#I will rest well knowing I have helped develop a new sports hater :)

[basileus]

had a very long but especially cool day today at the pwhl takeover tour in seattle. super fun game that went to a shootout with the correct winner (hell yeah boston) but also neat to see so many people turn out in support of the pwhl. plus, seeing coach campbell at the ceremonial faceoff!

[squirrelly831]

Fainting [Hyunwoo, Hoseok, and Minhyuk]

Trigger for eating disorder with Hoseok’s.

Enjoy~

Hyunwoo

Areum was nearing her solo debut as a singer. She had practiced for years as a trainee under Starship. She trained for four years under them and it was finally time for her to shine.

The song ended as Areum posed in front of the dance studio mirrors. Beads of sweat trailed her face and back of the neck. She had been at it all day. She wanted it to be perfect. All of it HAD to be perfect.

“Knock knock” Hyunwoo greeted as he entered the room with Kihyun close behind.

Areum grinned at the two as she grabbed a water bottle and approached them, “Hey! What are you two doing here?”

“Came to check on you. How’s the practicing going?” Kihyun asked. For her debut, Areum had Hyunwoo and Kihyun in her music video and in the song. They were the vocals to her rap and they blended beautifully together.

Areum’s eyes fluttered lovingly over Hyunwoo who winked secretly to her. “It’s going good. I may do one more run through and then call it a night.”

“Did you already eat?” Hyunwoo asked. One cue, Areum’s stomach signaled it’s starvation. She flushed as she wrapped her arms around her stomach in embarrassment. “I’ll take that as a no.”

“I have food” she pointed to the corner where fried chicken sat. “I just haven’t eaten. I will though.”

Kihyun’s phone went off and he pulled it from his pocket, “It’s my mom. I’ll be back.”

As he headed out, Hyunwoo watched as the door shut and click. When the click sounded, he moved closer to Areum who was all the ready when he pressed his lips to hers. Her hands went to his hair as his rested on her waist. Their lips moved against each others before Areum broke them apart. Hyunwoo panted as he looked down in her eyes, “I wanted to do that since I walked in.” Her hand rubbed the back of his neck as she licked her lips. “You’ve lost more weight...”

Areum chuckled, “You know how it is being an idol. Gotta keep my weight low.” Hyunwoo’s eyes flashed with concern and Areum touched his arm, “I’m fine, I promise. I’m going to get some food after I practice.”

“Okay... You ready for tomorrow?”

“If ready means I feel like I’m going to be sick, then yes...”

Hyunwoo chuckled as he put his hands on her cheeks, “You’ll be fine.” He pressed his lips to hers in a quick kiss. “I’ll be there with you, okay?”

A cough interrupted the two and they broke apart to see Kihyun at the door. He gave a wave as he smirked at the couple, “Just because I am one of the people who know about you doesn’t mean I want to walk in to it.”

The next day, Areum and Hyunwoo were in the back preparing for her live debut. She was bouncing on her toes as her nerves scattered through her body. Hyunwoo was getting ready and Areum did her best to introduce herself to the other idols. She felt faint and her body swayed periodically. She tried her best to ignore her growling stomach that was begging for food after two days of starvation. After this performance she reminded herself. At least that was what her manager told her when he restricted her eating schedule the last couple days for her debut.

As the staff called for her, she took a deep breath just as Hyunwoo approached her and patted her back in encouragement. She headed to the stage blinking her eyes as black spots began to cloud her vision. She heard the music began, but before she could do anything, her vision blurred and her body fell.The fans gasped as Hyunwoo ran from behind the scenes to her unconscious self. He effortlessly picked her up and rushed her to the back where paramedics were stationed and she was rushed to the hospital.

Hyunwoo watched in fear as they left. He wanted to go after them, but he knew it would just cause their company problems. He would later go to the hospital to find out that she had fainted due to being malnourished.

Hoseok

Being a foreigner and not being incredibly skinny had always been April’s issue when she began to teach in Korea. She lived in Seoul which was diverse as a mini New York City, but still she couldn’t help but feel overlooked. At least that’s what it felt like before Hoseok entered her life.

