ash on ice

Ashton Ryder, 29, #6 national team, just need the ice and a puck.

[defensemanryder]

a verse of choosing the rink over arms

Ash being born and bred in Minnesota, aka Hockeytown, he's been playing ice hockey as a kid and grew to really develop a knack for it, taking it up as a sport all through till high school, playing U-18 Nationals at Chisago Lakes High School.

While he had hopes to follow his father's footsteps and join the military, losing him in combat shook the Ryder family, his mother begging him to not join at all, anything but the marines, and perhaps in another lifetime he'd follow his dad but this time, he respected his mom's wishes.

Instead he secured a sports scholarship into college, part time studying astrophysics and part time training with his college's ice hockey team, growing to be the best offensive defenseman and sniper the team's had in years. Over time it became clearer to Ash that perhaps ice hockey was the route he wanted to take in life, he'd be close to home, and he was fucking good at it. During his college's years he was scouted by the NHL team of the Minnesota Wilds, competing there for a few years before he moved on to join the National USA Team in his late 20s.

While Minnesota is known to grow plenty of NHL ice hockey players, with Ashton coming from a small town in Minnesota it was super exciting for the small community to know he made it to the National Team. He's been with the USA National Team now for a couple of years, making his Olympic debut then and now training for the next. Outside of the competition seasons, he prefers to come back home in Taylors Falls with his mom and dog, training kids and teens during the day, while training professionally at night. He couldn't dream of a better life to live.

[mementomorri]

his words brought a sincere smile to her lips, if only for a few moments. she'd always enjoyed hearing stories of his younger, slightly awkward, self. if they'd met when they were younger morrigan knew she'd love him then just as much as she does now. "i don't think there's any form of ice cream that doesn't blow a eight year old's mind." she joked back. but her daughter's sweet tooth was hardly on the list of things morrigan had to worry about in her life. "i still can't believe she choose this over horse camp but i think that's just a reminder she's more brainy than me." and morri was proud that her kid was so interested in the world. her goal as a mother had always been to give her a better life than morrigan had growing up.

as she ties the netted bag shut and sits it back down morri leans against the rink's wall. "no..." she considers her words, trying and failing to sound like she knows what she's saying. "but yes." the dream had been the same. they had had fallen from a great height together, ashton left gripping empty air in the spot morri had previously been holding lili in her arms. she shakes away unease at the thought. back to her point. "it felt different." morri's painted nails tap against the wall. she had felt different. "i was scared and sad but not as strongly as before. i.. accepted it. i was okay with it." she looks at him with uncertainty hoping that he understands ( or at least believes ) her because these dreams are not something she shares with many others. ruth knew about the dreams but morrigan had never discussed any details like this with her.

she looked up at him with an embarrassed smile, certain that she was not explaining it well. she tries again, with a more positive note. "it's okay if some stories have bad endings." because there would be others with good ones. beautiful ones.

the revelation had been helpful to morri not just with this dream but with all of them. it brought her a little bit of peace to think of things this way.

she pushes a smile back to her face. "that's what we do, right? focus on the positive?" and all in all her life was pretty good. she could've done a lot worse. "and my positive is that today i am getting that delicious juicy cherry." her comments were a queue for them to get their move on and leave the stadium. it was late and they both deserved a chance to decompress before hitting the hay and starting all over again in the morning.

[defensemanryder]

"It'll be like getting to eat ice cream that will not melt forever," Ash's laughter rang across the empty ice rink, flakes of memories catching onto light and flashes back in nostalgia, small flecks forgotten and remembered again, thinking about the way the block was given to the kids as a treat after the end of the day's worth of hard work at space camp, it might’ve perhaps rewired some of their brain chemistry forever. Ashton flashed a knowing, cheeky grin at Lili's choice for the summer, "my bad, might've been my fault. Remember I took her to the place up by the state park where we could stargaze last summer?" Lili's excitement might've started there, and every now and then she'd ask him questions of space, and all he did was enable. "It'll be a summer camp she'll never forget, I'm sure about that at least," he reassured with a little bump to Morri's shoulder as they packed up. He was excited to hear all about it once she was done and come visit Taylors Falls, even if its just for a short weekend before they leave, this was the one thing outside of hockey that Ashton always looked forward too.

