#It's the same coach who has managed to get me to wake up at 6:30 am every single work day and not suffer because of it | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

avinaccia · 3 years

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A Completely Objective and Logical Ranking of Every Hetalia Character Song

New character songs are dropping, I have too much time on my hands, let’s go.

Also here’s a Youtube playlist for the ~✨nostalgia✨~

Bring it on in the tags

71. Ah Legendary Class⭐The Awesome Me Highway [Prussia]: Absolutely tearing it up on the drums and on the vocal cords alike (I pray for Atsushi Kousaka). Great for the memes.

70. Happy Thoughts Museum [???]: This is listed as an official song but I had literally never heard of the title. Then I listened to it and BAM! Smack back to 2013 watching the teasers for the show on Funimation. Not sure I’d count it as a character song though...

69. (Nice) My Song that is written by me for me [Prussia]: Deafened me but I can appreciate the industrial grind.

68. My House is...Quiet. ~With the Trolls~ [Norway]: I have never heard this song, nor can I find any version of it online. By default it goes here and I am so sorry Norge.

67. Make a Wish to Santa♪ [Sealand]: The discordant notes and childish exuberance only serve to make this sound like a demonic plea to Santa to eliminate the singer’s enemies.

66. Heaven and Hell on Earth [Rome]: Rome sounds like he’s been in the corner of a restroom. Extra points for the metal version, minus points for the fact that the beach scene was replayed like 1764 times.

65. Canada Complete Introduction [Canada]: Quiet af until Kumacheerio shows up and blows out your speakers. they did you dirty my darling 😔

64. It’s Easy!!! [America]: I don't think any video of this has ever stayed up for more than 20 seconds. Sounds cool, but like I was listening to 20 different genres at once, someone make him calm down.

63. Bù Zàiyì the Small Stuff ☆ [China]: I cannot for the life of me find the complete song anywhere, clips have a cool beat though

62. Let's Boil Hot Water♪ [Italy]: Exactly what it says on the tin..though a bit too close to elevator music for my tastes.

61. The Fragrance of Early Summer [Japan]: Very ‘from the books’ Japan-esque song

60. Peace Sounds Nice…[Baltic Trio]: All well and good until the radio demon shows up

59. W●D●C ~World Dancing~ [America]: How a song can sound like it’s from 4 different decades at once is beyond me

58. Overflowing Passion [BFT]: This is just drunken karaoke and I have 0 clue what’s going on #iconicforallthewrongreasons

57. Ren●Ren●Renaissance♪ [Rome+Chibitalia]: Wholesome Grandpa with Grandson content - barring the fact that Italy sounds on the verge of a nervous breakdown and Rome has had too much wine.

56. Roma Antiqua [Rome]: Similar energy to any one of China’s songs - there’s a part of the song where it sounds like he’s singing in the shower, and I will never not laugh at [CENSORED]

55. Country From Where the Sun Rises, Zipangu [Japan]: Very chill, very Japan, but just meh for me.

54. Moon Over Emei Shan [China]: Good message, okay song.

53. My Friend [England]: What a mind palace you must have Mr. Kirkland

52. With Love, from Iceland [Iceland]: Three words: Heavy. Metal. Puffin.

51. Having Friends is Nice...♫ [Russia]: Russia is the cutest thing ever

50. Mm. [Sweden]: Smooth transition from WWE Smackdown to shopping at IKEA.

49. Why don’t you come over? ~Beyond the Northern Lights~ [Iceland]: I don’t want to be mean but...this does sound like the second closing theme to an anime whose first closing was much more popular (à la Soul Eater)

48. Gakuen☆Festa [Germany, Italy, Japan]: Sounds like a 60s song of the summer but oh dear their voices do not go together. Hella cute though.

47. Wa! Wa!! World Ondo [Main Cast]: One time I travelled 10 hours in a coach bus with a bunch of teenagers to a city of note in my country, and the only souvenir I bought was the fucking PAINT IT WHITE DVD. Perfectly chaotic, UN ĐĕùX~~

46. In the Bluebell Woods [England]: In the album cover for this song he’s holding a guitar but this is not a rock song. Still has ‘running through the hills’ levels of dramatism though.

45. Poi Poi Poi♪ [Taiwan]: You’re telling me that Taiwan, someone whose has *ONE LINE* in Beautiful World (which is criminal tbh what kind of representation-) managed to get an eNTIRE CHARACTER SONG???????

44. White Flame [Russia]: There’s something to be said for a song that is 3x the length of any Hetalia episode

43. Ich liebe… [Germany]: Baking cakes for your friends has never been so wholesome.

42. We Wish you a Merry Christmas [America, China, England, France, Russia]: Nice to see they’ve gotten their shit together since United Nations Sta-hmm.

41. Ah, Worldwide à la mode [France]: Sounds like a Disney Princess song, hard not to picture France frolicking in a field of flowers.

40. Che Bello! ~My House is the Greatest!⭐~ [Italy]: Would not be out of place in an advertisement for Sea World.

39. May You Smile Today [Japan]: THE feel good song of the summer

38. Let’s Look Behind the Rainbow [Italy]: I will protect you.

37. I'm your HERO☆ [America]: “Anyone who’s sad or sullen will be arrested” did NOT age well.

36. Mein Gott! [Prussia]: Alternating headphone effect at the beginning is cool, so is the confidence...the actual singing on the other hand...

35. Nihao⭐China [China]: Listen, all of China’s character songs are great, I just can’t vibe with this one like some of the others.

34. Pechka ~Light My Heart~ [Russia]: I’m still having difficulty wrapping my head around the fact that this and Winter were released at the same time.

33. Pukapuka⭐Vacation [Germany, Italy, Japan]: Seems just a bit too much like they’re running on a treadmill that’s picking up speed and trying to sing at the same time. Peppy.

32. Santa Claus is Coming to Town [Germany, Italy, Japan]: This is unironically the best song sung by this trio; can only vibe with for two months out of the year though.

31. Excuse Me, I Am Sorry [Japan]: Japan’s character traits speedrun. Gives me barbershop quartet vibes for some reason but is catchy as hell.

30. The Story of Snow and Dreams [Russia]: A superhero anime opening in the making

29. England’s Evil Demon Summoning Song [England]: Sir that is not how you roast a marshmallow, don’t cut yourself on that edge.

28. Moi Moi Sauna♪ [Finland]: Exactly the type of song you’d expect and it’s wonderful

27. United Nations Star⭐ [America, China, England, France, Russia]: This isn’t as much of a song as it is a four minute struggle for everyone to sing without America yelling every 5 seconds...Like a particularly musical episode of Hetalia.

26. Paris is Indeed Splendid [France]: Paris-pa-pa-pa-paris

25. Absolutely Invincible British Gentleman [England]: Poppy, rocky, polka-dotty

24. Vorwärts Marsch! [Germany]: To quote the comment section: “This sounds like a German version of I’ll Make a Man out of you.” There’s some truth to that.

23. Hamburger Street [America]: The product of America’s rapper phase. 8/10 because he’s trying so hard and because I can unironically sing along to all of this.

22. Hoi Sam☆Nice Guy [Hong Kong]: A song that would absolutely destroy the ankles of anyone in DDR.

21. I Am German-Made [Germany]: There was once a version that had Germany and Prussia singing at the same time and it sounded positively demonic and Broadway could never

20. La pasión no se detiene ~Unstoppable Passion~ [Spain]: Talented, brilliant, incredible, amazing, show-stopping...

19. Fall in Love, Mademoiselle [France]: Sounds like it should be in Mozart Opera Rock, I have kiss kiss falled in love.

18. Embrace the Très Bien Moi [France]: This is the definition of SELF LOVE PEOPLE.

17. Carrot and Stick [Belarus&Ukraine]: Absolutely DRIPPING in 2000s power ballad energy. The type of song that plays on repeat in the mind of the widow whose millionaire husband ‘mysteriously disappeared’ (and the only legit character song ever acknowledged by the anime)

16. C.B.C (Cowboyz Boot Camp) Vol. 1 [America]: AH MAH GAWWDDD

15. Winter [Russia]: Heavy metal fever dream and the perfect song for an angst-ridden teenager

14. Seychelles Here ⭐ Vacation Island [Seychelles]: UN👏DER👏RA👏TED SONG👏OF 👏THE 👏SUM👏MER👏

13. Nah, it will settle itself somehow [Romano]: One day I aspire to reach this level of chill

12. Let’s Enjoy Today [England]: I will never not feel happy when listening to this.

11. Einsamkeit [Germany]: Ludwig manages to air every single one of his worries about not being good enough compared to his friends and always being perceived as mean or uptight when he’s actually just a softie and now my heart hurts. 💔

10. Aiyaa Four Thousand Years [China]: A very poignant and beautiful song about the passage of time and the inevitability of its passing; comparable to an ancient ballad complete with explosive crescendos and meaningful lyrics.

9. Bon Bon Bon❤️C’est Bon C’est Bon! [France]: Peppy, cheerful, adorable, groundbreaking; has been my alarm tone for six years and I’ve yet to tire of it. 9/10 The moaning interspersed throughout has been an interesting wake-up call.

8. Let’s Enjoy! Let’s Get Excited! Cheers! [Denmark]: This is on par with Everytime we Touch by Cascada in terms of rage potential unlocked (the good kind)

7. Dream Journey [Japan]: Whoever’s playing the shakuhachi is absolutely KILLING IT. Dramatic, wonderful, great metaphors.

6. Gourmet’s Heart Beginner Level [China]: Absolute banger, I’m a vegetarian but this would inspire me to eat shumai.

5. Always with you...Nordic Five! [Nordic FIVVVVVEEEE]: Everyone harmonizes beautifully except for Denmark. Extremely catchy, number placement seemed appropriate.

4. Pub and GO! [England]: I love this trash man

3. Maji Kandou⭐Hong Kong Night [Hong Kong]: If you thought Denmark’s song was a banger JUST YOU WAIT. I WILL BLOW OUT MY SPEAKERS LISTENING TO LO-HA-SU.

2. Steady Rhythmus [Germany]: THIS SONG IS METAL AF. Seriously, if it can be classified as ‘hardcore’ by my father and his group of 50-somethings who have decided to single-handedly gatekeep the metal and hardrock genres, it can do anything.

1. The Delicious Tomato Song 🍅 [Romano]: Beautiful, absolutely awe-inspiring, poignant, catchy lyrics with an extremely deep meaning that only years of meticulous research and analysis can unlock, Romano I love you.

BONUS: Closing Songs

5. Hatafutte Parade (World Series)

4. Hetalian⭐Jet (The World Twinkle): The song is good, the dancing is cursed

3. Chikyuu Marugoto Hug Shitainda (World⭐Stars)

2. Marukaite Chikyuu (Hetalia: Axis Powers): nE NE PaPA

1. Mawaru Chikyuu Rondo (The Beautiful World)

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salmonmakiii · 4 years

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may I request a fluffy time stamp of 8:00 for boyfriend!daichi please?

You may! I may have gone a bit extra with the word count (〃∀〃)ゞ

[08:00]

About : Daichi x reader Note : Pure Fluff! I apologize if there’s any mistakes!

Jeez, it's windy!

You shivered at the gushing wind. If you knew it was going to be this cold, you should've worn more layers. You looked down at your two hands, silently praying for the food you brought for the volleyball team would stay warm especially your boyfriend's. After all, you felt bad for teasing him last night.

It was like any other Saturday night where you and Daichi would call each other. Most of the time, your calls would include the two of you studying but last night was one of those days where Daichi would tell you about how exhausting his day went.

He had told you that his parents were out of town for the weekend and wouldn't be back till Monday morning. Being the eldest, he was responsible for his two younger siblings. That being said, he was occupied with house chores for a whole day; cooking, cleaning, waking up his siblings, and making sure they've done their school work.

You wouldn't be lying that you were low-key worried when he mentioned he has to cook.

Make no mistake, Daichi is a great definition of husband material. He’s wise, has strong sense of leadership, cares for his loved ones - he'd make a great husband. But when it comes to cooking...?

He's not bad that it's to a point where he might burn the house down, but he's not that good either.

"Sawamura Daichi! I just told you about the amount of water you should pour YESTERDAY!" Dropping yourself on your bed, you let out a laugh when you heard your boyfriend groan from the other line.

"I know, I know! I think I got distracted by something while you were explaining,"

"It was only the two of us yesterday. What were you distracted by? My pretty face?" You chuckled at your sarcastic question, wiggling your eyebrows as if he was right in front of you. It was silent at the end of his line and you frowned. You sat up from your position, your mind connecting the dots.

"Daichi? You weren't distracted by my 'pretty' face, right?"

"..."

"SAWAMURA DAICHI, YOU SIMP!"

You snorted when your usual calm and collected boyfriend fall apart into a flustered, stammering boy last night. He was too precious.

Once you calmed down, you two continued your conversation. Daichi told you that the volleyball club was going to have practice at 6:50 a.m.

He sounded tired, but you could tell by how the way he talks about it that he looks forward to the training tomorrow. You know better than anyone how much he loves the team. You felt kind of bad for his busy schedule, though. So you’re resolved to give him a helping hand, at least try to cheer him up a bit and you have the perfect idea for that.

As soon as you finished your call with Daichi, you went downstairs to find your mom. You asked her if she could help you cook something for him and your mom was more than happy to help, considering that your family's already fond of your boyfriend.

Your mission started at 5 a.m. You and your mom were already bustling about in the kitchen, executing your plan to make onigiris for Daichi.

Using the ingredients that your mom had won in a lottery a few days ago (She'd won lots of things; meats, fishes, seaweeds, rice, and even sake), you were able to make onigiris with tuna-mayo fillings for the team and grilled salmon filling for the coaches and the managers. Wanting to make something special for your boyfriend, you added grilled meat to his menu.

Both of you were done cooking by the time the clock strikes 7. You and your mom made too much. Your mom suggesting that you should give some to Daichi's siblings.

At around 7:30, you started your journey towards Daichi's house that wasn't far from yours. They were outside of the house, playing volleyball using their brother’s ball. They lit up and greeted when they saw you. Without wasting any time, you told them that you were here to bring them food.

Their eyes immediately lit up as they received the container from your hands. They thanked you, saying that the breakfast Daichi made this morning had too much salt in it. Laughing, you gave them your welcome and bid goodbyes with them.

When you arrived at school, you looked at your watch. The needles pointed at exactly 08:00. You paced towards the volleyball gym with a smile.

Even from afar, you could hear the boys' voice and the sound of squeaking shoes on the wooden floor. One particular voice made your ears perked and your feet took wider steps towards the building.

When you reached the opened door, you took a little peek inside. The boys were split into two teams as both sides battled like it was a real match. You came just in time to see your boyfriend received a powerful serve from Asahi. No matter how many times he'd done it, it always amazes you how he was able to keep his posture. If you were there in his shoes, your arm would probably fall off.

You shake your head once you realized you were getting sidetracked. You knocked on the door and the coaches’ heads’ turn to you. They gave you a smile and gestured you to come in. Kiyoko, who had seen you come in, immediately went to help you with your belongings.

"I heard you guys were having practice so I thought I'd make you guys a little something," You smiled at Kiyoko, opening the bag to show the labeled containers. Kiyoko’s eyes widen and she gave you her beautiful smile.

"Thank you so much (L/n)-san."

Giving the bag of containers to Kiyoko, you took one out that's for Daichi. Takeda informed about the food you brought to Ukai. Ukai nodded and decided to give the boys a break.

“You guys! Let’s take a break!” He yelled. The boys stopped and straighten their backs. The noise of unsteady breaths filled the gym. They all walked to the side, all of the boys greeted you as they walked to the side of the gym to get their water bottles and towels.

"You should all thank (L/n)-san, she made you food," Coach Ukai informed.

Not missing a second, all of those sparkly, overjoyed, teary eyes went to you.

Except for Tsukishima. His eyes werent as sparkly as the others but they were wide.

"Thank you for the food!" They all screamed and bowed to you.

"Ahaha, it's no big deal. Really." You waved your hands at them.

As Kiyoko and Yachi distributed the food, you walk up to Daichi who was drinking alone. He gave you a side glance and finished his drink, pursing his lips as he smiled at you.

"Here ya go, a special one reserved only for my special someone," You beamed, giving butterflies to Daichi’s stomach.

"Thank you. You made them all?" He asked, putting down his water bottle on the ground, eyes not leaving yours as he did. He then took the container from your hands.

"Mom helped out. You should've seen her, she was more excited than I am." Daichi chuckled and ruffled your hair.

You suddenly let out a yawn. Raising an eyebrow, Daichi asked,

"It's still warm. When did you make it?" He opened his container.

His eyes grew wide at the delicious sight before him. There were pieces of juicy grilled meats and two onigiris completed with eyes and lips made out of seaweed. Unbeknownst to you, his stomach let out a quiet growl.

"This morning." You answered, rubbing your eyes a little.

"What time did you wake up?"

"You ask too many questions, Mister. Just eat it will you?" You laughed, pinching his biceps, a habit you just found out amusing when you started dating.

Daichi couldn't control the happiness in his body. He took a step and leaned in, kissing your forehead. He pulled away, seeing your shocked expression and cherry cheeks. He laughed and pinched your cheek with one hand.

"You made food at god knows what hour for me and the whole volleyball club. You walked here, carrying all of it ON YOUR OWN, not to mention you gave me a special one with extra meat and cute onigiris. Who's the simp now?" He raised an eyebrow, the teasing grin he wore made you want to wipe it off from his face.

"Shut up, we're both simps." You giggled, hitting his chest lightly.

The two of you ended your little flirting banter and went to the group that was sitting in a circle on the floor, devouring the delicious onigiris you gave them.

Daichi watched you interact with his team. If people looked closer, they might actually see hearts in his eyes. There’s a genuine smile of admiration appearing on his lips whenever he hears you laugh with the members.

His team loves you, his family loves you.

He loves you.

You turned around, feeling like someone was boring holes to your back. Your eyes instantly locked with his dark brown ones. Usually, he would look away, looking like you didn’t just caught him staring at you.

But this time his eyes lingered.

Knowing the meaning behind his gaze, you returned it by flashing him a smile. Your eyes gave him the same amount of love and affection before returning back to the conversation you had with Sugawara.

It was a quick passing moment, but it was enough to make this man’s heart combust.

#Haikyuu!!#Haikyuu #Haikyuu!! Fluff #Haikyuu Fluff #Haikyuu!! x reader #Haikyuu x reader #Sawamura Daichi #Daichi #Sawamura Daichi fluff #Daichi fluff #Sawamura Daichi x reader #Daichi x reader #Sawamura Daichi scenario #Daichi scenario #Sawamura Daichi imagines #Daichi Imagines

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hitsuackerman · 4 years

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What in the World? (Akaashi Keiji x Reader) pt.10

a/n: so this was supposedly a one-shot but i realized it was too long so it eventually led to an ongoing full on fic xD thank you all so much for spending the time to read this! :) have a bit of action in this chapter :’) this a long chapter so...

Akaashi’s lineup: @alluring-akaashi @oikawalmart-hq @extrasugafree @bbykiyoomi @apricotjihyo @awings @simpformiya @sayakaaaaaa @colorseeingchick @something-that-idk (i have no idea why i can’t tag some of you :( huhu )

links: part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5, part 6, part 7, part 8, part 9, part 11

“Shall we?” Offering his arm, you gladly accepted it. This time, he couldn’t help the small content smile on his face when you fully held on to him. When the both of you were out of the gym, Bokuto had already turned around the corner leaving you two alone. “So, let me get this straight. You’re not from here, you have powers, and I somehow give you energy?”

“More or less.” Your other hand began to play with his fingers. “But it never goes past 35%.”

“How does it feel? To be stuck at that level? Is it frustrating for you?” He caught your fingers and intertwined them in his.

“Ooh~ You’re a curious one.” By now your knees were weak from being able to hold his hand. “At first, I was scared. Having to assess the situation is always tricky. When I realized that no one here has a quirk, I guess it was safe to assume that nothing could go wrong. It doesn’t necessarily suck. Being here for almost 3 months now, I actually like having not to rely on my quirk.”

“Do you ever think about what’s happening in your, uhh, dimension?”

“I do, every now and then.” For a second, you debated on telling him about being able to feel Todoroki’s warmth on your hands. “But, compared to my dimension, your world is a paradise.”

“What was UA, then?”

“It was the top school in Japan for producing great heroes.”

“Heroes?”

“Yeah.” God it felt so good to talk about home. Leaning your head on his arm, you continued. “I wanted to become a hero. Took the exam, passed, and got placed on the hero course. It sounds weird, I know, but it's pretty common there.”

“Your world sounds like a manga.” He stopped walking and faced you. Seeing you in a new light made him feel as if that tug he kept feeling had its purpose.

The moment he met you, Akaashi couldn’t help but want to get to know you more. When you took up the offer to be manager, it was the perfect opportunity. During the first day, he had managed to show off a bit by saving you from that particular chance ball. He could still remember the way you kept his eyes on him for longer periods of time.

He did feel that something was off. The bike-firecracker incident never made sense to him. Now that you told him, things just made sense now. But, with the knowledge that you liked him back, would it be unethical or selfish that he wished you would prefer to stay here?

“It’s not selfish, Akaashi.” His eyes widened. “No, I don’t read minds. It was just obvious because I’ve been thinking about the same thing too.”

The sounds of chattering and the aroma of the barbeque was much nearer now. Letting go of his arm, you made him enter the area first and trailed behind him. Walking back to your spot, you were met with empty plates and immediately assumed that Bokuto ate both your shares. Not minding it too much, Akaashi and you went with the team and ate there.

Hours had passed and the sun was now setting. Each team was now saying farewell to the others. Watching them board the bus, all of you were now waving the Karasuno crows goodbye. The next time you would see them would be in a few months. Not long after, the Fukurodani team was now lining up to enter the bus.

Taking the same seat, you stuffed your bag beneath you and wondered who would take the vacant seat. Bokuto had now entered the bus and he beamed when he saw the vacancy, before he could even sit…

“Bokuto-san.” Akaashi spoke with a deadly unemotional tone. “Washio-san has something he wants to tell you.”

Tossing his bag to the seat beside you, Akaashi had to smirk at the face his friend gave him. Pouty face and deflated hair when Washio denied the allegations about him. Crossing his arms to his chest, Bokuto had to nod and cheer for his friend. This would have to be the first time for him to actually see such a range of emotion from him. Though, if he were to be honest, Bokuto was going to give the seat to Akaashi.

“You don’t feel sorry for Washio-san?” You teased your seatmate.

“Bokuto-san falls asleep every time we head back to school.” Especially when he sits beside their # 2 player. “I can switch seats with him if you want.”

Holding his shirt, you looked down and avoided eye contact. Your palms glowed a bit and he covered the glow with his hands, bringing them to his thighs. Brushing his thumb on your skin, you relaxed and huffed at his little prank.

The scenery was now changing as the travel back home began. Feeling drowsy, Akaashi offered his shoulder with red cheeks. Not long after, your breathing slowed down and evened. He stared at your sleeping form and rested his head on yours. The rest of the team were now sleeping so a little PDA was safe.

Noticing how your palms would occasionally glow faintly, he made sure to cover them before allowing himself the privilege to fall asleep.

Around 30 minutes before the bus would reach the school, Akaashi woke up. With your head nuzzling his neck and your palms faintly glowing, he was sure he could have a stroke with the amount of blood rushing through his cheeks. Glancing at the view, it wouldn’t be long before the bus would arrive.

Slowly checking if the others were still sleeping, he took a look at your palms. There were a million questions running through his brain. How old were you when you found out about your quirk? What was life like with having quirks? When you stated you went to a school that nurtured heroes, does that mean the diversity of quirks were so wide and varied? Was this ‘Shoto’ one of your friends from your side of the dimension?

With the sun now low in the orange and red sky, he covered your hands once more. Just in time for you to stir and wake up. Stretching a bit, he saw how the glow began to disappear.

“Sleep well?”

“You make a great pillow.” It was true though.

“The coach will be gathering us for a short meeting later.” He explained. “Do you want to have dinner?”

“In the same cafe?” Not bothering to fight the smile, you felt your palms heating up. Taking them away from his, you hid them underneath your thighs. Your face and the tips of your ears red. “Sorry. That happens when I can’t control my feelings.”

“Yes. In the same cafe.” He couldn’t help but chuckle at the thought of you being flustered and your quirk showing it.

Moments later, all of you were now seated on the gym floors. The small announcement the coach gave was nothing too important. He merely stated that the incoming practices will be a little longer and a bit more straining for the players. Everyone nodded and took note of the days with no practices. Next thing you knew, you were now saying goodbye to the others and walking down the streets with Akaashi.

“Can I hold your hand?” He needed to make sure you were on the same page. There was no answer. You simply held his hand and laced your fingers with his. Seeing you giddy always made him happy.

“I bet you have a lot of questions. Go ahead and ask.”

“What’s your world like?”

“Just like this except we had bad guys almost everywhere. One of the worst one’s sounds like Tsukki, by the way.”

“Oh. That’s why.” He did not expect you to cling on to him when you met the tall middle blocker of Karasuno. The way your tightness and slight trembling of your shoulders made him wonder if you had any kind of trauma. He was wrong, but not really. “Have you fought big time bad guys?”

“Once… No twice. No wait, three times!” There were just too many instances by now. “The worst would have to be the one where we tried to save a little girl from her guardian. I didn’t fight the big boss but I did fight one of his henchmen. It was troublesome and I got badly injured.”

Opening the doors to the cafe, the two of you ordered your respective dishes and sat in the same booth. This time, you sat beside each other. Akaashi’s hand still laced with yours.

“Why did you want to be a hero?”

“That’s what everybody, or at least a big majority, wanted to be.” He noticed how your stare became distant. “My quirk is pretty high up there and my parents were proud. Everyone told me and even I began to think that things would be a walk in the park.”

“What’s your quirk at 100%?” He just had to ask.

