2026-06-17, 02:23 PM - Word count:
Every person has a weakness. True perfection is a state far beyond human capabilities, yet they strive for it nonetheless despite knowing it is something they will never attain. Most people accept that as fact and move on.
Dante Von Wolfe was not like most people.
Single minded focus. A strong body built to both deliver blows and withstand the weight of the world upon his shoulders. Him and his Istanbul teammates had split up, waiting for the draft to commence so they could begin their new adventures elsewhere. It was an extremely peaceful two weeks for Dante, spent primarily lazing around and sleeping, doing as little as humanly possible ... yet after a long and arduous season it seemed to be exactly what his weary body needed and by the time the end of the Minors and Majors league rolled around Dante found himself fully recovered and ready to start working out again, a tedious part of his life but one which paid off on the pitch.
Having left the Istanbul Academy and his parents back home being busy with work, Dante took his things and booked a plan to anywhere but Istanbul. He didn't really care to leave, but his parents booked him a flight to some famous athletes resort off the coast of Brazil. With nothing else to do but wait for the draft, the young Striker of course went back to casual training in order to ready himself for wherever his soccer journey took him next. He'd heard that running on sandy beaches was great for building up stamina and improving balance, and given he was there anyway Dante figured he'd start there. He went on nightly runs, wearing a black hoodie and running along the beach trail by the resort while typically listening to a podcast or music one of his friends from the Academy would send him. They were frequently talking about teams needs, draft positions, other prospects, and sometimes his name would come up as well. There was some late buzz around him as people finally came across his tape, the combination of speed, technique, and physical abilities drawing attention to his name as he competed with other talented players who pursued the Striker position.
Not only was the league saturated with Strikers already, but this draft had some very appealing talent not only at the Striker position, but at every position across the board. It was a deep class, and combined with the needs of teams not aligning with his position Dante didn't really expect to go in the 1st round despite some late buzz hyping up that possibility. The reason was simple ... until a few days before the draft, only 4 scouts had reached out to him ... although again, the number did double in the few days leading up to the draft but still, it just meant that even if he was on a teams radar he wouldn't go early. That and he was pretty sure teams were put-off by his refusal to play any other position other then Striker ... but being anything else was pointless. He couldn't give his all to anything else but being a Striker, and thus even if it tanked his value to teams Dante Von Wolfe simply didn't care.
The Wolfe didn't have the day of the draft circled. He didn't have a reminder on his phone. He simply went about his day as normal, the thought of the draft not even crossing his mind as he lounged on the couch in his room lazily, TV remove dangling from his hand which hung off the edge of the bed. He had fallen asleep, but eventually the remote fell from his hand and collided with the ground, the sound jarring Dante from his sleep. He woke up and checked his phone on the nightstand beside the bed for the time when he saw that he'd gotten a shit ton of messages from friends, family, and other Academy Players. After unlocking his phone he finally read them ... he had been drafted with the Third Pick of Round 2 to Hollywood FC, 15th Overall and making him one of the first true Strikers off the board. Dante was a touch surprised that he had been taken as early as he was, but it didn't matter to him because either way ... his only goal was to become the best Striker in history.
The place did not matter.
The era did not matter.
The team did not matter.
It didn't matter where he ended up, because one way or another he would climb his way to the top. Hollywood just happened to be the team that wanted the best Striker ever on their squad.
Still he then flicked across the screen and pulled up the messages from S. Sei (@xyan), of course taunting him because he'd been drafted 5th overall, a full 10 spots ahead of Dante, likely due to his versatility and the fact that he plays a position that isn't nearly as saturated as Striker. Still he made sure to send a thumbs up and a quick congratulations, ready to head back to bed. A moment before his phone could hit the top of the nightstand Joshua Homme III (@o1playz) sent him another message. Ah, they had both been drafted by Hollywood ... which meant they would be playing together. That was cool. He didn't read the texts very thoroughly, but made sure he sent one back before sleeping.
Dante: "I'll just score. You take care of everything else."
Joshua: "^@!#^%$%%*(*!&*#"
Dante: "?"
