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nutty1005 · 3 years

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Xiao Zhan, welcome to the cruel entertainment business

Original Article: https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/6qaJPp9O1exu4M8xtbt71A Original Author: 杨晋亚 Translator’s note: The original author is part of Yuli Studio, this article is published in Yuli Studio’s Weixin Official Account on 15 Sep 2019 as a part of “Behind the Screens” Volume 210.

“I never thought it would happen this way, this was fated.”

A month ago, he was just accepted by audiences due to “The Untamed” and just became one of the most popular actors. Now, he had to take on the responsibility of a movie’s box office as the main lead actor, and show his worth to the movie industry.

Three days before “Jade Dynasty I” aired in the cinemas, Yuli Studio met up with the nervous Xiao Zhan, who told us his fears, “Movies, well, they are very direct, very pragmatic and very cruel, so there’s no choice, since we’re already here, I just have to work hard to do my best.”

With traffic and popularity, comes others’ views and opinions – some expected him to withstand the stress of the box office, but there were also others waiting to laugh at his failure. “Jade Dynasty I” was the first obstacle Xiao Zhan was breaking through, and the path ahead was still long.

Xiao Zhan, welcome to the cruel entertainment business.

Xiao Zhan at “Jade Dynasty I” Press Conference

Looking back at the movie journeys of all the traffic actors, no one was like Xiao Zhan, who took on a movie while he was still a nobody, and this movie aired just barely 2 months after he made a name, putting his resource conversion ability to a public test.

On the first day, the box office was 142 million, on the second day it broke 200 million, these were the results “Jade Dynasty I” achieved during the Mid Autumn movie season, which exceeded many people’s expectations. The first day was with fans support, the second day still had interested moviegoers, Xiao Zhan’s first time as the lead actor on silver screen and he miraculously withstood the box office.

“Jade Dynasty I” Super Topic + Maoyan Movie Professional Box Office Chart

This was Xiao Zhan’s third time on the silver screen.

The first time, he was a little monster dressed in flowery clothes in “Monster Hunt 2”, drowned in a sea of group actors, almost unnoticeable as the camera panned past him in a second. The second time, he was a special agent, a side character that barely had 1 minute of screen time, in “The Rookies” during that year’s summer movie season. The third time, he became the main lead actor and took on the entire movie, presenting the process of innocent Zhang Xiaofan becoming a demon.

The production team of “Jade Dynasty I” revealed that, whether or not Xiao Zhan became popular, the movie was planned to air on 8 Aug, however because the post production was incomplete, hence it was shifted to the Mid Autumn movie season.

Director Cheng Xiaodong said that the luckiest decision he made for “Jade Dynasty I” was to cast Xiao Zhan, “I never thought that his acting would be so natural so good, he is not pretentious, and he is very humble, when you tell him something he will listen and improve.”

Stage photographs from “Jade Dynasty I”, Xiao Zhan before and after demonizing

On set, Cheng Xiaodong even actively added some scenes for Xiao Zhan, for example the scene at the start of the movie where Xiaofan was fantasizing about his senior, Tian Linger, “I found that he could act in all layers, he could do dull and dimwitted, he could do the demonizing transformation later on, so this movie he had many layers, the pace kept changing.”

To Xiao Zhan, Zhang Xiaofan of “Jade Dynasty I” was an unforgettable milestone, it was considered to be his toughest filming. Filming in conditions under 20°C and being blown by a giant fan, hung upside down for a free fall of 30 meters, in order to maintain his sense of the role, he even turned off the heater in his trailer, just so that his body will adapt to the temperature outside.

Before “Jade Dynasty I” aired, Xiao Zhan once said, “If the reception of the movie isn’t very good, I just have to work harder in the future. If it was not bad, then I am grateful that you saw my hard work from that period of time.”

After the movie aired, Xiao Zhan became the center of discussion for “Jade Dynasty I”. The movie’s quality was the result of an entire movie crew’s hard work, but now that all the discussions had landed on Xiao Zhan, to a certain degree, that was the price to pay for fame.

Stage photograph from”Jade Dynasty I”, Xiao Zhan as Zhang Xiaofan

On 23 Aug, there was a video on Weibo that was reposted a few tens of thousands of times.

In the video, Xiao Zhan had just ended a day’s filming, and after he got off the car, the 20 over fans waiting at the hotel entrance got rowdy, they blocked Xiao Zhan’s path and took pictures of him in his face using their phones. Spotting a gap at the side, Xiao Zhan suddenly took off running, and then he safely entered the elevator.

During the filming period of “The Oath of Love” recently at Wuxi, crazy fan actions were happening everyday as Xiao Zhan went to and from his work, sometimes they would surround and block him in the underground car park, sometimes when he got into the car they would forcibly block the car doors from closing, sometimes they would knock on his hotel room door to stuff notes to him.

Xiaofan, a staff who worked around Xiao Zhan said that the sasaeng problems was already very serious, the company wanted to provide him two assistants and security guards, but Xiao Zhan insisted not to.

“Because he didn’t want to give off the impression that he started acting like a big shot after he got famous.”

During the interview, Xiao Zhan spoke about the sasaeng problems again

From the media’s perspective, we have witnessed many artists change after they got famous, some would have a star aura, some would be exuding confidence from in to out, Yuli Studio’s reporter Lanpangzi once visited the set of “The Untamed”, and one year later met Xiao Zhan again at the “Jade Dynasty I” press conference, Lanpangzi discovered that Xiao Zhan was still as warm and accommodating like the boy-next-door.

At the backstage of the press conference, a few tens of guests spoke to Xiao Zhan consecutively, he was smiling at everyone, and slowly fulfilled each and everyone’s request to take a photograph together, and only until 4pm that afternoon he was able to finally have time for a few mouths of a lunchbox. The continuous non-stop interviews started at 4.05pm, all the reporters wanted a photograph together, and he tried to accommodate even under such tight scheduling.

After becoming famous, Xiao Zhan had more and more interviews, and if he was not careful, he would be accused of putting on airs if the arrangements of the interviews were done wrongly. Xiaofan said that Xiao Zhan himself was especially aware of this point, “He is now even more nervous than before, and he had expectations of all of his staff, please don’t think that he is putting on airs just because of our errors.”

Xiao Zhan at the “Jade Dynasty I” Press Conference

After joining the “Jade Dynasty I” press conference in Beijing, Xiao Zhan had to quickly fly back to Wuxi to continue filming.

Before “The Untamed” finished airing, Xiao Zhan had already entered the filming for “The Oath of Love”, and filming while at the height of his fame would mean that he would miss a lot of event opportunities. When his fans were worried about his limited exposures, Xiao Zhan’s thoughts was that: “What’s there to be worried about, I feel that an actor’s life comes from his works.”

In fact, Xiao Zhan had received a lot of invitations from many events, so his biggest worry was how he could maintain his normal acting condition.

“Some events you just had to complete, and then I had some commercial obligations prior, like that day at Suzhou, that was a contract that I signed then,” Xiaofan said, “the last thing that Xiao Zhan wanted to do was to take leave.”

Xiao Zhan’s current schedule at “The Oath of Love” was from 8am to 10pm, if he had to take leave, it meant that when Xiao Zhan returned to the set he would have to work overtime to film his scenes.

Stage photograph from “The Oath of Love”, Xiao Zhan as Gu Wei

The performance teacher accompanying the filming , Yang Xu, witnessed Xiao Zhan’s helplessness and anxiety.

“His load in ‘The Oath of Love’ was especially big, basically we could only discuss his scenes that day while he was doing his make up in the morning, because the filming would end very late at night, I wanted him to go back for more rest. Moreover the fan problems now are too prominent, sometimes he would also talk to me a bit, although I don’t think this incident affected his mood or his performance, but it definitely affected his normal resting time.”

For a while, Yang Xu was very worried about Xiao Zhan’s condition, but what surprised him was that, although the filming would end very late at night, but by the next day, Xiao Zhan would have memorized his lines and made full preparations before coming to the make up room.

“That was what made him powerful, and I found that he would actually really use every bit of spare time to prepare for the role and his lines, for example, while doing his make up, even when going to the toilet, he would be holding the script, and then during the rest period after filming every scene, he would be reading his lines with me while drinking coffee, because lines reading needed partners, I said you just take me as your partner.”

When he was away from the set on leave, Xiao Zhan took late night flights between Beijing and Wuxi almost every time, and in the photographs taken by his fans at the airport, he would also be reading his script.

Stage photograph from “The Oath of Love”, Xiao Zhan as Gu Wei

Every early morning at the make up room would also be the spare time for Xiao Zhan and Xiaofan to talk about their work and release stress.

“Now he does not seem to enjoy the applause and glory from the opportunities that came with his sudden fame, a lot of it was some anxiety and confusion,” in Xiaofan’s eyes, these two months in Xiao Zhan’s life definitely changed.

“Suddenly, we experienced a lot of things that we don’t quite understand, it could have been a small mistake at work, but we would gain the attention of anti-fans or fans. He is more of an introvert, he doesn’t go out to entertain, stays at home more, leads simple life, and suddenly his life came under the spotlight, wherever he went there will be fans following, he was definitely anxious.”

The seniors in the industry would also give Xiao Zhan some advice, and share with him some of the survival rules in the entertainment world that he had not experienced. “For example we will having having a fun conversation, or someone would be telling some something he does not know about in the industry, the next day he will tell me that the conversation made him quite excited, he learned a lot, I feel like he is a sponge like person, continuously absorbing,” a senior in the industry revealed.

Xiao Zhan

On 10 Aug, a day before the filming starts for “The Oath of Love”, performance teacher Yang Xu finally met Xiao Zhan again.

The script for “The Oath of Love” was given to Yang Xu quite early on, Xiao Zhan also wanted to quickly get into the preparation for this role, but because the promotion schedule for “The Untamed” was too tight, they did not manage to squeeze out some time to discuss about the script face-to-face.

“That day’s morning he just fixed his costume, we only met briefly at night,” Yang Xu recalled, but what put him at ease was that Xiao Zhan already made full analysis and preparation of the script, “At that time, I felt assured, his analytical skills of his roles were getting stronger, he was already able to analyze the script independently.”

Yang Xu, who was once a teacher in Central Drama School, participated in many dramas, such as “Nothing Gold Can Stay”, as their performance instructor. When he joined “The Oath of Love”, it was already his third time working with Xiao Zhan.

Stage photograph from “The Oath of Love”, Xiao Zhan as Gu Wei

While filming “The Untamed”, Xiao Zhan told the visiting staff from Yuli Studio that he wished to improve his lines. After finishing “Jade Dynasty I”, Xiao Zhan proactively went to Yang Xu for a few classes.

The airing “The Untamed” in this summer made many viewers notice the actor Xiao Zhan.

In the “Bloodbath at Nevernight City” in episode 32, Wei Wuxian stood on top of a roof, facing off the accusations from all of the sects, crying and laughing, unable to explain himself. In this part, the Yiling Patriarch’s rage was at his max, and it was Xiao Zhan’s golden moment of his acting abilities, and many drama fans were surprised to find out that the filming of that scene was done in the same day as another scene – that day’s morning was the filming of youth Wei Wuxian in the library, and at night he immediately went into the condition of the Yiling Patriarch dying in Nevernight City.

We asked him how he could film such extreme conditions within the same day, Xiao Zhan confessed that he himself did not know, “I saw some gifs and clips, if I had to suddenly redo this scene, I don’t think I can outperform that me then, I guess that time it was the accumulation of time and condition, maybe that period of time I had already blended into the role.”

Stage photographs from “The Untamed”, Wei Wuxian at Nevernight City and the Library

Drama fans attributed this to Xiao Zhan’s “self-sacrificing styled acting” performance method, in the drama, Wei Wuxian depended on someone to use the “self-sacrificing curse” 16 years later to resurrect – this “self-sacrifice” meant that Xiao Zhan gave himself entirely to the role of Wei Wuxian.

To Yang Xu, Xiao Zhan’s instinctive acting method, where he became the role, actually came from this “sincerity”, and this was where the advantage of Xiao Zhan as an actor lied.

“Xiao Zhan is a very sincere person, I spoke to him then that sincerity is a very important quality in an actor. This sincerity meant that he could 100% give away himself, he was the same when he was taking classes with me. Because when we were practicing, he also needed to share some of his privacy or live experiences, he would share them very sincerely.”

Stage photograph from “The Untamed”, Xiao Zhan as Wei Wuxian

Yang Xu felt that the introvert and quiet Doctor Gu from “The Oath of Love” was more like Xiao Zhan in his everyday life. But Xiao Zhan felt nervous about this role having similarities with his own character, because he felt that he had not acted in any contemporary dramas. Before filming started, he constantly asked Yang Xu about the differences between contemporary dramas and period dramas, whether he was to portray life as more at will compared to period dramas.

Yang Xu told him, at its core they are acting out human emotions, therefore he must truly experience the life of this character, and then build a realistic communication with his partner.

“Yang Zi is a more quick-witted actress, her performances are very varied, if at this time Xiao Zhan wasn’t about to build enough communication with Yang Zi, or not focused enough, then the two of them might not be able to match up. But what’s good is that Xiao Zhan is very sincere, and he could receive Yang Zi’s performance, and then reply with his layered emotions. I was on set watching a few of their scenes, I personally feel that Xiao Zhan did very well.”

From “Jade Dynasty I” to “The Oath of Love”, Yang Xu saw the growth of Xiao Zhan within this half year. During the process of working with Yang Zi, Xiao Zhan became willing to try more variations, willing to breakthrough his fixed style of acting, and look for changes in every scene and every line.

“He is very concerned about how he crafts every single character, he has his own expectations of his performance and profession, he will never be satisfied with his results and what he has attained in performance. He will forever be seeking, and with this seeking, he will have motivation to learn and grow. And he is very talented, I always tell him, you definitely can become a good actor.”

“The Oath of Love” Character Poster

We reverse the time back to early 2017, Xiao Zhan has just joined the filming of “Battle Through the Heaven”, as the minor role Lin Xiuya.

Then, Xiao Zhan had just entered the entertainment industry for barely a year, and acted in a web drama that he jokingly called it his “dark history” later on.

During the performance classes before the filming of “Battle Through the Heaven”, Xiao Zhan stood out from all the newcomers, not only because of his outstanding looks, but also because he was well-mannered and polite, very hardworking during the filming, and left a great impression on the staff.

“Battle Through the Heaven” was filmed throughout the Chinese New Year period of 2017, the new actors did not go home, and one of the seniors in the crew was talking to them, telling them that as a singer in China, their career progression might be more limited, and they should go down the path of acting, but the path of acting is a path of no return, they could only move forward and not backwards, therefore you will need to put in everything for it.

Stage photograph from “Battle Through the Heaven” Season 1, Xiao Zhan as Lin Xiuya

Born in 1991, Xiao Zhan was the representative of “over-aged commoner pursuing an entertainment business dream”, he only started to learn dancing at the age of 24, debuting as a part of a boy group. That spring, the 26 year old took in what the senior said, and started to consider the possibility of changing his career path.

At that time, Xiao Zhan was not confident, he felt that he came from an idol group background, and he was not sure if he could become an actor. But one of the strengths of Xiao Zhan was that he would not consider whether he could or not, instead, he would “choose, I just want to do it well, do it first, we’ll see the results later”.

Just like him starting to learn dancing with no foundations, but he saw effects after a month; during the idol competition his mentor Shu Qi suggested that he train his gaze, and a few weeks later he started to shed off the commoner in his gaze; in the transformation to become an actor, the senior encouraged him to lose weight first, and come to the set of “The Wolf” 3 months later, he really lost 10lbs.

“The Wolf” was Xiao Zhan’s entry work, followed through the entire drama as a part of the lead actors, and gained an acting quality improvement from 0 points to 50 points. A member of the staff revealed that hotels with better conditions were further away from the set, and in order to leave more time to acting, Xiao Zhan took the initiative to pick a hotel that was near the set despite it having worse conditions.

Stage photograph from “The Wolf”, Xiao Zhan as Ji Chong

During the filming period of “Battle Through the Heaven” and “The Wolf”, transforming from a singer to an actor facing cameras, that sensation once caused Xiao Zhan to lose the sense of himself, unsure how he could let the audiences believe that he was that role. During the filming of “The Untamed”, Xiao Zhan was still not confident enough, compared to the newcomers around him that came from acting schools, Xiao Zhan did not have any advantages.

“My thoughts and intentions had always been very simple, that is I want to do it well,” Xiao Zhan said, during the filming of “The Wolf”, he filmed in the day and took classes at night, writing his acting analysis in the late night, he also broke down once or twice, writing them while crying, but eventually he persisted.

The seed of stubbornness and refusal to admit defeat is deeply rooted in Xiao Zhan’s body, as a child he would go to Shaoniangong every weekend to learn drawing, and nothing would keep him from it, because that was something he wanted to do from his heart; when competing in the idol competition, facing many teammates who were from music academies, he thought to himself that “if you could do it, then I could do it too, and I’ll do it even better”; when filming, he believed that viewers would not be concerned whether he came from an acting background, but the most direct answer would be whether he acted well or not.

“The Untamed” finally brought the actor Xiao Zhan to everyone’s notice.

That summer, he became the entertainment business’s new top traffic power, his supertopic firmly in the top three, all kinds of gossip forums had posts about him, and “Jade Dynasty I” also showcased his appeal.

Stage photograph from “The Untamed”, Xiao Zhan as Wei Wuxian

Why was he able to receive so much love this summer?

There were many within the entertainment circle that looked well upon Xiao Zhan, two of them could provide answers or a type of assessment:

“Xiao Zhan used his acting abilities to conquer me”; “I see the shadow of every worker on him, he carries the hopes and dreams of every man pursuing a dream.”

There was a microblog titled “Recording Xiao Zhan’s every man moments” that obtained 330 thousand likes, and within it, fans shared many little stories about him.

For example, after living for 28 years, Xiao Zhan’s most prideful moment was to have his logo sell well as a designer; the backgrounds of his group’s concerts and the web drama’s slides were all drawn by him; his mobile phone home screen was the God of Fortune, like every person who hoped for a sudden windfall.

One part was the recognition of his working capabilities; the other part, the Xiao Zhan, who became a designer after graduation and went through a year of working life before pursuing his “entertainment business dream”, was indeed very different from the idols that were cultivated from the idol machine, he came with common sense and life experiences, his past was definitely able to resonate with every man.

Xiao Zhan

A fan once sent this microblog – Xiao Zhan’s temperament is so good, perhaps it’s because he had been honed by his clients. Xiao Zhan himself replied her with a meme: “What do you mean?”

The experience as a contractor, plus always facing people with a smile, everyone’s first impression of Xiao Zhan was that he was a gentle person with a good temperament.

Xiao Zhan always habitually considered others’ feelings first.

Staff Xiaofan revealed that the previous assistant was not capable enough, made a lot of mistakes, but Xiao Zhan never lost his temper at him.

Yang Xu accompanied Xiao Zhan every morning in the make up room for script reading, there was once Xiao Zhan had insomnia the night before and was in a bad shape, he took the initiative to apologize to the teacher, “That day I could feel that he was actually very tired, but he still tried his best to maintain his condition to discuss his role with me, later on he came to me and said, teacher I’m sorry, my condition was bad in the morning, you took still so much effort to explain the role to me, I feel quite bad, you can come slightly later, otherwise you’ll feel bad looking at my current state. I was very touched then, I said you just rest well and don’t worry about me.”

In the idol competition, someone once questioned Xiao Zhan’s character as passive and unenthusiastic. To Xiaofan, this is because “he is always humble and polite to people he doesn’t know well, and he’ll treat everyone with a sense of propriety.”

A reporter once asked Xiao Zhan if he was a Mr. Nice Guy. Xiao Zhan replied, “I feel that those who feel like this are probably acquaintances. People who know me very well will know that I’m actually quite stubborn and quite strong-headed.”

Xiao Zhan

Xiao Zhan said, he did not like to make the atmosphere uncomfortable, he hoped that everyone could all be harmonious.

But in the “Secret Garden”, Xiao Zhan will unexpectedly shed off this shell of warm smiles and display the tenacious edge in his heart.

Xiao Zhan had a microblog that held the heartfelt words between he and his fans, and some words Xiao Zhan would quietly post in the comments, and those who care for him would always see it.

Last year after “The Untamed” started filming, there were those who believed that he would rise to fame very quickly, but there were also those who mocked him for “being famous on credit”, Xiao Zhan, who had a nickname “Brother Wealthy”, quietly posted a comment on the sentiments then, “I have money, I don’t go on credit.”

In his daily life, Xiao Zhan does not like to cry, he said he has given all of his tears to his characters. Once in a while, everyone can also see that soft Xiao Zhan coming out of his protective shell. Last year during the Hangzhou concert, he looked at the hall full of his fans’ support, singing the song, “Satisfaction”, that his fans fought for him, he tried to keep in his tears.

