#Extreme Football slander

[the-other-way-around]

For a show called "Foot2rue Extrême", there's not a single extreme thing that has happened  in the story.

[aussie-the-hedgehog]

Okay, I think I need to do this for myself.

I've been rewatching MHA to gear up for season 7. However, it seems I'm also watching to prove something to myself.

It's been nearly a year, and I still greatly struggle with shame of having Ochako as my favorite character. I realize this is a drawn out topic on this blog, but I must air this grievance for the good of my mental sanity.

I feel whenever I'm on Twitter, I see many brutally slander her character. I see criticisms that she has no use in the show. I have witnessed posts circled with threats concerning the topic. It is making me further question why I enjoy the character as much as I do.

To be frank, I care A LOT about what people think - honestly to a fault. I was verbally bullied as a kid for how I looked (I had buck teeth, glasses, and social struggles due to sensory disorders and autism). I struggled to fit in through my elementary and middle school days. I was labeled as "weird" and "a teacher's pet" just to name a couple. I always felt compelled to prove myself to fit in with the kids of my classes.

I also was made fun of for being a Dallas Cowboys fan. Granted, I live an hour away from Philadelphia, but I was picked on quite a bit for liking them.

One day after school in fourth grade, I was on a bus heading to a rec center for after care. The Cowboys were playing the Eagles the ensuing Sunday. If you know anything about the NFL, these two are bitter rivals. They absolutely hate each other. The bus driver was aware I liked the Cowboys. He decided to start a chant on the bus ride, "Dallas sucks!" all the way there to the rec center. All the kids jumped in without hesitation.

I was horrified. I broke down crying. I felt like in that one moment the world was against me. There was a kid sitting next to me who tried to comfort me by saying he's on my side rooting for Dallas. I appreciated his support, but in that moment I just wanted to get off the bus.

When I got off, my mom was waiting and saw me in tears. She scolded the driver for making me cry over a football game. The bus driver was fired the next day.

I will admit I have come to terms with the teams I like (it helps the Cowboys are a meme), but it's still difficult being honest with the things I enjoy. This is especially the case when it comes to the hopeful, compassionate trope in shows.

I look on social media sites such as Twitter. I see all these vitriolic comments directed toward those who enjoy Ochako for no reason. I feel I've been indirectly abused because I am a part of her fandom.

I've said this before, and I'll say it again - she follows the trope I like. She's the glue that keeps the group together. She's loving and kind to everyone she meets. I honestly see her as an honest to goodness daughter. You can call it weird if you want, but it's how I feel.

Now, you can look at all of this and conclude I shouldn't be on Twitter. That is totally fair. I do need to limit my time on social media. However, this remains discouraging in my life. I started watching MHA last February and this issue STILL remains. I'm ashamed for enjoying something morally okay since the fandom is extremely harsh concerning her.

I feel it has to do with my past in being criticized for what I enjoy and seeing the fandom crush anyone who likes the character. Both have come together in such overwhelming ways.

Another factor is one I've mentioned before. I am a guy and should be liking more masculine things. In no way should I be interested in female characters or how they give hope in dire predicaments. Yet, it's something I find admirable because that's just what I like. I have to be alright with that.

In no way am I victimizing myself. This is a grievance I've had to get out. The toxicity from the fandom and my own negative thinking have gotten to my head for me to at least put my fingers to the keyboard. Writing is a cathartic practice for me. Crafting pieces like this is extremely healthy for me.

There isn't much more to be said about why I like Ochako Uraraka. I've made several posts why. You can look at those if you're so inclined. All in all, I hope one day I can be confident in why I enjoy characters like her and not feel a need to care about what others think.

Thanks for coming to my TED talk.

[conradscrime]

The Kiss & Kill Murder

September 27, 2023

Betty Williams was from Odessa, Texas, and was only a teenager when her ex-boyfriend, Mack Herring murdered her. The strange thing about this case? Betty had apparently asked Mack to kill her.

Both Betty and Mack were students at Odessa High School in 1961. Betty supposedly had more different views for the time, and was not afraid to express herself wearing outfits that were deemed unacceptable at the time. Betty was not popular, but Mack was extremely popular, being a football player.

Betty had had sexual activity with boys she was not in a relationship with and at that time, it was extremely frowned upon. She was seen as very taboo. Betty began dating Mack but he eventually broke up with her and began dating another girl.

Betty was completely heartbroken and others later claimed she had mentioned that if she couldn't have Mack she did not want to be alive. She was also having problems at home, as her father was enraged that she had been having sex before marriage and her other taboo behaviours, as he was a strict Baptist.

Betty worked for the school play, and it was mentioned by multiple witnesses after the fact that she had asked them to kill her, however everyone said they just assumed Betty had been joking or just looking for attention.

On March 20, 1961, Mack and Betty went on his parents hunting property in Winkler County. Mack shot Betty in the head with a twelve-gauge shotgun. He put weights on her body and threw her in a stock tank. She was only 17 years old. Mack later confessed that Betty had chosen the weapon.

On March 22, 1961, Betty's mother reported her missing and after Mack was interrogated he showed police where her body was.

Mack went on trial but was eventually acquitted of the murder of Betty Williams. There were arguments that Mack was temporarily insane when he committed the murder, however there was apparently information that he had told his current girlfriend of the plan to kill Betty, meaning he was in his right mind leading up to it.

A hearing took place in Kermit, Texas, meant to determine whether or not Mack had been sane at the time of Betty's murder. However, the Texas Supreme Court stated the judge lacked authority and a second trial was held in Beaumont, Texas. This was the trial the resulted in an acquittal.

After all of this, Mack never lost his popularity at school. Instead, many people slandered Betty's name, talking about how she had coerced Mack into the crime and how she would often be found hanging out with other footballs players after they had driven their own girlfriends home.

Shelton Williams, Betty's cousin, wrote a book in 2006 called "Washed in Blood" on the case.

There have supposedly been many reports of paranormal sightings at Odessa High School surrounding Betty Williams. Students claimed at midnight, if you called her name and flashed your headlights 3 times, the ghost of Betty would show up in the window of the auditorium.

Mack went on to live a pretty normal life, attending Texas Tech University. He married twice and got divorced twice, and died on January 5, 2019 at the age of 75.

[chocolatepot]

On a number of occasions now, I've seen people say that Stede Bonnet is "basically Michael Scott", and I've got to stand up to this slander.

The first thing is very obvious but has to be said for completion's sake: Michael J. Scott is actively bigoted in every way it's possible to be. His racism and sexism are frequently highlighted in the show, homophobia and fatphobia are on display, it is extremely difficult to like him most of the time. It's not coded or cloaked, and it's not just the blinkers of privilege. That alone should put the comparison to rest, but let's get more into the weeds ...

In just S1 of OFMD, Stede goes through a massive character arc, shifting from facade and repression to openness. In The Office, Michael ... does not. There is a shift in his presentation very early on from "sweaty boss with slicked-back hair and ostentatiously rolled-up sleeves to make it look like he's Doing Work" to the neater hair/costume that's more well-known, but that's not character development so much as a reset. He never changes as a person/character - the audience just changes their view of him at times as they learn more about him (no friends, taken advantage of by Jan, etc.) and as he falls in love with Holly. He's still a bad boss who can't motivate his workers, he's just also kind of pathetic and you feel sorry for him occasionally.

There is another tv boss who's a great comparison for Stede, though: Ted Lasso. I love Ted Lasso - it's a great show that before OFMD seemed like the main (only?) force for positivity in comedy on tv. Ted is an American football coach who's hired to manage a British football club despite not knowing anything about soccer. It transpires that he was set up to fail from the beginning, but along the way he improves everyone's lives and relationships. There's an element of secondhand embarrassment in that initially pretty much everyone refuses to take him seriously, but they come to love him eventually. As a coach, Ted is encouraging and kind, refusing to yell at or insult players - the epitome of a people-positive management style (a real thing). And my love of Ted Lasso is what kept me from cringing the way a lot of people did at the first three episodes of OFMD: the two shows were so similar that I immediately clocked Stede as a fish out of water whose overall shtick would prevail even though he was being mocked at first.

[lavenderbexlatte]

day 13 - uniform

soloist 1k words gender neutral reader insert Reader x Wonho (Lee Hoseok) NSFW

🖤 warnings: d/s dynamics, use of pet names/derogatory names (incl. slut), references to american football, slander of theater kids, assplay (m receiving), i might have a thing for men in stockings??? 🖤

kinktober masterlist

connect with me! / masterlist

"It's not even real."

That doesn't matter to you.

"It's close enough," you tell him, hands wandering farther down his thighs in their skintight pants.

"I don't even know who this player is," he laughs.

You're probably tickling him, as you feel up his muscular legs and ass indulgently, velvety-smooth under your hands and even smoother with the thick spandex layer between you.

"What's the big deal about this outfit, anyway?" Wonho smirks. "I've worn way less."

"I dunno," you muse.

He laughs again, as you hook your fingers into the extremely tight band of his pants. "The man in uniform thing?"

"It makes you look like a jock," you tell him. "Instead of a theater kid."

"I look like a theater kid?" he asks, nearly offended.

"Just enough."

He doesn't look that much like a theater kid, anymore, not with a body like his. And wearing this American football uniform, thick numbers emblazoned on his even thicker chest and stacked lower half jammed into a pair of those much-too-tight game pants, he just looks like a run-of-the-mill professional athlete. Strong, fit, and way out of your league.

Or he would be, if he wasn't currently letting you sit him down on the edge of the hotel bed and settle yourself over his sturdy lap. His hands find purchase at the dip of your waist, and you let him hold on, broad hands fanning out over your back.

"I've always wanted to fuck a hot jock," you say.

Wonho chokes, sputters. "Excuse me?"

"Yeah, y'know. Nothing like that kind of fantasy, for someone who wasn't cool in high school."

"I wasn't cool in high school, either," he argues.

You stare at him, his pretty face so close to yours from your perch on his broad thighs. You grab him around his sharp jaw with two hands, squishing both of his cheeks up.

"What?"

"Ulzzang," you deadpan, squeezing the so-called perfect face for emphasis.

