#//not pelican feet tho'

[elsannej]

E-100 series robots (& Metal Sonic) as birds - a 🧵

(And I do mean HC:ing them "as birds" - not talking about flicky battery stuff)

* = belong to the same order Pelicaniformes (tried to adhere to mostly related species)

E-102 Gamma: Great blue heron (Ardea herodias)*

1-1.4m (wingspan: 1.7-2m), 1.8-3.6kg

The first bunch of E-series give major heron/stork to me, with their lanky statures, long & prominent bird feet and specialist roles. (See; herons' fishing tactics with their precise strikes!)

Although, cranes (Grus grus) relay the same energy as well, with bonus red details.

E-123 Omega: Brown pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis)*

1-1.5m (wingspan: 2-2.3m), 2-5kg

Pelicans are generally shorter and definitely heavier & stockier than their distant relatives (see above) with greater wingspan/height ratio. (Those shoulders!!) Pelicans are kind of infamous for being absolutely unhinged with their generalist & opportunistic builds. They would eat you if it was possible (not from lack of trying) so they get the intimidation factor as well! <3

Look at this (more or less) majestic specimen

(The brown pelican is the smallest pelican species, there being way heavier species (up to 13kg), but I chose this one for the most fitting color scheme mostly.)

There's another species that's a good candidate for Omega, but another robot contender simply fits the bill (pun intended) better:

NEO Metal Sonic: Shoebill (Balaeniceps rex)*

1.1-1.5m (wingspan 2.3-2.6m), 4-7kg

Need I say more?

I say NEO specifically, because these birds are huge and actually way taller than what base-form Metal even would be irl. They prance around and are known to make a lot of noise with their bills especially. (NEO being the form of Metal that speaks). So, yeah: NEO Metal. I'd argue they have Metal Overlord aesthetics as well.

Meanwhile for Metal's base form:

Metal Sonic: Peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus)

speed: 320km/h

Naturally; It's the fastest animal which zooms in the skies. ("What would Sonic be then since he's faster?" Bro idk, he's a hedgehog.😐) They're yet another bird of pray, although, more evidently deadly than the ~piscivore species on this list (look at those claws). They've also got this cute-factor that fits that side of Metal, with the dark eyes, making them seem kind of sad:

This concludes my self indulgent TED talk.

[tinylilacbun]

Little Maybank

requested by anon

Pairing: brother!jj maybank x sister!reader

Warnings: suggestive comments/actions, brief mention of fighting, cursing, reader is a few years younger than JJ, protective!jj

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

You and JJ walk side by side towards the entrance of the Pelican Yacht Club, the rest of the pogues waiting by the Twinkie for you both to get some valuable information that one of the waiters there has for a current little mission they're all on right now.

JJ has is hands stuffed into his pockets while you swing your arms back and forth, looking at all the luxurious yachts lined up by the docks.

"You think we'll have a yacht one day, Jay?" You ask sweetly.

"Sure, a big ass one for all of us." He answers with a smile, ruffling your hair a little to which you whine, batting his hand away and trying to fix it again while he chuckles.

JJ can't believe that even with how your guys life situation is he still manages to keep you far away from the harsh reality, always making sure you're not anywhere near Luke whenever he has one of his outbursts or beats him, telling you the bruises are from a fight with a kook.

All the pogues treat you like you're their little sister and protect you like one, never letting you go on their more dangerous missions and shielding you from any harm.

JJ will always see you as his baby sister, you're his responsibility and the only thing he takes seriously in his life, well of course he teases you like every normal brother does but only him, the pogues sometimes too but they know to not go too far.

Your bubbly and overall nice personality is both a blessing and a curse, your want to spread positivity everywhere you go is as admirable as it's frustrating because many people, especially kooks, don't deserve to witness your sweet nature.

Protecting you is JJ's top priority, he wants you to grow up better than he did and offer you a carefree life full of love and fun. He'll be damned if something ever happens to you.

After you both sneaked inside the club, looking for the guy that has information.

JJ finally locks eyes with him and nods his head towards the restrooms, the guy quickly getting the hint and you both walk over to them when JJ turns to face you.

"Stay right here. I'll be back in a minute." He instructs and you nod with a smile, watching him go inside the men's restroom, swaying a bit back and forth on your feet.

While you look around you hope that no one notices that you shouldn't be here, too sensitive for any confrontation no matter the reason.

A group of boys who are standing a few feet away nursing their drinks spot you. "Dude, isn't that little Maybank?

"Shit yeah. Means her dumbass of a brother can't be far. Not to mention they sure as hell aren't supposed to be here." One of them observes, a smirk forming on his face.

Your head snaps back to the restrooms as you see JJ come out again and make his way back to you. "A'ight, mission accomplished. Let's head back to the others."

You nod and you both went on when suddenly someone blocks your path.

"Whoa, not so fast, pogues. Here to steal your next meal huh?" A brunette with a smug expression teases you both.

JJ clenches his jaw, moving you behind him protectively, his hands balling at his sides. "Man, we don't want any trouble."

"Who are you trying to fool here, Maybank? Your poor asses shouldn't even be here."

JJ glares at him but unclenches his fists again when he feels your hands grab onto his bicep, trying to keep himself in check, not wanting you to see him lash out.

He took a deep breath, about to just walk past that douchebag when he hears you yelp suddenly as the guy's friend slapped your ass.

"That little beauty can stay tho." The black haired boy chuckles.

Before you could comprehend what just happened JJ swiftly turns and swings his fist, his knuckles connecting with the guy's jaw who had dared to touch you.

You gasp at that, stumbling back and against the brunette, quickly turning around to face him and without thinking twice you push him over the railing and watch him fall into the water.

Hearing several gasps from the club members and employees around you has you freezing, grappling the fact what you just did when JJ grabs your hand.

"C'mon! We gotta go!" He stresses, pulling you out of your shocked state and you instantly start running, hearing the way JJ laughs. "Oh my god that was crazy!"

Pope slides open the Twinkie's door from inside when he sees you both running and you jump in, your back hitting the wall.

"Bro drive!" JJ shouts at John B and he quickly starts the van as you and your brother keep panting.

"What the hell happened?" Kie asks, looking you both over concerned.

"You guys will never believe it..." JJ breathes heavily, glancing at you with a grin and you blush, a small smile forming on your face. "Our little angel here just pushed a kook into the water."

You're surprised when your friends start to cheer and ask questions excitedly, wanting to know what happened.

You giggle as Kie and Cleo wrap their arms around your neck from each side, their hurried questions overlapping each other.

Pope ruffles your hair just like JJ always does, and you can hear John B laughing behind the wheel, smacking it a few times while Sarah claps her hands.

Your smile stays rooted on your face, feeling happy and safe in your family's presence.

Taglist

For everything:

@my-river-lilly @pauntedblacknails @fanfictioniseverything @devilslilbabysblog @buckymydarlingangel @hallecarey1 @daybreakwinter @loveshineslikethesky @wandaslittlewhore @vase-of-lilies @white-wolf1940 @simpingbutch @mischiefsemimanaged @alina02 @teddybearsgrr @doozywoozy @angelbabydoll28 @glxwingrxse @lilymurphy03 @veryvaughnny @lokigirlszendaya @youngstarfishdinosaur @little--baby--bear @minideathgoddess @rach2602 @gh0stgurl @flourishandblotts-inc @lovelyy-moonlight @yoruse

@mythixmagic @iris-xoxo-juhu

For JJ:

@chiaraanatra @chimindity @flora-eva

[sleepdeprivedsimp234]

~New York gets turned into a child~

⚠️TW⚠️ mentions of implied abuse, some angst, some characters might be OOC, mention of potions

=======================================================================

‘Goddangit…’Louisiana thought to himself as one of the potions he was experimenting with turned to a dull blackish-purple color, meaning it had been a failed potion. He was trying to see if he could make some new potions that could help speed up the process of healing, but alas his attempts were not successful. Loui sighed and stood up from his little floor table that he used for crafts and made his way downstairs to rid of the failed potion.