“Well…” You never used your quirk at 100%. “I’ve never used it to that percentage. I usually use it until 80%. But, the thing with me is that if my quirk is below 40%, I can only do basic things. If it’s changing properties, then I can do plants. If it’s at 80% then you can expect to see me breaking huge chunks of cement or lifting boulders 50 times my weight. It’s draining but we train everyday.”

“That’s a lot of information to swallow.” He admitted. The laugh you gave him was reassuring enough. “Why did you tell me?”

“I never intended on telling you today. I envisioned myself saving a cat or safely pushing an old lady away from danger.” Facepalming, you cringed at how you exposed yourself. Akaashi understood that his little flaunting act was the main cause why you two were now holding hands in a small booth waiting for your food.

“So, Ushiwaka being your ex?”

You laughed. A loud one.

“I have never met that person in my life!” Shaking your head with amusement, you explained how you had to search his nearly empty social media accounts. Or the shock you experienced when you found out about him.

“You hold no memories here? Not even random childhood memories from your mom?”

“The only memories I have are from my dimension. It’s creepy looking at pictures of your younger self and having zero recollection. I got used to seeing it though. Every now and then I get tidbits of information as to who I was here. But it just stops at the present.”

“You’re very brave.” He couldn’t imagine the mental stress you were going through. “You really are meant to be a hero.”

“Frankly speaking, being a hero might sound cool and all but it…” Without realizing, you squeezed his hand. Chewing on your lower lip, you let out a shaky exhale. “It’s petrifying. Having villains infiltrate your school activities, defending the weak, and having to face the uncertainty of making it out alive takes a toll on you.”

“I’m sorry. I touched a sensitive topic.”

“Is it sad to say that’s not even a sensitive topic?” You leaned onto his shoulder. “I’ve fought with my life on the line twice. The other one got me staying in the hospital for 2 weeks.”

“Well,” He raised your head, index and thumb softly holding your chin. His gunmetal eyes met your (e/c). “I may not have powers or a quirk, but I will try my best to become a hero to you.”

“Akaashi…”

Your eyes began to cloud and lower lip to quiver. Hearing such simple words may sound cheesy to regular people in his dimension, but as someone who came from an environment where you were trained to put others first, it was enough to let you blink a waterfall of tears. Each mental strain you had undergone, from the USJ Attack, the LoV infiltrating your training camp, and even having to help Fatgum and Kiri with the eight precepts manifested.

Letting go of your hand, he pulled you into his arms. It made him think what exactly did you go through to make you react to those words. He meant them with all his being, of course, but the impact left him speechless. Maybe life in hero centered mangas weren’t as great as he thought.

Right on time, when you calmed down, the food arrived.

When the both of you were now standing outside your houses, you took your phone and checked the time. Avoiding eye contact, you scratched your nape.

“It’s still relatively early,” You were being bold and that amazed you. “Do you wanna drop by my house and chill? BUT NOT IN THAT WAY, OKAY! Just like, you know, get to know each other more or some shit.”

Taking the lead, Akaashi dragged your red face all the way to your door. Opening the entryway for you, you stepped in with your mother yelling from the kitchen. Announcing that Akaashi was here and that the two of you would stay in your room, you heard some teasing. Going up the stairs, your o-mother yelled your name.

“(y/n)!”

“Mom?”

“...Use protection!”

“WHAT THE HECK?! MOM!”

You half expected she would add more salt to the burn but that was least expected. Leading the red faced Akaashi to your room, he was surprised to see it very empty and barely any mementos. You weren’t kidding when you said you had no memories until the day you arrived here. Telling him to put his bag on your bed, he complied and soon helped in getting some pillows from the storage room. Seconds later, both of you were now sitting on the floor.

“What was your childhood like, Akaashi?”

“Normal for my dimension’s standards.” He reached for your hands and admired how you activated the yellow glow. “Aside from volleyball, I also liked reading. No particular genre, anything that catches my eye.”

“Do you plan to go pro?”

“Not quite.” He truthfully answered. “Volleyball is my life but I would like to take up literature one day.”

“What made you choose Fukurodani?”

“I was sent a recommendation letter. I had the option to choose between 2 schools but I chose this one.”

“Why choose this school?”

“I saw Bokuto-san playing and I was just so mesmerized at how much he loved the sport. I had no idea just how much of a handful he was but I don’t mind. Bokuto-san is who he is.” His eyes followed the small glowing orbs you had formed again. With the privacy surrounding you two, the orbs were much brighter and bigger. “What was your childhood like?”

“A rollercoaster ride.” Focusing a bit on your quirk, you morphed the orbs into one. Slowly the balls began to mold into an owl. Akaashi’s eyes sparkled at the sight before him. “When my quirk fully manifested, my parents boasted me around. It caught the attention of some big pro hero. Next thing I knew, my parents signed some papers and I was meeting up with his kid.”

“I don’t quite understand, I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine.” The owl landed on Akaashi’s head and a few feathers of light began to float in front of him. “In my world, we have this thing called quirk-marriages. It’s exactly like an arranged marriage except it involves the person’s quirk.”

“Y-you’re engaged?” The look of horror in his eyes was clear.

“Was.” You saw his shoulders relax. “The guy I was supposed to marry was Todoroki Shoto, not that the name even matters here, and the engagement got called off two years ago. Both of us were glad his dad had an epiphany. He was sweet and all but I never saw him in that way.”

“What was his quirk?”

“Todoroki was a special one. He was the result of a quirk marriage. He has two.” Akaashi’s eyebrows jumped at the thought of having two kinds of quirks. One was enough but two? “We teased him ‘half and half’ since his quirk is fire and ice.”

“Wow. He balances himself.”

“He really does~ Even his hair is balanced. Half white and half red.”

“Huh, this world really is bland compared to yours.”

“On the contrary, it’s not.”

“I highly doubt that, (l/n). Everyday is like an unknown chapter waiting to present itself. The prospect of living or dying high, but I’m pretty sure all of you find it to be worth the hassle.”

“There’s that but there’s also you.” It was your turn to see him with his eyes wide open. It felt so fluffy to see the prettiest setter staring at your palms and trying his best to control the blood rushing on his cheeks. “I know you’ve only met me for less than 3 months, but I can say that you’ve given me comfort in ways you can’t fathom.”

Feeling his chest swelling, he pulled you back into his arms. His soft hair tickling your cheek as you relaxed into his arms. Your warmth was comforting as he buried himself in your hair.

“Do you wanna see me use it on that plant?” You offered. Voice a little muffled from inhaling his godly scent. “You’ve been touching me a lot so I might have a bit more juice-- gods that sounds wrong but you get the point.”

“If you insist.”

Slowly unwrapping his arms, you pouted at the sensation of wanting to just stay still and hug him back. Caressing your cheek, Akaashi smiled a bit. Taking in sharp breath, you could feel your heart rate rising again. Screw it. There was no way you were going to ruin the moment.

Stretching your hand, your palm glowed the brightest it's ever been since you arrived in this dimension. Following the tugging sensation, you began to manipulate the air around the houseplant. Akaashi did a double take when he realized what you were doing. Watching the area around the plant distort, it only took a second before the small pot was now floating above your palm.

Placing the little pot in between you two, your mind was blank and you were not sure what to change it into. You could go bold and flashy by changing it completely into a new plant or just turn it back into a desert rose.

“What flowers do you like looking at, Akaashi?”

“Nothing in particular.”

“Do you like roses?”

“I don’t see a reason not to.”

Nodding your head, you were now using both your hands. The Hoya plant now began to hover along with the soil. With each curl of your finger, the plant began to morph into something else. The floating orbs were nowhere to be seen. In the blink of an eye, Akaashi let out a small ‘oh’ once a single stem of a rose now replaced the bushy succulent from before.

The rose was not fully opened yet. Placing everything back into the pot, you were now using just one hand. Pointing your finger at the closed bud, you traced imaginary circles with your index and the man in front of you watched it bloom in front of his eyes.

“W-why aren’t there any floating lights?” He had to wonder.

“I like to be flashy sometimes~” You smirked. “I can make them but for small magical stuff like these, it’s all up to me if I want them or skip ‘em.”

“You just changed the entire composition of the succulent.” His finger touching the soft petal. “Are you tired?”

“Just a bit. My body gets used to it pretty quickly. This used to be a desert rose but I changed it into the Hoya plant last week. So by now, it’s not too tiring.”

“Your quirk is amazing.” Akaashi praised you. His hand found your cheek again. Leaning to his touch, you concluded that he was even more addictive than you thought. In small and delicate movements, his thumb brushed your pink tainted cheeks. “You must’ve been very strong.”

“I tend to hold back when I use my quirk.” You looked down. “My quirk isn’t that strong because of that.”

“Why hold back something so beautiful?”

“It can be destructive just like all the other quirks.” Patting your lap, the owl you made rested on the spot you touched. “If I’m in a neutral or content state, its glow is yellow or what I want it to be. But once my negative emotions come out, it tends to turn into either red or black.”

“How was it when you first came here?”

“It was yellow. Faint but yellow.” Shifting the colors of the owl, Akaashi took note of how faint the glow was when you first arrived. The glow was barely there from what he could tell. When it shifted to red, the soft edges were now replaced with torn and jagged lines. The cuteness of the owl faded away into a more feral and hungry looking bird. Snapping your finger, the creature disappeared. “You’re not weirded out?”

“I am.” Akaashi stared blindly into space. “It’s a lot to digest. A part of me thinks this is all a dream but I know it’s not.”

“It is information overload.” For a moment, you wanted to crawl into his lap and nuzzle on to his neck. Instead, you scratched your cheek and returned the plant to its original spot. “If I were to be honest, I’m not sure if telling you was the right thing to do. I would rather have you be ignorant than to be mixed into the chaos of my world.”

“You wanted to be a hero, right?” Noticing how you were chewing your inner cheek, he had to wonder. What other secrets were you keeping? “Then there’s no reason for me not to trust you. You may not be from here but you're a main protagonist in my personal world.”

“God. Even in times like this you’re so beautiful.” You uttered under your breath.

Stretching his arms out, you saw his smile once more. Giving a nod, he gestures for you to come closer and sit on his lap. With a fast beating heart, he adjusted his position to make you more comfortable. Once the both of you were good, he tucked a loose strand of hair. His mesmerizing eyes solely focused on you.

“Let’s be each other's hero, (l/n)?”

“You know,” You wrapped your arms around his neck. “Heroes aren’t supposed to leave debts.”

“I believe I don’t owe anybody.” Once again his large hand caressed your cheek. His thumb lightly brushing your lower lip. Pulling you in inch by inch, his eyes landed on your lips and back to your eyes. “Are you always this alluring?”

“Eh. Depends on whose lap I’m sitting on.”

Closing the gap together, your lips met his soft one’s. This was nothing compared to your first kiss. The way his lips molded with yours made each butterfly in your belly to flutter. Feeling him snaking his arms around your waist, you gladly pulled him in closer and hugged him tighter. By now, you were sure that Akaashi could feel your rapidly beating heart.

Feeling his tongue running along your lower lip, you happily gave him entrance. It was a rather sloppy and messy kiss from this point on. Shifting your position, you now straddled him and tangled your fingers through his hair.

As of the moment, the only thing in both your minds was the feeling of your lips and tongue dancing with each other. If this was a dream, then you would be too scared to wake up. In all the days of being in this dimension, it was only now you felt that you were truly safe and belonged.

Being human, the both of you broke the kiss at the same time. Panting and catching both your breaths.

Noticing your room was a bit brighter than before, the both of you stared at the small firefly like orbs that danced around the both of you. Hiding your face on his shoulder, Akaashi chuckled and wrapped his arms around you once more.

- - - - -

a/n: hope ya’ll like that smol kissing scene XD and yes Akaashi is still accepting in his lineup! :)

#akaashi x reader #akaashi keiji x reader #akaashi #akaashi keiji #haikyuu!!#haikyuu x reader #haikyuu akaashi

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joshslater · 5 years

Text

The Reformatory

A rewrite of jd07201990′s swimmer story. Similar stories and bonus material on my Patreon.

T -1

Dear diary or however you are supposed to start.

So tomorrow is the big day. Dad and I are sleeping at a Holiday Inn at the other side of the state. Well, I'm obviously not sleeping. How could I? So I thought I should start a journal of some sort to document this experience.

Some background. Two months ago I was in a fight with Mark Samberg on the football team. It had gotten pretty bad between the football schmucks and us swimmers. The jockheads were constantly harassing us, calling us fags and prissy boys. It happened often and was getting boring. As the captain of the swim team I asked Mark to knock it off and get his players in line. Idiot as he is he tried to knock me out instead, and I lost it. In our scramble I managed to knock him down and was about to kick him in the shin when he shifted and instead I connected with his knee. Apparently it fractured. He'll be able to walk and even run, but he'll not be able to play again for years, so he lost his Scholarship.

His family sued everyone they could. Me, the school, the swim coach. In the end all the lawyers sat down in a room with a local judge and came up with something they all could agree to. Mark gets some study assistance to get his grades up, the school had this quickly brushed under the carpet, and could pretend I was never student there. Me not graduating wasn’t really a blow, as my college fund now went to pay for Mark’s education, as compensation. They were rich enough to afford it anyway, but they wanted to see punishment. I get the honor to spend the next 180 days at the Lepinski Adolescence Reformation Center, where I will "participate in all scheduled exercises, activities, therapies, meals and medication programs". They can tack on some extra days for bad behavior without going back to the judge, but essentially I get 6 months at bad boy camp for standing up to bullies.

What will I do there? No idea. The website talks a lot about work ethics and responsibility and working together with the local community. Sounds like labor camp to me. I'll guess we'll know tomorrow. But first we have to visit the hospital for a check up. My first day in prison will mostly not be in prison!

Day 1, Monday

We started with a checkup at the hospital, and man did they do a thorough job. Our appointment was at 10, but before that I had to fill out a form with 100 questions. The doctor spent more than 30 minutes doing the most extensive check I've ever had. Not only that, but after the check we had to go to the sample lab to draw blood, and finally I had a CT scan at noon. After that, and a quick lunch, we drove to the actual reformation center, which was in a smaller town 2 hours away.

It's an old boarding school building that they've turned into this "Reformation Center", and it clearly looks more like a prison than a school. Just a heap of two story brick and concrete buildings out in nowhere. Not much of security, but then everyone was there "voluntarily", meaning that we all had a proper punishment waiting for us if we left. I hugged dad goodbye and was shown to Mr. Kerwin’s office by the entrance guard.

Mr. Kerwin was a lean, ripped man in his forties that oozed military discipline. He explained that he was responsible for my rehabilitation and that he wouldn't start soft. He would give me a packed schedule, and if I didn't pull my weight he would add more days for "noncompliance". If I didn't like it I could run back to judge Stephenson and ask to start over in juvie.

Perhaps that would be better, because the schedule he showed me was totally insane.

4:30-5:00 Breakfast 5:00-8:00 Exercise pass 1 8:00-12:00 Work pass 1 12:00-12:30 Lunch 12:30-14:30 School 14:30-17:30 Work pass 2 17:30-18:00 Dinner 18:00-21:00 Exercise pass 2 21:30 Lights out

He explained that my breakfast, lunch and dinner would be pre-portioned and I was required to eat all of it. The exercise passes would be lead by himself or one of the assistants. Again, I would have to follow every instruction. The work passes were done at local businesses that wanted an extra hand, and changed depending on demand. The school passes were done as a group on whatever subject Mr. Reed selected.

Next he ordered me to get naked and place all my clothes on top of my bag and move to the other side of the room. Having done so he pointed at a stack of clothes on the table and told me to pick my size and get dressed. I quickly dressed in one of the track suits from the table. There was a baseball cap also, which confused me, but was told that it was instead of sunglasses when working outdoor.

With that I was given a rule book to study and was led by an assistant to my room where a dinner was waiting. Turkey, rice, water. I was reminded of lights out at 21:30 and wake up at 4:30. The assistant left and locked the door. 10 minutes later he came back with my journal book and pen, and told me that they'll keep the rest for now.

Having eaten the dinner and having three hours (I'm almost sure 21:30 is 9:30 PM) to kill before the lights go out I'm now summarizing the day. I'm sitting in something very similar to a prison cell. Bed, toilet, sink. Everything is clean, though somewhat worn. Looking into the mirror is kind of depressing though. I look like some jailed gang member.

It's kind of weird that I haven't met any of the other inmates, sorry students, here. I saw some of them while coming in, but perhaps this is their kind of hazing, or they do an official presentation tomorrow. Anyway, I should study the rule book and go to bed, since I didn't sleep much last night.

Day 2, Tuesday

So much to write about, so little time. I might have to split this into several entries since lights out is in 20 minutes.

I was awaken at 4:30 and given a tray with a large bowl of porridge and berries and some chalky smoothie or shake or whatever to drink. After that an assistant lead me to the gym room where we went over various machines, mainly for cardio. Elliptical, bike, treadmill. Weird thing was that it was only us two in the room during all three hours.

Sweaty and a bit tired I was then taken outside to a bus where some of the other boys where chilling. Apparently everyone else had breakfast between 7 and 8. They had no idea why I didn't join them there. The bus then drove around town and the driver announced who should exit where. My group of four people exited at a farm before town, only about 5 minutes away. I don't know exactly since I haven't been given my watch back.

There we spent hours just moving hay. Don't they know about tractors? Sweaty, itchy, tired and hungry we were then picked up and driven back. At lunch was the first time I saw the real common area. To my surprise there were more boys there than had been on the bus.

Everyone else could pick what they wanted from what was served, but I was given a ready tray with an heap of salmon and pasta. I was starving though, so it wasn't a problem to eat it all. I didn't have much time to talk, but the guys at my table were nice. Somewhat rough, as could be expected. Apparently you were chosen for the different work assignments, and if you were not picked you stayed at the center for sports or craft or similar things.

After Lunch followed a session with Mr. Reed. The first boring hour was on English grammar and the second boring hour on US geography. I aced the quizz getting all 50 states and state capitols right, so I didn't learn anything new after that. Then Mr. Reed announced who had work assignments, and I was again selected.

This time I and Troy were dropped off at a different farm where we spent almost three hours helping with fencing. Mainly carry posts and sawing them to length.

For dinner I had some meatballs with roasted sweet potatoes while everyone else had meatballs with tomato sauce. Mr. Kerwin picked me up and led me to the gym. Unlike the morning session this was all about weight training. Most of it was on finding my limits for different exercises while Mr. Kerwin pointed out how I could improve my form. You could tell that this was what he liked to do, and encouraged me to push a bit further. Once we were done I had a bottle of post workout mix of some sort and a very quick shower before rushing back to my room.

Here's the thing. My room is on a different floor than the other guys. Also, my schedule appears to be different and much more rigid than the rest of the guys. I also

Day 3, Wednesday

I couldn't finish the last entry before they cut the light. My entire body is in pain right now. I woke up like that, and it didn't go away all day. Same schedule as yesterday, but different tasks and different dishes. The assistant really pushed today during the morning session, so I was exhausted already at the bus. Planting bushes at the city park all morning didn't help. I got some rest during Reeds rehash of elementary math. Then back to doing fences, and top it all off with weight training. I asked Mr. Kerwin about the schedule and why it was so different from everyone else’s. He said that everyone's schedule is individual and that he'll adjust mine as needed.

One more weird thing before I fall to sleep. Everyone else is using their normal clothes. I haven't gotten mine back yet.

Day 4, Thursday

FUCK! I was back on moving hay today again, with Sam, Trevor and Rick. I'm still hurting like hell and Rick is one lazy motherfucker, so old fart Farmer Joe decided to complain. The end result is that I am getting 2 days added for noncompliance. Sam, Trevor and Rick got nothing. WTF!

Day 5, Friday

We were carrying merchandise all morning and Troy heckled me on how I got more days because of the piece of shit Rick. But he then said that it was a weird coincidence that every work shift I've been on has been the toughest one.

Instead of going to class I met with the doctor from the hospital who made a visit. He asked me about how I felt, where I was sore etc. Then he gave me an injection which he said would ease things for me. I didn't feel much different, but I was getting really sleepy getting back to Mr. Reeds class, but it might just be that everything he did was too simple and boring.

Apparently while I had a check up Troy had shared his theory about me being a work magnet, so there were some groans from the guys placed in my group. God damn fence work again.

Man, I'm tired. I was tired even before Mr. Kerwin gave me the toughest weight pass ever. Fuck, I'm tired.

Day 6, Saturday

So the weekend schedule is different. There is still a morning work pass, basically only used by the local farmers. But the afternoon is free both on Saturdays and Sundays. Conditions and terms applies, apparently. Since I haven't done any cleaning or dishes all week (how could I?), I'm assigned washing clothes, sheets etc. Man, how much better it is to carry laundry than hay. Best job assignment all week. Lots of downtime. Only real drawback is all the humidity. It’s steamy AF here.

Still fucking 3h workout pass in the morning and evening. The other boys were pretty vocal in mocking me on my way to the gym.

Day 7, Sunday

So the day started out as any other so far. Woke up sore. Breakfast alone and 3 hour gym session. There are no work passes outside LARC on Sundays, so I was hit with cleaning, together with Kyle G. and Rick. Rick ghosted after like three minutes, but KG did a solid work. It took us all the time til lunch though to finish it.

Then my first free couple of hours all week. It’s insane. The other guys were low key avoiding me, so I did what Mr. Kerwin had suggested and had a walk in the forest. It was actually kind of nice, and for some weird reason I didn’t feel like sitting still.

Day 8, Monday

Same shit again. Mr. Kerwin gave me a shot in the arm this evening. Apparently I’ll have one each Monday from now on. Whatever.

Also I found out today that the others don’t have formal lights out. I’m on my own floor so they can lock me up and cut the power. What the fuck?

Day 9, Tuesday

That fucker Rick slacked off again, taunting me about another two days. Ha! I got 10. Mostly for kicking him in the teeth. They locked me in my room, so I had lunch there and sat in this boring ass cell during class and work. Fuck, I don’t know what’s worse. I had to do some body weight exercises to keep sane. Fuck this shit.

Back again. I still got to have my evening workout. Kerwin was pushing harder than ever. The order of exercises was different too. Apparently to make the major muscles tired so smaller muscle groups then get to work. Or something. I don’t give a shit.

Day 11, Thursday

They fucking work now, don’t they the little shits. They know I ruined someones career to get here and another one for slacking off. They better pull there weight

Day 14, Sunday

I think I’ll stick to just write on Sundays. There is only half an hour from evening gym to lights out, so there isn’t much time for writing. I’ve even skipped shower a few times. It’s not like it matters when you start every fucking day getting soaked with cardio. Not like there are any girls around to impress either. Sunday has a different vibe tho. Cleaning, running in the forest and taking a long shower.

Starts and ends with fucking gym time though.

Day 21, Sunday

I really fucking like the forest runs. Its like you don’t have to think and can just run wherever and grab whatever and smash whatever. Fucking love it

Day 28, Sunday

Yay! A full fucking month!

It’s crazy though how much stronger I’m. I have gone up one size larger track suite and 2 sizes larger sneakers. Working hard to make me the best I guess.

Day 42, Sunday

guess i forgot about writing last week. i think the monday shots make me angry or something because last week fucked up someone else on tuesday. at least they all give me fucking respect at least.

Day 92, Monday

i dont give a shit abot reeds borin ass lessons and they fuckin repeat on a loop or some shit. today he was back on gramr and the states. i most time dont fill out his shit but wanted to do it again today. fucking aced most of the states. not so good on the capitols tho

Day 203, Sunday

only 2 weeks left tomorrow lol then im gonna yeet the fuck outta here !!!! adios motherfuckas

Mr. Kerwin enters the room, carrying a folder, and walks behind his desk, not even looking at me. I am sitting in his precious fucking antique chair I pulled from the corner. He’s sitting his ass down, rifles through the papers in the folder and starts to read from one of them.

“John Hamlin agrees to 180 days of rehabilitation training at the Lepinski Adolescence Reformation Center, where he will participate in all scheduled exercises, activities, therapies, meals and medication programs, with a possible extension of 30 days for noncompliance and a possible extension of 60 days for infractions as described by the Juvenile Rehabilitation Act (JuRA), section 1103 (b).”

He looks up at me. It sounded like easy shit when I said yes to it. I thought half a year in a bad boy summer camp, or worst case something like prison, but that would have been miles better than this fucking non-stop hard labor shit. And 180 days was a fucking joke. They never fucking intended that to be the actual time. Have someone else slack off and the slap another 2 days to the time. Kick a chair to pieces, 5 days. Punch a guy for being a cunt, 10 days. I’m close to having another fucking outburst again. It must be all that fucking shit they put in the food or shakes or whatever. I fight it. I don’t want to show any emotion in front of him. I don’t think he buys my shit.

“There is another document in the agreement that you haven’t heard. This one between Mark and judge Andrews.”

He pulls out another paper from the folder and read it.

“The state hereby directs Mark Samberg, or person(s) by him so designated, to design and oversee the rehabilitation program of John Hamlin to be administrated at the Lepinski Adolescence Reformation Center. This includes physical exercises, physical therapy, education, consoling, dietary plan and medication, as long as it fulfills the positive development criteria (Appendix D), is within the available services at the Lepinski Adolescence Reformation Center (Appendix A) and within the given budget (Appendix C). Additional services require external financing and approval from the Reformation Center management (Appendix B).”

That doesn’t make any fucking sense. Why the hell had the judge put Mark in charge of my schedule? I understand why he’d want to make the experience suck as much as fucking possible for me, by why had everyone agreed to it? Kerwin looks at me as if he can read an open book.

“You are wondering what has happened to you. What was the meaning of all this? Stand up.”

I jump to my feet. There are still weeks he can add to my time here, and I don’t want to give him any fucking reason to add some shit.

“Stand with your feet as close together as you can.”

He’s never asked me to do that before. I can easily tap me feet together, but I can’t really stand still with my feet right next to each other for long. What the fuck is this bullshit? My thighs are too massive for that.

“Sit down again.”

He leans back and watches me with a bemused smirk.

“Imagine that you’d been away from swimming half a year. Even if you kept in shape it would take you months to be back in good enough technique to clear the swim team tryouts. But you have not kept in shape, have you? You have a completely new shape.”