After bursting to fame, whether Xiao Zhan will continue to display his strong or soft moments, we would not know, but Xiaofan revealed that the staff do not control Xiao Zhan’s microblog postings, the “Secret Garden” continues to be his method of communicating with his fans.

But we can be certain that Xiao Zhan is slowly learning and adjusting to the rules of the entertainment business, becoming more careful, he will sometimes tell his staff, “We need to be more careful than before.”

Xiao Zhan’s Mid Autumn greetings

The night after the premiere of “Jade Dynasty I”, Xiao Zhan secretly went to record a program at CCTV. That night at 8.30pm, word from the scalpers circle came out, “Xiao Zhan’s activity, those who can come to the area near the world trade center message me! Limited seats! Hurry!”

Later on, there were a lot of fans gathering at the north entrance of CCTV, and until late night at 11pm, there were still large groups of fans quietly waiting. Xiao Zhan and his staff would sometimes wonder, when would days like this ever end, but they also understood that this is an anomaly, things would slowly stabilize after a few months, and the future still depended on his works.

After completing the filming of “The Oath of Love”, Xiao Zhan will go through a period of rest and adjustment, and enter filming again at the start of next year.

“What worried him previously what that he didn’t know where his opportunities were, didn’t know which path he should take; now of course he’s firmly decided on being a good actor,” Xiaofan revealed.

Xiao Zhan at the premiere press conference of “Jade Dynasty I”

His vlogs since his debut, until yesterday when he spoke to everyone online, Xiao Zhan always started with “I am still Xiao Zhan”.

After rising to fame, Xiao Zhan told himself that he needed to work harder in his life, and work hard to remind himself to stay common and still be that very initial Xiao Zhan.

However, no one would be able to foresee the possibilities of Xiao Zhan in his career, “No one restricted that I have to be this type of Xiao Zhan my whole life,” since he is someone who likes to stay on his feet, and very willing to try and change.

Entering this cruel entertainment business, Xiao Zhan still continues to be a honorable working class, lying on his sofa after knocking off; traffic comes and goes, he tells himself that he should not compare with anyone else, he should only compete against himself, and be a long distance runner.

Only passion and sincerity can withstand the long and slow passage of time.

Xiao Zhan looking at that year’s fireworks

#xiao zhan #sean xiao #xiaozhan #肖战

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firstofficerwiggles · 3 years

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Only for You

Pairing: Mandalorian x female reader

Rating: G

Warnings: None

Summary: You like to sing and it ends up bringing you closer to the Mandalorian. Events take place sometime between Seasons 1 and 2. It’s pretty much fluff with a teeny bit of story.

Word Count: ~4600

Author’s Note: Inspired by the Adele version of Make You Feel My Love, I use several of the lyrics in the story but I did make one small change to make it fit the SW universe. Also in my SW universe, all Earth music is readily available by some magical means, don’t overthink it.

P.S. To everyone I tagged, I did a presumptive tag here since you were on my list for Dress Code and I thought maybe you’d enjoy reading this too? I’m sorry if you aren’t interested and just let me know if you don’t want to be tagged for any future works.

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The soft sounds of you singing to the child drift through the Razor Crest up to the cockpit making Din smile under his helmet. Ever since you came aboard to be the caregiver for his little foundling, life has been filled with music and boisterous sounds. It’s a nice change from the lonely silences that previously filled his days. He never really listened to music when he was alone, it just wasn’t something he was used to, but now he knows he would miss it if you weren’t singing all the time.

“Heeey, hey baby, I wanna know-ow-ow, if you’ll be my guy.” You sing to the child causing him to giggle and coo at you. You swear he is even bopping his head along to the rhythm of the song. You’re preparing the evening meal, dancing around the Crest’s hull and singing to your little green charge as you do. Thank goodness Mando doesn’t mind how much you sing and generally create a ruckus in the ship. From outward appearances, your primary worry should have been Mando’s dangerous lifestyle and the bounty on the child, but honestly, when you first started this job, your primary concern was about being way too noisy for the taciturn bounty hunter. You feel like you can’t help it though because you were raised in a loud household with three brothers where everyone was always talking, laughing, shouting, and generally being rowdy. Later, you were away at school living with hundreds of other students constantly surrounded by racket, the perfect environment for your noisy nature. Not to mention, you’ve always loved to sing and were known for being that one (slightly annoying) friend that was always humming a tune or breaking out in song like you were in a musical.

You were fortunate to be sent to a school with a great arts program and you relished your music classes. You had dreamed of someday being able to have a career in music, but as the war grew closer to your corner of the galaxy, those aspirations quickly faded. By the time you left school, you were lucky to find the odd teaching job as a tutor and the closest you’d come to having any sort of musical profession was singing and playing the piano at the local cantina a few times a week for tips. It had been fun for a while, but it wasn’t how you had envisioned your life. Playing the same requested songs night after night while increasingly drunk men hit on you loses its charm real fast. When your older brother, another bounty hunter, had told you about Mando needing some help with childcare, you had jumped at the opportunity for something new. So far it was proving to be the most rewarding job you’d ever had. Not only was the child unbelievably adorable, you’d also had the opportunity to travel to many new places and gain experiences that would have been impossible back on your home world. And while caring for the special alien baby was your main task, you found yourself helping out his father as much as you could too whether it was simply cleaning up around the Crest or making sure that Mando ate something on a given day. You had seen that he frequently put everyone above himself, going for long stretches of time without seeing to his own personal needs. He seemed to appreciate everything that you did for him, always quick to thank you even for the smallest of tasks.

You checked the timer on the food and saw that there were just a few more minutes until it would be ready. To keep the baby from getting fussy, you pick him up and spin him around a bit singing to him again, “So won’t you, please, be my, be my, be my little baby, my one and only baby...” It’s silly but you love singing songs to him with the word “baby” in them even if they aren’t traditionally songs for children. You are mid twirl with the child when you realize the Mandalorian has come down from the cockpit and is watching your little performance. You feel your cheeks heat up, a bit embarrassed that he has caught you being such a dork, but then he puts you at ease when he chuckles, “You two look like you’re having fun.”

“Yes, time for dinner and a little dancing,” you reply with a smile, twirling the child one more time causing him to erupt in happy giggles.

“Good, I’m starved,” Mando wanders over to the food, “Smells delicious. You’re too good to us.”

You put the baby back down and turn back to the little stove to dish out the stew you’ve made. You try not to think about the fact that you made this particular dish because Mando seems to like it so much. You couldn’t be certain but it looked like he licked the bowl clean the last time you made it. Mando moves to take his bowl up to the cockpit so he can remove his helmet and eat in privacy, but then turns to you to say, “I’ll let you know when it’s ok to come up for lullaby time.”

Ah yes, lullaby time, as if you would ever forget. It is the highlight of your day, and you would love to imagine that the same is true for Mando even though he’s never given any indication of the kind. When you first started this job, you had tried to give the Mandalorian as much space as possible not wanting to pester him in any way. As much as you could, you had stayed out of the cockpit treating it as his own private domain. So the first few times you put the child to bed, you stayed down in the hull as you sang him a few songs to help ease the little womp rat into sleep. But, after a few evenings alone like that, Mando had managed to be downstairs, tinkering away at little odd jobs while you put the baby to bed. At first you didn’t really think he was paying much attention to your singing, but by about the fourth night you realized he had been cleaning the same blaster over and over, and you began to suspect that he was listening to you as intently as the child. A few days later, he suggested that you come up to the cockpit for the child’s nighttime routine, saying “Maybe looking out at the stars will help him feel sleepy.” You had agreed, but, you had to admit, that it was more because you were curious about spending more time with your employer than finding a way to help the little one fall asleep faster. Mando had been the one to coin the term “lullaby time” as a way to let you know that his helmet was back on and he was ready for company. Your heart almost melted the first time he said it, and now you lived to hear him call down to say “Ok, you two, it’s lullaby time.”

In the cockpit, Din is gulping down his dinner. He knows he should probably slow down, savor his food a bit more, but truthfully he’s eager to spend more time with you and the child. He’s thought about staying down below with you both when he eats, but tipping the helmet up each time he wants to take a bite of food or a sip of a drink is a pain and he can’t risk the chance that one of you will see too much of his face. Din would never admit it out loud, but lullaby time is his favorite part of the day. It’s the one time he gets to spend time with you and the child just relaxing and enjoying your presence. Plus the fact that he gets to listen to your beautiful voice is a special bonus. At first Din would just watch you hold the child and sing to him, but now he’s a more active participant, often taking the child into his arms, rocking him gently as you sing to the both of them. He’s even started to ask you more about the songs you sing and where you learned them. It’s been a nice way to start conversations with you, to know more about you, something else he is eager to do.

When Mando calls down to you, you beam down at the baby and tell him happily that it’s time to get ready for bed. Scooping him up, you climb the ladder to the cockpit and you can see Mando already holding out his arms for the little one. You adore how affection this hardened warrior can be with his adopted son. You settle in the co-pilot’s chair as you start to sing some of your favorite songs. They’re all love songs, not really lullabies, but they are soft and dreamy and create the right mood for the evening. You’ve sung about four songs when you notice the child’s eyes are closed and you can tell he’s almost asleep. You’re about ready to collect him from Mando so you can put him into his pram for the night, when Mando asks, “What’s that song you sing about feel my love?”

“Make You Feel My Love?” you ask, “Is that the one you mean?”

“Yeah,” he replies, “you didn’t sing it tonight.”

It’s not exactly a request, but you understand what he’s hinting at. He’s asked you the name before, so you suspect he remembers the song fairly well. Even though the child is practically asleep now, you sing it for Mando, feeling touched that he must enjoy this particular song to want to ask about it.

When the rain is blowing in your face

And the whole world is on your case

I could offer you a warm embrace

To make you feel my love

When the evening shadows and the stars appear

And there is no one there to dry your tears

I could hold you for a million years

To make you feel my love

Din listens to the beautiful words and the haunting melody as your voice sings to him about all the ways you would show him that you care. He watches your lovely face as you sing and he imagines that you really mean what you are singing, that you’re singing it just to him, that you really would do all of that for him. When you get to the line I could make you happy, make your dreams come true he feels his heart lurch at the truth in those words, knowing how much you already make him happy every day and acknowledging that if you were ever truly with him, it would be like a dream come true for him. As the song ends, he sighs, both contented at hearing it but also saddened to come back to reality. Din won’t let himself believe that a woman like you could ever really love him so unconditionally. His life is too turbulent, full of violence and hardship, and what woman would want to saddle herself with that?

Even though you’re not privy to Mando’s true feelings, you somehow feel that you could tell how much he enjoyed hearing that song and so after that evening, you are sure to sing it as the last song every night. Usually the child is already fast asleep when you sing it, so each time it becomes clearer to you that you really are singing it just for Mando. As the days and week progress, lullaby time has come to be followed by conversation time since you have taken to returning to the cockpit after putting the child to sleep in his pram. At first you mostly spoke about your own life, answering Mando’s questions about where you learned to sing, what else you learned at school, and what life was like with your three crazy brothers. Yet, little by little he has begun to tell you about his own past, sharing stories about his training in the Mandalorian fighting corps and his earlier years as a bounty hunter.

The more you find out about Mando, the more you’ve come to develop real feelings for him. So when you sing that there’s nothing that you wouldn’t do for him, that you want him to feel your love, you know you really mean it. If only you could bring yourself to tell him in your own words, and not only in the song. Nonetheless, if you’re honest with yourself, you have no indication that Mando shares your feelings even slightly. While he does seem to enjoy spending time with you, and clearly he likes Make You Feel My Love, truthfully he could be thinking about anyone when you sing it or it could be that he just likes the music and the company, it’s not like there’s someone else here. Sure he’s always polite and kind towards you, but he’s like that with lots of people, as long as they’re not a threat. You’ve seen how quickly he can make friends, despite being an intimidating wall of metal, his quiet charm and respectfulness draws people to him in an unassuming manner. Perhaps you’re simply another friendly admirer swept up by his intriguing aura. So you do your best to keep these feeling to yourself, maintaining as neutral an expression as you can when you sing to him and doing your utmost not to embarrass yourself by sharing too much and potentially ruining the friendly companionship you’ve managed to cultivate.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“I don’t think this will take too long, and you two can probably get something to eat while we’re here.” You and the child have accompanied Mando to a cantina on an icy planet where he has a meeting with a potential client. It was too cold to stay on the Razor Crest with its meager heating system, and thankfully this place is warm and doesn’t seem too seedy. The bar top looks well-polished and there’s even a piano in here, hinting at a nicer atmosphere than most of the hole-in-the wall joints you’ve been to with Mando. The only unsettling thing is how everyone in the cantina is staring at your odd little group, the silver warrior, the alien baby in his floating pram, and you, the woman looking about with curious eyes. You have never quite gotten used to the way that Mando can silence an entire room just by entering it, but he seems unperturbed by the stares. He spots his client, an older looking gentleman, and moves toward that direction, but a group of patrons have decided to intervene first.

“What’s your business here, Mandalorian?” A tall, florid-faced man demands. He seems to be the unofficial leader of the group, as the rest of them are looking to him as the voice of authority.

“It’s not with you.” Mando is never one to mince words.

“We don’t need you coming in here and causing trouble, I’ve seen how you Mandos get.” A much shorter man, with clearly a death wish, sticks his finger towards Mando’s chest plate almost poking him.

“Not here for trouble.” Mando’s voice sounds gruffer than usual and it sends a shiver down your spine.

“Well you Mandos never drink in public, so what are you doing in a cantina?” The short man sneers at him and ugh, the way he makes Mandos sound like a dirty word irritates you to no end.

Not one to be baited into confrontation, Mando says nothing in reply, but merely tilts his helmet at the man, and you can feel the annoyance in his gesture.

“This a decent place for decent people, so why don’t you just turn around and get out of here?” The tall man suggests with a malicious tone to his voice. This place might look at little nicer, but the patrons sure are nasty. You look around and see more men standing up, and the tension in the room is palpable. You know Mando could really use the work, but the last thing he needs is to get into a fight just trying to land the job.

You have no idea what possesses you, but before you know it you’re saying “But if we leave now, you won’t get to hear me sing!” And you stride confidently over to the piano, plop yourself down on the bench, and begin playing out a jaunty song, a popular tune from your cantina back home. Despite the fact that everyone is now staring at you like you have lost your mind, you press ahead and start singing as if this was always the point of being there. You smile brightly at the room as if you are having the time of your life performing for them. Magically, your ridiculous ploy works and the men back off, a bit startled at first by the abrupt change in energy in the room, but as they beginning listening to you sing their animosity seems to drain away. Several other patrons are nodding their heads along with the music and light conversation picks up again. Mando gives you a small nod before finally making his way over to the client. You let the music flow and continue on to another song, keeping everyone’s attention on you. By the third song you feel more relaxed and grateful that you’re able to help Mando out in this way. A waiter comes over from the bar with a drink for you as you end a song, “That was smooth, what you did,” he gives you a little wink.

“Hope your boss doesn’t mind,” you say with a smile.

“The drink’s from him, he said he didn’t realize I hired a singer for tonight, but he’s real pleased with you.” He gestures to the man tending bar.

“That’s good,” is all you can think to say in response.

“Do you know She’s Always a Woman?” he asks. You nod smoothly and start the song and you glance over at the bartender again and see that he’s smiling widely, must be a favorite of his.

After that, a tip jar finds its way over to the piano and patrons come up to add to it and make their own requests, even the tall man comes over to give you a few credits and ask for a song. His cronies are now back to their drinks and none of them even seem to register that Mando is still here. The more you sing, the more you get into the fun of performing for a crowd again, making them forget their troubles and letting them take some time to enjoy themselves. When you glimpse towards Mando and his client, they also seem to appreciate the music. The client has a happy smile on his face and while you obviously can’t see Mando’s expression, his relaxed posture indicates an improvement from earlier. He doesn’t seem to be in a hurry to leave for once either.

Looking at the pleased faces and jovial manner about the cantina now, Din is impressed with how you managed to transform this place from hostile to welcoming in a matter of minutes. The client appreciated your help too as he was worried about hiring a bounty hunter in the first place, never having had a need for such services before. Fortunately, the client’s explanation of the job was fairly straightforward and it looks to be an easy bounty. Din is careful to repeat back all of the pertinent details to the client and the man seems satisfied in his abilities to find the quarry, which is good because his usual laser-like focus has abandoned him and he can’t stop himself from glancing repeatedly over to the piano and you. Normally, Din wouldn’t hang around and socialize with the client, but the opportunity to see you perform like this is too good to pass up. He knew you were talented after hearing you sing for him and the baby for so many evenings, but seeing you shine like this is a luxury. Din watches keenly as different emotions play across your gorgeous face as you shift from happy, upbeat songs to the more expressive and dramatic love songs. You are always beautiful to Din, but seeing you like this is special, like you’re glowing from within and it makes you all the more precious to him. He’s not crazy about the fact that you’ve clearly captivated at least half of the men in the room with your beauty and talent, but he knows you’re leaving here with him and it makes him feel rather smug. As Din listens to you sing a love song about how you think about the man you love night and day, he indulges in a fantasy where the song is about the two of you, especially when you sing about spending your life making love to him. It’s easy to imagine especially when you keep looking over at him with such an outright flirtatious expression during the song.

Under the guise of performing, you let yourself look at Mando with all of the desire and love you’ve been keeping under wraps for so long now. You’re careful to let your eyes roam around the room, flirting with the other patrons too, but every time you turn back towards Mando you let your gaze soften a bit more. As the evening wears on, you let yourself sing all of your favorite love songs, telling Mando how you feel with each one, promising that you’ll love him forever, that you’ll never let him go, and how he’s the only one for you. You know you’re just pretending that he understands why you’re singing each one, that they’re all for him. The only song you can’t bring yourself to sing is Make You Feel My Love. It seems too personal, too private to perform in front of all these strangers.

The crowd at the cantina starts to thin out and you know you’ve been here much longer than Mando originally planned. You decide it’s time to bring this interlude to an end and thank your audience for their attention, playing one last song to say good night. When the music ends, you stand and take a small bow to the round of applause. You collect your tips and an additional unexpected payment from the bartender, along with several requests to come back again soon. Mando is back at your side and he places a hand at the small of your back guiding you out the door and into the snowy night. You expect him to pull away once you are out of the crowd, but he stays close to you.

“Thank you for that impromptu performance.” He deep voice rumbles in your ear as you head back to the Razor Crest, “It was a welcome distraction from those idiots and I appreciated not having to get into a bar brawl.”

“Anything to lend you a helping hand,” you reply warmly.

He nods, and then says, “You’re really very talented. You could do well for yourself, singing full time in a nice cantina or a casino somewhere.”

“Tonight was fun enough, but I’ve had my time singing in a cantina, it gets old faster than you think,” you tell him, “besides why would I give up the best job in the galaxy?”

“The best job in the galaxy?” Mando scoffs a little at that.

“Sure it is! I get to travel around all over seeing all kinds of planets and people, take care of the most adorable magic baby ever, and spend time with his amazing father.” Oops, did you just say that last part out loud?

Mando is quiet for a beat, but then he says, “You’re the amazing one.”

You’re too shocked to say anything more than a mumbled, “Thanks” and hurry towards the Crest.

Once aboard you check on the baby, but he’s already asleep, so all you do is tuck his blanket around him a little more and then climb up to the cockpit where Mando is readying the controls for take-off. Even though you’re still a bit embarrassed by your unplanned compliment earlier, his response has made you curious. You sit quietly as you leave the planet’s atmosphere and the ship makes the jump to hyperspace, the whole time racking your brain for the right words so that maybe you can finally give Mando a clue about your feelings. You’re about to give up, when he says, “You didn’t sing Make You Feel My Love tonight.”

“Ah, no, no I didn’t.” Maker, you want to tell him why, but the words are frozen in your throat.

“That’s my favorite song.” Mando finally admits to you.

“I thought it might be,” you say, “that’s why I sing it every night.”

“But not tonight?”

You take a deep breath. He’s giving you the perfect opportunity and you gather all your courage as you tell him, “It felt too personal to share such an intimate song with all of those people. When- when I sing that song, your song, it’s only for you.”

“My song?” You swear his voice gets deeper when he tries to clarify what you mean.

“Yes, that’s how I think of it now.” You look at his visor where you think his eyes must be, trying to silently confess to him what that song means to you.

“My song.” Mando repeats, before asking, “Do you know why it’s my favorite?”

“No, I- I really don’t. I just knew you liked it when you asked me about it a couple times.”

He’s quiet again for a moment and you wonder if he’s going to elaborate when he finally says, “It’s my favorite song because I imagine that you really mean what you’re singing, that you’re singing it to me for real.”