Since April started dating Hoseok seven months ago, she felt different. At first feeling different felt nice, but then when the fans discovered their relationship--different wasn’t so nice. In fact, she began to hate it. She was American while he was Korean. She was biracial and of tanner complexion to his pale complexion. The fans bullied her for her darker skin, but being in America, she had experienced it all before. She could ignore their ignorance about that, but what got under her skin was her weight. She had struggled to stay as skinny as she could to the point she developed an eating disorder in high school. April was good now, she got help and was able to move away from her past disorder--until the hate messages.

The years of fighting off her eating disorder, began again as she began to fear her body was lacking. She found herself in front of a mirror more often to check her stomach and thighs. She’d pinch the excess skin in disgust. That’s when she decided to take a couple days off from eating. Just a couple. Drink some water and exercise a bit more than she did.

However, her couple days turned to a week. April felt like she was hit by a train. Everything hurt inside and outside her body, but beauty was pain. The hate didn’t stop, in fact only increased after a fan captured a picture of her looking a little slimmer. Now she was too skinny and ugly. April couldn’t help but let the hate settle in her. She covered her mirrors in her apartment.

Her actions didn’t go unnoticed, Hoseok noticed minor changes about her. How she’d say she ate before she came to meet him, how she would have dizzy spells, and how she refused to send a selfie to him like she had done in the past. Hoseok knew the hate she was getting and he had tried to address it, but he didn’t know what else to do. So, he opted to take her out on a date. A date to get her out in fresh air, a day out of view from everyone. They went for a nature walk. Hoseok wanted to voice his concerns for April and after seeing her made him want to talk to her more.

“Hey babe, can I talk to you about something?”

April’s ears perked as she looked up at her boyfriend’s back, “Yea, what’s up?”

Hoseok’s steps slowed before he stopped, “You’r--Have you been eating?”

April’s heartbeat echoed in her ears as the color drained from her face, “Wh-Yea of course. Why wouldn’t I be?” She lied as she continued to walk. She passed Hoseok as a dizzy spell hit her again. April blinked her eyes rapidly trying to focus at the scene in front of her.

Hoseok’s eyes narrowed, “I’m serious April. Are you eating?” His voice was low but authoritative. It was a clear sign, he wasn’t playing games. “Because if you aren’t, you--”

“I’m what?” She snapped as she spun to face him. “So what if I miss a couple meals a day! I can eat later.”

“You can, but will you?” Hoseok didn’t understand why she was like this. Why she looked like she wanted to attack her own reflection if she caught a glimpse. Or why she acted like she was fine, when clearly she wasn’t. “You look like you haven’t had a meal in days. I’m worried!”

“Well you can stop! You’re not my father” she turned spun forward once more. The world swayed and she stepped back to try to balance herself. As she stepped back on a rock, she fell backwards as her vision clouded.

Hoseok had caught April before she had seriously injured herself from the fall. He called the ambulance as she was unresponsive in his hands. He called for her as he waited for help.

At the hospital, Hoseok waited for Changkyun who was April’s best friend and emergency contact. Changkyun bowed as he thanked the doctor before he returned to Hoseok. “How is she?”

Changkyun gave him a sad look as he took a seat beside him, “There’s something I need to tell you about April...” He took a breath, “Honestly, I wasn’t going to tell you because it wasn’t my business to tell, but since we’re here, you should know. Back in high school, April became anorexic, she got help and was doing better, but I think the hate she’s been getting triggered it again. The doctor said she hadn’t eaten in days.” Changkyun shook his head, “I didn’t expect this to happen again...”

Hoseok felt lost. Why hadn’t he talked to her sooner? Did he make her feel worse since he didn’t do much to fight the haters?

“Hey, hyung” Changkyun tapped his shoulder to draw him from his thoughts, “You can’t go blaming yourself, okay? I’ll talk to the company about pressing charges. she’s like my sister, so if I say something, I think it’ll be fine.”

Hoseok nodded, “Yea, but can you stay here for her. I just need some air. Call me if she wakes up.” He left before Changkyun could respond. Hoseok felt useless--powerless. He wanted to help April and he didn’t know how.