As he walked into the kitchen he saw New York leaning on the counter with his phone in his hand. "Hey York." He said with a bright smile.

York’s eyes flicked up from his phone to look at the shorter state. "Hey." He gave the younger a smallish smile before turning back to his phone. Perhaps he’ll manage to escape engaging in small talk. Sike b*tch-

"How are you sha?" Loui said. ‘F(speaks New York)’ The Empire State thought to himself.

"…"

"Aight den." Said the Pelican State, understanding that his friend didn’t want to talk right now. He started walking to the sink when all of a sudden the Dakotas came speeding through the kitchen, bumping into him which made him fall back into York and spill the potion on the taller.

Thankfully, York managed to catch him before he could bust his head open on the cold hard ground (OH, OH, TROUBLE, TROUBLE 😫✨).

"Omg I’m so sorry York!! D*mn it how could be so f(speaks New Orleans)in’ clumsy…" Loui said frantically as he regained his balance.

"It’s fine kid." York said, "It wasn’t yer fault, so don’t beat ya self up over it."

"O-ok den.. Ya might wanna get a differen’ shirt tho sha." The shorter of the two said.

"Yea I know." York said. He started walking up to his room when suddenly he felt a bit dizzy. He stumbled a bit as he passed the kitchen island and grabbed onto it for support. He was secretly hoping and praying that Louisiana hadn’t noticed, but alas we don’t all get what we want.

"Woah, are ya ok sha?!"

"I-I’m fine."

"Are ya sure? Yer stumbling more than fourth grade me in ELA when the teacher asked me to presen’ ma work to da class." Loui said, kinda concerned for his friend.

"Yes I’m sure."

"Ok den…"

York regained his balance and started walking towards the stairs. Unfortunately, he barely made it out of the kitchen before he lost consciousness and fell to the floor, and to add insult to injury, hit his head on the tile floor.

After hearing a thud, Loui looked up from whatever he was doing, sprang to his feet and rushed to New York’s side. "York!!!" He yelled as he lifted up the taller and pulled him into his chest. Apparently, he yelled it loud enough to get the attention of Massachusetts, who ran into the room as fast as he could to see what was happening.

"What the fa(speaks Boston) is goin’ on here?!" The older shouted, confused as to why there was yelling, but his face dropped when he saw his younger brother unconscious in Louisiana’s arms. He ran over to where Loui was knelt down with his brother, "Holy sh*t, is he alright?!?!"

"I-I d-dont know sha! He was a-actin’ a-all weird and and-"

"Lou, bud I’m going to need you to calm down." The older said, trying to get the other to calm down and breathe so he could explain what happened. Yes, Mass was internally panicking, but he needed to address the situation calmly. "C’mon, breathe…. Yep just like that kid… Good job I guess. Now can you tell me what the fa(speaks Boston) happened?"

"Ok ok…" Loui started, finally gaining control of his breathing again."He was actin’ a-all weird and stumblin’ an’ sh*t, so I asked im’ if he was aight. He said yes, so I d-decided to jus’ ignore it. Next thang I heard was a thud, so I looked up an’ saw York on the flo’ unconscious."

"Ok thanks I guess…. Give im’ ere’." Mass said, taking his brother in his arms when his friend handed him over. He gently moved his brother’s coat out of the way so he could check his pulse in his neck, secretly happy to find a pulse. He then grabbed York’s arm so he could check his pulse in his wrist. Mass rolled up York’s sleeve, trying his best to not look at the SH scars that lined his brother’s arm, and checked his pulse, finding similar results. "Aight there d-doesn’t seem to be any severely wrong with im’."

"What is wrong wit’ him doe?" The other state said.

"Huh?"

"Ya said ‘severely’, which sorta implies dat dere’s somethin’ wrong wit’ im’ sha."

"Oh- OH… yea the entire thang’s existence is kind of an issue itself." Mass said with chuckle. Loui just rolled his eyes and laughed a bit.

"I’ll just bring im’ to his room and let im’ rest. He probably passed out from sleep deprivation seeing as this dumb*ss never sleeps." The Bay State said as he stood up and picked his brother.

"And you do?" Loui said, giving the shorter a teasing look and smirk.

"Oh shut tf up, yer one to talk." Mass said, giving the younger a glare.

"Touché. I’ll see ya lata’ I guess. Bye Mass."

"Later kid." Mass said. He walked up the stairs with New York in his arms, ignoring any weird stares he received. Once he got to the NE’s floor of the statehouse he started walking down to the end of the hall where York’s room was, but soon got stopped by somebody calling his name.

"Mass! Hold up!" He stopped and turned around to see Pennsylvania running after him and eventually come to a stop as well.

"The f(speaks Boston) do ya want Penn?" He said.

"*pant* *pant* I was coming to see if somethin’ was wrong cuz I saw Yorkie in ya arms, and I know that he neva’ lets anybody pick him up willingly. Is he alright?" Penn said once he caught his breath.

"I don’t know exactly wha’ happened, I heard a bunch of shoutin’, asked what happened, and Lou said he passed out. I checked on im’, and there seemed to be nothin’ wrong with im’ other than his entire existence ofc. Apparently he also hit his head real hard." The shorter responded and gestured towards the slight mark on the side of his brother’s head.

"Oh dang…. Why do you uh…-think he passed out?" Penn asked.

"This idiot prolly passed out cuz he never fa(speaks Boston)in’ sleeps." Mass answered.

"Yea that’s likely. Do ya want me carry im’ for ya?" Asked the Keystone State, who held out his arms awaiting his fellow state’s response.

"Naw I got im’. He’s really light and easy to carry. Howeva’ ya can open his door so I don’t have to figure out how to do so without droppin’ im’."

"Aight."

Once they got the room, Mass set the taller, unconscious state on his bed and put a hoodie and sleeping shorts on him and left the room after.

=======================================================================

3 hours later…..

A few of the states were all relaxing in the living room on the main floor of the statehouse (the statehouse has 6 floors, not counting the basement). Texas was reading a book in a corner, Florida was on his phone, Loui had fallen asleep covered by a blanket on Florida’s lap (my precious baby 🥺🥺🥺), Cali and NJ were watching whatever f(speaks Midwest)sh*t was on the TV, and Mass was cooking dinner.

The sudden memory of York still being unconscious in his room suddenly flashed into Mass’s room as he was cutting vegetables for the soup he was making. ‘Uh sh*t…’ "Hey can someone go check on York? It’s been three fa(speaks Boston)in’ hours and he still hasn’t come out his room." He shouted.

"No can do Masshole! I’ve got a sleeping Loui on top of me and moving would be kinda illegal right now." Florida said with a laugh.

"Yea that would be, though I neva’ expected yous to care whether somethin’ was illegal or not." Mass said.

"I’ll go. I ain’t got nothin’ better to do anyways." Tex piped up from wherever he was.

"JESUS- Where tf didja come from?!" New Jersey exclaimed, clearly startled by Texas seemingly coming out of nowhere.

"Uhh…. The corner….?"

"For somebody that’s that friggin’ tall yer awfully good at hidin’ dear lord…."

"Uh thanks..? I think?" Tex said, confused as to whether or not that was a compliment. He just shook it off and went upstairs to check on New York. Once he got to York’s room he knocked on the door.

"York?"

No answer.

"York are ya there?"

Still no answer.

"New York?"

….

"New York, answer me."

…..

"Aight im comin’ in Empire." Texas said before opening the door and stepping into York’s room. He looked over to where York’s bed was and was surprised when he didn’t see New York, but instead a small fragile looking child huddled in the corner looking terrified. "Hey! Who are you, and what’re ya doin’ ere’?" He half shouted as he started walking to the bed.

He stopped when the kid backed up even further in the corner (if that was even possible). He sighed and walked over to the bed and sat down at the end of it, farthest from the child. Tex noticed how the child’s eyes followed his every move. ‘Dang what is this so scared for…’ he thought to himself.