“I am singing it to you for real,” you finally confess, “I mean every word each time I sing it for you.”

“You are? And you do?” Mando seems genuinely surprised, “How- How is that possible?”

You smile at him and because you feel like you might as well go for it, you stand up coming closer to him and then you reach down and take his hands in yours, “It’s possible because you’re such a wonderful man, you treat me with respect, you’re kind, you let me be my annoying, loud self as much as I want--”

“I don’t think you’re annoying,” he interjects.

“And see, that, right there, you always make me feel good, you just make me glad to be around you, it’s one of the many reasons why I fell in love with you, why I am in love with you.” The words come tumbling out of your mouth and your chest feels tight, but then he squeezes your hands.

“I’m in love with you too, have been for a while,” he says softly. Then he tugs you closer to him until you’re sitting in his lap with his arms around you. He holds you close to his chest, and you can’t imagine how this could be any better, until you hear his rich baritone voice sing the last lines of the song to you,

I could make you happy, make your dreams come true

Nothing that I wouldn’t do

Go to the ends of the universe for you

To make you feel my love

------------------------------------------------------------

Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed it.

Let me know if you’d like to be tagged for any future fics!

Tag list: @sleepwithacommunist @im-the-nerdiest-of-them-a11 @rueblogsthings @mackycat11 @tv-zepeda @remmyswritings @mudhornchronicles @boomtownboy @mandosboobiez @hoodjarin @haley7242

#the mandalorian #the mandalorian fanfiction #the mandalorian x female reader #din djarin #din djarin fanfiction #din djarin x female reader

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redwallthoughts · 4 years

Text

Redwall Midwinter Miracle: Day 3 part 3

As always, huge thanks to @raphcrow for her help with beta-reading and editing

*looks back at previous chapter*

Ch. 6 might be a little bit longer in coming...

I promise I didn’t actually mean that it would take three years. That was an accident.

However, I don't anticipate new chapters of RMM returning to the original once-a-month schedule. You see, during the three-year break, I have begun working on a piece of original fiction. It's still in the early stages of development (first draft hasn't been completed and there's still a lot of world-building to do), but I've been trying to work on it diligently. I'll be posting small updates on it at the end of new chapters from now on, but if any of you lovely readers would like to see more in-depth info on it, please feel free to follow the blog I've started for it, Moiranvall-official.

FF.net, AO3, DA

[Ch. 1] [Ch. 2] [Ch. 3] [Ch. 4] [Ch. 5]

Rose followed Martin through the cellars and up the passageway toward Great Hall. He was talking animatedly about the collection of books, new and old, in the Redwall library. Rose smiled as she listened to him talk. When she first met him on the northland coast they hadn’t had time to discuss books and reading. They’d been far too focused on the rescue of the other slaves to be bothered with such mundane activities. Now she wished that she would have shown him her father’s books. Perhaps Urran Voh would not have reacted so strongly to him then.

“I'm hoping Vurg and the others will be up there,” Martin was saying as they walked up the sloping passageway that led to Great Hall. “I think they'll enjoy meeting you.”

Rose shook herself, recalling her mind back to the present as she placed a steadying paw on the wall of the passageway. Her footpaws were feeling a bit sore. “Who?”

Martin grinned at her over his shoulder, matching his pace to hers as she slowed down. “Vurg, Denno, and Dulam were all good friends of my father when I was a baby. They came back to Redwall with us after we found them in the North two summers ago. Though I should warn you that it may be a bit rowdy if Beau is up there too. He and Vurg are always engaging in friendly arguments.”

Rose giggled. “Sounds like Rowanoak and Ballaw,” she said, smiling at the thought of her two friends. Wanderers though they were, they had become quite fond of Noonvale, even coming to call it home.

“Do they argue often?” Martin asked.

Rose rolled her eyes in mock exasperation. “All the time. Oh!” She nearly ran into Martin as he came to a sudden stop at the end of the passageway.

“Sorry,” Martin murmured. He peered around the corner into Great Hall looking both ways before he stepped out of the passage. He held up a cautionary paw, still looking around the hall.

Rose peered around at the empty room. There was nobeast in sight. “What are you looking for?”

“Dibbuns.”

Rose rubbed a paw in her ears, not entirely certain she’d heard right. “Dibbuns?” As far as she knew, all the abbey youngsters were engaged in the scavenger hunt.

Martin nodded. “Call it habit,” he said, “You never know where they're hiding. Normally it wouldn't be a problem, but they’ve figured out that I usually award the prize for the scavenger hunt. A few of the rogues have taken to trying to find it in my pockets before the game’s finished.”

Rose grinned. “So that's why you've got those candied chestnuts with you. Tintin said he saw you pocketing them on your way through the kitchens this morning.”

Martin nodded. “Aye, and I don’t want you getting caught in the crossfire if they spot me.” He peered around once more and began across Great Hall.

The sandstone floor of Great Hall was warm from the heat of the kitchens below. Bright spots of color danced about on the stones, cast by the sunlight streaming through the colored glass in the windows. Rose could hear dibbuns laughing somewhere in the distance.

Martin, it seemed, had heard them too. He turned back toward the steps that led down into Cavern Hole, staring briefly into the shadows of the passage before grasping Rose's paw. “Hurry!” He hissed, walking faster

Rose did her best to keep up, but her footpaws were beginning to ache.“Ow!” Rose's footpaws twisted beneath her and she nearly fell to the ground. Martin caught her before she hit the ground, his face creased with concern. Looking over his shoulder Rose saw the shadow of a great cat climbing the stairs from Cavern Hole. She struggled upright, her left footpaw still twinging painfully as she pointed at the approaching shadows.

“Hold on!” Martin hissed in her ear. Looping an arm about her waist, he swung her up and carried her into a nearby alcove.

Rose froze as Martin pressed her against the pillar, keeping her close as he peered around the edge. They were in no real danger, but the short, sudden run and the intensity in Martin's eyes had startled her, to say the least. Martin still had a paw around her shoulders, pulling her close. He had gotten taller, Rose realized with a start. They'd been nearly the same height when she first met him at Marshank. But now, pressed close as she was, she realized that he was at least half a head taller than her. She caught his eye as he glanced away from the dibbuns, and found herself captivated by the soft grey stare. He did not look away. She felt as though her heart might beat out of her chest. Martin's stare intensified, and for a moment Rose thought she saw a faint trace of recognition in his gaze. If her heart had been pounding like a drum before, then Rose thought surely it must be doing a decent impression of a percussion ensemble.

“Hoi, what's all this?” The moment was shattered as Tintin's voice carried across the hall.

Rose found herself shaking as Martin looked back to the dibbuns. He whispered in her ear. “We'd best make a run for it while your nephew has them distracted.”

Rose was about to remind Martin that she couldn't run, when he threw one arm around her waist and the other behind her legs, swinging her up once again as easily as if she were a dibbun herself. She barely had time to grab hold of his shoulders before the warrior mouse took off toward the stairs, grinning broadly.

It took only a pawful of moments to reach the stairs. Martin did not set Rose down until they were sufficiently hidden from view of Great Hall. “Sorry about that,” he said, still grinning as he caught his breath. “I had to take the chance while we had it.”

Rose leaned against the wall, the rush of the moment having left her breathless. Now in the relative safety of the stairs she could finally catch her breath. A sudden burst of giggles overtook her, and she clamped a paw across her mouth in an attempt to stifle them.

Martin looked at her in confusion. “What?”

It took a moment before Rose could answer. “Look at us, two grown mice running away from dibbuns.” She broke off as the giggles returned.

Martin soon joined her, chuckling at the supposed danger they had just escaped. “I suppose if dibbuns are the only thing I have to run from for the rest of my life, it'll be more than enough for me.” He held out a paw for Rose to lean on, and the two of them continued up the stairs, still laughing.

Brome froze, temporarily robbed of breath. The silence of the infirmary hung in the air nearly as tangible as a sheet of dust brushed from something long forgotten. He swallowed, trying to think of a coherent sentence. How had the abbess known? Taking a shaky breath, he forced a smile onto his face and shook his head. “I’m sorry, I don’t know what you mean.”

Abbess Germaine smiled knowingly at him, her dark eyes shadowed by sadness. “Come now young one, there is no need for secrets.”

The smile fell from Bome’s face, and he stared at his paws in shame. She was right, of course, there was no need to keep her in the dark. “How did you know?” he asked.

“I may be old and hard of hearing,” the Abbess said, leaning forward with a smile, “But I still have my wits about me, and my eyes have yet to give out. I saw you and your sister the night you joined us here in the abbey, when Martin came into Cavern Hole. Any other creature who had not seen a dear friend for some time would have run to greet him, yet you did not. I also saw the look on your sister’s face when Gingivere told of how Tzarmina broke Martin’s sword before throwing him in the dungeon. Many passing travelers have heard that tale, and many of our own. And yet, until that night I had never seen a creature whose face, upon hearing the tale, so perfectly mirrored the agony our warrior must have felt at the loss of his sword.”

Brome nodded, blinking back the tears that threatened to fall each time he thought of how Martin must have felt when the sword snapped. “Rose knows how much that sword meant to Martin, and how much it cost him to retrieve it.” He stood, and moved to sit next to the abbess, staring out the window at the snow-covered wall beyond. “Many of the creatures I travel with believe it a good thing that the sword was reforged. They feel that remaking the blade has removed the tarnish on it from the seasons spent in the paws of a warlord. I only hope Martin would agree. He doesn’t remember us, but he doesn’t remember the seasons he lived as a slave either, and I can’t decide if that’s a blessing or a curse.” He fell silent, waiting for the Abbess’ response, still watching the sun play upon the snow on the wall.

Dust motes floated gently through the air, dancing through the sun like specks of gold while the silence stretched on.

Finally, the Abbess spoke. “Perhaps it is not for you to decide. Martin may not remember anything from his time as a slave, but that does not mean that he does not know that he once was one. Scars may fade over time, but they do not always disappear. It is a noble thought to try and spare him unnecessary pain.” She sighed softly, and, turning to her, Brome saw the hints of a smile playing across her mouth. “But a part of me wonders if perhaps it is akin to my wish to spare new mothers the pain of childbirth. Sometimes a bit of pain makes the joys of life that much brighter.”

Brome nodded, turning the thought over in his head. “I hadn’t thought of it that way.”

“I cannot blame you for that,” the Abbess said. “You’ve only just recently learned of Martin’s lack of memories. Two busy days is hardly enough time to consider all the different ways you might approach the problem.” The smile fell from her face. “A part of me worries, though, that if you leave without telling him his past then he may never regain those lost memories. Martin is a strong creature, and quite brave. But even the strongest and bravest among us have their struggles.” She paused, as though considering her next words. “I cannot tell you what you should do, that is something you will have to decide for yourself. But I do hope you will consider telling Martin what you know about his past. In the past few seasons he has begun to stress over his lost memories far more than he had previously. After the events of this past summer I fear it has begun to affect his health.”

“What happened last summer,” Brome asked, his chest suddenly tight at the thought of his old friend suffering in any way.

Abbess Germaine smiled reassuringly. “Oh, not to worry, he’s perfectly fine now. Had a nasty summer cold that turned into a fever and had him bedridden for the better part of the season.” She laughed quietly. “Although I wouldn’t be surprised if part of that was because of the dibbuns that kept sneaking in to play with him. I had to threaten to have him moved up here to the infirmary before he agreed to tell them to leave him alone so he could sleep.”

“He does seem to be quite popular with the youngsters,” Brome said with a chuckle. He wiped his eyes briefly with the edge of his sleeve. “I’ll ask Keyla and Yarrow what they think we should do. They spent a good portion of their dibbun days together with Martin, and know better than I do what all he’s forgotten.”

Abbess Germaine nodded. “Very good. You might talk to Gonff as well.”

“Gonff?” Brome asked. “The Mousethief?”

“He was largely responsible for helping Martin remember their journey to Salamondastron. He might have a few tips on how you could jog Martin’s memories now,” Abbess Germaine said with a smile.

Brome considered her suggestion for a moment before nodding. “I’ll do that.”

“Thank you, Brome,” Abbess Germaine said. She lay back against the pillows. “Would you please tell Bella that I’ll be taking a short nap up here before dinner? To much celebration and not enough sleep wears down on these old bones of mine.”

Brome nodded, standing and walking toward the door. “I will. Sleep well, Mother Abbess.”

A hush lay across Cavern Hole as Gonff emerged from the kitchens later that afternoon with a bundle under one arm and munching on a honey biscuit. Dibbuns sat clustered in groups of three and four around the hall, some huddled around adults, others off on their own as they pondered over scraps of parchment and slate.

Gonff spotted Columbine sitting with a group near the stairs to Great Hall and made his way to her.

“How goes the scavenger hunt, my Dearest Darling?” he asked her when he got closer.

He was answered by a round of shushing from the nearby dibbuns, and one baby squirrel who glared sternly at him.

Columbine stood quickly and beckoned for him to follow, guiding him onto the stairs. Her eyes shone with laughter.

Gonff looked back over Cavern Hole, whispering, “Goodness me, Columbine. What did you give those babes to make them so ferocious?”

Columbine laughed aloud then, shaking her head at him. “They’ve nearly solved their riddles for the prize,” she said. “You distracted them.” She looked at the bundle under his arm. “Have you finished moving Martin in from the gatehouse?”

Gonff nodded and patted his bundle. “Aye. Found the last of Brother Scrittum’s measuring tools too. Figured I’d bring ‘em up with me and save Martin the trip.”

“How very kind of you,” Columbine said, smiling at him. “If you happen to see Martin, could you let him know the dibbuns are nearly finished with their quest?” She didn’t wait for his response but kissed him briefly on the cheek before returning to her group.

Gonff smiled after her for a moment before continuing on his way upstairs.

He found Brother Scrittum in the library, in the company of Sister Amyl. The pair were pouring over some old text on the desk in front of them with extra quills, ink, and parchment arrayed on either side.

The library was a cozy little room situated on the western end of the second floor of the Abbey. Afternoon winter sun streamed in through the single window above Brother Scittum’s desk, tinting the air with a warm, golden glow. Candles supplemented the fading sunlight and banished shadows from the corners of the room.

Soft murmurs sounded from one of these corners, and Gonff turned to see Martin and Rose sitting together pouring over a book. He recognized the book immediately not as the Legend of Sheodin, which he had expected, but rather as the hefty tome Denno, Dulam, Vurg, and Beau had written on the last quest of Luke the Warrior. They looked so natural sitting there, with Rose wrapped in a blanket and snuggled next to Martin while he held the book so they could both see, that Gonff almost would have thought that they did this regularly. Martin had a soft, quietly content smile on his face. A smile Gonff had seen before, but only rarely. He cleared his throat softly, making his presence known.

The pair looked up quickly with matching quizzical expressions. Gonff couldn’t help but laugh.

“Shall I have the kitchen send yor supper up ‘ere?” he teased. “You two look comfortable enough to stay there for hours.”

Martin scowled at him, although Gonff knew the look well enough to know that there was no real weight behind it and merely continued to grin. A moment later Martin’s resolve cracked and he began to grin as well. “Is it that late already?” he asked.

Gonff shook his head. “Not quite. But Columbine wanted me to let you know that the dibbuns are nearly done with their scavenger hunt. They’ll be wanting their prizes soon.”

“I s’pose I should head down to hand them out, then,” Martin said. He set aside the book and stood from the pillows he and Rose were seated on, stretching languidly. Turning, he retrieved the book and offered Rose a paw to help her up. “I hope I haven’t bored you.”

Rose shook her head as she stood. “Not at all.” She smiled at him. “I enjoyed it immensely. Thank you for sharing it with me.”

Martin stared at her for a moment before turning sharply on his toes to put the book away, his ears practically glowing red.

Gonff let out a hearty laugh and patted Rose on the shoulder. “Ahaha! I don’t think I’ve ever seen anybeast fluster ‘im so quickly.” He turned to Martin. “Don’t hide yor face, you great lump. The maid’s being sweet, you’ll make ‘er think you took it the wrong way.”

Slowly, Martin turned back to them, his ears still red. He glanced around for a moment before motioning to the bundle Gonff carried. “What’s that?”

“What, this?” Gonff held it up. “Dinny found th’ last o’ Brother Scittum’s writin’ tools for you. I figured I’d bring it up ‘ere.”

“Thank you,” Martin said. “I’m sure you can leave it with Brother Scrittum and Sister Amyl.” He turned to Rose. “I’m going to head down to Cavern Hole to give the dibbuns their prizes, would you like to come along?”

Rose sighed and lifted a footpaw. “I’d love to, but I’m afraid I need to fetch my crutches first.” She shooed Martin toward the door. “You go on ahead and don’t worry about me. I can still walk, I’ll just have to go a bit slower.”

Martin nodded slowly, reluctantly making his way to the door. “Gonff, could you-”

“I’ll stay with ‘er ‘til she gets ‘er crutches,” Gonff said. He mimicked Rose’s shooing. “Now off you go, those dibbuns won’t wait forever.”

Martin nodded. “I’ll see you both downstairs in a bit, then,” he said and left the room.

Gonff watched him leave before returning the measuring tools to Brother Scrittum. The elderly brother patted his paw several times and tried to offer him a candied chestnut.

“No, no, really, I don’t need anymore,” Gonff said, waving his paws.

“What he means--” said Sister Amyl, taking the candied chestnut and placing it back in Brother Scrittum’s pocket-- “is that he’s probably already filched a few from you.”

“Oh yes, I see,” said Brother Scrittum, winking at Gonff. He patted the mousethief’s paw once more. “You take care of yourself now, lad.”

“O’ course, Brother,” Gonff said, carefully extracting himself and returning to Rose. He doffed an imaginary hat and swept into a deep bow. “Might I have the pleasure of escorting you to Great Hall, miss?”

Rose giggled and bobbed a curtsy. “Why thank you very much, my kind sir.” She took his offered paw and they swept out of the library, both still giggling.

Once out in the corridor, Gonff allowed Rose to set the pace as they meandered their way down to Great Hall. She was humming a happy tune to which Gonff began to whistle once he caught the pattern. After they’d repeated the tune three times, Gonff turned to Rose and said, “I don’t believe I’ve ever seen a beast turn Martin red that quickly. You’ll have to tell me yor secret sometime.”

Rose giggled. “I’ll be sure to tell you when I discover it for myself,” she said with a wink. “It was a good story.”

“You didn’t get all the way through, I assume,” Gonff said. “It took Denno most o’ the night to read the whole thing to us when we found ‘em on the Arfship.”

“No.” Rose shook her head. “We only just made it past the part where Luke left on his voyage.” The smile faded from her face and she stopped walking. “It explains a lot, really.”

Gonff cocked his head to one side. “Y’mean like where he got ‘is sense of honor an’ such?”

Rose nodded slowly, her eyes looking through Gonff to some distant past. “And why he didn’t believe me the first time I told him he was a warrior.”

Gonff scratched his ear. “I must’ve missed that conversation.”

Rose shook her head, opening and closing her mouth a few times.

Gonff didn’t press her, but simply stood in the silence, waiting for her to speak again.

Finally, Rose let out a long sigh and looked up at Gonff resolutely. “I-”

“Rose, there you are!”

Both mice turn to see Brome making his way up the stairs. “I’ve been looking for you,” he said, “And Gonff.”

“Is something wrong?” Rose asked.

Brome shook his head. “No. Were you on your way to somewhere?”

“I’m escorting Miss Rose to Sister Amyl’s room to retrieve her crutches,” Gonff said, standing up straight and striking a pose.

Rose and Brome both giggled at him.

“Shall I join you, then?” Brome asked. “We can talk while we walk.”

Gonff nodded, once again offering his arm to Rose. “Very well. Now, why’re you looking for us?”

Brome fell into step on the other side of Rose. “It’s a bit complicated.” He turned toward his sister. “You recall that I was helping Abbess Germaine in the infirmary this afternoon?”

Rose nodded. “I remember.”

“She’s a rather sharp old mouse,” Brome said.

Gonff chuckled. “That she is.”

“Anyways,” Brome went on, “she told me that she’s figured us out.”

“I see,” Rose said, nodding slowly.

“Figured out what?” Gonff asked, dropping his usual joking manner.

Rose turned to him. “Figured out that we knew Martin before he came to Redwall,” she said quietly.

“You’re not surprised?” Brome asked when Gonff didn’t react.

Gonff shrugged and pulled some pieces of paper from his pocket. “Nearly had it figured out m’self after finding these.” He handed the sketches to Rose, who in turn handed them to Brome.

Brome examined the sketches of himself and Rose before handing them back to Gonff. “Martin’s work, I assume?”

Gonff nodded.

“So he hadn’t completely forgotten us,” Brome said.

Rose shook her head. “But he doesn’t seem to consciously remember us, either.”

