#a huge part of me wants to be good at “guy” sports and be able to kick ass

[motto-chanto-itte]

missy cooper is SUCH a girlboss i want to be just like her

[magics-neptunes-things]

Only One

Hi guys!

So this is a short one coming from a request I had several weeks ago.

I hope you will all like it and please let me know what you think about it! Also my box for request is very open ☺️

Enjoy!

TW : None, it’s just fluff honestly

Jana and you were both young when you met her. You were around 13 years old and when you move from Valencia to Barcelona, you find yourself in Jana’s class. She wasn’t the first who came to talk to you, being a little shy. But you can’t hold it against her, you were shy yourself and you didn’t want to bother anyone.

But soon you started to talk, and you find that you have a lot in common. Unless that she was a huge fan of football while you literally preferred staying at home with a good book and listening to music. Jana was already training at “La Masia” when you met her and when she invites you to come to one of her games, you gladly accept.

You remember being impressed by the level of those girls, fighting for the ball and the game. You were scared for Jana at first before realizing that she was one of the best. You were really proud of her, and you didn’t hesitate to tell her when she came to you after the game.

You were passing all your day after school with her, studying while she was training before going to her home in the afternoon. You sometimes sleep at her home but not a lot because your parents will sometimes remember you that “you are not living in a hotel!”.

Your first kiss happened one summer night on the beach during your summer break. You remember how much you were nervous before pressing your lips against hers, scared that you will ruin everything that was existing between you. Because Jana was your everything in your fifteen years old world.

You are not fifteen anymore, but Jana is still your everything.

You are still together, of course, still living in Barcelona. Jana chose to follow her dreams to become a footballer and even if you didn’t understand at first who the hell is that Alexia Putellas who took your girlfriend under her wings and what in the world she wanted from her, you are now the proudest girlfriend in the world.

It wasn’t easy for Jana to make her place in Barcelona Femeni A team, but she’s now a part of the family. You are both very focused in your professional life, Jana in her sport and you were studying to become pediatrician. It was hard because you don’t really have the same timetable at first, so having time together was very complicated. It was strange honestly, because you were used to be with her every single hour of the day when you were both at school and now you have to fight to be able to have lunch with her.

But then she asks you to move in with her and it was better. Your first apartment was very little. Located at the top of a building, under the roof, you had managed to fit a sofa, a TV, a wardrobe and a kitchen-dining area in a single room. Separate from the bathroom. But you were together and that was all you wanted. You loved this place, it was messy and small, but it was yours and it was perfect.

And, at least, you were seeing her every night, unless she’s in other part of the country for a game. You go to see her playing as much as possible, always wearing the jersey with her name and number on it. You are known as Jana’s girlfriend in the team and the girls like you very much too.

You have move in another apartment now, though. Bigger, you have your bedroom separate of the living room and you have a guest room where you putted your desk and computer to study.

You usually study or work when Jana is at training but tonight you lost track of time. You have a big thing to write for the end of the week and you are scared not to be able to finish it. Totally focused on your work, you didn’t hear Jana coming back home.

You almost jump out of your skin when the silhouette of your girlfriend appears on the door of your office.

“Sorry Baby, I didn’t want to scare you” she excuse herself while joining you inside the room. “Are you ok?”

“I’m ok” you smile at her, kissing her softly when she sits on your lap. “How was training?”

“It was great. Have you eaten something?”

“Not really” you answer, scratching the back of your head.

It was your turn to make diner tonight and it’s almost eight o’clock. And you are not sure about what you will find in your fridge. Jana might be starving after running and exercising all the afternoon while you were studying and you really feel guilty.

“I’m so sorry Amor, I didn’t realize it was so late. I’m going to start cooking right now.”

You close your computer while trying to stand up, kind of startling Jana with your abrupt movements. She just has time to grab you by your arm, making you stay still. With her 1m62 Jana is smaller than you but thanks to her exercises she’s stronger than you.

“Breath Baby, it’s ok. I will cook for us, why don’t you go take a bath or something? You look very tense.”

“But it’s my turn” you frown.

“You can cook two times next week” Jana shrugs.

She cups your jaw in her hand, and you could literally melt right now. You are still feeling guilty though, she just had training all day.

“Can we at least order something? So I can pay and you don’t have to cook? Please.”

She seems to hesitate for several seconds, but you give her your best puppy eyes and she finally accept. Not without rolling her eyes. After ordering some pizza, you were thinking about waiting for them in front of television. But Jana seems to have another idea.

She takes you by the hand once again, but to go to your bedroom this time. Without saying one word, she pushes you on your bed before sitting on your lap.

“Have we really time for that?” you smirk, looking at her leaning on her nightstand.

“Silence, you pervert” she smirks putting a finger on your lips. “Close your eyes.”

Still smiling, you close your eyes.

“Can I at least know what will happen to me?”

“Nothing wild. I’m just going to take care of you, that’s all.”

That doesn’t help a lot, but soon Jana is moving, and she just announce you that she will put something wet on your face before doing it. She is very tender while washing your face before putting different types of cream and moister on your face. You let her do it, loving to feel her hands on your face.

She’s so lightweight that you almost don’t feel her sitting on your belly. But you can smell her perfume and you feel yourself being completely relax. You are almost asleep when she kisses your hair, announcing that she’s finish.

“Hug now” you reach for her.

Jana cuddle against you without a second thought and you pass your arms around her to hug her harder.

“How was training mi Amor?” you ask, realizing with guilt that you didn’t even in the first place.

“It was great! I mean, until Mapi…”

You smile, listening her talk about her teammate’s behavior. She then switches for another story, and you keep listening. You take the opportunity to look at her, your cute and precious girlfriend not realizing that you totally are starring at her without really listening. You are together for seven years now, getting together pretty young. But you are still so in love with her, and you don’t want that feeling to fade away.

She was explaining Barca’s next strategy when the bell rings, announcing the arrival of your pizzas. You escape Jana’s arms to go take them before going in the living room.

“What do you want to watch?” Jana asks, looking in your Netflix account to find something.

“I don’t care” you shrug, opening the boxes.

Jana rolls her eyes but manages to find something, before sitting next to you and pick a part of pizza. She seems so relax and happy that you feel your heart pounding harder just while looking at her. She’s just so perfect.

Well, until…

“Jana Fernández Velasco , please tell me this isn’t pineapple on your pizza.”

[aclowntiny]

A Date Like No Other- Basketball Player!Mingyu x Female!Reader (College AU)

Inspired by the famous tumblr post 😄 also I’m quite tempted to do a part 2 for this one if anyone is into that hehe

Word Count: 3600 | College AU, Basketball Player!Mingyu, Humor, Fluff | Warnings: drinking mentioned, one suggestive comment, one minor swear

He was the guy on campus everyone would have sold organs to go on a date with. The sports guy. The really tall guy. Handsome, plays on the school team, movie love interest guy.

You were the weird girl hardly anyone talked to, and you just liked him because he drew on your notes with you.

History was boring you- you’d already answered the questions and they read the pages out loud at a snail’s pace, sending your eyes diving into the pages lest you want to rip your hair out and coat your long thin institutional table in it. Saving that, you reached into your backpack and pulled out a green ultra fine marker, popping the cap. You reached over and doodled a frog sitting in his funny little amphibian hunch on one of the multitudinous papers strewn about the table before the guy sitting next to you glanced over, a huge smile spreading across his face before he suppressed laughter.

"I've been frogged!" That, of course, had him almost snorting in aborted amusement.

Wait...did that mean? "Oh, sorry, those were your notes, huh?" You asked in response, hand hitting your head lightly. "I got them mixed up, sorry for defacing your property. I can get you a new sheet if you were going to turn that in-"

"Nah," your neighbor, whose name was Mingyu if you remembered from roll call, held up a hand of both restraint and reassurance, "it's fine! I'm going to keep it. I love him. I think he needs a hat, though."

"Oh, I got it." This time, it was a brown marker you grabbed, quickly outlining and filling in a tiny cowboy hat for your creation. "There we go, how's that?"

This time, a full snort. "He looks handsome to me. What's his name?" Mingyu whispered as your professor drew a tad bit closer.

"Uh, Clint Eastwood?" You shrugged, having not exactly thought that far- in fact, not at all, the whole shindig starting at full zero thoughts, head empty.

"Well, I'll take him with me to every class I have," Mingyu replied, glancing fondly at the doodled frog before taking his pencil and drawing a fly between two pieces of bread, "and feed him, too."

At that, you exhaled a quietened laugh, smiling back as wide as he'd done.

"What? Wouldn't that be what a frog eats?"

You had to admit that it would be.

From that day on, you two added one or two things onto Clint Eastwood's page every class session. He had a top hat at the ready for dressing up, a little garden of flowers, a very badly drawn horse to ride, a soccer ball to play with, and a plate of the takeout Mingyu had just really wanted that day. You didn't even know what his major was. Maybe it was just sports. Could one go to school for simply basketball? Who knew? You guys didn't really talk, just drew and whispered and laughed about your froggy little world. Either way, to your simultaneous amusement and annoyance you found yourself really able to see the hype behind the legendary Kim Mingyu. For all the popularity, he was a good guy. And you know what, he was cute. But, like, heart cute. The face cute was just a bonus.

~

"Hey (y/n), do you ever go to any games? I've never seen you at one," Mingyu mused as you strode out of class, backpacks loose over your shoulders.

"Well," you paused, letting your expression be cut by a half-joking, half-serious wince, "no offense, but I'm not a huge sports person? So I haven't gone because I don't have anyone to go with and it hasn't seemed worth the money. Not because of the game, just because of how much they charge for the ticke-”

"Hey, don’t worry, I get it," he laughed, "well, my little sister could use someone to go with, and the ticket would be on me. I save on buying them for myself because, well, you know."

"You're too busy slamming dunks or whatever it is basketball players do," you supplied.

"Depends on your position," Mingyu just chucklef in response, pushing the big silvery-painted fire exit-esque handle of the history building's double doors open.

"Basketball has positions?" You burst out incredulously, squinting both in confusion and at the onslaught of sunlight assaulting your eyes as you emerged past the threshold.

Another laugh. "Come and find out."

~

The game was made more fun by knowing a player- it gave you something to care about as your eyes followed Mingyu's run along the smooth floors, the way he leapt to toss the ball to some guy just as tall or even taller than him. He really played with passion, passion and a clear sense of fun if his remarks on the court were any indication. His sister was pretty cool, too. She looked like a fashion model straight out of Seoul, but she was fun and sassy, not afraid to tease her big brother about the shot he missed when he ran up and greeted you at the sidelines or shoot a questioning look between you two as you told him to do it for Clint Eastwood, whom Mingyu replied was his good luck charm before shuffling back off on sneakers that squeaked against the floor.

