#also also my American Sport is ice hockey and I know nothing about American football so again; I’m English I know nothing

[smeddiemunson]

jock steve is fantastic but steve and wayne bonding over sports??? top tier because nothing is funnier to me than eddie needing to make plans AROUND steve's plans with his own uncle

wayne being really into sports is also just a ton of fun, like always listening to the radio broadcasts of basketball games and now he has someone to listen with!! eddie coming home and the first thing wayne asks him is "did steve catch up on the game this morning"

you've really inspired me i have so many steve and wayne bonding over sports feelings now o(￣▽￣)o

Eddie gets home from something, he’s surprised to see Wayne’s truck in front of the trailer, he thought he was working. But he’s excited because it means he gets to hang out with Wayne for the evening! They can have TV dinners and Eddie can tell Wayne all about how great things are going with Steve.

And then he gets in the trailer, and there’s the unmistakable sound of Monday Night Football. And his boyfriend, who he saw no more than an hour ago, who did not mention this, is sat on the floor in front of their coffee table and dishing out a KFC bargain bucket.

“Hey, baby, we’re watching football. You wanna join us?” Steve says.

Wayne just throws him a beer, expecting him to agree anyway. It’s not like Eddie wouldn’t be privy to everything going on even if he did try to hide away in his room.

So Eddie sits on the couch behind Steve, accepts the paper plate Steve sets on his lap, and cracks the beer open.

Steve and Wayne get into the swing of the game, shouting at the tv, laughing at each other, saying things that Eddie can’t even decipher using context clues. Then at first intermission, Eddie very quietly interrupts to ask “who’s playing?” because he thinks that’s a question he’s supposed to ask.

And Steve launches into an explanation of the Chicago Bears and the Green Bay Packers. And he must notice that Eddie looks completely lost because he stops, then tries again with.

“It’s like Gondor versus Mordor. We, Chicago, are Mordor-“

Wayne corrects him, “Gondor.”

“Right. Gondor. And they, Green Bay, are Mordor.”

And Eddie still doesn’t really get it but it helps and it makes him feel kind of all warm fuzzies to know that they listen to him when he rambles about his favourite books. So he sits back and devotes himself to learning the thing they love.

[neonfretra]

SPANISH SPEAKERS CAN LISTEN TO NOTHING GAMES!!!

i believe i found the article referenced! "How Spanish hockey announcers translate the game" by Greg Wyshynski

(it was in fact chicago, vegas, and la!)

me picking at the article below the cut :)

emphasis added to all quotes are my own

(Francisco X. Rivera, who calls Los Angeles Kings games in Spanish for ESPN Deportes), one of three Spanish play-by-play broadcasters in the NHL, uses a variation of the word "baston," meaning "cane." So does Hector Lozano of Univision Deportes Chicago (1200 AM), who calls Chicago Blackhawks games in Spanish. "For high-sticking we say 'baston alto,' which you could probably translate as 'high cane,'" he said. "It's something about the sport itself, where there's no literal translation for a lot of terms. So you have to work with what you have. Obviously, we have a lot of the terminology that's done in English rather than Spanish. Icing is kind of difficult. But offsides is easy: 'fuera de juego.'"

[note: "fuera de juego" could be literally read as "outside of play"]

YES... YES!!! article literally opens with one of my favorite parts of translation: the mental puzzle of it all ^_^

invoking the same imagery, finding the words that have the same connotation and not literal translation ... i really love reading the thought process because of how insightful it is to language conventions on both sides of the translation

(for anyone curious, my usual experience tends to be translating to english)

"I couldn't figure out how to say that the puck was in the middle of their skates, and the players were trying to dig it out. So I would say they were 'chopping onions and cilantro and tomatoes,' just to make a reference to how it looked when they were trying to get the puck out of the corner," said Jesus Lopez, who calls Vegas Golden Knights games in Spanish on ESPN Deportes (1460 AM).

"Checking is something that I really can't translate," Rivera said. "So I use 'get close to someone,' which is something you use to describe a boyfriend or girlfriend. Why not make it fun, you know? Respecting the people that are giving 100 percent on the ice, but also respecting the people who are new, and have never seen this sport before."