The trio had reached the bottom of the stairs as they spoke and entered the bustling noise of Redwallers and travelers preparing to descend to Cavern Hole for the night’s feast.

Gonff motioned Rose and Brome off to one side. “I take it you want my help in jogging Martin’s memories?”

Brome nodded. “Aye. Abbess Germaine said you were the one who helped him regain lost memories after the war with Tzarmina was over.”

Gonff frowned. “I was. But that was pretty soon after he lost those memories, and he still doesn’t remember everything we went through. Gettin’ ‘im to remember now will likely be a bit harder.”

Rose’s face fell.

Gonff smiled at her. “Now, now. Don’t give up hope. I didn’t say it was impossible.” He looked back and forth between her and Brome. “Tell you what, I’ll think this over for the evening and we can meet again after brekkist tomorrow.”

Brome grinned and held out a paw. “We’ll gather the rest of the Players together and let them know what we’re trying to do. Thank you for your help.”

They shook paws and parted ways, Gonff heading off to Cavern Hole, and Brome and Rose to find the rest of Players after retrieving Rose’s crutches.

Gonff found himself distracted during the night’s performance, trying to watch both Martin and the Players as the feast progressed. He did, however, notice that Martin was in unusually high spirits, joining in the laughter and applause with far more energy than he had the previous two nights.

“Are you quite alright, Gonff?” Columbine asked him as they prepared for bed in their little room. “You’ve been a bit quieter this evening. Tummy ache?”

Gonff shook himself and pulled his wife into an impromptu dance. “Wot? Me, quiet? Never!” He spun her around the room until they both collapsed, giggling, onto the bed.

“Hahaha-hu-haha-hush, Gonff!” Columbine gasped. “You’ll wake Gonfflet.”

Gonff smiled at her, cupping her cheek with one paw and planting a kiss on her nose. “The little rascal’s already fast asleep. No need to worry about ‘im.”

Columbine giggled again and sat up. “Maybe not, but you still haven’t told me why you’ve been quieter this evening.” She put her paws on her hips and fixed a stern expression on her face. “Now you’d best tell me before I’m forced to tickle it out of you.”

“No! No tickles!” Gonff cried, throwing his paws in the air in mock horror. “I’ll tell.” He sat up, taking Columbine’s paws in his. “Just a conversation from earlier today that I haven’t quite figured out an answer to yet,” he said. “That’s all, nothing to worry about.”

“You’re sure?” Columbine asked.

Gonff nodded. “I am. Now-” he grinned and flung himself backward onto the bed- “We’d best get to sleep ourselves to make tomorrow come sooner.”

Columbine giggled and joined him. “If you insist, my Prince of Mousethieves.”

“I do.” He blew out the candle next to the bed and they both went to sleep.

#Redwall #Redwall Midwinter Miracle #Martin the Warrior #Rose of Noonvale #Gonff Prince of Mousethieves #Brome #Abbess Germaine #Redwall fanfic

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lostinshawnsmemory · 5 years

Text

Figure You Out: Chapter 1 - Shawn x African OC

A/N: I’ve had the idea for this fic for a while but it wasn’t until @vnv21 mentioned in a post a few months ago that she wanted to see Shawn and an African OC that I knew that I had to write it being African myself. It took a while to get to this point and I wanted to thank everyone who helped.@rulerofnocountry who came up with the name, @bugheadfanatic, @sean-mendezzzzz, @shawnssnack and @justbeingoceana who read through it and threatened to unfriend me if I didn’t write it, as well as @shawnsvalentine, @thotmendes and @shawnase for showing interest in it, and @tisvanessa (tagging her again 😂) for designing the mood board. I hope you enjoy it and feedback is very much appreciated.

PS: Music plays a huge role in the story as well as the writing process. As the fic goes on there are going to be songs used that aren’t very familiar so at the end of each chapter, I’ll link the song(s).

Word Count: 3.5k

Warnings: The N-word is alluded to in a song title, but it’s censored.

MASTERLIST

Series Masterlsit

Fic Playlist

“T! Are you ready? We’re going to leave soon and you haven’t had anything to drink yet!” Tolani was still doing her makeup while her new housemates were in the common room pre-drinking. This was their first outing as a house and while she would have preferred to do something else, everyone wanted to go out, so she was putting the final touches on her makeup and spraying her hair with some braid sheen.

She looked in the mirror one final time before heading out of her room. Her gold highlighter paired with the gold shimmer on her lids made her skin glow. The addition of a dark matte lip made her look like an ethereal badass. While she never wore makeup that much, she had to admit that she looked damn good when she put in an effort.

“T!” she could hear one of her flatmates yell. Her name was Desire, the one person she’d spoken to the most, being the only other black girl in the dorm they’d formed a strong bond and it was nice to have someone that understood her at least a little bit.

‘Okay.’ she thought, ‘I can do this, I can go out there and socialise.’ As she walked down the corridor she could hear music in the kitchen, it sounded like an EDM track. ‘Not my choice of music, but it could be much worse.’ “Oh my gosh! You look stunning !” another one of her housemates named Nicole, exclaimed as she walked into the kitchen. Nicole was one of those girls that you misjudged when you first met her. She seemed obnoxious and stand-offish when they first met but Tolani later found out that Nicole was incredibly sweet. ‘A small girl with a big personality.’ “That outfit is perfect!” She was clearly a little tipsy, as Tolani was only wearing a black tank top, black skinny jeans under a black denim jacket and heeled boots. “We need to get you something to drink! What do you want? We have vodka, beer, tequila, gin and a whole lot of mixers.”

“Um, I-I’m not sure.” Tolani stuttered. While she knew what she liked and liked a drink every now and then, she didn’t want a situation where she found herself in an awkward position, given the fact that she didn’t know these people very well. Being in a dorm with 10 other people she didn’t know wasn’t her idea but that’s what university was all about, new experiences and while she was open to them, she wasn’t as open as everyone else seemed to be.

“I think I’ll just have a coke for now.”

“You sure?”

“Positive” Tolani replied with a tight smile.

Getting drunk after only being here a few days was not at the top of her list but she seemed to be the only one concerned about it. “You know, we don’t know much about you, other than the fact that your name isn’t actually T” Nicole turned to her. ‘Having people butcher my name isn’t fun’, she thought. Tolani hadn’t bothered telling people her full name seeing as Tolani Aderogba didn’t exactly roll off the tongue. All she’d told them was that it was a nickname when they asked her if her name was actually the letter T.

There seemed to be a friendly atmosphere, which was made friendlier by the large amounts of seemingly free-flowing alcohol. They’d moved in only in less than a week but she could already hear people drunkenly professing their love for each other. And while she knew they were all somewhat nervous to be in a confined space with people they didn’t know, she felt out of place. From what she could hear from snippets of conversation most people had grown up in and around Canada, there were people from Quebec, Vancouver and Toronto and from what she could tell, she was the only international student in her house and that made her feel like an outsider. ‘To be fair not everyone has moved in yet, maybe there will be more people like me.’

30 minutes of small talk and one rowdy uber ride later, they were in line to get into the club “Chin up you look miserable” Desire gently elbowed her in the ribs. “You definitely should have had something to drink.” “Well now I can be the designated sober friend” Tolani joked, Desire was the only person she would consider her friend at that moment. Hopefully, that would change. ‘Maybe I should loosen up and have a little fun.’ Tolani thought as they walked into the bar. ‘I can have something to drink, that doesn’t mean I’ll get drunk and lose control.’

The club wasn’t very crowded but it took a while to find a table large enough for all 6 of them.

Tolani ended up sandwiched between Desire and one of her other housemates Kyle. “So, T” he turned to her when they were seated with their drinks “Tell me about yourself, I feel like I’ve only seen you in passing and I’d like to get to know you.” He said as he shifted closer to hear her over the music. “Oh,” Tolani replied, taking a sip of her drink. Desire has ordered her a Smirnoff ice, not her drink of choice. “To start you off easy” she joked.

“Well as you know my name is T, well not really but that’s what everyone calls me.”

“You’re not Canadian, are you? Where are you from?” He interjected. ‘Wow. He’s enthusiastic.’ She thought

“I’m actually from-”

“Wait let me guess you’re from Africa. I say that cause your accent is different”

At that point, Tolani was prepared to shut down the conversation.

“I am from Africa.” She said with thinly veiled irritation. “But there are 54 countries. I’m actually from-”

“Have you seen a lion before?”

‘Oh for fuck's sake. I’m not drunk enough for this.’ “Before I answer your question, I need another drink.” she turned and looked at Desire hoping my her eyes signalled that she needed to leave. Luckily her friend got the message.

“What was that all about?” Desire shouted in an attempt to talk over the blaring music as they walked towards the bar. “He asked me if I’ve seen a lion.” Tolani scoffed with an eye roll. Desire couldn’t help but laugh. “Maybe he’s nervous when he talks to pretty girls.” She winked. “Haha very funny. Either way, it would be nice to have a word in.”

“What would you like?” The bartender asked. “Can I get a double Hennessy and Coke please?” She responded politely.

“Straight for the Henny I see?”

“Well, if I’m going to listen to Kyle ask me if I’ve seen lions I might as well drink something really strong.”

By the time they were seated, Kyle was deep in conversation with Nicole about their childhoods growing up in Mississauga, while Desire was flirting with a guy who had walked up to the table. Feeling a little awkward Tolani started humming, along to the songs the DJ was playing. As soon as he changed songs she couldn’t help but smile and she started absentmindedly rapping along to ‘Good Life by Kanye West, one of her favourite songs. There was something about Kanye West telling you to throw your hands up in the sky that made her feel free.

“And she got the goods

and she got that ass I got to look, sorry.

Yo, it’s got to be, cause I’m seasoned, haters gimme them salty looks, lawrys.

50 told me go ‘head, switch the style up.

And if they hate, let ‘em hate and watch be money pile up.”

One by one, everyone at the table turned to her as she rapped along and vibed to the song flawlessly. Soon enough everyone joined in encouraging her. ‘This is what I needed.’ Tolani thought to herself as she continued singing, getting louder with each line.”I go for mine, I got to shine. Now throw your hands up in the sky.”

When the song ended, Desire leaned close “We’ve got to get you on the dance floor.” Desire chanted in her ear. Usually, Tolani would decline bu the alcohol combined with the excitement had her smiling and turning to Nicole. “Wanna dance?”

“Of course!” She nodded enthusiastically.

The three girls made their way to the dancefloor where the DJ was playing Juice by Lizzo, the definition of a feel-good pop anthem. After that, the DJ played some dancey in EDM tracks and while Tolani would usually roll her eyes at songs like this, she was tipsy enough that she could enjoy them.

Soon she heard the familiar synth beat of a song that made her yell in excitement. Ni**as in Paris was a song that never failed to get her excited, whether she was at home reading a book or in a club, her reaction was always the same. She knew all the lyrics and she made sure her friends knew it.

“She said, “‘Ye, can we get married at the mall?”

I said, “Look, you need to crawl 'fore you ball

Come and meet me in the bathroom stall

And show me why you deserve to have it all!” Everyone at the club was screaming the lyrics and Tolani could have sworn the floor was vibrating with the force of everyone jumping.

By the time the song ended, the 3 girls needed a break. “How about we get drinks.” Tolani proposed. As Nicole turned to answer her face morphed into an expression of shock. Soon after Desire’s face had the same expression. It took her a few seconds to realise that they weren’t looking at her but at something behind her. Before she could turn around she felt someone lightly tap her on the shoulder. Tolani proceeded to turn around and answer the person who had tapped her.

The first thing she noticed was his height. He was incredibly tall, easily 6 foot tall. Even though she wasn’t short at 5 foot 7, he still towered over her. As she tilted her head slightly to look at him the next thing she noticed were his eyes. While she couldn’t tell what colour they were, but even in the dim lighting, they seemed to sparkle. He was smiling down at her, his curls falling onto his face. That face, she could have sworn she’d seen him before but she couldn’t put her finger on it. One thing she couldn’t deny was that he was good looking.

“Hi.” His voice was light and silvery. It had an almost musical quality. She didn’t really think you could find people’s voices attractive but here she was.

“Umm hi there,” Tolani replied cautiously. She didn’t have a lot of experience with guys coming up to her and didn’t really know how to react.

“Feel free to tell me to leave, but what are you drinking? Can I get your next round?”

Before she could consider her answer her friends already answered with a resounding “Yes she does!” in perfect unison. Tolani whirled to look at them. A look of complete bewilderment on her face. She was surprised that her friends were so enthusiastic about this particular guy buying her a drink. She was definitely missing something.

“Umm… yeah, I guess you can?”

“You don’t sound sure. It’s okay if you feel a little uncomfortable. I can go.” he smiled politely.

“No, it’s fine.” She answered. “I just need to talk to my friends real quick.”

“I’ll wait at the bar.”

When she turned around her friends were looking around expectantly. “What?” She asked defensively. “You don’t know who that is, do you?” Nicole asked, a shocked look on her face.

“I’ll admit he looks really familiar but I’m not sure where I’ve seen him before.”

“That’s Shawn Mendes. He’s an incredibly famous singer. How do you not know who that is?”

“It’s probably because he isn’t very popular back home.”

“Oh yeah!” Desire exclaimed. “I forgot that you’re not from here.” While she meant well, phrases like that stung. It’s made her feel less than, like she didn’t belong here. And seeing as she didn’t know Desire and Nicole that well, she wasn’t sure how they really felt about her.

“What are some of his songs?”

“Where do I start?” Nicole rambled excitedly. “In my Blood, There’s Nothing Holding Me Back, Lost in Japan, Stitches-”

“He sang Stitches? I love that song.”

“Yeah him! Now go to the bar and go talk to him.”

SHAWN’S POV

Shawn saw being home from tour as a godsend. While he loved playing sold out arenas around the world, he also loved that he was able to relax and spend time with family and friends and be something that resembled “normal”. Hanging out with friends usually meant going for drinks and this night was no different.

Getting into the club was easy. Being a celebrity had its perks after all. Soon enough they were all seated and had ordered their drinks. When they all got together, it was like they never left. Trading stories about life, tour, girls. Anything and everything.

During a rare lull in the conversation, Shawn found himself scrolling through messages on his phone when his head snapped up as he recognised the song that the DJ was playing.

His love for Kanye was well documented. He’d said multiple times in multiple interviews that he listened to Kanye more than most artists. So hearing one of his favourite songs off his favourite Kanye album elevated his mood further.

He looked up and noticed that he wasn’t the only one enjoying the song. Across the room, he saw a girl rapping along to all the words and while he couldn’t hear her, he could see that she knew all the lyrics and was having a great time.

She had dark skin, the colour of umber and as cliché, as it sounded, she seemed to glow. Her braids moved as she swayed from side to side a huge smile on her face. Everyone around her watching and eventually joining in and soon enough the entire group singing along to the chorus.

As cliché as it sounded, he couldn’t stop watching her either. He wanted to go up to her but decided that it probably wasn’t in their best interest. When he was pictured talking to girls they fell subject to scrutiny from all angles. Mostly from his fans and it could get rough.

25 minutes later that all changed. Even though he was here to spend time with his friends, his eyes kept wandering to the other side of the club where she was one the dance floor with 2 of her friends. She moved with the ease and comfort of someone who danced frequently, perfectly on beat to every single song regardless of the genre. She clearly loved Kanye as evidenced by the way she way jumping around to Ni**as in Paris. While most people looked drunk and uncoordinated repeating lyrics they shouldn’t be, she looked like she was in her own world, completely lost in the song.

“Shawn… Shawn!” The voice of his best friend Brian drawing him back to the conversation.

“Yup” he answered absentmindedly. “Dude, just go talk to her. You’ve been looking in her direction all night man.”

“Is it that obvious?” he asked sheepishly.

“Yes. Now stop stalling.” And with that, he got up and walked towards her.

By the time he got to her, the song had just ended and she had her back to him. He heard her ask her friends if they wanted to get a drink. He also noticed her friends eyes widen in shock when they noticed that he was standing here, but she was completely oblivious till he tapped her on her shoulder.

He finally managed to get a good look at her when she turned around. The first thing he noticed was her eyes. She had eyes that were clearly very expressive albeit clouded by confusion. He face was framed by black braid that hung down to her waist. While he couldn’t make out more of her facial features he couldn’t help but stare at her lips for a few seconds, he wouldn’t immediately describe someone’s lips as kissable but that was all that came to mind. Her lips were full in a way that could only be natural and they were currently pouted as she looked at him.

“Hi.”

“Umm hi there.” Her voice was husky and he noticed she spoke with a slight accent but he couldn’t place it.

“Feel free to tell me to leave but I was wondering if you wanted to grab a drink?” While he wouldn’t have been surprised if she said no, he was hoping she would say yes.

While she looked a little uncertain, her friends were the opposite, answering for her. “Yes, she does!”

“Umm… yeah, I guess you can?”

“You don’t sound sure. It’s okay if you feel a little uncomfortable. I can go.”

“No, it’s fine. I just need to talk to my friends real quick.”

“I’ll wait at the bar.”

As he walked towards the bar, he couldn’t help but smile. It only took a few minutes but she joined him at the bar.

“Hello again.”

“Hi. What would you like?” He asked trying to sound as calm as possible.

”I’d like to say surprise me but I’m not that confident in your ability to choose drinks” she said with a smirk. And that was when he noticed the dimples in her cheeks. “so I’ll go with a Hennessy and Coke please.”

Shawn ordered a Hennessy and coke for her and a reposado for himself. After the bartender placed both drinks in front of them, he took a sip of his and turned to her.

“So you like Kanye?”

“How’d you know?”

“I saw you when you were dancing to Kanye with your friends earlier.”

“Ahh! Well to answer your question, yes I like Kanye.”

The two talked about their favourite Kanye albums. Shawn telling her that his is Graduation. She told him that hers is My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. Then the conversation morphed into a debate over which was better, both fiercely defending tier choices with much laughter.

“So I know you like Kanye a lot, but I don’t even know your name.”

“That’s because I haven’t given it to you.” She tilted her head to the side, almost as if she were sizing him up. “My name is T.”

His thoughts stopped dead in their tracks. ‘Her name is Tea? As in T-E-A?’ He thought before it dawned on him ‘No you idiot, she means the letter T.’

“T. As in the letter T?” He asked confusion lacing his words. “Does it stand for something?”

“It does stand for something but I haven’t decided if I’m going to tell you what it means yet.” She said smugly.

“Can I guess?”

“I can guarantee you won’t guess.”

Shawn then began listing every name he could think of that started with T.

“Tiffany”

“Nope”

“Theresa”

“No” she shook her head, braids swaying with the motion.

“Tyra”

“Not even close” she scoffed.

“What about Tiana?”

She chuckled and muttered something under her breath that he couldn’t make out. “I told you, you can’t guess.”

“Will you ever tell me what it stands for?”

“Okay,” she rolled her eyes playfully. “It’s…” she leaned close whispering in his ear “Tolani”

“Tow-lah-ni” he repeated.

She couldn’t keep in the laugh that exploded from her and had her banging on the table. He noticed that her dimples became even more prominent when she laughed. ‘Something to note’ he thought.

“Close enough.”

“It’s a beautiful name but I’m guessing that my pronunciation is off?”

“Way off, but I’ll forgive it. So now you know my name, but I don’t know yours.” She said with a raised eyebrow.

“Something tells me you do.” He replied.

“I do, but I want you to tell me.”

“My name is Shawn.”

“Shawn Mendes.”

“I’m assuming your friends told you?”

“They did. I probably should have known huh?”

“Not necessarily. It’s nice to talk to someone who isn’t completely starstruck even though I don’t mind that.”

“Ah, the pop star that wants to be normal.”

“Something like that.” He shrugged.

The conversation lulled, they both took a sip of their respective drinks.

Before he was able to something she looked behind him and started to leave. “My friends are signalling. I think they’re ready to go.”

“Wait.” He grabbed her arm before she left. “Can I at least get your Instagram or something?”

She hesitated for a second, before asking the bartender for a pen. She scribbled something on the bar napkin and handed it to him. ‘@tolani.a’

“It was really nice to meet you, Shawn.” She said before turning to meet her friends.

Before Shawn left the bar he opened the Instagram app on his phone and searched for her, his thumb hovering over the follow button before tapping it. Then he locked his phone and placed it in his pocket.

#shawn mendes #shawn peter raul mendes #shawn mendes fan fic #shawn mendes fic #shawn mendes fanfiction #shawn mendes x poc #shawn mendes fanfic #shawn mendes fan fiction #my writing

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hungerofthesands · 7 years

Text

The Hunger of the Sands Pantheon

This campaign has its own pantheon. However, the campaign starts in a setting where there are no gods. Any mentions of gods are treated as fairy tales or something only children would believe in. (fairy tale gods arent from an actual pantheon its more that people see the mention of godlike beings to be similar to say a unicorn in our world). Thousands of years ago, there used to be a full pantheon. These gods were killed off during a god war and all records of their existence was destroyed over time.