Minhyuk

Minhyuk may have been the sunshine of Monsta X, but his girlfriend, Chloe, was his light in the darkness. His world lit up whenever he was with her and he did everything he could to make her happy and healthy.

Chloe was very active. She worked out played various sports depending on the season. It was something she had always been involved in. She was one of the healthiest people Minhyuk had met. She rarely got sick. Rarely complained of a cough or fever, which made this event so frightening.

A week prior to the scare of their life, Chloe and Minhyuk were in a minor fender bender. They were heading home from a date out of town, Minhyuk was driving when someone hit them from behind. It was a minor accident. No one received medical help and the insurance took care of the dent in the fender. No harm no foul.

Minhyuk was visiting Chloe at the cafe she was working at. He watched as she went from order to order getting the customer’s drinks and snacks prepared. He was concerned as earlier in the day, she had complained about feeling off. She had felt off balance and even at work she had to steady herself by holding the counter. As she was the only one working, Minhyuk had decided to stick around until the owner came in.

While she was rinsing the dishes, she felt another wave of discomfort. She held on to the counter again as she tried to steady herself. Her heart pounded against her chest as her vision blurred. “Mwhwk” she tried to form words, but her words didn’t process.

Minhyuk jumped out of his seat and ran to Chloe’s aid, “Someone! Call the ambulance!” He situated Chloe on the ground as she struggled to stay awake.

Once the doctor finished checking on Chloe, he rendered his verdict. Chloe, the healthiest girl Minhyuk had ever met, had a mini-stroke. After getting more information from Minhyuk, the doctor believed the stroke was caused by the car accident a week ago and had decided to schedule other tests to find out what underlying problems caused the stroke.

Minhyuk went to Chloe’s hospital room where she slept. He sat on the chair beside her as he watched her. Night had already fallen as he watched. The fear that had he not been there when Chloe collapsed--had someone waited just a little longer, she probably wouldn’t be here right now breathing and fast asleep. A sense of dread hit him like a wave as he placed his hand on his face. Minhyuk was going to do all that he could to help Chloe feel better again.

Part II || Part III

Credit to gif owners

Written & revamped by Squirrelly831

♕ REQUEST

☮ MONSTA X MASTERLIST

∞ ULTIMATE MASTERLIST

[duaneodavila]

Surprising Exactly No One, Skadden Associate Is A Pats Fan

(Photo by Jim Rogash/Getty Images)

If the polar vortex and the President’s idiotic tweets on the subject haven’t distracted you, you’re probably aware that the Super Bowl is this weekend. It features what is probably the least exciting matchup of all time — the dominant and detestable New England Patriots and the team without a fan base, the Rams. But I’ve made the Super Bowl a de facto national holiday too long, since well before the treatment of Colin Kaepernick and the specter of CTE made the NFL problematic, to not take notice of the event.

So, this morning when Slate’s Ben Mathis-Lilley published an interview with a Pats fan on what it’s like to be hated for your fandom I took notice. Sure, it’s the “poor little rich girl” of sports takes, but what can I say? The allure of procrastination is strong.

But I sat up and took notice during the introduction of the interview subject:

I spoke to one such chowderhead, 37-year-old Boston attorney Nathaniel Adams, about what it’s like to root for a team that much of the rest of the country is sick of—and whether there are diminishing returns on the joy of victory when victory is all you know.

Hmm, an attorney you say? Perhaps this foray into sports news was not procrastination at all, but research for my actual job. And so, like any blogger worth their salt, I took the .3 seconds needed to google that… and of fucking course, the guy is a Skadden attorney.

Reading between the lines of the interview, there are parallels between his time in Biglaw and being a member of Pats nation. After all, it take a certain constitution to navigate the vitriol of opposing counsel and of Chiefs fans. On the subject of being hated, Adams says he doesn’t take it personally:

You understand that people have various reasons for disliking a team. Some of them are good, some of them are, I think, not so good. But it just comes with the territory of being a sports fan, so I don’t take it personally when I’m a subject of vile personal attacks.

He may not take it personally, but he also took the opportunity to make a dig at the haters — painting them as “vile” without details on what he’s referring to so we can make a judgment call for ourselves. +1 lawyering.