The blood is draining from my face. I understand where this is going.

“With your upper body build you can physically really only do butterfly strokes properly, but if you can’t bring your feet together the leg kick will just be a wild thrashing of water. You swimming medley would be a hilarious joke. We haven’t even talked about you almost doubling in weight, and how much more oxygen you would need to swim. Sure, you are much stronger now, but old you would swim circles around new you. And that is of course the point. If Mark couldn’t have his sports career, he didn’t want you to have yours either. And the judge agreed.”

I’m surprised that the chair doesn’t break, as hard as I’m squeezing it. I’m boiling with fucking rage. I have to really focus to not to act on it.

“Now the judge specifically set out that this transformation couldn’t be punishment in itself, but rather that you were trained in a way that just wasn’t optimal for swimming. We may have gone a bit overboard with the body building to leave you many options though. You’ll obviously never be competitive in anything with speed or agility, like football or boxing. The metabolic conditioning, hormone treatment and gene therapy have far to long lasting effects to change you back from where you are now. You could try wrestling or weight lifting though, unless you mind showing your erection through spandex.”

“What the fuck?”, I said, as much as a general question to all the things he’d said. What does metabolic conditioning mean? Gene therapy? Erections?

“The medical regimen that Marks family found for you kind of put the feet on both the gas and the break at the same time. It forces the body to grow a lot at the same time as we try to stop it, so it has to try even harder. By injecting stem cells with the right CRISPR-modified DNA we could get rapid, major and long lasting changes. Well, I say we, but all I did was to make sure you kept to the exercise regimen, for a little cash on the side… Surely you didn’t think you got larger feet and dick from eating much and working hard?”

I don’t understand exactly what they done to me, but the result is pretty fucking clear. There was no way I would swim competitively ever again, if I could even fucking swim at all now. I would come out of here looking like a fucking balloon animal muscle jock, and shedding the muscles back to where I were would take shitloads of years.

“The hormone treatment finished two weeks ago and last blood sample shows that your natural hormone levels will keep you muscled and pumped probably well into your forties. So this morning I also cut you off from all suppressive medication as well. That is going to spike your hormone levels and mess quite a bit with you, so we need to see just how badly fucked up you are before we can release you.”

“The good doctor say that you’ll be more irritable and have more excess energy than before. Both something you can work on with regular, hard exercise. But I want to see where you really are at now, so starting today you’ll have no required gym time and labor passes. You can wake up when you want, eat what you want and do what you want.”

“You said erections?”, I asked.

“Yeah, the suppression medication should have kept you limp. You haven’t jacked off while here, have you? Well, you heard what I said about gas and break and compensation. Your body has been pumping massive amounts of hormones into your blood, and will continue to do so. But now that you don’t have the suppressives anymore you should expect to be horny for the next decade or two. You’ll be nothing but a lumbering muscle dildo.”

There’s a crack somewhere inside the wood of the armrest. Fucking fourteen more days, I have to remind myself. Don’t fuck any shit up before then. If I let go of the chair I’m quite positive I will knock him the fuck out. Fourteen fucking more shit days.

282 notes · View notes

wickedwhing · 4 years

Text

Boarding School Shenanigans Pt. I: Dinner In Bed

Lashton One-Shot

---

Soccer practice is almost done. Luke stood up from his spot on the bleachers and decided to head back to their dorms. He always comes to watch soccer practice. It's not because he's into sports or a big fan of this particular sport, but it's because he's watching a specific player in their school's team: Ashton Irwin.

Gorgeous curly, honey-blond hair that falls graciously on his broad shoulders. A muscular body whose arms are just obviously very strong to carry Luke. Hazel-green eyes that can effortlessly hypnotize anyone who would dare stare into them. And of course, that very beautiful dimply smile that can single-handedly light up the whole world.

Luke just smiled to himself as he made his way down from the top of the bleachers. As he reached the bottom, he gave a last glance at Ashton who at the same time turned around and their eyes met. The older boy immediately gave Luke a smile, making him feel warm inside as he returned the gesture and waved the player 'goodbye,' earning an approving nod in response.

Luke made his way back to his dorm room and decided to take a shower and prepare for dinner. They go into an all-boys boarding school and their dinner schedule is always at 6 PM. There's a good 30 minutes before dinner, as he checks the time.

Thinking it might be a good idea to shower now while the athletes aren't there yet, Luke made his way to the showers and took a quick one. When he was done and was on his way back to his room, he met the athletes in the hallway who are on their way to the showers. He threw his gaze down the floor as he walked past them, but then looked up when he felt someone brush their arm against his. His gaze was met with a smirking Ashton who just walked past him and followed his teammates to the showers. Luke smiled to himself as he continued his way to his room.

As he enters his room, his roommate, Michael is already there and changing from his uniform to some joggers and t-shirt. He gave the boy a smile as he put away his stuff into his closet and then sat down on his bed as he towel-dried his blond hair.

"I'm so fucking hungry," Michael expressed.

"Well, it's almost dinner," Luke commented.

"Yeah, and I'm gonna be at the dining hall first so I can be in the line first," Michael said with a big grin.

Luke chuckled.

"Well, are you gonna come with me?"

"I'm not done changing yet, Mike."

"Well then, go ahead and hurry up. I'll wait for you."

"Are you sure? Aren't you in a hurry to be first in line?"

"You won't take forever, right?"

Luke chuckled, "Yeah. Well, just give me 2 minutes."

Michael smiled and sat down on his bed as he waited for Luke to finish up. The blue-eyed boy then quickly finished up changing and just a minute later, he's off with Michael to the dining hall.

There were students around already when they got there. Some were even already eating and didn't bother to wait for the dinner meal to be served. Michael dragged Luke with him to get a tray and then get on the line.

"You're really serious about getting in line first, huh?" Luke asked Michael with a chuckle.

His roommate gave him a wide grin as he nodded his head 'yes.' "Well, I didn't have lunch."

"Who's fault is that?"

"Not mine," Michael said with a shrug and turned away from Luke as he noticed the dinner meal being brought out from the kitchen.

An excited grin appeared on his face and he moved forward to the counter. Luke just watched Michael and waited for his turn as he got himself food. A noise then came from the entrance, making Luke turn his head to check it and saw the soccer players enter the dining hall. But the thing is, Ashton isn't with them and that made Luke wondering.

It was then his turn to get food and he moved forward after glancing at the growing line behind him. He picked buttered chicken and mashed potatoes and got some orange juice for his drinks, then followed Michael to their usual table.

Calum, one of the soccer players, and also Ashton's close friend, sat down with them at the table with his own tray of food. Liam and Louis, also part of the soccer team, joined them as well, filling up all the seats at their table. The three older boys are kind of friends with Luke and Michael as well as they usually sit at the same table at the dining hall or share some classes as some Year 11's and Year 12's share common classes.

"Where's Ashton? I barely saw him not being with you guys," Luke casually asked, trying to hide the fact that he is just too curious about where that certain hazel-eyed boy is during dinner.

"Sleeping," Calum answered. "I came by his room on my way here but he's already sleeping so I just didn't bother waking him up. He must be pretty tired with practice today."

"Yeah, I saw your practice today. It looks pretty intense," Luke commented.

"It is. Coach is pretty much not in the mood today."

"Well, that tells it."

"Yeah," Calum agreed with a chuckle.

They continued eating and shared casual talks. But Luke, the entire time, is pretty much worried that Ashton hasn't eaten dinner. So when they were about to get back to the dorms, he told Michael, "Mike, just go ahead. I'll just get some air and maybe take a walk around campus."

"Okay. Don't stay out too late, though. You'll get in trouble."

Luke smiled, "Yeah. Thanks for the reminder."

Michael chuckled then waved Luke goodbye as he followed Calum and the other back to the dorms.

Luke, on the other hand, made his way to the cafeteria and bought two chicken sandwiches, a banana, and a bottle of water. He then made his way back to his dorm building but took the back entrance and went straight to the fourth floor or the top floor. Year 12's live on the top floor and they have a room each, while the Year 11's stay on the third floor with two students sharing a room each.

As he got to his room destination, he knocked on the door and waited for an answer. There was none so he just decided that maybe he should just get in. He did so and as he entered the room, he was met by the sleeping Ashton, sprawled on his bed with only just his boxers on and a pair of socks on his feet.

Luke sighed and chuckled as he looked at the scene in front of him. He closed the door, made sure to lock it, then put the bag of food on the desk before he went over to Ashton's bed and sat down on the edge. He let his eyes wander over Ashton's sleeping features and he smiled to himself for how peaceful the other boy looks.

He let out a huff then placed a hand on Ashton's shoulder and then gently shook him awake, saying, "Ash...wake up."

Ashton just groaned and turned to his side and buried his face into his pillow. Luke chuckled then shook him again, "Come on now, Ash. You gotta wake up."

"Why?" Ashton mumbled against the pillow. "Let me sleep, Calum."

"It's not Calum, silly. It's me, Luke."

Upon hearing Luke's name, Ashton opened his eyes to then narrow it down as he adjusted to the light in the room. As soon as his vision was clear and he was able to see Luke's face clearly, a smile made its way into his lips and he said, "Luke, hi. What are you doing here?"

"Well, I didn't see you at dinner and Calum told me you fell asleep. So I figured I'll just bring you something to eat," Luke told him as he gestured to the bag of food on the table.

"Wow. That's so sweet. Thank you," Ashton said as he looked at the bag of food before he turned his gaze at Luke and smiled.

"You should eat," Luke said with a smile.

"I should kiss you first," Ashton replied with a playful smirk.

Luke laughed with a shake of his head, but then he leaned down and he and Ashton kissed deeply.

Well, yes. Luke and Ashton are together and they are keeping their relationship as a very deep secret because first, they're in an all-boys Christian boarding school. They can never be sure if they will be accepted by everyone around if they come out and be public of their relationship. Second, well, neither of them really has come out yet. SO nobody knows that they both are not straight. Considering all these current situations, both have agreed that it is not the right time yet for them to be open about either their sexual orientation or their relationship.

They have been together for almost a month now and they managed pretty well to keep their relationship a secret. It's really not that hard because most of the people they know kind of understand that the two of them are kind of friends. They've seen both Luke and Ashton interact sometimes and they acknowledge each other when they cross paths in any part of the campus.

"What did you bring me?" Ashton asked as he sat up on the bed.

"Oh, just two chicken sandwiches because I know one is not enough for you, a banana, and a bottle of water because you Mr. Athlete Boy shouldn't drink too much soda."

Ashton chuckled, "All right, baby. Thanks for this. I truly appreciate you coming here tonight to bring me food."

"No worries. I just didn't like thinking you skipped a meal, especially after seeing your very strenuous practice today."

Ashton got out of bed and went over to his desk to open his food, "Thank you for always watching my game practice too, you know. You didn't have to do that, but you still go there and watch every time."

Luke smiled, "I love watching you at your practice. You look sexy with all that sweat."

Ashton laughed, "So are you saying you prefer me being all sweaty?"

"Well, if I'm just watching you from far away, yes. But if you're with me, I prefer you fresh from the shower."

Ashton laughed again, "I hate you."

"You know," Luke said with a light chuckle, "just finish up your food."

"All right, mum."

"Well, eat up while I clean up around here. This room is chaos. There's dirty underwear lying around. You're disgusting sometimes."

Ashton laughed, "I'm sorry, mum. I just get tired after practice most of the time."

"Whatever. Just eat."

"All right. All right."

Ashton continued eating while Luke cleaned around. The older boy just watched his boyfriend fondly and he enjoyed the warm feeling he gets as he realized how Luke takes care of him. How he feels so lucky to have the beautiful Luke in his life now, and he truly does appreciate his blue-eyed boy for everything that he does for him and everything that he is.

He finished up his food and then stared at Luke who is putting his dirty clothes into the hamper, and then he said, "You know, you don't really have to do all that."

Luke just shrugged and then smiled at him in response.

"Come here," Ashton said as he kept his eyes locked on the younger boy.

Luke smiled and did as told and went to Ashton who is sitting on his chair by his desk. Ashton then pulled Luke to him, making the younger boy straddle him. He kept one arm around his waist as his other hand was placed on the back of Luke's neck. The younger boy then wrapped his arms around his boyfriend's shoulders as he let his eyes roam around Ashton's godly features.

Ashton softly smiled up at Luke, making the younger boy feel giddy inside as he smiled back at him. The older one then gently pulled Luke to him and caught his lips in a soft kiss which quickly turned deep and heated. Just a moment later, tongue already met tongue and fingers got tangled into waves and curls.

Luke started to roll his hips and push his crotch against Ashton's, making the older one moan deeply. Ashton then pulled his hand out of Luke's hair and wrapped that arm around the younger boy's ass, holding him up as he stood up from the chair and walked over to his bed with Luke in his arms. Their shared kiss didn't break even once until Ashton laid Luke down on the bed with him following down and laying on top of the blond boy.

"Do you wanna do it?" Ashton whispered against Luke's lips.

Luke nodded his head 'yes,' brushing his lips against his boyfriend's.

"All the way?"

"All the way."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. A hundred percent."

"Okay, baby," Ashton said with a soft smile before he kissed Luke again and pressed his body against the younger one's.

He then pushed his boyfriend's t-shirt up his body and unbuttoned his jeans before pushing it down along with Luke's underwear. Luke went to take his t-shirt completely off when Ashton pulled away from him and sat up on the bed to tug the younger's jeans and underwear completely off of him, leaving him naked on the bed.

Ashton let his eyes roam around his boyfriend's body and his lust just took over him as he also rid himself of his boxers and freed his already hard member. Luke stared up at Ashton as he took hold of his own hard length and slowly stroked himself up and down, half-teasing the older boy.

Well, it isn't the first time that the two of them were intimate. They were able to do sexual things before when they got a private moment together. But this would be the first time that they will be going all the way.

They never had an issue about having sex before. Both are willing to do it as they both are very attracted to each other and they do care for each other. They just never really had the right time. But tonight, they got the time that they needed. Ashton's friends believe that he's already asleep and shouldn't be disturbed. The couple does have the privacy that they need tonight.

Ashton watched Luke stroking himself and he wasn't able to hold back and he hovered over him again with his hands on each side of Luke's head. "Fuck, you're so hot," he muttered before he leaned in again and kissed Luke deeply.

"Do you have the stuff?" Luke asked as he pulled away a bit from the kiss.

"Yeah," Ashton said and he reached for the drawer of his nightstand and pulled out the bottle of Lube and the packet of condom.

They threw each other a smile before Luke pulled Ashton to him, making their lips crash again and they shared another heated kiss. Ashton was quick to let his tongue slip inside Luke's mouth and meet the younger one's for another match of tongue wrestling.

Luke's hand traveled around Ashton's bareback as he pushed his hips up, meeting the older one's. Both released a moan and then Ashton pulled away from the kiss and looked down at Luke as he said, "Luke, baby, are you really sure about this? If you change your mind right now, I'd understand. We're not in a hurry."

Luke smiled up at Ashton as he ran a hand through his boyfriend's hair, "You're so adorably sweet, and yes, Ash, I am sure. I promise. I wanna do this with you."

Ashton grinned down at Luke then gave him a peck on the lips before he moved down and sat in between Luke's legs, grabbing the bottle of lube. He opened the lid, then poured enough amount to his fingers, coating it. He looked down at Luke and said, "I'm going to put in one, okay?"

Luke nodded with a smile. Ashton breathed out then inserted a finger inside Luke's pink hole. The younger one scrunched his face up with the slight pain but eventually moaned out in pleasure as Ashton started moving his finger in and out.

"I'm gonna put it two now," Ashton told Luke as he pulled his finger out then inserted two back in.

Luke groaned in slight pain, making the older boy stop his fingers midway. "Are you okay?" he asked Luke worriedly.

"Yeah, I'm okay. Just hurts a little bit. You can go on."

"Are you sure?"

Luke nodded his head 'yes.'

Ashton did so and pushed his fingers all the way in. He gave Luke a bit of time to adjust before he started moving his fingers in and out again and also started scissoring in between to stretch Luke's hole.

"Fuck," Luke muttered as he closed his eyes, feeling the combination of pleasure and pain that Ashton is giving him. He reached down to his own cock and started pumping himself.

Ashton smirked as he watched Luke enjoying what he's doing to him, then he started to curl his fingers inside Luke and hit a certain spot, making the younger boy let out a deep, lustful moan.

"You like that, baby?" Ashton asked Luke as he hit the spot again, making the other boy release another deep moan.

Contented of what he had done to make his boyfriend feel good, Ashton pulled his two fingers out and entered three. Luke groaned out in pain for the sudden stretch the three fingers made on his hole, Ashton stopped his fingers from going all the way in, "I'm sorry. I should've warned you. Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I can handle it. Go on."

Ashton did so and as his fingers are all in, he moved them in and out again, making Luke get used to the feeling.

"I need you now, Ash," Luke told Ashton, making the hazel-eyed one stop his hand's movement.

Ashton nodded then pulled out his fingers to then grab the packet of condom and opened it. He rolled the rubber down his own cock and lathered it with lube before he positioned himself against Luke's aching hole.

"Are you okay?" Ashton asked Luke as he rubbed the younger one's thighs in a comforting manner. Luke smiled up at Ashton and nodded his head 'yes.'

Ashton smiled back at his boyfriend before he pushed his cock's tip into Luke hole and pushed in more slowly. The blue-eyed boy closed his eyes in pain of the stretch Ashton's dick made to his hole. The older one pushed in all the way then stayed still as he let Luke get used to the feeling.

"Go on," Luke said with a nod at Ashton, making the older boy nod his head as well and then lean down to kiss Luke deeply as he pulled out to yet immediately push back in.

A deep groan of both pain and pleasure escaped from Luke's lips and he pulled Ashton more into him as a moan then followed out of his lips as Ashton continued to move his dick in and out of his hole.

"Fuck," Luke moaned again, making the older boy groan out in pleasure as a response.

All Luke is feeling now is great pleasure which can be obviously observed from the series of moans escaping his lips. Ashton as well is very much enjoying the feeling of pleasure which is heightened even more with the beautiful sounds of Luke's moans. It was music to his ears.

Ashton then changed the angle a bit and when he pushed in, he directly hit Luke's special spot and the younger boy couldn't help but release a loud moan of pleasure, making Ashton moan as well before he kissed Luke deeply again.

"Faster," Luke pleaded under Ashton and the older boy felt he had no right to deny what his boyfriend asked him. So he made his pace faster and the both of them felt an explosion of greater pleasure from their actions. Luke grabbed a fistful of Ashton's hair and tugged hard on it, making the hazel-eyed one groan in both pleasure and pain.

"I'm close, Ash," Luke whispered against Ashton's lips.

Ashton nodded and thrust his hips harder, pounding into Luke, then reached down and pumped his boyfriend's dick up and down.

"Oh my fucking god!" Luke expressed as he was filled with doubled pleasure, and without any warning, he released onto both their chests with a very deep moan.

"Fuck," Ashton muttered with his lips against Luke's cheeks. He thrust hard into Luke twice before he stiffened and released into the condom while still inside Luke.

He collapsed on top of Luke and they both panted out in exhaustion from what they just did.

"Fuck," Luke breathed out.

"Yeah. Fuck," Ashton said with a chuckle as he buried his face into Luke's neck.

The blue-eyed boy smiled then ran a gentle hand on Ashton's back. Neither of them decided to move yet. Luke still has his other hand tangled in Ashton's hair and so he began massaging his boyfriend's scalp.

Ashton relaxed in his boyfriend's arms and enjoyed the comfort Luke's massage is giving him. He breathed out then pressed a kiss on Luke's skin as he said, "That was amazing, baby."

Luke chuckled, "Yeah, it was perfect. Just like how I imagined it."

---

#lashton #lashton one shot #lashton smut #leatherlashton #lashton feels #ashton irwin #luke hemmings #luke and ashton #ashton and luke

31 notes · View notes

ravenink-writing-blog · 4 years

Text

The Modern Recluse: How to Camouflage Yourself Around Regular People

Story 1 | Jackson

Set in the mildly fictional town of Greenwood, The Modern Recluse follows the intertwining lives of several high schoolers . With every story, we accompany a different character as they take the spotlight and navigate daily life.

How do you camouflage yourself around regular people? When everyone else has got it together, how do hide that it’s all falling apart?

Our story begins on Blueberry Lane, a street only slightly less picturesque than its name might suggest. At the farthest end of the lane is a large house. Its two stories are covered by a red brick facade, and the overgrown, late-summer garden is wrapped in an iron fence. The gate to the yard rests below a delicate, wooden arch, where strands of ivy have laid claim to the slats. It’s only six in the morning, but the sun has already snuck through the window shade of every house on the block. These first, cheerful streams are what awaken the subject of today’s story. He stirs inside the attic of the red-bricked house.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

The sun pried its way between Jackson’s eyelids, and grogginess whirled in the edges of his mind. It was far too early. He rolled sideways and blindly reached across the crowded nightstand, until his fingers closed around a smartphone plugged into the wall. He dislodged the cord with an unceremonious yank.

Jackson squinted through the expected yet unwelcome brightness of his phone. 6:01 a.m. Definitely too early. The sun had rudely awoken him a full twenty minutes before his first alarm was scheduled to go off. Whatever, he thought. I’ll just get up and take a shower.

After pushing himself to a sitting position, Jackson wiped the last dredges of sleep from his eyes and stood. He stretched as tall as he could, fingertips grazing the low, slanted ceiling of the attic bedroom. He grabbed a shirt and made his way toward the bathroom, glancing in the mirror as he went. Jackson stopped short. The face staring back at him belonged to a stranger.

Damn. Will I ever look right?

Jackson sighed heavily before he could stop himself. But it was too late now—he was already wide awake, standing in the bathroom, bladder full to bursting. He might as well get on with the day and try to wake up better tomorrow.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Jackson wandered downstairs to the breakfast table. The Bautista family were spread throughout the kitchen, managing the morning with varying levels of alertness. Joanne, his mom, dozed with her head resting on the kitchen island. She clutched a cup of coffee, and steam rose from it in lazy swirls. Jackson’s father bounced around merrily. Lou had a tea towel thrown casually over one shoulder while he conducted the morning symphony of sizzling bacon, percolating coffee, and bubbling oatmeal. He sang under his breath, an out-of-tune accompaniment to the faint notes of Material Girl that drifted from the radio above the sink.

Sitting on either side of the round kitchen table were Joy and Liam, the twins. Their too-short legs swung in unison above the ground, though neither knew it. Joy’s brow was creased. She was searching for something in her pencil box. Liam’s head kept whipping toward the stove, anxiously awaiting his breakfast of bacon and bacon, and unfortunately, at least a little oatmeal. Jackson walked over to his younger siblings, ruffled their hair, and pulled up a seat.

“Hey Jo,” Lou said, glancing up as Jackson entered, “what’s our oldest daughter up to these days? I haven’t seen her in ages.”

Joanne mumbled incoherently into the granite countertop.

“Sorry, dear. Didn’t catch that.”

“I don’t know,” Joanne said, peeling her face from the counter. “I bought her some beautiful clothes a couple weeks ago, but I haven’t seen her in them yet, or heard a thank you.” She yawned hugely and stretched her arms out in a cartoonishly large fashion, causing the cuffs of her robe to slide toward her elbows.

Jackson did his best not to react. This wasn’t a topic he wanted to talk about—his parent’s absentee daughter—when he hadn’t even had a glass of juice. Instead, he turned his attention to Joy.

“Hey, Bunso. What’s wrong?”

Joy’s frown deepened. “I can’t find my Hello Kitty stickers. I need them.”

“Do you want me to help you look for it?” he asked, stretching a hand toward her backpack.

Joy huffed so hard her cheeks blew out. “No!” She turned away, put her nose in the air, and said, “I don’t want you, Kuya! I want Ate!”

Liam stopped kicking his legs. Joanne sat bolt upright, spilling coffee in her haste. Lou broke off his song. Even the coffee machine stopped mid-drip, like it knew better than to break the silence that settled on the kitchen. Apparently, it was going to be this kind of morning.

Jackson withdrew his hand slowly. His fist clutched the invisible weight of Joy’s sense of betrayal—and his. No one said anything. He waited for a beat, hoping that maybe one of his parents would pitch a, ‘Jackson can help you find the sticker. He’s just as helpful as your big sister.’ But they didn’t. Why aren’t I enough anymore? Jackson wondered. The answer to that question was obvious, but it didn’t lessen the hurt.

Shouldering the backpack he’d slung across his chair last night, Jackson stood, crossed the kitchen, and left. He paused for just a moment on the threshold, feeding another unspoken hope: maybe his mom would call after him to make sure he had some breakfast or money for lunch. She didn’t.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

The walk to school was long, but the morning was bright and warm. It was nearly 7:30 when he reached the single-story high school. His bus would just now be swinging by Blueberry Lane.

Being early was fine by him. Jackson entered through the front doors and walked toward the left wing. The hallways were mostly empty, save for a handful of drifting staff members and students.

The inside of his locker was mostly empty, undecorated; nothing like last year. No photos, no mirror, no notes addressed to him from friends. A solitary blue magnet held up his class schedule. He shoved his extra books inside and went to wait in the hall by first period.

By the time lunch rolled around, Jackson’s day had only worsened. The teacher in first period kept calling him Jack or Jackie, which wasn’t his name. It was Jackson. Jack. Son. What was so hard about that? And in math class, he was pretty sure the guy on his right was giving him the stink eye. It was kind of hard to tell, because it was only the second week of school. There were plenty of people milling about that he didn’t know, and who may or may not know him. It didn’t ease his mind that stink-eye-guy, who was a grade below Jackson, was at least six inches taller. Hopefully he wasn’t looking for someone to beat up on.

Jackson sat down at a table in the back corner of the cafeteria. A bag of chips stood in for his lunch. There was only $0.95 in his backpack, so he was counting on potato chips and some water to quiet down his growling stomach. And maybe, if he was lucky, it could fuel him for the horror of gym class. No, he shook his head. Don’t even think about that right now.