1. Anathel – known for being the first and most powerful of the pantheon. She is the goddess of the sun, light/life, and tides and is depicted as the protector of sailors. There are recordings of her creating safe passages for sailors caught up in storms, whether it be by parting the clouds themselves so that the sun can reach them, or calming the waves themselves. There are also recordings of her bringing random objects to life in order to delight those around her. She was also known as the winged-one, the sun, and the shining-one. Everyone paid tribute to her in some way, even if she wasn’t their preferred god. Her symbol is a circle of waves with a sun in the center.

2. Anathel’s Shadow – known for always being with Anathel. As the light grows, so too does her shadow. Anathel is never without her shadow and thus her shadow knows everything that she knows. As Anathel is light itself, wherever light is cast, her shadow there as well. Anathel’s shadow is known for hearing and seeing everything, especially secrets. Those who wished for their secrets to be kept would often leave offerings in the darkest portions of the room. Those who were clerics of Anathel knew that her shadow was different from regular darkness. They honored this distinction by lighting a candle and leaving offerings in the shadow cast or by only leaving offerings in shadows cast by the sun. Anathel’s Shadow does not have a symbol, but some used two white triangles facing downward with two black triangles mirroring them to represent her shadow.

3. The Builder – known for being humble and preferring to work alongside the common man. The Builder was the second god to be born and the closest to Anathel. He is the god of building, creation, and success. People would pray to him for success in any activity, especially building or trades. He was said to reward anyone willing to work hard towards their goals. In the creation tales, The Builder would build creatures and Anathel would bring them to life. The first creature he made was a turtle, so his symbol is a turtle shell.

4. Effrie – known for her youth. Effrie is a young goddess that is both carefree and fickle. Depictions of her always showed her hair as long and flowing in the air behind her. She is the goddess of winds and the sky. One moment, she will grace you with winds, and the next she is bringing tornadoes down upon the land. People would pray to her during particularly hot seasons for cool breezes or to calm the skies during storms. Effrie had a love for flowers, especially flower crowns, and children. Children who prayed while wearing flower crowns would often have their wishes granted before having a breeze come and pluck the crown off of their heads, before disappearing into the sky. Her symbol is three spirals symbolizing breezes.

5. Selica – known for her body that is “shaped like a tear drop”. Selica is the goddess of water, rain, and typhoons. Many depictions of her are solemn with her sitting with her legs folded and staring down at her hands in her lap. However, just as the sea is known as being both bountiful and dangerous, Selica was the same. Depictions of her were solemn and calm, but those who lived by the sea and worshipped her knew better. The water goddess had a feisty side and it was best not to get on her bad side, lest she bare her teeth at you. Her symbol is a drop of water leading to a stream that is wrapped into a circle.

6. Roarn – also known as “rowdy boy” by Resa. Roarn is the god of beasts, nature, and hunting. Depictions of him often showed him hunting deep within forests and partying with the fae. Despite being a hunter, Roarn had a stark belief in hunting responsibly and not hunting those who could not fight back or taking more than you give. Hunters were expected to leave offerings between tree roots or giving a share of their catches to him. Those who hunted irresponsibly would wake up to beasts bigger than the hunter could handle on their doorstep. While serious during hunts, Roarn is known as being fairly good natured, loving to party, and loving a good fight and/or hunt. People would also pray to him for bountiful harvest. Because harvests are heavily tied to food, Roarn worked hand-in-hand with Bonsvi for harvests. His symbol is three claw marks.

7. Bonsvi – known for the sickly, sweet smell that always preceded her. Bonsvi is the goddess of food, cooking/baking/brewing, and flowers. People would pray to her in times of famine to ensure their bellies were filled and before brewing potions to assure a potent product. She was known for producing particularly strong sleeping and waking potions. Depictions of her are of a short and plump woman with rosy cheeks, a smile, and a dress made of flower petals. Despite her size, she is incredibly strong. Bonsvi’s pot was big enough to feed a city and she could pick it up with one hand even though a cloud giant would faint at the thought of moving it. Her symbol is a tulip opened up to act as a bubbling pot.

8. Dremvi – known for being Bonsvi’s younger twin. Dremvi is the god of sleep, dreams, and flowers. He is depicted with curly white hair like a sheep’s and always sleeping, either on mushrooms or on a bed of flowers. Dremvi is the reason people referred to groups of flowers as beds with people growing patches of flowers specifically for him to sleep on. Flowers Dremvi slept on would always bloom brighter and would never wilt under his weight. He is never depicted as waking up, only moving while sleep walking and only talking between snores. People prayed to him for peaceful sleep and dreams, and for creative help. Dreams were often connected to daydreaming and ideas so Dremvi is known for his innovation. Unfortunately, as he’s always sleeping, he could never put these ideas to action. His symbol is three drooping flowers, their petals closed to indicate them being dormant.

9. Norwick – known for their skin as hard as bone and being genderless. Norwick is the god of undeath, health/sickness, cold, and dying flames. They are always described as being cold but having some small fire burning within them, as if on the brink of death but never quite bridging that gap. People prayed to Norwick to keep away illnesses, recover from fatal illnesses or injuries, or to keep away undead. Some people prayed to Norwick to bring sickness or become undead, but there are no recorded instances of Norwick listening. They are largely recorded as being a neutral party. While not being the god of death, they are known for standing between death and the dying, whether out of protection or to ferry dying to their fate. Their symbol is a dying flame cupped between two thin hands.

10. Dudry – known for his distaste of the sun. Dudry lives underground and rarely enters the surface. Dudry is the god of precious stones, minerals, and metals. He is a craftsman who is very particular about his work. Depictions of him show a short, stocky man with a beard reaching to the ground. His beard is said to be filled with countless, precious minerals so that he could reach into his beard for materials. When Dudry exhales, his breath is hotter than magma. When he inhales, his breath is cold as ice and draws all heat out of the pieces he is working on. He is shown taking hold of the ground and veins of magma to carefully weave together works of art. His symbol is a pair of pliers holding a gem with a pick at the ready.

11. Cenric – known for looking like anybody. Depictions of Cenric are always faceless and genderless because they can come to you as anybody. However, Cenric is not seen as genderless and is instead viewed as being all genders and identities at the same time. Cenric is the god of death, general afterlife, ghosts/spirits, and changing seasons. Some people also considered Cenric as the god of gender or sexualities because Cenric could be any, though this belief is not held by all who worshipped Cenric. People would pray to them when loved ones passed so that they might find peace and not be trapped in the wrong plane. People would also pray to them so that seasons would continue to change and that seasons would not change so harshly that crops died, or people fell sick. Their symbol is of a black circlet connected to a white circlet.

12. Lalun – known for being opposite of Anathel. Lalun is also known as the moon or an eclipse. Her colors are soft and muted in comparison to Anathel’s bright and blinding self. People prayed to her for anything involving magic, including magical creatures, items, runes, or arcane energies. Because she was connected to the moon, shapeshifters and were creatures were particularly connected to her. Lalun is depicted as protecting creatures of the night but being cold to others. Some say that the first solar eclipse came about because a were creature was being chased and prayed to her for protection. Lalun stood in front of the sun, turning day into night and bringing darkness to the world, so that her follower could escape. She is the goddess of magic, darkness, and the night. Her symbol is of the moon eclipsing the sun.

13. Ranza – ***has not been officially added to the pantheon*** She is the goddess of time, memories, and emotions, particularly hope. Ranza is the youngest goddess as she was born right as the war against the gods began. Ranza, along with the city she was born to protect, were placed inside of a modified mirror of spirit trapping to keep her safe from the war. The people who placed her in the mirror asked her to forget about who she was and what was happening to keep everyone safe. The rest of the world didn’t know about Ranza yet, so letting that information get out would put her and the city in danger. Because of this, despite her being thousands of years old, her abilities and emotions are of a young girl and Ranza appears as an eight-year-old to those who see her. Gods age as their powers mature so, until her memories are unlocked, and she can exercise her strength, Ranza will not be able to age and change how she looks.

Basic Summary

The creation story of this world is that, at first, the world was empty. The sun became so sad as she looked upon the world that she began to cry. From this tear, Anathel was born. Anathel began to dance and sing to make the sun smile, and the sun, delighted at her creation, cried a tear of happiness. From this tear, The Builder was born. Anathel and The Builder set about bringing life to the world to make the sun happy.

Each city in the world has its own god. The god protects the city. These gods were born out of the hopes and ideals of its people. They are born through a process called The Running. When a city is being built, people will pick three people to carry the future city’s hopes and dreams about what the city will stand for and be. These three people will take these hopes and dreams and travel out to the sea. They will attempt to follow in Anathel’s path and draw the attention of the sun so that the sun cries a tear of joy at the future city’s hopes and dreams and a new god will be born from this tear.

#dnd #homebrew #some of my notes

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stroni-bomb · 7 years

Text

Mark -Young Flame - Chapter 1

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2

A/N Here’s the first chapter of Mark’s mini series; Young Flame! I hope this chapter was alright for you all and have a clearer perspective on how this plot may pan out! I’m super excited to get further into this and the next chapter will be out in a couple of days!

‘Hey Y/N! Where do you think you’re going you pretty little thing? You can run but you can’t hide!’

That voice, the voice you couldn’t stand, the voice that every time you heard it you would want to shove daggers down your ears so you’d never have to hear it again. That voice would always be followed by two others, his little minions that would go with him to the ends of the Earth. They were all of going to hell, everyone at that damn school would be. They all watched you suffer every day, they knew what those three boys were doing to you, how they touched you and how they irritated you. No one did anything, not even the teachers who always preached student safety yet when the time came to it they’d shove their head in the sand to avoid it all.

You ran, ran and ran as if your life depended on it because for you it really did. The wind danced its way through your hair as twigs and dried out leaves crunched underneath your feet. The woods. You’d definitely lose them in the woods. Running further into the depths of the trees multiple tearing and cracking sounds were heard behind you, you turned back to see that the three boys had been replaced by three large wolves. A large scream escaped from your lungs but it was no use. If a girl screamed in the woods but there was no one there to hear it, did she really scream?

You ran even faster than before, you didn’t even think it was possible but you somehow managed it, fear being your only fuel. What surprised you even more is that you could hear everything the wolves were thinking, everything they were saying when communicating to each other telepathically. That spurred you on even more, the things they were saying scared you and the things that they were capable of made you think if this was all a dream.

‘Please anyone! Please help me!’

You knew it was useless to shout out for help in the middle of a desolate forest but what else were you to do, there could be someone out here hunting. It’s not hunting season but there’s always someone willing to break the rules just to kill a small innocent animal. There could be a ranger of some sort, keeping the peace and making sure no one gets eaten by killer wolves, that would be a nice turn of events. What you didn’t expect however was a piercing glow of light to appear in front of you and a young man standing in the center of it all with a great pair of white wings protruding from his back.

One stern look from the mysterious man sent the wolves running followed with a cry of whimpers. His glare changed into a soft smile as he looked down at you but soon it turned to a confused one.

‘Are you...Human?’

He asked, tilting his head as he tried to grasp the situation.

‘W-well yeah but what in the world are you? I didn’t think angels actually existed.’

A quiet laugh escaped his lips and he held out his hand towards you, urging you to take it. For some reason you felt safe with him, you didn’t know his name yes but there was a sense of home in him. Because of that you took his hand without even thinking, not even asking where he was taking you as you didn’t feel the need to, you somehow already trusted him with your life. Is that the effect an angel can have on you?

Within 0.1 seconds you had arrived in a new place. It seemed as though you were inside a mansion, a very big mansion too. It’s walls loomed high above you and the room you were in itself was the size of half a football field. You looked around, intrigued by everything you saw. There was many photos on the walls, some of three wolves and others of a bat soaring in the night sky. One in particular took your eye, it was a picture of 15 boys one of them including the angel you saw. They were all laughing and smiling together, they looked so close and you knew they all had to be living in this massive mansion together.

‘Taeyong hyung you’re back! Did you bring anyone- Oh my god is that a human?’

A young boy said as he ran into the room. You could get a small glimpse of his snaggle tooth and his bright eyes shone at you as he took you in. Just as you were about to speak the angel, who was now known as Taeyong, clasped his hands over your ears.

‘A HUMAN!!!’

Someone screamed. The sound of glass shattering could be heard and Taeyong removed his hands away from your ears, letting out a deep sigh. The young boy who had run in earlier was now accompanied by six others who looked around his age. They were all undeniably handsome but one in particular caught your eye, he was wearing an over sized jumper with blue ripped jeans and brown hair that you wanted to ruffle so bad.

‘Boys this is Y/N, she’s the human who needed my help. Do be polite and introduce yourselves.’

You turned to Taeyong wondering how on Earth he even knew your name, he just gave you a smile before disappearing leaving you with the seven boys.

‘Sorry for my sudden outburst earlier I’ve just never seen Taeyong bring a human back before! I’m Renjun by the way~’

‘I’m Chenle! I’m the one that screamed human a minute ago!’

‘Sorry for these two idiots, I’m Donghyuk but call me Haechan if you wish. I’m the coolest one here.’

‘’As if you’re the coolest one here it’s obvious that I am come on now hyung, I’m Jaemin and I’m the coolest one here without a doubt!’

‘Can’t you two give it a rest already jesus, I’m Jeno and it’s nice to meet you Y/N.’

‘E-erm I’m Jisung... I’m the maknae here.’

‘You’re going to scare her off if you carry on like this guys. I’m Mark and I’m the oldest out of the lot.’

You looked over all of them reciting their names over and over until it was locked in. Yet again just as you opened your mouth to speak Taeyong reappeared beside Mark. The boy’s attention went from you to Taeyong as they stared at him in awe, it seemed as if he was a great role model here and was adored. One by one the boys left a part from Mark, it was as if they were all communicating mentally just as the wolves did before except this time you had no idea what they were saying.

Soon Taeyong disappeared and left Mark standing there awkwardly. He looked over in your direction and let out a small sigh.

‘E-erm so Y/N...Do you want a tour? I’ve got a lot of explaining to do so going on a tour around the house might help.’

You thought about his request, you were really curious about this house and the people living in it. Plus Mark did seem like an ordinary person but he can’t be human either since you’re the first one to ever step foot in this house. You looked at him and smiled, nodding your head as your response.

‘Okay so I-um... this house. This mansion really. It’s known as N City,Taeyong created it for supernaturals who were troubled to live here so everyone here is a supernatural.’

You walked beside Mark as he went on with his story, listening into every detail intently. He paused for a second knowing you must have a bunch of questions for him, which he wasn’t wrong your head was overflowing with all sorts of questions.

‘So then what sort of supernatural are you? And what about the other boys I met’

‘Well I’m a phoenix, I have fire powers although I’m not too sure how to control them at the minute but I am working on it. Chenle is a Banshee, that’s how he was able to smash that glass which is everyday thing by the way. Haechan and Jaemin are shape shifters Jaemin just isn’t... isn’t a very good one yet. Renjun is a Vampire but don’t worry he’s a vegetarian, that leaves Jeno and Jisung, they’re werewolves which I believe you already know of?’

You flash backed to the time you were in the woods, running and running. That was the only time you thought you were going to die and hopefully the last. It made you think that if students that you went to school with everyday were werewolves, does that mean there’s more of them in that school? Did anyone else even know about them or was it just you?

‘Hey no don’t get upset I’m sorry if I brought up any bad memories, I’ll change the subject.’

You smiled at how sweet he was and shook your head.

‘Don’t worry about it Mark it’s fine~’

He smiled back at you making eye contact. You got lost in his eyes as he got lost in yours, you noticed that within his brown pools there was little specks of orange. So you really are a phoenix huh? You thought to yourself as you counted all the bits of orange you could find.

‘Yoo Mark- Ooh who’s this?’

You jumped away from each other and looked up at the tall figure in front of you. His hair was a dark blue but could easily be mistaken as black and he had warm welcoming eyes.

‘E-erm Johnny, this is Y/N.’

‘Well it’s nice too meet you Y/N! Now before I go out on patrol I have one question...Are you a dog or cat person?’

‘I quite like both...I don’t know, dogs?’

Johnny had a huge smile on his face and looked as though he was holding back laughter.

‘Really? Same here!’

He finally burst out laughing and clapping his hands as you stood there confused as to what was so funny. You turned to Mark who had his head in his hands and shaking his head, he glanced at your confused expression and sighed.

‘He’s a werewolf.’

Realisation hit you and you cringed at how bad the joke was but couldn’t help but laugh how much of a comedic genius Johnny thought he was. Light started to appear beside Johnny and soon after arrived Taeyong.

‘Johnny you must really work on your jokes, but the pups are waiting for you downstairs and they’re ready to go whenever you’re ready.’

Johnny gathered his composure and bowed slightly at you and Mark then turned to face Taeyong.

‘I’ll be off now then I’d hate to keep the pups waiting they get rowdy when they’re impatient. Also come on my joke wasn’t that bad~’

Johnny pouted before heading off down the vast corridor. You were sure you hadn’t even seen half of the mansion yet or met a lot of the people living here, after all there was a photograph with fifteen people and you’d only met nine. You wondered what other sort of supernaturals lived here and if they were all as interested in you as the others were. Taeyong said something that snapped you out of your thoughts although you didn’t quite catch what it was.

‘I’m sorry what did you say?’

‘I said, would you like to stay here with us all? We have more than enough room and we’ll take care of you~’

#nct #nct 127 #nct dream #nct u #nct scenarios #nct series #nct 127 scenarios #nct 127 series #nct dream scenarios #nct dream series #nct u scenarios #nct u series #nct mark #mark lee #mark #nct mark scenarios #mark lee scenarios #mark scenarios

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texanredrose · 7 years

Text

Celebrity Matchmaker (Part 3)

And the final contestant.

Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3 (here) / Part 4 / Part 5 / Part 6 / Part 7 / Part 8

The redhead took her place beside Blake, offering her typical, confident smile to the cameras and greeting the Faunus warmly. Thankfully, the remaining candidates liked the others quite a bit, negating any unpleasant bickering during the final weeks of the show. It was both a blessing and a curse; in previous seasons, the sniping towards the end as contestants tried to improve their chances by tearing down their competition revealed who was in it for the fame and glamour and who genuinely just wanted the romantic lead to be happy. Bereft of that, Weiss got the benefit of a calm run for the show in terms of squabbling at the expense of never really knowing if veiled unpleasantness lurked beneath the surface.

At least, in theory. To her mind, she'd seen more than enough to banish that doubt; Blake was exceptionally snarky until after breakfast and her morning tea and Pyrrha had absolutely no patience or appreciation for scary movies or pranks involving jump scares. She didn't consider either to be exclusively bad traits but they did show other sides to their personalities that Weiss probably wouldn't have guessed at otherwise. Certainly not enough to count either out as a viable prospect, both to the audience and to Weiss.

"It's good to see you, Pyrrha," Coco said, keeping the show moving right along, aiming to get through all the introductions before the first commercial break.

"And the same to you," the woman replied, her dazzling smile in place. "I'm so happy to have made it this far."

"This is probably the first competition you've entered where getting to the final stages wasn't practically guaranteed, huh?"

Although her expression tightened by just the barest amounts, both Weiss and Blake noticed the slight misstep in the host's words, but Pyrrha maintained her composure despite that. "I like to think that the competition portion took a backseat to getting to know Weiss, and the other contestants." Emerald eyes slid to the Faunus standing beside her briefly, who graciously nodded her head in agreement. "These past few weeks, I think, have proven that coming here was one of my best decisions, no matter how things turn out."

Another round of applause followed, with Coco stepping away for a moment to draw attention off the redhead. The movie star disliked the fact she had to stay in her assigned spot for the time being, unable to offer a soft word of encouragement to Pyrrha, but she could see out of her corner of her eye how Blake leaned over and said something. The tension in the woman's shoulders lessened, a thankful smile flashed towards the Faunus, and Weiss let loose a subdued sigh of relief. Soon, the whole spectacle would be over, and perhaps she could take a more direct approach in discouraging such remarks. It would be nice if others recognized Pyrrha for the three dimensional person she was rather than reducing her to the titles bestowed by others.

"And that brings us to the last but certainly not least of our contestants." Coco waved towards off stage. "Everyone, please, give it up for the rock star of the century, Yang Xiao Long of Vale!"

Weiss half expected smoke machines, pyrotechnics, and a full band to accompany the entrance, which would be par for the course when it came to the boisterous woman, but no. Instead, she simply strode into view, with her usually unruly mane held in check by a thin hair tie at her shoulders and an unusually small, modest smile on her lips. Her yellow tuxedo- and it was a true tuxedo, rather than a ripped or altered version- was perhaps a bit loud for just about anyone else, but for Yang, it seemed subdued, about as formal as the woman would go while still wearing her scuffed brown boots and an orange bow tie rather than her quintessential scarf. For the majority of the past sixteen weeks, the blonde had been nothing less than a constantly burning wildfire, boasting to anyone who'd listen and maintaining the high octane reputation she'd carried for the past several years.