"Hey kiddo, no no… don’t be afraid, I ain’t gonna hurt ya." Texas said with a comforting smile. This seemed to calm the child down just a lil’ bit. Or at least enough that he was able to actually speak.

"W-who are y-you?? Where a-am I??" Asked the child.

"Texas. My name’s Texas." The older responded. "And you are at the statehouse, don’t you worry yer cute lil’ head, yer safe here."

"O-ok…" the kid mumbled. He gathered enough courage to get out the corner he had backed into.

Texas raised his hand to take off his hat, in hopes it would make him less intimidating, but stopped when he saw the kid flinched and let out a small whimper.

"Sorry I’m sorry! Pls don’t hurt me!!! I didn’t mean to….." the child yelled and started hyperventilating a bit. Texas took off his hat as quickly and swiftly as he could so he comfort the kid whilst not looking intimidating to the younger and hugged the child close.

"Hey hey… shh shh…. It’s ok…. You’re alright… I ain’t gonna hurt ya kid." The Lone Star State said calmly and quietly as he comforted the younger by hugging him close and rubbing his back gently. "Yer okay…. It’s alright…." Tex had successfully calmed the kid down. The child looked up at him from where he was on the older’s lap.

"N-new Y-York…." The kid mumbled.

"Hmm?"

"M-my name i-is New Y-York."

‘IM SORRY WHAT-‘ Texas thought to himself. ‘How is he a kid then?! And why is he so terrified of me?! York would never…. I’ll just play along I guess.’

"New York huh?" He questioned. The kid nodded with a small smile. He chuckled, "That’s a nice name."

"T-thank you s-sir."

"Aye now- Ya don’ hafta call me sir, just call me Texas or Tex like the others do." Texas said, wiggling a finger under the kid’s chin, making him giggle and push him away.

"Whahat others?" Asked the child with a confused expression on his face.

"The others that live with me." Tex replied.

"C-can I m-meet them?"

"Course’ let’s go!" The older said as he got up from the bed. The younger followed suit, but when he stood up he nearly fell right over. He would’ve fallen if Texas hadn’t been there to catch him.

"S-sorry s-sir- I mean Texas!!" The kid cried out, putting his hands/arms up in front of his face. This kinda caught Texas off guard. He knelt down in front of the kid and gently moved his hands out of his face.

"Hey hey hey, why’re ya apologizin’? Ya didn’t do anythin’ wrong."

"W-well my f-father thinks that it’s s-stupid t-that I s-stutter and s-stumble when I walk when I-I can’t r-really help it. He u-usually yells at m-me for it and tells me t-that I-I’m never going to amount to anything i-in life if I c-can’t even speak or w-walk properly." New York’s words broke Texas’s cold heart. Who in their right mind tells that to their kid?! That’s just sick! He was about to ask the kid who his father was and where he lived so he could go beat a b**ch up when he realized that this was past York, meaning his father was possibly not around anymore. He saw a single tear run down York’s face and instantly hugged him close (Tex’s mama bear instincts are kickin’ in now- not that he’s gonna tell you that).

"Hey hey hey…. It ain’t yer fault bud. Ya can’t help it, it’s just how you were born. Yer father has no right to blame ya for somethin’ that ya can’t control." Said Texas.

"Really?"

"Really. Now, do ya wan’ me to carry ya? So ya don’t fall on the floor or down the stairs?" The older suggested.

"Y-yes please." Said York (just to be clear, this is still past him, current him would never allow anyone to pick him up). The poor child was unable to comprehend the kindness he was receiving (poor baby’s so traumatized 🥺😭).

"Ok. Up you go!" Texas said as he picked the child up, and started chuckling when the kid climbed further into his arms and kicked a bit (prolly cuz he was now several feet off the ground). When he picked up the child, he tried to ignore how uncomfortably thin and light he was as he started heading downstairs.

=======================================================================

When he got downstairs with le child:

"Hey y’all I think we may or may not have a slight problem." Texas said, kinda quietly cuz’ York was half asleep on his shoulder.

"Whaddya mean is he dead or some sh- oh….." Mass started to say as he walked out the kitchen wiping his hands with a towel.

"What is it- oh f(speaks Jersey)." Said Jersey, who had turned around from where he was on the couch.

"I-is that…?" Mass asked, with what Texas could describe as a sad or fearful expression on his face.

New York had now near fully woken up. "Mass!" He shouted with the most joy in his eyes that Texas had ever seen. The younger wriggled around to escape, so Tex put him down and let him run to his older brother, whom he hugged when he got to.

Mass hugged back as tightly as he could without hurting his little brother, and with little to no hesitation. "Y-Yorkie?" He asked despite knowing for a dang fact that this was his brother

"Mhm! You look so different, and relaxed for once, did s-something h-happen?" York asked, burying his head in the crook of Mass’s neck.

"Ummm….. Yea sure. I guess ya could say that." The older responded with a slight smile.

York looked at a smallish (emphasis on the "ish") cut that Mass had gotten when he was cutting veggies and let out a small gasp. "Mass you’re hurt!" He said grabbing his big brother’s hand.

"Huh?" Mass looked down at his hand. "Oh, hehe guess I am…. It’s just a small cut tho, no big deal."

"I-I know, but I t-thought you p-promised to not hurt y-yourself on p-purpose anymore!" The younger said sadly. There were a few shocked expressions from the others in the room except for Jersey, Connecticut, and Louisiana (who was still asleep on Florida’s lap 🥺).

"I know bud, don’t worry. I didn’t do it on purpose, I swear! I just accidentally hurt myself when I was workin’ earlier." Massachusetts reassured the younger.

"Are y-you sure?"

"Of course, Yorkie." Mass said, smiling at the other, who smiled back.

"Okie! Where are the other two?" Asked the younger.

"Oi Jersey! Connie! Get ya *$$es over ere’!" Mass yelled.

"Alright jeezus- no need to yell!" Connie (Connecticut) said as they both walked over to where their siblings were.

"Wow, you all l-look so d-different!" York said.

"Hehe yea…"

"I’m sorry but what the F(TECHNICAL GLITCH) just happened?!" Florida shouted, accidentally waking up Loui who groaned a bit in sleepy frustration. "Crap- sorry Loui."

"It’s fine sha… but what’s all da shoutin’ about…?" Loui said, sitting up and rubbing his eyes.

"I think that Yorkie got turned into a child. And who knew that his siblings could be such softies!~" Florida teased. He smirked when the older of the four glared at him.

"Aight whose turn is it to beat the sh*t outta im’?" Connie said to the others.

"Mine. C’mere Flori- huh?" Jersey said as he started to jump up, but he stopped when he felt a small tug on his arm. He looked down to see York, who had grabbed his arm as if to stop him from attacking Florida. "Yorkie? What’re ya doin?"

"I’m not letting you hurt anyone! Please don’t be like Father." Said the youngest.

"Wha… Oh…. Oh d*mn…" Jersey said, at first confused as to what he meant, but soon came to a realization.

"What does he mean by that??" Cali asked from where he was in the living room.

"Shut up California." Texas said.

"Wait a dang minute- Did Flo’ida just say dat York turned into a child?!" Loui said, now wide awake.

"Yup." They others all (-York) said in unison.

=======================================================================

Later after dinner:

Everyone except for Massachusetts and Louisiana had gone to their rooms after dinner. Mass was just sitting in the kitchen with some random boring book and Loui was on the couch with York.

"Hey kiddo wanna see somethin’ kinda cool?" Loui said to the younger. He smiled when the younger nodded excitedly. "Okay!" He opened his palm and closed his eyes for a moment. Then all of a sudden, Loui’s palm started glowing and there was small little light figures dancing and running around the two of them in a circle.

"Woah…." The younger whispered under his breath. His eyes were filled with wonder and astonishment.

"Kinda nice huh?" The older said with a smile.