"That doesn't mean anything-"

You're tired of his excuses, though, so you kiss him on the nose just to see him fluster, and when his cheeks have tinged sufficiently pink, you tilt his face in your hands and kiss his lips, instead. He's so easy to rile up; just an innocent kiss, fully clothed, sat on him gently, and he's already starting to roll his hips up into you. It would be sad if it wasn't so cute.

"Careful, if you get all excited, you're gonna have to be late for practice," you tell him seriously.

"Fuck you," he complains.

"Is that how you talk to me?"

"You called me a theater kid," he pouts.

You'll never get over this enormous man's ability to make faces like this. Wide eyes, pursed lips, an aura of the utmost demure ignorance.

"I'm so sorry," you coo. "I'll fix it."

Matching the pouty jut of his lower lip, you stand up again, even as he scrabbles at your waist to keep you there. He leans back slightly without you on top of him, relaxes, and you gaze at his gorgeous body, his spread legs and his pecs under the thick material of his jersey and his thin pants doing nothing to hide the shape of his hard cock against his thigh.

"You really went all out," you comment, "Right down to the socks."

"All for accuracy," he replies.

"Harder to take off. Too many layers."

"You haven't even tried, yet."

"True," you hum.

He's right, you should try first.

You stand him back up just long enough to peel the pants down his legs, and since the skintight fit leaves no room for another layer, he's bare to you from the waist down. Carefully, you untuck the cuffs from the calf-high athletic socks.

"What're you doing?" he asks, as you push him gently to sit again. "Aren't you gonna..."

"Kinda like these," you say.

"The socks?"

You nod. There's something inexplicably obscene about the vision that he is now, jersey stretched over his broad shoulders and neat white socks up his legs and his cock bare to the room. Innocent sexy, schoolgirl sexy.

"Okay," he mutters, obviously embarrassed.

"Don't get shy on me, now," you tease.

"Can't help it."

He's so lovely.

You step between his open legs, looking down at him fondly, and as you kiss him again, you take his erection in hand and stroke him leisurely, aided by the precum that he's already leaking. The contact makes him groan against your mouth, jumping under your touch as if it's the first time.

It's far from the first time, but it only gets better.

"Turn over for me," you say.

His name is written on the back of the jersey, you note with a grin, as he flips easily onto his stomach and melts into the covers. It's not all fours so much as it is knees and chest, his ass in the air and his cheek pressed to the bed.

"Eager," you say, pinching the back of his thigh playfully.

"Hey!" he yelps.

You're not sure what you're gonna do with him, yet, but fuck does he deserve it. He needs to be spoiled, you know that. He's had a long day of shooting in this godforsaken outfit, and now he needs to relax.

"I know the real reason you wanted this uniform, anyway," you say conspiratorially.

"Oh, do tell," Wonho murmurs, good humor and presence strong even facedown in the duvet.

"You just wanted to get fucked like this."

He doesn't argue with you. He couldn't even if he wanted to, you think, judging by the way he keens and presses his hips back into you, where you stand behind him.

"Football captain," you say, condescending, "Is this what you wanted? In your gameday jersey?"

"Yes."

"I know," you soothe.

Your fingers play over the perfectly-maintained soft skin around his hole. He's clenching around nothing. Eager little slut.

"It's a good thing they wrote your name on this goddamn jersey," you say, unable to resist the joke so plainly in front of you. "Because you're not gonna remember it by the time we're done."

[thezfc]

I thought you'd appreciate this:

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/nfl/article-12764341/Travis-Kelce-warned-Taylor-Swift-Skip-Bayless.html

Skip Bayless is a sports commentator. He said:

“She is such a megastar, obviously she is extremely image conscious. She’s just painfully camera aware — and so she’s always in danger in her life of acting a part when she knows she’s on camera.

'She knows she’s on camera every single second she’s up in a stadium box watching her Travis do what he does best, which is play football. I’m sorry, but when she’s up in the box she comes off as stagey and fake to me. I just don’t buy it.'

And as for the scenes in Argentina, Bayless said; 'Travis on his bye week flew down. She obviously knew she was on camera. You see her running toward Travis, all but jumping in his arms, embracing him, giving a big, exaggerated kiss.”

'It just seemed a little scripted to me. Just a little put on. Just a little fake. I could be wrong. But is she using this all-time fairytale romance to plug into NFL-sized publicity and promotion? I hope not, but I do wonder.'

Of course he has to keep saying I hope not and I hope this isn’t true and that kind of thing so that she doesn’t sue him for slander or whatever but obviously he speaks for all of us. 

[updownlately]

hello - late to the convo but only just saw it - on the topic of LJ

i wonder if people notice the difference between vocabulary used in football. There is a big amount of different vocab used between men and women but also a big jump between white and black women.

If a white woman is aggressive - she is competitive - however if a black woman does something we are violent.

Not excusing her behaviour but isn't it funny those differences?

Even today with all the Lionesses stuff on the socials, people seeing the smallest clip of her and instantly slandering her in comments and then Khiara too.

It feels so racially motivated its actually ridiculous

oh no ur absolutely correct imo anon! you bring up a really great point that is talked about but not enough!!

it's one thing to call a player out for their actions, but a completely other (and honestly disgusting thing imo) to choose to repeatedly attack or pick on a player bc of their race.

i can't stress how ignorant and infuriating it is to see that bashing (especially on instagram bc oh my god does that app have so many idiots), especially when it's being done with the intent to hurt, and not to discuss/improve on current circumstances!

i feel like even as viewers of the game, we all have to be extremely mindful of the words we use, so for that, thanks for sending this in because it's a nice reminder for me, just to double check im not using words with a negative connotation accidentally!

but yeah, overall you bring up a great point!

[schwein-ski]

How come so much English hate?

I understand like, cause the country sucks, but it’s just a football game and yet I’ve seen so much slander about it not coming home and stuff idk it seems kind of petty, like, it’s literally just a song

Also sorry for sending this to you specifically you just kept coming up on my feed

No worries!

There’s lots of English hate because there is a rather vocal and headline grabbing portion of the English fanbase that are extremely rude, inconsiderate, and oftentimes even violent. Those fans have kinda whipped up a frenzy amongst all the non-English supporters. We are all so sick and tired of hearing “it’s coming home” from them that we are relishing the chance to say that actually it isn’t! (Which absolutely it’s fair to call that petty). Fans of the nature I’m talking about trash the streets throwing glass as a means of celebrating. They point lasers in the eyes of goal keepers during shoot outs. They light fireworks off outside of opposing team’s hotels during stupid late hours of the night to keep them up before a match. They storm barricades and fight off security guards to get into Wembley. It is really satisfying to see England lose just so those particular guys don’t win. I’m typing all of this on my phone or else I’d link to the video footage of the tomfoolery I’ve mentioned above.

So absolutely nothing against the rational and sane English fans! Nothing against the team as a whole (even though people on tumblr have their individual bones to pick with certain players). All the hate is because, if England had won, the hooligans would have been insufferable and would have made the next 50+ years of international tournaments unbearable to witness because of their arrogance and unsportsmanlike behavior. If it came home, we’d never ever hear the end of it.

[blacksoul333]

I have some things to say about BBC - this is not specific to them (also want to shit on the Danish broadcasting), but because of where I am, I'm slandering them (bbc) about Christian Erikson's collapse footage. I mean what the actual fuck??

for all of you who don't watch football: today, about an hour ago now, a Denmark footballer collapsed on the pitch. noone knew why and still a reason has not been made public - others may have heard of Fabrice Muamba's collapse during a game back in March 2012

due to broadcasting not being cut, he was filmed as his teammates stood in a circle around the player who looked like he was receiving CPR

now, anyone with decent morals would absolutely have stopped broadcasting

and I know it's the Danish broadcasting channel who were filming

but

THE BBC SHOULDA STOPPED FUCKING BROADCASTING IT

instead, we got to see shots of fans in the stands crying, his wife in hysterics - I mean, whoever filmed his wife should be sacked

all around a torturous thing to watch

BBC continued broadcasting. why?

I don't know. but if I took a wild guess, it's for the veiws.

I'm just really pissed off, much like many others

I would like to add now that he has been reported breathing and responsive in hospital

the referee's speedy call of the medics and Kjaer's quick response to turn him on his side proves the two as the heroes of the incident along with, of course, the medics.

RIGHT SECOND ROUND OF RANT

THEY ARE FUCKING CONTINUING THE GAME IN ABOUT TEN MINUTES

IF VEIWERS ARE THIS SHAKEN HOW DO YOU THINK THE PLAYERS FEEL??

this is GENUINE DISRESPECT AND I'M VERY FUCKING MAD ABOUT IT

the point of this whole post was to describe exactly how fucked up media is, especially when serious things like, y'know, people almost die on telly - it's very fucked up and I fucking hate it.

EDIT:

okay, I just saw a post saying maybe the players want to play, perhaps for coping and doing what he loved - football. and that's valid, if it helps its extremely good because I can't imagine how awful it would be to be in their place

[seoulscenarios]

Kang Daniel College AU

Uhhhh,, happy 300!!! And I’m back with a new college series for wanna one!!! haha i know what you’re thinking, us doing wanna one content??? crazy, but this has been in the works for a while and i finally thought this was the right time to post it! And don’t worry, there will still be stray kids content as well i just wanted to take a break from all the stray kids content we have been putting out

side note: for the dance mentioned throughout this pls click HERE to see the dance that inspired this whole au tbh i promise you won’t regret it!!