It would be entirely untrue to say the persona was maintained for the purpose of the audience; although a good number of her fans tuned in each week to watch the rock star's antics in the manor, the puns, jokes, pranks, and volume were there whether or not the cameras were, too. Yang simply lived loudly, often racing from one thing to another, thoroughly enjoying everything she set out to do regardless of her inherent impulsiveness, but recent weeks had shown a different side.

She wasn’t just the Queen of Rock, an outlandish musician with a penchant for living life on the edge; she actually had a diverse array of domestic skills and an overprotective streak a mile long, and her usual ferocity just made the gentler moments stand out all the more clearly. Yang broke the rules habitually, earning more than enough speeding tickets to fund a new park or two, but sometimes, she didn’t do it purely for the thrills. Sometimes, she was just doing what she thought was best, and her priorities rarely, if ever, centered on herself.

Weiss’ head pounded, the increasing pressure just behind her eyes nearly forcing a grimace to her lips, but she managed to maintain a pleasant smile through the lunch regardless. Here, in week thirteen, the producers were keeping them on a tight schedule to increase the drama, scheduling more one-on-one time between Weiss and the remaining candidates. One would think that entertaining six people would be much easier than twenty, but it lead to longer segments that took up the entire day, often leaving her drained from so much interaction. Blake and Pyrrha made it easier- both were quieter, comfortable in silences and more than willing to allow them to develop much to the continued grief of the camera crew- but nearly everyone else would fill any silence with idle chatter, expecting her to do the same to pass the time. It might not be so bad, if it didn't feel like she'd had the same conversation twice already that day alone, and they were supposed to do a group activity before getting around to the remaining three.

Her headache throbbed with the reminder, threatening to evolve into a full blown migraine at this rate.

"Hey, Princess."

Weiss suppressed a sigh. She'd hoped to steal at least a few minutes to herself but turned, putting on a pleasant face as the blonde approached. "Yes, Yang?"

The blonde lacked her typical confident swagger while closing the distance, looking almost like she was walking on eggshells. The rock star knew how to make an entrance and treated the whole world as her stage but right then, in the hallway away from the camera crews, there was no ego on display, just a brow pinched together in concern and lilac eyes filled with worry, her voice lower, softer than usual. "You're not lookin' so good. You feelin' alright?"

"I'm fine," she replied, offering a tight smile. "Just a little headache. Nothing to worry about."

Yang hummed, nodding her head slightly. "So, in Weiss-speak, that means your head is killing you and you'd like to just lay down, but everyone's buggin' ya, huh?"

"That's not-"

"Weiss." One blonde brow arched as she crossed her arms over her considerable bust, cocking her head to the side. Her leather jacket creaked with the movement, the patches and holes no longer as concerning as they once were; the woman ran hot, much hotter than most, and only wore the accessory so she wouldn’t have to worry about her wallet falling out of her back pocket. Jeans or shorts, it didn’t matter- they were often in worse condition, and her pockets always seemed to suffer most. "Come on, babe, give me a little credit."

By all rights, it should be infuriating. Early on, it was- the pet names, the loud and brash demeanor, the jokes and teasing- but the rock star possessed a single ability that both surprised Weiss and made those early weeks more tolerable: she knew where to draw the line. She could read other people well, when she deigned to do so, and would cede the moment she became aware her antics weren't appreciated. Yang even apologized for her actions, if she liked the person well enough; for all the pranks she'd pulled in the manor thus far, only Pyrrha, Blake, and Weiss had been on the receiving end of such, but the blonde also wore her heart on her sleeve at all times. She rubbed a lot of people the wrong way, coming off as undeservedly cocky, and that caused friction at first that only abated when the movie star stepped in to put a limit on it. A spectacle was required for the sake of the audience but she could only take so much, especially when the cameras weren't rolling.

Yang respected that. Not with a grumbled, grudging acquiescence but with an honest apology, and she honored that throughout the weeks since. She still got loud and rowdy at times, but they'd all acclimated to each other, gotten used to those little quirks, and she could appreciate the disruptive behavior, too. There certainly existed no dull moments in the manor, so long as the blonde was around, and the puns were growing on her.

Very, very slowly.

"Fine. That's more or less accurate." She sighed, rubbing at her forehead and trying to will the pressure to lessen. "But we've still got-"

"Nuh uh. Whatever it is, it can wait." The rock star put a hand on her shoulder, the pressure firmly pushing her to turn and start walking towards the nearest staircase. "You're going to bed, right now."

Her protest, if it could be called that, included not moving quite as fast as the blonde would've liked while trying to persuade the woman otherwise. "Really, Yang, I can't-"

"You can and you will," she firmly said, squeezing at the shoulder in her grip lightly. "We've got nothing but time here, alright? You can take an afternoon off to rest."

"But- wait, no, stop!" Anything further she might've given in defense of sticking it out through the rest of the day crumbled into dust the moment Yang decided to take matters into her own hands, hooking one arm beneath the movie star's knees and scooping her up into her arms like she weighed nothing. "You can't be serious."

"Aw, c'mon, babe." The corner of her mouth lifted up into a smirk. "The whole reason you're here's to get swept off your feet, right?"

With a defeated sigh, she sagged against the blonde's chest. Despite her occupation requiring very little in the way of heavy lifting, Yang worked out almost religiously, even at the manor, and often cited her time hitting the heavy bag or running on the treadmill as prime inspiration time for her songs. She just had too much energy, too much zest for everything that life had to offer and too little self control to keep from taking all of it, so spending a few hours working up a sweat served more than a single purpose. It also made for a rather comfortable position, resting against hard muscle beneath a layer of soft fat, even if she would be a tad bit embarrassed to be caught being literally carried up the stairs. "I saw that joke coming and I didn't stop it. I clearly must be sick."

"Yeah, yeah." The blonde chuckled, easily navigating her way to the second floor and turning down a hall, towards the plethora of rooms. "You love my sense of humor."

Rather than confirm or deny that claim- because, honestly, she wasn't quite sure where she stood on that front at present, and she’d certainly fallen in love with the brash woman’s gentler side and even her more outlandish overtures- Weiss focused on the obvious issue at hand. "This isn't the way to my room."

"That'll be the first place they check!" The rock star stopped in front of her own quarters, backing into the door to open it rather than put her down, which actually won her a few points- she half expected for it to be kicked open instead. "I'm already done for today, so I can hang out in my room without anyone thinking twice about it. I'll just make up something about getting struck with inspiration and, boom, air tight alibi."

"We still have that game-"

"Screw the game; we can play tomorrow." Yang walked around the couch set in the middle of the anteroom- a bit antiquated for a design style, yes, but it provided for more 'intimate' encounters when the shot could be framed in a way that it appeared she was spending time in the actual sleeping area of a contestant, because a conversation held in a bedroom somehow had an entirely different connotation than one held in a sitting room- and knelt, setting the movie star down with care. She retrieved a blanket from somewhere and set it on the back of the couch, grabbing the remote for the television the couch faced and going back to close the door. There was a bit more moving around, the sound of the minifridge in the corner being opened and shut, plus the rattle of a pill bottle.

"Aren't you going to turn on the lights?" She made the offer out of politeness' sake; after a muttered curse from the woman as she navigated the darkened room, it became obvious that there wasn't quite enough light for her to see by without electrical aid.

"No; light's not a good thing for a pounding head." Eventually, the blonde made her way back to the couch, with a bottle of water and two aspirin. Both were offered to her without fanfare and Weiss harbored the strong suspicion that the woman only kept bottled water for others' sake. She'd certainly witnessed no proof that Yang drank from the bottles instead of the tap, at least, but she'd seen Pyrrha and Blake with water bottles before, and the blonde always had one to offer whenever they were outside for a segment. Where she got them from remained a mystery, seeing as the crew restocked the fridge and only took into account dietary limitations, not personal requests. It was supposed to be an added layer of tension, being bereft of ‘comfort food’, but the remaining women hadn’t seemed too upset by it. Those who complained were among the first to go. "Besides, you need to rest."

"And you'll, what, stand watch over me and discourage anyone who comes looking?" As much as she wanted to truly argue the plan, just being horizontal was doing wonders for her head. She could also feel the call of sleep, begging her to regain some of her lost energy.

Yang smirked. "I'll do you one better, if it's okay with you."

Weiss raised a brow in askance, hardly surprised when the blonde carefully joined her, pressing as far as she could against the couch's back and draping the blanket over both of them. Although she had a bigger frame and build in comparison, Yang had turned on her side so she took up as little space as possible and, once the movie star did the same, she found they could both fit and see the television with no trouble at all. The producers certainly spared no expense when it came to furnishing the living spaces for their contestants.

"There. Now, if anyone comes looking for you, I can pull the blanket up and they'll never even know you're here."

"I'll have to come out eventually," she said, though the heat from both of them being under the cover was already lulling her into closing her eyes, even as the television was turned on and the volume brought down to a dull mumble, whatever movie or show being played set in a dark world with muted tones. Despite being the only light source, it wasn't too terribly intrusive, and her headache began to calm from just lying still. "They aren't... going to just stop filming... you know that."

"Let me worry about that, Princess." Yang's voice, soft against her ear, reassured her, one hand resting on her hip lightly. "You just rest."

This was the part of the rock star that her fans didn't get to see, or saw so rarely that they thought considered the behavior atypical. Although the vibrant life of the party at nearly every hour, Yang could also be surprisingly calm, though in her own way. Like earlier, during their one-on-one segment, she must've sensed Weiss' discomfort then, because she effortlessly carried on the majority of the conversation in a quieter tone than her usual, seeing as they were seated side by side. At the time, she'd chalked it up to the chemistry of the segment- nearing the final weeks, everyone was seriously considering the finale, weighing whether or not their presence at this stage of the show warranted renewed effort or active sabotage- but she should've known better. Yang cared about people, especially those closest to her, like her genius engineer sister and her bandmates who were using the time away from the studio and the tour bus to relax and enjoy extended vacations, and somehow the movie star had found her way onto that list. Beneath the ridiculous jokes, groan worthy puns, and high energy antics, the rocker had the clever mind to phrase her monologues as if Weiss had prompted her and she didn't doubt the camera crews would run themselves ragged looking for her while Yang led them on a wild goose chase without even moving from the couch. She was that rare sort of extrovert who could run on solar power when engaging with an introvert, neither pushing for more interaction or leaving to seek it out, but finding a comfortable middle ground where she could fill the space between Weiss' replies with silly stories, odd conjectures, and all manner of idle chatter.

Honestly, she'd felt almost content enough to fall asleep during their segment earlier. Somehow, Yang had kept her words in a constant cadence, just a little slower than her normal speech, and the constant thrum of her voice saying words while her eyes said it was okay to stop listening had both saved her from a worse headache and made her want to just fall asleep to the sound of her voice. In fact, at one point, she might've actually started singing during their segment; it was a bit hazy towards the end, when the desire to sleep and the pounding in her head eclipsed nearly all else. Despite her best efforts, Weiss felt herself being pulled into slumber again now, but there were far fewer reasons for her to ignore the call this time around. It didn't matter how much of a lecture they earned from the producers; a little nap would be more than worth it.

She was almost asleep when she felt the gentle pressure against the top of her head, almost as if Yang had kissed her, and it made complete sense for the woman to kiss her good night. Weiss fell asleep with a soft smile, warm and content.

#Celebrity Matchmaker Fanfic #Freezerburn #Pyrrha x Weiss x Blake x Yang #Northern PolariBees #TRR writes #Freezerburned Pussy Magnet #Gaytorade

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notcrypticbutcoy · 7 years

Text

When in London

For day 1 of Malec Week 2017, which really crept up on me out of nowhere – Future Scene!

(In which Malec inspire young love in London, and then cuddle and talk about it)

***

Julian hated Tube trains.

Alright, London was a busy city, with a population of ten million, but it felt like, at rush hour, all ten million people crammed themselves onto the London Underground. Commuting into the city was a horribly unpleasant affair, crammed into a corner with someone’s rucksack digging into his calf and someone else’s unpleasant body odour permeating the air and making him gag.

Forcing his way through the uptight businessmen and women with their smart briefcases and the significantly more rowdy and more cheerful people with toolboxes and sweatpants was almost a relief, if only because it meant he could final step onto the platform and get the hell off the train.

Both escalators up from the platform to the exit of the station had been set to move upwards, to quicker get the impatient commuters out of the station. Julian stood on one, tapping his fingers absent-mindedly against the rubber hand grip that moved faster than the escalator itself.

Something - or rather, someone - on the escalator to his right caught his eye. He glanced over, and saw two men standing together, one clearly on the step above the other, grinning at each other. Both looked tall, from what Julian could tell. The taller of the two had hair styled up high, shot through with magenta highlights. He was wearing navy skinny jeans and a stylish, fitted leather jacket that did everything for his shoulders and biceps, with a multitude of necklaces hanging around his neck, drawing Julian’s gaze unwillingly to where he had the top three buttons of his shirt undone.

The other man, in contrast, was more muted, his clothing somewhat unremarkable, although, Julian couldn’t help but notice, he was incredibly handsome.

But, irrespective of their attire (because frankly, it was London—everyone had seen far stranger things than a man with pink highlights and painted nails) Julian couldn’t help but notice the other glaringly obvious thing about them.

They were a couple.

One of those awful, gooey, sickeningly in love couples. The taller of the two had his arms around his boyfriend (boyfriend? partner? husband?), and they were both smiling at each other, laughing a little, watching each other with shining eyes, smiling so wide it made the skin around their eyes crinkle. The man with highlights leant forwards and pressed a kiss to his boyfriend’s nose, before turning around to step of the escalator, and—

Oh. Okay. The man with highlights was actually slightly shorter than his partner, although he was still plenty tall enough to see over the gaggle of people in front of the couple to find whichever exist they were looking for.

Julian broke himself out of his staring just long enough to get off the escalator, feeling a little embarrassed. What was he doing, staring after random couples like that?

It was just… Well. They were so open, and so obvious, and they so very clearly didn’t care if anybody was going to give them a hard time, for being a same-sex couple or for being an interracial couple, and—

Well. It was sort of beautiful. And Julian wished he could be that fearless.

***

Working in a coffee shop, admittedly, hadn’t been his plan for when he’d left school. He’d been aiming for—

Well. He’d been aiming for having a blast at a university in London. Which he was. He just hadn’t factored in the need for a job, nor had he realised that for students, his options would be limited to three or four coffee shop chains, or McDonald’s.

But, still, he didn’t really mind. Especially not when his shift coincided with Alex’s.

It was almost two o'clock, just after the lunchtime rush of city workers coming in to grab their midday caffeine fix and a sandwich before they hurried off back to their next offices, when the door opened, and two people fell in, laughing.

Julian looked up from where he was standing washing up some of the blenders, because Alex was across the room, cleaning up the crap people had left on their tables, and did a double-take when he saw the pair.

It was the couple he’d seen this morning, at the station. They were hand-in-hand, the taller of the two carrying a silky scarf that Julian would have bet his entire day’s wages belonged to his boyfriend. It wasn’t that cold outside, considering it was only March, but there was a healthy glow to the both of them.

Julian wondered whether it was because they’d been walking around the city for a few hours, or because they’d been here together.

“Well, hello,” the man with highlights said, blinking at Julian. American, Julian thought, although there was a hint of something else. He tugged his boyfriend forwards, and leant an arm against the countertop, a smile on his face. Julian had to swallow down his nervous embarrassment.

“Magnus,” the other man chastised him, rolling his eyes. “You’re shameless.”

“I’m not being serious,” the man - Magnus - said, assuring Julian or his boyfriend, Julian didn’t know.

Then he caught sight of Magnus’ hand, and felt his chest tighten. Not boyfriend. Husband. That was unmistakably a wedding band on his finger.

“Although I might be,” he added, appraising Julian with slightly narrowed eyes, as though he could see right through to his soul. “If you weren’t sixteen, and I wasn’t married.”

“Oh my god,” his husband muttered, closing his eyes and letting out a long-suffering sigh. “I’m never going wine-tasting with you again. I’m so sorry,” he added, to Julian.

Julian was about to make a somewhat-bewildered dismissal, because the whole situation was a little odd, but not at all unpleasant, when Alex cut in from across the shop.

“He’s eighteen, and he really doesn’t mind!”

Magnus’ lips twitched upwards. “Could we get a vanilla latte and a black americano, please?”

Julian rang up their order for them, and Magnus swiped a sleek black credit card, and then he set about making their drinks. The other customers in the shop seemed utterly unfazed by Magnus’ unusual - although very tasteful - sense of style, nor by the fact that the two had their arms around each other.

Come to think of it, he hadn’t noticed anybody at the station paying them the time of day, either.

Julian tried not to listen to their conversation as he made their drinks, but it was a little hard not to be curious when Magnus sighed, loudly, and said, “Alec.”

“Don’t Alec me.”

“I’m just saying. I’m right.”

“How can you possibly know that?” Alec demanded.

Julian cut their conversation short, when he handed them their drinks, and tried not to catch their eyes for too long. He was simultaneously too awed and too embarrassed for any more eye contact than was necessary.

The couple spent the duration of the visit sitting drinking their coffee at one of the tables in the corner perfectly innocuously, chatting intermittently and scrolling through their phones, turning the screens to each other and reacting to whatever was on the screen.

They had their fingers intertwined across the table the entire time.

When they left, Magnus dropped him a smile that was oddly sympathetic, and Alec nodded to him, tossing out a “thanks” over his shoulder as they walked out.

***

It wasn’t until the end of their shift, when he and Alex were closing up the shop for the day and finishing up to make sure things were set for the following morning, when Alex brought the couple - and Julian’s affectedness - up.

“You could do that, you know,” Alex told him, leaning against the counter with his sleeves rolled up and his phone in hand. His eyes, though, were on Julian, who was in the process of putting away the last mugs.

“What are you talking about?” Julian asked, although he was perfectly aware.

“That couple, today. You could do that. Nobody would care.”

Julian paused, and straightened, glancing over to meet Alex’s gaze. “Yeah. I– I don’t think I realised how little people really do care. I’m just not that brave, I guess.”

“They looked pretty seasoned,” Alex said, flicking his bangs back with a nonchalant toss of his head. “You could be that brave. You just need some practise.”

Julian bit his lip. “With you?”

Alex, for once, looked momentarily surprised. He blinked. “Pardon?”

Julian’s heart was hammering in his chest, but something about seeing two men - two married men - holding hands and giggling together and flirting and being so blatantly out and proud in public made him want to do something reckless. Something… Well. Something brave.

“Practise. With you?”

One side of Alex’s mouth curled up. “Yeah, alright. Why not? Practise with me.”

Julian exhaled in relief, and Alex let out a little laugh.

“You done, there?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Yeah. Why?”

“Well.” Alex smiled. “If you want practise, there’s no time like the present. I’ve always wanted to actually go in the Chinese place at the end of the street, rather than just walk past and salivate.”

Alex held out and hand, wiggling his fingers, and Julian stared at it for a moment, glancing between the proffered hand and Alex’s face a little doubtfully.

“Really?” he asked, because god, it seemed to good to be true.

“Really,” Alex said, and Julian took his hand.

***

Across the city, in a hotel room seven floors up, Alec lay sprawled across Magnus’ chest in bed, the sheets tangled around their legs, while fingers raked through his hair.

“I know I’m right, darling, there’s really no good in arguing,” Magnus said, and Alec could hear the smirk in his voice without turning his head to check.

“I’m not arguing,” Alec replied. He was tracing random patterns over the hard planes of Magnus’s stomach, basking in the pleasant afterglow of beautiful, phenomenal sex. “I just don’t get how you can possibly know that he was gay.”

“I don’t. I just know he was attracted to boys.”

“Magnus, you know what I mean,” Alec said, rolling his eyes. “Stop being so pernickety.”

“I know, Alexander, because he kept staring at us, and he was embarrassed, and he couldn’t stop looking at these.”

A finger ran over Alec’s wedding ring, and, unbidden, a smile passed over Alec’s face. Yeah. That had happened. He was officially married to Magnus, as of three days ago, and fuck, if that wasn’t beautiful. God, he was so in love with Magnus Bane that he didn’t know how he could contain it all.

“He was embarrassed because you’re hot,” Alec said, bluntly. “And— Shit, you’re right.”

Magnus laughed, the sound vibrating through his chest. Alec could feel it rumbling through his torso, and he thought that the sound of Magnus Bane laughing was possibly the most beautiful sound in the universe.