Joshua: "K."
By the time the next morning rolled around his old, and now new teammate had sent him a ticket for a flight along with messages about not trusting him to sleep through it or something of the sort ... and he did indeed just go back to sleep. It wasn't until Joshua practically kicked down his door that he bothered to get ready to leave Istanbul once and for all, taking the miniscule amount of personal effects he brought to Istanbul with him. It all fit nicely in one suitcase. He stopped to look back at his room, feeling nostalgia wash over him ... but it only lasted a few moments before he found himself dragged along by Joshua. To be nice, Dante paid for the fare to get them to the airport, but was more focused on the journey there as he sought to appreciate Istanbul once more. It was like a trip down memory lane, but he didn't let it drag him into his emotions ... that'd be way too much effort to bother with. Before he knew it, Dante was on the plane and off the ground ... although he just pulled out an eye mask and slept most of the way there, waking up sometime in between and chatting with Joshua about their expectations for the upcoming season. Dante didn't know how to verbalize it or anything ... other then just saying he wanted to score a ton of goals, which seemed to be the answer Joshua expected.
Dude was quietly getting better at reading Dante ...
When the plane landed Dante was initially surprised--- towering buildings, streets bustling with people and cars, gangsters in the alleyways, pigeons! Where was it all?
Joshua: "Welcome to Cape Town, South Africa."
Dante: "I thought we were heading to Los Angeles?"
Dante had immediately turned towards his teammate, head tilting in confusion for only a moment before a yawn took over instead.
Joshua: "Jeez, you really do ignore everything else don't you? We have to play for Kaapstad F.C. first, who play in the Minors Division. It's like a feeder league."
With that, Dante took his first step onto the foreign soil of Cape Town.
Dante: "Doesn't matter where we are anyways. Let's tear shit up."
Joshua: "Damn right. Just please ... do more then just scoring goals ..."
Dante: "..."
Joshua: "Promise me already dammit!"
Dante: "No comment."
Joshua: "Fuck."
![[Image: hkJP6ZU.jpeg]](https://i.imgur.com/hkJP6ZU.jpeg)
Dante Von Wolfe was not like most people.
Single minded focus. A strong body built to both deliver blows and withstand the weight of the world upon his shoulders. Him and his Istanbul teammates had split up, waiting for the draft to commence so they could begin their new adventures elsewhere. It was an extremely peaceful two weeks for Dante, spent primarily lazing around and sleeping, doing as little as humanly possible ... yet after a long and arduous season it seemed to be exactly what his weary body needed and by the time the end of the Minors and Majors league rolled around Dante found himself fully recovered and ready to start working out again, a tedious part of his life but one which paid off on the pitch.
Having left the Istanbul Academy and his parents back home being busy with work, Dante took his things and booked a plan to anywhere but Istanbul. He didn't really care to leave, but his parents booked him a flight to some famous athletes resort off the coast of Brazil. With nothing else to do but wait for the draft, the young Striker of course went back to casual training in order to ready himself for wherever his soccer journey took him next. He'd heard that running on sandy beaches was great for building up stamina and improving balance, and given he was there anyway Dante figured he'd start there. He went on nightly runs, wearing a black hoodie and running along the beach trail by the resort while typically listening to a podcast or music one of his friends from the Academy would send him. They were frequently talking about teams needs, draft positions, other prospects, and sometimes his name would come up as well. There was some late buzz around him as people finally came across his tape, the combination of speed, technique, and physical abilities drawing attention to his name as he competed with other talented players who pursued the Striker position.
Not only was the league saturated with Strikers already, but this draft had some very appealing talent not only at the Striker position, but at every position across the board. It was a deep class, and combined with the needs of teams not aligning with his position Dante didn't really expect to go in the 1st round despite some late buzz hyping up that possibility. The reason was simple ... until a few days before the draft, only 4 scouts had reached out to him ... although again, the number did double in the few days leading up to the draft but still, it just meant that even if he was on a teams radar he wouldn't go early. That and he was pretty sure teams were put-off by his refusal to play any other position other then Striker ... but being anything else was pointless. He couldn't give his all to anything else but being a Striker, and thus even if it tanked his value to teams Dante Von Wolfe simply didn't care.