A flurry of green curls enveloped Jackson, followed quickly by Alexa’s beaming face. As usual, she was an angel in black. She swung her heavy boots over the cafeteria bench and then set a sandwich, an apple, and a small carton of chocolate milk down in front of him. “Here you go, darling!”

Jackson gave her a half-smile as hot tears prickled threateningly at the inner corners of his eyes. He managed to squeak out a, “thanks!” before tearing into the ham and swiss hoagie. It’s not like Alexa hadn’t seen him cry before—she had, on way too many occasions. But a busy lunch hour during the second week of school? . . . he would avoid drawing attention by any means necessary.

Jackson hadn’t even eaten half his sandwich before Alexa waved someone over. He wasn’t in the mood for company. Alexa wasn’t company, of course--they knew each other well enough to enjoy a comfortable silence, but that didn’t usually fly in larger groups. And to make it worse, he knew the girl coming over. Her name was Grace. They were on the same volleyball team last year.

Grace came over and smiled, a little uncertain of herself. Alexa enthusiastically motioned for her to sit down, and she obliged. Jackson gave her a tense smile. “Hi, Grace.” He held his breath.

“Hi! Um . . . you know, I’m sorry. I don’t remember your name. What is it again?”

He stared at her for a moment. “Jackson. It’s Jackson.” Does she really not remember my name?

“Jackson! Right, of course. I’m so forgetful.” She chuckled, her laugh tinkling like windchimes in a light breeze. “Well, I have to say I really like your new look.” Grace gestured broadly from Jackson’s cropped hair to his Converse.

“Thanks!” he replied. A grin stretched itself across his face. Jackson decided that Grace was one of the coolest people he’d ever met, and he hadn’t even realized it until then.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Gym class, AKA hell, arrived too soon. He debated skipping it entirely, but there was a whole school year ahead. He wanted to wait at least a little while before he cut class.

Jackson thought he had everything under control. His gym shirt was already on underneath his hoodie. It was at least two sizes too big, but he found the bagginess comforting. Jackson was also wearing his gym shorts, which had been tucked into his jeans all day like a pair of extra-roomy boxers. He skipped the locker room and went straight to a bench in the gym. After making sure the coast was clear, he pulled off his hoodie and jeans and shoved them into his backpack before anyone could spot him. Success. Jackson breathed a sigh of relief.

“Hey, Bautista!” Jackson snapped his head around. Coach Delaney had appeared at the opposite end of the basketball court. “You know the rules. Get into the locker room and change your clothes,” he said, his voice firm.

“But Coach, these are clean, I promise, I just—”

“I don’t want to hear it! You know the rules. Fresh clothes, no stink. Locker room. Change. Now!”

Jackson wanted to argue, but Coach’s tone made it clear that there wasn’t room for discussion. A lump formed in his throat, making it difficult to swallow. Jackson looked at the floor and pressed his lips together. His palms were slick with sweat. You can do this. He walked toward the locker room and stopped, his hand hovering over the handle. You can do this. You’ve done this a hundred times. It’s fine. A weight settled in Jackson’s stomach. He summoned every ounce of will power he could and pulled open the heavy door.

A line of girls waited on the other side. All side conversations stopped at once. Everyone was staring. Some of them snickered. A few girls leaned toward each other and began whispering behind their hands.

A distant roar filled Jackson’s ears, like he was riding a wave that was about to break. He couldn’t move or breathe. Blood pounded against his ear drums.

Coach Delaney’s whistle blew. The sharp sound sliced through the cords of panic that were tightening around Jackson and snapped him into action. He turned around and ran.

He ran out of the gym. He ran out of the school. He ran the entire way home and never once stopped.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * EDM blasted through Jackson’s headphones and drowned out the world. His blackout curtains were drawn, his eyes were closed, and he was forcing himself to focus on every single note of every single song. He hadn’t moved for hours.

The noise quieted unexpectedly. Jackson opened his eyes to find his mom pulling the headphones away. She flipped the switch on the side, powering them down. He held his breath. Several silent moments passed--each felt like an eternity.

“Honey,” she began. Nothing followed. Joanne took a deep breath, exhaled the air slowly from her nose, and then tried again. “Honey. Jackie. You can’t skip school.”

Jackson chewed the inside of his cheek and stared at the opposite wall. His voice was quiet. “I know.”

Another deep breath. “I know you want . . . I know you feel . . . you want to stand out and be different. But you’re too young to know what you want yet. You don’t get to disrespect your teachers—”

“I didn’t disrespect anyone—"

“Do not interrupt me!” Joanne snapped. Another deep breath. She forced her voice to reflect calm. “You disrespected Mr. Alpen in math. You disrespected Coach Delaney by being argumentative and leaving his lesson. And you disrespected your family, because what you do reflects on us, on our parenting.” Jackson snorted, and Joanne threw her hands in the air. “You can’t just decide to BE this person, Jaqueline!”

Jackson felt like his mom had punched him in the gut. “That’s not my name,” he said, his voice barely a whisper.

“It is your name. You’re my child—my daughter—and I get to decide what your name is. It was my right to name you, and you can’t take that away from me. I’m your mother,” Joanne said. Her brows were knit in anger, and a tear traveled down her face.

Jackson resisted the urge to curl into the fetal position and turn his back to her. Instead, he reached out a hand and placed it on top of hers. He didn’t want to cause her any pain. A thousand thoughts swirled in his mind. I’m not taking anything away from you. I’m your son. Why does it matter so much if I call myself Jackson? It’s my life. How do you always make everything bad in my life about you? He said nothing.

Joanne placed her other hand over his. She sniffled, wiped a tear from her eyes, and smiled. “Let’s just . . . forget about today. We can try again tomorrow, mm? We’ll put all of this to bed, like a bad dream. And when you wake up in the morning, before you get out of bed, just remind yourself that you’re a girl—a sweet, beautiful girl—and your name is Jaqueline.” Joanne gave him a pat on the arm that was meant to encourage him. “Everything will be better in the morning.”

Jackson nodded.

“Okay. I love you, sweetie.”

#fiction #writing #tmr #the modern recluse #trans #transgender #ftm

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kotlc-oneshots · 5 years

Text

Blind!keefe au

Hey all!!! Sorry I’ve been dead, but writings block kills lol. Anyways I got this idea off of some lame discord convos and uhhh I hope it’s good. Also it’s late and lmao I have no motivation to edit my own writing uhhh here u go. Some mild swearing. Will be Kam if I keep going w it. Lov yall.

*~*~*

Pt.

one

Keefe

I’m lying in bed, of course, when the shrieking of my alarm goes off about four feet away from me. I blink my eyes open until they don’t feel sticky and gross, then grab my alarm clock. It’s a simple thing, a brick with about 5 buttons total on it, probably.

I pushed the button on the bottom left corner, and the loud wail finally ends. I groan and rub my head, wishing the colors and blobs that cloud the center of my milky vision would just come into focus.

However after years of hoping for that, every morning, I know nothing is going to happen. With a small sigh, I go into my ultra-specifically organized dresser.

Today is the first day of my senior year. Even if I wont be able to see myself, I want to know that others will appreciate the way that I look- or, at least, am dressed. There’s not a lot I can do if there’s anything wrong with my face or hair. I wish I could, though- even though I’ve been blind since birth, I still always want to look presentable. In order to do that, my friends help me once every other week to organize my outfits for the upcoming 14 days. It started in sophmore year, when Sophie got the wonderful idea, and it's been a tradition since. And thanks to my ‘photographic (ha) memory’, I always know what clothes I’m wearing. Always.

I’m about halfway dressed when hear a beep from the direction of my bed.

“New message from Fitz.” The automated, robotic voice of Siri tells me.

“Hey siri- read message from Fitz.” I respond, then finish putting on the rest of my clothes.

“Ready for your first day as a senior?” she reads back to me. I automatically change the sound to Fitz’s deeper, more human voice in my head. It’s pointless, but necessary.

“Hey siri- text Fitz ‘hell yeah brother.’” After a quick confirmation of what I’m sending, I go into the bathroom next to my bedroom. I carefully feel my way around for my toothbrush and brush my teeth, then proceed to run my hand through my hair. For a short moment, I wish I could see myself as more than a blob of milky, too bright color, but it fades quickly. I’d rather not think about it. So I finish up in the bathroom, then return to my room for my bag. With a quick ‘hey siri’, I manage to find my phone as well.

After a few more voice commands, I receive the news that Fitz will be here to pick me up at 7:30, which gives me about 20 minutes. I hop over to the kitchen and make myself a quick, hearty bowl of cereal. Being me, I choose the healthiest kind- Lucky Charms. When finished, I smile to myself and set the bowl near the sink- I know my dads at work by now, so I don’t have to worry about him. Sometimes there’s good things about waking up early. As I slip my bag on and go to the door to wait, I remember how lucky I am to have such a good memory, and such a constantly cleanly household. Otherwise, I’d be as clumsy in my house as Sophie is. I grab my cane and walk outside, chiding myself for thinking so much about the little things.

Fitz is there, honking his horn, about 5 ish minutes after I get outside. Sophie yells at him for being annoying, and I chuckle a bit. A window rolls down, and Biana’s voice comes through hollering to go to the back passengers side. I use my cane to help me a little bit, then grab onto the ledge made by the open window. I proceed to find the door handle, then carefully step into the car.

“If any freshman gives you crap today, you have full right to hit them with your cane.” Dex, who must be on on the other side of Biana, says.

“Thank you. I’ll definitely do that,” I respond with a laugh, and I can practically feel the worry in the air as Sophie warns me not to.

“We really don’t want you to get suspended on the first day. So just wait until tomorrow, and give them an extra hard whap on kneecap.” Biana adds cheerily.

“This is why you’re my favorite.” I awkwardly try to wrap my arm

around her head, but fail miserably. My peripherals are even worse than the center of my vision- there’s almost no light visible towards the edges. So I end up hitting her on the head, and play it off by messing her hair up. This, of course, causes her to whack my arm and call me a jerk.

“Alright, dumbasses, knock it off,” Fitz, my best friend of the

past 6 years, yells. “By the way, Keefe, we’re pulling in now.” A knot forms in my stomach. Man. First day of senior year at Foxfire. I can’t believe its so close to being over. The beginning of the end.

We pull into the parking lot and step out of Fitz’s Volvo. I turn towards the building, and take a deep inhale of the crisp morning air. My friends and family always like to comment on how pretty the building looks. Foxfire is a really prestigious private high school, and I know that they put a lot of money into the architecture

and the grounds. It's a pity that all I see is a building shaped blob of its beige color, and the faint blobs of green and other colors that I know are trees.

I try not to let myself think about it.

We walk into the building, and Fitz automatically splits off. He's supposed to help some teacher set up the presentation that the Freshman go to. I love him, but it's the first day of school and that man is already busy. This year is gonna be rough if we wanna keep up our hangout sessions- although, we both did take the same 6 AP classes. We’ll probably study together, when he’s not with his million other commitments.

After a few hugs and highfives, and a few debate friends greeting me, I go to my first class. I’m /not/ getting caught in that crowd, especially with the idiotic freshman pretending that they own the place. Off to AP music theory it is. C118 is easy enough- no stairs, and it's a pretty straight shot to the classroom. Again,

I thank my perfect memory to get me around. I may not know what the building looks like, but I basically have the blueprint downloaded in my head. Good times, man.

First period doesn’t result in much. We all get a copy of the syllabus, and a short introductory reading. I can feel a tinge of annoyance when the teacher acknowledges my inability to.. Uh, read it, but a girl named Linh volunteers to help me out with it. She seemed nice enough. She had a bit of a Canadian accent, and when I asked about it she confirmed that she was from… Minnesota. She was really sweet, and I’m genuinely hoping that’ll become a friendship.

The next couple periods go uneventfully. Fitz is in one of them, and Dex the other so I don’t have to worry about another situation like in first period. And the teachers always let me go about 2-3 minutes early, so I can avoid the crowds- that is, until lunch. I’m on my way down to the cafeteria when I run into… someone. They must have been very quiet- I didn’t realize they were that close to me and coming around the bend. So when they did, we kinda collided. I hear a soft curse when they thud to the ground, and from the shape and sound I know its a guy. I put the cane in my left hand and offer to help him up. I’m not sure what it is, but he doesn’t accept it.

“You good man? I didn’t see ya there.” I laugh a little, because

duh. He doesn’t. I can’t really make out any of him- his hair is /probably/ black- and this agitates me, because he doesn’t respond. And then he practically runs away.

I have no way to identify him- probably a dumb freshman that didn’t want his ass kicked by the blind senior. Trying to shake off the interaction, I roll my eyes and start on my way to lunch again.

“Honestly, today was AWFUL. The second half, at least.” I’m now at Fitz’s house, along with Dex. “I already told Dex about that one guy that ran into me, but Stats teacher was awful. She probably heard something from Michaels about last year- just because I rarely showed up doesn’t mean I don’t know what I’m doing! I got along in that class fine.”

“Keefe, I taught you like half of that course.” Fitz replies, laughing.

“Because you actually know how to do math! Michaels is an awful excuse for a pre calc teacher. Dex, be glad that you got Hex.” I retort. It’s not wrong- Mr. Michaels had been very incompetent. If not for Fitz, I would have gotten the worst grade I ever had in my high school career.

“You know I am.” Dex agrees. “Even Hex hates Michaels, but she won’t admit it. Outright, at least.”

“Ok, enough about horrible teachers. Tell me about the guy who ran into you.” Fitz pipes up, not wanting to be apart of a conversation dissing his soccer coach. I let him divert the conversation, even though I really wanna rag Michaels to the ground most of the time.

“Well, that's the thing. There’s nothing to tell- I ran into him and he fell. Then he ran away, without saying a word,” I say. “I wanna know just as much as you do.”

“That’s cute.” Dex comments, and I shake my head.

“You know what I mean.”

“Suuuuureee.” The tone of his voice makes me hit him, which starts a wrestle between the three of us that lasts for about half an hour. By the end of it, I’m sure I have multiple bruises from falling, kicking something wrong, and getting hit, but I don’t care much. We fall into a panting heap on Fitz bed, and we through half hearted punches at each other that hold no intention. Needless to say, I’m sweaty and gross, and when Fitz informs me that it's almost 8, I ask to go home. A man's gotta shower- and get his beauty sleep.

So Fitz drives me and Dex home, the three of us having pointless conversation about classes and plans we should make. I get dropped off first, and they wait as I carefully make my way to door of my house, not leaving until I get inside. I hear the thrum of his engine as Fitz drives off, then make my way to the bathroom.

After a quick shower, I brush my teeth and head off to bed.

I drift off, and my thoughts are filled with a mysterious blob with probably black hair and evil math equations.

#keeper of the lost cities #dex dizznee #kotlc #keefe sencen #sophie foster #tam song #blind!au #fitzvacker #writersblock #highschool!au

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sweetener-forever · 5 years

Text

Large Dog Seen Walking Grumpy Man in 30 Layers

Rating: T

Characters: Bakugou Katsuki, Kirishima Eijirou, Sero Hanta, Ashido Mina, Kaminari Denki

Pairings: Bakugou/Kirishima

Tags: Complete fluff, there is no conflict, I have absolutely NO regrets on that, the squad hanging out and being cute, Sero has ferrets which I may or may not write another fic on why later, who knows

Summary: It’s full moon week, so remember to take your werewolf boyfriend on long walks and to socialize him with playdates. Also known as Bakugou hates the snow, Kirishima the werewolf loves it, and the squad shows up on their own without ever actually being invited.

AO3 Link

There are three sharp yips directly to Katsuki's left from where he is laying on the couch. They are just the right amount of loud and high pitched to grate against his nerves and to rouse him from his slumber at the same time. Not enough to get him up though, not while the sun has dipped low enough in the sky it is no longer illuminating the room with light and as a consequence his eyelids.

"Go walk yourself..." He mumbles out and, predictably, gets a whine in response, to which he rolls over so his back is facing the offending noise. If he had been more awake he would have known just how much of a terrible idea that is.

The whine abruptly cuts off and leaves the room once more in blessed silence.

For about five seconds before a cold nose buries itself in the gap of skin between Katsuki's sweatpants and shirt. He immediately rolls back over and almost nails the offending snout with an explosion, but the black wolf easily dances out of the way. Its tongue lolling out of its mouth and an amused squint furrowing around its dark red eyes.

"Fuck off, Ejiiro, I'm not walking you at," Katsuki squints up at the wall clock, "7 pm." Okay, admittedly the werewolf has actually managed to wake him up at a more decent time than usual, but that doesn't mean he is going to roll over for the little shit.

He gets another sharp yip in response because, of course, the idiot can't talk in this form. Mostly on account of him not having human vocal cords, but Katsuki would rather spend three days in Deku's exclusive company than admit he misses his boyfriend's voice already.

"What the fuck do you want." He knows what Eijirou wants and the wolf knows it too as his tail wags faster and he runs a dizzying circle around the couch.

"You think you're being cute, but you just look like an idiot and it's not convincing me." Katsuki's chest absolutely does not squeeze itself into a small ball when Eijirou's ears droop and he whines loudly. He does get off the couch though with an irritated grumble to locate his jacket and coat.

Both of Eijirou's ears perk up immediately and Katsuki nearly steps on one of his paws when the wolf races around him in a quick circle before going to the door. This is something that happens at least three other times as Katsuki is dressing himself to brave the hellish 6 inches of snow that decided to fall the first morning of full moon week. It's simply karma at work for how much of a shit kid Katsuki was that he now has to walk a rambunctious werewolf in it.

Said rambunctious werewolf nearly pulls him over as he is deemed to be taking too long. He is no further deterred than he was before by an explosion and continues to pull on the bottom of Katsuki's pants.

"Knock it off! Just because you're all toasty under all that fur doesn't mean the rest of us are!" He finally snaps and bares his teeth until Eijirou is whining again and goes to hide behind the coach.

He doesn't bother to retrieve his dumbass boyfriend until he's secure in his two winter layers, boots, and a Red Riot beanie. The beanie itself is a gross bright red almost the exact shade of Eijirou's hair and its "matching" "Kacchan" beanie is hanging up with Eijirou's own winter coat. The sight of Katsuki wearing the beanie is enough to get Eijirou out of hiding with more excited yips.

At the very least Eijirou holds still while Katsuki curses and bitches at his harness, patiently lifting up his paws when instructed and only beginning to wiggle around again once it has been snapped into place.

The harness of course is just a formality so no one calls the police or pro-heroes to come to deal with the unnaturally large "dog". It was Eijirou's idea initially and after begging, and promising not to run off, and break Katsuki's arm in the process, Katsuki finally conceded. So far for the last four years he has managed to keep his promise, but Katsuki still anticipates a night where he will be in the hospital with a dislocated shoulder.

Leash clipped in place, Katsuki grabs his and Eijirou's phones, keys, and his own wallet before leaving their shared apartment. The sight of the snow on the ground doesn't exactly thrill Katsuki, but Eijirou wiggles and does a slight hop in place while he waits for Katsuki to lock the door.

Then all bets are off and Eijirou is firmly, but gently pulling Katsuki down the covered stairs and into the snow covered street. To keep tonight from being that fateful hospital trip Katsuki just lets go of the leash and lets Eijirou bound around.

Eijirou the wolf is as loud as his human counterpart and makes sure Katsuki knows he is enjoying himself with barks, yips, and even a low howl. Neighbors used to come up to Katsuki's door to complain about his dog making noise, but they never did it a second time after actually seeing Eijirou. It's satisfying to know the shitbag old lady that sprays lavender perfume into their shared vents is having a rough time sleeping tonight.

While Eijirou gets his fill of snow pouncing Katsuki makes sure to get plenty of pictures of him doing so. The group chat will be demanding, annoying, and whining if he doesn't deliver their fill of Eijirou the wolf by the time they get off patrol and work. They will be pleased over the five second video of Eijirou bounding towards the camera as he is actually ready for their walk now.

The end of the leash Katsuki is supposed to be holding is hanging out of Eijirou's mouth as he stares up at Katsuki with a pleased expression and a wagging tail. They have a staredown for all of three seconds before Katsuki takes the leash and is dragged away from the cover of their apartment stairs.

It is just as bad as Katsuki predicted it would be and Katsuki is freezing his ass off within three seconds of being dragged through the snow to the cleared sidewalk. Eijirou looks smug and proud of himself of course, completely unfazed by the snow clinging to his snout. He at least has the decency to let Katsuki curse and shake the excess snow off of himself before continuing their walk.

At least at this time at night there aren't any kids around to stare at or attempt to pet Eijirou because in the summer he is insufferable to deal with after being given so much positive attention. Mostly because he then tries to demand the same kind of attention from Katsuki and gives no fucks about bowling Katsuki over in public to lay on his chest until he has been satisfied. So, it may be cold as fuck and the ground may be covered in snow, but at least it's peaceful.

A peace which lasts all of a few minutes as they start to make their way to the outskirts of their neighborhood. Then Katsuki and Eijirou's phones start going off with multiple text messages. The self-proclaimed "squad" is awake.

Alien QUEEN: Baku! He Looks So CUTE!!! :D! You better tell him how cute he is!!! Taped Caper: How are you outside in this weather??? Burr Hemingyay: that's terrifying he looks like he's ready to P O U N C E Alien QUEEN: I! Want! To! Come! Over! And! Pet! Him! And! Tell! Him! What! A! Good! Boy! He! Is! Alien QUEEN: Baku, you answer your phone right now or I'm coming over to pet Eiji Alien QUEEN: 5 Taped Caper: Oof, Bakugou you may want to pick up, she made the same threat when I got the ferrets Alien QUEEN: 4! Alien QUEEN: 3!!! Hemingyay: oh lord she coming Alien QUEEN: TWO!!!!! Blasty Boy: Shut up. We're on a walk right now and I don't want you fucks coming over.

He reluctantly frees a hand from its glove to type out a quick message as soon as Mina started counting down. It's worth it if it actually manages to keep their friends from raiding his apartment and disturbing his potentially quiet evening at home.

Alien QUEEN: Awwwwww, but I already put my boots on!!! :( Taped Caper: Wait, are we all coming over? Taped Caper: I haven't had dinner yet though, so should we order something? Hemingyay: i want our usual noodle place if we're going over to visit eiji and kacchan Alien QUEEN: BURGERS! BURGERS! BURGERS! Blasty Boy: Oi, I already said I'm not having you idiots over tonight! Alien QUEEN: TOO LATE, PINKY IS OUT OF THE BUILDING AND HOPING ON A TRAIN AS WE SPEAK!!! Taped Caper: What are you hoping the train is going to do? Alien QUEEN: >:( Taped Caper: Haha, I'm putting the ferrets to bed and then I'll be over too Hemingyay: omw

Eijirou's ears flick back when Katsuki throws his head back and growls up at the night sky because of course their stupid friends wouldn't take no for an answer. He would be lucky to get them out of the house after a few hours. At least they may be able to wind down Eijirou's energy before bed, but that's the only bonus.

"I hope you're happy you dumb mutt, we're going to have company when we get back." At least the lavender perfume lady wouldn't be getting any peace and quiet either.

Eijirou doesn't seem like he understands and Katsuki can practically see the gears turning in his dumb werewolf boyfriend's head. When it finally clicks he gives a short little hop and runs a few circles before turning and howling at the moon. As if the idiots that are their friends would actually respond. It's cute and Eijirou doesn't seem at all deterred from his happiness when Katsuki lets out a sharp bark of laughter. Instead, he wiggles around, barks, and immediately turns around to start pulling Katsuki back to their apartment complex as fast as his paws and Katsuki's reluctant jogging would allow him to.

Which is great because it starts to snow as soon as they reach cover.

Not that, that stops Mina from immediately showing up at their door just as soon as Katsuki has convinced Eijirou to shake out all the snow in his fur outside, instead of tracking it in. All those efforts are in vain as Eijirou takes one look at Mina and almost breaks his promise of not dislocating Katsuki's shoulder. It's a near thing and if Katsuki couldn't recognize Mina's excited stomping up the stairs and released the leash then they all would have been enjoying their dinner in the hospital waiting room.

Mina is completely unphased about being tackled by almost 200 pounds of fur and dumbass. Instead rancorously laughing and aggressively ruffling the fur of Eijirou's neck, as if laying on the muddy and snowy porch with wet and smelly wolf laying on top of her is a comfortable place to be. It's also exactly where Katsuki leaves them in favor of returning to his warm apartment and shedding his coats.

Eventually, the other two join him inside and he attempts to beat some of the mud out of the back of her sweater before they both give up and she borrows one of Eijirou's instead.

Surprisingly they manage to settle into a relative peace after battling it out over what to watch while waiting for the other two morons to show up. Both of them settling on the couch with Eijirou laying between them, the only one actually paying attention to the movie as Mina is on her phone and Katsuki is finishing up one of his reports from earlier yesterday. Occasionally there will be a comment thrown back and forth between them ("Raka says you have to stop hogging pupper Eiji." "Tell Angel Face if she wants to deal with him, then she can babysit him tomorrow." or "I know logically it is just Eiji under all that fur, but how does he manage to contain all that cuteness, Baku? How???" "He's always cute, shut up and watch the damn movie." "Awwwww-" "DON'T YOU DARE, SHUT UP!") but they manage this peace up until thirty minutes later when Denki shows up.

Watching him get tackled and then futility trying to fend off Eijirou's over affectionate licking is far more entertaining to watch than the movie at that point. Even when Mina climbs over Katsuki's lap to take a picture of the struggling and laughing Denki while Eijirou does his damndest to try to smother his so-called friend. Her phone blows up with texts messages after that, likely from another group chat she is in with the rest of the former Class 1-A.

After a few more minutes of struggling Katsuki determines Denki has suffered enough and whistles sharply for Eijirou to get off of him. The wolf isn't even the slightest bit put out and leaps over the back of the couch to cuddle with Katsuki instead, panting as he lulls his head affectionately against Katsuki's chest. He puts up with the slight crushing of his rib-cage just because he is a good boyfriend.

"Awww, Kacchan woves his boyfriend~" He regrets not letting Eijirou smother Denki to death almost immediately.