"Mhm! It looks so pretty!"

"Heheh thanks sha." Said the Pelican State as he brought the magic back into his body so he didn’t pass out in front of the child.

"What d-does that mean?" York said.

"What?"

"Sha?"

"Oh- OH… haha, ‘sha’ means darling, but I call all my friends that." Loui answered. He gave the younger a confused look when he looked behind him and giggled. All of a sudden, he felt two cold hands on his shoulders and gave a small shriek. "Alaskahaha why man?!"

Alaska chuckled just chuckled and said, "Felt like it. Who’s the kid?"

"It’s York." The shorter responded.

"That’s York?" Alaska said nonchalantly. "Huh. Not gonna lie he was actually pretty cute as a kid."

"Wow. Neva’ expected dat from you of all people." Loui said teasingly.

"What’s that supposed to mean?!"

"Ya know what I mean."

"Whatever." Alaska said, rolling his eyes. He noticed how Loui looked just about ready to pass tf out (An HC that I have for Loui: He is the most powerful magic user, but it also tires him out and/or makes him dizzy as h*ll) and how distant his eyes looked.

"Ummm Mr.Louisiana? Are you alright?" York asked, concerned as to why his friend looked so tired and distant.

"Oi Boston!" Alaska shouted.

Mass looked up from where he was reading with a slight death glare. "It’s Massachusetts, but good enough. Whaddya want?"

"I think that ya might wanna check on im’." He said, pointing at Loui. "He ain’t looking too good right now."

"Whaddya mean?" Mass said as he walked over. His eyes widened slightly when he saw Loui. "Oh. Umm… well. I can say that I think he’s aight, he’s prolly just a bit tired and/or dizzy from usin’ his magic. I’ll bring im’ to his room, you can stay with the kid." He grabbed Loui’s arm and guided him to a standing position with an arm around his upper torso so he could support him.

"I don’t remember signing up for babysitting, but whatever." Alaska said as he walked over to the other side of the couch and sat down next to New York.

"Good. Cuz that wasn’t a question. Also just a heads up, if ya hurt im’ in anyway shape or form, I’m going snap yer spine just a ‘lil bit��." Mass said as he walked away with Loui.

The two just sat in silence for a good solid minute before York decided to say something.

"S-so…. What’s your n-name?" He asked, gaining the tallest state’s attention.

"Haven’t ya heard any of the other two say it?" The older responded.

"Uh-uh. If one of you did say it, I p-probably wasn’t paying a-attention because according to my father, I’m fully i-incompetent as a functioning b-being." Said the child. York’s words left Alaska slightly stunned.

"Well I don’t think that’s really true…, but if you must know, my name is Alaska." The older answered. ‘What kind of parent says that to a kid?!’ He thought to himself.

"That’s a nice name." York said.

"Thanks. Y’know, ya ain’t half bad, kid." Alaska said, giving the smaller a small smirk and ruffling his hair.

"Hehe thanks. I like you, you’re weird." Said York with a giggle.

"Aye I am not! You’re the weird one here!" Alaska said, smirking and poking the littler one in the side, making him giggle.

"Nohoho I’m nohohot! (No I’m not!)"

"Yes. You. Are." Alaska said whilst poking the kid with each word, the younger giggling in response. He stopped when the kid swatted his hands away with his little claws. But then something caught his eye. York’s legs and arms were littered with bruises, big and small, and small scratches/cuts as well. "Hey kid?"

"Yea?"

"How’d ya get yourself hurt that much?" He asked. Alaska noticed that after he asked the question, the younger’s face suddenly gained a slightly sadder expression. "Are you alright?"

"Y-yea, I’m f-fine. My f-father just s-said that I a-am not supposed to t-tell anyone what happened." The younger said with a small, sad smile. That’s when it clicked in Alaska’s mind what had happened.

"O-oh ok." He said, deciding to not linger on the subject any longer. Alaska couldn’t help but smile fondly when York yawned with a slight squeaky sound (Idk bro I just yawn like that sometimes). "Tired?"

"Mhm…" the younger mumbled.

"Thought so." Alaska said as he picked up the sleepy child and set him in his lap in a comfortable position. He gently ran a hand through the smaller’s hair and started humming a Russian lullaby he learned a while back. He smiled when he heard a small purring sound emitting from the child. After about three minutes York was dead asleep. Alaska smiled fondly and rested his chin on the younger’s head. The two sat in silence for a few minutes before the sound of someone clearing their throat broke the silence.

Alaska turned around to see Mass standing in the corner smirking at them. ‘Oh sh*t…’

Mass chuckled and said, "Huh. Didn’t peg you as the type to be good with kids."

"Shut the f(speaks Anchorage) up." Alaska said, giving the Bay State a death glare, making the smaller put his hands up in mock surrender.

"I’m just sayin’." Mass said, walking over to the other two states."Here I’ll take this out of yer hands." He took the sleeping child out of the Last Frontier’s arms and brought York to his room.

~THE END~

=======================================================================

Lil’ bonus part for the end: In the morning:

*inserts screams as New York chases Mass, Rhode, and Florida (who took pictures the day before) throughout the entire backyard*

New York: GET YOUR *$$ES OVER HERE RIGHT NOW!!!

Mass: NO, PISS OFF- *gets tackled* DANG IT!! FLORIDA, RHODE SAVE YOURSELVES!!

Florida: C’MON RHODEY FASTER FASTER-

Rhode: WAIT FOR ME I HAVE TEENY LEGS-

========================================================================

[unbakehisbeans]

I want to just hang around Galveston and then let the tide take me so far out to seaaaa. I love swimming out into the gulf until my feet won't touch the ground if I try to stand and then floating until the waves pull me out too far from where I should be and then frantically swimming back to shore and enjoying being afraid every time the kelp gets me even tho I know it's just kelp and I like to see the pelicans swoop into the water and all the flying fish and the boats far away and all those tiny little white fish and I even liked that one time I got stung by a jellyfish bc jellyfish are so cool and pretty and I was so happy to see it and the pain was so cool and I'm glad I experienced it and I like to see all the tiny little holes for the hermit crabs and how my sister always makes a sand mermaid. I want to go to that one coffee shop and chit chat with the guy at that used-book store with all the comics and sci-fi and I like all of the ghost stories and the spray painted lines to see where all the floods have risen to!!! I wanna see all those old houses again and stay in the ghost hotel.

[quinttyz]

hey, queen! you still open to take stardew headcanon/scenario requests? if so!- can we mayhaps get some hurt comfort with abby and a depressed farmer?

aBBY,,,,,i'd willingly give her my heart so she can eat it

Abigail Comforting the Farmer!

- it would be a normal day for Abby. She'd invite the farmer to her house to play the latest installment of the Journey of the Prairie King. When they arrive at her place, she immediately senses something wrong

- "Are you okay?" she instantly asks. It takes a moment for the question to register in the farmer's mind. Abby would immediately pull them towards her!!

- when the farmer finally confesses they're depressed, Abigail would be shocked!! Here she thought was one of the happiest people in Pelican Town but was actually suffering from that!! She would hug them, stroking their back

- Abigail would whisper words of encouragement for the farmer while they are laying down on her bed. She'd stroke their hair, willing to listen if the farmer wants to cry it all out (｡•́︿•̀｡)

- Abigail understands that depression is more than just sadness. It's a gnawing sense of loneliness inside. It feels like you are on your own even tho you have people surrounding you! She would be willing to help the farmer back on their feet and kicking!

- After a while of just sitting still, Abigail would smile and look at the farmer;

"Hey, you wanna help me defeat this one level?"