“Of course I’m right. And my hotness–” Magnus was smirking again “–was, of course, a contributing factor, but so was the fact that we’re together. Think about how you’d have felt if you were eighteen and saw two married men wandering around the Institute holding hands.”

“I’d have had an aneurism,” Alec said, and, sad as it was, it was probably true.

“That’s a rather alarming admission,” Magnus said, and when Alec tilted his head up to look at him, he did look a little bothered.

“Magnus—”

“I think we should go back to that coffee shop,” Magnus announced.

“You’re interfering,” Alec warned him. “Don’t start interfering.”

Magnus scoffed. “Give me some credit. I’m subtle. I just mean we should…expose a young man who loves men to the world of loving men. And how beautiful it is.”

Alec rolled his eyes, but he felt a smile tugging at his lips, because really, he’d married the snappiest, most gorgeous man alive, and he couldn’t have been happier.

“I love you,” he said, because he did, and because Magnus deserved to hear it, and because if he didn’t say it, he felt like he might burst with how much he felt it in his every cell.

Magnus’ eyes softened, and his fingers curled into the hair at the nape of Alec’s neck.

“I love you too, sweetheart.”

Alec pushed himself up on his elbow as Magnus leant forwards, and their lips met, softly, the world around them fading away and disappearing until it was only them, skin pressed together and hair brushing forehead, hands mapping across bodies.

Because love was beautiful. Loving someone, and being loved, was beautiful.

And every young person in the world, self-hating and in denial and terrified of who they wanted to love, deserved to know that.

#malecweek2017 #day 1 #malec #my fic #magnus bane #alec lightwood #alternative pov #this probably has tons of typos I'm sorry #writing tag

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footballengland · 4 years

Text

Football Fans remember Rodney Marsh

Rodney Marsh – Your memories of the English Soccer Legend:

Did you watch Rodney play, or go to school with him, or meet him after his playing days?

Let us know your stories and personal memories by adding a comment at the bottom of the page.

Steve Dickinson wrote:

I started supporting QPR in the 1960s as an 11 year old just as they were winning the League Cup and gaining promotion from the 3rd division.

I have 3 outstanding memories of the man on the field:

Vs West Ham It was Rod’s first game in Div 1 (he had still been injured from the end of the previous promotion season), and West Ham played a very skillful game on a typical QPR mudbath (as the pitch was then), and Rodney touched the ball 3 times – a curling shot that hit the post; a disallowed goal, and a mazy run through the slime that left everyone floundering – I felt there should be more; but the papers screamed about his return and how QPR would soon now climb the table (we didn’t !!)

Vs Birmingham (around 1972) This game was on TV and Terry Venables was now at the club orchastrating midfield – Rodney scored the best Hat-trick I have ever seen, with 3 completely different goals that ripped Birmingham apart in a 5-2 win (although I read in one of his books that he thought his hat-trick against Blackpool was better)

Vs Fulham away I am stood in Craven Cottage listening to all the Fulham Fans chanting ‘Rodney is a Fairy’ (this was the normal away fan’s chant), and the singing is deafening. The whistle can just be heard to start the game, and Keith Sanderson gives the ball to Rodney from the kick-off – he traps the ball, reverses it, spins and shoots – a la Pele and Beckham – sure enough the keeper is on the penalty spot and didn’t start moving till way too late – the ball just missed the post!! The ground fell into absolute silence, until 500 isolated voices began ‘Rodneeeeeee, Rodneeeeee’

Great days

Bill Stapleton wrote:

I live in Bradenton Florida, just down the road from Tampa, where I understand Rodney lives. I would love to meet up with him!

I grew up in West Kensington and used to walk to Craven Cottage to see Fulham when Rod was playing. I remember him getting kicked for that injury and I have a theory about that and his play. It was reported that he had ballroom dancing lessons to help him regain his balance. I have always wondered if that contributed to his amazing balance for the rest of his career.

I love magic players, who have that something that makes your eyes pop out as you say “How did he do that?” Rodney had that magic. Just one goal that I will never forget typifies what he was all about. Fulham v Nottingham Forest. Forest take a corner. The ball is cleared to Johnny Haynes of the edge of the box. He swings a long ball out to the left where Rodney is on the halfway line. He sets off down the left wing. (He’s not the quickest). Team mates sprint up the field to support him in the centre and on the right. Rodney beats one, two maybe three, like in slow motion – (How does he do that?!) and is now just inside the Forest box on the left.

The whole crowd is screaming, “Pass!” Rodney beats yet another, then curls an exquisite ball up and over Peter Grummitt, one of the best goalies in England at the time, into the far top corner.

Rodney simply lived in a different time continuum from the rest of us ordinary mortals. Not only did he bamboozle countless defenders, but he left countless spectators with their mouths hanging open, wondering how he did what he did.

John Lines wrote:

I must be one of only a handful of people that remember Rodney playing in goal. It was in a first division match at Craven Cottage in the early 1960’s.

The match was against Northampton Town and early on, Fulham keeper Tony Macedo was knocked out and suffered a broken jaw. Rodders took the jersey as there were no subs in those days. I was standing right behind the goal and remember the look on his face when picking the ball out of the net…. 4 times I think!

Pat Larkin wrote:

I played with the 2nd Team for the ROWDIES (after being recruited from the St. Pete Kickers) with Rodney Marsh back in ’78 & ’79? I can remember watching him from the sidelines & right in front of the bench, he nutmegged a defender twice while dribbling & “teasing” the guy with his dribbling skills for at least 2 minutes (it may have been a game against the Ft. Lauderdale Strikers or NY Cosmos?)….and this poor defender did not get any defensive support from his mates.

Cat & mouse game went on with Rodney just “schooling this kid”. The kid was determined to steal the ball from this old guy and Rodney turned his back to the defender, left the ball and sprinted about 10 yards to his left….with the defender following Rodney and both leaving the ball behind. Rondey then casually jogs back to the ball with the Red Faced Defender behind him just shaking his head…classic exhibition as to why he truly was the “Clown Prince of Soccer”…and as a very young American playing a game we really could only dream of playing like our friends from overseas….I will always cherish the memory!

Loftuslad wrote:

Rodney Marsh was QPR’s first superstar. With him, an unheard of team in the third division beat a first division side in the League Cup Final (when that cup really meant something!) and was the prime mover in taking them from third to First division.

He was also one of the first ‘Mavericks’ who did it their way. He claimed “QPR will ALWAYS be my team, not Man City or Fulham.” After him came ‘mavericks’ like Stan Bowles, Tony Currie, Peter Osgood, Alan Hudson, Charlie George and Frank Worthinhton. But he was a free spirit and could not play in the negative systems of England (The others couldn’t either.)

He was one of the leading lights in the Americas NASL and played on equal terms with George Best at Fulham. But he will always be related to QPR and there was uproar when he left.

It’s a shame there was less media around then, so clips are sparse with all these guys.

Maybe some people are put off him by his pundit work and comments recently but as a footballer, he will always be a genius and always be QPR!!

geniusmarsh wrote:

Rodney Marsh and Stan Bowles are by far the greatest players we have ever had at QPR. I saw Stan play hundreds of times for Rangers and Brentford, he was like a God.

Stan was more of a team player than Rod. But Rod started QPR as an entertaining team to watch, the first superstar. I have seen some polls that vote Stan with 90% and Rod with 10% that’s a joke, there was not much between them.

The difference is Stan is OURS!

He’s only thought of as a Rangers man while Rod is Man City and Fulham, who all claim him, but Stan walks down South Africa Road with everyone else and goes to the local after.

Rodney would never be seen doing that, he is not accessible to fans, and the stuff with Gerry Francis didn’t help.

I would like to have seen Rod, Stan and Tony Currie at their peaks all playing for QPR at the same time.

Rodney was like Gazza (who I have also seen) he would do sod all for 80mins, you would forget he was playing, but a flash of genius would turn the game round.

But Rodney and Stan gave us entertainment, moneys worth, a laugh, on field jokes and jaw dropping flashes of tricks, skill and pure genius, so did Currie and so did Best.

We will never see their like again.

Chris Barnes wrote:

I remember Rodney playing for QPR vs Leyton Orient one Good Friday in the early 70’s. Being an O’s fan I was in awe of Rodney who single handedly destroyed a great Orient defence without scoring.

QPR got a penalty, the man himself missed it & the O’s inexplicably went on to win 2-0. With ironic cries of Rodney, Rodney, Rodney one of the great miscarriages of justice had happened before my eyes.

Although we had won I had witnessed one of the most impressive displays I had ever seen from an English player. Rodney was too good to play for England as was Stan Bowles, Tony Currie, Glen Hoddle & Duncan MacKenzie.

What price those guys now when 80% of the Premier League players can’t speak English & don’t care if their clubs live or die! Rodney, thanks for the memory!

Darrell Storie wrote:

Grew up in London (Clapham) during the seventies, and my Da, a mad Scot would die for Fulham – he started to take me to Craven Cottage from the age of 9 onwards – which was around the time Marsh, along with George Best and Bobby Moore played for us.

My ma, a quiet and thoughtful nurse who came over from the West Indies in the mid fifties thought seeing Fulham would ‘corrupt’ me, and turn me into a hooligan. In fact it did the exact opposite – realised the trio were in the ‘autumn’ of their career, and the circus acts at Craven Cottage (especially a game against Hereford – or was it Hull when they won 4-1) were usually embarrassing.

Could see most of the fans loving it, with Best taking the ball off Marsh, and vice versa a couple of seconds later…but there were also many who realised this wasn’t going to last for long.

It was around 1977 (or thereabouts) when I followed cricket – England, that is as an antidote to the depression!

Jane Banks wrote:

I MET RODNEY MARSH, TERRY VENABLES, & TONY HAZELL WHEN THEY PLAYED FOR QPR. THEY WERE PLAYING AT CHARLTON ATHLETIC AND I HAD GONE TO THE SUPPORTERS LOUNGE AFTER THE GAME. I WAS SAT AT A TABLE ON MY OWN AND THE THREE PLAYERS ASKED IF I MINDED IF THEY JOINED ME. I WAS THRILLED TO BITS!

AT THE TIME I WAS 23YRS OLD & VERY OVERWEIGHT. HOWEVER, RODNEY BEING RODNEY THOUGHT OTHERWISE, AND ASKED ME WHEN THE ‘HAPPY EVENT’ WAS DUE! I JUST LAUGHED AND SAID “ITS ALL ME, I’M AFRAID RODNEY!” HE APOLOGISED AND WE ALL HAD A GOOD LAUGH ABOUT IT, I WAS NOT OFFENDED AT ALL.

THEY ASKED ME IF I WOULD GO AND SEE THEM PLAY AT LOFTUS ROAD, AS AT THE TIME I WAS WORKING IN A HOSPITAL IN FULHAM ROAD & HAD SAID I WATCHED CHELSEA WHEN CHARLTON WERE AWAY. SADLY I DIDN’T GO, I WAS TOO NERVOUS, AND DIDN’T THINK FOR ONE MINUTE THEY WOULD REMEMBER ME.

I CERTAINLY HAVEN’T FORGOTTEN THEM, THEY WERE GREAT COMPANY & I WAS DELIGHTED TO HAVE MET THEM. I DIDN’T HAVE CHILDREN OF MY OWN, SO I HAVE NO ONE TO PASS THE STORY DOWN TOO. I WOULD REALLY LIKE TO MEET RODNEY AGAIN. BUT I DOUBT HE WILL BE AT WEMBLEY NEXT WEEK WHEN GRIMSBY TOWN PLAY M K DONS AT WEMBLEY.

Dino wrote:

Back in the late 70’s, Rodney Marsh WAS Tampa Bay sports. He helped put Tampa on the sports map. Our football team (Buccaneers) was horrible and the Rowdies did one thing….WIN!!!

During World Cup ’94 I would chat with Rodney every Friday evening before his flight departed Tampa for Atlanta to do his gig with CNN for the cup.

My greatest memory of Sir Rodney has to be the first Rowdie game I attended, the 1978 Conference Championship with 38,000 watching(in a driving rainstorm). Rodney scored the winning goal in a shootout as the Rowdies beat the Ft. Lauderdale Strikers and advanced to Soccer Bowl ’78. Thanks for the memories Rodney!!

naiomi crofts wrote:

i just wanna say since rodney william marsh was on I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here! i loved him he is my hero and i voted for him every day. then he went out i even dressed up as him an cried when he left but rodney u r da best no matter what, from your loyal friend naiomi crofts.

ps. say hi to him and his daughter joanne.

peter langston wrote:

I was his paper boy when he lived in Cornwall Road in Ruislip in the early ’70’s

alex wrote:

Rodney is such a legend, listening to him and PBT on tlkSPORT got me through my GCSE’s! if reports are to be believed i can’t wait to see him on I’m a celebrity. i have no doubt he will bring the show to life!

Steve Maddox wrote:

I find it surprising that the memories posted on this website of Rod are all from Tampa fans, with the exception of one QPR fan. Rod was a real genius and I saw him play many times for Man City in the early-mid 70’s…and also a few years later when he was with Fulham.

Despite what some people say, Rod was a massive hero at City and was adored and idolised by the fans……..

My memories of Rodney are just too many and too wonderful to recount, but suffice it to say he was just so entertaining and gifted and brilliant to watch.

He scored some amazing goals at City…..but his all round passing, dribbling and attacking ability was breath taking. I truly believe that Rod was the most gifted player I have ever seen, and although he was not the quickest, he more than made up for it with his vision, brilliant ball control and the way he read the game…he had a fantastic footballing brain.

What a joke that he only won 9 England caps….

Thanks Rod…we loved you (and still do) at City.

Sean Forrester wrote:

I worked with Rodney during his time in the media. During my career, I have worked with a number of former footballer, who have played in and won medals in World and European Cups, Champions League, Division 1, Premiership etc etc.

The vast majority of the ex-pros are happy to indulge in stories of their past glories and are rightly proud of them too.

However, in all my life, I’ve never met a player who had such a sub-standard career and banged on about it so much.

Marsh is an arrogant, psuedo intellectual tit and a more self gratified and plain wierd individual. I for one am relived to have him off our screens

Charles Rivers wrote:

I live in Tampa Florida (U.S.A.) I grew up in the 70’s and the Tampa Bay Rowdies were of course my favourite soccer team. My grandmother is from Kent, England and she taught me all about “football” as you call it.

Anyway, I was walking through Tampa Stadium one day prior to a night game for the Rowdies

when out from the locker area comes Rodney.

It wasn’t uncommon for him to come walk around and talk to people. I was 6 years old and he lifted me up and asked me my name. I told him Charles and he told me it was a Kings name.

He was very kind. A while later Rodney decided to retire and they had his “memorial game” at Tampa Stadium….when my mom purchased the program for the game we opened it up and inside was a picture of the day Rodney had picked me up. I have it still. I was wearing a green striped Interbay United shirt and my team name was Manchester City at the time.

Somehow my parents got in touch with him and we all met at his home. The next thing I know my dad bought his daughters’ all white bedroom set for my sister.

So my sister had Rodney Marsh’s daughters room set and I had a picture in his retirement program of us for life.

Thats my story I hope you liked it.

Edward Toye wrote:

Rodney was my hero when I was young and for me embodies all that is good about the game. Supremely talented, with a streak of arrogance he was a genius and for me the best English player there has ever been!

JOHN STUNT wrote:

RODNEY MARSH THE LEGEND.

I WAS LUCKY ENOUGH TO HAVE SEEN AND MEET THE MAN HIMSELF. I CAN REMEMBER HIM TURNING A GAME AROUND WITH PURE GENIUS. HE WAS NOT ALWAYS INVOLVED IN THE GAME FROM START TO FINISH, BUT JUST A FLASH OF CLASS WAS ENOUGH TO SEND US ALL HOME AS HAPPY AS LARRY, AND WE KNEW WE WERE THE GREATEST TEAM IN LONDON.

MY AUNTIE AND UNCLE HAD A FRAMED PICTURE OF RODNEY ON THEIR WALL, AND IF SOMEONE DARED SWEAR IN THAT ROOM THEY HAD TO APPOLIGISE TO RODNEY, (HOW DARE THEY SWEAR IN THE PRESENT OF A SPORTING GOD).

YEARS LATER I DROVE FROM LONDON TO STOCKPORT TO A CHARITY GOLF EVENT TO SEE THE GREAT MAN HIMSELF.

AS I DROVE INTO THE COURSE I SPOTTED RODNEY, I GOT OUT OF THE CAR AND AS SOON AS HE SAW THE QPR TOP IN MY HANDS HE STOPPPED PLAYING AND SIGNED MY TOP, WHICH IS NOW MY MOST PRIZED POSSESSION.

RODNEY WAS AND IS STILL A LEGEND I MY EYES.

Anthony Fernandez wrote:

I had the pleasure of watching Rodney Marsh play for the Tampa Bay Rowdies of the North American Soccer League for four great years. He came to the team for the 1976 season after the team had won the NASL Cup the year before. The team made it to the final two more times with him as the captain, but failed to win another championship. He was a very popular player during his time in Tampa and is remembered well here in the community to this day.

I still remember a match at Tampa Stadium when he dropped his shorts, that had ripped, as a trainer held two towels in front and rear only to have the rear towel fall to expose a full Rodney moon. The article in the local newspaper the next day had the photo with the headline “Footloose and Fannie Free”.

Mike Davis wrote:

During the late 70s, Rodney Marsh almost single-handedly made football, or soccer as we call it, a tremendously popular sport in Tampa.

He became the most popular sports figure in the city….even bigger than american football players. He was dashing, handsome and most of all great to watch play the game…. wonderfully entertaining.

He produced on the field, scoring many beautiful goals and assists, and was the centerpiece of the very successful Tampa Bay Rowdies. Even though it has been many years now since those days, he is still very fondly remembered in Tampa.

Joby Canoby wrote:

Though it was american NASL soccer, it was all we had in Tampa Bay. Watching Rodney Marsh at the age of 18-20 was amazing. For instance:

1)Seeing him go to his knees with the ball in homage to Pele against the Cosmos. 2)Watching him always take the final and usually game winning penalty kicks 3)Following him with binoculars, and seeing what opposing teams enforcers did to him to try and stop him from dominating games. (it never stopped him by the way and most of it wasn’t very sportsmanlike) 4)Joining with the other 45,000 fans screaming his name in unison after he won yet another game for us.

Frosty wrote:

Tampa Bay Rowdies – While playing with the Rowdies, Rodney provided much excitement and talent. He made others around him better and as a result allowed Fabbiani lead the NASL in scoring.

On national tv against the N.Y. Cosmos Rodney put on/displayed perhaps one of his best performances against the likes of none other than Pele, Beckenbauer, Chinaglia, Alberto. We won the highly anticipated match.

Rodney matched with Derek Smethurst was a deadly combination for any defense to go against……

John Rolfe: wrote:

Rodney Marsh – Memories

Vivid memories of Rodney sitting on the ball in the penalty area of teams like Watford and Swindon when two or three goals up: once the game was won he preferred to entertain than to go for goal all the time.

One dummy, when he was stationary, caused his opponent to jump up and land on his back in an attempt to block the ball which Rodney had not kicked.

Seeing him set up chances for Mick Leach and watch how he got on.

Watching him trip on his own feet and win penalties.

Watching him (at 4-0 with 2 goals himself already) prepare to take a penalty and walk back, and keep walking on with the crowd cheering until he reached the centre circle, running back with the crowd baying, feinting, stopping in his tracks just short of the penalty spot, watching the goalie tumble involuntarily to his right while Rodney, with a smile on his face, rolled the ball slowly to his left.

Watching from behind the Bristol Rovers goal as he struck a late League Cup equaliser by bending the ball hugely around the wall; this was in the days when they played with proper footballs of the type that only Marsh, Bowles and Rivelino could bend.

Great memories. QPR players smiled and laughed a lot during the games…

from Football England https://www.football-england.com/football-fans-remember-rodney-marsh.html

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This Week in MLS - October 16, 2018

USA Today Sports Images

October 16, 20185:15AM EDT

Best in Show: Atlanta, Red Bulls pursue Supporters’ Shield supremacy

Bradley’s LAFC set to top his own mark with best expansion season ever

Can Atlanta United reward supporters with first trophy this week?

Garber enshrinement launches National Soccer HOF opening festivities

NYCFC teammates set to clash in U.S.-Peru friendly

Record MUNUFC attendance a sign for future move to Allianz Field

Wondo Watch: Quakes striker within 1 tally of Donovan’s all-time record

MLS Week 34: Match Notes

Best in Show: Atlanta, Red Bulls pursue Supporters’ Shield supremacy

Atlanta United (20-6-6, 66 points) and the New York Red Bulls (20-7-5, 65 points) – the two Eastern Conference frontrunners who are separated by just one point – have two weeks to corral the Supporters’ Shield, awarded to the top MLS Regular Season club. They can embolden their status as top team in league history as they chase the MLS single-season points record (Toronto FC, 69 points in 2017) and potentially can surpass 20 wins, putting them in a class on their own during the league’s post-shootout era.