He careful placed the last bag of equipment away when Morri began to open up about her dreams. Ashton had always asked her to be as open as she wanted to be, he was more than willing to listen to all the details, as beautiful or as ugly as they were. Sometimes it was dreams of them as vampires, sometimes they were artists, other times he was an astronaut, and this time, the apocalypse seem to have her in a hold recently. Ashton would always quietly sit with Morri and listened to ever detail vividly painted out. He didn't want Morri to ever have to shoulder those burdens alone. He silently sat down beside Morri, feeling his legs appreciate the break from the ice, its no different today as he made sure to give her the space and time to parse through her mind, having heard this dream before, the way death seem to always find its way into their ending. Ashton almost didn't want to know the life he would've had to have that continued without them.

He meets her smile with a reassuring one, never faulting her for words to spill out in a mess, he always found a way to understand his found sister. "Don't really like the bad endings," he lightly sighed though words were just as light in tone, he reached over to hold her hand in his grasp, a physical anchor to make sure she doesn't get too lost talking it through, "..but yeah, then let's make sure we continue to make sure this one has a good ending." He hopes so. Life had.. been kind to him, to all of them, he felt extremely lucky amongst all the dreams of universes that Morri has in her labyrinth of a mind, he was in this one, happy ending hopefully in sight for all of them.

Despite everything Morri has been through she still says positive and strong and something Ashton himself wasn't sure he would be able to take with such grace, it was truly admirable and he flashed a smile, silently agreeing to her philosophy to it all. "Exactly, c'mon," Ash tugged her hand as he hopped to his feet, grabbing his own personal bag for them to head to the car, "let's head over to the diner, maybe if you look at them with your puppy dog eyes we'll get more cherries."

It didn't take very long to get from one place to another, the town wasn't actually that big, but he drove them anyways, checking his phone on whether Ruth might join them later tonight. He sat at their usual booth typing a message on his phone as Morri came back with a milkshake, "Ruth said she'll let us know when she's swinging by." Ash sets him phone aside facing up ready for it to light up when she does. He murmurs a thanks to Morri getting their drinks before hesitating and shifting in his seat, nerves slightly radiating off his awkward self, "um.." before deciding to spit it out as pink dusted across his cheeks and his injured hand trying to cover it up, "speaking of Ruth, I.. wanted your opinion on something."

[mementomorri]

cont. ash & morri hockey! meme @defensemanryder

"semantics!" morrigan chastised in a whisper. he'd never be able to justify an injury to her. it was her nature to mother hen the people in her life. the reminder that ashton's practice today would've been the one liliana daughter attended if she'd been on the trip to minnesota with them caused morrigan to smile, "she says hi from camp, by the way." lili offered the same greeting for morri to pass to uncle ash every night they called. "i'm starting to worry she's going to sneak into a rocket and i'll never get her back." space camp had definitely been the way to go this year.

morri nodded to both of his questions but only replied to one of them. "she said they were waking up early tomorrow to do their tour of nasa." she didn't need to tell him how she was doing. they would both know if she was bad--it wasn't something she hid very well. it'd been over a year since she'd faced anything she couldn't handle. that was mostly thanks to the friendships that had grown stronger as of late.

it only took a flash of his soft blues to give into the plea, deciding that if it was that serious to ashton she could agree with keeping this from ruth.

she starts moving. putting away the equipment from ashton's practice. it's mostly extra pads and pucks. a few sticks for when his kids inevitably forgot their own. "i had the dream again." morrigan tries to sound unbothered. she doesn't succeed.

she always dreamed. some were good and some were bad and every so often some were downright haunting. the dream about ashton trying and failing to keep morrigan and lili alive during a zombie apocalypse was the latter. most of her dreams felt real and this one had been no exception.