THESE MAKE ME INSANE ACTUALLY.

something im personally quite awful with would be being less literal and translating figure of speech to figure of speech. personally, i fall back on the 500 word footnote LOL

in my defense YOU try to translate a poem LMAO

and beyond that is finding a unique voice and take on events that DOESNT rely on existing (english speaking) casts and instead using cultural references and figures of speech is CRAZY!!! personally i dont recognize the richness and history and culture of a language nearly as much as i should until i try (and fail!) to work across mediums and it sounds so flat and literal. hello...

its actually kind of gorgeous beyond words yet done so casually. thats so cool im actually embarrassing about this.

another article i came across ("Color of Hockey: Rossell, Garay team up on ESPN Deportes NHL coverage" by William Douglas) had a different take on translating struggles!

(Kenneth Garay, NHL play-by-play caster for ESPN Deportes) said perhaps the biggest challenge of calling a game in Spanish is some hockey phrases don't easily translate. So he'll likely use the English terminology and let the action speak for itself. "The puck, I don't call it 'disco,' I call it 'puck,'" he said. "What we're going to do is translate the emotion that we're used to in soccer and American football, and that counts as much with the language."

this was interesting to me in the direction of every language got the weird amalgam language thats spliced together with another language (usually english) (ex. spanglish, franglais)

WAIT IT HAS A NAME? marconic languages!

its interesting to me for the fact that most often you see that switching between languages by virtue of not having the right words in one language or the other (or having an especially right phrase (ex. commonly used phrases like "you know what i mean?")) where instead of trying to accurately translate a word or phrase you put the baby where your mouth is and just use the original language.

(see also: all according to keikaku and other translators notes in anime)

personally ive just accepted it as intuitive without actually considering the reason LOL

but because of the speed of the game (or casual conversation), theres a lot less room for translating or explanation, instead pushing energy and clarity to the front! and thats kind of why i get that "puck" is something acceptable to use for english but not "icing" (which isnt even intuitive to english speaking audiences LMAO)

and to bounce back to how spanish hockey announcers etc etc

"I gave it to my boss, the head of Lotus broadcasting," (Rivera) recalled. "I didn't convince him at all (to broadcast Golden Knights games in Spanish). He told me, 'I want you to do the soccer thing. It's more fun when you're doing soccer. Can you make hockey sound like soccer?' So I started to call the goals soccer-style."

i have nothing academic to say about this quote (like i had anything academic to say this whole article LOL) it just made me cackle. can you make hockey sound like soccer?

consider reading the whole article (+ color of hockey)! i focused exclusively on the aspect of translation, theres more on the actual effects within the latino community of making spanish broadcasts available and the personal journey of these casters :)

theres also allusion to the fact that many other sports and leagues include alternate language broadcasts! theres the montreal canadiens french broadcasts! theres the hockey leagues around the world! okay maybe not around the world. but. a lot of spots on the world?

slightly related, interesting to me is emily rickwood playing with the shenzhen red stars and the translation of her name to chinese phoenetics on the back of her jersey!

(+ theres more articles out there! again, i was approaching this with an interest in the translation aspect, i dont think i could say much interesting on the other topics covered without basically summarizing it worse LOL)

the way sports and language and culture interact is so incredibly interesting and it was fun to just take the time to tuck into a specific aspect of it :) MORE CASTING IN MORE LANGUAGE PLEASE...

maybe nhl in asl has given me a taste of the epic highs and now i am too spoiled . whats stopping us from doing this all the time ... whats stopping us from casting games in whatever popular languages in the area of a teams are ... maybe spanish speakers want to watch nothing games as well as the stanley cup final what then ... have you never wondered what kind of translations of your favorite players names there are out there ... heres how we can force people to actually learn those two or three or four languages theyve always wanted to pick up ... gather interest in learning less well known languages ... ill go first and then get dragged for exclusively sayin nothing related to the game LMAO

[dameronscopilot]

since the football/soccer world cup is happening soon (in qatar... Very Known for their Football Proclivity and Human Rights... anyway), do you have some headcanons and/or thots about Benny and Santi with someone who's into sports? not necessarily just football/soccer but also other sports like the American ones (can you tell I'm not? 😆) or motor sports etc - like have jerseys/shirts, other merch, know some stats, have a favorite player, etc level into sports :D thank you so much!