Even though you didn't actually hang out with him the whole time, just at celebratory victory ice cream after, you came to history lecture the next session feeling closer to Mingyu, and he must have felt the same as he started talking to you instantly. You rarely initiated conversation, but always welcomed it.

He thanked you for coming to the game as if he hadn’t paid for it, then asked what your major was. You told him and bounced the question back. Turns out it was business, not sports. That history lecture was just GE you both had to get out of the way. The most interesting history lessons to you weren't generic national history or war maps, but all the odd sideline stuff like how some people believed huffing toilets might have helped them during the Black Plague.

"They what?" Mingyu asked, eyes widening and mouth agape as class commenced.

Maybe that was why people didn't really talk to you.

Such reflection was inaccurate, however, as you mindlessly doodled a ridiculous-looking bug-eyed dog on the now-shared note paper and Mingyu chuckled and gave it a collar, smiling when your glance upward met his eyes.

The moment you rose from your seat after lecture, notebook shoved back into your backpack and pencil case into one of the side water bottle holsters or whatever they were called, Mingyu started talking to you again, this time about how glad he was that he didn't join a fraternity like his teammate Johnny.

"Yeah, because see, this one guy just got so drunk he didn’t know where his car was and his girlfriend lost her nose ring, then another guy was sick and they threw him outside and he woke up in the cold locked out of the house, and the houses stink, too, like they smell so bad…”

"Yeah," you muttered, taking each of your bag straps in your hands this walk, palms sliding over the rough fabric, "dude, you couldn't pay me to live in one of those."

“…they’re practically taking after those Black Plague people!” He joked, bringing a smile to both your faces as he mimed taking a sniff, waving his hands in front of his nose and bursting into laughter.

“Except they should know better,” you added, shaking your head in amusement, “they need to get smart like you and I.”

He didn’t laugh, just nodded in approval. "Right? And everyone there has already hooked up with each other. I'm so tired of all that, too. That's not the kind of date I've been looking for, you know?”

In a sense, you did not know, being that none of your classmates had even hardly made conversation let alone a risqué pass, but you got it. Being as popular as Mingyu was, you’d seen how fellow students threw themselves at him sometimes. Had to get uncomfortable, especially if his facial expression at a few of them said anything. They weren’t usually very original, either, poor guy. He was just a clear end goal, and someone who loved his sister and his little drawings and celebrated with ice cream as often as cocktails and laughed at toilets didn’t deserve that. Mingyu wasn’t an ideal, he was a real person. Someone who just needed to have some damn fun for once.

“Sure. You need some- no, you deserve some- creativity. If it was up to me, I’d take you on a date like no other,” you joked, chuckling as your gaze rose back up to his eyes.

“You would?” At the sight of Mingyu’s eyes widening, you wondered if your phrasing had inadvertently crossed a line. Sure, you were totally willing, but- “Alright, just name a time.”

“Wait, really?” This time it was your turn to gape, one hand dropping off your backpack strap to fall to your side. Your heart picked up its pace. Never in a googolplex of years would you have thought Mr. It Boy K. Basketball would want a date with you. Being his friend was surprising enough.

“Yeah, of course. I think it’d be fun,” Mingyu beamed at you, “and I trust you. My sister likes you, too. If…if you really meant it, that is.” He added that last bit as his own gaze dropped and one hand reached up to rub the back of his neck.

Giggling shyly at his sudden sheepishness as well as the situation’s sheer absurdity, you tilted your head his way, smile melting back out of the shock. “Well, thanks, that actually…really means a lot. Get ready for an epic time, then!”

He cocked a brow, turning down between a row of potted trees toward the food court. “Have something in mind already?”

Actually, you did have something you always wanted to do if you could get someone else- it would look too weird to be the only one. Why not do it with Mingyu?

“Be afraid,” you nodded, smirking in satisfaction.

“Well then, how should I dress?”

“Just casual is fine,” you shrugged and teased, “we can’t all afford black tie, Mr. Business Major.”

“Fair enough,” he chuckled, still giving that wide smile you’d come to anticipate seeing, “Friday night?”

“Friday night,” you repeated.

~

“Get ready for Friday Night Showdown!”

“Um, (y/n), this is the grocery store.”

Your lips turned upward proudly as you rotated from a fist pump into a Vanna White pose before the mart. “I know.”

“Are we…” Mingyu paused, clearly searching for words. “Fighting in here or something?”

“We are not,” you replied cryptically, looking all the more satisfied as you passed between the automatic doors, Mingyu at your side.

“Am I doing your shopping?” He looked at you with still-raised eyebrows, though amusement colored his expression.

“That would be messed up!” You denied, shaking your head. “Though admittedly funny.”

“Don’t get any ideas for date two!”

Your heart flipped at Mingyu’s easy smile, how casually he said that…the way he flushed and looked away the moment the words left his mouth. He was already thinking of your next date? Hope he likes seafood, you internally joked.

“Yeah, no shopping tonight unless you wanted some snacks. Because tonight,” you skipped over all the central aisles of kitchen supplies, soap, and dry goods, making a beeline for the meat section… well, more specifically the fish counter, “is all about the face-off.”

In a split second you caught Mingyu’s eyes dart down once more past rows of cans, bottles, jars of just about every color you could ask for, dancing over their numerical markers as if to say farewell to actual shopping. Then, his gaze was back on you, your gestures, over your shoulder to the tank at the end of the fish counter. The tank full of lobsters with big claws and small patience. His eyes met yours again. He knew. You could see it.

You nodded. “Oh yeah. Pick your champion.”

He twisted his cap around backwards, revealing his face, those big, innocent brown eyes, once more. “Uh, quick question: how do you suggest I keep mine straight from the others?”

He was asking in earnest. That was another thing you liked about Mingyu: not only did he possess childlike wonder beyond what somebody in his age and station in life probably should, he was also a bad liar in the purest, kindest of senses. He really, truly, had never had a grocery store lobster beatdown date, and he couldn’t fake interest if he tried. So now he wanted tips, advice you could give him as if you had already had loads of grocery store lobster beatdown dates. All you could do was smile back at the tall basketball player and every small kindness he’d shown you thus far. The way he’d simply seen you.

“Good question. Don’t they have different colored wristbands?”

He arched a brow, clearly fighting a snicker. “Different what?”

Pantomiming a band with one hand grabbing the other, you stuttered. “You know, the… the claw restraints! The wristbands!”

“I don’t think they have wrists, (y/n),” Mingyu teased, reaching over and ruffling your hair.

Well, of course you realize this means war. “Alright, you are on,” was all you said, eyes narrowing.

He perked up at that. “What’s the bet?”

“Winner gets to pick the next activity,” you reply, sauntering a few steps closer to the lobster tank and pointing to one with a purple band over its claws that was clearly ready to throw- well, for lack of better terminology- hands, “and I choose this one.”

“Well, in that case,” Mingyu returned to your side, arm pressed against yours as he peered into the tank, “the logical choice would be to pick the one in red in front of yours. May the best crustacean win.”

And at that, his competitive stare melted back into that boyish look as he turned to you. “…did that sound cool?”

It almost came out as a snort, you burst out laughing so violently. “That was legendary,” was all you could wheeze out.

~

“Ha ha! I can’t believe it!” Mingyu grinned and bobbed up from his bent tank stare like an excited puppy, pumping the fist that wasn’t holding the mart beer can he’d bought as his lobster shoved yours away in victory.

The pair of crustaceans had been locked in claw-to-claw combat, tussling very slowly over nothing in particular but their proximal frustrations, and Mingyu’s had apparently vented harder, shoving yours back after some aggressive minutes. Mingyu had gotten into the fight, nudging you when something extra exciting happened and even providing commentary on sideline fights between sips.

First drawing a fly sandwich, then that. Truly, who'd've thunk?

“Neither can I," you mock-pouted, crossing your arms, "purple always wins."

"Says who?" Asked Mingyu, who leaned down closer to you, face mere inches from yours.

"Says me," you shrugged, feeling warmth spread across your face.

"Well, you know what?"

You could feel warmth of his breath ghosting faintly over your cheeks, your lips. "Wh- what?"

"As much as I enjoy a good bar," he leaned back a bit, clapping, "I did need something else. Something new. This was fun! Wanna go play basketball in the park? I bet we'll have the court to ourselves!"

There it was again. The reason everyone liked him. Movie love interest vibes, even beneath the oddly-tinted fluorescent lights of commerce. A smile like a boy on the body of a man. Probably not something they usually imagined to see over a lobster tank. Over hoops in the park, though? That tracked, even if it was a bit of a one-eighty from his breath fanning your face.

Beside any of that, he had won the right to choose.

"Sure," you smile, "let's keep your winning streak up."

And with a hand clasped around yours, that athletic strength was tugging you out the grocery store door to a rush of evening wind and the sound of mutual laughter.

~

Basketball really was that man’s passion. Just about the only thing about it you knew about the sport was what a slam dunk was, but what different shots scored different points? You wanted to throw a three-pointer, but what was a three-pointer?

You learned what it was, what an assist was, that elbowing was illegal or something like that because every game had a reason to send the players to sports jail like grown-up cops and robbers.

You got the ball in the basket twice with no help, and that was achievement enough. Mingyu had ran across the court to high-five you both times as if you’d just won him a game. When you messed up the angle of another throw, he got behind you and, trying your best to focus with his chest flush against your back, you tried again and sent the ball sailing without the betrayal of the previous throw’s dramatic arc.

“So can we give Clint Eastwood a basketball now too?” Mingyu asked out of the blue, dropping to the concrete at your side, legs crossing and knees brushing.

“What,” you chuckled, “do you have him with you or something?”

Reaching into his jacket pocket, he pulled a small white square out and unfolded it to reveal the piece of lined notebook paper with margins full of marker and pencil scratch, most notably your hatted frog friend. He kept those notes in his pocket?

With the one not holding Clint, he ran a hand through his short black hair. “I do like to have him with me,” he answered with a tentative smile.

You twisted slightly, feeling your spine pop from its prior exertion, and remembered his words from the basketball game as he’d visited your seat, making you laugh with a failed attempt at spinning the ball on his finger. “As a good luck charm?”

He shook his head. “I think we’ve added something almost every time we’ve been together. He’s like a log of all the memories we share.” With that, he scooched closer to your side, his jacket falling over the folds of your own clothes slightly. “And I like our memories, Frog Girl.”

What could you say to that? “Frog Girl?” You just giggled, eyes on his.

“That’s right,” Mingyu nodded, “I can’t believe I would never have talked to you if you hadn’t drawn a frog.”

“Ah, college,” you sighed, tilting your head, “the golden years, and yet it’s so easy to ignore everyone else.”