“Winning games and going after trophies is important, and we’re right there,” Red Bulls head coach Chris Armas said. “We’ve put ourselves in a good spot.” (LISTEN HERE)

20-win MLS teams in post-shootout era (2000-present)

Seattle Sounders FC

20-10-4, 64 points

Toronto FC

20-5-9, 69 points

Atlanta United

20-6-6, 66 points*

New York Red Bulls

20-7-5, 65 points*

*Two regular-season games remaining in 2018

The top USA-based team in MLS over the 2017-18 regular seasons based on points can also clinch a berth to the 2019 Concacaf Champions League, and Atlanta leads 121-115 over the Red Bulls (Atlanta can clinch with one point or NYRB dropping points over the final two games).

Bradley’s LAFC set to top his own mark with best expansion season ever

Bob Bradley’s legend within North American soccer continues to grow as he has now coached the two most successful expansion clubs in MLS history. The Los Angeles Football Club coach has his club on the brink of becoming the winningest expansion club in MLS history, after tying his 1998 Chicago Fire squad with 56 points in its inaugural season. With a spot already clinched in the Audi 2018 MLS Cup Playoffs, LAFC now sets its sights on clinching the top spot in the Western Conference in an intense three-way battle with MLS originals FC Dallas and Sporting Kansas City for homefield advantage through at least the Conference Championships.

Should LAFC finish atop the Western Conference, the club would make MLS history becoming the first expansion team ever to finish atop its respective conference in its inaugural season, something Bradley didn’t accomplish in Chicago’s first season. Second-place LAFC hosts Vancouver Whitecaps FC on Saturday (5 p.m. ET, ESPN+ / TSN1 / TSN4), while first-place FC Dallas host third-place Sporting Kansas City on the same day (5 p.m. ET, ESPN). Sporting KC then host LAFC on Decision Day presented by AT&T in a match whose outcome could dramatically shift the landscape at the top of the Western Conference.

Can Atlanta United reward supporters with first trophy this week?

With an electrifying atmosphere and record-breaking home attendance, Atlanta United could reward its loyal fanbase with the club’s first-ever trophy this Sunday while hosting the Chicago Fire at Mercedes-Benz Stadium (3 p.m. ET, ESPN and ESPN Deportes).

Within reach of the Supporters’ Shield for the best regular season record, the second-year club has been propelled by an average attendance record of 51,826 in 2018, which surpasses their own previously held record of 48,000, as the club looks to become one of only three expansion clubs to win a title in their first two seasons (1998 Chicago Fire – Supporters’ Shield, MLS Cup; 2013 Montreal Impact – Canadian Championship).

Garber induction launches National Soccer HOF opening festivities

MLS Commissioner Don Garber will be among the 2018 class to be inducted this Saturday during the exciting opening of the National Soccer Hall of Fame Museum in Frisco, Texas, the home site of FC Dallas. As part of the first induction at the new location, Commissioner Garber will receive the honor as a Builder of the sport alongside current New England Revolution head coach Brad Friedel (Player), Dr. Bob Contiguglia (Builder), Cindy Parlow Cone (Veteran) and Tiffeny Milbrett (Player).

The induction ceremony kicks off the anticipated launch of the Hall of Fame, a new 19,350-square-foot museum and exhibition in the Dallas region that features 400 prized artifacts, virtual skills challenges, digital trivia, touchscreens to learn about MLS’s greatest moments, a NeoFace facial recognition system to customize your Hall of Fame experience and much more.

NYCFC teammates set to clash in U.S.-Peru friendly

Defenders Ben Sweat’s and Alexander Callens’ performance with New York City FC over the past two seasons has not gone unnoticed, as both players received call-ups to their respective national teams during the October FIFA international window. Thanks in large part to manning a backline for an NYCFC club that has compiled the third-most points since the duo arrived in New York in 2017, Sweat and Callens will be on opposing sidelines tonight when the U.S. takes on Peru in East Hartford, Conn. (7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN2 / UniMas).

Sweat received his first cap for the United States in last week’s friendly against Colombia, a highlight in the 27-year-old’s career that saw him spend two seasons with the Tampa Bay Rowdies before breaking out with NYCFC.

Callens, meanwhile, was called by Peru for the first time in three years since playing with Real Sociedad in Spain. The 26-year-old was rewarded by his club last week when NYCFC announced it had re-signed Callens to a new long-term contract. While both Sweat and Callens have grown accustomed to playing alongside each other with NYCFC, no niceties will be exchanged on the field when their national teams face off tonight.

Record MNUFC attendance a sign for future move to Allianz Field

Minnesota United FC’s final home match at TCF Bank Stadium this Sunday against the LA Galaxy (5 p.m. ET, ESPN / ESPN Deportes) will be another marker of homefield advantage, with more than 50,000 tickets sold and distributed set to break the all-time professional soccer attendance record in Minnesota state history. After 17 home wins to date in their first two seasons, the Loons will next season move into their brand-new, state-of-the-art Allianz Field, where a 28,000-seat supporters’ section – appropriately dubbed the “Wonder Wall” for the Oasis hit that became their victory song – will be a highlight for the more than 14,500 season tickets at the world’s first sports venue to feature a polytetrafluoroethylene covering that will keep the noise in and the elements out.

Wondo Watch: Quakes striker within 1 tally of Donovan’s all-time record

With two chances remaining this year to catch or surpass Landon Donovan for the MLS record of career goals (145), all eyes are on San Jose Earthquakes forward Chris Wondolowski who is just one tally behind with 144. San Jose hosts the Colorado Rapids on Sunday and travels to face Seattle Sounders FC on Oct. 28 during MLS Decision Day 2018 presented by AT&T. (WONDO WATCH)

MLS Week 34: Match Notes

Wednesday, October 17, 2018

Orlando City SC vs. Seattle Sounders FC, 7:30 p.m. ET (ESPN+)

Orlando City SC had their winless streak extended to 12 games, falling 2-0 to the New England Revolution at Gillette Stadium on Saturday evening. OCSC have been shut out in each of their past five games, now 450 minutes played since their last goal, a club record in its MLS history.

Sounders FC won their second game on the trot and scored four goals for a second consecutive match, defeating the Houston Dynamo 4-1 at CenturyLink Field on October 8. Victor Rodríguez scored a pair of goals; he has three goals and an assist in the past two games.

Sounders FC have never lost to Orlando City in three meetings in the all-time series. The teams reached a 1-1 draw in their lone meeting last year on June 21, 2017, at CenturyLink Field.

Sounders FC won the first two matchups between the clubs, a 4-0 victory in 2015 at CenturyLink Field, and a 3-1 triumph on Aug. 7, 2016, at Camping World Stadium in the only encounter in Orlando.

D.C. United vs. Toronto FC, 7:30 p.m. ET (TSN, ESPN+)

D.C. United won their third consecutive game and extended their undefeated streak to seven games, defeating FC Dallas 1-0 at Audi Field on Saturday afternoon. The seven-game undefeated run is United’s longest since the 2015 season; they are undefeated in their six games at Audi Field.

TFC return to action following a 2-1 loss to Vancouver Whitecaps FC at BMO Field on Oct. 6. With the defeat, Toronto FC were officially eliminated from playoff contention, just the fourth reigning MLS champion to not reach the postseason the following season.

The teams are meeting for the second time this season. Nick Hagglund scored a pair of goals after the 86th minute – the second the equalizer in stoppage time, which canceled out Yamil Asad’s second goal of the game in the 90th minute – leaving the teams in a breathless 4-4 draw on June 13 at BMO Field.

TFC ended their history at RFK Stadium by coming away with points on four of their final five visits there, including each of the past three seasons. The teams reached a 1-1 draw there last Aug. 5 in the only matchup in D.C.

United have come away with points on four of their last six trips to BMO Field, over the past five seasons, including two victories. TFC won the lone meeting in Toronto last year, a 2-0 win on June 17.

Vancouver Whitecaps FC vs. Sporting Kansas City, 10 p.m. ET (TSN, ESPN+)

Whitecaps FC put an end to a three-game losing skid, coming back for a 2-1 win against Toronto FC at BMO Field on Oct. 6.

Sporting saw their winless run reach three games with a second consecutive draw, playing to a 1-1 draw with the LA Galaxy at Children’s Mercy Park on Oct. 6.

The teams are meeting for the second time this season. Johnny Russell netted a hat trick in the opening 48 minutes as Sporting rolled to a 6-0 victory on April 20 at Children’s Mercy Park.

Whitecaps FC had won the past two meetings between the teams, both coming last year, once at each ground. The win at Children’s Mercy Park was their first ever for Whitecaps FC in Kansas City in league play. Sporting had won four of the first five meetings there in MLS play (with one draw), though Vancouver did win there in group play in the Concacaf Champions League in 2016.

The teams have evenly split their six meetings all-time in Vancouver, each winning two (with two draws).

Thursday, October 18, 2018

Real Salt Lake vs. New England Revolution, 9 p.m. ET (ESPN+)

Real return to action after their winless run was extended to four games, falling 4-1 to the Portland Timbers at Rio Tinto Stadium on Oct. 6. RSL had their home undefeated streak put to an end after 14 games, their first home loss since March 10, the opening game of the season.

The Revolution put an end to their four-game winless skid, defeating Orlando City SC 2-0 at Gillette Stadium on Saturday evening. Cristian Penilla scored a goal, his 12th of the season, and added an assist.

The Revolution won the lone meeting between the teams a year ago, a 4-0 victory at Gillette Stadium on May 13. It was their second successive 4-0 win in the series in Foxborough, winning there in 2015 by the same scoreline. That victory was the Revolution’s first in the series since 2009, snapping a seven-game Real undefeated streak.

The Revolution have never won at Rio Tinto Stadium, their only victories in Utah having come at Rice-Eccles Stadium, the last in 2007. RSL have won four of six meetings all-time in Sandy, with two draws, including a goalless result there in 2016 in the last matchup.

Sunday, October 21, 2018

Atlanta United vs. Chicago Fire, 3 p.m. ET (ESPN, ESPN Deportes)

Atlanta United returned to their winning ways last time out, defeating the New England Revolution 2-1 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Oct. 6.

George Bello scored the opening goal for Atlanta. At age 16 years, 257 days, he is the sixth-youngest player to score a goal in MLS history.

The Fire return to action after a weekend off, falling 2-1 to D.C. United at Audi Field on Oct. 7 last time out. The defeat extended the club’s away winless streak to 11 games, now the third-longest in the club’s history.

The teams are meeting for the second time this season. Ezequiel Barco and Josef Martínez netted goals four minutes apart early in the second half, leading Atlanta United to a 2-1 win on May 5 at Toyota Park.

The teams split their two meetings last year in Atlanta United’s inaugural season, each winning by shutout at home. Atlanta took a 4-0 win on March 18 at Bobby Dodd Stadium, and then the Fire returned the favor with a 2-0 win on June 10 at Toyota Park.

D.C. United vs. New York City FC, 3 p.m. ET (ESPN+)

Russell Canouse scored his first career goal in MLS in United’s 1-0 win vs. FC Dallas last weekend, their fourth win in five matches (with one draw) over their seven-game homestand that concludes with the NYCFC match.

NYCFC return to action for the first time since Sept. 29, suffering a 2-1 loss to Minnesota United FC at TCF Bank Stadium in their last match. Rodney Wallace scored the NYCFC goal, his first of the season.

The teams are meeting for the second time this season, the second time in a month. David Villa scored the equalizer in the 86th minute, canceling out a Steve Birnbaum tally, leaving the teams in a 1-1 draw on Sept. 8 at Yankee Stadium.

United won the final two meetings between the teams at RFK Stadium, including a 2-1 win there last April 8, their third win in four meetings in the Nation’s Capital. NYCFC had won the opening three meetings between the clubs at Yankee Stadium before the draw earlier this year.

Montreal Impact vs. Toronto FC, 3 p.m. (TVA Sports, TSN, ESPN+)

The Impact return to action after a weekend off, putting an end to a brief two-game winless run with a 3-0 win against Columbus Crew SC at Stade Saputo on Oct. 6. Ignacio Piatti scored his 14th goal of the season, to go with his MLS single-season career-best 13 assists.

The teams are meeting for the third time this season in league play, each winning at home. Sebastian Giovinco scored twice in the opening 22 minutes as TFC took a 3-1 win on Aug. 25 at BMO Field; Jeisson Vargas scored the game’s lone goal after 41 minutes as the Impact took a victory March 17 at Olympic Stadium.

The win during the first meeting this year was the first in Montréal for the Impact vs. TFC since 2015 in all competitions. TFC had won two of three league meetings in between, with one draw; there were also two draws in the Canadian Championship.

The Impact had won two league games in a row at BMO Field before TFC won the past two. They were the first two wins ever for the Impact in Toronto, going 0-6-4 in the first 10 meetings in all competitions at BMO Field.

Before this season, the teams had met in every season they have been together in MLS in the Canadian Championship, with each team defeating the other once for the title – TFC winning the second of their three titles in a row in 2017, while the Impact won the title in 2014.

Orlando City SC vs. Columbus Crew SC, 3 p.m. ET (ESPN+)

Crew SC return to action after seeing their two-game undefeated run put to an end last time out, suffering a 3-0 loss to the Montréal Impact at Stade Saputo on Oct. 6.

The teams are meeting for the second time this season. Gyasi Zardes of Crew SC and Sacha Kljestan of OCSC each netted a pair of goals, but Wil Trapp hit for the winner in a dramatic comeback as Columbus took a 3-2 win on July 21 at Mapfre Stadium.

Crew SC have a six-game undefeated streak in the series, including four wins, over the past three seasons. The last OCSC victory in the series came on Aug. 1, 2015, a 5-2 win at Orlando City Stadium.

Crew SC have not lost to Orlando City in four meetings on their home ground, with three wins, including two in a row. Crew SC have two wins and a draw in their past three visits to Orlando City Stadium.

Philadelphia Union vs. New York Red Bulls, 3 p.m. ET (ESPN+)

The Union extended their undefeated streak to four games with a third win in that time last time out, defeating Minnesota United FC 5-1 at Talen Energy Stadium on Oct. 6. Fafa Picault scored a pair of goals, giving him 10 for the season, while also adding an assist.

The Red Bulls won their third game in a row in their past match, a 3-1 win against the San Jose Earthquakes at Avaya Stadium on Oct. 6.

Bradley Wright-Phillips scored his 20th goal of the season, becoming the first player in MLS history to reach the 20-goal mark in three different seasons (2014, 2016, 2018).

The teams are meeting for the second time this season. They reached a goalless draw on May 26 at Red Bull Arena.

The Red Bulls are undefeated in the past four meetings at Red Bull Arena, winning two in a row before draws in the last two. When the Union won 2-0 there on May 24, 2015, it was their first-ever win in Harrison; the Red Bulls had gone 5-0-1 in their first six home games vs. Philadelphia.

The Union have won once in the past six meetings at Talen Energy Stadium, the victory in last year’s first meeting. The Red Bulls have won three times in that span, dating back to 2014.

FC Dallas vs. Sporting Kansas City, 5 p.m. ET (ESPN+)

FC Dallas saw their five-game undefeated streak put to an end, falling 1-0 to D.C. United at Audi Field on Saturday afternoon.

The teams are meeting for the second time this season. Michael Barrios netted a hat trick accounting for all the FCD goals in a 3-2 victory on July 28 at Children’s Mercy Park.

The win in the first meeting was the first for FC Dallas at Children’s Mercy Park since 2011, the first match there in the series. SKC had won five of the seven meetings in between, with two draws.

FCD has a five-game home undefeated streak alive in the series, winning 1-0 at Toyota Stadium last April 22 in the only meeting there a year ago. Kansas City’s last victory in Frisco came on June 12, 2011, a 4-1 win.

Houston Dynamo vs. Seattle Sounders FC, 5 p.m. ET (ESPN+)

The teams are meeting for the second time this season, the second time in three weeks. Victor Rodríguez scored two goals and Cristian Roldan scored one and set up one as Sounders FC cruised to a 4-1 win on Oct. 8 at CenturyLink Field.

Nicolas Lodeiro collected his 12th assist of the season in the win vs. Houston, tying his MLS single-season career high set last year, also tied for 10th place in the MLS assist standings entering the week.

The Dynamo suffered a second consecutive defeat last Friday, falling 4-2 to the Los Angeles Football Club at Banc of California Stadium. Mauro Manotas scored his 16th goal of the season, adding to his Dynamo single-season club record.

Sounders FC have never lost to the Dynamo in Seattle. In nine league meetings all-time, Seattle has won seven, with two draws, outscoring Houston 15-3. Sounders FC also won a Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup match at home vs. Houston; the teams played to a scoreless draw in Seattle in the 2009 MLS Cup Playoffs.

The Dynamo have never lost to Sounders FC in Houston in league play. In eight meetings all-time there, the Dynamo have won four, with four draws.

Los Angeles Football Club vs. Vancouver Whitecaps FC, 5 p.m. ET (TSN, ESPN+)

LAFC won their second game on the trot, coming back for a 4-2 victory against the Houston Dynamo at Banc of California Stadium on Friday evening.

Carlos Vela played a part in all four LAFC goals, scoring two and assisting on two, the most goals he’s been involved in a single game in his MLS career. Vela now has 13 goals and 12 assists for the season.

Kei Kamara scored his 14th goal of the season, the game-winner in Whitecaps FC’s 2-1 win against Toronto FC at BMO Field on Oct. 6. The 14 goals are Kamara’s second-highest total in his 12 MLS seasons; he now has 114 career league goals, No. 6 on the all-time list, two behind Ante Razov.

The teams are meeting for the second time ever. Carlos Vela and Diego Rossi netted second-half goals as LAFC claimed a 2-0 win on April 13 at BC Place.

Minnesota United FC vs. LA Galaxy, 5 p.m. ET (ESPN)

Minnesota suffered a second consecutive loss, falling 2-0 to the Colorado Rapids at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park on Saturday afternoon.

The Galaxy saw their two-game winning streak put to an end but still extended their undefeated streak to three games, reaching a 1-1 draw with Sporting Kansas City at Children’s Mercy Park.

Zlatan Ibrahimović scored the Galaxy goal, his 21st of the season; he now has goals in each of his past four games, dating back to Sept. 15, with five goals in that span. Ibrahimović has a goal or an assist now in each of the past six matches.

The teams are meeting for the second time this season, reaching a 2-2 result on Aug. 11 at StubHub Center.

The teams met twice in Minnesota United’s inaugural season, and the Galaxy won both, once at each ground, a 2-1 win on May 21 at TCF Bank Stadium and a 3-0 win on Oct. 15 at StubHub Center.

Portland Timbers vs. Real Salt Lake, 5 p.m. ET (ESPN+)

The teams are meeting for the second time this season, the back end of a home-and-home set over three weeks. Sebastian Blanco scored two goals and set up a third as the Timbers cruised to a 4-1 win on Oct. 6 at Rio Tinto Stadium.

Real Salt Lake won both meetings a year ago, one at each ground, putting an end to an eight-game Timbers undefeated streak in the all-time league series. The last previous RSL win had come on April 19, 2014; Portland won four of the eight games in between, with four draws.

San Jose Earthquakes vs. Colorado Rapids, 5 p.m. ET (ESPN+)

The Quakes saw their losing slide reach six matches last time out, suffering a 3-1 loss to the New York Red Bulls at Avaya Stadium on Oct. 6.

Chris Wondolowski scored the lone Quakes goal, the 144th league goal of his MLS career, now one away from the all-time record held by Landon Donovan. It was the 10th goal of the season for Wondolowski, his ninth consecutive season with 10-plus goals, both the total number of seasons and the stretch of consecutive years all-time MLS records.

The Rapids put an end to a seven-game losing slide, defeating Minnesota United FC 2-0 at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park on Saturday afternoon. The seven-game streak was one shy of the club record set earlier this season.

The teams are meeting for the second time this season. Bismark Adjei-Boateng netted the game-winner in second-half stoppage time, giving the Rapids a 2-1 win on Aug. 11 at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park.

The Rapids are undefeated in the past seven meetings with the Quakes in Commerce City, the last San Jose win there coming in 2013. The Rapids have won three times, with four draws. The Rapids win at home Oct. 13, 2016 ended a 14-game overall winless streak in the series.

The Quakes have won the three meetings all-time at Avaya Stadium, all by 1-0 scorelines. San Jose has not conceded a home goal to Colorado since a 1-1 draw on May 18, 2013, a span of 514 scoreless minutes for the Rapids in the Bay Area.

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This Week in MLS – October 16, 2018 was originally published on 365 Football

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