I feel like this post needs these photos of Oscar and Garrett watching tennis together 😂

I'm not sure why, but in my brain I always immediately like to imagine Benny as a hockey guy. Probably also because the idea of him on the ice in a uniform is just 🥵🥵🥵

So to build off of that, I love the idea of him dating someone who's very into a different sport, like soccer, because I feel like he'd do his best to try and get to know the rules while also constantly asking why nobody's beating the shit out of each other on the field 😂 (And if Benny makes too many comments about how he thinks soccer fans are so much more tame, they'd drag him to a World Cup game to prove to him exactly how passionate soccer fans can be. Benny ends up leaving the game with a jersey, a scarf, a flag, and he's got his arm thrown over their shoulder as he's drunkenly singing the team's chant over and over.)

OR Benny would totally end up with someone who loves American football, but their teams are rivals. During football season, they have ongoing bets where the loser has to wear the winner's team jersey all week.

-

As for Santiago, I feel like he's a baseball kind of guy. Maybe some American football thrown in there, too. But he's not quite as intense as Benny can get about his sports. And now I'm just imagining him being with someone who's super into F1, and he knows nothing about it. Frankie and Will have a very casual interest, so Santi starts drilling them for stats and asking who the best drivers are so he can try to at least somewhat impress his partner.

Alternatively, he'd definitely have the luck of dating someone whose American football team is Benny's favourite team as well. So they both just relentlessly gang up on him.

Copilot Sleepover!

[rainydayhogwartsimagines]

hi, could you do a draco x muggleborn reader headcanon where he falls in love with her throughout the years in hogwarts and she slowly introduces him into muggle things like tv shows and phones and basically her and hermionie always make fun of him and ron for not understanding !! i love your work btw

oh my God this idea is ADORABLE!

Draco was snooty. God that boy had something to say about everyone. But you saw past that and he became this really sweet guy. You two became these best friends and Draco actually began to hang out with the trio. Course his father was not exactly a big fan of him spending part of the summer at the Weasleys but Narcissa said "Lucius, he's making friends. Be nice." So Lucius sucked it up.

Draco absolutely adored you though and constantly talked about you. He was kind of sad that you never spent the summers in the Wizarding world. You always spent it in the muggle world with Hermione. This year though you spent part of it with the Weasleys before heading back to Hogwarts for your third year. When you walked in Draco was so FUCKING EXCITED. You brought a lot of weird things for Arthur to look at. "what's this?" Arthur asked, holding up a discman and making Harry snort. "It's a cd player." You answered. "... What's a cd?" Ron asked. "....Uhm.... Well crap." You muttered. You showed them what it was and they were mesmerized, along with Draco. You spent most of your time there showing the group different muggle devices. You had a blast, you and Draco spending a ton a time together.

However with the time you two spent together the more in love you two were. The last night you were there you sat outside on the back steps with Draco. "This was the best summer." You chuckled. Draco smiled. "Hey can I ask you something?" He asked. "What's up?" You asked. "...Do you feel like something has changed between us?" He asked. "Oh so you noticed it too! I've been thinking this was just a me thing. If I didn't know any better I'd even say that I--" you stopped yourself and cleared your throat. "what were you saying?"he asked. "N-nothing!" You lied. Draco got closer to your face and you leaned back, quickly turning red. "What were you saying?" He asked, a small smirk coming onto his lips. He knew damn well what was going on. "Drac-Draco I..." You saw that smug look and you squinted. This little shit knew you liked him. So you decided to play around too. You pulled him forward and kissed his nose, now wiping the smug look off of his face and making him blush. But two could play at this game. He kissed your cheek, making you grumble. This fucker was not winning. You gripped his shirt, yanking him forward and kissed him. To be honest, you shocked yourself. He pulled away. "I am so sorry I just got aggravated and--" he kissed you. He actually kissed you.