The Wolfe didn't have the day of the draft circled. He didn't have a reminder on his phone. He simply went about his day as normal, the thought of the draft not even crossing his mind as he lounged on the couch in his room lazily, TV remove dangling from his hand which hung off the edge of the bed. He had fallen asleep, but eventually the remote fell from his hand and collided with the ground, the sound jarring Dante from his sleep. He woke up and checked his phone on the nightstand beside the bed for the time when he saw that he'd gotten a shit ton of messages from friends, family, and other Academy Players. After unlocking his phone he finally read them ... he had been drafted with the Third Pick of Round 2 to Hollywood FC, 15th Overall and making him one of the first true Strikers off the board. Dante was a touch surprised that he had been taken as early as he was, but it didn't matter to him because either way ... his only goal was to become the best Striker in history.
The place did not matter.
The era did not matter.
The team did not matter.
It didn't matter where he ended up, because one way or another he would climb his way to the top. Hollywood just happened to be the team that wanted the best Striker ever on their squad.
Still he then flicked across the screen and pulled up the messages from S. Sei (@xyan), of course taunting him because he'd been drafted 5th overall, a full 10 spots ahead of Dante, likely due to his versatility and the fact that he plays a position that isn't nearly as saturated as Striker. Still he made sure to send a thumbs up and a quick congratulations, ready to head back to bed. A moment before his phone could hit the top of the nightstand Joshua Homme III (@o1playz) sent him another message. Ah, they had both been drafted by Hollywood ... which meant they would be playing together. That was cool. He didn't read the texts very thoroughly, but made sure he sent one back before sleeping.
Dante: "I'll just score. You take care of everything else."
Joshua: "^@!#^%$%%*(*!&*#"
Dante: "?"
Joshua: "K."
By the time the next morning rolled around his old, and now new teammate had sent him a ticket for a flight along with messages about not trusting him to sleep through it or something of the sort ... and he did indeed just go back to sleep. It wasn't until Joshua practically kicked down his door that he bothered to get ready to leave Istanbul once and for all, taking the miniscule amount of personal effects he brought to Istanbul with him. It all fit nicely in one suitcase. He stopped to look back at his room, feeling nostalgia wash over him ... but it only lasted a few moments before he found himself dragged along by Joshua. To be nice, Dante paid for the fare to get them to the airport, but was more focused on the journey there as he sought to appreciate Istanbul once more. It was like a trip down memory lane, but he didn't let it drag him into his emotions ... that'd be way too much effort to bother with. Before he knew it, Dante was on the plane and off the ground ... although he just pulled out an eye mask and slept most of the way there, waking up sometime in between and chatting with Joshua about their expectations for the upcoming season. Dante didn't know how to verbalize it or anything ... other then just saying he wanted to score a ton of goals, which seemed to be the answer Joshua expected.
Dude was quietly getting better at reading Dante ...
When the plane landed Dante was initially surprised--- towering buildings, streets bustling with people and cars, gangsters in the alleyways, pigeons! Where was it all?
Joshua: "Welcome to Cape Town, South Africa."
Dante: "I thought we were heading to Los Angeles?"
Dante had immediately turned towards his teammate, head tilting in confusion for only a moment before a yawn took over instead.
Joshua: "Jeez, you really do ignore everything else don't you? We have to play for Kaapstad F.C. first, who play in the Minors Division. It's like a feeder league."
With that, Dante took his first step onto the foreign soil of Cape Town.
Dante: "Doesn't matter where we are anyways. Let's tear shit up."
Joshua: "Damn right. Just please ... do more then just scoring goals ..."
Dante: "..."
Joshua: "Promise me already dammit!"
Dante: "No comment."
Joshua: "Fuck."
![[Image: Z4Ry6Pk.png]](https://i.imgur.com/Z4Ry6Pk.png)
![[Image: C95Q3Nq.png]](https://i.imgur.com/C95Q3Nq.png)
Courtesy of Mafx