Adams, despite being a mergers & acquisitions attorney, goes on to answer some of the interview questions like a seasoned litigator responding to interrogatories — objecting to the question and admitting nothing:

Q: What do you think are some of the valid criticisms of the Patriots? Do you have a positive case that people should actually admire them?

A: I’m not going to offer anything that I think is admirable about the team [as a whole], because I don’t know if there’s anything particularly admirable about any sports team. I also think that criticisms of the team are a little silly and probably petty and born of jealousy. But I think that the general air of discontent or dissatisfaction around the Patriots has more to do with the way they are treated in the media.

Admittedly, I have a pretty low threshold for listening to Pats fans opine on their team, but I perked up when Adams was asked if losing to Eli Manning in the Super Bowl — twice — still hurt:

The fact that it was Manning is really annoying. Even the 18–1 season, I think I and most fans have moved beyond that, but it would’ve been really cool if they had won, and there were some players on that team that it would’ve been really awesome if they got the ring with the Patriots. Like [Randy] Moss and [Wes] Welker, Junior Seau was on that team.

Listen I am a big Giants fan. And as far as I’m concerned they can wheel Eli Manning’s geriatric ass onto the field into the Ocasio-Cortez administration for one reason. Well, two: Super Bowl XLII and XLVI. The G-Men were the only thing standing between the Patriots and an undefeated season and all the insufferable smugness of their fan base, and a grateful nation thanks them for their ability to get the job done. Somehow it helps the 5-11 season knowing that still stings Pats fans.

Speaking of sports stings, the worst part of the Falcons falling apart in the second half of Super Bowl LI was knowing that it made Donald Trump happy. Maybe some Pats fans would prefer not to be painted with the same brush as MAGA hat wearers, but when your owner, head coach, and QB are stanning for the President, well, you have to deal. But Adams reveals he’d rather the only conversations about the Pats be about how great the Pats are. Good luck with that:

Q: Does the fact that Donald Trump has become a part of the storyline of the team take anything away as a fan—seeing Brady, Belichick, and Kraft popping into these unpleasant, heated national news stories?

A: [Pause for comic effect in the manner of Belichick glaring at a reporter who asked a question he doesn’t want to answer.] Yeah, we’re really just focused on the Rams game.

Not to get into my own personal beliefs, but it’s, I’d say, more annoying than anything because it becomes a sideshow to what you want the story to be, which is “our team is awesome.” And so anything that distracts from that, and I guess you could put something like Deflategate in that category too, anything that gives people a reason to talk about the team but not lavish praise on them for being incredible, is something that grates on you.

So you only want to hear praise… that’s not how any of the things work. I mean, Rowdy Roddy Piper was a tremendous wrestler and athlete and yet his obituary refers to him as the “greatest ‘heel'” in the WWE. You just have to take that as part of the faustian deal the Pats have seemingly made.

And you’d think someone at Skadden would get how it works. It’s a dominant entity in its field that churns through the cogs that makes the machine run. It’s a strategy that has worked for Skadden — receiving the designation as the one of the “Fearsome Foursome” of law firms, considered the most feared law firms in the country. According to the BTI Consulting Fearsome ranking the firms at the top — like Skadden — are known for legal teams that “want to start off with a show of force. They bring a lot of talented attorneys to bear early and come on strong. This initial surge lets the other side know they are in for a bigger fight than they ever dreamed—and their client is wildly committed to getting the outcome they want.”

The parallels between Biglaw life and the Pats are getting just a little too close for comfort.

I know Adams’s team is probably going to add to their legacy on Sunday. But in the face of such repeated successes you have two options: the first, which, based on my limited experiences is almost impossible for a Pats fan, is to cheer for your team with quiet dignity — no one gloats when Team USA wipes the floor with the Lithuanians in men’s basketball. The other is to develop a thick skin. The criticisms of the team aren’t likely to decrease just because they add another championship to their trophy case.

Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, and host of The Jabot podcast. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter (@Kathryn1).

Surprising Exactly No One, Skadden Associate Is A Pats Fan republished via Above the Law

[carishio-blog]

Let's Talk About Ships in the RWBY Fandom!