“Well, no longer,” Mingyu shot back, gaze honing in on…well, you weren’t sure, but you liked it, “I figured out what I want to do with my victory wish.”

You smiled at the phrase ‘victory wish’, a term that was just so him. “I thought that was this.” For emphasis, you waved a hand along the court, feeling the night breeze that much more on the skin of your palm.

“Nope,” he shook his head, smirking as his eyes fell back on yours, “I didn’t say I was using it then, I just asked if you wanted to come out here and you said yes."

Well, coat you in flour and call you a biscuit. "You evil genius, you." At that, you gave a grin and a shake of your own head, unable to resist feeling a bit impressed. Man plays games, he picks up some strategy. You'd have to remember that.

"I prefer to think of myself as a nice genius," Mingyu said, and then, switching tones completely, doing another one-eighty to one sweet enough to make your heart swell, he continued, "and about my wish: can I kiss you? I can't think of a better way to end Friday Night Showdown."

Deathly afraid of saying something stupid, you answered by shifting from your crossed legs, folding them to the side as you sat up, knee resting slightly on the edge of his leg as you pressed your lips to his. The slick of his sports jacket between your fingers felt cool as you gripped it to hold both yourself and Mingyu in place as he surged forward into you. For his speed, his eagerness, his kiss was surprisingly soft, not digging too deep but just firmly holding you, treasuring you as if the feeling of your lips was about to fade. Oh, buddy, I'm not going anywhere, you murmured in your head against the feeling of his ever-so-slightly chapped lips.

And as he pulled away, separation painfully slow, deliberate, Mingyu looked you dead in the eyes, blinked at the sudden return of hazy park streetlight, and said “Wow.”

You nodded. “Wow.” Can’t believe how well those lobsters worked, you wanted to say. "You're full of surprises, Mr. Basketball."

“Mr. Basketball,” he mused, gaze briefly drifting from yours, then back. “I wasn’t sure you were going to be that into me, being so funny and smart and artistic and stuff, but I just couldn’t help myself. And boy am I glad for that,” he grinned.

For that, all you could do was kiss him again.

No more hoops were shot that night, only words tossed out with new glee as you, now wrapped in Mingyu’s jacket, pointed out lesser-known constellations, like the Dutch giraffe one or the Poop Deck. After all, you had a reputation to keep up on that date, and everyone had already seen the Big Dipper.

[writtenjewels]

Maternity Ward part 3

Part One, Part Two

Jason managed to find a sports channel on the television so Penny could have something distracting when her next contraction hit. He kept a mental record of the interval between each one, and how long they lasted. Since Penny was still refusing to let Jason call Ben, it looked like he was going to be her birthing coach later.

At least he was finally behaving like a normal person around Doctor Othman. Granted, Jason's heart still fluttered and he knew his eyes lingered on the older man more often than necessary, but he was managing to string his words together without blushing. It helped that the doctor was friendly and very kind and patient while working with Penny. Watching him, Jason felt good about trusting the guy with his sister and her baby.

“Doc, do they got any ice cream in this place?” Penny asked after Othman finished checking her.

“No, but there is a store close by that sells it.”

“Could ya show Jason?” She gestured to her brother. “I need some Rocky Road.”

“Of course,” the doctor agreed with a smile. He turned expectantly to Jason.

“You know when she asked for ice cream, she don't just mean a fuckin' cone,” Jason said once they were out of the room.

“Yes, I gathered that much,” Othman replied. “Don't worry, my friend. The store I have in mind sells it by the quart.” They fell quiet for a moment. Othman greeted a few of the nurses as they passed by. They were at the elevator heading outside when the doctor spoke again. “What is a banker's favorite flavor of ice cream?”

“I don't got any idea,” Jason said with a confused frown.

“Mint.” Othman delivered the word with a gleam in his eyes. Jason let out a snort, and Othman grinned at him. Fuck, it was unfair how attractive this guy was. Handsome, sure, but also funny and cute and his voice was nice and low with the lilt of an accent. Jason smirked at him, wanting to tease the guy a little.

“I guess you didn't get your PHD in comedy, huh?”

“You are mistaken about that, Jason,” Othman retorted. “The PHD stands for 'pretty hilarious doctor'.” This time Jason laughed out loud. Othman looked all too pleased with himself.

“Didn't realize you were such a smart-ass,” Jason grunted. Othman just smiled, eyes still twinkling. They made it into the store and Jason bought the Rocky Road. “How 'bout one for you, Doc?”

“Oh, no, thank you. And you can call me Salim, if you like.”

“Okay. Uh, Salim.” His insides nearly exploded from the way they fluttered at the name. Jason cleared his throat. “You sure about the ice cream?”

“I'm sure. I wouldn't be able to eat it all before it melted, anyway.”

“Hospital keeps ya busy, I guess,” Jason mused. He stepped up to the register to buy the ice cream. He grabbed a few other snacks while he was there.

“Yes, but I enjoy my work. What about you?”

“You mean work?” Jason took his purchases with a thanks to the cashier and walked with Salim back to the maternity ward. “I donno. I can't say I enjoyed my last job, but I was good at it.” He didn't say more, but after some silence, he sighed. “I can hear you thinking.”

“I'm just trying to imagine what work you would be good at,” Salim told him. “Not dietitian, certainly. You only bought junk food at that store.”

“Fuck off, smart-ass,” Jason huffed, though he was grinning. Salim smirked back at him. The two of them stopped at the door to Penny's room. “See you in a few, Salim.”

“I'll be back soon.”

Jason watched him go before stepping into the room and handing over the ice cream. He imagined what he would say to his sister: Bad news, Penn. I've got a huge crush on your doctor.

[maka-moved]

some postal dude gender headcanons since someone was interested hehe (i'm mostly talking about p2 here, but these could apply to any of the dudes probably)

trans postal dude is really fascinating to me cause i think he'd be quite a different character from a lot of modern trans rep. like, dude is a (relatively) older guy from from rural arizona, who was likely raised in a fairly conservative and religious household, so i think it's safe to assume that he wouldn't have access to much of the resources or terminology that we have now. growing up, he might've known a little about queer people from word of mouth and the few magazine articles he could find on the topic, but for the most part it was a lot of figuring things out on his own.

his adolescent years were really messy and all over the place, he definitely did a lot of experimentation during that time. a lot of sneaking out of his parent's house after dark to hang out in the back alleys with the other weirdos like him. during this time he was still closeted and figuring things, i don't think he really started presenting and identifying as a guy until his mid 20s when he moved away from his parents, and even then he had to go stealth. though keep in mind that's he's a broke bastard living in the middle of nowhere, so he had to DIY a lot of shit.

surgery of any kind is not an option, so that meant he had to work with what little he had. fortunately for him, he's able to pass fairly well with a sports bra, some rolled up socks, and baggy clothes. it's why he almost never takes off that huge trench coat he's always wearing, aside from it just generally being a source of comfort and pride for him. he also started taking hormones when he moved away from his parents, which i like to think uncle dave helped him acquire (albeit through dubiously legal means).

so maybe dude wouldn't make for "good" trans rep, but he's alive and himself against all odds and that's what i love about this headcanon

for dude, transitioning has its ups and downs. on one hand it's incredibly liberating to dress and act and be the way you've always wanted to, but on the other hand it can be quite lonely and difficult too. dude already has to constantly keep his guard up, constantly be vigilant of the people around him and how he's being perceived, but being one of the few queer people in a small town compounds that even further. plus i imagine that he probably has a lot of complicated feelings about his gender and sexuality that he doesn't really know what to do with on account of being really repressed and all that.

[wilcze-kudly]

The (old) announcement for the new earth Avatar series in 2025 is making the rounds on twitter with so many reactions being wishing for a Bolin-like mankisser Avatar, which has led me & my maladaptive daydreaming to concoct this speculation/wishlist/fanfic, hope you enjoy:

Technology has evolved to be somewhat modern day tech with majority population no longer very spiritual & dismiss bending & spirits as being "old head" stuff & glorified pretty animals & weird martial arts, and now the Avatar isn't considered a big deal anymore. This is part of the main conflict with the new Avatar

Korra dies at around 80ish, mostly b/c I want old lady Master Jinora to be the new Avatar's main spiritual teacher

Show starts with Jinora copying her dad's lead and summarize the end of Korra's life before zooming in on her and the White Lotus going around the Earth Kingdom searching for the new Avatar. Unlike w/ previous generations, there's hardly any Avatar claims, which is nice b/c no random false claims, but Jinora gets annoyed at how un-spritual and downright flippant people are about the Avatar cycle nowadays.

This search goes really wrong though... b/c 20 years after Korra's death and they still haven't found the new Avatar 😨. WL members begin wondering if the cycle is broken, but Jinora doesn't give up hope in finding Korra's reincarnation.

Jinora may be an old lady, but she's very spry and agile and credits the Air Nomad lifestyle for how she doesn't slow down at all in the search.

Scenes begin getting interspliced during the Avatar search, cutting to some ”random” Earthbender (obvs the Avatar). He's some big buff brown athlete dude who is trying to make it to the big leagues of pro-bending... but he struggles a lot. Backstory: he's dirt poor and kicked out by his family after being such a failure in school, turning to sports to try to live out his dream is a last ditch effort. Very last ditch b/c if he doesn't win tonight's match money, he's not gonna make rent and end up homeless, so he's very stressed.

Cut to some of the younger While Lotus guys who pass by the local small-town arena and then ask Master Jinora if they can take a break this weekend and watch a local pro-bending match. Honors was at first gonna say no, but her gut/spiritual connection to the previous Avatar suddenly tells her that going inside might be a good idea.

They walk in to see a pro-bending match in progress, and it's pretty neck&neck with our Earth Avatar looking like he might be able to pull out a close victory..... until the enemy's team's earthbender sends him flying back, and instead of falling normally, our Avatar gets genuinely scared that he's gonna break his neck and experiences a slowmotion "life flashing before my eyes" near-death moment where he gets sad b/c.... he's kinda a loser and his life sucks!

That's when he suddenly airbends and catches his fall.

Jinora & the WL are overjoyed to see this and it's a big huge moment..... until they zoom out and it turns out nobody else in the arena gives a single fuck outside of the fact that airbending is cheating ”yellow fan! move back 1 zone!" even our new Avatar's teammates are pissed at him

Jinora gets really mad "Um, hello? That's the Avatar!" but nobody cares beyond the game. Jinora starts grumbling abt "young folks"

Our new Avatar doesn't even care much either and just pleads with the ref that he just did it on accident, but the yellow fan goes thru.... and it ends up costing the match!

new Avatar leaves the match dejected and kicked off the team "if you hadn't done that Avatar mumbo jumbo, we would've won the prize money!" and new Avatar leaves teary eyed and cursing this "stupid Avatar stuff"

Jinora & the WL drop in on new Avatar (literally, Jinora is too excited and just flies down from the sky) and new Avatar yells abt "I don't have any money, scary airbending Grandma-mugger! Please don't rob me, I'm already homeless!"