Unfortunately, Eijirou won't move so Katsuki can pick up on the attempted murder from where he foolishly made Eijirou stop. He has seen the error of his ways, but his werewolf boyfriend is heavy and obviously basking in the glow of friendship, or some other crap like that.

At least he is spared from having to settle for verbal evisceration because Hanta shows up shortly after with a polite knock before letting himself in with the spare key he was (wrongfully) entrusted with. Katsuki doesn't have enough air left in his lungs from when Eijirou lunges off of him to tackle his next target. Hanta is about half-way free of his shoes and apparently completely forgot about the oversized wolf living here. He is punished for his foolishness with suffocation and a wet tongue making half of his hair stick up.

It takes two whistles and a harsh "Eijirou" before the werewolf manages to drag himself away from Hanta, tail between his legs as he whines pathetically up at Katsuki.

"Sorry, I should have changed clothes after handling the ferrets, my bad." He says this and doesn't look even the least bit sorry from where he is laying on the ground, so Katsuki doesn't grace him with anything more than a grunt in response.

"Were we going to get burgers or noodles for dinner? I'm seriously starving here." Hanta continues unlacing his shoes from where he is laying on the ground and grimaces when a drop of snowmelt lands on his cheek.

"I want nooooodles," Denki whines and dramatically throws himself across the back of the couch.

"BURGERS, BURGERS, BURGERS!" Mina continues her chant from earlier and pushes Denki off of the couch, where he has also accepted his fate and stays laying face smushed into the ground.

"The lady has spoken, burgers it is!" Hanta declares from where he has finally freed himself from his coat and is laying out on it like a particularly luxurious bed.

Eijirou has no idea what is going on, but he is very excited for it and lets off a howl in response to Mina's excited yell.

They all end up having to put back on their winter weather clothing when it is determined that the burger place does not deliver. Normally Katsuki would have said fuck no to going back out in the frozen wasteland, but Mina is determined to get her burgers and practically helps dress him. Eijirou himself is determined to knock everyone down in his excitement when he figures out that they are going out again. At least Katsuki doesn't have to go through the process of putting his harness back on since they hadn't even bothered to remove it in the first place.

The walk to the burger place in uneventful in and of itself, except that Mina decides that she wants to walk Eijirou and then nearly trips onto her face when he tries to set a jogging pace. The werewolf at least seems apologetic as he sticks to walking beside Mina and taking careful steps as they all casually walk.

Getting recognized in public is both a hassle and a blessing. Because while they may get served sooner than a regular citizen they have to put up with annoying questions from fans. As if professional heroes aren't allowed to go out and have burgers too. Not for the first time in the night Katsuki really wishes his boyfriend wasn't currently furry so he could field the questions away. The only thing he's really good for as a large wolf is discouraging the more weak hearted people to stay away.

When they actually get their burgers and are able to peel away from the few people still pestering them it has somehow managed to start snowing again. Eijirou is delighted of course, like the fur brained dumbass he is, and immediately pulls Mina face first into the snow as he charges off, dragging her behind him as he goes.

For her part, Mina seems less disturbed by this and more excited as she yells with delight at her impromptu ride.

"Should we like try to catch her or something?" Denki peaks over the several bags he is carrying, like the designated pack-mule he is, and raises an eyebrow at Katsuki.

Eijirou and Mina are slowly becoming dots in the distance as Eijirou keeps up his excited run. Eventually, he would either reach their apartment, realize nobody had followed his mad dash, and lay down to wait. Or he would circle back around, likely still towing Mina behind him.

"Not likely." The other two take this as all the fact they need and they start up an easy conversation as they walk.

Eijirou does end up circling back around, although he isn't towing Mina anymore. As apparently she finally got wise and let go of his leash at some point. They find her not too far away, still lying face down in the snow and doing an excellent impression of a dead animal. No one is fooled though and Eijirou noses at her until she sits up and pushes at his snout.

"No, I'm mad at you, Eiji! We were friends and then you got snow all up in my shirt and pants!" Eijirou does not look the least bit sorry his tongue lolling out and eyes squinting up in amusement. He quickly dodges out of the way of Mina's attempt to smack his nose and does a little jog around her.

"Oof, betrayed." Hanta snickers from his place next to Denki and helps Mina off of the ground as Katsuki picks up the end of Eijirou's leash.

After recovering the other two they finally make it back to Katsuki and Eijirou's apartment to eat. There is some more intense debate over what to watch before they settle on a crime documentary, it's in French for some reason (Eijirou borrowed it from Aoyama a while ago, but they both forgot about it and it might as well be his now), but at least it comes with subtitles. Not that they actually pay attention to it, instead determined to talk as loud as they can to beat out the sound of the movie (and the old woman from downstairs beating on the ceiling with a broom with the determination of a bear roused from its slumber).

It's something Katsuki is content to stay out of, for the most part, instead finishing his food quickly and ignoring Eijirou's 'sneaky' attempts at getting the rest of his burger, as if the wolf hadn't already had three of his own. Not that Eijirou ever cares about his own portions when he could be stealing his friends or his boyfriend's food. Although he has to settle with losing this battle as he is currently lacking in the opposable thumbs department at the moment.

He does win the fight of getting to set his head in Katsuki's lap at least, as the rest of the couch is being taken up by their friends and Eijirou is too heavy to lay across their laps.

"Aw, Eiji and Kacchan sitting in a tree K-I-S-S-I-N-G~" Denki, of course, has to immediately ruin any companionable moment with his obnoxious and unwanted singing.

"That doesn't even make any sense you dumbfuck!" Denki is lucky that Katsuki has a lap full of sleepy boyfriend or he would have had an attempt on his life just then.

"Yeah, it's more like Eiji and Bakugou sitting in a tree C-U-D-D-L-I-N-G." Hanta is completely unhelpful here, grin widening at Katsuki's slowly reddening face.

"Eiji and Kat sitting on a couch B-E-I-N-G C-U-T-E." Mina chimes in from her very dangerous position sitting next to Katsuki, and once the other two have deciphered the benign spelling they start laughing like it is the funniest thing she has ever said. Which is dumb because they aren't even drunk and it wasn't even that funny.

Eijirou, the traitor, lets out a huff of air from inbetween his teeth and a little wheeze. Which is most certainly a laugh, and the bastard doesn't even flinch when Katsuki explodes his furry shoulder. Just lets out another wheeze as he relaxes his hardening and stares up at Katsuki with eyes that are too human for his current form. Katsuki feels even more betrayed as his face starts to heat up more.

"Aw, come on, don't be like that, Bakugou. You two have been dating for years now, right? What's there to even be embarrassed about?"

"Yeah! And you two are super cute together! Even with..." Mina carefully puts her hands, ineffectively, over Eijirou's ears and leans in to stage whisper to Katsuki, "his condition." Yes, because Eijirou being a werewolf is such a horrible problem that Katsuki has to live with, however will he cope.

"Shut up, like any of this shit is hard." For some reason this makes the other three let out 'awwws', some more sarcastic than others, and Katsuki really wants to kill them all and bury their bodies in the non-existent backyard. Several years of dating really has done nothing to make him immune to their friends insistent bullshit, and if Katsuki were more the poetic type he would probably lament some on this.

At least the conversation, thankfully, moves on to the French movie when there is an abrupt scream from the screen and a gory scene. Katsuki doesn't pay it that much mind when he feels eyes on him and looks down to see Eijirou is staring up at him. Normally those big eyes would be impossible to decipher, but Katsuki knows Eijirou too well to think that the soft sigh and half-lidded position of his eyes is anything but unrestrained adoration.

Maybe if they were in private he would absolutely eat that look up, but surrounded by company Katsuki feels his face go blotchy again with red and he pushes Eijirou's head abruptly out of his lap. Something the wolf actually gets stubborn about, pushing back against Katsuki's insistent hand until he gets fed up and puts his front paws up on the couch next to Katsuki's hips and pushes him back until he is leaning against the back of the couch.

Now situated in this new position Katsuki doesn't have the leverage to push Eijirou away again as the wolf half crawls onto the couch and rests his furry maw next to Katsuki's shoulder. It is something like being slowly suffocated by a furry blanket and if Katsuki were a stronger man he would have already pushed Eijirou off so he could breathe again. Unfortunately he is a weak man to the contented sigh that Eijirou lets out and the way he relaxes against Katsuki as if there is no other place that he would rather be, and if the other three softly start singing their ridiculous song again he can pretend he can't hear them over Eijirou's breathing in his ear.

Which is a position that he somehow manages to fall asleep in. Only woken up again by Hanta's light touch on his shoulder and the quick rub that Mina does to his hair.

"Hey, thanks for having us over, but we're all going to head out before the snow gets too bad to walk in." Hanta whispers as if he doesn't really want to disturb the moment and isn't perturbed when he only gets a grunt back in response.

"Remind Eiji for me that we are still going out to check out the new mall store and I'm not letting him get out of it just because it is full moon week!" Mina whisper yells and gives a stern look to the still sleeping Eijirou before she bundles herself up and sweeps out the door. Denki yawns and gives a half-wave as he follows her out, his complaints about the snow half muffled as they loudly thump their way down the apartment stairs.

Hanta is the last to leave, shutting off the light and locking the door behind him.

Eijirou stirs at the sound of the lock clicking and peeks open one eye. He must determine that it isn't important because he almost immediately closes it again and resumes his previous napping position. Too bad Katsuki isn't having any more of it.

"Get off me, I need to clean up after those slobs and go to bed, shitty fur." He mocks Eijirou's fur, but then immediately pets it, so no one can blame the werewolf for the mixed signals he is getting. Although he does eventually give in to Katsuki's random jabs in his side in between pets and gets off of his boyfriend, flopping down to take up the entire couch space as Katsuki stands up and stretches.

He watches lazily as Katsuki begins to pick up the living room and throw away trash. Someone had at least turned off the TV and put the remotes back where they were meant to go, so the only hassle is making sure that all the dishes are washed and put away and that random trash isn't littering their floor. The cleaning would have gone faster if Katsuki had had a second pair of hands helping him, but he doubts very much that Eijirou could be much help with his soft furry paws. Although he does recall one night where the werewolf had picked up a rag with his mouth and attempted to dry some dishes, mostly he just succeeded in leaving nose prints on all of the dishes and forcing Katsuki to wash them a second time.

Eijirou does get off of the couch when it seems like Katsuki has thrown away the last of the trash, padding softly over to his boyfriend and trying to nudge him in the direction of the bedroom.

"Fuck off, just because you're a wolf doesn't mean that you're getting out of brushing your teeth, Eijirou." Which is unfortunate, but whatever gets Eijirou to cuddling quicker is something that he can put up with in the moment. Even as uncomfortable as mint toothpaste is to his sensitive nose.

Overall getting ready for bed is the most boring part of the day compared to the past few hours of excitement and the whirlwind of friends. But Eijirou would not trade these few moments alone with his boyfriend for the world. If Katsuki were more inclined he would likely tell him the same.

They end up settling into bed with the covers thrown off despite the chilly air of the room. Eijirou putting off enough body heat to keep himself and his boyfriend warm without any trouble.

Eijirou is already dozing and about to fall asleep when he feels Katsuki shift next to him. He considers opening his eyes to investigate, but since Katsuki is shifting closer and not out of bed he doesn't feel a need to. Although he does almost jump out of his fun when he feels a soft kiss on his forehead. It is a nice reminder that sleepy Katsuki is an affectionate Katsuki and Eijirou wishes more than anything that he wasn't currently stuck as a wolf so he could pepper his boyfriend in kisses of his own.

For now, he settles on resting his head on Katsuki's chest and listening to his heartbeat as he dozes off. There would be plenty of time for that in the morning when he is back to normal.

~OwO~

When Katsuki next wakes up it was to the sound of training music and a punching bag being hit. Unsurprising really as Eijirou likes to get up early even on his days off and workout. It usually annoys Katsuki to no end when he does it, but right now he is more than a little grateful to hear the familiar morning routine.

It's nice to have the reassurance that his boyfriend isn't going to stay a wolf forever and will eventually return to how he is supposed to be.

The floor and air is unsurprisingly freezing when Katsuki steps out of bed and he has to resist with all his willpower not to take the blankets with him like some kind of makeshift cloak.

And Eijirou is right where he is supposed to be, red hair pinned up in a ridiculous headband and focused on his breathing as he delivers swing after swing onto the punching bag.

Katsuki shuffles forward and following his sleepy impulses wraps his arms around Eijirou's back and leans against him. As expected he is giving off enough heat to keep away the morning chill.

"Morning, Katsuki! Sorry about falling asleep on you last night, but you were so comfy and the movie was a lot more boring than I expected it to be! I don't know how Denki managed to stay awake through it, but apparently he was addicted to the plot. He sent me some memes about it this morning, but I'll have to show you them after breakfast. Speaking of, what do you want?" Eijirou is usually pretty chatty the morning after a full moon night and Katsuki guesses that has something to do with the lack of human vocal cords while a wolf and his normal inability to shut up.

For now, Katsuki just basks in the voice of his too cheery boyfriend and entertains the thought of dragging Eijirou back to bed before deciding against it.

"Shut up, I'll make eggs." He grumbles and reluctantly disentangles himself from Eijirou.

He gets about as far as two inches before Eijirou catches him around the waist and drags him into his chest. Katsuki is tempted to explode Eijirou's back for that, but instead settles on nuzzling into him instead. He really is too warm and comfortable against the winter air. Which is what he will blame how pliant he is on when Eijirou showers his face and hair in kisses and he doesn't put up any fight to try to push him away.

"Hm, missed you." Is said right against his lips and Katsuki opens his eyes just specifically to roll them.

"You didn't go anywhere, morning-bred asshole."

"I know, but I miss doing this with you." And he means everything that they do, from washing the dishes together to being able to share a kiss.

So, sure Kirishima doesn't have a problem with being a werewolf, and it is even cool at times, but he likes being human a lot more for his boyfriend.

"Stupid. Come pull your weight with breakfast or you aren't getting any." Katsuki lets out a small snort and finally pulls away from Eijirou to make his way to the kitchen.

"Sir, yes, sir!" Eijirou calls after him and lets out a bright laugh when he gets flipped off in return.

Another full moon night conquered and many more to come.

#BNHA #My Hero Academia #Bakugou Katsuki #Kirishima Eijirou #Bakushima #Kiribaku #Bakusquad

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maxismatchccworld · 6 years

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Ultimate SBA Baller

Created for: The Sims 4 by asiashamecca

*** Tested with Seasons and Game Version 1.45.62.1020 (July 31, 2018 Update) *** PLEASE NOTE: You WILL need the newest Neia Career Commons file (included in download) also! This career is the companion to my SBA Baller career. It starts off pretty much the same as SBA Baller, but then gives the option for 3 additional career tracks. If you love basketball but want MORE, this one is for you. You can have both this career and the regular SBA Baller in your game with no problems. I made a basketball club and set up a team to back up my Ultimate player. It was fun! A few words on the pay levels. Their still INSANE by EA standards but they’re researched and reasonably accurate against actual annual pro basketball salaries and the other career tracks as well. ALSO, when you start the bonus tracks, your pay levels will drop. That isn't a glitch. Pro ball players make the big Simoleons, but you're starting over after your career ending injury. The game isn't really set up for that though. You’ll get the standard message about a raise, but the amount of your raise will be a negative (whatever the drop is). Ironically you still get a bonus though, so still a win. I tested this thoroughly through all the tracks and while it looks a bit funny, it doesn't cause any problems and you continue to progress with raises after that as usual. SO, without further ado, on to' Ultimate SBA Baller So, you want to be an Sims Basketball Association athlete? These players come in all shapes and sizes, from natural shooters such as Kyle Korver to athletes determined to increase their career longevity such as Willie Green. But the recipe is simple: efficiency, readiness and a grasp of system basketball. You want the mega Simoleons, the fame and the big endorsements? You need grit. You need hustle. You've gotta WANT it playah! Want Career Details? Click the Spoiler! First Round Draft Pick For the 30 players who will be selected in the first round of the SBA Draft, there aren't many decisions left to make ' other than what color suit to wear, that is. You can't choose what team you'll get to play for, and even your salary will be dictated by the SBA's rookie wage scale. You got picked in the first round by San Myshuno! Go Llamas! Mood: Energized PTO: .33 Hourly: 4247 Per Day: 16988 Schedule: -TWTF- Objectives: Fitness 4 Summer League Star The SBA Summer League, also known as the Lucky Simoleon Summer League, is an off-season competition organized by the National Basketball Association. SBA teams come together to try out different summer rosters instead of their regular season line-ups, including rookie, sophomore and G League affiliate players. You don't just want to Simoleons, you want the fame (and even more Simoleons)! Time to shine baller! Mood: Energized PTO: .33 Hourly: 5247 Per Day: 20988 Schedule: MTW--SS Objectives: Fitness 6, Charisma 1 Rookie Stunner Wait a minute, you're telling me they have catered food? Salmon cakes, asparagus and salad like, for free? I don't have to throw in money for Domino's or Wal-Mart pizza every night with my roommates like in college? I'm about to go Kobe on this whole damn league. And then reality sets in. Don't forget where you came from Rookie. They're calling you the next Steph Curry for a reason. Better get some sleep on the plane. You're gonna need it to keep this up. Mood: Energized PTO: .33 Hourly: 6254 Per Day: 25016 Schedule: -T-TFS- Objectives: Fitness 8, Charisma 3 SBA Superstar A superstar is someone who can have a team built around them. They should be able to take them deep into the playoffs and be that ONE you can depend on in the closing minutes. A GM would literally break their arm before trading a you. And if by some miracle you get traded, the other team would have to give up everything -including the kitchen sink- to acquire you. You already have a Championship under your belt. Time to make this team a DYNASTY baby! Mood: Energized PTO: .33 Hourly: 7943 Per Day: 31772 Schedule: -T-TF-S Objectives: Fitness 9 Championship Dynasty Leader Most teams would be lucky to have one Richie Striker SBA Championship Trophy in their case. The San Myshuno Llamas are a certified dynasty and every commentator (except the haters) attribute that to YOU. You're being called the next Lebron James... the next Kobe Bryant... the next Michael Jordan! You wake up in the morning and sign a new endorsement. You have more Simoleons than you can spend. As long as you're not hobbled by a career ending injury, nothing can stop you! Mood: Energized PTO: .33 Hourly: 9142 Per Day: 37648 Schedule: -TW-FS- Objectives: Fitness 10, Charisma 5 Track 1: Coach When it comes to judging your job performance, everyone seems to be an expert and have the qualifications to criticize you. Fans, the media, and the team's organization or administration all seem at the ready to offer you either the thumbs up or thumbs down signal. What's even more frustrating is that so much of this external judgment comes from individuals who don't seem to have a clue about you, your players, or what you're trying to accomplish with the team. You know what you want though baller. You want to be the best... again. SCAA Coach We had to say it didn't we? The highlight reel of your career ending injury went viral. Bones really shouldn't stick out like that (or knees bend in that direction for that matter). Well the haters hated and the media had a field day with "Oh, how the mighty have fallen." stories. But you hobbled on down to Windenburg University and landed a sweet SCAA coaching gig. Sure, they basically hired you because your name will fill the stands, but you won't rest until Windenburg U. is next SCAA darling. Mood: Energized PTO: .33 Hourly: 1282 Per Day: 6410 Schedule: -TWTFS- Objectives: Logic 3, Wellness 3, Charisma 5 SBA Journeyman Coach OK, maybe you won't be the next John Wooden. But your talent did catch the eye of an SBA GM. Now you're a journeyman coach. A few seasons here. A season there. The best way to make a reputation in the league is simple: be good at your job. And you are. Your Midas touch has not gone unnoticed, but your dream is to get back to San Myshuno and make the Llamas great again. Mood: Energized PTO: .33 Hourly: 1345 Per Day: 5380 Schedule: --WTFSS Objectives: Logic 5, Wellness 5 Assistant Coach Yes! You made the right connections and finally landed a plumb job in your beloved San Myshuno. The team has fallen on hard times since your femur decided it would rather be on the outside of your body, but you have a lot of ideas to get them back in fighting shape. Prove your worth and keep those Llamas winning. That head coach is getting up there (and the owner isn't too happy with the team record). Who better to fill his shoes than you? Mood: Energized PTO: .33 Hourly: 1410 Per Day: 5640 Schedule: -T-TF-- Objectives: Logic 7, Wellness 7 Head Coach It's go time. You were a highly valued assistant coach and well-regarded defensive mind before the owner had his hissy and fired the top guy. Now it's your time to show them what you can do! Run practices, recruit players and call the plays during games that will make San Myshuno great again. You tasted the life of a dynasty member before and you want it again! Mood: Energized PTO: .33 Hourly: 2991 Per Day: 14955 Schedule: --WTFS- Objectives: Logic 8, Wellness 8 Championship Dynasty Coach Few coaches in the history of basketball have been as intimidating, polarizing and utterly successful as YOU! In all, more than 300 men have been head coaches in the SBA. Most haven't lasted long. In a league that churns through coaches like Elizabeth Taylor through husbands, a select few have enjoyed successful careers spanning more than a decade. You let your work, job, and your commitment do the talking. Pretty much everyone else hates your guts, but San Myshuno thanks you. Mood: Energized PTO: .33 Hourly: 10684 Per Day: 53420 Schedule: --WTFS- Objectives: Logic 10, Wellness 10 Track 2: General Manager An SBA general manager is responsible for player contract negotiations. Typically, the general manager also supervises the operations of the coaching staff, which includes the power to hire and fire coaches and coaching assistants. It's a life full of stress and phone calls but the Llamas are worth it and your innate talent for the game could take you far. Assistant Director of Scouting We had to say it didn't we? The highlight reel of your career ending injury went viral. Bones really shouldn't stick out like that (or knees bend in that direction for that matter). Anyone can watch a game, and anyone can be right about a few players, but having success in this job over the long haul is more difficult than people think. Do you have the eye for talent over the long haul? Start with finding your replacement. Mood: Focused PTO: .33 Hourly: 240 Per Day: 1920 Schedule: MTWTF-- Objectives: Logic 3, Charisma 6 Director of Player Personnel Player evaluation, sometimes called scouting, is a central part of a director of player personnel's job. He must pull together all the information on a player, including input from team scouts and coaches, recruiting services and other sources, to present to the general manager and head coach. You had an amazing run as a scout but keeping a whole team running is a whole new level of challenge. Use those instincts and study up on compliance to keep moving up in the front office! Mood: Focused PTO: .33 Hourly: 386 Per Day: 3088 Schedule: MTWTF-- Objectives: Logic 5 Assistant General Manager You definitely have a proven knowledge of the game. But, there's no draft and connections won't cut it. You need to prove you can make good decisions at a very high level before an owner puts all the control in your hands. Keep all of those (basket) balls in the air and keep the Llamas winning championships. Your dream job is so CLOSE! Mood: Focused PTO: .33 Hourly: 961 Per Day: 7688 Schedule: MTWTF-- Objectives: Logic 7, Charisma 7 SBA General Manager SBA general managers must wear numerous hats. First, GMs are responsible for overseeing all the business and financial operations of the team. Most have an important role in public relations as the public face of the team. Many GMs also have significant roles in player personnel decisions, including drafting, handling free agents and contracts. You're the captain of the ship now. There's nowhere else to go... or is there? Mood: Focused PTO: .33 Hourly: 3365 Per Day: 26920 Schedule: MTWTF-- Objectives: Logic 9 President of Sports Franchises Congratulations team President! You're now the CEO of the Llama's franchise. Your job now is to make money for the company. The main way you can do this is to fill those seats for every game. Along with selling tickets, you make sure every other money-making opportunity is exploited: concessions; box seats; season tickets; corporate accounts; souvenirs; broadcast rights and licensing fees. Working your way up to the top meant knowing the sport inside and out, but even more than that it meant being the best business person in San Myshuno. Maybe you should take a day off every once in a while. Mood: Focused PTO: .33 Hourly: 6211 Per Day: 49688 Schedule: MTWTF-- Objectives: Logic 10, Charisma 8 Track 3: CSPN SBA Commentator Sports broadcasters work as analysts or play-by-play announcers for sports networks or specific teams. Their duties may include presenting news, calling games, and interviewing guests. Work might be stressful, with tight schedules and deadlines being the norm for these professionals. But play your cards right and you'll be hearing those magic notes; "Duh-duh-dunt! Duh-duh-dunt!" from the right side of the CSPN sports desk. CSPN Guest Commentator We had to say it didn't we? The highlight reel of your career ending injury went viral. Bones really shouldn't stick out like that (or knees bend in that direction for that matter). Time to trade on your fame. CSPN comes calling and you land your first post injury gig as a celebrity guest commentator. You'll have to show them you're more than just a handsome face who can wear a suit. Your talents extend beyond the court (and it's a good thing they do). Time to parley this limited job into an even more profitable career! Mood: Energized PTO: .33 Hourly: 676 Per Day: 2028 Schedule: -TWTFS- Objectives: Charisma 7 CSPN Play-by-Play Commentator A sports play-by-play announcer gives a running commentary of a game in real time. You have to have a referee level of basketball knowledge and enough wit to keep it interesting without being annoying. But man does it suck being that close to the thrill of the sport with nothing to show for it but getting covered in second hand sweat. Study up on those basketball plays and keep your eye on the next prize... Sideline reporter. Mood: Energized PTO: .33 Hourly: 1442 Per Day: 7210 Schedule: --WTFS- Objectives: Charisma 8, Logic 4 CSPN Sideline Reporter �Let's go to the third member of our team today. . .� It's a throw like that, from the sideline reporter, that has become a staple of game coverage on CSPN and throughout the industry. You're a welcome face on the San Myshuno courts, and your knowledge and game cred are respected throughout the industry. Do you have the charisma, uniqueness, nerve and talent to go beyond San Myshuno? Can you take your skills nationwide to get to the platform as a Game Analyst? Mood: Energized PTO: .33 Hourly: 1952 Per Day: 9760 Schedule: --WTFSS Objectives: Logic 6 CSPN Game Analyst You're one of the best commentators in sports. You're respected and admired, and for good reason. Your work-ethic and your passion for the SBA are second-to-none. Now you'll be able to share all of your knowledge from the booth, with SBA fans on a regular basis. The good ones provide insight, analysis, background information and humor and help us understand and enjoy the game. You aim to be the best, so you can land your own show! Mood: Energized PTO: .33 Hourly: 2884 Per Day: 26920 Schedule: -TWTFS- Objectives: Charisma 9, Logic 7, Comedy 2 CSPN Prime-Time Studio Analyst The SBA has long been a star-driven league, from the days of Wilt and Russell, to the era of Larry, Magic and Michael, to more modern times of Shaq, Kobe, AI and the current generation of King James' reign. Perhaps in the SBA more than any other major American sport, the announcers have been as much a part of the game as the players. Is it possible that you're more important to the game of basketball as a studio analyst than you were as a Hall of Fame player? Your paycheck certainly thinks so! Mood: Energized PTO: .33 Hourly: 2884 Per Day: 26920 Schedule: -TWTFS- Objectives: Charisma 10, Logic 8, Comedy 5 Career cheat is tested and working! Select CTRL+SHIFT+C Enter: testingcheats on And then: careers.promote career_Adult_UltimateSbaBaller I did not in ANY way base this on any other career. It's 100% my own creation and a LOT of work went into it. So... Thank you so much in advance if you decide to try Ultimate SBA Baller. I hope your Sim enjoys living ALL their pro basketball dreams.