I've been involved in the RWBY Fandom now for almost a year. I hopped on after the end of Volume 3, and it admittedly took me a long time to get into the show and give it the fair shake it deserved. When I finally did, I finished the entire show in a day and fell in love with the adventures of Team RWBY as well as the amazing side characters. There are way too many for me to even possibly list, so I won't get into names in specifics. After watching it, I decided I wanted to get involved with others who loved the show like me, and that served as my introduction to the fandom as a whole. I liked Facebook pages and joined groups, as well as even got into the art of role playing which has become a staple in my life. It's lead to me making great friends that will last a lifetime, and I can't thank the show enough for it. However, as I delved deeper into the fandom as a whole, I began learning about something that I didn't realize was so popular: shipping. When I first heard the term, I was very confused about what it meant and what its purpose was, but I quickly learned thanks to a few people. At first, I only shipped Arkos because it was canon for those three beautiful seconds, and I thought that was the criteria for a ship. I soon learned so much more about it and moved away from Arkos in favor of other stuff that piqued my interest, most notably Snowbird thanks to a very special someone in my life. I loved seeing the art of all these different couples and characters together, since some were just adorable beyond belief for me. I had a blast talking about just about any ship with anyone since everyone seemed so relaxed and calm about it. Then I encounter something that I should've been prepared for, yet young, naive me didn't see coming: toxicity. I soon discovered the ongoing war between Bumblebee (I know it's also Bumbleby, but I prefer the former) and Black Sun. This was when I weighed in with my honest opinions on the characters as a whole and discussed what I liked better. I talked about how I didn't like Yang and found her pretty uninteresting, and how I felt Sun was the better option. Those comments led to a lot of people being very unhappy with me, calling me a homophobe for not liking Bumblebee and a hater because I don't like Yang. Hearing hateful comments like that really discouraged me, especially since I believed this fandom was so much different from other ones I heard about. I was proven wrong and since have tried to limit my opinion on Ships (which hasn't proven very helpful... I can flip flop a lot of the time). However, recently I have read a lot of posts about why Bumblebee will be canon, why it's been foreshadowed along with many other ships, and I wanted to discuss my opinion on something important. Disclaimer: This is NOT a Bumblebee hate post or rant. Just because I do not like the ship doesn't mean I will hate someone for liking it. If you can find something you enjoy about it where I can't, more power to you. I love having reasonable discussions about things like this with friends, but I cannot stand when people try to force their opinions on me by throwing their beliefs at me without even wanting to listen to my reasons. So, with that being said let me get to my main point. When we discuss something that we hold near and dear to our hearts, we get biased about it. I know most likely all of you who read this don't follow professional sports, but for those who do they'll get where I'm coming from. When I talk about my favorite baseball team, the New York Yankees, I will get biased about my team and talk about how great they are, even when they are horrible. However, I also understand that my team has flaws, ones that I cannot fix and hope that the people who are in charge of the team will. Ships and sports teams from this standpoint are one in the same. When we talk about our love for Bumblebee, Snowbird, or whatever we want to ship, we will get biased and defend our opinions on why our couple is the best one. There's nothing wrong with liking a ship and wanting to defend it, but at the same time it does become time to face facts and understand that your world does not revolve around it. The show itself does not revolve around it. Even though we all talk about how we want the writers to do something to make our ship happen, most of us understand that that's impossible because it takes away from the show and ruins the vision of the creators. However, the vocal minority doesn't want this. I say Bumblebee is the biggest offender of this only because that's the ship I've seen it the most with. That doesn't mean other ships aren't guilty of this, because we all are. I'm simply going on experiences I've had. I've seen people basically get to the point where they make it out to seem that Blake and Yang's entire lives revolve around each other and their actions are all because of the other person, and that is something I simply cannot stand. Romantic subplots are fine, but they do need to be done right under good circumstances. Let me describe it with one of my favorite pieces of animation: Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood (Which I will refer to as FMA or Brotherhood from here on out). The love between Ed and Winry is very apparent throughout the entire show, and is even blatantly mentioned by Winry multiple times: once when she's leaving Amestris to go back to Rush Valley and again while at Fort Briggs repairing Ed's automail. The romantic subplot is there clearly, but never does it overshadow the plot. Ed's mission stays the same throughout the show, and only a few minor