-Major: business studies

-Minor: contemporary dance

-Sports: Star player of the football team (mainly bc EVERYONE adores him) but he rarely plays anymore bc he kept falling asleep during practice but they still keep him on the team bc how can you deny him anything

-Clubs: president of the bboy club, claims bboying IS a valid enough reason to set up the club despite the student board protesting it, set it up anyway, is also a very active member of the dance society and everyone was shocked that he didn’t apply for the president role but he skated away on his skateboard yelling about bboy he’s just a child at heart really

-Daniel is by far the most popular kid on campus

-Everyone knows who he is, even the professors on the other side of campus who have nothing to do with him knows who he is

-I mean, how could you not he’s literally the most happy and friendliest person in the world with a smile gracing his face for just about everyone

-Is always seen around campus in slacks and tee, normally a snapback on his head as he whizzes past you on his skateboard

-He’s literally the epitome of skater kid, big headphones around his neck blaring music as he speeds past you on the way to class

-Most people wonder how he’s a business major bc he looks like he should be part of the dance squad or sporting majors but Daniel,,,, actually kinda likes business

-He’s not massively passionate about it but he’s good at it and he enjoys some classes

-Is the perfect partner for group presentations bc he’s so diligent at any task you give him, though occasionally he doesn’t always understand what he’s supposed to be researching but rather than pestering his group mates at like 3am when he’s kinda high on energy drinks he comes into the meeting the next day with really garbled notes and they have to gently tell him exactly what to research and his face lights up

-His favourite class by far is his practical business class where he gets to go on an internship at a company bc he 1) gets out of class, 2) gets to go on fancy business trips with his boss which means fancy food and 3) leaves behind Jisung who is constantly nagging him in their dorm

-Not to mention,,, he wears a suit (which he proudly wears bc his mom gave it to him as a present when he got into college)

-The entire campus collectively swoons as they see Daniel walking across campus with a briefcase in hand as he’s with Seongwoo

-Even all the women at the company he interned, especially the older ones, swooned and doted on him as well

-Like,,, Daniel was sure it could be against company protocol that these women give him gifts and stuff but the boss just turned a blind eye to it bc he had way more important things to deal with

-Besides, Daniel appreciated it when they gave him food vouchers and stuff bc it meant he didn’t have to spend his or Jisung’s money on food

-Not that Jisung was ever in the dorm most of the time anyway, being a medical student and all he practically lived at the hospital

-Which meant that Daniel may or may not have sneaked in Peter and Rooney the first weekend his mom came to visit him

-(Jisung got the shock of his life when he went to flop on his bed and it MOVED,,, he beat Daniel’s ass bc he hadn’t agreed to this)

-After a few hours though, Jisung was cuddling Rooney in bed and Daniel was very smug whilst Jisung threw a lab report at him lmao

-Daniel running an Instagram account for the cats? Most definitely

-Was it the most followed account related to their university? Of course it was 

-Everyone who came up to Daniel on campus 95% of the time they’d ask to meet Peter and Rooney, but Daniel was adamant that only a few select people could meet his girls

-Literally only the boys had met his favourite girls and never would he allow any slander on them, any hate comments would be deleted and a swift block if there was more than one offence

-(Jihoon and Woojin tweeted abt how ugly Peter and Rooney were and it took WEEKS of apologising and buying Daniel food for him to unblock them and add their contact details about, no one gets away with vagueing Peter and Rooney on his watch)

-Their dorm room, for lack of better words, was AWFUL

-To the point that Minhyun had given up all hope that they’d ever listen to him or actually care for the fact he’d spent a whole Sunday cleaning their room bc he was stressed and he just refused to ever go to their room again for fear of a migraine and cold sweats

-Like,,, Daniel’s side was littered with cat treats and toys, bits of paper and sweaty dance gear though the picture frame of him and his mom was proudly displayed on his desk practically spotless and Jisung’s side,,, well let’s just say med books and scrubs galore

-Despite Daniel’s extroverted persona, he was very much a homebody and loved spending weekends on end cuddled up in bed with his cats binge watching Netflix or playing games tbh

-However, if he had a bboy competition or dance practice expect him there at LEAST 20 minutes early bc he loved dancing and it gave him time to warm up properly so he didn’t injure himself

-(Story time: once Daniel was rushing to dance class and tripped over his feet and injured his thumb. He didn’t think much of it until he was 30 minutes deep into his dance practice and fell flat on his face doing a spin bc his hand gave up on him. Turns out he fractured his radial bone in his fall and Jisung was very shocked to see him sat in the emergency room when he was doing his rounds)

-So yeah, Jisung despite his busy schedule always made sure Daniel was on time or early for things especially dance so he didn’t injure himself

-But boy can he dance

-Like, everyone was in awe of his dancing

-Obviously, he was extremely well known for his bboying bc quite frankly it was incredible at just how talented he was at it bc who the heck decides that spinning themselves around like that was something you could be really good and dedicate urself to but seeing Daniel do it ur like yeah ofc why wouldn’t you want to

-What shocked everyone though was the fact that he was INCREDIBLY good at contemporary dance

-There was a dance competition he attended in first year and the captain of the dance team asked him to do a special stage for contemporary and he enthusiastically agreed bc,,,, well he didn’t have opportunities to showcase it a lot in big routines

-It’s extremely safe to say that the audience was left breathless when he finished and rumour has it that Jisung cried at the end, though he would vehemently deny this at the time when his eyes were red from crying and Minhyun kept passing him tissues none too discreetly whilst his kids all laughed at him

-Ever since that day Daniel has always been scouted by the dance majors to help them choreograph their dance piece for their contemporary dance module

-Which also happened to be one of the dance modules Daniel took

-He really likes to help out and has a difficulty saying no to people

-Coincidentally, this contemporary dance module is where he first encountered you

-You are, for want of better words, are the most untouchable and icy person

-Everyone on campus found you intimidating bc you always appeared unapproachable, cold, distant and too elegant for people to even breathe near you for fear that you could possibly stab them

-You were also rumoured to be from an incredibly wealthy family,,,, though what they didn’t know was that your family cut you off and cast you out bc you pursued dance against their wishes

-All you were left with was your inheritance and whatever money your grandma and aunt sent you as a monthly allowance

-You didn’t hate this persona the student body had given you, it just meant that you were incredibly lonely and often times felt quite empty when you saw people around campus laughing and having fun with friends, and all the couples holding hands and going on dates

-Coming from such a background you had never know what it was like to make friends or fall in love

-You only knew business partners and were taught from a young age that everyone had an ulterior motive when they asked you to be friends

-Safe to say, you kinda already had this icy persona cultivated from such a young age

-Though when you got cut off you had hoped that people around you would see differently

-However, once the rumour mill starts it’s hard to get it to stop

-So you just roll with it, even if it makes the classes you attend awkward or you feel that dread of loneliness when you get back to your single dorm, unable to invite anyone round

-When you got to 2nd year, the option to specialise in contemporary and modern dance became available and you immediately jumped at the chance bc you LOVE this genre so much

-If anything it represented your life in a way

-You wanted to break free from this old, restricted you into a new, free you

-Your first day of contemporary and modern class was unlike anything you had experienced before

-Everything was different yet familiar to you that you left the class buzzing with excitement and nervousness

-After a few weeks, you were slowly emerging as the class’s top student much to everyone’s exasperation

-They all just rolled their eyes whenever your teacher praised you or used you as an example to the other students, which they hated tbh

-Only one student didn’t act like that

-And, you’ve guessed it, that one person is Daniel

-Admittedly, at first, you didn’t get him whatsoever and you actually rolled your eyes as you saw his 6ft frame stumble through the door, cast decorating his hand looking entirely out of place

-You honestly didn’t understand why he was there, especially when during the introductions he told everyone that he was a business major and did dance as a minor

-You just didn’t get the hype around him whatsoever, everyone else adored him and fawned over him both inside and outside of class that you didn’t want anything to do with him

-Which confused him when he tried to greet you in class one day and you just shrugged him off and went back to stretching

-All of that changed when ur dance teacher gave out your first assignment and had given you a duet piece with a certain Kang Daniel and inwardly, you groaned

-Not only were you going to have to cooperate with Mr Popular, but the whole class was glaring at you and whispering about favouritism and bribery

-Daniel, on the other hand, was DELIGHTED to finally work with you

-You see, you had caught his eye from the first day of class and he was so perplexed at everyone’s disdain for you

-In his eyes, you were an incredible dancer and Daniel really wanted to collaborate with you, and maybe he found u kinda cute but shhhhh

-After your teacher finished all their announcements about this upcoming assignment, Daniel bounded over to you like the big puppy he is

-“Hi, I’m Daniel! I can’t wait to work with you, it’s going to be so much fun!” his mouth is upturned into that big smile and his face is all crinkled bc he’s smiling so hard

-You’re just a little overwhelmed bc why is he so enthusiastic it’s literally 9am and ur running on iced coffee but as u stare at him u realise,,,, hey this boy is kinda cute when he smiles

-“Uh, yeah hi my name is Y/N”

-Nice one Y/N, you think to urself as you watch Daniel’s face drop as you returned his greetings very unenthusiastically

-“So, have you got any ideas about the project or songs you like?”

-He’s trying so hard bless him but ur just not very cooperative bc heck,,, no one has ever tried to spark a conversation with you ever at this college that u don’t really know what to do

-You just blink at him slowly and he’s a bit confused, pausing scrolling through his playlist of songs and he just looks at you

-“Are you okay? You’re a bit, I don’t know, dazed?”

-“Oh, um, yeah I’m fine just early morning class haha”

-“You’re never normally like this though”

-O H

-You can pinpoint the exact moment that Daniel maybe kinda regretted saying that to him bc he completely froze and was staring at the ground, red tinting his ears

-Cute,,,, wait does that mean that THE Kang Daniel has noticed me in class before??Aӣ1;

-Anyway,, it’s an awkward few moments with u and Daniel not saying to each other and trying to forget what he just said

-He continues to scroll through his playlist and you decide to go and stand next to him so you could see the songs

-They were all pretty good songs, the boy has good music taste

-But one in particular caught your attention

-“How about this one?” you pointed at one of the songs

-It was a song you loved and had always wanted to dance to, and the lyrics were too beautiful and really fitted the dance style

-Daniel’s eyes lit up when he saw what you were pointing at

-“That’s one of my favourites! Let’s listen to it now” and before you could even protest, Daniel had plugged in his headphones and then shyly put the other headphone piece into your ear

-WHELP THERE GOES MY HEART

-For the remainder of the class, the two of you sat in relative peace listening to the song and occasionally sharing ideas about what theme and moves you wanted to include

-As the class drew to a close, you couldn’t help but notice just how damn attractive Daniel was and u found yourself glancing at him way more often than you should’ve been and you nearly didn’t notice class finishing

-You were packing up your stuff when you felt a hand tap ur shoulder

-It was Daniel

-“Uh.. I was wondering if maybe I can give you my phone number so we can…. Meet up and practice?”

