he loved Cervelli’s insight so much. You also see how seasoned he is compared to your other options. Elias Diaz started for Cevelli on Friday night and he had an adventurous night. He was 2 for 2 with a walk and a two-run homer. That’s a pretty good night. Defense was another story. With a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the 5th, the Marlins had the bases loaded and one out. Starlin Castro hit a sacrifice fly to Polanco in right field scoring a run and tying the game. Polanco still made the throw to the plate and Diaz tried to catch the runner tagging to take second. He airmailed it into center field allowing both runs to score and putting them up by two runs. I’ve honestly seen Cervelli make similar mistakes but it’s always worse when it basically costs you the game. The defensive play I had a bigger problem with was when the Marlins got their first run. With two outs and runners on 2nd and 3rd in the bottom of the 2nd, the Marlins’ pitcher, Dillon Peters, was batting. Chad Kuhl threw a slider in the dirt to Diaz’s non-glove side. Instead of sliding over and using his body to block it, Diaz lazily just tried catch it and it turned into a wild pitch. That slide and block is a Cervelli specialty. That’s not acceptable especially in that situation and Cervelli would know that. It’s those little elements that show off his importance. He already took a pitch off the hand yesterday so who knows how long until he has a stint on the DL. If he keeps hitting in any capacity like this, he becomes more essential than ever.

Naturally all of this good news had to be met with some bad news. The pitch that hit JHay yesterday broke his hand and he will miss six weeks. That means he’s back around the end of May. Not the end of the world but we will see a drop in defense at that position if Adam Frazier becomes the everyday starter with SRod getting starts against lefties. Frazier can hit but watching him boot an easy grounder yesterday after JHay left the game isn’t reassuring. You will go into this week JHay-less back at home for a quick three game homestand against the Colorado Rockies. The Rockies were a wildcard team last year and are out to a 9-8 record so far. Not bad. Thanks to a fight that broke out after a pitch was thrown at him, perennial MVP candidate Nolan Arenado will not play in the series because he’s serving his five-game suspension. That’s now two of the last three series where arguably the team’s best player is out. You need to take advantage. You already did once against the Cubs. After that, you travel across the state to Philadelphia to take on the upstart Phillies in a four-game series. They are 9-5 and currently sit in second place in the NL East. That series should begin with a (not so) friendly face. Jake Arrieta was signed by the Phillies this offseason for 3 years, 75 million and he is scheduled to start game one of the series on Thursday. Fun times. This will be the first week you don’t have a day off so make sure to pace yourself. These are beatable teams but nothing is ever a given. Take care, be safe, and talk to you next week.

Surprisingly Still Steeped In Success,

Brad

P.S. still stands for “Plugging Something” which remains the unchanged phrase. I would like you remind you that my new podcast that I co-wrote with my friend Chris Maxwell called DEATH AT SUNSET: HARD TIMES AND SOFT DRINKS is now available on Apple Podcasts (aka iTunes), Stitcher Radio, Google Radio Play, and SoundCloud. Follow P.I. Jack Dime as he searches for a missing bus boy and stumbles upon a conspiracy involving a Los Angeles booze shortage. This comedy sunshine noir story is told in four, 20 (ish) minutes episodes. Please listen, rate, and leave a review on Apple Podcasts. Thanks so much for your support of this blog and of our new endeavor!

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