[defensemanryder]

"Tell her I said hi too," it was hard to wipe the smile off his face, touched to know Lili hadn't forgotten about him, he had given her as much advice as he could, his own memories sneaking back to the good times for him too, it was certainly a core memory, and if he had chosen a different path at that fork in his life, perhaps he'd be at NASA welcoming her and the other kids for their space camp instead. "As someone who's been in that same space camp decades ago, oh yeah, she'll definitely attempt it," Ash laughed, "probably won't get very far though." They're always prepared for that, even when Ashton himself attempted to.

Ash rested his elbows on the table and chin on interlocked hands, blues sparkling with excitement for the girl, "yeah? I'm sure she's gonna have a blast, I remember they gave us freeze dried ice cream to eat on that tour." He hadn't told Lili too much about it all, letting her experience all the surprises herself, plus they've probably changed so much since he was last there, even if he's working the hockey stick more than he had time to stargaze now, Ash still kept up with his side hobby all these years, still nerding out to Morri over every single news that pops up. Astrophysics had certainly jumped leaps and bounds it's incredible to witness, even from the sidelines.

He knew Morri well enough that the non-answer was an answer in itself to her wellbeing, he left it at that, he never probed until she wanted to talk about it. They spoke in silence much easier than in words, knowing for a fact that the secret will be kept from Ruth, even if she'll find out later, at least it'll be long after it's healed nicely. He had more important worries regarding Ruth on his mind than a small little cut.

At least he let Morri help him put his equipment aside, packed away at their booth so that they could sit properly with plenty of space, but he paused when he hears Morri bring it up again. It wasn't the first time, vivid dreams often visit Morri in her slumber, and she always paints them in such lively colors it's crazy to imagine sometimes. As if she had a window in the alternate parallel universes that ran side by side with their own. Ashton softened his gaze and tone, even know exactly which one she was talking about this time. "Anything different this round? I'd like to think you might just stumble into the world-wide solution for the apocalypse one day," Ash asked gently, trying to find something more uplifting than what she had to probably witness all over again. He wished he could share the burden of it all too, but all he could do was be here for her. "..you wanna talk about it?"

[abysmxls]

morri + ash (hockey) <3 [ 07 ] sender comes to receiver with a self-inflicted injury from a silly domestic (cleaning/cooking etc) accident.

@ashton-ryder

"you said you weren't gonna get hurt today." morri chastises him as she dabs the slice of open skin on his palm with a antiseptic wipe. thankfully she carried a first aid kit with her wherever she went ( even before meeting ashton and learning how truly handy having one at the ready was ). she flicks her big brown eyes up at him with mock hurt. "does a pinky promise mean nothing to you anymore?" if that was the case, they might have a problem.

luckily she only had to rebandage the work that had already been done ( messy, with haste, a boy in a rush to get back on the ice ). his practices ran long and the players were loathe to call it early for anything less than an emergency. it made morri's heart rush with worry for reasons just like this. even though being back in ashton and ruth's hometown for the off-season was supposed to be a break, their schedules kept them plenty busy. morri was quick to take any time they could spend together, even if it was just meeting him after practice to grab a midnight snack before they both ended the day. "don't think that this means you win the cherry," a tradition between them and the vanilla shake they shared; whoever had the shittier day got to take the cherry. "i had no less than three people threaten to kill me on the phone today". which honestly was on the lower end for morrigan's record.

"thankfully none of them mentioned lili by name this time.." those were the ones that rattled her. made her wonder if all this was in lili's best interest. but wasn't it? morrigan was trying to make the world safer for every little girl. for every mother. for every young woman or sister or friend.

"do you think it's bad?" morri eventually asked, unsure what the prognosis was for his hand. "we can't make ruth do stitches on her first week of break.." rich words coming from someone who had an equally over-zealous work schedule.

[defensemanryder]

"I said I wouldn't get hurt on the ice today," Ash corrected her with a light huff, the sting of antiseptic on wound didn't do much other than a face twitch of reaction to the pain. "This was before the ice. So, pinky promise still intact." As if that distinction was gonna make it any better, "I was.. sleepy and distracted slicing vegetables before practice," it almost sounded like a sulk for admitting to that, "it's not that bad, it was just practice for the kids today, probably split open again holding the stick."