-Was Daniel blushing?? Ofc he was, how could he not he thinks you’re really cute and attractive and he doesn’t normally give his phone number out to anyone

-(He literally has his friends, mom and a few classmates from his societies and that’s IT)

-You blush as well, putting ur number into his phone and handing it back with a small smile

-ICY PERSONA WHO???

-Ur classmates were all very intrigued by this behaviour bc they’ve never actually seen you talk to anyone nor have they seen Daniel act so,,,, shy around someone

-Well, you get an immediate text from Daniel and ur first thought is,,,, why is he so damn cute???

-He just sent you loads of emojis and stuff gosh he’s really just a kid huh

-You quickly realised that Daniel was a very enthusiastic person and loved to text you what seemed to be all the time

-Like, you even asked if he actually slept and he reassured you that he does sleep bc his roommate made sure he did

-The first week of being acquainted with Daniel was such a shock to you bc he’d always say hello to you whenever he saw you and if you were walking to class u can bet that Daniel would frighten the living daylights out of you when he ran up behind you and slung an arm around your shoulder, asking about your day and ur like Daniel pls,,,, don’t do that again

-As the weeks progressed, you became much closer to Daniel and it wasn’t long before you were rarely seen without him

-Heck, you had even been invited to meet his cats bc he kept talking about them and showing you pictures that you joked about saying “maybe you should just let me meet them for myself”

-Well Daniel’s eyes lit up and he grabbed your hand, pulling you to his dorms whilst enthusing about Peter and Rooney that you couldn’t help but laugh

-Jisung gave you a funny look, that only Daniel noticed bc u were too busy cooing over Rooney, and Daniel FLUSHED

-Yeah, Daniel never lets anyone meet his cats bc they’re too precious to him and Jisung was like,,, oh baby u like them don’t you, you don’t let anyone meet your cats unless you like them

-Daniel tells him to shut up, red blooming all up his neck and ears and Jisung freaking smirks and whips out his phone to text the gc

-You’re oblivious to this all bc you’re cuddling Peter and Rooney on Daniel’s bed and ur startled out of ur cooing to Daniel sitting beside you, lifting Peter onto his lap

-(You end up falling asleep with Rooney and Daniel is like,,, is this an angel? He lays a blanket over you and brushes your hair softly, taking in all your features)

-(That’s when he realises okay maybe Jisung was right and maybe he does like you just a bit more than the admiration he had and maybe he wants to date you and stuff but you didn’t hear that from me)

-(Cue Daniel sending panicked texts to Jisung and just getting winky faces in return)

-ANYWAY

-Back to the duet the two of you were doing

-Creating the choreography almost came like second nature to the both of you and you always ended practice on such a high note

-There was one move you were always kinda reluctant to do

-And it was a jump into Daniel’s arms

-It’s not that you didn’t trust him not to catch you,, you just have never done this before and you were nervous

-Daniel constantly reassures you practice after practice but still,,, you’re too tense to complete the move

-It wasn’t until your final practices that you told Daniel that maybe you could do this

-He grabs your hand and rests his other one on your cheek, looking deep into your eyes

-“Trust me, I won’t let you fall”

-That doesn’t mean you’re not nervous but when you’re going through the motions of the song, immersing yourself in the music you realise that maybe the jump isn’t so bad after all

-You throw yourself into Daniel’s arms and his arms wrap securely around you

-You feel at ease

-And you realise, as the song progressed that maybe you wouldn’t mind staying in Daniel’s arms for longer

-You couldn’t deny that over the past few weeks that you grew closer to Daniel that you found yourself falling for him

-All the late night texts, Netflix “dates” and everything else, you saw the happy puppy vibe that you found yourself drawn to

-“Hey Daniel, for the end of the dance….. maybe we should ask for a curtain to be put up and we could you know…… pretend to kiss behind it?” you ask shyly, eyes cast downwards not wanting to see Daniel’s reaction

-Well, this boy was BLUSHING bc this was unlike anything you had ever suggested choreography wise and pretending to kiss his crush?? Kinda heartbroken but at the same time,,,, he was THRILLED

-It wasn’t like your choreography wasn’t suggestive as you decided to go for a love theme, focusing on the getting into a relationship and the fears of it, but a kiss??? That was so intimate for Daniel and he was not okay

-“Uh yeah!!! I think it could work!!! Let’s try adding it to the routine before the next lot of kids come in” and he bolts to the music desk to put the music back on

-When it comes to that part, Daniel gently holds your face and draws you close to him

-His touch is electrifying and you lean closer into him, eyes flicking to his lips momentarily

-You swear he was about to lean in but before you could find out, someone knocked on the door and you two jumped apart from each other

-“Uhh bye Daniel I’ll see you tomorrow for the performance yeah?” and with that you bolted, leaving a very confused Daniel touching his lip slightly before he went back to his dorm with a slightly dazed look

-Well, the two of you were kinda awkward as you met the next day donned in ur performance costumes

-The two of you were wearing matching loose white shirts and black slacks, and you were gripping onto some black blindfolds that were featured in ur performance

-U were kinda nervous bc you hadn’t ever performed a duet with someone you actually liked before and Daniel sensed that as he handed you a water bottle

-“Y/N, you’ll be fine we’ve done this 1000 times and we could do it a 1000 times more and I still would have no words to describe how incredible you are” he mumbled into your hair, arms wrapped around you tightly

-You sink into his embrace, letting him give you words of comfort and sweet nothings

-You stayed like that for what seemed like forever and were only interrupted by the backstage crew member who announced that you guys were up soon

-As you stood in the wings, Daniel interlaced his fingers with yours and smiled at you

-These past few weeks working on this project seemed to have flown by and you were sad that it was coming to an end

-Just as you were about to say something to him, he led you onto the stage, hands still intertwined and you swear you heard some guys wolf whistle (you did, Seongwoo and Woojin let out the biggest wolf whistles and Jisung had to literally clamp a hand over their mouths but he did admit that you two looked like a real couple)

-When the music kicked in, everything felt so…. Electric

-All of Daniel’s touches on you left little shocks on you and you were dizzy from how much you craved his touch even more

-As the song reached an end, Daniel grabbed your hand as you went to move behind the curtain and pulled you back to him

-And his hands landed on your waist and before you knew it, you felt his lips crash against you as the song hit it’s climax and you immediately melted into his touch

-Well, all of Daniel’s friends were wolf whistling now and the two of you broke apart to the sound of thunderous applause and whistles and a disapproving look from the mc of the evening

-Daniel just gave you an embarrassed grin and tugged you off stage, a matching grin gracing your face

-Well, it’s safe to assume that Daniel definitely asked you to date him after this performance much to the hollering of everyone backstage and the roar of approval from his friends when he introduced you to them properly, holding your hand tightly

-Dating Daniel is an actual dream

-I mean you’re dating the actual campus god and everyone is absolutely shocked that their campus golden boy is dating the most feared and iciest person on campus

-Thought,,, they were absolutely bowled over at the fact you no longer seemed so unapproachable and perfect as you laughed happily at whatever Daniel was telling you, leaning into his shoulder as the story got funnier

-Like,,, who was this person they thought they knew?? They’re gone lmao

-Daniel is also the CRINGIEST boy to date

-If he wants to kiss you he’ll be like “baby you’ve got something there” and before you could check he’d grab your chin and kiss you softly on the lips and ur like,,,, Kang Daniel u need to stop

-Jihoon and Woojin just look on disgusted bc how the HECK can you fall for his trick every single time

-Jisung just coos bc it’s like watching his baby grow up and find love, before swatting at the boys bc they’re making retching sounds or something

-Sleepovers at Daniel’s??? Absolutely especially when Jisung is on night shift and he has the place to himself wink wonk

-Lmao no, his cats are too precious to him he doesn’t want to scar them

-That’s reserved for when ur at ur place instead hehe

-Daniel really loves to have an arm around you at all times, especially around your shoulder bc it makes him feel so manly and protective what a dweeb

-He also teaches you how to ride his skateboard, though you protest a lot bc heck I may be a dancer Daniel but I have no balance on actual ground much less a skateboard I will fall

-He just grabs your hands and guides you slowly around the park, grinning as you shriek turning corners or something

-Will reward you with hundreds of kisses later though so is it worth it?

-Sometimes when ur not covered in bruises bc u kept falling off and rather than helping you Daniel ended up laughing bc he found it really funny

-Someone help him please

-Nights with Daniel are spent with Netflix playing in the background as you cuddle with the cats and he’s running his hand softly through your hair as you tell him all about how growing up you could never be you and always had to be perfect your parents

-I’m not saying he cried when you told him that you got cut off and haven’t seen your parents in years,,, but that’s what I’m saying bc he’s such a family orientated guy that he doesn’t know how you coped

-You have to wipe his tears away, calling him an idiot before kissing him deeply and well,,,, u kinda get the idea from here (daniel got a little caught up in the moment and forgot his cats were there lmao)

-Oh, speaking of family he definitely introduces you to his mom like a month into dating

-He tried to do it beforehand but Jisung literally locked his skype account so he wouldn’t scare you off lmao

-You needn’t have worried though bc Daniel’s mom ADORED you and was fawning over you on skype

-She basically became the mother you never had and she always text you asking if you were doing okay and stuff it’s just really sweet

-She comes up one weekend to see the two of you and now Daniel has three new photos on his desk next to the one of him and his mom

-There’s one the three of you together, then you and his mom,,,, then one of you and him that his mom took bc you looked so happy and in love that she couldn’t resist taking a photo how CUTE

-Anyway,,, he constantly is leaving his clothes at your place bc he’s forgetful but also he really wants to see how small you’d look in his clothes bc he’s a GIANT lbr here

-You do turn up to class one day wearing his shirt and Daniel malfunctions for the rest of the day bc it should be illegal how cute you look in his clothes

-Seongwoo and Sungwoon just snicker at him bc he’s so dazed that he missed his mouth whilst eating at the cafeteria bc he’s too busy staring at you

-Please protect this baby at all costs bc he’s so accident prone but also,,, he’s a damn mess and needs all the love in the world thnx bye

-You two are just sickeningly in love and it’s the best thing ever

-Daniel really helped you to grow and express your true self more and more and you couldn’t be more grateful whereas you helped Daniel love something beside his cats and mom

-Like,,, he was finally discovering how to love something and it was so pure and raw that you saw stars every time he looked at you, touched you, kissed you that galaxies were painted in your eyes and at the centre of it all was Daniel

-Young love huh, it’s truly remarkable

and that was the first installment of the college series for wanna one!! i hope you enjoyed it and i’ll be back very soon with some more content!!!