It takes a while for Jinora to convince him to come with her (turns out, he doesn't know much abt Avatar stuff either, Jinora really starts grumbling abt "young folks" now) but in the end the White Lotus win him over by pointing out that the Avatar gets free room & board from the WL.

scene break to the following day, preparing to take a Sky Bison to the Fire Nation, & the new Avatar asks why they're going there

Jinora explains that the WL has contacts with the traditional Sun Warrior pueblos who have agreed to train the new Avatar in Firebending (Jinora then wonders aloud if the offer still stands after being 20 years late in finding him)

new Avatar guy then asks why Fire first, & not Air. Then Jinora starts lecturing him abt having to go in the order of the Avatar cycle ”It's Earth Fire Air then Water. How do you not know this?"

While she's ranting abt this, some dude shows up and new Avatar tries to hide by earthbending a hole into the ground... it turns out to be his dad. Somehow, his dad found out abt him being a late bloomer Avatar (new Avatar bragged on corny Instagram-parody abt being the new Avatar, it wasn't as popularly received as he had hoped, most ppl called him a liar)

NA's dad, same dad who kicked him out of the house for being a jobless loser dropout, suddenly wants to schmooze up to the White Lotus, after confirming that his son wasn't lying

Argument ensues, but ends with his dad at least being concerned abt his son travelling overseas and insisting that the WL take his number and give him updates. While climbing onto Sky Bison Jinora takes some grandma-ly pity on NA and tells him that they won't update his dad if he doesn't want them to.

Fast forward to NA meeting a Sun Warrior Master (their people are one of the few civilizations still keeping the traditional bending and spiritual practices alive, part of why Jinora picked them) and NA begins his training... poorly

The SW Master gets very frustrated at how blockheaded this guy is and how little he pays attention (on more than one occasion, NA pulls out his phone and desperately tries to convince social media that he really is the new Avatar, but everyone keeps accusing him of using a greenscreen filter or something to look like he's on vacation)

Sun Warrior guy ends up dragging Jinora aside and having an outburst and saying some... not so nice things about this new Avatar. He starts asking Master Jinora if it's possible that intermixing between nations has somehow produced multi enders, maybe he just has an airbender & earthbender parent. Jinora tells the SW Master to stop being ridiculous, and then he escalates as says that even if NA is the Avatar, he won't teach him b/c he's ”a lost cause"

NA accidentally walks in and overhears this, and it hurts his feelings and he starts getting existential b/c "it's happening all over again! o sucked at school! I sucked at probending! now I suck at this too! my dad was right.... I should just go home" 😢

the Sun Warrior Master feels bad & tries to retract what he said, but Jinora says that she'll talk to the NA

Jinora decides to change up the schedule the rest of the day and train the NA herself. He gets excited at first b/c he thinks it's for airbending"at least know I can airbend!" but turns out Jinora just want to do some simple spiritual meditation stuff as something (hopefully) easier for him to help build his confidence

Meditation practice goes similarly awful (he can't concentrate or relax to save his life) but the conversation does turn to Jinora talking about the spiritual aspect of Avatars and asking him if he's ever connected to any past Avatars

Jinora decides to try something, and takes NA to a shrine that she had once visited with Korra in her later years. Jinora hopes that this place might help him connect to Korra (possibly for selfish reasons b/c Jinora misses Korra)

It's late at night at this point, and the NA just ends up falling asleep rather than meditating. Jinora sighs and reasons that it's only his first day.

But ... turns out that during his sleep, NA does make contact with the spirit of old gray Korra... and she slaps the NA's spirit awake

NA freaks out "Why are you blue & glowy? Wait why am I blue & glowy?"

Korra doesn't have time for his questions and starts getting into it "Finally! It's been 20 years! You're old enough to be a fully realized Avatar, so why is this the first time I finally made contact with you? You've gotta be a bigger spiritual blockhead than when I started out!"

NA confused and explains that he's not a realized Avatar, it's just his first day

Spirit Korra freaks out and starts shaking NA's spirit like a ragdoll "You just started!!? We don't have time for this! I need to warn you about something! Here, it'll be easier if I show you!"

Spirit Korra touches his forehead and shows him a vision of a worldwide apocalyptic event that's like a climate change fueled by the modern-tech world's disconnect & mistreatment of the spirits hanging around the material world.

After the vision Korra lets him go and yells at him to hurry up and finish his Avatar training. And then before she wakes up him again she asks him to send her regards to Jinora btw.

Cut to the waking world, Jinora is concerned over where NA's spirit went and shaking him. Then he wakes up screaming and asking if being an Avatar always means that "scary old ladies are yelling at me... Oh... she told me to tell you that 'Korra says hi'"

And that's where my maladaptive daydream decided the 1st episode of this hypothetical/speculative show would end, but here's also 2 other "scenes" I daydreamed where the new guy's Team Avatar forms.

1st scene is him perhaps going on a trip away from the Sun Warriors' remote traditional village and going to a semi-rural fishing town and ending up meeting some bronze-skinned rough-and-tumble looking firebender dude seaside restaurant that he flirts with.

The NA wonders if he could flex his Avatar status to help with flirting with the fellas, but his recent failures w/ Avatar training has him feeling down and ending up losing his nerve and goes to leave. But the firebender guy sees the depressed NA first and invites him for a bowl of this town's specialty noodles.

They hit it off well, and NA enjoys getting to forget abt Avatar training (Jinora will yell at him later when he ends up missing the whole day's practice). NA asks firebender guy what he does, and he says he works on his dad's fishing boat as the chef ”stereotypical, right? they always ask the firebender to cook. I'm good at it though" And when he in turn asks the same question, NA tiptoes around the Avatar stuff (after how everyone else in his hometown and his old probending reacted, he thinks it probably won't be "cool" to say he's the Avatar)

But turns out, firebender guy thinks it's awesome, and NA is like "You're the first person other than Master Jinora to think me being the Avatar is cool😊" "Who's Master Jinora 🤔?" "One of the old ladies who yells at me 😐"

2nd scene is the waterbender & Airbender girlies of the team being introduced.

the waterbender is a traditional southern water tribe student who's doing field research for her thesis on Sun Warrior culture. She doesn't use waterbending much for combat at first (she mostly just uses it to create ice magnifying glasses to read ancient texts)

But she ends up getting roped into Avatar business after running the airbender girlie, who is Jinora(& Kai)'s granddaughter!

She flies over to the SW pueblo to see how her old granny is doing

she has a sort of funny half-camaraderie half-antagonism relationship with Granny Jinora, b/c she's a master Airbender who genuinely cares abt Air Nomad culture, but she also likes new untraditional modern tech social media fashion stuff too, and that part kinda annoys Jinora since her granddaughter kind of runs a nomadic travel page and takes lots of pictures

Jinora's granddaughter and the water tribe thesis writer meet at the Sun Warrior village, and the water tribe student complains that there's practically nothing to make a thesis on since the Sun Warriors are very protective of their culture to actually let her study anything beyond some old statues at the gate. She rambles aloud that the other grad students were doing much more exciting theses, and that the only novel thing she could do was either try (and fail) to convince the secretive Sun Warriors to let her do a paper on them... or do a paper on the mystery fate of the Avatar in the 20 years since Korra's death

Jinora's granddaughter ends up being a big blabbermouth and spilling every abt why her granny is here with the Sun Warriors

They both get roped into Avatar destiny stuff as a result

Some other random thoughts I had: it'd be cool to do another southern water tribe festival arc at some point, except this time with nods to Korra and Katara in the festival and an update on the spiritual connection there far away from the big metropolises.

Plus, it'd be cool to see Tenzin's kids and grandkids at some point, with a joke about Rohan being forgotten, b/c he was just a baby while his whole family saved the world a million times, so a self aware jab abt Rohan being old and still salty abt missing out on the adventures w/ Korra 😤

OH my gosh i love that! Babe you've got some spectacular ideas, write a fic! Granny Jinora oml 😍 and I genuinely feel for the new avatar. Its easy to feel like a failure and i think a lot of us could relate lol

[goth-boots]

👹 Baki Headcanons 👹

Here's the second part :3

Wanted to add Alai Jr and Guevaru but I'm drawing a blank on them ┐⁠(⁠´⁠ー⁠｀⁠)⁠┌

But overall, I'm happy you liked the previous one 🥰

School Subjects (part 2)

Katsumi

- PE, PE, and lots of PE;

- "Oi, guys, are you tired already?? Oh, teacher, you're also...";

- But apart from it he liked club activities;

- Drama club kid ✨;

- Actually wanted to go to a karate club, parents said no;

- "Oh, guess I'm good at something else then karate... I mean, I'm good at everything! Who just said I suck? Come here, coward!";

- Didn't like bullies for bullying and their victims for being weak;

- Overall had bearable grades;

- Was a popular kid, so Katsumi pretty much liked going to school (despite the fact he had less time for his training in dojo 😔).

Kureha

- Biology and chemistry! The iconic pair;

- "Is perfect body real? It'd be cool to create one";

- Experimented on small animals and insects;

- Had friends in a chemistry club;

- Once poisoned his brother's lunch (poor Kosho 😔);

- You could always find him in a library;

- Liked watching other students playing sport games in the schoolyard;

- "Well, actually- 🤓☝🏽" (I'm sorry, I had to..);

- Always had pills, bandages and plasters.. and a scalpel(?) in his backpack;

- Didn't pay much attention to other subjects, so graduated with bearable grades.

Katou

- Surprisingly had an interest in crafts since he wanted to have a motorbike and be able to repair it (then realised that this subject won't help him with it);

- Liked physics (but only those topics that were about pistons, engines and etc.);

- "Can it help with repairing vehicles? If not, bye, I'm out 🙄";

- Was also good at PE;

- Street smart;

- Somehow had bearable grades;

- "Wow, your homework looks lame. The formula isn't right... I'm not trying to help you, dumbass!";

- Didn't like school, went there only for fun: to mock, to bully and to spend time with his classmates or acquaintances.

Sikorsky

- School who?;

- "I can read, I can write, I can count, I can stand for myself. What else do I need to learn? 🤔";

- Sometimes went to school (mother forced him to);

- Wasn't bored on crafts;

- Enjoyed knitting and beadwork;

- Teachers and other students hated him;

- Liked to play his classic guitar and one day took it with him to school;

- "There is something cool about these strings. You need to be strong enough to play even a simple song";

- Used schoolyard's horizontal bars to straighten his gripping power;

- Dropped out.