Off season for NHL often meant being back home, resting and recuperating, but Olympic years always throws those plans off. Still he was glad to have the time, even if late at night, to meet with friends that meant the world to him. He mocked a sound of insult at the idea of not getting the cherry today, but melted back into a genuine look of concerned, "..you okay?" The one good thing is that the diner was quieter at night, easy for the group to chat in the sleepy lull of the town, something akin to deep late night talks, sometimes heading outside to stargaze, still with milkshakes in their hands. "I'm guessing Lili's fast asleep already?" That lil girl was honestly such a shining light in their lives, Ashton would do anything to protect her.

Ash shrugged lightly at the question, waving it off with his free hand, "nah, I'll be fine, you know me, I always am," loads of days he had no choice but to be, "don't tell Ruth it reopened again?" Blues pleaded almost like a puppy dog, knowing she would go right back into work mode if she knew, "it's really not that bad and she deserves her nice day off."

[skaterellery]

she avoids the puck, turning in little curves, until she switches positions to skate backwards on the long stretches so she can see him more clearly, cheeks pink from the cold, glowing like only the ice can procure. the calm before the storm, the ability

"i wouldn't say you have no flair." though, they were pulled into different skating classes early on, there was still a hint of each style. she hit the ice like a line change each and every time, he could handle the rink solo just fine. they practiced so long with each other that it was impossible to tell where the moves had first been learned.

"pair skating?" she scoffs, a fake insult at the idea. she'd gotten herself this far and back again, she didn't need someone to help her with that. she knows him better, to see through the offer for the gentility — nothing more. team usa wanted the both of them to stay exactly how they were for the next four years. "you think i need the help?"

her laughter at her own joke comes free and easy, supporting his own humor at the situation they've found themselves in. there was nothing left to be jealous of, nothing at all to question. "i'm not sharing the podium with anyone." a twirl of added support for her own solo career carves a path away from him before she drifts right back into orbit. "well— anyone else."

[defensemanryder]

Sometimes, despite all the talk of skating together professionally, it's quite evident it may or may not work out, getting absolutely distracted by her mere radiant presence on the ice. Seeing her turn around skating backwards he almost lost his puck as his hockey stick paused while getting lost in her smile, her pure joy on the ice. Ashton has a switch when it's competition mode, an air of professionalism flickers on when he's on season, but god, she would be his downfall. "My only flair is putting on a good show in a match," and oftentimes his motivation for any of that wasn't the cameras or team fans, but really just Ruth, easy to spot her in crowds when she's watching. But he understood what she meant, when you've skated with someone all your life, it's hard not to rub off on each other, he knew her techniques she needed to hit a triple axel perfectly every time, she knew his power moves to snipe the puck from a defense position all the way into a goal.

"I think.." Ash muses playfully for a long while as if trying to build his case to convince her, "you need the challenge, and you'd never say no to one." Neither of them were ever satisfied with stagnating in their skills, that was the part he'd always appreciate of their relationship, always someone to push you further. Despite their talks about the idea floating around Ash knew where she stood before even hearing her reply, and he agreed, that podium belonged to her and her only, she shone too brightly in his eyes. Biased? Probably.

Though he raised and eyebrow as she drifted back towards him, adding a caveat of an exception, "oh, so you'll share the podium with only me?" Ashton grinned, puck long forgotten as he reached over once she was close enough to wrap an arm around her waist and pull her into him in an embrace, "that has to be one of the most romantic things you've ever said," he murmured a joke before gently pressing his lips to hers, years and years doesn't take away the spark in that or the way his heart still skips a beat. Now that everyone else was definitively gone and this place was now theirs for the night, it was easier to not need to hold a wall of professionalism, whenever it was just the two of them, but also in a hometown rink that felt more like home than work.

He pulled away for them to breathe and for him to hum an idea, "do you think they'll notice if I sneak onto the podium with you this year?" Every confidence in him that she'll win a medal no matter what, and perhaps with that, genuinely considering pulling a stunt for something else weighing in his mind. "Or I could get you on mine, easier to sneak on with 19 other men."