The farmer would finally smile, nodding yes •́ ‿ ,•̀

[tigerdrop]

ive been absolutely losing my mind this past week but today i have escaped the thrall of brain demons and i would like to show u a sneak peek of my geralt/jaskier sex pollen fic, Sacrificial Rites. (this part is safe-for-work tho.)

its roughly halfway done but this is all im comfortable sharing right now BYYEeee

It starts when Jaskier hears, in the near distance, something like a cannon firing. Well, if he were to think about it, actually, it starts some time before, in a little spit of a village to the north of the Temerian capital. Theirs is but a humble farming community, and it smells the part, which Jaskier reminds Geralt of. Frequently. But the air’s tinged with the smell of smoke, too, and the snow-dusted trees that knot themselves through the village are adorned with bright, multicolored muslin ribbons. Jaskier thumbs some of them as he passes by. Their coin purses are light, and there’s always something, somewhere, in need of slaying, and when a stream of young girls brushes past them, boughs clustered in their hands like bouquets, Jaskier suspects all he’ll have to do is join in whatever festivities are at hand and he’ll drum up work for them in no time. And by “them”, of course, he means Geralt. But that’s not the part he says out loud. True enough, it takes just one bawdy song about Geralt’s prowess at ghoul-slaying and lady-killing for someone in the local tavern to recognize him. A puffy-eyed man, calls himself something Jaskier can’t parse. Or pronounce. But his coin’s good, and Jaskier’s not yet had occasion to sing about the creature he describes - a cikavac, heavy on the sibilants; a gangling, bird-like thing that’s stealing the milk from their cows and the honey from their hives. Jaskier lets out a laugh. “Really? And what does a great big bird want with cow’s milk, anyway?” “Not for eating,” says the man, tugging at his mustache. His voice has a heavy accent, like the words are punched out of his mouth. “Cikavac works for someone. Maybe in another village, maybe someone here. Takes the milk back to them.” “Glorified theft,” Geralt mutters. “Well, what’s the bird get out of it, then? If it were up to me, I’d rather get to fly around, and sing, and, er, whatever else it is birds get up to. Preening? That sounds nice.” “That’s all you do anyway,” says Geralt, face stony, and he steers Jaskier away from the tavern by his shoulder. They almost bump into a woman and her children just outside. Jaskier shimmies past them, narrowly avoiding trodding on their embroidered skirts. “I’m deeply offended, Geralt,” he laments with a hand over his heart. “I’ll have you know, I’m a man of many skills and talents. Like… Oh! You wouldn’t happen to have any cherries on hand, would you?” “No,” he says, like this is obvious. “More’s the pity. I’ve got this fascinating trick of the tongue, you know. Lets you tie a knot in a cherry stem, no hands necessary. I picked it up from some ladies in Novigrad.” Geralt turns his head back to look at him, eyebrows raised, but doesn’t dignify that with a response. Doesn’t say much the rest of the afternoon, either. All Jaskier can squeeze out of him is a rudimentary description of the thing - gawky, uncomfortably humanoid, and bearing a long, narrow beak with a fleshy pouch where it keeps its spoils. “Like a pelican,” Jaskier supplies helpfully to no one but himself. There are preparations to be made, but Jaskier mostly tunes them out. More interesting is the smoke, growing thicker as they approach the outskirts of the village. Lot of torches for the middle of the day, he thinks, until they resolve themselves as effigies of cloth and straw, bedecked in dried husks and rudimentary skirts to give them the shape of a woman. Jaskier’s mouth closes mid-word. “Oh, that’s alright, then,” he starts up again, “they’re just setting a bunch of little girls on fire. No big deal. And— and then putting them out again. Sure. Seems a little counterproductive!” His voice breaks on the last word, coming out unnaturally loud. A handful of people glance his way. “Don’t be rude,” grunts Geralt. “Not looking to get chased out of town before I get paid.” “Geralt of Rivia, telling me not to be rude? My goodness. I guess I must be rubbing off on you.” Most of the participants gather around a creek that splits the town from the thicket. They cross its shallow waters between a group of boys taking turns to toss their own straw dolls into it. Back to their familiar rites: gathering herbs, laying traps, establishing a stakeout. Jaskier’s gotten quite good at it by now. He sings while he works, mindless things about sad women with lush black hair, so thick you could drown in it. Geralt tells him to knock it off. It only encourages him to give Geralt a winning smile as he cooks up another verse. They’ve got a nice little vantage point where the valley swells up into rolling hills, affording a decent view of the— of the— “Geralt, what’d that alderman call himself?” The witcher looks up from where he’s crushing seeds in a mortar. “Zduhać.” He mouths the word silently, and finds it cumbersome. Of Zduhać’s farmstead, then, where he’s kindly left his prized goat tied up this night for them to use as bait— “It’s a title,” continues Geralt. Jaskier blinks at him, surprised. “Means something like ‘dragon man’.” Of the zduhać’s farmstead, then. Glad they got that sorted out. “So, what, am I to believe that that old man killed a dragon? He didn’t seem much for that kind of thing. A bit too much gout, if you ask me.” “That’s not what it means.” Jaskier waits for a moment, but Geralt just keeps pounding his pestle. “And what, pray tell, does it mean?” he asks at last, as he crosses one leg over the other and rests his hands on his knee. Geralt keeps silent in a way that Jaskier has come to interpret as I don’t know, so don’t ask. Now, they wait. And wait. Geralt keeps his eyes peeled, as sharp as ever, but sometime after the moon rises high in the sky, Jaskier’s fingers stop strumming quite so fast. The air’s balmy and supple, ripe with moisture and the pollen of countless plants unfurling again, and he finds himself nodding off. Jaskier comes to all at once when he hears, in the near distance, something like a cannon firing. He clambers to his feet, against all reason, really, because the last thing he should do is make himself a bigger target for - for whatever that was from. His lantern’s been put out, enveloping the forest in darkness, and he is suddenly aware that he is alone. “Geralt?” he calls out to the trees. His voice warbles in a way he doesn’t like. There’s no response, but he’s sure that sound came from this way. Or maybe it was that way? Jaskier may be no witcher, what with those keen senses and all, but he is clever enough to follow the shuffling and rustling in the trees until he’s sure he isn’t just hearing things. It’s not until he’s well and truly lost track of where he started from that he stumbles through a cluster of flowering bushes, and with it, Geralt. What he should say is something like “Geralt!”, or “Geralt!”, or even “Thank goodness you’re alright!”, but instead what he says is, “Lords have mercy, you’re filthy,” because his eyes have a direct feed to his mouth that bypasses his brain entirely. Geralt’s hunched over and trying in vain to clean his face, covered as he is from head to toe in a translucent, yellowy slime. So is everything else in a ten foot radius. Geralt spits. “No shit.” “What’s— what in the world happened to you?” He steps forward gingerly in an attempt to avoid the mess. “Damned thing. It ate one of my pouches.” Jaskier draws upon his dabbling knowledge of witchery and alchemy to come to the conclusion that something inside it didn’t play nice with the cikavac’s insides. And now its insides appear to be its outsides. “Well, you’re not hurt, are you? Not missing any limbs, from what I can see.” “You’ll put me out of a job with observational skills like those,” says Geralt, unimpressed. He wrings a thick glob out of his hair. All that’s left of the poor beast is its beak, glossy, orange, and befouled with the same stuff. Jaskier lets Geralt pick it up himself. They can’t go back to town looking like this, or at least Geralt can’t, as Jaskier kindly reminds him. There’s a secluded bank downstream from the villagers and their celebrations. It’ll have to do. This, too, is another thing Jaskier’s gotten good at over the years. Scrubbing Geralt clean, that is. He knows which oils to keep on hand to best maintain Geralt’s hair, which salves to apply to all the places Geralt can’t reach, and which temperature Geralt likes the best when they’ve got a choice in the matter. Things that should be degrading. Beneath a man of his stature. ‘Should’ isn’t often found in his vocabulary, however. His fingers knead through Geralt’s hair to coax the last of the slime out of it. It has an odd texture, not unlike a whisked egg, although he’s to understand it’s just a foul mixture of honey, milk, and assorted intestinal fluids. Muscle memory takes over. The rote nature of it quiets a buzzing in him. It’s the same buzz that makes him turn rhymes over in his head, over and over, keeping him from a good night’s sleep unless he’s worn out or fucked out. Hence his predilection for the finer things in life - wine, women, washing. Geralt’s kind of like a cat, Jaskier thinks idly, how he leans into the firm drag of Jaskier’s fingernails against his scalp. It’s hard to beat back a smile. Those eyes of his, normally beady slits, balloon in the dim moonlight. Jaskier pushes down on his shoulders to get him to submerge himself. He goes easily, lingering under the surface for a moment, where his silver hair hangs suspended around him in a filmy cloud. Then he bursts back through the surface like a quenched sword, hot and steaming. Maybe there was something to those strange rituals after all.