[baekhvuns]

I looooove Inception in Japanese too, sounds like an anime opening 😭 I can't believe the amount of Fireworks slander I'm witnessing so I gotta fight for my bestie! Mist, Utopia and TMH are on my list as well but also MY WAY this song is my lil meow meow actually idc, I love it. <3 but then Dazzling Light and Win and Desire too and omg shit I forgot The Leaders 😭🤚🏻

I'm always laughing at all the Shinestars who know nothing about Hwa's nerdy activities, SW, Lego, superheroes hdhwushegsghahs or football thankfully I know it all, I think it's one of the MANY reasons why he's my ult too. I see I ruined you, I'm sorry but that ASMR video IS ALWAYS THERE

Well I think about nerd Hwa every single day because I have him on display, so you need to think about him as well <3

You know I actually don't mind even if she's a bit annoying, no offence but I'm tired of shy weak little girls. I know they're relatable to many people but I just... ugh, even though I never imagine myself in Y/Ns shoes I'm often bored by them. Some can be introverted and reserved and still interesting, but many are just so bland, I feel bad for saying that but it is what it is.

After the monstrosity they were selling at concert venues I'm glad they went with something more subtle. Their Thunder merch was amazing too! Please my friends have so many "orders" they'll have to make a few rounds to the store ksudushsjsjsgsgs hopefully shit won't sell out quickly

Wish I was a MILF. I aspire to be one, Hwa is my inspiration lmao. One of my cats is kinda fluffy, another one is a tiny small baby and the third used to be fatter, but he's been sick for years so now he's a bit skinny :/

I don't know my mother is a cap too and 💀💀💀 maybe she is funny but in a ridiculous way

Not you almost outing your friend as a scammer 😭😅 but you know I bought fake broadcast photocards a few times and they're literally the same?! It's crazy. I bought all the members, it's cheating yeah but I'm not gonna pay 💰💰💰💰💰 for the real ones. I do own some I even got a few personally, but I have my limits

Dhishsdhgsshhsthe selfies I legit choked on my coffee?!?!?! The side profile this man has is unrrrrreal 😵😵😵😵 not to be weird but I love his lil moles and the one he has on his throat too, whenever they photoshop them I 💀 same with Wooyoung's under eye mole

DEUCE?! IM YELLING THIS IS TOO FUNNY

Oh which song did you get? I got Bowie's All the Young Dudes and the description is fairly accurate. Now do this! I really wanted to be a vampire or a pirate obviously, but I'm a knight it's cool as well. I'm Seonghwa's knight perhaps 👀

https://uquiz.com/quiz/oNBCMs/pirate-knight-cowboy-or-vampire-coded?ref=trending_quiz_bar

- DV 💖

hello hi!!

I looooove Inception in Japanese too, sounds like an anime opening 😭 I can't believe the amount of Fireworks slander I'm witnessing so I gotta fight for my bestie! Mist, Utopia and TMH are on my list as well but also MY WAY this song is my lil meow meow actually idc, I love it. <3 but then Dazzling Light and Win and Desire too and omg shit I forgot The Leaders 😭🤚🏻

IT RLY DOES !!! like a fantasy anime for sure,, no bc fireworks IS GOOD I WOULD GET EXTREMELY HYPED LISTENING TO IT but like u wont catch me listening to it often jsvdnd,,, MIST GOD 😩😩 ok but what about better 🤚🏼 MY WAYY LIL MEOW MEOWWW i was did the “play this sing at exactly 12:58 so dreams are everywhere will play when its new year” THE WAY I SOB LISTENING TO THIS SONG GHENF omg dazzling light is sO STUNNING,, don’t go @ win that seonghwa hAUNTS ME

I'm always laughing at all the Shinestars who know nothing about Hwa's nerdy activities, SW, Lego, superheroes hdhwushegsghahs or football thankfully I know it all, I think it's one of the MANY reasons why he's my ult too. I see I ruined you, I'm sorry but that ASMR video IS ALWAYS THERE

JFBWKDHSK RIGHT OR THE NEW STANS WHO THINK OF HIM AS SCARY HOT INTIMIDATING GUY who has a personality of a flower and plays legos 😭😭😭 FBWNDBEJ DONT LINK IT HERE IM GONNA START SCREAMING

Well I think about nerd Hwa every single day because I have him on display, so you need to think about him as well <3

i keep thinking of that miss tenelkadjowrites’s sub hwa with pink hair HRJQJDJQKDJQKJEW also

You know I actually don't mind even if she's a bit annoying, no offence but I'm tired of shy weak little girls. I know they're relatable to many people but I just... ugh, even though I never imagine myself in Y/Ns shoes I'm often bored by them. Some can be introverted and reserved and still interesting, but many are just so bland, I feel bad for saying that but it is what it is.

LMFAOOOO 😭😭😭 she’s very straight forward in a way it flusters hwa 😭😭 calls him cute two seconds in his job hcksj AAAAA YEAH I GUESS SOME LACK A PERSONALITY !! so true the shy reserved ones some are written in such a way that u can actually see something interesting in them i would advocate bbhwa yn as exhibit 78

After the monstrosity they were selling at concert venues I'm glad they went with something more subtle. Their Thunder merch was amazing too! Please my friends have so many "orders" they'll have to make a few rounds to the store ksudushsjsjsgsgs hopefully shit won't sell out quickly

YES EXACTLY!!! its like merch u can wear on a daily without having a huge ass “ATEEZ” on it or “ATEEZ WORLD TOUR 2022” its also so very aesthetic,, OH GIRLLLL THE AMT OF PC’s U GUYS R ABOUT TO GETTTT ROBBINGGGFG

Wish I was a MILF. I aspire to be one, Hwa is my inspiration lmao. One of my cats is kinda fluffy, another one is a tiny small baby and the third used to be fatter, but he's been sick for years so now he's a bit skinny :/

after hwa i aspire to be a milf without kids <3 if hwa can do it we can too <3 AWW PLS IM CRYING THE SMOL ONE 😭😭😭😭 IM GENUINELY TEARING UP IMAGINING HIM 😭😭😭😭 omg nOOOOO 😭😭😭 is he still goofy and stuff wHICH ONE CUDDLES MORE I CALL DIBS ON THAT ONE 🔫

I don't know my mother is a cap too and 💀💀💀 maybe she is funny but in a ridiculous way

LMFAOOOO BFNABDKWB cap men are nasty absolutely despise them if they aren’t kai & taehyung,,, they always so popular too 🔫 DOMT DO HER LIKE THAT FBWKFBK both my parents r leo’s and it’s a circus everyday <3

Not you almost outing your friend as a scammer 😭😅 but you know I bought fake broadcast photocards a few times and they're literally the same?! It's crazy. I bought all the members, it's cheating yeah but I'm not gonna pay 💰💰💰💰💰 for the real ones. I do own some I even got a few personally, but I have my limits

LMFAOOOO GFWKDH THE PCS LOOK SO GENUINE I DOUBT ANYONE THINKS HES A SCAMMER DBDB,,, no fr who cares save that bag get then dupes !!!! YEAH HAVE UR LIMITS and then u proceed to buy every single other pc of hwa to ever exist 🤨

Dhishsdhgsshhsthe selfies I legit choked on my coffee?!?!?! The side profile this man has is unrrrrreal 😵😵😵😵 not to be weird but I love his lil moles and the one he has on his throat too, whenever they photoshop them 💀 same with Wooyoung's under eye mole

FBWKDKW HES INSANE, UNREAL, THAT OP WHO WROTE THAT REDDIT POST WAS ME AFTER SEEING THOSE PICTURES FBWKFJWK. they almost took his mole off in THR second pictures 😭😭😭 BOOBA I TRUSTED U no fr they take mingi’s off too + with wooyoung’s lip mole

DEUCE?! IM YELLING THIS IS TOO FUNNY

LMFAOOOO HEY ITS NOT FUNNY OKAYJCVWKDBWM 😭😭🔫

Oh which song did you get? I got Bowie's All the Young Dudes and the description is fairly accurate. Now do this! I really wanted to be a vampire or a pirate obviously, but I'm a knight it's cool as well. I'm Seonghwa's knight perhaps 👀

i GOT stay soft by mistki! the description called mE out i just wanna chat with these quiz creators bc wtf 😭😭😭 UR A KNIGHT ayo are u the general in duke 👀

https://uquiz.com/quiz/oNBCMs/pirate-knight-cowboy-or-vampire-coded?ref=trending_quiz_bar

im a pirate im actually buddies w jack sparrow

[thomas-mvller]

The World Cup Tag 🏆

I was tagged by @loriskariius21 aka ze aka thank you so much :D

Rules: Answer the questions and tag as many people as you like!

1) The national team you support: germany and chile that’s basically it, sigh. There was a time when I actually supported england as well but that was mostly bc of steven and lampard and all those and yeah

2) The national team you wouldn’t mind winning: honestly? I love when underdogs do the most so I wouldn’t mind if any of the teams who have not win the wc already actually takes the prize except for a couple of teams but ye How great would it be if Iceland wins, wild

3) The national team you love to hate: I’d change hate for dislike tbh bc I’m pretty indifferent about it but I’ll go with spain mostly because it’s basically made of barca and rm players and nah fam, bye. france is on thin ice too

4) The favourite player from your national team: from my national team? my captain claudio bravo obviously; from germany? my son, light of my life, my biggest pride aka thomas muller

5) A player you dislike from your national team: @ toni

imagine turning your back against a homie to defend your current club, that’s cold

6) A player you love from a national team you hate: hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm thiago alcantara? idk man I’d say iker but sadly he’s not on the team anymore 

7) A player who deserves the call up: I’m extremely happy for marco and mario gomez please don’t fuck it up they deserve to win the 2k14 wc victory was taken away from them I mean but I think the bender twins deserved at least to be called for friendlies and stuff; also leno.......you know.......instead of trapp...nothing against the latter one but you know...