[defensemanryder]

So... D'you think a hockey stick would be your weapon of choice in case of, like, a zombie apocalypse?

"mm, I doubt so, a hockey stick would break in two on the first impact, doesn't mean I won't keep mine for moral support."

[skaterellery]

“hmm,” she tilted her head, looking up at the ceiling as she glides along, as though trying to divine something in the rafters of the arena. finally she tugs herself closer, the space between their skates a perfect puzzle. “i guess there was winning that medal…and...” she could almost lean in to give away the obvious, the frost of their breath melded as he pulls her even closer. but, they’re still teasing. maybe it was the space, the childhood of running in the bleachers and flipping on the overhead lights that kept her light with her words. the disbelief of good luck, hard work.

her mouth drops open, the elaborate oh! of hurt before it dissolved back into a smile. despite the amount of stress she put on herself, she knew it had hardly resulted in gray hairs. she’d thrived on creating her future, a legacy and a security intertwined with unending support. “and now i have all of this practice.”

even now, her heart relaxes as the feel of his kiss, an ease of tension in her shoulders as she curves away to properly skate. “they never look ready.” her skates always stood out, the pops of color she preferred in her outfits, the brashness of her music choices. even now, the heart haphazardly painted on the side of her right skate stuck out against the ice.

“you’re going for figure skating?” she’s never considered a partner, the solo routine had attracted her quickly. all of the eyes on her, making sure she executed each step perfectly, no one else to be distracted by. “i’d put together a great routine for us.” she turns a quick half circle, listening to the ice carve under her feet, “lots of lifts.”

[defensemanryder]

"And...?" the memory of them at that celebratory moment on the ice, swept up by emotions and perhaps slightly embarrassingly captured forever on worldwide camera had a dust of pink lightly across his cheeks. Ashton was tempted to just close the gap entirely, end the teasing pretense, give in to the sweetness of a kiss and derail their concentration of warming up and practicing. But a part of him was still childish with Ruth, in a way he still felt like a kid sometimes in the memory of them being kids in this same place, once holding each others' small hands as they clumsily glided across.

It was all worth it seeing the mocking look of insult to his joke as a laughter bubbled at the back of his throat. "Yes yes, well practiced soon to be Dr. Ruth Ellery," it's still insane to him at the sheer power she has to be juggling these two things. Ashton was an all-in kind of guy, once locked in, he was all yours and all in. So for Ruth to be able to excel at both, he couldn't be prouder. He still flashed a cheeky grin at the question after a genuine pause with a glance of affection and pride, "does that mean next time I can reap your rewards and see a doctor for free?"

Ash hummed and simply shrugged at her rebuttal, "we can fake it for a longer period that they are with a new pair of skates." He wouldn't even be one to ask for his opinion on the artistic choices made in figure skating, barely having much taste in the arts himself. As long as Ruth felt it was right and wanted it, there's where his opinion would sit, unwavering with her. He'd happily disagree and debate on anything else in the world but the arts, he leaves it to her expertise unless she really wanted his lowly regular opinion of a common man to the arts.

And with that he snorted at the idea of pulling him into her version of the world on ice. His was more gruesome, more animalistic, just a bunch of people fighting over a puck that a kid at an athlete meet and greet once asked him why they were all fighting over a huge oreo on ice. "Me, figure skating?" Ash asked her to rethink that scenario, he picked up his hockey stick as they made a lap passing by it before he began to casually warm up in his own way, gently handling a puck at their relaxed pace while they continued their laps, "you know I literally have no grace, or musicality, or flair. I doubt Team USA wants me on that Olympic team." He couldn't help but chuckled at even the idea, perhaps they can pass it off as a controversial artistic choice. Though he rather not be infamous. One big spotlight on them both last time was enough for him.