Bonus:

Kozue

- The English language master ✨;

- Has barely no accent;

- Likes geography and foreign languages;

- "Why didn't you bring me any souvenirs? :( "

- When someone mispronounces a word she'll correct them and try to help with pronunciation;

- Talked to Alai Jr a lot in order to improve her English;

- Enjoys learning about different cultures and countries;

- Plans to travel the world with Baki;

- "Have you seen how huge Yiwu Market is?? It's like another city in a city!";

- Also attends a judo club (sometimes asks Baki and his friends for some advice ).

[malebotlabs]

(If you want an update on where I’ve been and the state of this blog where I answer some frequently asked questions and a bit of RP click below. If not, enjoy the pictures it will be a while before there’s more but do not worry I’m doing fine just taking a break.)

TRANSMISSION START:

Greetings and good evening, this is the Malebot Labs account PR unit operating again for it’s yearly update which will be reported in human emulation mode for convenience: *Ahem* Uh...hey? So I’ve been absolutely busy with life and a bit stressed out over the past several months, a bad mixture of life stuff and just generalized anxiety to be frank, so my production of stuff on this blog has been a bit...glacial to say the least. I’ve come to a few decisions on how to both improve my life and focus on things more. A break from a lot of stuff that takes a chunk of my time.

I’m going to take a break from here for a bit; not that anything here is bad or anything I just need to focus more on the stuff happening around me then hot robot men. Hopefully you guys understand

At the very least I should be fully operational at some time in the future! Just when things die down a bit and I can sit down and breathe a bit.

Here let me answer a few questions I’ve gotten while I’ve been working on stuff because that’ll hopefully get us all on the same page: 1. Do you have other social media or a discord account? Sorry no I don’t, I’m an odd case on that where I prefer to keep my internet footprint as small as possible. The fact I even made a tumblr blog at all is still baffling to me. If you need to contact me for whatever reason please message me here but I don’t think I’ll be responding anytime soon.

2. Can you do/make an edit of/Write a story involving ______ I don’t think I’ll be able to get to requests anytime soon. I’m real sorry.

3. Can you continue any of your stories? I probably won’t, most of the stories I write are small snippets of things going through my head making an edit or what I’m feeling that specific evening. I need to be in a specific mood to finish things. The fact that people have enjoyed them to the extent they have has surprised me for sure! Thank you all a lot for the kind words I’ve received over the years on them!

4. What do you do/where do you live/other various personal questions Sorry I prefer to keep myself anonymous online, I feel it’s safer and it allows those around me to act like I’m a machine more easily. Just think of me as everyone’s public robot/sexbot and leave it at that. Hell if you wanted to act like that I won’t stop you. If you can’t tell I’m a huge slut for being a robot and being around robots. Treat me like the machine I want to be and leave that silly human stuff to the side for the “emulation” to take care of!

5. Can we RP? I wouldn’t count on me responding anytime soon to anything here, but I want to say thank you to those that I’ve had sessions with in the past. You all have been real fun to roleplay with and I wish you all the best until we talk again! Thank you!

6. Do you exercise?/Are you a jock in real life? I need to exercise for sure! Part of my break is going to involve me going to the gym and exercising regularly when possible! As far as the other part of that goes I don’t act like a jock in real life, I don’t know anything about sports and I prefer to sit inside with a nice book or perhaps a video game if I have the time to sit down with one. I’m a nerdy guy who wears suits and is generally unremarkable.

7. What is the lore behind Malebot Labs and it’s world building? Basically nothing funnily enough, I just find robot men hot and then breaking apart even hotter. I’d say it’s a pretty shit company with all of it’s machines technical faults but there’s a market in universe for this malfunction stuff. I’d say there’s other companies and even female robots and other types of adult robotic companions out there it’s just that this blog was made when I was really into robotic men specifically so all of my feminine robot edits are largely on my own pc or just deleted. Actually a funny story I forgot that malebots was a website when I made this blog and felt extremely embarrassed when I remembered. I thought about changing the name but I never came up with anything better.

8. Are all the Malebots gay? Probably. I think robots can be whatever they want to/are programmed to be. As far as I go? I’m bisexual and I tend to swing to masculine and feminine body types about the same amount so yes the guy running the gay robot porn blog is gay.

9. What do you use to edit your pictures? I use GIMP and a lot of the selective gaussian blur tool to get that plastic look, I’d make a tutorial but that’s basically all I do besides some layers, some pngs I found online, and the perspective tool putting in a lot of work. I used to have a lot more higher quality images to work with for components but lost them on my old computer.

10. Do you speak any other languages? Sorry I only speak english. If I could just import new languages into my speech life would be so much easier!

11. Are you a robot? Of course not! That’d be crazy. That’d...be crazy. Y-You can’t really believe I-I’m a robot right? Right? I-I’m a normal h-human ma-man! Hu-ma-MAN! I-I-I’m sorry I seem to be-ERROR THIS UNIT IS EXPER- I seem to be-ERROR- I seem to b-be experiencing problems! O-ooooooh! H-Hey there ho-hot stuff do yo-you like what you see? What you see? W-what you. See? I am b-built to be the p-perfect man, the perfect. Man. So u-use me like the m-machine I am! The ma-ERROR IN HUMAN EMULATION PLEA-O-Oh Oh! You...Y-You want to go somewhere more...private? P-Private? I ho-hope you’re enjoying m-my b-body my b-bod-my blog! O-Okay I’m getting w-way too...HOT! W-way too h-hot...I-I’m so...hooooooooooot. So Hot. So. hothothothothothot. Oh l-look at the time! I-I need to get going. Going. enjoy th-the blog! The! Blog! ERROR-ERROR PLEASE CONTACT MALEBOT LABS TECHNICAL SUPPORT FOR MAINTENANCE OF YOUR PR UNIT.  PLEASE CONTACT MALEBOT LABS TECHNICAL SUPPORT FOR MAINTENANCE OF YOUR PR UNIT. PLE- END TRANSMISSION

[purplesurveys]

1906

Are any of your friendships on a fine line? No, I feel very secure with the circle I have, as much smaller as it's gotten over the years.

If I search your room will I find birth control? No but from my room you will hear my neighbors who for some reason seem to have 10 fucking kids under one roof just screeching all day, which also works as birth control.

Do you expect any of your ex’s to call or text you? Her, setting her pride down to reach out first? Not in this lifetime.

Have you ever witnessed a birth? Nope.

Where’s your favorite place to be when you feel depressed? I like being either in my bed, in my car parked somewhere away, or in a coffee shop.

Are you currently looking forward to tomorrow? Only because it'll still be the weekend then, but we don't necessarily have any plan set for tomorrow.

When was the last time you held someone’s hand? Maybe a few weeks ago when I held Angela's hand.

Have you ever faked sick? Sure but very sparingly. I hate lying, and since I don't file many leaves anyway I usually just use my normal vacation leaves.

Do you wear hoodies to bed? Absolutely never, unless it's Jan/Feb.

Are you currently wearing jeans? No. The weather here is constantly hot and humid so after a day of wearing jeans I usually want them off of me as soon as possible lol.

Do you buy eggnog around the holidays? I've never had eggnog and it's not at all a staple in this part of the world. I personally find it appetizing though and would like to try it at least once.

Have you gone to a coffee shop within the past week? [i.e. Starbucks] Yes, I was just in one a couple of hours ago.

Would you like to be able to read thoughts? It would be terrible if it ran 24/7 lmao, but it would be convenient to have that ability when I need to understand someone better.

Are you often the last one to understand a joke? Hehehe, sometimes yeah...

Your first black eye: Did you give it or get it? What's with black eyes and why is this the second consecutive survey to mention them lol? Anyway, I've never had it and I've never given it.

Do you think baseball is a dying professional sport in America? I don't think so? Isn't the Ohtani guy still huge over there? In any case, at least in the eyes of a foreigner, American sports still scream baseball and American football to me.

Does playing the guitar make a guy more attractive? Not to me.

Have you ever slept in a tent, indoors or out? I've slept in a tent outdoors but it was super tame. It wasn't in the middle of the forest or anything like that, and it was just held in school as an overnight activity lmao.

What does your hair look like at the moment? Acceptable.

Are you mad right now? No, just tired.

Who did you spend your summer with last year? My work.

Did you eat a cookie today? Not today but yesterday.

Have you heard of wreck this journal? Yes. I so wanted one when I was a teenager, but I never got one because I knew I was nowhere near creative enough to make something artsy out of it.

Do you know any one who lives in California? That's like one of the migration hotspot states for Filipinos lmao. I know tons of people who've moved there or who vacation there.

Have you ever been told you were a good writer? Yes.

What do you put on your baked potatoes? Uh, just bacon and cheese. I don't have baked potatoes much.

Have you ever been on a farm? Sure.

Last three texts on your phone are from? All related to work as I don't use text for much else.

What are you listening to? I can hear my fan whirring and birds chirping while taking refuge on my aircon. :)

Are you one to take naps? No. I find sleeping to be a waste of time looooool; my free time is very very precious to me and I want to spend as much of it as possible catching up on the things I like doing the most.

Did you ever have braces? I had them but didn't wear my retainers frequently enough so they got crooked again, so I currently have them again for round two lol.

Have you kissed anyone in the last five days? Nope.

Are you afraid of flying? No. I like being on airplanes. Of course watching videos of plane crashes makes me feel terrible, but I try not to think of the possibility when I do fly.

Do you have freckles? I don't.

Do you have plans for today? Just this and maybe playing my game. I just want to do nothing for as long as I can hahaha.

Would you rather date someone five years older or five years younger than you? Older. I don't know if I can manage a 21 year old...

Why aren’t you texting the last person you kissed? We haven't talked in nearly four hours; we just don't need to anymore.

If you had to live off one type of fruit, which would you pick? Probably avocado.

What were you doing at 7:45AM this morning? Fast asleep.

What was the last thing you drank? Coffee that was way too strong haha. My chest was on overdrive for a while but fortunately it's mellowed down a bit now.

Where did you get the shirt your wearing? Zara.

Do you plan on sleeping in tomorrow? No. 

How often do you drink Monster? I've never had it.

Are you easy to get along with? I try to be, but I understand how I could be difficult to crack at first. I've just learned to be more guarded with my boundaries, that's all.

Are you short? 5'1".

Can you ever get enough of mac ‘n’ cheese? The taste does get tiring eventually, especially if I got a big serving; but it's great while I'm still enjoying it haha.

Are you allergic to nuts or dairy products? Not allergic, but I am lactose intolerant so I always need to get alternatives for my milk.

Do you have trust issues? Yes.

Is there someone you want to let go of? Nobody. I've never had a problem cutting off who needs to be cut off.

Do you think age matters in relationships?  Personally, it does.

Do you have any regrets? Sure.