8) The first World Cup you can remember: germany 2006, which is funny bc back then i hated football with a burning passion but the match between argentina and germany changed my mind

9) Your favourite World Cup so far: obviously the one in brasil (2014), mostly because germany won (happiest moment of my life back then) but also because chile won over spain and that was glorious although I was sad bc of the slander that iker got plus the netherlands destroyed us but ye

10) The winner of the 2018 World Cup: as I said, marco and mario deserve their rematch so germany 👑 if not then whatever except the ‘big’ ones aka brasil, france, spain etc

i tag: I don’t know many football blogs (most deactivated or went on hiatus ://) so I’ll tag some I’ve seen on my dash and such @tatianaluz @gerraaard @believeinbayern @stern-des-gallifrey @debushit @marvelassembles @ourlordandsaviourlahm @hellograce2513 @pajaro--raro @mulleister and whoever wants to do this! it’s okay if you’d rather not do it :))

[go-redgirl]

Limbaugh: RNC Was About Saving America from a Race War Democrats Actively Trying to Promote

During his nationally syndicated show on Friday, conservative talker Rush Limbaugh discussed the Republican National Convention held earlier in the week and how it compared to the Democratic National Convention in a prerecorded message he made as he recovers from an infection.

Limbaugh gave President Donald Trump and the RNC high marks but said the DNC was being used by Democrats to be divisive.

One of the elements Limbaugh praised about the RNC was the push for inclusiveness, and argued Democrats were promoting racial hostilities.

Partial transcript as follows (courtesy of RushLimbaugh.com):

LIMBAUGH: We can rest assured that this is the case, having watched it last night. I saw people complaining. The Fox News people were complaining that the speech was too long, 70 minutes. Let me tell you: If anybody has earned the right to take as much time as he wants to explain himself, it’s Donald Trump. The man has been slandered and libeled multiple times a day every day for four years.

He has been unfairly criticized. He’s been lied about. He has been the subject of a search-and-destroy campaign. And this entire week the Republican National Convention has been a focused period of time for Trump and his administration to tell their story, and if it took him 70 minutes last night to do it, fine and dandy. They say, “Well, y’ know, he didn’t see to have a whole lot of energy out there.”

He was not going to win, no matter what he did. If he’d done Trump at a rally, they’d have said he wasn’t presidential. If he had gone out and been really tough and called Biden a bunch of names, they would have said, “He’s not presidential! He’s not taking it seriously.” So last night I thought he was actually really good. The only thing that upset me about it going long was people were falling asleep in the Eastern Time Zone and missing some of it.

I thought it was exactly what was called for. It was calm. It was assuring. And you know something else? Remember the prepublicity on all this. The prepublicity was, “Trump was gonna come out, he was gonna fire on all cylinders, and he was gonna be ripping Biden and Kamala Harris a new one,” and that’s not what we got last night.

We got a guy who was self-assured, who was confident. I couldn’t tell when he was on the prompter and when he wasn’t. He was funny in a deadpan, slow-stated or downplayed kind of way — and he was unthreatening. You know, the prepublicity on this was, “Well, this guy, he’s going to come out firing both barrels! You better be prepared! He’s going to launch everything.” It wasn’t that way at all.

It was calm, it was reasoned — and for those watching Trump to learn a little bit about him, there wasn’t anything about it that was threatening.

Look, folks, I also have some other observations about things that have happened while I’ve been away. I want to take the opportunity here of this occasion just to get some of those thoughts in, in preparation for my return to the Golden EIB Microphone on Monday. I loved Ivanka’s speech last night. One line particularly stood out: “Washington didn’t change my father. My father changed Washington.”

Boy, is that true. It is right-on-the-money true, and it continues to be the case, and it explains why they continue — in the establishment, deep state, whatever — to be so outraged and indignant and irrational. They’re incapable of being rational when Trump is around, precisely because he is changing where they live. He’s changing where they work.

Now, can I remind you of something? And I took a lot of heat for this. I said last week that the Democrat challenge was going to be to find a way to renege on the debates, and everybody — blogosphere, pundits, and people on cable news — said, “Limbaugh is off his rocker! He doesn’t know what he’s talking about. Of course there’s going to be debates!

“There’s going to be three debates. Biden is assuring everybody there’s going to be debates,” and what happened? Nancy Pelosi … Stop and think of this, folks. Nancy Pelosi comes out and says, “I would not legitimize a conversation with him.” Now, she’s clearly laying the groundwork for Biden not to have to debate, and she wouldn’t have done that without the Biden campaign’s knowledge of it.

The idea she’s out there shooting from the hip? I guess it’s possible because it’s Pelosi. She may be trying to manipulate things because I’ll tell you something else going on out there, folks. You know, internal polls for politicians don’t lie. The polls that they do that they report to you and me — like take your pick of any poll. Those polls, as you well know, are made to shape public opinion, not reflect it.

But internal polls, like the Trump campaign internal polls or the Biden internal polls? They’re not lying to themselves in those polls — and those polls must be bad. I saw a poll, and I can’t remember the name of it right now. Let me find it real quick. (shuffling papers) Black Lives Matter in Wisconsin’s popularity has gone from plus-25 to zero in two months. Oh, yeah. It was a tweet here from noted hate expert Jonathan Chait.

“Democrats need to be extremely concerned about what’s happening in Wisconsin, where support for BLM has gone from +25 to +0 in 2 months.” In Wisconsin! It’s happening all over the place, and by now I’m sure you’ve all heard that CNN anchors are warning, “Oh, we gotta get serious. We got to talk about the rioting. The focus group data looks bad. The polling data looks bad.”

Oh, so now it’s not about saving lives, not about saving property. Now that all this is starting to hurt the Democrats, now they’ve got to start talking about it? But these internal polls must be bad. They don’t lie in these internal polls. Biden … Did you notice yesterday he didn’t just leave the basement; he went up a floor? He went to the living room. He went up to where there’s a fireplace — in August.

Kamala Harris emerged from whatever hovel she was living in to come out and tell a bunch of whoppers about Trump, and I think the fact that these polls — the internal polls in the Biden campaign — are bad can be seen in the Biden campaign’s activity. Here’s a New York Times story: “How Chaos in Kenosha Is Already Swaying Some Voters in Wisconsin,” and there’s a quote from somebody here.

“Ellen Ferwerda, who owns an antique furniture store downtown just blocks from the worst of the destruction that is now closed, said … Democratic leaders seemed hesitant to condemn the mayhem. ‘I think they just don’t know what to say.'” Uh, if you don’t know what to say about rioters, if you don’t know what to say about people that are destroying your town, then it’s obvious you don’t know what to do about it, either.

Bruce Arians, the head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. You know, a lot of these players — NFL, NBA, NHL — decided to not practice or cancel a bunch of games because of the shooting in Kenosha, and Bruce Arians, the coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, said, “I don’t know that protest is an action. I think each guy has a personal thing.

Already people in the sports media are outraged that he would say this, that “the Boston Tea Party was protest.” No, it was action. It was much more than just marching up and down the street or carrying a bunch of signs or looting and destroying other people’s property. There is a big difference between action and protest. What he was really saying was (summarized):

“Canceling practice — not practicing football one day — is not going to change anything you claim to be in favor of. It’s not going to matter a whit,” and so — he didn’t say this; I will — they’re getting away with engaging in a bunch of symbolism while not having to engage in any genuine substance.

Folks, a couple of other things here that I want to delve into. I actually believe… I saw a little note from Glenn Reynolds at Instapundit. Actually, there were some major things happening this week that I haven’t heard anybody say. Now, that doesn’t mean nobody has, because I haven’t been able to listen to everything. But I look at the Republican convention.

It’s been the most diverse political convention I’ve ever seen, including Democrat conventions. And as I’ve watched it, it has occurred to me that Trump isn’t just running for reelection. The story that is being told at the Republican National Convention is about saving America. It’s about saving America from a race war that the Democrats are out there actively trying to promote. They’re trying to foment it.

They want this country to be black versus white, immigrant versus native, male versus female. That’s what they want. They want that chaos. They want this constant us-versus-them aspect of daily life. And Trump is making it clear that he’s interested in people who are constructive, productive, generally happy. He’s not interested in parasites, the generally miserable.

He wants everybody to join in this project of making America great again, to restoring America’s greatness where we had contentment and happiness, and people sought happiness. The fact that all of that is controversial still amazes me. But I think it’s an… If you look at the Republican convention, it is astounding, the understory, or some of the themes underneath the surface that are, I think, extremely powerful.

There’s another thing, folks, that is undeniable, and that is the Republican Party is no longer the party of the McCains or the Bushes or the Romneys or take your pick. I mean, or the Koch brothers, all the big donors and so forth. This is clearly a Republican Party now that is Donald Trump’s, and he’s got 92 to 95% Republican loyalty.

It’s one of the most amazing transformations of a political party, and it’s taken place in less than three years. At this convention, George W. Bush was nowhere to be found. None of the old Republican elders. Romney was nowhere to be found. Not that they wanted to be there, but that’s the point. So I just… I think that there is a lot, folks, to be optimistic about, particularly if President Trump wins.

(alarm chime)

Oops! There’s my timer telling me that my time is up, but it’s not up. I gave myself a couple of extra seconds here. It is an opportunity for an upbeat, positive nature among all of us. This week has been very eye-opening for me. It’s been a very bad week, and yet it has ended for me feeling inspired and upbeat and really confident about the future of our country if President Trump is reelected. I believe the opposite is true if he’s not.

[hadarlaskey]

An Easy Girl

An Easy Girl feels familiar. We open on a sparkling cove in Cannes, that mythical hub of French cinematic history, as a woman bathes in the crystal waters. A quote appears, Pascal, which draws our thoughts to Éric Rohmer’s 1969 discussion piece Ma nuit chez Maud in which two men use the philosopher to debate sex and women. Then another Rohmer film comes to mind, 1967’s La Collectionneuse, which begins with bikini-clad actress Haydée Politoff wading through the sea.