Deep blues flashed back to her though, not ever willing to completely dismiss her words, "but lifts? I'm good at lifts, and lifting you up." The difference of their careers on the ice were night and day, yet like eclipses they were also similar enough to meet ever so often. "Maybe- I'm not saying yes, but maybe we can try it again for fun," not at this high stress high pressure environment of representing your country, but something fun just for them. "You could find another man on the ice for the Olympic pair skating, I won't get jealous," a soft but bright laughter echoed in the empty rink for the joke of jealousy but the genuine idea if she ever wanted to actually try it for a different way to push herself, they were both athletes through and through, never settling with their current state.

[popcultureds]

WE LIVE IN TIME dir. John Crowley (2024)

[defensemanryder]

@skaterellery

[skaterellery]

lacing up her skates was natural, her fingers moving without thought. she'd taken a quiet approach, letting ashton do the final goodbyes for the children that had come in for today's lesson. her own bag was weighted with textbooks, trying to keep up with the expectations of the two careers she's found herself in.

she remembers all the times she biked over to his house before the sun broke. the fog of her breath in the air, her cheeks pinched red, as she woke him up so she could have the keys to this very center. and now, their names were forever enshrined on the plaque in the front vestibule.

"of course." she allows herself to be pulled forward, her muscles stretching back into familiar positions as she warmed up into familiar patterns. she'd never not been okay, a destine that had somehow found her despite odds. "four years and what's changed?" the question is mostly a joke. the obvious has continued to assert itself into her life, a ryder through and through. "i'm better than ever."

"but..." her breath comes easy, her teasing never changing shape. she takes the lap with ease, her muscles starting to stretch and relax into familiar shapes. "i wouldn't say no to a new pair of skates."

[defensemanryder]

She had all the confidence in the world, as she should, and Ash could only chuckle with a pride that exuded from his smile, "what changed? You sure nothing's changed?" He echoed back the question as if dared asking what changed in those four years. Their relationship first and foremost, but yet at the same time, it also felt like nothing had changed between them. To have known someone practically your entire life, them had felt as easy as breathing.

And perhaps winning golds had also changed their lives, but the first thing was more important. He pulled Ruth closer to him, close enough to share each others breaths to tease as he ran a hand through her hair to cradle a side of her cheek, "..is that a gray hair I see?" He chortled with a bad joke, not an ounce of gray in sight, yet he was tutting away, knowing his continued words were partially true, "med school must be mistreating you so badly, you poor thing."

The boyish grin softened into something more genuine, lifting their joint hands for him to brush his lips over her knuckles, "then we'll get you a new pair of skates." He only then let her go for them to properly warm up laps around, he had been plenty warm from teaching the kids but he'd never say no to extra laps. "I can already hear your coach saying they don't look Olympic ready so we might as well get ahead of the curve." They skated in tandem side by side, as they always have in their own time, chit chatting away in its own intimate form, "but a pair of skates won't stop you. Ooh, or how about putting your hat in the ring for the pair skating this year then?"

[defensemanryder]

//int. skating rink training center, minnesota - night. @skaterellery

"Are your skates even still competition ready?" Ashton laughed as the two of them hopped into the ice rink after all the kids he was teaching today finished their training, leaving the two athletes to enjoy the entire rink to themselves before he locked up for the day. Life often tries to pull them apart during various busy times of the year, competition seasons, finals, Ruth with pre-med and Ashton with NHL seasons, but they've always made it work, and found time in the summer to stay home as much as possible. And once every four years, everything gets put aside for the experience of a lifetime together in any athlete's career. The last one definitely changed their lives.

Ash held out his hand for her as she stepped into the rink, "or maybe it's time we get you new skates, there's enough time to break them in before the real training starts," he hummed, lacing their fingers together, leading them to warm up for a few laps around. "Can't believe it's been four years already.." Ash turned to skate backwards to face his love, sometimes (all the time) still in awe of her, blues glazing over with a genuine check in, "you feeling okay for the season?"