[wingfics]

url swap and i gotta live up to it so have so sleepy wing headcanons for sniper!!

normies can go the classic white angel wing route, i think they're brown but go off 😌😌

deeply awkward on his feet whenever he's not staring down the sights of his rifle and YES this extends to his wings. he's a lil clumsy w em

no fragile objects on top of counters! all jars must go in cupboards so he doesn't accidentally sweep them onto the ground if he's not paying attention

the downy sort of under-feathers of his wings are,, SO soft,,,, he goes all boneless and melty in your lap if you stroke them

mundy's a really tense person in general and that ofc extends to his wings, he tends to hold them rly close to his body and GOD this makes his fuckin back hurt

(yes when he's relaxed they do spread out. it's really cute)

if he likes and trusts you a Lot, you can rub his shoulders. you've gotta jump thru a bunch of hoops to prove you're not the enemy spy first tho

he's v particular abt how he washes them, but he just. uses dawn dish soap. hey if it worked on those pelicans covered in oil from that oil spill it'll work on him

usually mundy tries to pick a wash day when he has nothing going on and he can just fuck off to the middle of nowhere. whenever possible, he sits outside and just lets his wings dry in the sunshine. sometimes this isn't an option tho and he has to use a blow dryer to dry his wings when he's short on time

if he's embarrassed he's hiding behind them. sry bitch

when he's cuddling he COMMITS. YES this includes wings and YES you're gonna be cocooned in a warm, slightly ticklish shell. appreciate it, there's not many people he trusts like this

[commic-jester]

infinity emoji x 2! (i dont have emojis rn lol)

I did my main playlist and my broadway playlist since you said x 2!

“wing to wing we dance around, stamping our feet with a flumpy sound” - “pelicans we” by cosmo sheldrake (i really like him, listen to him if you haven’t! I have no idea why this is my favourite lyric from this song tho)

“woah, woah, woah woah woah! hold up, hold up, girl, i’m your pal! they’re sweet, but i’m a demon straight from hell!” or “so he wants the perfect daughter, I’ll lead that lamb to slaughter” - “say my name” from beetlejuice

[chrispersonalcornermoved]

ASK MEME

Tagged by: @piamio

Nickname: Chris Zodiac: Cancer Height:  170 cm last I checked Time: 17:45 Favorite band/artist: Don’t really have one, I do love Nightwish, Within Temptation and JAM Project though. Song stuck in my head: I think it might be the latest Black Clover opening right now (which is hilarious to say I realize as the song is literally called Right Now omg) Last movie I saw: Uuuuu good question, I’d say the last movie I saw was on tv, but what is was, who knows. Last thing I googled: KHR infos for a meme :’) Other blogs: @chrisemrysfics for my fics, @homeofwriter for my original writings; @sozotohakai @millenniumpatriarch @arynladyofice @choruscaelum as my active rp blogs. Do I get asks: It’s very rare Why did I choose this username: Self explanatory, my personal corner~ Following: A bit hard to count, as this is a sideblog, and my dash for my personal is half from my fic blog dash, and half from aryn dash (as her blog is the main for my personal); I’d estimate 100+ Average amount of sleep: 7/8 most often, 4/5 on days I’m not as sleepy. Lucky Number: 3 What I am wearing: Shirt with mid length sleeves, pants.

Dream Job: my current one, indie writer! Dream Trip: Ireland, Scotland, Wales; Japan; visiting my friends. Favorite Food: I can’t say I have a fave, I love variety? I love meat, I love salmon, I love salty snacks, I love cheese, I love salad. Instruments you play: Technically I once learned the flute and should be able to pick it bak up Eye color: Brown Hair color: Dark brown, it can seem almost black Describe your aesthetic: wind, clear night sky, clear day sky, forest, sound of waves. Languages you speak: English and French. I learned Spanish but I can’t speak it and can barely understand it. I once knew the Japenese kanas but its been too long since I first learned them. Random fact: My ears seem to be able to pick certain sounds that other people don’t hear sometimes; like sometimes I can hear static from the external speakers of my computer, and my bro won’t hear it. Sometimes I can hear a sharp, quick thrill when bats pass close by. I legit can tell there’s a bat that passed by because I heard the thrill.

Tagging: Whoever wants!

[localcrackaddict]

Watching Our Planet on Netflix:

A dolphin does a flip in the air

Me shoving chips in my mouth: You're doing great sweety!!!

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

Cheetahs using teamwork to catch dinner

Me talking to my cat, who is also watching: You best not be taking notes, my feet can't take advanced moves you sick bastard

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

*sees a baby seal* SMOL BABY WATER DOG

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

Tiger failed to catch regional deer

Me: ok I know the deer are doing their warning calls but I'd like to imagine they're roasting the tiger in front of her kids like "yeah better luck next time n00b" "what fuckwad, thought you could sneak up on us?? Bitch you tried" "HAHAHAHAHA LOOK AT THAT LOOOOOSERRRRRR" *tiger sulks back to her cubs who are larger than I thought they would be*

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

Watching the jungle episode

Me half asleep: Damn there really be some specific birds out there

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

Me looking at any animal I haven't seen before: What is it with animals with weird noses, like you do you boo but you got a funky face

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

During the sea episode

Me: aaaaaaand this is why I prefer to stay landlocked

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

During that big zoom out of the agriculturalized prairie land

Me, who has done zero (0) farming in her entire life: oh fuck, i can't believe I've done this

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

A group of birds viciously rips apart a carcas

Me who has been dead inside for the better part of her adult life: shit this camera quality is amazing, how they do that

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

"Squid are taking over"

Me: oh shit the aliens were beneath us the entire time

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

The narrator says literally anything involving humans

Me: Damn we getting passive aggressive up in here, you right tho like you 100% right we fucked up

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

"The pelicans feed...and feed...and feed"

Me shoving more chips into my mouth: bitch me too, the fuq

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

FUCK YEAH SALMON THE ONLY FISH I LIKE HELL YEA-wait nooooo they can't be dying goddamn people fuck everything up how do I help

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

*looking at the Colombian rainbow river*

Wow that is so beautiful, this world is full of such stunning sights i can't believe I live in a place with such amazi- *glances over at my cat cleaning her ass* -ng...yeah nevermind

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

*osprey catches fish*

Me who grew up with an osprey family living next to the high school football field: YAAASSSS OZZY GET YOU SOME LUNCH

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

Jaguar fails at catching worlds largest rat so instead she goes for an actual modERN DAY DINOSAUR AND FUCKING WINS HOLY SHIT

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

*fish has neighbor rivalry, collects shells to win the annual Christmas decorecting contest*

Me: you fucking go you funky little fish

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

Forest episodes starts

Me who grew up in the wilderness of Montana: FUCK YEAH FORESTS THATS MY JAM FUCKIN LOVE TREES

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

I'm obsessed with Chernobyl and the wildlife that has taken over it

All in all, great docu-series, highly recommend watching it

[jodyedgarus]

The Pacers Are Bucking Every NBA Trend. And It’s Working.

INDIANAPOLIS — Even before this season, a campaign in which they’ve pieced together the NBA’s best record, the Houston Rockets and their unusual goals on offense have been an object of fascination. For years, there’s been intrigue surrounding Houston’s desire to shatter records by taking threes whenever possible. More recently, the team’s historic ability to score 1-on-1 has garnered attention.