These are conscious choices by director Rebecca Zlotowski, who uses quotation as a means of crafting a wholly modern artwork. When we see Sofia, played by model Zahia Dehar who came to fame in 2009 when she performed underage sex work for a French footballer, she bears an uncanny resemblance to Brigitte Bardot with her sandy hair and thick winged eyeliner. Jean-Luc Godard likewise cast Bardot in his 1963 film Le Mépris as a symbol for the 1960s sexual revolution in stark contrast to the silent era of European cinema embodied by Fritz Lang, who plays a version of himself.

Godard’s attention, however, is on Bardot’s body, especially in a scene in which she invites her husband (Michel Piccoli) to verbally dissect her anatomy and identify the parts he likes most. Sofia replicates this in An Easy Girl: her hand caresses her breasts and thighs in extreme close-up as she teases two men on the beach. Like Bardot, she knows she can use her body to get what she wants.

Where Godard’s focus remains on the surface, the screenplay for An Easy Girl, by Zlotowski and Teddy Lussi-Modeste, delves into psychology. When Sofia and her cousin Naïma (Mina Farid) go to the cinema to see Pascal Laugier’s 2008 horror Martyrs, the scene shown is of a woman’s head being sliced open. An Easy Girl effectively does the same, studying the mental processes behind female sexuality and experience, conveyed through the cousins’ conversations and by Naïma’s voiceover narration.

Simultaneously, it’s a film about gazing – Laura Mulvey, author of the classic film studies text Visual and Other Pleasures, would have a field day – whereby making us party to the male gaze shows us how empowering it can be for women. While Sofia presents as the titular ‘fille facile’, we are also shown the effort needed to maintain that impression of ease. She has a micro-managed beauty routine; she eats in private rather than in front of potential suitors; she even claims to wax her labia to keep them soft. Sofia is a self-curated fetish object, stubbing out her slim white cigarettes in a clam-shaped ashtray, the cocks she collects like pearls.

Zlotowski casts an enchanting spell – just as Georges Delerue’s sweeping score catches us in the trance of Bardot in Le Mépris, Debussy nocturnes flow through the cinematic space, giving it an otherworldly charm. It’s where Zlotowski departs from Rohmer’s proto-mumblecore naturalism to create the illusion of stylisation Sofia similarly teaches Naïma.

But just like Rohmer, this is a moral tale which mocks masculine ignorance whilst applauding Sofia’s superiority, reading as retribution for the way Dehar has been slandered in the tabloid press. An Easy Girl reads not as the male sexual frustration of the Nouvelle Vague, but as a celebration of women’s sexual agency.

The post An Easy Girl appeared first on Little White Lies.

source https://lwlies.com/reviews/an-easy-girl/

[barbecuedphoenix]

I would like to see a AU with the Eldarya guys in a police station (pleeeease, give me a police officer Valkyon!)

Hang on… the Guard of El is not a medieval police station? Whatabout those underground cells? And Miiko and Leiftan’s good-cop-bad-cop-add-Jamonroutine? o_o  

Oh, all right. Let’s assume theGuard of El has been given badges, handguns, and sirens they can stick on topof their car to tell traffic on the road to clear out. Are they going to be anymore efficient?

… …Why am I even asking…? -_-

Nevra, the Detective

The star of the El Police Department’sinvestigative division: the high-flying lead detective with the unerring nose whonever works in anything but dashing black. (Hey, being a plainclothes officer meanshe can actually dress the way he likes on the job. And despite what colleaguesmight say, he does need the sablecashmere scarf, the tight black trench coat, and the designer leather ankle-boots because… it gets cold in the city and he’s not going to miss a day ofwork because of the flu.)

Anyway. Nevra will be happyto confirm that 1.) he does have a veryacute sense of smell, and 2.) he has neverfailed a case since joining the department, even after the Oracle’s fall.Once he’s on the trail, you can bet that he’s going to unearth answers andproduce an arrest warrant for so-and-so. (Actually getting the reprobate into acell isn’t his job though.) In fact,there is no such thing as a cold casein his book; merely one that’s…. waiting patiently for more evidence. (If youtry riffling through his office, you’ll find years of ‘not-cold cases’. But don’tsay a word to anyone, or Nevra will be after your ass for ruining his image as ‘theBloodhound of El’. And for bypassing that custom lock on his office door.)     

For all his over-achievingtendencies, Nevra’s actually a popular guy in his department: charming,amiable, savvy, extremely loyal to the force, and the best man you can have foreither a night of swing dancing or a weekend football match. The only catch:think twice about inviting your girlfriend. And sometimes your boyfriend. There’sa running poll in the office on how many disgruntled exes have tried stabbinghim with a cafeteria steak knife this year. And a second poll on how many ‘damselsin distress’ that visited his office this half-year have walked away decidedly lessdamsel-like.

Also, be careful whenworking with Nevra on the field. His loyalty to the department can’t bequestioned, but there’s a reason why he works primarily with his loyal caninecompanion Shaitan (AKA the world’s most terrifying police dog). Ex-partners willwarn you that he never gives up a chase in the long run,even when outgunned and kneed where it hurts the most (and yes… they do have afew stories about that….)      

Ezarel, the Chemical Forensics Specialist  

Every department needs anegghead who can prove to the court of law that that rust-colored smear isn’tfrom a jar of strawberry preserve smashing into the wall. Or that the faintspecks of dust on a man’s coat lapels are what actually killed him, and not thebullet that was inserted into his chest a few seconds later as an afterthought.In the El Police Department, that (figurative) egghead is Ezarel. (Because hehas an honest-to-goodness ponytail that reaches to his waist. Don’t bother to tell him to get a haircut; he’ll just tell youthat he works in a lab-coat, not a suit.)  

No one really knows why thisfilthy-rich trust-fund-baby from uptown is working voluntarily in the dingy labof an inner-city police department. But if they have to guess, it’s eitherbecause he watched too many episodes of ‘NCIS’, ‘Sherlock’, and ‘The First 48’ whilegrowing up, or he’s really a mad scientist looking for a passably legal applicationfor his experiments. It’s honestly hard to tell which theory is true when talkingto him, since the man seems incapable of taking most people seriously unless they’reasking for a report. The number of smart comments that fly out of him at anyand all hours is on par with an award-winning novelist living deep in a forestcave. Or the typical biochem student. He reacts about the same way when untrainedvisitors try touching things in his lab. Including him.

Still, for all his curmudgeonlytendencies, Ezarel inspires respect from the police force for his completeindifference to rank, his thoroughness, and his generally nonlinear thinking (whichcomes in handy for reconstructing crime scenes from tiny scrapings of suspectsplatters). And he’s feared for his pranks. Department rookies are hispreferred prey (though again, office rank means little to him). Many of themhave never forgotten the night that Ezarel secretly smeared ghostly faces,handprints, and body-prints across the walls and windows of the lounge, in apeculiar type of paint that came alive only when the Halloween strobe lightswere switched on. Or that time he posed as a fresh corpse in the archives, withhis arm still caught in a file drawer and ‘bullet holes’ peppering his back,just in time for the records officer Kero to find him. (To this day, Kero stillrefuses to file any of Ezarel’s paperwork for him.) The day never gets boringif Ezarel’s in the building.        

Valkyon, the SWAT Captain

Police captain Valkyon—from thespecial response division—is one of the few full-time ballasts in the dysfunctionalpolice department. Part of it is because the man seems incapable of losing histemper. He may frown like thunder, but no one has ever witnessed him so much ascurse, even after all his years in one of the toughest divisions of the police force,that sees the highest yearly casualties from the number of riots, armedhold-ups, city terrorists, mobsters, and generally-lethal upstarts they engageon a regular basis as the frontlines of the city’s peacekeeping forces. Then again, tough talkmight be unnecessary in his case; would-be troublemakers on either side of thelaw only need to look at the span of his shoulders, or the number of pale scarscrossing his chiseled chest and back whenever he drops his shirt in thetraining room, to think hard about their projected lifespans.  

Except for his clean (andsomewhat wooden) language, Valkyon comes across as the quintessentialhardboiled officer. Colleagues know him as either a.) the by-the-book workaholicwho refuses to flinch in the face of fire (and doesn’t have much of a personallife), or b.) the dedicated bachelor who defends his privacy with deadpanremarks and genuinely doesn’t know what to do with himself during an officeparty. Besides downing a few bottles of beer in the corner. Personally, Valkyondoesn’t really see it as his fault if people mistake him as unsocial—since whendo people need to talk so much tomake themselves understood?  

Even after he downs five tosix beers, no one has ever succeeded in prying from Valkyon the story of hisdays before the police force. (And when his face shuts like a hangar door, it’sa good idea not to piss him off further.) But there’s a running theory in theoffice that not all of those famous scars and tattoos seen in the training roomcame from upholding the badge. That some might have been acquired from a lifeon the opposite side of the law. But who would think of slandering their big bronzebear of a captain that way? You don’t find many people who’ll charge a riflemanon the street with just a riot shield and his weight, coming at speed from halfa block down. Much less succeed.  

He does have a darling inthe office though. Sadly for some hopeful officers and interns, Valkyon’snon-professional eyes are trained solely on his pet mouse Floppy, who lives agenteel existence rotating between his office, his coat pocket, sometimes underhis cap, and her handmade little house inside his one-man apartment. At leastuntil the flighty thing escapes again. That’s when he starts papering thebulletin board with office-bounties for her safe return.   

Leiftan, the DistrictAttorney  

It’s one thing tochase hardened criminals through faked financial reports and pitch-dark docks,prove that three-day-old blood is in fact blood, or send a rifleman sprawlingonto the sidewalk with just a dented riot shield. But if you can’t bring themall to court and convince both judge and jury to believe what happened, thenthere will be no justice. That’s where Leiftan comes in: the so-called WhiteKnight of the El Police Department, always toting a mysterious briefcase and asoft smile that’s even more mysterious.