[goldenbcy]

@defensemanryder

there were only a few dive bars in bumfuck, and it was a process to figure out which ones astor was least likely to run into one of his kid's parents. sure, giving piano lessons paid the bills, and it did engage because his very heart and soul are tied to the notes- but god forbid you work with kids and also want a drink every once in awhile. astor didn't do well in stressful situations, and he was slowly learning to be proactive about avoiding them if he could help it.

so here he was, in a damn sports bar of all places. city boy in his fendi button down and fitted slacks, slurping on some shitty draft beer because they actually ran out of whiskey per the disgruntled bartender. he might huff at astor and barely say two words, but he sure was okay to swipe his card. seven months ago, astor would've started a fight with anyone who look at him like that.

maybe dad was right. maybe bumfuck, minnesota had been good for him.

blue eyes rolled nearly into the back of his head as he sipped, shaking off the thought and peeking up at the screen above his head. he'd been all but forced to get into hockey, it was the only thing the people here cared about; but he didn't really mind. it was fucking hardcore. those guys took hits lacrosse players would be uncomfortable with. it was exciting enough to stimulate him into not noticing how the time always seemed to drag.

someone woo'd! from across the bar and it caught his attention, and astor immediately recognized the face that made the sound. he felt a buzz that immediately made him stand, the 2for1 beers he got in his hand as he approached the man, probably the only famous person to crawl out of bumfuck and then decide to keep coming back. he couldn't remember the last time he was actually interested in something in front of him.

"holy shit, aren't you that ryder guy?! i just watched last season's championship game, you were sick out there! it's so cool to see a celebrity just hanging out at the local sports bar." he put the still full beer down in front of him, and did his best to grin, even though his cheeks felt stiff from not doing so in so long.

"i'm astor."

[defensemanryder]

There was something about his hometown that Ashton just loves coming back to. Despite the commutes throughout his various hockey careers, from a quick drive to his high school in the next town over, to an hours into the main city for training with the league, to flights in and out from Colorado Springs with the national team, Ashton would do it. But with the quieter seasons out of competition, he just liked to hunker down back in his hometown with people that knew him and treated him like family.

Tonight was one of those nights with them, meeting up with his old hockey friends at the bar like the good old days, the catch up was lost in the moment of watching a hockey game play out on the television, making small time bets amongst themselves for the fun of it. The moment the final goal landed, he cheered with the half of the room that was watching and rooting for that team, "you owe us lunch next time." He laughed at his disgruntled friends who had bet the opposing team.

The night was quick to peter out once the game was over, people calling it a night, and so it caught him completely off guard when someone called out to him, turning around to see a stranger no less, an uncommon sight in this place, beaming at him, knowing who he was. Ash froze for a second trying to process the situation, new was not something he was used to in this town, didn't help that he was pretty, "-oh, thank.. you?" Real smooth. What do people do with this? He wasn't actually a celebrity as the man said. Ash tried to chuckle off his own awkwardness to have a normal conversation, like a normal human being, "I'm so sorry I'm not used to this." He glanced down to the offered beer before softly smiling back to the other, "but I won't say no to a free drink."

He accepted the glass, clinking it to the other before taking a sip. "I'm Ashton, though it seems like you already know," he reintroduced himself, but then the name actually hits him, "-so you're the big city kid people are talking about." Not much as Ash hasn't been back in a few months but word travels fast, "not everyday someone moves here to be honest, but welcome to Taylors Falls."

[goldenbcy]

his father had really out-done himself this time.

a failed band, and one too many frivolous charges upwards of a few hundred grand had landed him in bumfuck nowhere, minnesota, and astor mayfair couldn't have hated it more. cut off from his adoptive father's funds, had to get an actual job for the first time in his life. if he was honest, he had squandered most of his 20s on a dream of fame that he could see wasn't coming to him, at least not in the form of the rockstar he'd always dreamed of being. people seemed to like his original classical compositions- and the job he'd squared away for himself at the local music store, plus the side gig of tutoring did seem to be working rather well if he was honest. it made him enough money, and his name was slowly circulating, even if it was from bumduck nowhere, minnesota. the kids he worked with were polite, and the townsfolk had gotten used to the new 'flashy kid from the big city' well enough. his designer two pieces still garnered stares, but they didn't have the same disdain they once had. people here didn't like new, didn't like strange. astor was under the impression the locals thought of them as one and the same. he'd settled in well enough-he couldn't say with confidence that he still hated it-but his life still felt empty. still felt hollow of any excitement. every night he slept he wished for something, anything, to come along and shake it up...