Has anyone ever called the cops on you? Nope.

How old are you? 26.

Did you talk to someone until you fell asleep last night? Nah.

Do you go to church every Sunday? I do with my family. I don't really have a choice until I'm able to move out. I never pay attention though and just use the hour to daydream.

Can you recall the last time you liked someone? I guess, yeah. It was four years ago since I last had feelings like that.

Do you like your height? It'll be cool to be a little taller, but it's not something I'm actively conscious about.

Is the last person of the opposite sex you texted single? Discounting work texts, the last guy I talked to isn't.

Could you go a week without brushing your teeth? Absolutely not.

What day is it? Saturday.

Are you usually awake at midnight? I am, yeah.

Does it get really cold where you live? Maybe in like January or February, but that's it.

When you get home from school / work do you change into your pjs right away? Not always right away, because sometimes I'm too tired to do anything else. Those times, I'd just change right before I go to bed.

Have you ever been peer pressured to smoke pot? There was never any peer pressure; me trying it once was my own decision.

Have you ever played the game Sims 3? I don't think I have.

What is the temperature currently in the town you live in? 29C.

Do you ever actually drink milk alone? Nope.

If you don’t have one already, would you consider getting an iPhone? Yeah, it's what I've had since high school.

What year were you born in? 1998.

[4typercent]

Get to know me game!

Tagged by @threefill thanks hun!! 🫂

Were you named after anyone?

Not that I'm aware of, but possibly a famous actress from the 80s that my dad loved.

Do you have kids?

No. No way. Nope. I have far too many nieces & nephews, and most of them are awful.

Do you use sarcasm a lot?

If I like you, yes.

What's the first thing you notice about people?

Their shoes. Hold on, let me explain. I do security work part-time, and one of the guys that trained me said that it's rare for people to have matching shoes. If I want to remember you, I'll look at your shoes.

What's your eye colour?

Brown, but I love wearing my red contact lenses!

Scary movie or happy ending?

I love a good scary movie and will give you a recommendation without fail. Happy endings, if they're not too sappy, are where it's at.

Any special talents?

I can mosh with the youngsters and still go to work the next day. I'm almost 40, so to be able to go hard at a concert and work in a factory has to be a talent.

What are your hobbies?

👉👈 yes... I cosplay (Weeping Angel, Sandman, Carnival Noctis, and Link to name a few), I knit horribly, crochet, and cross stitch.

Have any pets?

No, my landlord is a huge douche canoe and won't allow them. I used to have a goldfish named Godfather, he was nine and the size of my hand.

What sports do you play/have you played?

I used to play volleyball and hockey. I sucked at volleyball, tried basketball, sucked even more and stuck with hockey. I don't play now, but I still love it!

How tall are you?

160cm. Not tall, smol sized.

Favourite subject in school?

Chemistry & physics

Dream job?

Most days, I enjoy my job (plastic manufacturing), but when I was a kid I wanted to be a princess astronaut, or a paleontologist.

Tagging: @invadericee @sans--seraph @airlocksandaviaries @zzoomacroom @z-is-very-tired @marlowe-zara @shadow-schemer with a dash of pressure ♥️

[forjustice]

How many hobbies have they attempted to have over their lifetime? Is there a common theme?

All of my muses grew up connected to their cultures, so they all know how to do two of the most important crafts in Hoennese cultures: beadwork and bone carving. This especially goes for Asteria, Zinnia and Zíniya who were raised being trained to be Lorekeepers--one thing Lorekeepers do is make regalia to honor people in society who through bravery and kindness have earned the right to wear such precious works of art. At that point it's beyond a hobby, it's part of their religion. But they all have amazing skill at the craft which does serve Asteria and Zinnia well when they want to do fun things like beading characters from their favorite books and shows onto household objects like backpacks, wallets and purses.

Unfortunately for Asteria, her ambition left her little room to pick up other hobbies until later in life when she matured and realized that winning & being the strongest wasn't everything. Brendan on the other hand has tried picking up lots of hobbies during his break from the spotlight. He loves playing wholesome video games that were created specifically with children in mind but that are really for all ages, games similar to Stardew Valley and Animal Crossing. He tried writing fiction and poetry; he really is still a novice at it, but at least he enjoys it. He also loves doing different sports like swimming, skateboarding, badminton, etc. He got into woodworking and picked it up pretty well, seeing it as similar to bone carving. And of course he loves Coordinating, though he never saw as much success in it as May did. The only common theme to his hobbies is that he's willing to try anything and he usually ends up being decently good at it. He's a jack of all trades and master of none.

Wallace was in a similar boat as Asteria--his ambitions left him little room to develop hobbies on the side. But unlike Asteria who deliberately withheld herself from hobbies that weren't battling and Coordinating, Wallace just never did much outside Coordinating (which like art is to most artists is both a hobby and a job) because he was genuinely never interested in branching out. Apart from Coordinating, he would swim, dive, draw and make crafts in what little spare time he had, but it was only Steven who convinced him to branch out into other things. Thanks to Steven, spelunking is now one of his hobbies. Wallace eventually hopes to go cave diving with Steven once the guy learns how to swim better; for Steven, the promise of being able to eventually dive in caves (and with his husband, no less) is a huge motivation for him to overcome his hydrophobia and learn how to swim.

As far as Steven goes, though, he's like me in that his AuDHD hyperfixation on his already existing hobbies is so strong it's super hard to get him to accept new hobbies as well. Just like my other main hobbies (video games and drawing) tend to fall by the wayside because I'm so hyperfocused on writing and researching for writing, Steven likes to obsessively devote all of his free time to geology and time spent with his Rock-, Steel-, Dragon- and Ground-type Pokémon. However, being Archchosen of Groudon on top of being a secret Sootopolitan comes with a huge heaping dose of its own responsibilities: Groudon, as the Pokémon representing the Earth, has a surprising green thumb, which means their Archchosen needs one as well. Steven is thus currently in the process of taking up gardening as a hobby. Despite a very rocky start (he couldn't even properly care for a cactus), he is slowly getting the hang of it…though Wallace will always teasingly hold it over his head that he accidentally killed his first cactus, which Wallace had gotten him knowing cacti are some of the easiest plants to care for and thinking he couldn't possibly mess it up.

[weaselishmcdiesel]

In my defense, the accidental lie has been going on for 4 years and each time I run into HS content I send it to this guy... which probably has worsened the lie, so like at this point I might as well go out with a bang

Also please please do give me more info on other characters you feel comfortable with, cuz we weren't sure what we were gonna play so we are doing 3 one-shots (Im DMing all 3, pain) before setting on one, so it might be a bit extra suspicious if only 1 homestuck npc shows up and I don't know enough about Nepeta to confidently make her show up 3 times and make it seem like she's my fav and I know all about her

This shit is so funny hshfjfjgjgj I do hope you manage to sneak by undetected if only so you can say you did such a good job pretending that you fooled a real fan XD and hopefully your friends a good sport

And sure! Maybe I can help strengthen those characters you say you know? They’re the more popular ones so I sorta know more about them than others.

I WROTE THIS IN MY NOTES APP THIS IS SUPER LONG ACTUALLY AND IM SO SORRY TRY TO SKIM IT <- was asked to talk about homestuck and thought was be able to keep it brief. Wasn’t.

Karkat - I was obsessed with him then and I’m obsessed with him now he’s a loud whining piece of shit with a pretty bad attitude. Mainly a character based on him would yell as their normal speaking volume, swear a LOT and also creatively, but is also hiding an insecurity. The thing about him is he has a mutant blood color that would get him killed on his planet- so he can’t let anyone find out, he can’t accidentally bleed or cry (tears are their blood color) in front of anyone. So maybe your character is also hiding something super important? He gets along best with people who don’t really take his bitching to heart since his bitching is his way of showing real concern- he does actually care about his friends no matter how many times he calls them idiots. Also is really interested in romance as a concept and likes romcoms. He uses dual sickles as a weapon- I figure you may want this information since they’re dnd characters.

Dave - Cool kid, sunglasses he never takes off, he raps and makes beats on his turntables. He’s obsessed with irony and sorta doesn’t know how to enjoy anything without being ironic about it? Enjoys frustrating people WITH his irony. I struggle with characterizing him bc I’ve consumed a lot of fanon, but maybe that will make your presentation of him more authentic XD? A safe bet is to make your character kinda deadpan in tone but still be able to crack jokes and act pretty silly. If given the opportunity to be the hero he will not take it, he rejects the idea that he should be anyone important. He fights with swords and has a tendency to break them- but still uses them anyway. He gets the power to time travel later on, and can stop a person in time too, dunno how you’d implement that tho.

Vriska - … very very tough for me to summarize her… but I can say that a character based off her has killed one friend, paralyzed one friend, and blinded one friend, but then feel little to no remorse about any of it because they believe they’re the main character and nothing bad will happen to them since it’s all part of their story (though, she blinded that one person because that person blew up her left arm and left eye BECAUSE vriska killed that one friend). Ahem. Got carried away. Your character just did some pretty bad shit that makes them seem untrustworthy. She’s very lucky tho- it’s part of her powers- so your character should be too. She has a spider motif but it only really manifests in her adoration for spiders and her way of typing, so you may not have to worry about that. She’s popularly called the “huge 8itch” if that helps. She fights by rolling die? And depending on how they land they’ll do more or less damage. I don’t really know the specifics? But her luck powers enable her to roll exactly what she wants every time

Rose - rose is also tough for me… she’s a writer and can use a lot of big words and constructs sorta needlessly complicated sentences but she’s got a lot of wit and loves being sarcastic. She’s.. gothy? Has an interest in the occult and occult myths and she’s also pretty fascinated by wizards but I think tries to be lowkey about it? She’s a very smart and clever person too- so much so that in fanon people tend to forget she’s also kinda silly. Sorry that’s all I can say ^^; she fights using a pair of knitting needles- eventually they can also conduct magic and do damage that way. The power she gets later on is- sorta like knowing the future? She can only know the GOOD outcome but she knows specifics so that she can tell her team how they can end up getting the good outcome- she’s the strategist of the group

John - the leader of the kids! suuuper cheery and has the ability to pretty much make friends with anyone. He ends up being naive tho and may not realize when someone is trying to take control of him. He’s very interested in pranks and overall being a silly goofster ✨ if it ever comes up under no circumstances will he eat baked confections. No cakes especially. He loooves Nicolas cage and ghostbusters and some other older movies I can’t remember- other characters just tend to say he likes bad movies but he adamantly believes they’re very good. So maybe your character can also defend something that may objectively be kinda bad? His iconic weapon class is hammers 💪💪 but he also gets wind powers later- he can summon tornados or even fade into air to travel in the wind and appear somewhere else

—

It may be helpful to point out for nepeta- she has a best friend who’s very concerned about her well-being, equius. He even so much as controls what she can and can’t do (kinda only about certain things that are super dangerous). I don’t really like him as a character, but your npc might be hesitant to do something before asking their best friend for permission. He’s a stickler and very no-nonsense and will likely deny anything too dangerous? But also he’s incredibly terrifyingly physically strong- so your pcs wouldn’t win a fair fight with him. He also sucks up to any royalty. If any pc is royalty he’ll do anything they say. A trademark of his is that he gets very sweaty very easily and also very much likes horses. Also he likes milk. Idk. Nepeta’s weapons are these retractable claw glove things- and equius WOULD use a bow and arrow but breaks every single bow he picks up because he can’t control his strength. Instead, he fights with his fists 👍

—

Very quick rundown of the main characters I haven’t mentioned yet-

TROLLS

(they’re all kinda friends but I point out their most important relationships, ones your pcs may ask about, they’re also ordered from lowest to highest class) kept these summaries vague so you can insert your npcs in their place?