Indiana’s ahead of schedule

Projected win totals for NBA teams if they continue their current pace compared with FiveThirtyEight’s 2017-18 preseason win projections

Projected season wins Team Preseason Current Diff. Raptors 45 61 +16 Pacers 32 45 +13 76ers 39 49 +10 Rockets 57 66 +9 Blazers 42 50 +8 Celtics 47 54 +7 Heat 40 45 +5 Lakers 32 37 +5 Pelicans 43 47 +4 Pistons 34 38 +4 Kings 24 26 +2 Bulls 26 27 +1 Wizards 46 46 0 Jazz 46 46 0 Knicks 30 30 0 Clippers 46 44 -2 Hawks 26 24 -2 Warriors 64 61 -3 T-Wolves 50 47 -3 Spurs 50 47 -3 Bucks 45 42 -3 Nets 29 26 -3 Mavericks 30 26 -4 Nuggets 48 43 -5 Thunder 55 48 -7 Cavaliers 57 48 -9 Hornets 46 36 -10 Suns 31 21 -10 Magic 37 26 -11 Grizzlies 35 21 -14

Current pace for games through March 21

Far less talked about are the Indiana Pacers, arguably the league’s most surprising team this season. At 41-31, Indiana is vying for home-court advantage in the playoffs and is only a shade behind the reigning three-time conference champion Cavaliers. More interesting is how the Pacers are doing it: They have become the Anti-Rockets.

Indiana’s offensive approach is diametrically opposed to the league’s best team. The Rockets are notorious for avoiding midrange shots; the Pacers hover nearly just as far above the league average in how often they take long twos as the Rockets are beneath it. The median team shoots from the 16- to 23-foot range about 12 percent of the time; Houston takes 4.4 percent of its shots from that distance, while Indiana takes a whopping 19.3 percent of its shots from there.

The contrasts in shot selection don’t end with midrange jumpers. Unlike the Rockets, who take a league-high 50 percent of their shots from 3-point range and get to the free-throw line at the second highest clip in the league, the Pacers rank among the NBA’s bottom six in both 3-point attempt rate and free-throw attempt rate.

A fair amount of that seems to stem from coach Nate McMillan’s offensive philosophy,1 which encourages pulling the trigger quickly if a defender is allowing the solid jump-shooting team more than a few feet of space.

https://espnfivethirtyeight.files.wordpress.com/2018/03/midrange2.mp4

“We talk about playing early, playing late,” McMillan told me. “If you have an open look or a rim attempt early (in the shot clock), take it. If you don’t, then make teams defend. But when we have open looks, we want to take them.” The Pacers have often done that, with the caveat being that, in today’s NBA, those midrange attempts are often ones the defense would like for Indiana to take.

Indiana has launched 1,273 open and wide-open 2-point jumpers,2 over 100 more than the next closest team, according to Second Spectrum and NBA Advanced Stats. And in keeping with McMillan’s wishes, the Pacers rank third with 205 open attempts from midrange in the first eight seconds of the shot clock.

Simply put, the Pacers aren’t in the business of turning down open looks — even the ones thought to be the least efficient.

The Pacers and Rockets have different philosophies

How the Indiana Pacers and Houston Rockets compare in key offensive metrics, 2018-17 season through March 21

Long-midrange attempts 3-point attempts Free throws Team Rank Share of all shots Rank Share of all shots Rank per 100 FG attempts Indiana Pacers 1 19.3% 27 28.3% 25 22.7 Houston Rockets 30 4.4 1 49.9 2 30.7

Long-midrange attempts are 2-point jump shots from between 16 and 23 feet.

Source: Basketball-Reference.com

Al Jefferson, a Pacers backup big man and former All-NBA center who’s been forced into action because of recent injuries to Myles Turner and Domantas Sabonis, told me that his teammates have gotten frustrated with him at times for not always adhering to that shoot-it-if-you’re-open game plan.

“They got on me in Philly because I turned down some open midrange shots. So I told them, ��I guarantee you the next game, I’ll shoot it,’” Jefferson said after a loss to the East-leading Raptors. “Then tonight came and I turned down another open look and did a dribble handoff instead. And they all yelled at me: ‘Shoot the ball!’3 Luckily for me, I shot the next one, and it went in.”

https://espnfivethirtyeight.files.wordpress.com/2018/03/aljefferson.mp4

“I guess that’s just the new NBA. I’m more old-school. But that’s the shot. You look at a lot of the bigs (on defense), and they back off when you set that pick. If the pop is open? That’s when my teammates will get mad at me if I don’t take it,” Jefferson said. “Even if you might miss it, take it. Because that’s what the defense is giving you.”

It would be hard to say this approach hasn’t worked for Indiana, a team that was expected to struggle mightily on offense after trading Paul George. No one is more integral to Indiana’s strategy than Victor Oladipo,4 who’s made the huge leap from mere starter to All-Star. (Not only have the Pacers improved slightly since last season, jumping from 15th to 12th in offensive rating, but they also sit in fifth place in the East.) But it’s also worth noting that their heavy reliance on jumpers — ones that some teams avoid like the plague — hasn’t hurt them. If anything, Oladipo and the Pacers have taken advantage of a market inefficiency by launching, and making, midrange tries at a much higher rate than other teams.

Of course, the midrange shot is far from the sole reason Indiana is outperforming every preseason projection. Darren Collison is leading the league in 3-point percentage. The Pacers’ defense has improved and uses its length to create the second-most deflections in the NBA; they’re also tied at third for forcing the highest turnover percentage. Oladipo’s gambling instincts as a free safety occasionally help shorten a handful of defensive plays, not only helping keep Indiana’s young bigs out of foul trouble, but also creating quick, efficient looks the other way in transition.5

Forward Thaddeus Young put it in much simpler terms: “We’re just playing basketball. We’re having fun,” he told CBS Sports. “When you have a team that’s just full of ISO players and it’s just isolation basketball, it’s not as fun. You’re just standing around watching.”

While no one will mistake this offense for the perpetual-motion ones used in San Antonio or Utah, the Pacers seem to benefit from added movement in their sets — particularly in screen-handoff scenarios, where Indiana is one of the NBA’s most efficient, aggressive teams on a per-play basis.6

The real question with Indiana — beyond its tough schedule to close out the season — is how the club will adjust come postseason if the midrange looks don’t fall as frequently, or if opposing clubs begin crowding the Pacers’ space more than they’re used to. This month is already testing the former, as McMillan’s team has shot its worst percentage of the season7 from that part of the floor.

Indiana has shown it’s capable of beating just about anyone in the East.8 But if that cold spell carries into the playoffs, Oladipo and his teammates may be required to force the issue a bit more and use a more aggressive style than the one we’ve seen much of the season. “There’s plenty of times I walk up to him in games and say, ‘Don’t let them off the hook,’” Young said of Oladipo.9

https://espnfivethirtyeight.files.wordpress.com/2018/03/dipo.mp4

If the Pacers can avoid doing that, these Anti-Rockets could transform themselves into a tough out next month.

Check out our latest NBA predictions.

from News About Sports https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/the-pacers-are-bucking-every-nba-trend-and-its-working/

[sora-pugnxre-mxlum-archived-blog]

Aesthetic Meme Tag

BOLD any which apply to your muse! Remember to REPOST! Feel free to add to the list!

[ COLORS ]  ~  burgundy. red. crimson. scarlet. maroon. mahogany. copper. amber.chocolate. brown. tawny. tan. bronze. brass. orange. gold. saffron. yellow. chartreuse. spring green. lime. mint. green. olive. forest. turquoise. teal. cerulean. blue. navy. cobalt. periwinkle. indigo. pewter. plum. purple. magenta. fuchsia. lilac. lavender. pink. coral. peach. ivory. cream. white. silver. grey. smoke. charcoal. ebony. black. pastels. vibrant. matte. metallic. muted. dark. light.