[defensemanryder]

a verse of choosing the rink over arms

Ash being born and bred in Minnesota, aka Hockeytown, he's been playing ice hockey as a kid and grew to really develop a knack for it, taking it up as a sport all through till high school, playing U-18 Nationals at Chisago Lakes High School.

While he had hopes to follow his father's footsteps and join the military, losing him in combat shook the Ryder family, his mother begging him to not join at all, anything but the marines, and perhaps in another lifetime he'd follow his dad but this time, he respected his mom's wishes.

Instead he secured a sports scholarship into college, part time studying astrophysics and part time training with his college's ice hockey team, growing to be the best offensive defenseman and sniper the team's had in years. Over time it became clearer to Ash that perhaps ice hockey was the route he wanted to take in life, he'd be close to home, and he was fucking good at it. During his college's years he was scouted by the NHL team of the Minnesota Wilds, competing there for a few years before he moved on to join the National USA Team in his late 20s.

While Minnesota is known to grow plenty of NHL ice hockey players, with Ashton coming from a small town in Minnesota it was super exciting for the small community to know he made it to the National Team. He's been with the USA National Team now for a couple of years, making his Olympic debut then and now training for the next. Outside of the competition seasons, he prefers to come back home in Taylors Falls with his mom and dog, training kids and teens during the day, while training professionally at night. He couldn't dream of a better life to live.

[ashton-ryder]

moodboard & aesthetic game send a symbol and/or the description of one if you can't see it for the receiver to make a moodboard / aesthetic

@byenycfm asked: "🏠 HOUSE - my muse's family/hometown"

small town, weekend nature hikes, homely fall seasons, starry nights, camping trips, boats lazing down the river, locally made wine, cozy close knitted community, drive ins, milkshakes, hockey over frozen lakes, home grown family businesses, observatories, adventures into the forests, playing in the snow, stargazing all night, waiting for dad to make it back home.

Taylors Falls. MN. Taylors Falls is a little river town of less than 1,000 residents along the St. Croix River in Minnesota, not too far from the city but still quiet, and quaint. Ashton was born and raised here until he joined the military, he enjoyed and really come to appreciate the nature he was surrounded with, enchanted by the untainted night sky, clean cold air, and comforting warmth of family and community. Something he once took for granted, now living in a concrete jungle but he hopes one day to return home.

[ashton-ryder]

moodboard & aesthetic game send a symbol and/or the description of one if you can't see it for the receiver to make a moodboard / aesthetic

@pxtitxrosx asked: "☁️ CLOUD — my muse's past"

a past on the ice Compared to the calm, quiet man you see now, Ashton was a pocket rocket of a kid. Too much excitement too much energy, his mother had no idea what to do with him. Always losing sight of him running off to explore some woods to a new clearing where the stars shine brighter than anywhere else (or so 9 year old Ashton always claims when he finds his way home) In hopes to keep him safe, his mom suggested he tried out a sport to exert all his bouncing energy, ice hockey perhaps, their family use to watch the games together and he always found it fun. And thus began his first taste of true physical training, discipline, sportsmanship, teamwork, sacrifice, humility. It’s easy to say the military was what shaped Ashton to the man he is today, but a very small handful of people will know that it started much earlier with ice hockey.

From elementary, to middle to high school, it was what he did outside of school itself, and a pretty damn good offensive defenseman and sniper at that, best of his years there. There were talks of getting a sports scholarship in order to pay for college, to fund his true passion in astrophysics, but perhaps he had already decided when his dad was killed in action, that the military was something he wanted to do, and had to do. He hasn’t done ice hockey competitively ever since graduating high school but he’s still an excellent skater on the ice and would be up for a friendly match at any time. And he knows deep down it’s what he had to thank for building him up and being the pillar and direction he needed back then in his life. He knows it could’ve all gone south if his energy had gone anywhere else, especially during the first few years when the family of three became two. Ice hockey was his anchor amongst the chaos of grief, anger and self destruction.