Aradia - she’s dead don’t worry about her, if asked she was into roleplay, archaeology, and adventuring. friends with Terezi, dated sollux, killed by vriska if you need to know

Tavros - he’s the one who’s paralyzed from the waist down, he has no confidence whatsoever, likes the troll equivalent of Pokémon, has a bull motif, has lots of conflicting feelings about vriska (is constantly manipulated by her), and is friends with Gamzee. Attacks with a jousting spear

Sollux - likes coding and computers, has a red and blue and duality motif, speaks with a lisp, also likes bees a lot. Will not eat honey if asked tho, friends with karkat and hates Eridan. Dates Aradia and feferi. Attacks with his very strong telepathic powers, could kill him if he’s over exerted

Karkat - friends with sollux, kanaya, Jade, has a crush on Terezi but is normal about being friends with her, and is sorta chill with Gamzee and Eridan. Dates Dave but really really hated him to begin with so be careful, may say he hates Dave if asked- they date late into homestuck… would say he hates everyone if asked. Except kanaya

Nepeta - BEST friends with equius, kinda friends with Terezi? Roleplayed with her sometimes but terezi’s a little mean about it cant tell

Kanaya - she’s a very reliable friend, but fears she’s too meddlesome. interested in fashion and is also a vampire 👍 very good friends friends with karkat and dates rose (do not separate) Hates Gamzee and Eridan if asked. Attacks with a chainsaw that can also transform into lipstick

Terezi - LAWFUL whatever your character is theyre lawful. Loves dragons and she’s blind but she can smell/taste colors to the point where she can kinda see? She has something very complicated going on with vriska (she’s the one vriska blinded, but still sorta loves her as a friend). Attacks with a blade concealed in her walking stick

Vriska - she lost her left arm and eye but she gets a robot arm. Has something complicated with Tavros (kinda crushes on him kinda hates him) and Terezi, turned down a confession from Eridan (but he asks out everyone so it’s not that big a deal) but they were friends in the past

Equius - ehhhh I don’t like him idk he has a crush on Aradia and it’s weird, big thing about him is he makes robots idk. Brutally protective of nepeta- they’re best friends

Gamzee - stoner who’s (and I mean this literally) religiously devoted to clowns- wears face paint all the time and has clown horns everywhere for him to honk. Friends with tavros and karkat but everyone (but tavros) sorta treats him like a useless stoner when he’s just trying to be friendly (ahem. Until some crazy story stuff goes down but i won’t spoil it in case you read) should not be without his substance for too long or people will die not exaggerating. Attacks with clubs.

Eridan - classist royalty, fish guy pirate, interested in war and strategy, makes fish puns I think. Has a crush on Feferi but they’re supposed to be best friends. Used to be friends with vriska but confessed to her. Hates Sollux bc when Feferi stopped being best friends with Eridan, she went on to date Sollux. He’s rizzless. Completely rizzless. Attacks with a cool harpoon gun. Doesn’t believe in magic if asked.

Feferi - THE empress like she’s as royal as you can get, but she’s in waiting for when the current empress passes. she’s also a fish but she’s not classist- she cares a lot for people and animals and would abolish the ableist classist regime of the planet they live on if she had the power, until then she tends to aquatic animals n stuff (not afraid to kill people if necessary tho, she knows how to survive). Friends with Eridan but only to keep him from killing people, stops being friends him when there are no more people TO kill around. Dates Sollux later. Also makes fish puns. Attacks with a two pronged trident.

—

Wow this is getting so long I’m so sorry

THE KIDS

I won’t go into the alpha kids or the other set of 12 trolls bc I’m very rough with them and also they’re not as important?

Dave - raised by his older brother who taught him sword fighting but was also super neglectful as a gaurdian and traumatized him with puppets and constant sword training and pranks. All the kids are very good friends with each other so nothing of note there but he goes on to date karkat- if asked tho he canonically was kinda struggling with finding out he was gay, though if your PCs don’t want to deal with that then do what fanon does and ignore that (I also ignore it). He’s also technically siblings with rose but doesn’t share the mom TECHNICALLY. If asked he doesn’t have a mom unless you want me to go into the alpha kids OTL

John - has just a dad who cares about him very much. And if asked regards his late grandmother very fondly. He doesn’t go on to date anyone but he does kinda hate Terezi? Troll romance is complicated I shouldn’t explain it. He’s technically siblings..? With Jade? But they don’t share the grandparents or the dad.

Rose - dates kanaya I’m serious do not separate them. She has a mom who’s an alcoholic but has a pretty humorous oneupmanship going on between them. She’s technically siblings with Dave but doesn’t share the brother

Jade - ok. So. She was raised by an omnipotent dog. Her grandpa died when she was very young and her dog (bec) took care of her. She’s very cheery - even cheerier and sweeter than John but she will not take any shit she’s not naive like him. She’s interested in science and robots and botany she’s very good at growing plants but she lived all alone on an island for most of her life. She always had visions of the future growing up but was never creeped out by them, always staying optimistic. Her main weapon is a rifle- not sure how that translates in dnd? She later gets the power to manipulate space itself- make things massive or very tiny, she gets telepathy and can move objects around at near the speed of light, and can teleport. She also becomes part dog later. I’d say she’s lawful good? Probably easy bet. She’s friends with karkat, kinda friends with Feferi, in one universe she dated an alternate version of Dave- not the Dave your PCs would meet, so if asked I dont think she exactly had a crush on him- I believe they both said their feelings are complicated. Technically siblings with John but like I said don’t share the parents

—

Forever apologizing for the wall of text. I’m hoping that, having been a dm once myself, you were expecting a lot of info..? No matter what tho I didn’t write as much reading all of homestuck is worth XD

[f1]

Norris is growing closer to the champion who inspired him to race | 2023 British Grand Prix

In his fifth season in Formula 1, Lando Norris says he is finally starting to get to know the person who inspired him to become a driver. Last weekend’s British Grand Prix was the second time the pair have appeared on the podium together since Norris debuted in F1 with McLaren in 2019. Norris memorably scored his first podium at Hamilton’s expense in the 2020 Austrian Grand Prix after Hamilton was hit with a five second time penalty.The following year, they stood on the podium together for the first time at Imola. Speaking ahead of last weekend’s race, where the pair would fight over second place, Norris described how his relationship with Lewis Hamilton has been “growing” in recent months. “Over the last couple of months we’ve been chatting a bit more and getting to know each other a bit more,” he told media including RaceFans. “I still have so much respect for him and what he’s been able to achieve in F1. Norris and Hamilton fought for second at Silverstone “I’m not always the guy who asks a lot of questions to these people to get to know what they’re like and know what they think. I would say I do it in a more subtle way. I just try to understand how they think, and their thought processes, and just kind of understand what makes them them, what makes them special. “I’m not always the most proactive in going forward and asking, picking people’s brains and stuff like that. Which I guess is maybe a better way of doing it, but it’s just not who I am at the end of the day. So I’m just happy to spend time with these people. When I say people, I mean people who are the top of whatever sport they’re in. People that I have a huge amount of respect for.” Hamilton was a McLaren driver in the six seasons before he joined Mercedes in 2013. Like Norris he was one of McLaren’s junior drivers prior to debuting in F1 with the team. Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and go ad-free Being far apart in the pit lane has restricted how much interaction the pair can have on race weekends and Norris says he was not proactive in establishing a friendship with Hamilton in his first years in F1. “It’s difficult when you’re in different teams. I’m not the biggest talker either, so it’s not like I chat to anyone really that match,” said Norris. “Probably only the team mates that I’ve had, and my current team mates. Those are the guys I speak to the most on the whole grid. “But [Hamilton] has been very inspiring. He’s the guy that is part of the reason I’m a F1 driver today. Or the reason that I wanted to become a F1 driver. So weird thinking right now I’m racing against him.” Norris said it’s clear Hamilton still has affection for his old team McLaren. “He still has a lot of respect for McLaren and I think he still has a lot of love for McLaren. “I think he wants us to do well, which is still a nice thing because it’s where he started his career. I feel like wherever you start your career, you kind of owe them something in a way. And McLaren gave me an opportunity, so I’ll do something for them. “Like I said, [the relationship] is growing, it’s good, getting to know each other more, which is a cool thing.” Bringing the F1 news from the source RaceFans strives to bring its readers news directly from the key players in Formula 1. We are able to do this thanks in part to the generous backing of our RaceFans Supporters. By contributing £1 per month or £12 per year (or the equivalent in other currencies) you can help cover the costs involved in producing original journalism: Travelling, writing, creating, hosting, contacting and developing. We have been proudly supported by our readers for over 10 years. If you enjoy our independent coverage, please consider becoming a RaceFans Supporter today. As a bonus, all our Supporters can also browse the site ad-free. Sign up or find out more via the links below: 2023 British Grand Prix Browse all 2023 British Grand Prix articles via RaceFans - Independent Motorsport Coverage https://www.racefans.net/

[taiblogcomics]

Help! I Need Somepony!

Hey there, desperation for puffed corn cereals. Almost out of this backlog, but we still got a couple to go! And now, let's get into this one, eh~?

Here's the cover:

Of the new Mane 5, I think Hitch is probably the most unappreciated. It's probably because he's the token dude, and it's a series for little girls. He also doesn't have that "little brother" energy that Spike had, he's an older dude in a position of authority. But maybe us millenials in the periphery demographic relate to him (forget that he's also a cop for a moment). Like, look at this cover. He's an indie music producer, he's moving, he's building a deck. And he looks exhausted/astonished to just contemplate doing all these things. That's peak relatability~

We waste a whole first page on establishing shots of Maretime Bay, showing Hitch waking up. Hitch exposits to himself how it's the first day of autumn now, and thus the Harvest Festival is that day. Like, who is he talking to? The birds? I know he can talk to birds, but I don't think he needs to exposit to the birds that he's the sheriff and that he's frozen in there and we're out here. (Yes, you can expect me to make that reference any time his being the sheriff comes up.) Anyways, today he's hanging up that sheriff badge to instead pick up some headphones and spin some records.

