#glory.

@damned--irony

She made it through dinner and speeches—standing on stage next to Claudia and the slimy ERC rep, trying to keep a smile on her face for the crowd and the cameras though she's sure it slipped into a scowl a few times as he cracked jokes at the Foxes' expense—in her high heels. But the boring, formal part of the night is over and she's not keeping them on for a second longer.

Thankfully, the banquet is on the Foxes' home turf this time and she had the forethought to stash her boots in the lounge—though it's not like she hadn't walked barefoot through the streets of Nashville last year when she'd had enough. If Wymack hadn't told her and Claudia that they'd be taking his spot on stage, maybe she just would've worn the combat boots from the start.

It's stupid to think that a pair of heels might make the difference between the Foxes being taken seriously and not—especially not when Glory was still up on stage with her arms full of tattoos, her dark eyeliner, her accent that always seems more pronounced to her when she's speaking into a microphone—but it felt like something she should do anyway.

She guesses she'll see what they say about it, or about her, in the press tomorrow, though she's not looking exactly looking forward to it. She'll watch tape and analyze her play, but watching herself speak on camera is something else.

"If I bombed, don't tell me," she says, sinking down onto one of the lounge couches with boots in hand to pull them onto her feet. "And I thought press duty was bad. At least after playin' a whole game we have a reason to be sweaty and tired."

L O O K  B O O K #338

Hair: Analog Dog - Tiffany(edited) (NEW!) Hairbase: GLORY. - Yana Tattoo: Bolson - Sak Yant Bangs: Analog Dog - bang 3 Top: Semller - LeNoir tee gacha Pants: Rebel Gal x Ec.cloth - Cutout leggings (@UBER) Socks: VALE KOER(top part) & Sweet Tea(applier) Shoes: ISON - Platform Nata heels Headdress: aisling - Efezah headwrap gacha rare Choker: Fonde - Buckle choker Septum: Yummy - Eclipse septum Fur: FAKEICON - SEC02 shoulder fur (NEW!) Bracelets: FAKEICON - Smosh bracelet set Bracelet: SEVEN - Elephant bracelet Earrings: SEVEN - Knock (NEW!) Eyeliner: BLOOM - Simple omega liner Poses/chair: GingerFish - Various poses

@damned--irony

When she thinks of the things she misses over the summer, over breaks—when so many of the Foxes go home in a way that she can't and leave her in Palmetto—she misses games, of course, like the one they played on Friday, even if it was just a scrimmage. But she also misses things like this.

It was a surprise to her at first, even if it maybe shouldn't have been. She might have grown up with a pack of siblings, but she always thought of herself as a lone wolf. A loner. When she left them all behind, it became even more true: she had friends in Louisville, but they were fleeting, foster kids that moved around just like she did. There was no one who really knew her, no one she really knew.

After everything, she'd thought it was better that way.

And that's how she came to Palmetto. She wanted to play Exy, to keep holding on tight to this thing she discovered in Louisville, this thing that made her feel alive—but she hadn't really been thinking about the team. Not at first. She thought that she'd keep her distance the way she had been. She'd thought that it'd be safer that way.

Two years later, and she's the Vice Captain of the team. She doesn't want to keep her distance anymore, if she ever even really did in the first place.

What she wants is to be here: dressed in all black on a weekday night—though it's not like that part is out of the ordinary for her—running around in the dark with her teammates as they try to shoot each other. They spent the past week on different teams, but this feels different: this time, she really doesn't care if they win or lose.

"You ever done this before?" She asks in between rounds, shrugging off her illuminated vest and setting it aside. "I think I'm real bad at it. I still can't tell when I hit someone."

All of the Foxes back after the summer, a weekend spent in the woods, the title of Vice Captain—Glory feels filled up with all of it, with energy and excitement for the year to come. 

Sometimes it still tugs at her, the memory of the girl she was back in Louisville, the one who only ended up on the Exy Court as a last resort before expulsion, because she was grieving and she was numb and the only time she felt even halfway alive was when she was doing something she shouldn’t—until she got onto the court, and put everything she was feeling there. Sometimes she remembers the girl she was before that, too, back at the end in Owls Bend, when she felt half out of her mind with guilt and the only thing she could think of to save herself was getting out. 

Sometimes, being happy with her life now feels like she’s forgetting all of that. Like she should still be back there, trapped in those moments when she was at her lowest. But there’s something about being out here in the woods—or maybe it’s the aftermath of another semester’s session with Betsy—that makes her feel resilient instead. Like she’s one of the trees she grew up climbing, sturdy and strong and growing taller towards the sky, even when it’s happening so slowly you can’t see it. 

They’re making their way through a ropes course today after the bonfire last night, and while it’s not anything Glory’s done before she’s never been afraid of heights and she’s always been fearless, always trusted her own hands and feet to take her where she needs to go. 

She attacks the climbing wall with the same confidence that sent her to the tops of trees back home, where no one could ever reach her to make her come down, not before she was ready to. She’s got nothing to hide from now, though, so when she reaches the top she comes right back down, sneakered feet thumping gently back onto solid ground as she unclips from the harness they strapped her into. 

As a kid, she learned how to climb trees. When she was a little older, she learned how to play Exy. She learned how to be competitive. And so when she grins at the teammate next to her, she’s both a little bit breathless and a little bit smug. “What d’you think, is anyone gonna manage to beat my time?” 

If you asked Glory, she’d say she’s never really been on a hike before.

Back home, back in Owl’s Bend, all she had to do to find herself among the trees was open the door and walk outside. She didn’t have to go far to leave the house behind her, to be in the woods—her woods—to leave everything and everyone that was bothering her behind.

Sometimes, it felt like she spent more time out there in the woods than she did in the house. Sometimes, when Justice was at his worst, she slept out there. She didn’t care if it was summer or winter, rain or shine. Her feet calloused like leather, she didn’t even care if she had shoes on. She felt safe out there. Like nothing could touch her.

Maybe she’s lost that. Or maybe she’s just found it somewhere else, because the court feels a lot like that now. And now, whether it’s Louisville or Palmetto, getting back out into the woods requires so much more effort. Her and her team, loading up in the cars. Lacing up their sneakers. Packing water and snacks into backpacks. 

It’s different, sure, but it’s what she wanted. And her team’s here with her, celebrating her twentieth birthday. 

“So, what d’you think?” She asks, turning her face up to the sky. It’s sunny and warm out, the summer quickly approaching. It’s that time of year where almost everything feels like a last hurrah, like she’s counting down until the Foxes leave, and the ones who are staying move over to Abby’s house for the summer. But, for now, they’re all together, and she can’t help but grin. 

 “Pretty nice, isn’t it?”