Download: http://modthesims.info/download.php?t=616519 Get featured: https://maxismatchccworld.tumblr.com/

#s4cc #s4mm #ts4cc #ts4mm #maxis match #thesims4 #s4 mod #s4 mods #s4 career

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runawaywithalli-blog · 6 years

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10 Lessons for Student-Athletes

It’s hard for me to remember a time when I wasn’t running around every day between school, practice, and other activities. It seems as though being a student-athlete has been in my blood ever since the first day of kindergarten and my first soccer practice and dance class. Most people can’t imagine having places to be and things to do for 12 plus hours a day, but for me, and most student athletes, it’s a way of life. Being a student-athlete isn’t always easy, especially in college. I’ve learned a lot along the way as each season brings new challenges. Here are 10 lessons I learned while being a student athlete.

1. Time management

I think we can all agree that every college student learns better time management skills within their freshman year. Student-athletes spent 20 plus hours each week between morning lifts, afternoon practices, team meetings, and weekly competitions. Sometimes it seems like being a student-athlete is equivalent to having a part-time job. I have learned how important it is to spend any downtime working on homework, even if it’s only for 20 minutes. However, I don’t feel guilty if I spend those 20 minutes watching an episode of New Girlor Friends. Sometimes time management simply means giving yourself a break throughout the day. It isn’t easy to go from classes, to practice, and then right to homework. Taking a few mental breaks throughout the day is important to stay focused and to be productive for a longer period of time.

2. Sleep is important

Most of us learned the importance of sleep in our middle school health class. Coaches of every athletic team preach on how important it is for athletes to get an adequate amount of sleep each night. Sleep refuels the body and aids in the recovery process, helping athletes reach their best potential. Growing up, my mom regularly told me that sleep will always be better than staying up until 2 or 3am studying. She argued that sleep plays a key role in our ability to retain information, so it’s more important to sleep than to stay up late studying. This is a rule of thumb that I have learned to live by in college— I now struggle to stay up past midnight! I’m sure most people will mock this rule of thumb and say that they need to stay up late in order to cram for an exam. I’m not saying that you should spend less time studying for an exam, but it is best to spread out studying into a few days so that sleep is a priority.

3. Practice becomes and escape

Not to sound cliché, but there have been days where my stress melts away while I’m at practice. There’s nothing like running 12 repeat 200’s on the track to get the endorphins pumping. As Elle Woods would say, “Exercise gives you endorphins. Endorphins make you happy. Happy people don't kill their husbands. They just don't.” Or in my case, happy people don’t let stress take over their life. Practice is also where I see my best friends and teammates everyday who never fail to put a smile on my face. Although I dread some days with repeat 200’s or repeat 500’s, I always look forward to spending time exercising and being with my team.

4. Coaches and teammates are your support system

I’m going to be completely honest, I once spent 30 minutes in my coach’s office crying because I was so stressed out with school and I wasn’t happy with the times I had been running that season. There honestly isn’t anything more comforting than having a coach who will sit down with you for hours talking and getting your life back together. My teammates have done the same for me as well. There are days that knock me down, but I can always count on my coach and teammates to cheer my up and get me through the hard days. I cannot be more thankful for the second family I have received as a student-athlete.

5. Commitment and dedication

If you’ve made it to the college level, your hard work and dedication has paid off! Nothing says “commitment and dedication” like waking up at the crack of dawn (okay, maybe 7am, but that’s still early!) to head to Mitchell Hall for a lifting session. ��I can’t count the number of times my alarm has gone off when all I want to do is turn it off, skip my lift, and sleep-in until class. Playing a college sport is like having a job, and only commitment and dedication will get you to the performance level you want to be at. Student-athletes don’t simply play sports, they dedicate their life to their sport and are committed to their success.

6. There are days where you’ll hate doing what you do and there are days where you love it

I’d think you’re pretty crazy if you said that you love running until you want to puke or that you love getting “booty lock” after an intense workout. I’m not sure anyone loves those feelings, but there are days when its more bearable than others. There are days when I completely dread workouts and there are days when I can’t wait for 4pm to roll around so that the aches and pain can begin. There will always be a love/hate relationship with anything that we do in life.

7. Mental and physical strength

Physical strength comes from the countless hours of workouts in the weight room and on the track. Healthy eating and adequate sleep also aid in the physical strength needed to be an athlete.

Mental strength isn’t as easy to practice as it is to preach. I have learned a lot about mental strength each season. I learned the most my freshman year after I constantly felt defeated after each practice and race. That year, I didn’t have the mental strength needed to compete at the collegiate level. It was hard to go from a big fish in a little pond to a little fish in a big bond. It takes time to learn the mental strength needed to compete at the collegiate level, but it is an important strength to learn.

One thing that I like to do before my race is to repeat in my head, “speed, I am speed.” You may recognize this from the movie Cars, because that’s where I got the line from. It is a reminder to me that I am a talented athlete and that I am strong and fast.

Another tool that I use to stay mentally strong is to do mental imagery before every race. I lay in bed the night before a race and image the track that I will be competing on the next day. I go through my race from start to finish with the perfect execution that I desire—powerful start, quick turnover, excellent mechanics, and a strong finish. Visualizing my race calms my nerves and refocuses my energy into having the race that I desire.

8. There are different types of leaders

I am a participative leader. I enjoy providing guidance during practices and participating in the group. There are also leaders on the team who may be silent leaders. These leaders lead by example and send a positive message to teammates. I have learned the importance of leading by example in order to set a high standard for the rest of the team to follow. Leading by example is a great way to show teammates the importance of a strong work ethic, healthy diet, and adequate sleep.

9. There is no “I” in team—really

Although track is commonly known as an individual sport, no individual has one a team championship alone. Not only is your team there helping bring home a championship title, they are there at the 7am lifts and countless 200 repeats on the track. Teammates push each other to be the best that they can be in order to claim that trophy. Sure, individuals may win an event, but it is a team that takes home the championship title together.

10. I’ve learned how lucky I am to play the sport I love

Four years will fly by before you realize it. I’m fortunate enough to have one year left of my collegiate track and field career. After this past season, I realized how truly lucky I have been to continue my athletic career at a collegiate level. I have met so many amazing friends along to way and have created countless memories with them. I will forever cherish the morning lifts even when I don’t want to get out of bed and I hope that I never forget the feeling of “booty lock” after 200 repeats. I will always treasure the Saturdays spent waking up at 5am and getting home at 10pm exhausted and ready for bed. This sport hasn’t always been easy, but it has created memories that will last a lifetime.

#mkt400uwl #trackandfield #blog #lessons #life

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watchmist1412 · 7 years

Text

Break the Ice- Chapter 5

Co-written by @bloodredruby and @watchmist1412

BTI Fanart // Nalu cover // Gruvia cover

Words ~ 2700

Rated K+

Summary: Figure Skating AU. After an accident Gray, a professional figure skater, has to take some time off to heal and he’s not enjoying it AT ALL. What he didn’t expect was meeting Juvia, a swimmer tired of her career, even less ending up as her coach. Lucy, an aspiring figure skater, came to realize it was a whole new experience with a pink haired weirdo and his equally weird cat by her side.

Fanfiction.net

<<Previous Chapter // First Chapter

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“You are not completely horrible but you do need some work. Training starts tomorrow, 7 am sharp. And DON’T be late.”

“I’m gonna be late, I’m gonna be late!!” Lucy repeated in her mind as she sprinted across the pavement barely avoiding most of the other pedestrians minding their own business. Well, she did bump into some of them and she just may have forgotten to apologize in her hurry.

Oh she was so screwed! Aquarius was going to kill her! Her first day of practice and she’s already on the verge of being kicked out! Excellent job Lucy.

Lucy was hardly ever late for anything especially an important event. She usually was on time or even a little earlier so why on the first day of pursuing her dream she managed to run late? Right, she was so nervous and excited the previous night and she couldn’t fall asleep no matter how hard she tried. When she eventually entered the land of dreams she was so exhausted she managed to sleep through 3 alarm clocks!

And she would still be sleeping if it wasn’t for Levy. Lucy had promised to eat breakfast together with her best friend so after some time and a couple of missed calls Levy decided to come to her apartment to check up on her friend. Figuring out Lucy was still asleep she started banging on the door to wake her up and fortunately that worked. Those were the benefits of having your best friend live a few doors away.

Lucy checked the time. 6:56 am. She only had 4 minutes left!

The girl unconsciously slowed down getting tired from all the running. She could see the top of the Fairy Tail rink on the distance, if she run a little bit more she could still make it on time! Lucy determined picked up her pace ignoring the pain on her feet.

Suddenly a blur of pink and black passed by her, knocking slightly on her shoulder. Lucy was ready to yell at the stranger when he turned around and she could identify him.

“I’m sorry, oh!” the man seemed to recognize her as well. “Hey Luigi!” he grinned at her

“Who’s Luigi, my name is Lucy!”

“Wow, good morning to you too. What happened, running late?” Natsu slowed down to run with her.

“I’m not late!” well not yet.

“Then why are you running you weirdo?”

“You’re running with me too! I’m not late yet but I think I can make it.”

“You have a point there. I’m 20 minutes late! And it’s the third time this week, Gildarts is going to murder me!”

“How did you manage to be that late?”

“I don’t know, I even got out of my house earlier it’s like I’m destined to be late at everything.” He said dramatically

“Well it’s my first day here and I’m almost late to it!” replied Lucy out of breath.

“You are going to be if you’re that slow. Come on.” Natsu without any warning grabbed Lucy’s hand and sped up dragging her with him.

“Hey, I can run by myself!” she complained

“Do you want to be late or not? Come on, we’re almost there!”

Lucy imagining her new coach’s wrath collected the last bits of energy and picked up her pace running alongside Natsu, their hands still intertwined. They run up the stairs skipping a few of them and went straight through the automatic doors almost running to a nearby couch.

Lucy immediately threw herself into said couch and rested her head on her knees on an attempt to catch her breath and for her heartbeats to return to a normal level. It had been a long time since she last ran like that. Out of the corner of her eye she saw her running companion collapsed into the couch too burying his head in the pillows. She hadn’t realized when they had stopped holding hands.

After she didn’t feel like her lungs would fail at any moment. Lucy took out her phone and checked the time. 6:59 am.

“YES!” She made it, she made it! Aquarius had told her to wait in the lobby and she didn’t see the woman anywhere so she was good!

“Wha- what time is it?” asked Natsu still face planting on the couch.

“It’s almost 7 am, I made it!”

“Good for you, I’m… wait a second, what time did you say it was?” Natsu got up from the couch looking alarmed.

“7 am, why?”

“Oh man, are you serious? Are you sure it’s not wrong or anything?”

“It’s from my phone I don’t think it’s wrong. What happened?”

“I got here too early!” he exclaimed.

Lucy tried to suppress a laugh “That’s it? What’s wrong with that?”

“It means that I ran all this way for nothing! I knew that stupid clock had been broken again!”

“Hey, it’s not the end of the world if you came early. It’s actually good for you, you know.”

“Hey, I’m not willing to sacrifice my sleep for that!”

At that moment Aquarius stormed into the lounge immediately spotting Lucy and Natsu. She briefly glared at the pink-haired troublemaker who flinched and buried himself deeper in the comforts of the couch in a poor attempt at hiding. However the woman didn’t give him more thought and turned her attention to her student.

“Good, you’re here. Follow me, I’ll show you your training rink.” She turned around and started walking to the direction from which she came from, not waiting for her to follow.

Lucy turned to her running partner and stared at him not knowing exactly what to say.

“I guess I’ll see you later then.” He waved at her grinning. “Good luck!”

“Thanks! Talk to you later!” Lucy smiled back before running behind her coach to catch up.

She was about to have her first lesson! She was excited and nervous at the same time as Aquarius led her to the rink she performed the day before.

“This will be our training rink at the moment.” Stated Aquarius. “I’ll tell you if there are any changes but you will come here for now. We will discuss your training program more later for now I want to see what you can do. Leave your things on the benches.”

Lucy did as she was told and proceeded to get her skates out of her bag before she was stopped by her new coach.

“No, you will not need those yet. First you will run 10 laps around the building, I want to see your endurance level. After that do some stretches and get into the ice to do another 15 laps.”

Lucy blanched. Her feet still felt sore from her morning run and she get tired easily.

“Come on, get moving. Why are you staring at me like an idiot?”

“Yes, I’m starting!”

This was going to be a long day.

———————————————————————–

Gray executed a triple salchow for the seventh time on that day and landed wobbly on the ice. It wasn’t perfect but he was getting there. At least he hadn’t landed on his butt this time.

After the accident he had to readjust to skating back again and that involved the painfully slow process of re-learning moves. He had to be careful with putting weight on his injured leg and not overstretch it. Gray was really looking forward to going to his regular training program by now.

The black haired skater rested his hands on his knees and glanced at the clock hanging on the wall across from him. 7:30 am. Where was she?

It wasn’t like they had agreed on a specific time so Gray couldn’t complain she was late. He couldn’t wait for her the whole day though he had been in the rink for a long time already. Well, he did come a bit too early but a little more practice wouldn’t hurt. It was in his program anyway.

He had told Mira to send Juvia to his practicing rink so he didn’t have to worry about looking for her. He would just give her a quick lesson and get on with it.

A scowl slowly formed on his face. Why did he have to be the one to teach the girl? He had no idea how to do that! It wasn’t like he couldn’t pull it off if he tried but it was still too much responsibility and he had other things to do.

Gray had tried to get Cana, an instructor at the rink and his longtime friend, to teach the lesson but she blatantly refused. She was usually in charge of teaching classes both adults and children but the adult class didn’t get enough participants this year so it wasn’t formed. That particular class had never been that popular but it was just his luck that it shut down at this point.

Apparently Cana had taken 2 of her student to coach regularly into the junior league and didn’t have time for more private lessons. Also to her words he made this mess and he should be the one to sort it out. Sometimes Gray believed the woman really liked to make him suffer. He also suspected that her “other plans for the evening” had something to do with alcohol.

Gray really, really wanted to tell Juvia “I’m really sorry I can’t teach you after all you can enroll in regular classes next year if you want.” and get on with it. But he couldn’t bring himself to do that. He had made a promise, even if he didn’t know what he was promising at the time, and he would have to keep it. It couldn’t be that bad, could it?

He may have little to none experience in teaching but he was confident he could pull it off. Gray would just approach the matter like he did in any other thing. Keep his cool and everything would be sorted out. It was like Mira had said. He wouldn’t know until he tried it.

Gray snapped out of his thoughts and went back to practice. It was just a one-time thing anyway.

————————————————————————–

Juvia carefully tried to open the metal door without making any sound and peeked her head inside half hiding behind the much larger doors. She quickly found who she was looking for in the center of the rink. Gray Fullbuster looked as elegant in real life as he looked on the TV screen while skating. Juvia still couldn’t believe this was happening to her!

She didn’t manage to get much sleep from her excitement thinking about what happened and what was coming. That wasn’t exactly beneficial for her early morning swimming practice. She had been so sleepy her coach made her go home to get some rest. In exchange she had some extra practice this week that she was not looking forward too.

Juvia unconsciously leaned more to the metal door and it ended up giving out to her weight and she stumbled forward catching herself before she face planted to the floor. So much for a decent entrance.

She quickly looked up to find the other occupant of the room. Gray had been alerted by the noise and he was now staring at her his hands still lifted in an unfinished move.

Juvia felt her cheeks grow warmer. She had a way for making a fool of herself in front of her idol.

Gray cleared his throat, composing himself. “Good you’re here.” He then skated closer to her position outside the rink.

“Juvia is sorry if she was late!”

“Nah, it’s fine. We hadn’t agreed on a time anyway.” He waved her off. “Now before we start I want you to know this is a one-time thing, okay?”

The woman nodded her head in understanding.

“I did promise this lesson but I can’t give you more. For that you can check with official courses.”

“Juvia understands! She is very happy with just one lesson” she gave him a small smile. She wasn’t expecting anything more. Even the opportunity to spend some time with her idol was amazing. It felt like a dream and she half expected to wake up soon in her warm bed and go back to reality.

“So, this isn’t your first time on the ice, is it?”

“No, Juvia has practiced alone before.” She confirmed.

“Cool, put on your skates and get to the ice. I’ll see what level you are and we’ll continue accordingly. I hope you’ve already passed the falling constantly on the ice phase.”

————————————————————————-

Juvia ended up a considerable amount of times on the cold surface of the ice. Though she was a fast learner to Gray’s joy. She may have been a little clumsy at the start but she got the hang of things quickly. At least she didn’t make Gray’s job harder.

Gray winced as his temporary student face planted into the dividing wall of the rink trying out the new move he had shown her.

Juvia had executed everything else without much trouble considering she was a beginner. Gray was almost impressed. However she didn’t seem to be able to get this one. It wasn’t much harder than the rest of what he showed her but no matter how many times he corrected her stance she ended messing it up.

Gray took pity on her the fifth time she lost her balance and almost fell to her face. “Okay, I think that’s enough.”

Juvia turned to him, sweat glistening in her forehead, trying to catch her breath but she had a desperate look on her face. “Wait, Juvia can get it right! Just one more try and Juvia will get it right!”

“Hey, don’t worry about it.” Gray reassured her “It’s natural not to be able to do everything in the first few tries. Besides you seem tired, you can’t keep on like that.”

“But Juvia has disappointed Gray-sama! She should be able to do it!”

“It won’t be good for you to continue.” Gray explained calmly. This reminded him too much of his early skating days. “I’m surprised you lasted that long to be honest. You… you did good for a first try.” He was never good at giving compliments.

However the blue haired woman’s eyes light up with that statement. “Really? You really thought Juvia was good? Thank you!” a wide smile went up her face.

Gray looked away slightly embarrassed. He really hadn’t said anything special. “So that concludes our lesson then. Again if you want to apply for more, check that with Mira in the reception.”

“Juvia is very grateful for this lesson and she is sorry if she took too much of your time! What does Juvia owe Gray-sama?”

“What? No! I chose to do this you don’t owe me anything!”

He wouldn’t admit it out loud but he actually enjoyed their little lesson. Teaching wasn’t an awful experience like he thought it would be and Juvia wasn’t that bad after all.

“But Juvia still feels bad about it…”

“Don’t. It’s fine, really.”

Juvia furrowed her eyebrows and lost herself in her thoughts for a couple of second before her face lit up. “What if Juvia bought you something to eat?”

“I told you, you don’t have to do anything!”

“Juvia insists! Just something small, it’s the least she can do!” Juvia had a determined look on her face, her eyes silently pleading him.

They stared at each other for a few seconds neither of them backing up before Gray gave up. “Fine, do whatever you want!”

“Thank you! Juvia will not take much of your time!”

“Whatever, you’re the one buying me food.”

“So where does Gray- sama want to go?” Juvia asked as they glided to the end of the rink and started pulling off their skates.

Gray thought about it. The rink cafeteria would be closed at this time and he didn’t want them getting anything expensive. But maybe… “There’s a good ice cream shop in the corner.”

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

Hey guys, we hope you enjoyed the new chapter! We look forward to reading your thoughts about it!

See you next chapter!

#fairy tail #ftfanfics #nalu #gruvia #nalu fanfic #gruvia fanfic #natsu dragneel #lucy hearfilia #gray fullbuster #Juvia Lockser #collab fic #nalu fanfiction #gruvia fanfiction #my writing #bti chapter 5 #break the ice #bti chapters

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thaliberator · 4 years

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The Clownish Way to Doom A Generation

By following Colin Kaepernick’s “they’re both the same, why vote” philosophy and skipping the 2016 election, progressives and Black abstainers opened the door for Donald Trump and Mitch McConnell to reshape the federal judiciary in a way that’s set to have dire consequences for Black people and progressives for the next 30 years.

Late in August 2016 as the American National Anthem blared through the Levi’s Stadium loudspeakers, reporter Jennifer Lee Chan tweeted a relatively innocuous photo shot from high above the field where the San Francisco 49ers and Green Bay Packers were set to engage in a preseason contest.

A then minor detail captured in the picture confirmed the impetus for a story Chan’s colleague Steve Wyche had been keeping his eye on for the past couple of weeks. What it showed was 49ers backup quarterback Colin Kaepernick sitting during the playing of the anthem while everyone else in view of the lens stood. In and of itself, standing for the playing of the national anthem before a sporting event is a peculiar ceremonial ritual so boring that it only makes it to the TV broadcast for title games and big-time celebrity performances.

But once Kaepernick explained his rationale for not standing, and eventually kneeling, during the anthem, suddenly those two minutes of pre-kickoff pomp and circumstance became the biggest thing in sports.

As he would later go on to explain many times across multiple platforms, Kaepernick’s decision came in the wake of the police killings of Alton Sterling, Tamir Rice, Michael Brown, Philando Castile, Oscar Grant, and the ongoing systemic oppression faced by Black people in America.

"I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses Black people and people of color," Kaepernick told Wyche. "To me, this is bigger than football and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way. There are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder."

From the moment Kaepernick made known the reason for his protests the backlash was as predictable as the outcome, and thus his fate as an NFL quarterback was sealed in such a way that only an MVP-caliber performance could have extended his run. That didn’t happen and he hasn’t played another down in the NFL in nearly four years.

Kaepernick’s on-field performance in 2016 and 2017 left a lot to be desired. After being relegated to backup quarterback he was thrust back into the starting role after the team got off to a 1-4 start. His presence under center didn’t really change 49er-fortune as the team won only one of its remaining 11 games.

While statistics suggest Kaepernick’s performance wasn’t atrocious, it wasn’t good enough for the 49ers to make a long-term investment in him either. At the end of the season, the 29-year-old decided to opt-out of his contract and try his hand as a free agent, a designation that would allow any interested team to add him to their roster.

But despite having guided his team to a Super Bowl appearance just four years earlier and having declining but decent stats, not one of the NFL’s 32 teams took a serious look at Kaepernick. A few coaches and front office people made statements that someone should definitely pick up Kaepernick, just not their teams.

Was his performance poor? Yes. Was his performance so poor that 31 other teams couldn’t find a spot for him even as a third-string quarterback? No. Clearly the controversy-averse NFL owners, even if not overtly expressed, were in cahoots to ensure Kaepernick never received another shot in the league — a theory born out by the fact that in 2019 the NFL and Kaepernick reached a confidential monetary settlement regarding his claims that owners colluded to keep him unemployed.

But that part of the story we know.

They're All The Same?

As the Kaepernick controversy ballooned in 2016, the quarterback became the avatar for everything from the opposition of systemic racial oppression, the opposition of police brutality, and opposition of institutional racism to disrespect of the flag, disrespect of the country, and even (bizarrely) disrespect of the military.

The opportunity to drive a golf wedge into America’s racial fissures and exploit the emerging culture war wasn’t missed by then-presidential candidate Donald Trump who infamously said to an approving crowd of hootin’ n hollerin’ red state whites, “Wouldn't you love to see one of these NFL owners when someone disrespects our flag to say, 'get that son of a bitch off the field right now. Out. He's fired. He's fired!”

With the presidential campaign coming to a head, football season well underway, and the pro and anti-kneeling camps firmly entrenched, reporters asked Kaepernick to weigh in on the race between Trump and Hillary Clinton.

Kaepernick, clearly the most prominent voice in professional sports at the moment surprised many when he said he didn’t plan to vote because essentially all politicians are the same, including Clinton and Trump.

Specifically, he said, “Both are proven liars and it almost seems like they’re trying to debate who’s less racist. At this point, in talking to one of my friends, you have to pick the lesser of two evils, but the end is still evil.

"I think the two presidential candidates that we currently have also represent the issues that we have in this country right now," Kaepernick said. "You have Hillary, who has called Black teens or Black kids super predators. You have Donald Trump, who is openly racist.

"He always says, 'Make America Great Again.' Well, America's never been great for people of color," Kaepernick said. "And that's something that needs to be addressed. Let's make America great for the first time."

And that was the gist of his abstinence rationale —they’re all the same, so I’m not voting.

It’s a relatively juvenile argument most often posited by people who don’t want to do the work required to actually change the reality of their political choices. And not only was Kaepernick not going to vote, turns out he never even registered to vote in 2016 or ever as far as any records show.

However, to his credit, Kaepernick is not your average apathetic abstainer. In the years that he has been out of football, he has become a high-profile activist, highlighting the issues that led to his anthem protest, held forums on a variety of social justice-related topics, and raised and donated millions of dollars for various causes.

He even started the Know Your Rights Camp, a non-profit organization that holds seminars for young people across the country to “advance the liberation and well-being of Black and Brown communities through education, self-empowerment, mass-mobilization and the creation of new systems that elevate the next generation of change leaders.”