detours are made because of these feelings. However, never do his motives and character completely change because of his love for Winry. He still wants to get Al his body back and stop the Homonculi after uncovering their schemes. The same can be said for the RWBY Fandom, and it's something we need to understand as shippers. The plot does not and should not revolve around your OTP. We all have different reasons for starting to watch RWBY in the first place, but I think one fact we can all agree on is that the plot is damn good most of the time. The show has an engaging story that is pretty simple to follow (even though there are some plot holes revolving around the science of the world), and the characters mesh into the story nicely. I know I enjoyed Weiss' arc in Volume 4 a great deal because of how much we learned about her as a person as well as her family. We can tell that the rest of the Schnee's will play a major role in the plot for the rest of the series after that, whether it be through Weiss' personal story or even something bigger down the line. We simply do not know yet, and that excites me. I love being left to wonder what people are really up to and trying to understand them by studying their actions. I also very much enjoyed learning more about Salem and her men, as Tyrian, Watts and Hazel all seem like very promising and great additions to the show and their actions. I'm truly excited about learning about Lionheart to see what Watts has planned with him. With that being said, they're the main focus. Team RWBY are the main characters (with Ruby really being protag kun even if she doesn't act like it), and Salem and her team are the antagonistic force. Anything else, including Weiss' family and Adam vs Blake is secondary and side stuff for each of those characters to face. To say that a romantic development between two characters should be front and center or that their actions are all happening because of the other is not fair. Characters have their own goals and aspirations that do not revolve around their "lover". This is a problem that I see a a majority of the time. People make it look like their ship is taking the spotlight of the character, and it should clearly be seen that a romantic relationship is growing because of it. That is not the case at all. That should never be the case, because then you are left with a very weak character with nothing remotely relatable about them or even likable in most cases. Personal feelings aside for Yang and Blake (since I prefer one a lot more than the other), both do have goals that drive them: Yang wants to find her mother and be a good sister for Ruby, while Blake wants to stop Adam and take back the White Fang. These goals are what these characters stand for and want to accomplish, and anything else is really secondary. Love is not in their foreseeable futures in my opinion, just like basically the entire rest of the cast. A show that revolves around romance (unless it is a romance genre theme) is not interesting unless there is good plot behind it. Shows like FMA, Samurai Jack, Hunter X Hunter and Avatar represent this very well. While there are some romantic themes if any at all that show up in it, they never overshadow the plot and character growth, and never does the romance cause a character to change completely and help them grow. That should never be the case in shows like this, since at least for me that's a cop out and a weak excuse for character development. We watch RWBY for great story telling and interesting characters, not romance. A ship is nice, but it shouldn't be your main focus. Your life will not end because your OTP didn't become canon. The show will not be ruined for you either, and if it is I can say you weren't truly a fan of the show. A real fan wouldn't let something so meaningless ruin something so great for them. No matter what you ship, I will respect your opinion and not discourage you from liking it. I want everyone to have an enjoyable and fun experience in the fandom like I have had for almost a year now. However, I also want people to be educated and understand that we cannot let a ship ruin a show for someone or let it dictate how we view characters. We as a whole need to understand that our OTPs aren't what dictate the show. Don't let your personal bias cloud your mind and make you think irrationally. Understand that everyone has different views, and just because you throw up a chart or long passage about why your OTP makes the most sense and while it will be canon no matter what you say, it doesn't mean everyone will agree with you. We as humans do not accept definitive answers, and what I am saying here is not a definitive answer to shipping wars in the fandom. I simply just want people to see that we need to be educated and appreciate the show instead of fighting over a ship or making people see how your way is best. For those that took the time to read this post, thank you. I hope you learned something from this and can move on more knowledgeable than when you started. I love you guys as a fandom and hate seeing people ruining it for others as well as trying to ruin it for me because they want to make their opinion the only right one. I understand this is the internet and nobody can agree on it, but I just wanted to voice my opinion on the matter and make us all view Ships in a different light. They're fun to think about, but don't let it dictate your love for the show. I love you RWBY Fandom, and let's keep moving forward and always strive to improve and help each other out. -Carishio

[tallstarweewooo]