Although there’s along-running tradition of animosity between policeofficers/detectives/forensics specialists and anything that resembles a lawyer,the El Police Department makes an exception for Leiftan. He keeps reasonableexpectations on them and the court, does his best with what he can workon, never loses his temper when a case is thrown out or grinds to a stalemateand settlement (which happens despairingly often), and is so ceaselessly politethat it’s hard for even the dedicated grouches on the force to hate him. (Maybejust a little for how he never loses his gentleman’s polish like a normalflesh-and-blood person). But more importantly, it’s because Leiftan’sunofficial job is being their PR man whenever a case becomes high-profile enoughto hit the headlines. The public is more likely to buy an assurance that ‘dueprocedure is being followed’ and ‘several promising leads are being explored’if it comes from the gentleman-lawyer in the suit than one of them cops. Especially if they did actuallyslip up once or twice in the chase. And sometimes (i.e. often) Leiftan is the one thingstanding between them and their fire-breathing chief-of-police Miiko if ahigh-profile investigation goes awry, raising one hand politely from the sidewith a life-saving suggestion that they might be able to use acertain piece of evidence in court.  

Just because he’s thesoft-spoken type of lawyer doesn’t mean he can’t go toe-to-toe with the best ofthe officers. Over the years, Leiftan has survived many attempts by opponentsto ‘privately settle a suit’: on the street outside the court-house, at thedoor of his apartment, behind a bar, from the back of his car, or even (on onememorable occasion) on the witness stand in court. In all cases, pistol-packershave learnt the hard way that Leiftan has an aikido master’s reflexes and amean right-hand undercut. Not to mention that that reinforced briefcase—withwho knows what in it– seems as determined as he is in defying bullets.  

Jamon, the Bailiff  

Cell occupants at the policestation know Jamon as that taciturn, terrifying mass of muscle with hands thesize of dinner plates who just shoved them inside. Or if they were out-coldwhen that happened, they know him as the living pillar watching them from themain door of the detention center at the moment they woke, crunching casuallyon raw carrots that are each roughly the width of a girl’s wrist. In eithercase, the possibility of escape tends to leave them. Even if Jamon offers them carrotsthrough the bars as a healthy snack for behaving well.  

For a senior police officer,Jamon’s responsibilities are fairly light: he’s mostly tasked with watching theever-revolving population of temporary inmates in the holding cells at thestation. And to escort (and occasionally subdue) the more ornery detainees throughthe foyer, fresh from the patrol car or on their way to the court house. But intruth, it takes a very peculiar figure to turn this precarious, powder-kegposition into little more than a routine stroll through HQ, accompanied by anoccasional loud clearing of the throat when inmates get restive.  

No one’s inclined to test aseven-foot officer who prefers five-word remarks and has a grip like a parkingboot. No matter how good he is with the occasional child who visits the stationand insists on climbing onto his shoulders, or how friendly he is if you’requiet and stay at arm’s length when he opens your cell door.

Kero, the Records Officer  

The long-suffering head ofAdministration, whose primary task is to ensure that the bunker’s worth ofpaperwork in the station gets filed, stored, and used correctly. And from there…very, very slowly translated into electronic data. Make no mistake: it’s adaunting task even for a modest-sized police department, where at least half theforce despises picking up a pen (for all the other shenanigans they get into ona daily basis).

Or maybe they just love tokick at him… It’s not his fault that he dislikes pulling a gun on people, andinstead honors the tradition of muttering darkly under his breath in theirdirection. And wears glasses. It must be the glasses; who on earth says thatthey’ll make you look more respectable at work? The only one who gets moregrief at work than him is that rookie Chrome.

Needless to say, Kero spendsmost of his daily existence either instructing (for the umpteenth time) hisfellow officers in what needs to be filled out and in what order and where theyshould be deposited. (Not in his briefcase!) Or running a never-ending cycle ofproofread-return-receive-file-repeat for police records, statements, and other liabilityforms deep in the archives. Until a kind soul remembers to bring him outsidefor sunshine.       

Chrome, the Rookie  

A kid swept in from thestreets who, after the Oracle’s fall, ran odd jobs for the police in exchangefor quick cash and amnesty from the neighborhood gangs, even acting as an occasionalinformer for Nevra. Once he hit fifteen, Chrome finally applied for detectivetraining under the latter’s encouragement, figuring that he can apply hislifetime’s worth of street smarts, spying, making Molotov cocktails, and vanishing through alleyways togood use: cleaning up his hometown.  

Unfortunately, he firstneeds to survive both basic training and the company of his new colleagues atthe station. Not all of whom are impressed by his bluster and recklessdetermination in field exercises. Or his notoriety in returning to the stationhours late from a routine patrol. (For the last time: he swears he’s not visiting any girls on the side! Just because he’s ateenager doesn’t mean his hormones are always raging! The last thing hewants in life is to grow up to become his boss, thanks.)

Needless to say, this poorkid is a regular target of Ezarel’s jokes. Within a few days of his official adoptioninto the force, the forensics officer has coined a new nickname for him thatspread through the department like a virus: ‘Puppy’.

Karuto, the Donut Shop Owner

A police force cannotsurvive without a steady supply of cheap donuts and coffee that comes withinwalking distance. But unlike some franchises that offer free pastries inexchange for police protection, Karuto doesn’t actually need police protection: he was first brought into the station afterusing a kitchen blowtorch against a luckless punk who tried pointing a gun athim over the register one night. The punk lost, by the way, and it was theoutraged donut shop proprietor who was slapped with heavy charges instead. Can’ta man defend his own property anymore without the police state cracking down on him?

In exchange for reduced policesurveillance for his ‘dangerous temper’ (you’ll find out what ‘dangerous’ is ifyou dare clap an ankle-monitor on him),Karuto agreed to provide free pastries and coffee to the entire department.Which inevitably brings them sniffing around his shop every morning andafternoon, but at least they’re there as (nonpaying…) customers instead oflegally-mandated babysitters. For the vast majority of officers, he’s oldenough to be their father.    

Ashkore, the Urban Legend

The notorious master hackerand systems saboteur who was never caught after bringing down the Oracle: the cutting-edgesupercomputer that once occupied a building of its own just behind the policedepartment’s headquarters. Once upon a time, the Oracle had single-handedlytracked city-wide activities at all hours, from mass civilian movement andcommunication, to entertainment and news broadcasts, local traffic on land, sea,and air, changes in the local power grid, economic transfers, hospital activity,and population fluctuations. It was the (some say sentient) supercomputer that keptvigil over the entire city of El and predicted where and when crime happenedfrom a precise convergence of socio-economic triggers, with an astonishingsuccess rate that ushered in years of civilian peace. The police force backthen were merely the arm of the law, arresting the troublemakers that theOracle identified. They didn’t even need to patrol.    

To this day, no one knowsfor certain how Ashkore and his group destroyed the Oracle. (Perhaps they hadcolluders from inside HQ. Or perhaps Ashkore was an ex-officer himself, whichcould explain how he knew precisely when, how, and where to strike.) But their methodseemed to have involved a precise tripping of the city power grid in the deadof night to force the Oracle to fall back briefly on its reserve power sourcebelow its mainframe, shutting off noncritical external security systems forjust a few minutes. Then the hackers moved in, cutting through theround-the-clock team of technicians and engineers who maintained thesupercomputer in the adjoining office. And the next thing the dazed policedepartment of El knew, a fire had broken out from a catastrophic cascade ofshort-circuits that came from deep inside the august machine. By the time thesmoke cleared the following morning, the charred, office-sized hunk that wasthe Oracle was taken apart for inspection and eventually pronounced dead (muchless its cadre of engineers). All except for a single, hand-sized matrix ofcrystal memory chips that miraculously survived the night intact. This mega-chipis now stored in a maximum-security bunker underneath thenow-fearfully-independent police force, in hopes of being the first data blockof the new incarnation of the Oracle (still under construction).

The day after the sabotage,Ashkore’s group leaked an untraceable video on the internet to claimresponsibility for the attack, hailing a new era of freedom now that the commonpeople have wrested control of their lives back from the machine, and that the yokeof the police-controlled city-state has been overthrown. The mastermind himself—wearinga CG dragon’s head digitally-imposed over his face– signed off the video by mock-lecturingthe police force to get off their lazy asses and patrol the streets as wastraditional, using just their wits, brawn, the people they spoke to, and theevidence that they found directly. Oh, and good luck at their new job.          

Needless to say, the manhuntfor the dragon-headed hacker and his cohorts is still ongoing. But without theOracle to guide them, crime spiked in all sectors across El, as civiliansupport fell proportionally and police casualties mounted. The El Police Departmentwas hard-pressed to reapply their old training to keep the main avenues of thecity more-or-less safe to walk through, much less pursue Ashkore and his hostof internet ghosts. Who gallingly proved their corporeal existence by branchingout to other activities: from city council blackmail, to leaking highly-classifiedsecrets apparently copied from the Oracle’s databanks before they fried, tofree-for-all theft, to sabotaging whatever convenient police car strays too farbeyond HQ. Just to be considerate, they always email a photo or video of theirlatest stunt to the police department from an untraceable device less than anhour after the event, signing off with a grinning cartoon dragon icon.    

Actually, it’s hard to sayany longer if it’s really the original group of saboteurs who’s sticking athorn in their side, or a larger, looser offshoot of the original group, or amotivated team of copycats taking up the cause of city anarchists. Regardless, it’sup to the motley, much-reduced police department of El to save their city,restore their people’s trust in them, and rectify what Ashkore and his grouphave catalyzed, before he strikes with a still more ambitious blow from thecrowbar of civil anarchy.  

Whoops. I might have gone a little far with the plot-crafting for that last one. Social subversives are the engine of stories. 

Anyway, I hope this satisfies, @mentacomchocolate. :) Though I’m getting the impression that you’d really like a Valkyon-in-SWAT-uniform picture to go with this, but I can’t find any on the internet. :(

Maybe one of you readers can help out? ;) 

Oh, and uh… don’t forget to review. If you do, I might post part 2 of this set. ;) A police station isn’t just a chest-thumping club anymore. 

Edit: In fact, part 2 is right here. Time for some estrogen action at the police department.