He even managed to get one of America’s most beloved brands, Nike, to side with his efforts. According to various financial news outlets, Kaepernick’s partnership with Nike for their 30th Anniversary “Just Do it” campaign resulted in $163 million in earned media, a $6 billion brand value increase, and a 31% boost in sales, which includes the $50 t-shirts and $150 jerseys that routinely sell out in hours, with a portion of proceeds going to charity.

But corporate sales numbers aren’t really the ones that matter.

Inside The Numbers

When the dust settled on the 2016 presidential campaign Hillary Clinton received 65,853,516 votes to Donald Trump’s 62,984,825 but lost the election thanks to the Electoral College, a holdover from a bygone era that lifted two of the last three presidents who received fewer actual votes than their opponent (George W. Bush and Donald Trump) into the White House.

Having long outlived its usefulness and practicality as a means to ensure less populous states have a voice in the election outcome, the Electoral College process has shifted focus away from states with the most people and onto a handful of smaller “swing states” whose election-day results typically determine who becomes president.

In 2016 it didn’t matter that Hillary received nearly three million more votes than Trump because Trump received 306 of the possible 538 electoral votes to Hillary’s 232.

Despite the electoral vote total, a closer look at the numbers shows just how close America was to avoiding the four-year national nightmare/embarrassment/sideshow that has been the Trump presidency.

In Pennsylvania, Hillary lost the popular vote 2,970,733 to 2,926,441, a difference of 44,292 votes that resulted in Trump receiving the state’s 20 electoral votes.

In Wisconsin, Hillary lost the popular vote 1,405,284 to 1,382,536, a difference of 22,748 votes that resulted in Trump receiving the state’s 10 electoral votes.

In Michigan, Hillary lost the popular vote 2,279,543 to 2,268,839, a difference of 10,704 votes that resulted in Trump receiving the state’s 16 electoral votes.

Had Hillary Clinton won these three states, she would have won the presidency, leaving “shithole countries” and kids in cages for the next Mad Max movie instead of the front page of The Washington Post.

A Midwest trifecta for Hillary was plausible because it’s not as if these three states are deep Republican strongholds. Barack Obama won all three in 2008 and 2012.

Exit Stage Right and Not College-educated … and White

Exit polling showed that Donald Trump was able to pull off the biggest political upset since Truman defeated Dewey in 1948 by turning out trailer-loads of Rust Belt whites without college degrees, many of whom had never voted or previously voted for the Democratic candidate.

This so-called silent majority of disaffected white people bought into Trump’s sales pitch and promise to save them from the murderous, marauding hordes of Brown people threatening to rush the border and sack their suburban enclaves while he would simultaneously rewind the hands of time, bringing back jobs technology and environmental regulation had long-since shipped off to the Third World and China. And most importantly, he would “Make America Great Again” — a curious phrase that simultaneously causes his white followers to well up with star-spangled pride, while Black people, women, immigrants, the entire LGBT community, Muslims, and many more wonder just what great period he’s referring to because America has only very recently begun to consider treating us relatively civilly.

And while pundits point to some questionable campaign decisions made by Hillary and the underestimation of her unfavorability among the electorate, Trump’s ability to turn out record numbers of white voters without a college degree was the biggest factor in his victory.

However, an argument can be made that the biggest reason that Hillary lost is that she was unable to turn out voters in Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania at the same level as Barack Obama.

In fact, Hillary wouldn’t have needed to worry about the white voters that jumped ship to the Republicans had she reached the Obama threshold with Black voters.

Analysis of the polling data shows that Black voters who previously voted for Obama didn’t cast a vote for Trump, instead a large percentage simply didn’t vote at all — a critical mistake.

Turning Out and Falling Off

According to the Pew Research Center, overall Black voter turnout fell from 66.6% in 2012 to 59.6% in 2016. The 7% drop might not seem like much but it represented the largest turnout decline of any racial or ethnic group in 30 years and was the first time in 20 years the Black voter turnout rate declined. 2016’s numbers represented the lowest Black turnout rate since 2000.

Even among Millennials, voter turnout increased for every single racial group except Black Millennials. The general Millennial turnout percentage increased from 46.4% in 2012 to 50.8% in 2016. The Black Millennial turnout decreased from 55% in 2012 to 50.6% in 2016.

A Slate article analyzing the 2016 election results cited a study by researchers from the University of Massachusetts and Indiana University that found the Black voter drop-off was sharpest in states where Trump’s margin of victory was less than 10 points. In Michigan and Wisconsin, Black turnout dropped by more than 12 points.

The combination of rises in white votes combined with declines for Blacks set the table for Trump to claim the electoral victories in those key states and thus win the presidency.

With all else remaining the same, had Black voters turned out in the same numbers like 2012, Hillary would have won Michigan. If white voter turnout remained at its 2012 level instead of going up, Hillary would have won Michigan and its 16 electoral votes.

In Wisconsin, the turnout rate among Black voters dropped 19% from 74% in 2012 to 55% percent in 2016. Turnout for Asians and Latinos also dropped by 6%. Coincidentally, the 2016 presidential election was the first time Wisconsin’s new voter ID requirement was in effect. Critics of the requirement and multiple studies have found that minority voters are less likely to have a driver’s license or another form of ID that satisfies the eligibility requirement. And this could be the reason Black voter turnout was disproportionately low in the state, allowing Trump to be the first Republican since Ronald Reagan to win Wisconsin.

A study conducted by the University of Wisconsin-Madison found that nearly 17,000 potential voters in Milwaukee and Dane counties did not cast votes due to the voter ID requirement put in place by Republican Governor Scott Walker and backed by the majority of Republicans in the State Legislature. Hillary lost Wisconsin and its 10 electoral votes by less than 23,000 votes.

In Pennsylvania, where Black voters comprise 10% of the electorate, the .2% decline in Black voter turnout wasn’t as sharp as it was in other key states, but it was the only turnout decline recorded among the voting groups identified in the Center for American Progress study of 2016 voter trends. Had Black voter turnout matched its 2012 levels, with all other factors remaining the same, Hilary would still have lost the state because of a 4% increase among white voters without a college degree.

The election outcome proved Trump’s effectiveness at weaponizing white grievance to drive up uneducated white turnout — gains that were not offset by a necessary increase in minority voters and were assisted by the low Black turnout, even though even more Blacks were eligible to vote than in 2012.

All-Star Influencer

In terms of the pro-athlete social activist hierarchy, in late 2016, Kaepernick was king. Even four years later he remains 1 or 1A with LeBron James despite their nearly 116 million combined Twitter and Instagram follower gap. While LeBron is famous for his willingness to tackle topics and causes of importance beyond the basketball court, his legendary basketball feats remain the primary draw. With Kaepernick’s NFL days increasingly far behind him, the activism is the draw.

According to sports marketing and data analytics firm Hookit, in the months before the Green Bay game, Kaepernick was gaining approximately 50 followers per day on his Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook accounts.

In two weeks just after his protest and the rationale behind it were revealed, Kaepernick began gaining approximately 18,000 followers a day — an increase of 35,394%.

According to Hookit, from Jan. 1 to Aug. 25, Kaepernick gained 40,372 followers on Twitter. Between August 26 and September 8, he added 98,730 Twitter followers.

In the same two-week period Kaepernick had seven unique social media posts that were liked, commented on, or shared an average of 46,553 times per post — nearly four times more activity than his posts received prior to kneeling.

His mentions were also way up, with Kaepernick’s name tagged or mentioned 235,549 on various platforms during the two weeks — nearly 10 times more mentions than in the previous eight months.

And those numbers have only increased with Kaepernick possessing 3.9 and 2.4 million followers on Instagram and Twitter respectively.

But in November 2016, long before reporters rushed to LeBron for comment on the latest racial injustice, Kaepernick was the man at the center of the storm.

With his profile, his voice, his exposure, his activism, and his traditional and social media presence increasing exponentially in short order, it’s even more baffling that Kaepernick would choose not only to not endorse a candidate but to simply not vote at all.

In hindsight, it is a move that was counterproductive and best and wildly irresponsible at worst.

Woke Dummies and The Big Problem

The so-called Woke community of activists, to whom Kaepernick and Bernie Sanders are probably patron saints, is looking to push American society far to the left concerning all aspects of public policy and social life. The progressive agenda includes defunding police departments, abolishing prisons, criminal justice reform, ending fossil fuel usage, free college, healthcare for all, universal basic income, etc.

Depending on where you stand on the political spectrum, these moves can be viewed as either necessary steps to achieve social equity and justice or pipe dreams from people disconnected with theories related to practical application.

The problem for supporters of these issues aren’t the issues themselves, but the fact that enactment of any of them requires a political solution, and when challenged, a legal outcome favorable to the proponents.

By adopting the Kaepernick, “I’m not going to vote because they’re all the same” position, abstaining progressives ceded critical political and legal ground to the Republicans who, in the past four years, have plowed ahead making moves that will entrench their policy positions as law to be upheld by the conservative judges they’ve helped install — for decades to come.

If we reverse engineer the Republican masterplan, we can start with the U.S. Supreme Court, where President Trump has successfully appointed three justices to life terms. With his latest appointment of Amy Coney Barrett, who replaces liberal stalwart Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the balance of the court has shifted 6-3 in favor of the conservative and ultra-conservative wings.

What this means for progressives like Kaepernick is that any law that seeks to fundamentally change or challenge the status quo or anything not rubber-stamped by a conservative think tank is likely to be struck down by a court packed with justices who believe the words written by slaveholding, sexist, landowning, rich white men in frilly tops, writing with quills, are still the standard by which rulings should be made almost 250 years later.

And again, Supreme Court justices are appointed for life, with most serving well into their 80s. The three Trump-appointed justices, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett are 53, 55, and 48 years old respectively, meaning they will likely be ruling against progressive interests for the next 20-30 years, dooming a generation.

But that presumes the cases even reach the high court. The path to the Supreme Court winds through federal courts where Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has been hard at work for the past six years working to ensure his insidious plan to put a conservative stranglehold on the federal judiciary came to fruition.

When Donald Trump began his presidency 105 empty federal judgeships had not been filled by President Obama — and that was by Republican design.

When Republicans won back control of the Senate in 2014 they obtained the final say on who got to fill or not fill the federal court vacancies.

In the two years before Republicans took the Senate, nearly 90% of Obama’s nominees were confirmed. After McConnell and the Republicans took over, that rate fell to 28%.

To achieve this result Republican senators used various tactics to either obstruct or delay the confirmation process. A Democrat-sponsored effort in 2013 removed the filibuster, a classic delay tactic often used by the minority party to continue debating an issue to prevent a vote, as it pertained to nominations to executive branch positions and federal judgeships.

This led to the Senate confirming more of Obama’s nominees at a higher rate because they only needed a majority of senators to vote to end debate and move on to the confirmation vote. While Senate Democrats confirmed many of Obama’s nominees, many judgeships were left vacant because a backlog of potential federal judges was created by the Republican stall tactics.

However, in 2014, when Republicans gained control of the Senate, it became clear that the “nuclear option” to eliminate the filibuster was going to come back and bite Democrats in the ass — and boy did it ever.

When McConnell became majority leader confirmation of Obama nominees ground to a near halt, culminating in the prevention of a confirmation hearing for Merrick Garland, Obama’s pick to replace Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia who died in February 2016.

In what would turn out to be perhaps the millennium’s boldest act of hypocrisy, McConnell justified holding no hearings for Garland claiming that in an election year the American people should have the chance to weigh in on the decision by allowing the next president to fill the vacancy — despite the election being nine months away.

Once Trump was elected McConnell shifted his plans for the federal judiciary into high gear and the Senate began moving to fill every vacancy with what Democratic Senate Judiciary Committee member Diane Feinstein called, “young conservative ideologues, many of whom lack basic judicial qualifications.”

From expressed opposition to everything from the Affordable Care Act to Abortion Rights to equal rights for LGBT Americans to environmental regulations to voting rights, and much much more, Trump appointees check nearly all of the boxes the religious right, conservative fringe, and a sizable number of racists have been waiting for generations to see reflected in the federal courts.

And in the off chance some progressive policy enacted into law in a blue state gets challenged and lands before the Supreme Court, McConnell’s machinations will likely result in the court striking it down with the approval of the six conservative justices, including Barrett, who McConnell saw sworn in just days before the 2020 election, forgoing all that stuff he said in 2016 about not confirming nominees in an election year.

Do you Really Care?

It would be one thing if Kaepernick didn’t care about social justice or Black people or right and wrong. But the fact that he clearly cares about those things makes his “I don’t vote, they’re all the same” position even more infuriating because, again, every progressive idea he supports requires a political and legal solution to be put into effect.

And once they’re put in place, they aren’t necessarily safe from political or legal processes.

For example:

The Affordable Care Act — The Supreme Court full of conservative justices will decide the fate of the Affordable Care Act as Republicans seek to strip away the means through which millions of Americans are able to receive health care during a deadly global pandemic.

Police Abuse — The decision to bring criminal charges against police officers who abuse and murder Black people or any people is made by the district attorney, an elected official, or, as in the case of the killing of George Floyd, the state attorney general, also an elected official.

Elimination of Qualified Immunity — Qualified immunity is the doctrine that prevents government officials, police officers in particular, from being held personally liable for misconduct on the job that would get the average person locked up for life or paying a huge monetary settlement. In 1982 the Supreme Court expanded the definition of qualified immunity ( https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/457/800/ ) and police unions and prosecutors have used it for decades to justify a lack of criminal accountability in scores of cases involving claims of police abuse.

A Reuters investigation examined how qualified immunity has made it extremely difficult to hold police officers accountable for misconduct and abusive behavior.

In one incident, qualified immunity was invoked after a police officer in Utah gave an unarmed man brain damage after slamming him to the ground during a traffic stop.

In 2010 a Houston officer shot Ricardo Salazar-Limon in the back during a traffic stop after claiming he thought the man was reaching for a gun. There was no gun.

Salazar-Limon claimed his constitutional rights were violated and sued the city of Houston and the officer who shot him. In federal court, the defense argued that the officer was protected by qualified immunity, the courts agreed, a summary judgment was entered, and the matter never went before a jury.

When the case reached the Supreme Court, a majority of justices agreed with the granting of qualified immunity to the officer.

In the dissenting opinion Justice Sonia Sotomayor was joined by Ginsburg in stating, “Only Thompson and Salazar-Limon know what happened on that overpass on October 29, 2010 … What is clear is that our legal system does not entrust the resolution of this dispute to a judge faced with competing affidavits. The evenhanded administration of justice does not permit such a shortcut.

“Our failure to correct the error made by the courts below leaves in place a judgment that accepts the word of one party over the word of another. We have not hesitated to summarily reverse courts for wrongly denying officers the protection of qualified immunity in cases involving the use of force. But we rarely intervene where courts wrongly afford officers the benefit of qualified immunity in these same cases.”

Restrictions to the application of qualified immunity would require the Supreme Court to hear a related case and come to a different conclusion, thereby setting a precedent for lower court rulings.

Voting Rights — Efforts to suppress the votes of Black people in particular and people of color generally have deep roots in America. In recent years Republicans across the country have led efforts critics have said are specifically aimed at suppressing or denying the votes of African-Americans. The reduction of the number of polling places in predominantly Black communities leads to hours-long waits to vote. Voter ID laws disproportionately impact minority voters who are statistically less likely to have the necessary documentation. The attempt to reduce the number of ballot drop-off locations in densely populated urban areas disproportionately impacts minority voters. Solutions and corrections to all of these issues require a political or legal solution and sometimes both.

Gerrymandering — Gerrymandering is the process by which politicians draw voting district lines to create districts in which one party is all but guaranteed to hold power indefinitely and doesn’t need to be responsive to anyone other than members of their own party. This has been a crucial tactic for Republicans looking to maintain power even as political shifts show more people moving away from their party. Bringing an end to gerrymandering or even drawing districts in a more logical, straightforward fashion requires a political solution that will almost certainly be challenged in federal court.

Abortion — This is the Holy Grail for conservatives who have been waiting for nearly 50 years to get enough right-leaning justices on the court to reverse the landmark ruling that protected a woman’s right to choose to have an abortion. With a court now full of conservative Catholics, that dream is closer to fruition than ever.

The Census — Conducted once a decade, the U.S. government uses the census to count the number of people living in the country. The census results determine how many representatives each state has in the U.S. House of Representatives, how an estimated $1.5 trillion a year in federal funding is distributed for the next 10 years, and how many electoral college votes each state is allocated. The Trump administration made repeated attempts to undermine the census, most notably by trying to add a citizenship question to the census intended to scare undocumented people away from participating, thus driving down the population totals in key Democratic states such as California and New York, diminishing their political power. Even though COVID-19 and social distancing restrictions made collecting census data more difficult the Trump administration successfully fought to cut the count short. That decision was upheld by the Supreme Court despite the argument that the decision will prevent a fair and accurate count.

Felons Voting — In 2018, Florida voters passed Amendment A that restored voting rights to people convicted of a felony who served their sentences. Many expected that a large portion of the 1.4 million newly eligible voters would vote Democratic but we may never know because the Republican governor and lawmakers quickly passed a law in response to Amendment A requiring people convicted of felonies to fully pay back fines and fees to the courts before they become eligible to vote. Depending on the person, the cost could range from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars — effectively nullifying their voting rights.

The ACLU filed a lawsuit claiming the new law was unconstitutional because it created a financial barrier for people attempting to exercise their right to vote. In 2019 a federal judge sided with the plaintiffs and agreed that the law amounted to a poll tax and was unconstitutional.

But in September 2020, just two months before the presidential election, a federal appeals court overturned the previous ruling that will prevent any former felons who have not paid all of their back fines and fees from voting. Five of the six votes to overturn the ruling came from federal judges appointed to the court by President Trump.

Republicans know that Florida is arguably the most crucial state in their bid to capture the presidency. If Joe Biden or any other Democratic presidential candidate were to win Florida, the handwringing over states like Michigan and Wisconsin goes away because of the Sunshine State’s 29 electoral votes. Hillary Clinton lost Florida by 112,911 votes, a number that seems minuscule if you consider a pool of 1.4 million new voters, a majority of whom may lean Democratic.

Good intentions Meet Reality

While Colin Kaepernick is clearly well-meaning and puts his time, energy, and effort behind the causes he supports, it was unimaginably negligent of him to brag and boldly promote the fact that he does not vote, didn’t intend to vote, and voting doesn't matter because all the candidates were the same.

The margin of victory was so narrow for Donald Trump that there is no reason to think Kaepernick couldn't have moved the needle by choosing to use the soapbox upon which he stood in 2016 and the social media megaphone he wielded to push and encourage his hundreds of thousands of supporters to vote.

Is it improbable to think that the most prominent and popular politically active Black athlete could not have convinced a large number of Black people to cast a vote instead of sitting the election out?

And if you still think voting doesn’t matter, consider this as we continue to live altered lives under the cloud of a deadly global pandemic: In 2009, after multiple recounts and legal challenges, Al Franken became the certified winner of the Minnesota Senate election by 312 votes and became the 60th Democratic senator, a key number that allowed Democrats to end the Republican filibuster and vote to pass the Affordable Care Act aka Obamacare aka the only reason many millions of Americans have healthcare access.

Every single progressive cause Kaepernick advocates for can be broken down to a simple equation:

Progressive Idea + Progressive Activism + Progressive Political Action + Progressive Legal Victories = Progressive Laws that move America closer to the fair, just, and equal society we should all be aspiring to.

Remove one part of the equation and things fall apart.

The idea that voting doesn’t matter and all politicians are the same is a position that is factually wrong, strategically incompetent, and downright imbecilic. That position makes Kaepernick and the abstainers just as responsible for Trump’s 220 judges and the decades of judicial beatings liberals and progressives will face as the MAGA hat-wearing racist Proud Boy.

Do not make the same mistake twice.

Do not be that stupid.

Go vote!

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phakjira198 · 4 years

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Internship Reflection.

Ayee tumblr, long time no see again. Anyway there’s a lot for me to catch up to you. First of all I’m interning, but I might have mention some of that in the earlier posts. It’s been 1 month and a half already since I first started my internship and almost a month since I’ve started going to the office. So far I’ve had my up and down with the internship program. There were moments where I really enjoy it and strongly believe that this is what I was meant to do. Usually these are the moments where I can either a) get things to work properly b) coding or c) finally fix the bug. And usually to accompany those moment I’m listening to music and internally dancing at the same time. But there are also moments, where I don’t feel so good. Like most of the day like almost 65% of the day, I don’t really want to go to work. I’m not sure whether it’s actually me not wanting to go to work or something, but I just have this anxiety inside of me whenever I wake up and to be honest I’m not even sure whether it’s work relate or not, or it could just simply be because my digestive system is not so good. (because currently it’s Saturday morning and I still have that feeling 🎉). Now that I think about it, it’s probably not work related and is probably just a general issue that I have that I need to fix. Anyway back to work related issue, there are also things that I don’t enjoy about work. For example, when there’s no clear thing for me to do. I don’t enjoy those moment. In addition to that, when I had to observe the timeLag behaviour that was quite boring.

Now let’s talk a bit about what I love about Agoda. Honestly, I think the work environment here is great. Every single one of my team member is so nice and helpful. And I love how flat the organisation, I mean the VP table is so close to me and his desk is just like the rest of ours. And the day before I casually walked pass the CEO room, which has glass door so we can see him all the time lol. Moreover, when I was facing an issue with negative timeLag, my manager/ magager’s manager even have to talk with the VP about we could do to fix this and he pitched in idea as well. So that was very cool.

It’s been a long time since I’ve been happy with where I’m at. Like for university, I have lot of doubt and concern about my own university’s quality. So I don’t feel completely satisfied with it. And for me joining a program like Champ. At first I was so excited about it and was so glad that I got in. But when I’m actually at the thing for a while, I don’t particularly like it or enjoy it that much. I mean I still kinda do, but I don’t feel great about it and it make me feel bad about myself. But not with this internship, for this I was excited about it, and after a month and a half into to it I still enjoy it and it makes me feel good about myself. Which is a feeling that have been missing from me for a while, so it’s quite good to have that feeling back.

And Agoda has this intern internal pitch thingy, where they split the interns into teams and the we have to pitch an idea that will help Agoda disrupt the travel industry. At first I was quite worry about my team because everybody in the team seems to be so awkward and quiet and just don’t socialise, you know just like me. But then after working with them for a while, I really like all of them. Like they’re all incredibly smart and are good at what they’re doing. It helps to remind me not to judge a book by its cover, and that first impression doesn’t really count. (especially since you’re own first impression is not that great either and it takes like a year to get to know you and for you to be yourself around them 🎉) And since all of us are quite awkward and shy, we didn’t talk and mingle that much, so we worked quite fast. The first time they announced the team and we met. The other teams, they were getting to know each other better and bonding and all that shit. But our team talk about work straight away and got a rough idea about what we’re going to do. Then we only met once to refined that idea for like an hour, while the other team took much longer to work on it. And when we’re doing the pitch coach thingy, we were already starting to work on our presentation slides while the other teams were still discussing their ideas. Any way to sum things up we work smart and not work hard. (which is what we should always be doing). Like I didn’t have to do that much extra work out of our meeting team, only an hour something to work on 1 slide , which was quite fun. Then maybe a couple hours more to work and the script and practice pitching it. But it didn’t feel like a lot of work at all; it felt like a team effort and I don’t have to carry it or feel like all of the responsibility is on me (like what I usually feel a lot of time when it come to school work). Anyway, I enjoyed it very much, and we won!!!! 🎉🎉🎉 We won first place, and my pitch was an absolute bomb (in a good way). Like I totally rock that presentation.

My pitch presentation was an absolute bombshell. To be honest, I don’t know whether it was actually an absolute bombshell or not because I didn’t watch myself present and I’m not sure whether I would be able to watch myself present or not because don’t know whether they actually recorded it or not. There was a livestream that our team (as in adp-messaging) watched through bluejean, but don’t know whether P’Bow recorded it or not. If she did, then I would really like to watch myself present. Anyway as soon as finished my presentation and walk back to my seat, Teerat gave a thumb up and said that I did great which made me feel good. Thank you very much. Then when there was a 10 min break, which was right after my presentation. One guy, came up to me (well he didn’t came up to me, he just walked pass me) and said that he heard I was good but he didn’t think I would be THAT good. (and to be honest I have a minor crush on him rn, help I’m so weak. Just a tiny bit of interaction with a guy and I start to develop feeling for him, like how pathetic am I, but there’s a little bit more to that which I’ll talk about more in another post. Well, there’s really nothing much more to that but my head imagination has a lot more to it lol). And a couple more friends said that I was great, and that I shouldn’t be an engineer and should do something marketing and PR instead (yeah right ~ sarcastically). But to be honest, when they were saying that thing I didn’t really know how to feel. Especially after I won, I really don’t know how to act. I wasn’t feeling happy, or excited or proud. It was a strange feeling, I was afraid that people would think I’m bragging or they would think that I think that I’m better than everyone (which is absolutely the last thing that would actually come to my mind. Never in the whole wide world would I ever think that). Anyway it was after a while, like 5 hours later when I’m by myself and there was not congratulations from peeps, when I actually started to feel proud of myself, and happy, and excited. It’s like I was unable to process that emotion initially and it took me 5 hours to process that, or maybe it was the fact that I was by myself. And I think maybe because partly because one my friends didn’t feel particularly good about her own pitch ( I mean, I think she did great, she was the first one who got up), so I didn’t want to be all oohhh I’m so happy I won and all that shit. Anyway, later that night I posted on twitter that I won a pitch for the first time in my life even though there was only 6 teams competing and they are literally all my friends. When I posted every single one of my friends on twitter liked it and was happy for me, they all said congratulations and all that shit and it made me feel good and love. And my mom was the best as well, she was very happy and proud of me. My dad was a little bit น้อยใจ I think because I didn’t tell him that I have a pitch or a presentation coming up, usually he’ll know about this kind of stuff. But since I’ve been coming home late and waking up late, he didn’t see me practice and didn’t know about the presentation until I’ve already won. So he had to process it a little bit. Any way he was happy for me the morning after when he had already processed everything lol 555. To go back to the presentation a little bit. I wasn’t really nervous about the presentation that much because a) there wasn’t that much people only like 30 b) because I believe in what I presented, I actually believe that it’s a good idea and that we could actually win. There’s no major flaw in the presentation that we created, it was a solid presentation and I was proud to present it. A lot of the time when I’m presenting I always have doubt and was never really confident about what I was going to present. Especially when it come to school presentation, I’m always so worry about the presentation material itself, about hitting all those criteria to get a the perfect grade. And I think that’s one of the reason why I’m nervous when I’m doing most of my presentation, but this wasn’t really the case. In addition to that, a lot of the time that I do my presentation there’s always some flaw that I’ve identified, or some area of improvement that could be made it to, but even after knowing that I don’t make any changes because I’m too lazy, and then when I’m presenting I worry about this kinda stuff so the presentation doesn’t end up that good. But again this is not the case with this presentation, I was very confident with what we have prepared. The bottom line here is that if I’m actually proud of what I’m doing (which is not a lot of thing, I tend to do things half ass a lot) then that thing is actually good, I can guarantee it.