[ BODY ]  ~  mutations. claws. fangs. wings. tails. feathers. webs. spikes. scales. fur. stripes. spots. freckles. acne. bruises. scars. scratches. gashes. lashes. wounds. amputations. burns.brands. teeth. gums. tongues. lips. beards. mustaches. cheeks. noses. ears. eyes. eyelashes. eyebrows. hair. heads. neck. shoulders. collar bones. arms. elbows. wrists. hands. fingers. breast. back. ribs. abs. belly. hips. curves. butts. legs. thighs. knees. shins. ankles. feet. toes. nails. sweat. spit. tears. blood. heart. stomach. lungs. liver. veins. guts. bones. spine. muscle. skin. feline. canine. masculine. feminine.

[ WEAPONS ]  ~  bites. fists. sword. dagger. spear. arrow. bow. crossbow. hammer. shield. poison. guns. axes. throwing axes. whips. knives. throwing knives. pepper sprays. tasers. machine guns. slingshots. katanas. maces. staffs. wands. powers. magical items. magic.rocks. mud balls. bombs. missiles. boomerangs.

[ MATERIALS ]  ~  metal. gold. silver. platinum. pewter. titanium. iron. steel. copper. bronze. brass. tin. bismuth. diamonds. pearls. rubies. garnets. sapphires. emeralds. jade. peridots. opal. topaz. jasper. quartz. rose quartz. smoky quartz. amethyst. citrine. fluorite. amber. turquoise. lapis lazuli. sodalite. pyrite. labradorite. moonstone. petrified wood. wood. paper. parchment. hemp. canvas. burlap. oils skin. muslin. rayon. faux. wool. fur. lace.leather. skins. suede. corduroy. silk. satin. chiffon. velvet. denim. linen. cotton. charcoal.clay. stone. rocks. flint. asphalt. brick. granite. marble. dust. rust. glitter. sand. dirt. mud. smoke. ash. carbonate. rubber. synthetics. nylon. polyester. plastic. glass. porcelain. bone. shells. coral.

[ NATURE ]  ~ grass. leaves. trees. bark. flowers. roses. daisies. forget me nots. tulips. lavender. petals. thorns. seeds. hay. roots. ocean. river. stream. waterfall. creek. meadow. forest. desert. tundra. savanna. rain forest. marsh. moors. swamp. plains. hills. highlands. caves. underwater. coral reef. beach. waves. space. clouds. mountains. fire. lava. ice. frost.  water. air. earth. rain. snow. wind. moon. stars. sun. heat. cold. steam. frost. lightning. sunlight. moonlight. dawn. dusk. twilight. midnight. sunrise. sunset. dewdrops. shadow. tornado. hurricane. water spout. thunder. hail. twisters. humidity. dryness.

[ ANIMALS ]  ~  birds. penguins. eagles. owls. falcons. vultures. hawks. swans. parrots. parakeets. doves. pigeons. ducks. robins. cardinals. blue jays. bluebirds. blackbirds. crows. ravens. magpies. mockingbirds. flamingos. ostriches. seagulls. albatross. peacocks. condors. finches. pelicans. chickens. geese. quail. bats. sheep. cows. buffalo. deer. hedgehogs. elephants. horses. giraffes. cats. lions. tigers. pumas. cheetahs. jaguars. foxes. dogs. wolves. coyotes. bunnies. mice. rats. monkeys. apes. bears. pandas. polar bears.snakes. iguanas. chameleons. alligators. crocodiles. turtles. lizards. frogs. toads. whales. dolphins. fish. sharks. stingrays. octopus. lobsters. crabs. bugs. spiders. moths. butterflies. flies. maggots. roaches. ladybugs. beetles. cicadas. dragonflies. fleas. termites. leeches. worms. snails. mosquitoes. werewolves. unicorns. pegasus. dragons. dinosaurs.

[ FOODS/DRINKS ]  ~  pepper. salt. sugar. honey. syrup. caramel. candy. bubblegum. mints. candy canes. gumdrops. lollipops. chocolate. vanilla. cinnamon. ice cream. cake. cookies. brownies. biscuits. pie. tarts. lemonade. soda. champagne. wine. brandy. rum. whiskey. vodka. tequila. sake. beer. soju. gin. crema de cacao. cocoa. latte. coffee. tea.spices. herbs. fruit. apples. oranges. lemons. cherries. strawberries. blueberries.raspberries. cranberries. watermelons. cantaloupes. bananas. coconuts. grapes. kiwi.pomegranates. tomatoes. vegetables. potatoes. cucumbers. carrots. turnips. onions. leeks. celery. broccoli. cabbages. lettuces. roots. nuts. white meat. red meat. raw meat. veal. pork. chicken. beef. venison. fish. lobster. oysters. pizza. ambrosia. pasta. sandwiches. soup.

[ HOBBIES ]  ~  music. piano. flute. woodwinds. whistles. drums. guitar. cello. violin. lute. harp. fiddle. harmonica. trumpet. brass. singing. composing. folk. classical. bluegrass. blues. jazz. big band. pop. country. rock. punk. metal. hip hop. reggae. ska. rap. vinyl records. cassettes. cds. soundcloud. itunes. spotify. art. sculpting. pottery. painting. watercolor. drawing. pastels. charcoal. sketching. graffiti. printing. inking. fighting. martial arts. self-defense. boxing. fencing. sumo. wrestling. jousting. paintball. lazer tag. dueling. hunting. fishing. climbing. weight lifting. training. sports. soccer. football (usa). rugby. baseball. cricket. lacrosse. volleyball. tennis. badminton. skating. cycling. sailing. swimming. rowing. hiking. running. gymnastics. dancing. ice skating. hockey. reading. writing. cooking. sewing. acting. photography. video games. horseback riding. gardening. smithing. shopping. traveling. movies. theater. libraries. books. magazines. playing cards. poker chips. chess. dice.

[ STYLE ]  ~  nudism. perfume. cologne. piercings. tattoos. henna. body paint. war paint. make up. lipstick. mascara. eyeliner. eye shadow. powder. beauty marks. blush. nail polish. lingerie. fishnet. pantie-hoes. socks. stockings. leggings. long johns. under armor. corsets. bras. bustles. camisoles. blouses. button ups. tunics. vests. waistcoats. leather jackets. ponchos. sweaters/jumpers. hoodies. skirts. jeans. kilts. breeches. scarfs. cravats. ascots. belts. sashes. gloves. heels. sandals. platforms. tennis shoes. penny loafers. jordans. slippers. boots. cowboy boots. rain boots. army boots. armor. justaucorps. trench coats. capes. cloaks. burqa. suits. tuxedos. kimonos. saris. sun dresses. gowns. jewelry. earrings. noes rings. lip rings. tongue piercings. belly rings. gauges. eyebrow rings. necklaces. pearl strings. leis. bracelets. bangles. cuffs. watches. friendship bracelets. rings. pendants. lockets. broaches. boutonnieres. pocket watches. cuff links. hats. crowns. circlets. flower crowns. helmets. hijabs. turbans. baseball caps. cowboy hats. brocade. doublet. gorget. bracers. masks. cowls. braces. glasses. sun glasses. eye contacts. pajamas.

[ MISC ]  ~  balloons. bubbles. candles. battle. war. peace. money. power. percussion. clocks. photos. mirrors. pets. diary. fairy lights. madness. sanity. sadness. happiness. optimism. pessimism. loneliness. family. friends. assistants. co-workers. enemies. loyalty. smoking. drugs. kindness. love. hugs. duality. sin. lust. greed. wrath. envy. sloth. gluttony. pride. virtue. chivalry. honor. piety. charity. chastity. gentleness. aggression. romance. hatred. grief. pity. success. sorrow. joy. fear. anger. good. evil. relativity. vampirism. sapphism. life. birth. time. death.

// im not tagging anyone haha. if u wanna do this feel free tho! its really fun!