Well that led to you two dating. He was so happy around you, always smiling with his arm around you. School finally was back so he was seeing you every day. "I don't get it. Why not use a fucking pencil?" You asked. "I don't get that either." Hermione agreed. "It does make math WAY harder." Harry admitted. "What... What's uhm.." Ron struggled to ask. "Yeah, me and Ron are lost, what's a pencil?" Draco asked. "....Baby... Please tell me you're joking. Like PLEASE tell me you jackasses know what a pencil is?" You asked. "No?" Draco admitted. You sighed and got up. "I'm about show you." You said before disappearing. You came back with an unopened pack of pencils. "So this is like a pen. But you can erase your mistakes." You said. "....So it's a pen." Ron said. "No." You said. "So... It's not made for writing?" Draco asked. "no it is!" Hermione corrected. "So.... It's... it's a pen!" Ron said. "NO."

That argument went on for way too long. But you started showing them more. Draco loved seeing you draw though. Sitting under a tree by a lake in his arms as you sketched out a landscape. He finally got the idea of a pencil after watching you btw. But the one thing both boys took interest in was the sports. "Wait so you guys don't even keep up with muggle sports?" Hermione asked. "No. I mean, most wizards keep to careers in the wizarding world." Draco said. "Okay okay. Next summer we're teaching you baseball." You said. "Base... Base what?" Ron asked. "Baseball! Or what about rugby?" Hermione suggested. "We're not trying to break our necks." Harry said. "True. Well there's also hockey." You shrugged. Then a lightbulb practically popped over you. "We can do that this winter!" Hermione said.

And so you did, asking your parents to lend you some skates for the group along with hockey equipment. "Alright. Hockey is like football." You said. "...American or--" "English." Hermione said. "Okay. So why are we on ice?" Ron asked. "Added challenge." You said skating. Draco had never skated before and you chuckled. "you expect us to actually move on this?" He asked. "Darling, people do this all the time!" You said. He slid forward and nearly fell but you grasped his arm.

After teaching them how to skate though you taught them how to play. And oh boy you all got really into it. You stood by as a ref, watching them play nearly dying of laughter as Ron completely failed to understand how to be a goalie. As time passed you started teaching them more and more. "Dad is hellbent on knowing what the purpose of a rubber duck is." Ron said. "...I think that's just to make bathing fun." You shrugged. "But why? It's bathing." Draco asked. "Muggles are particularly boring and find enjoyment in yellow plastic ducks." Hermione answered. "That and star wars." You laughed. "...Star... What?" Ron asked. ".....We have failed as their friends." Harry said. "But they're not even that good--" you and Harry have Hermione horrified looks. "....Okay we'll show them!" She said. So that summer Draco managed to convinced his parents to let him stay with you with Ron, Harry and Hermione. You opened the door and Draco rose a brow. "....What in the world?" He asked looking at the tv in the livingroom. "this is a tv. A blessing to humanity." You said. "Amen to that." Harry nodded. You all watched the star wars movies. "DARTH IS WHAT!?" Draco gaped. "HOW-- WHAT!?" "OH MY GOD HE'S ANAKIN!?" Ron gaped. You were honestly just watching the boys' reaction. Your parents were just looking at them like "Have they never... Seen this before?"

When the movie ended Draco's mouth was open and Ron swallowed. "That was--" "Wicked." Ron said making you laugh. "So... they don't have television in the wizarding world?" Your dad asked. "No sir." Harry said. "So... how do you pass the time?" Your mom asked. "Quidditch." All of you said in unison. You did show them baseball, Draco being REALLY good at it actually. "Babe, you run!" You said. "What--" "DRACO. RUN. OVER HERE." Hermione said. He sprinted to first and you snorted. They were absolutely baffled by a gameboy. "What the hell is a Pikachu?" Ron asked. "Think thunderbird but cuter." You said showing him the Pokemon. But by far their favorite thing... Was doctor who. ThEY ABSOLUTELY LOVED THIS SHOW. "THIS IS THE PEAK OF TV CHANGE MY MIND." Draco said after watching an episode. K9 was literally his favorite character. Ron just loved the Doctor as a whole. Your boyfriend... Christ he became such a fucking nerd.