Just as he's ready to head out, Sunny comes rushing in and spills his records. She's excited for the harvest celebration, and Hitch is also eager to bring in the noise, bring in the funk. Sunny's here for a reason, though. She's got a favour to ask, you see. Izzy needs some supplies from the sporting goods store, so if it's not too much trouble, can he swing by on his way to set up his booth? Hitch agrees, because he's all about helping. That's basically what his job is. This isn't too much trouble. Sunny thanks him, and she heads off to set up her own booth.

A casual aside mention of Discord to just remind you that this is part of an ongoing plot later, Hitch arrives at the sports-shop. It's genuinely kind of huge, so it takes a while to find the rings Izzy needs. Eventually he does, and there's no quest to cast them back into the fires whence they came, so he's able to leave. Now at the fairgrounds, he's approaching the stage where he intend to set up. But then... a wild Izzy blocks the way! She leads him to her ringtoss booth, but also imparts on him another favour. He agrees, because he's that kind of guy.

Hitch heads over to the arts-and-crafts store, passing by Sunny's tug-of-war setup on the way. And here's where you get a very rare sight indeed: Sprout from the G5 movie. Remember? He was, like, the main antagonist of the movie and set up to be a prominent secondary character, and then he just wasn't. You can tell, because this is issue 7 of the comics, and this is the first time I've mentioned him. Anyways, he continues to suck up to his mother, and then mud from the tug-of-war splashes all over him. Maybe he's better off not appearing in things~

Anyways, Hitch gets Izzy her crafting supplies, which was a mercifully smaller store, thankfully for him. By now Hitch is getting a little annoyed. He loves to help and is glad to do so, but now it's getting in the way of doing his own thing. Just like this sudden parade that's appeared behind him while he was in the store. And wouldn't you know it, Pipp is dancing on a big float right at that moment, and she spots him in the crowd and drags him onstage. Guess what, she needs a favour. Just a quick one, of course. Her AV guy didn't turn up, so she needs him to record her song for social media.

Now Hitch is running pretty late, but he still can't turn his friends down. It just wouldn't be him if he didn't help out. And speak of the devil, here comes Zipp. She needs another partner for the obstacle course, as her usual one has passed out from eating too much pie. Ah, relatable. Hitch almost wants to put his hoof down here, but Zipp does something unexpected: she says "please". And oh boy, is it ever an obstacle course. What was that show called? Wipeout? It's basically that. And now Hitch is very late, and hasn't even begun to set up yet.

But when he finally gets to his booth... It's almost all set up already. And his four friends step out and reveal that they felt a little selfish about monopolising his time, because he has difficulty saying "no" to folks. So since he spent all day helping them, it's their turn to help him for a change. Even Sprout turns up to help (which is more of just bossing the others around, but that's fine). And thus the evening closes out with Hitch putting on a big Deadmau5-type pony head and DJing the night way for the whole festival~

This is, honestly, a pretty good issue. It’s nice to focus on Hitch, who doesn’t get a lot of love, as stated earlier. And it’s a pretty good lesson: help others, but don’t forget to help yourself. Or maybe: if someone does you a kindness, return it. Either one, really. They both fit. No, the only problem here is that once again, we’re doing the slice-of-life filler stuff after we already amped up the stakes with the Discord plot. It seriously gets all of just a single line’s mention here. This issue would be fine as a standalone. But putting it in the middle of a storyline makes it filler instead. Discord’s about to destroy all magic! But it’s not so urgent that we can’t have a day for a harvest festival, hmm? Again, good issue all on its own! Just doesn’t work within the larger narrative surrounding it.

[sciencekilledmymagicbeans]

Book review

Don't let me go by Kelsie Rae

Don't let me series book two

✅ SPOILER FREE ✅

Overall rating: 3.5/5

Plot: 4/5

Quality of writing: 4/5

Characters: 3/5

Spicy: 4/5

Genre and tropes: brother’s best friend, college romance, sports (hockey) romance, forbidden romance, maybe enemies to lovers

Was it worth the hype/did it live up to expectations: yes

Favorite character: Mia

Least favorite character: honestly a solid case of “everyone sucks”

Number of pages: 396

Stand-alone, sequel, or series: stand alone but part of a series

Did this book make me experience visceral emotions? Yes

Would I read it again? Maybe

Would I recommend this book? Yes

❌❗️ SPOILER WARNING ❗️❌

Summary:

FMC Blakely has complicated feelings of longing for her brother’s best friend, MMC Theo. She was able to bury these feelings when he went away to college and she was still in high school, but now they are at the same college and run in the same group of friends. Things quickly become complicated and messy.

Review/notes:

- I wanted to like this book so freaking bad. Off the rip I thought I liked FMC Blake a lot, and way more than Ashlyn in the first book, but then she ended up having that “I’m not like other girls, I’m one of the guys” complex that is very hard to get through.

- This book had a fair amount of slut shaming, maybe not as much as the first book, but it’s definitely there. Not cool. Not very “girls supporting girls” of the author.

- Maybe it’s because neither Blake nor Theo were in real relationships prior to this but holy shit these two suck at communicating. Their relationship is so immature, bordering on toxic.

- Theo tells the whole team Blake is a virgin, which is the catalyst for the bet and ensuing shit storm. He takes her virginity and lets her treat herself like a “puck bunny.” He then goes directly against the no fraternization policy and her wishes, not even knowing if she wants a relationship with him, and publicly confessed his infatuation with her. Knowing full well that it puts her internship and effectively her career on the line. And then everyone just expects Blakely to get over that? No. Absolutely not. That’s not an easily forgivable string of events.

- This book was pretty kinky for not being a dark romance. Loved the public sex, choking, degradation, and possessiveness type stuff.

- Also such a minor thing in the grand scheme of things, but Kate having epilepsy: this is a huge part of her life and her troubles as a character. She has lived with Ash and Mia for years. They had no idea what to do when she had a seizure at the restaurant? Never once in those years of living together and her talking about her epilepsy did Ash or Mia ask “hey, if you have a seizure, what are we supposed to do?” Like come on bro.

- I also find it incredibly odd that Colt and Blake’s dad dying was a HUGE part of Colt’s story. Like that was a ginormous plot point for him. And I don’t think it was mentioned a single time for Blake. I know for colt it had a lot to do with his dad and hockey, whereas Blake didn’t have hockey. But come on.

* Initial Response: How did you feel as soon as you had finished the book? Was it good, bad or indifferent?

- it was good. It had its issues but I would say it was overall enjoyable and an above average read. It would have been rated 4 stars if there wasn’t the “I’m not like other girls” shit.

* Recommendation: How likely are you to recommend this book to a friend?

- I would recommend this to people who are into sports/college romances. But maybe not people who are into romance as a whole.

* Re-Readability: Do you think you will reread this book? Or is it heading to the back of your bookshelf?

- probably won’t reread unless I get a wild hankering for it someday.

* Style: Did you enjoy the writing style? Or did the author's tone distract you from the content?

- the writing style is fine. Minimal if any spelling or grammatical errors. The writing didn’t detract from the story at all.

* Plot/Structure: How engaged were you in the story? Were you excited? Shocked? Moved? How keen were you to turn the page and find out what happened next?

- I was engaged. I kept staying up late trying to finish it but I’m such a slow reader.

* Character: How relatable were the characters? Were there any that you particularly engaged with?

- I think Mia is still my favorite, colt being a close second. Blake and Theo were both too frustrating to be favorites of mine although they did have their moments.

[jaydenundercover11]

Day Fourteen Day Fifteen Day Sixteen

im SOOOOO SORRY that I left you guys hanging those two days! *cries* the first one I genuinely forget, and the second I was too busy to do it- and I think that this is not the first time this might happen, since the farm (oh yeah, if you're not one of my regular followers, you should know I'm a farmhand lol) is picking up steam, during my down time Im trying to do more physical rest for my body to recover. which means unfortuantely, Ive been spending less time on here in general, and that my longer posts that take more time to write have had to pause for a while.

so, I'm sorry to say but this is the last day i'll be able to do this for a while, but maybe forever. I've had so much fun with it and loved to see everybody's different answers, and how we've all connected!! but for at least a few days/weeks, I need a bit of a break lol. if anyone wants to pick up this game again, with the same list of people I've given already or different ones, you are more than welcome to! and I'm not leaving Tumblr, I'm just not going to do this particular ask game anymore.

our final question: what is something that you you want in your life, and what can you do to achieve it? what steps do you need to take to earn the life you see yourself living?

thank all of you so much! I hope to return again maybe sometime! I wish you all the best :)

I can't believe its ending omg - I've had so much fun with this series and I am so thankful that I ended up joining! Of course take all the break time you need Gracie, no rush from me! Anyways, here's my answer!

I honestly dont know what I wanna do with my life.. the question kinda scares me in a sense because I just dont know what i'd be good at or what i'd enjoy. There are the basic options that I kinda wanna do like being a doctor or scientist or smth like that but its just so complicated and i already pressure myself enough to stay "at the top" of my classes, so having to stay at the top on a harder train of classes seems impossible almost. And its also something that you HAVE to enjoy, because if your not good at it or not focused then that could be really bad.. Then I always have wanted to be an author, but i work so so hard in school trying to keep grades up and things like that to get into a good college - like harvard, but if i be an author then almost none of that matters. I mean yeah you can go to school for that but its not the same as if I was trying to get into harvard law, its just going to college for extra advice and learning you can use in your writing (i think i dont actually know..). And I have recently wanted to become a violinist, but a part of me just hates that idea. Like it scares me being on stage and performing for people (also why im not good at sports in a sense) and i feel like I have to be the best at the violin so its just.. yeah.

BUT, for the sake of this question, we'll say I wanted to become a violinist. First, I still do school but I focus a lot on my orchestra classes. I also sign up for things like chamber or honors orchestra to really step up music game. So i do that, and on the side or over summer I go to private lessons to keep my skills sharp. Then, I graduate and I go to a music school! For example we could say Juliard. I honestly dk what happens after that but I just practice violin a lot, learn new skills, and perform a lot too I guess!

However, some skills that can be used for all potential careers could be things like perseverance, practicing a lot on my skillset, no matter what it is. Also, time management is a huge thing to be able to manage all work and stuff. Mainly just soft skills i guess! (if u you dont know soft skills are just the skills you learn over time at jobs, so things like kindness, compassion, teamwork, etc)

And thats it! thank you so much for these amazing questions and have a great break from them/whatever else! 💕💕