Another big finding that I found, well it’s not really a new finding but it’s actually the first time that I’m accepting and acknowledging it. I am EXTREMELY lazy. Like my favourite thing to do is to simply do nothing. Like whenever I get home from work I just want to do nothing and watch a sitcom. I mean it’s understandable because I’ve been quite tired from work, but still I should be doing something that I love right, like playing piano, reading book, or writing my journal. But I don’t because I’m even too lazy to even do the thing that I love. This is a very big issue that I have to fix. I can’t be too lazy to do the thing that I love. I think my biggest goal for the second half of the year is to simply watch less sitcom and do nothing less and try to do something more.

On more thing that I need to write about is the intern review :).

wrote on the 17 - 18 July 2020

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uniquequotesonlife · 5 years

Text

rhondastephens To Catch A Falling Cactus

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Parenting: Are We Getting a Raw Deal?

Summer 1974. I’m 9 years old. By 7:30 am, I’m up and out of the house, or if it’s Saturday I’m up and doing exactly what my father, Big Jerry, has told me to do. Might be raking, mowing, digging holes, or washing cars. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || ).push({}); Summer 2016. I’m tiptoeing out of the house, on my way to work, in an effort not to wake my children who will undoubtedly sleep until 11 am. They may complete a couple of the chores I’ve left in a list on the kitchen counter for them, or they may eat stale Cheez-its that were left in their rooms 3 days ago, in order to avoid the kitchen at all costs and “not see” the list. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || ).push({}); If you haven’t noticed, we’re getting a raw deal where this parenting gig is concerned. When did adults start caring whether or not their kids were safe, happy, or popular? I can assure you that Ginny and Big Jerry were not whiling away the hours wondering if my brother and I were fulfilled. Big Jerry was stoking the fires of his retirement savings and working, and working some more. Ginny was double bolting the door in order to keep us out of the house, and talking on the phone while she smoked a Kent. Meanwhile, we were three neighborhoods away, playing with some kids we’d never met, and we had crossed 2 major highways on bicycles with semi-flat tires to get there. Odds are, one of us had crashed at some point and was bleeding pretty impressively. No one cared. We were kids and if we weren’t acting as free labor, we were supposed to be out of the house and out of the way. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || ).push({}); My personal belief is that the same “woman with too little to do”, that decided it was necessary to give 4- year old guests a gift for coming to a birthday party, is the same loon who decided we were here to serve our kids and not the other way around. Think about it. As a kid, what was your costume for Halloween? If you were really lucky, your mom jabbed a pair of scissors in an old sheet, cut two eye holes, and you were a ghost. If her friend was coming over to frost her hair and showed up early, you got one eye hole cut and spent the next 45 minutes using a sharp stick to jab a second hole that was about two inches lower than its partner. I watched my cousin run directly into a parked car due to this very costume one year. He was still yelling, “Trick or Treat” as he slid down the rear quarter panel of a Buick, mildly concussed. When my son was 3 years old, we had a clown costume made by a seamstress, complete with pointy clown hat, and grease makeup. His grandmother spent more having that costume made than she did on my prom dress. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || ).push({}); At some point in the last 25 years, the tide shifted and the parents started getting the marginal cars and the cheap clothes while the kids live like rock stars. We spend enormous amounts of money on private instruction, the best sports gear money can buy, and adhere to psycho competition schedules. I’m as guilty as anyone. I’ve bought the $300 baseball bats with money that should have been invested in a retirement account, traveled from many an AAU basketball game, or travel baseball game, to a dance competition in the course of one day, and failed to even consider why. Remember Hank Aaron? He didn’t need a $300 bat to be great. Your kid isn’t going pro and neither is mine, but you are going to retire one day and dumpster diving isn’t for the elderly. My brother and I still laugh about how, when he played high school baseball, there was one good bat and the entire team used it. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || ).push({}); Remember your clothes in the 70’s? Despite my best efforts to block it out, I can still remember my desperate need to have a pair of authentic Converse shoes. Did I get them? Negative. Oh, was it a punch in the gut when my mother presented me with the Archdale knock-offs she found somewhere between my hometown and Greensboro. Trust me. They weren’t even close. Did I complain? Hell, no. I’m still alive, aren’t I? We’ve got an entire generation of kids spitting up on outfits that cost more than my monthly electric bill. There were no designer baby clothes when we were kids. Why? Because our parents weren’t crazy enough to spend $60 on an outfit for us to have explosive diarrhea in or vomit on. Our parents were focused on saving for their retirement and paying their house off. The real beauty of it is that none of these kids are going to score a job straight out of college that will allow them to pay for the necessities of life, brand new cars, and $150 jeans, so guess who’s going to be getting the phone call when they can’t make rent? Yep, we are. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || ).push({}); Think back; way, way back. Who cleaned the house and did the yard work when you were a kid? You did. In fact, that’s why some people had children. We were free labor. My mother served as supervisor for the indoor chores, and the house damn well better be spotless when my father came through the door at 5:35. The battle cry went something like this, “Oh, no! Your father will be home in 15 minutes! Get those toys put away nooooow!” The rest of our evening was spent getting up to turn the television on demand, and only to what Dad wanted to watch. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || ).push({}); On weekends Dad was in charge of outdoor work and if you were thirsty you drank out of the hose, because 2 minutes of air conditioning and a glass of water from the faucet might make you soft. Who does the housework and yardwork now? The cleaning lady that comes on Thursday, and the landscaping crew that comes every other Tuesday. Most teenage boys have never touched a mower, and if you asked my daughter to clean a toilet, she would come back with a four page paper on the various kinds of deadly bacteria present on toilet seats. Everyone is too busy doing stuff to take care of the stuff they already have. But don’t get confused, they aren’t working or anything crazy like that. Juggling school assignments, extracurricular activities, and spending our money could become stressful if they had to work. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || ).push({}); I don’t recall anyone being worried about my workload being stressful, or my mental health in general. Jerry and Ginny had grownup stuff to worry about. As teenagers, we managed our own social lives and school affairs. If Karen, while executing a hair flip, told me my new Rave perm made me look like shit and there was no way Kevin would ever go out with my scrawny ass, my mother wasn’t even going to know about it; much less call Karen’s mother and arrange a meeting where we could iron out our misunderstanding and take a selfie together. Additionally, no phone calls were ever made to any of my teachers or coaches. Ever. If we sat the bench, we sat the bench. Our dads were at work anyway. They only knew what we told them. I can’t even conceive of my dad leaving work to come watch a ballgame. If I made a 92.999 and got a B, I got a B. No thinly veiled threats were made and no money changed hands to get me that A. Ok, full disclosure, in my case we would be looking at an 84.9999. I was the poster child for underachievement. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || ).push({}); Back in our day, high school was a testing ground for life. We were learning to be adults under the semi-vigilant supervision of our parents. We had jobs because we wanted cars, and we wanted to be able to put gas in our cars, and wear Jordache jeans and Candies. Without jobs, we had Archdale sneakers and Wranglers, and borrowed our mother’s Chevrolet Caprice, affectionately known as the “land yacht”, on Friday night. No one, I mean, no one, got a new car. I was considered fairly lucky because my parents bought me a car at all. I use the term “car” loosely. If I tell you it was a red convertible and stop right here, you might think me special. I wasn’t. My car was a red MG Midget, possibly a ’74 and certainly a death trap. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || ).push({}); Look at your coffee table. Now imagine it having a steering wheel and driving it. I promise you, it’s bigger than my car was. The starter was bad, so after school I had the pleasure of popping the hood and using two screwdrivers to cross the solenoids or waiting for the football players to come out of the dressing room headed to practice. Those guys pushing my car while I popped the clutch, is a memory no 16-year old girl around here will ever have, and it’s a great one. Had I driven that car in high winds, it’s likely I would have ended up airborne, and there were probably some serious safety infractions committed the night I took 6 people in togas to a convenience store, but I wouldn’t go back and trade it out for a new 280Z, even if I had the chance. I was a challenging teenager, and in retrospect the fact that it was pretty impressive every time I made it home alive, may not have been an accident on the part of my parents. Go to the high school now. These kids are driving cars that grown men working 55 hours a week can’t afford, and they aren’t paying for them with their jobs. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || ).push({}); And those new cars don’t do a thing for telling a good story. I tell my kids all the time, the very best stories from my teen and college years involve Ann’s yellow Plymouth Duster with the “swirling dust” graphic, Randy’s Valiant with the broken gas gauge, and Carla’s burgundy Nissan that may or may not have had a complete floorboard. A story that starts, “Remember that time we were heading to the beach in Carla’s Nissan and your wallet fell through the floorboard onto the highway?” is so much more interesting than, “Remember that time we were going to the beach in your brand new SUV, filled up with gas that your parents paid for, and the…well, no, never mind. Nothing happened. We just drove down there.” To top it all off, most of them head off to college without a clue what it’s like to look for a job, apply for it, interview, and show up on time, as scheduled. If they have a job, it’s because someone owed their dad a favor…and then they work when it “fits their schedule”. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || ).push({}); We all love our kids, and we want to see them happy and fulfilled, but I fear we’re robbing them of the experiences that make life memorable and make them capable, responsible, confident adults. For the majority of us, the very nice things we had as teenagers, we purchased with money we earned after saving for some ungodly amount of time. Our children are given most everything, and sometimes I wonder whether it’s for them or to make us feel like good parents. The bottom line is that you never value something you were given, as much as something you worked for. There were lessons in our experiences, even though we didn’t know it at the time. All those high school cat fights, and battles with teachers we clashed with, were an opportunity for us to learn how to negotiate and how to compromise. It also taught us that the world isn’t fair. Sometimes people just don’t like you, and sometimes you’ll work your ass off and still get screwed. We left high school, problem solvers. I’m afraid our kids are leaving high school with mommy and daddy on speed dial. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || ).push({}); We just don’t have the cojones our parents had. We aren’t prepared to tell our kids that they won’t have it if they don’t work for it, because we can’t bear to see them go without and we can’t bear to see them fail. We’ve given them a whole lot of stuff; stuff that will break down, wear out, get lost, go out of style, and lose value. As parents, I suppose some of us feel pretty proud about how we’ve contributed in a material way to our kid’s popularity and paved an easy street for them. I don’t, and I know there are many of you that are just as frustrated by it as I am. I worry about what we’ve robbed them of, which I’ve listed below, in the process of giving them everything. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || ).push({}); Delayed gratification is a really good thing. It teaches you perseverance and how to determine the true value of something. Our kids don’t know a damn thing about delayed gratification. To them, delayed gratification is waiting for their phone to charge.Problem-solving skills and the ability to manage emotion are crucial life skills. Kids now have every problem solved for them. Good luck calling their college professor to argue about how they should have another shot at that final because they had two other finals to study for and were stressed. Don’t laugh, parents have tried it.Independence allows you to discover who you really are, instead of being what someone else expects you to be. It was something I craved. These kids have traded independence for new cars and Citizen jeans. They will live under someone’s thumb forever, if it means cool stuff. I would have lived in borderline condemned housing, and survived off of crackers and popsicles to maintain my independence. Oh wait, I actually did that. It pisses me off. You’re supposed to WANT to grow up and forge your way in the world; not live on someone else’s dime, under someone else’s rule, and too often these days, under someone else’s roof.Common sense is that little something extra that allows you to figure out which direction is north, how to put air in your tires, or the best route to take at a certain time of day to avoid traffic. You develop common sense by making mistakes and learning from them. It’s a skill best acquired in a setting where it’s safe to fail, and is only mastered by actually doing things for yourself. By micromanaging our kids all the time, we’re setting them up for a lifetime of cluelessness and ineptitude. At a certain age, that cluelessness becomes dangerous. I’ve seen women marry to avoid thinking for themselves, and for some it was the wisest course of action.Mental toughness is what allows a person to keep going despite everything going wrong. People with mental toughness are the ones who come out on top. They battle through job losses, difficult relationships, illness, and failure. It is a quality born from adversity. Adversity is a GOOD thing. It teaches you what you’re made of. It puts into practice the old saying “what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger”. It’s life’s teacher. Our bubble-wrapped kids are so sheltered from adversity, I wonder how the mental health professionals will handle them all after the world chews them up and spits them out a few times. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || ).push({}); I know you are calling me names right now, and mentally listing all the reasons this doesn’t apply to you and your kid, but remember I’m including myself in this. My kids aren’t as bad as some, because I’m too poor and too lazy to indulge them beyond a certain point. And I’m certainly not saying that our parents did everything right. God knows all that second hand smoke I was exposed to, and those Sunday afternoon drives where Dad was drinking a Schlitz and I was standing on the front seat like a human projectile, were less than ideal; but I do think parents in the 70’s defined their roles in a way we never have.I worry that our kids are leaving home with more intellectual ability than we did, but without the life skills that will give them the success and independence that we’ve enjoyed. Then again, maybe it’s not parents that are getting the raw end of this deal after all. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || ).push({}); https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kJQP7kiw5Fk Watch: most watched video on youtube source Read the full article

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racingtoaredlight · 7 years

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The degenerate’s guide to 2017 college football TV watch ‘em ups: week 5

Schedules are getting a little better this week as we get into conference schedules and the Florida teams get back to normal.

I see some pretty strong matchups but the early kick games look kind of bad. Having USC/Washington State and Miami/Duke both playing Friday night in a TV doubleheader seems weird. Could have pushed the ACC game to Saturday morning and nobody would have been the wiser. I guess TV contracts don’t work that way, though, so here we are with this schedule. I feel the need to italicize that there are some strong matchups. It’s not a great week overall.

Times are, as per usual, Eastern and stolen from FBSchedules. All gambling advice is fully backed by RTARL’s “don’t ever ask us for shit” guarantee and comes with all requisite warnings that you are a dummy if you listen to me about anything ever.

Saturday, Sept. 30, 2017

Matchup Time (ET) TV

Houston at Temple Noon ESPNU

I was caught completely off guard by Coach Ryan Gosling limiting Ed Oliver’s effectiveness last week but those things happen. When Khalil Mack was in college there were games where he was worked around by some truly awful teams and he was playing as an off the ball linebacker. Oliver should be back to normal this week.

Maryland at Minnesota Noon FS1

I can’t imagine looking forward to seeing this game.

New Mexico State at Arkansas Noon SECN

This is a body count game for a middling SEC team and it’s still better than the B1G’s in-conference offering on FS1.

North Carolina at Georgia Tech Noon ESPN2

Matchup of two very interesting coaches but also two not very interesting rosters. Could be a fun watch ‘em up but I won’t call it a “good” game.

Northwestern at (10) Wisconsin Noon ABC

Among the many things I can’t really explain about my college football fandom is a strong dislike of Northwestern football. Like I’m rooting for Jonathan Taylor to extract blood early and often in this game and I don’t really understand why.

Rice at Pittsburgh Noon RSN/ESPNCE

It just occurred to me right now that it’s really weird for Pitt to be insanely week in the defensive backfield. I know it’s only his second year there but isn’t Pat Narduzzi supposed to be sort of a scheme wizard on that side of the ball? Pitt has looked so bad so far that this game might not even be a gimme.

(18) USF at East Carolina Noon CBSSN

ECU isn’t very good this year. They never should have fired Ruffin McNeill. USF looks like they’re getting better every week so this could be a nice bloodbath.

Vanderbilt at (21) Florida Noon ESPN

Florida could really lose to Vanderbilt in the Swamp and I wonder if even having two straight division titles is enough to save Jim McElwain if that happens.

Syracuse at NC State 12:20 pm ACCN/ESPNCE

The ACC might be the best conference in the country top-to-bottom and they can still put up clunkers like this. Strength against whatever the strongest thing you can say about Syracuse is with NC State’s pass defense going against the Orangemen’s pass heavy offensive concepts. This should be pretty ugly.

Central Michigan at Boston College 1:00 pm ACCNExtra

Harold Landry reminds me of former BC star Mathias Kiawnuka for all of the good and the bad that might imply.

Baylor at Kansas State 3:30 pm ESPN2

With Kansas State looking above average this year they should be able to beat Baylor by at least 30.

Buffalo at Kent State 3:30 pm ESPN3

Florida State at Wake Forest 3:30 pm ABC

Undefeated Wake Forest at home against winless Florida State. This will never be true again unless they play each other in a season opener.

(7) Georgia at Tennessee 3:30 pm CBS

If I understand anything about these two programs Tennessee is going to win this game on a Hail Mary after getting down by 30 points in the first half.

Indiana at (4) Penn State 3:30 pm BTN

Saquon Barkley is gonna get like 8 carries, Penn State is going to pull away in the third quarter to win by maybe 20. This looks like torture to me.

Murray State at (17) Louisville 3:30 pm RSN

These stats shouldn’t count for Louisville unless they are bad.

Navy at Tulsa 3:30 pm ESPNU

Navy playing a game on an ESPN feed seems sort of wrong to me. Other than playing Notre Dame on NBC they pretty much only ever play on CBS/CBSSN. Zach Abey has been pretty good this year (not up to his hype level from before last season yet) but Navy’s defense is pretty bad. Every game is an adventure with these guys. Tulsa has been terrible this year but they can score a lot.

Ohio at UMass 3:30 pm 11 Sports

This is one of the worst possible games this season and Ohio will somehow beat UMass on the road by more than Tennessee beat UMass at home.

UTEP at Army 3:30 pm CBSSN

Last year was supposed to be a step forward for Army’s program but they’ve kind of sucked so far in 2017. This is not an attractive matchup even for a gutter palate like mine.

Arizona State at Stanford 4:00 pm Pac-12N

How does Stanford keep roping me in with one single player to watch year after year while putting together an offensive system that is dependent on making everybody fall asleep? Bryce Love should go off against ASU and Kalen Ballage should continue to do absolutely nothing against Stanford so pretty much expect both of these teams to look exactly how they have looked for the past four weeks. Stanford will win in a rout, 27-16.

Eastern Michigan at Kentucky 4:00 pm SECN

Kentucky lost to an inferior opponent last week so we’ll see how they bounce back against a relatively tough Eastern Michigan team

Iowa at Michigan State 4:00 pm FOX

Iowa missed a huge opportunity last week at home against Penn State so they might be in a bad mental space against Sparty. That’s Michigan State’s best bet because they look just as bad in 2017 as they did in 2016.

Texas State at Wyoming 4:00 pm Stadium

The Josh Allen “I’m not actually good enough to play in the NFL” tour continues with a visit from Scott Bakula and the Armadillos.

UConn at SMU 4:00 pm ESPNews

UConn football is consistent with two things: being bad and having good defensive backs. That’s all I can think of for a recommendation here. Courtland Sutton could have a tough week but SMU should win. UConn is legit one of the worst teams in the country right now.

Miami, OH at (22) Notre Dame 5:00 pm NBCSN

I’m sure there’s a way to look this up quickly but I’m not gonna be the one to do it - how many times has a team played Miami (OH) and Miami (FL) in the same season? Notre Dame is doing it this year. I hope they lose both but last year’s bad luck doesn’t seem to have carried over to this year.

Akron at Bowling Green 6:00 pm ESPN3

Technically speaking this is a football game so enjoy it you fucking weirdos who watch bullshit MACtion.

(24) Mississippi State at (13) Auburn 6:00 pm ESPN

I still think of Malzahn as the better schemer between these two but I’m not 100% about that anymore. I think Auburn will probably roll the Bulldogs here.

Air Force at New Mexico 7:00 pm CBSSN

I’m low key enjoying Air Force football this year. This is the kind of trash game that typifies my ideal of Degenerate Football.

Ball State at Western Michigan 7:00 pm ESPN3

How does the MAC manage to infect such a huge percentage of the TV schedule every week?

Charlotte at FIU 7:00 pm beIN SPORTS

For all of the great things he did for The U and UNC’s programs, Butch Davis isn’t really a quick turnaround guy. FIU is starting from the very bottom of the stack in Florida but I’m sure if he gets 4 years there, Davis will have them turned into an offbrand monster. Kind of like what UCF and USF have going right now.

Coastal Carolina at ULM 7:00 pm ESPN3

Yeesh. Gotta respect this game for finding a place to hide. Nobody is going to watch this.

Marshall at Cincinnati 7:00 pm ESPN3

Another kind of awful matchup that’s nicely scheduled for minimum exposure.

Memphis at UCF 7:00 pm ESPN2

Without looking I would have sworn both of these teams were just barely inside the top 25 but now I am looking and neither one of them is there. Weird. This is a pretty great AAA matchup if you’re into that sort of thing. If you are not into that sort of thing you should be because this is the most interesting conference in the sport. Not the best, mind you, just the most entertaining.

Middle Tennessee at Florida Atlantic 7:00 pm Stadium

It seems well nigh impossible to me that Lane Kiffin goes unscathed in the current pay to play scandal even if the investigation never jumps from basketball to football.

North Texas at Southern Miss 7:00 pm CUSA.TV

How did so many bad games get scheduled for prime time on Saturday this week? You won’t have to do a lot of channel hopping.

South Alabama at Louisiana Tech 7:00 pm ESPN3

This is one of the better games on the schedule at this time and USA has actually sucked badly so far this year.

Troy at (25) LSU 7:00 pm ESPNU

Maybe Derrius Guice will do something to make this interesting but I wouldn’t count on it.

(11) Ohio State at Rutgers 7:30 pm BTN

If Ohio State really tries for 80 this is worth watching but otherwise it’s just more detritus.

South Carolina at Texas A&M 7:30 pm SECN

aTm has two potential first round talents in Christian Kirk (fading) and Trayveon Williams (only a sophomore) and a head coach who built his rep in the first place as a great offensive mind. Sakerlina has a supposed defensive wizard at head coach and a bunch of early round talent all over the roster. When you say it like that this seems like a fun game but nope. I’ve got no interest in it.

(2) Clemson at (12) Virginia Tech 8:00 pm ABC

Now this looks like a real deal great game to me. Both teams have freshman QBs and I think VPISU’s Josh Jackson is actually the better of the two but he can be that and it still might not matter in this particular game. This is not an easy win for Clemson and should actually be a better game than Clemson’s last “big test.” The Hokies are much better on defense than Louisville and they might be able to get off a few deep burns on Clemson’s secondary.

(15) Oklahoma State at Texas Tech 8:00 pm FOX

If Clemson makes me a liar and just stomps over Virginia Tech then you can check in here for what is sure to be a 79-63 kind of a game with over 1,000 yards of combined passing.

(6) Washington at Oregon State 8:00 pm Pac-12N

Every week I get to Oregon State against whoever and just laugh to myself that this fucking guy left the head coaching job at Wisconsin to become the guy at Oregon State and every single week they look worse than they did the previous week. UDub should have this one sealed up before the start of the second quarter.

University of Mississippi, Oxford at (1) Alabama 9:00 pm ESPN

On the one hand Shea Patterson is extremely talented and 27 points is a huge line for a conference game. On the other hand Mississippi got worn the fuck out by the Antifa Bears who don’t even have a real roster put together yet and Alabama could sleep walk to a 30 point lead here. It’s just a matter of how much Alabama wants to stomp them out. All of that recent history of upsets and close games is history, this is not going to be close.

Nevada at Fresno State 10:00 pm ATTSNRM

Fuck yes, this is West Coast trash and I love it. Neither of these teams is particularly good (I mean like any good at all) so this might not be watchable but I sometimes get into this sort of thing.

California at Oregon 10:30 pm FS1

It’s not time for either of them to have a national following yet but I like where both of these programs are headed. Cal having a decent defense overnight seems like a road map to an exploitable market inefficiency in college football.

Colorado at UCLA 10:30 pm ESPN2

Seeing them side by side like this makes me realize that Colorado already exploited that inefficiency that the Antifas are moving towards and started from even farther back in the pack. I just thought of this comp for Josh Rosen and now I’m buying into it: Russell Wilson. He’s obviously much taller than Wilson but the pluses and minuses to their games overlap a lot. Rosen won’t have a 5th year in a new uniform to broaden the scope of his game so he’s probably looking at one year or more as a redshirt in the NFL to put things together but I think I’m onto something here.

NIU at (19) San Diego State 10:30 pm CBSSN

I ran out of space and felt like I already had enough running backs on the RTARLsman list but Rashaad Penny is definitely still one of my guys. I’ll check in on this one if I can but it should be a pretty big win for SDSU. That came out weird, I love terrible late night blowouts but I don’t want to misrepresent what it is I actually want from this game.

San Jose State at UNLV 10:30 pm ESPNU

I kind of wish it hadn’t occurred to me how odd it is for UNLV to be named Rebels because that’s all I think about for them now. This game is a pretty strong contender for worst teams to play each other in 2017, if you’re wondering about that side of things.

Colorado State at Hawaii 11:59 pm MWN/Spectrum PPV

This is a beautiful terrible game. I want so badly to watch but it could really lead to a divorce. I’m sure this holds true in some form for almost everybody reading this. If anybody reads this part. Mountain West Network can’t have a subscriber base larger than like 100,000 households can it?

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#saturday post #tv watch em ups #degenerate football #football #college football

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