But he was also very interested in cameras. You showed him some cameras like the polaroid and he loved taking pictures. Specifically of you. You loved it when he discovered more music for the discman. He was a really big fan of the Beatles actually. Harry listened to AC/DC After Sirius was like "kid you haven't lived till you heard back in black okay?" You loved to just sit in your room and read in draco's arms. There was a surprising lack of musical instruments in the wizarding world so when you admitted that you could play guitar that kind of blew their minds. See, the thing was is that they assumed that the instruments had to be enchanted in order to make music. Not that you had to be trained to play music. You played a couple of songs and Draco fell even harder for you. He loved listening to your voice, whether it was singing or talking he just loved listening to you. You actually taught Draco how to play and discovered he had a nice voice (Yes that is a subtle nod to Tom Felton who can actually sing.) Sometimes when you all would sleep in the living room Draco would sing you to sleep as you laid on his chest. Of course in the process you would lull everybody else to sleep. You spent years showing these too adorable goofballs muggle devices.

Later when you were seventeen came the ultimate Muggle lesson though. Cars. You decided to teach these two jackasses how to drive. You had gotten your license and decided to teach Draco how to drive. "So you're going to release your foot off the break--" "Oh God we're moving." Draco whined. "....Like not even one mile per hour. Now accelerate. Remember the gas?" You asked. "Yes.... Darling do we need to go faster than this!?" He asked. ".... Hermione can outwalk the car. Yes. Now accelerate!" You said. He tapped the gas and screamed when he moved making you snort. "Do you remember where the break is?" You asked. "I NEED A BREAK." he whined making you laugh. "Draco you're doing fine. Move forward." You said. "WE HAVE TO DO MORE!?" He asked.

Ron actually wasn't that bad. He wasn't as panicked driving the car and understood the process compared to Draco who ended up hyperventilating into a paper bag. "Babe... It wasn't even that bad." You said. "THEN YOU DRIVE BECAUSE THAT THING IS A DEATH TRAP!" he said. ".....Guys, wanna go to the mall!?" You asked with a slightly deranged look. So you drove and when you went past five miles Draco was flipping out. "WAHT THE FACK!?" Draco screamed. Everyone was dying of laughter after you all got out. "THIS IS MADDENING! WHY!? WHY DRIVE!? WHAT DO YOU GAIN!?" Draco asked. "if he's being this dramatic over a car wait till he finds out about a soft pretzel from the food court." Hermione said to you. The concept of a soft pretzel was hysterical to watch the two wizards try to grasp. "Yes, but pretzels aren't supposed to be soft." Ron said. "would you just eat the damn thing?" Hermione said. It was their favorite snack. "How dare they deprive us of this?" Draco asked. "fascist bastards." Ron muttered.

[cashmere-caveman]

ok here u go ♡

ik sports rpf is mostly about playing w sexy dolls who come w a free Narrative but i do feel like there is so much underexplored potential if we leaned into the ugliness of it all by which i for once do not mean institutional bigotry but like. pain management and shit

i can only speak about the parts of sports rpf i go to personally obv but like the danger factor of sports is something that fic doesnt shy away from, per se (and thats not the point i am making). for example, f1 drivers crashing is a p common 3rd act trope to prompt a reconciliation after a fight! but my question is what comes after that.

what about when we treat that like a Real Thing and not just a plot device what if we conse some quences. what about surgery, what about rehab, what about chronic pain and old injuries. what about the way it can go perfectly fine back to how it was before and your body bounces back completely and what about the way it sometimes just doesn't. football players (idk shit abt american football this is about rest-of-the-world football) who get special surgery for their torn acl and are back on the field within weeks, if not days, when the time my sister tore her acl it took her half a year to walk without crutches. ice hockey players pushing their bodies to the brink during playoffs with injuries that would leave them benched during any other part of the season. f1 drivers crashing in qualifying and then still driving the race. boxers and martial artists racking up head injuries that will leave them with early onset dementia and parkinson symptoms. theres anonymous sources in the nhl saying a good 80% of players smoke weed and a good deal of that is probably self medication andd pain management

which is an absolutely fucked up indictment of how low personal health of players ranks below Money and Entertainment Value etc for sports organisations and thats just physical, not even touching mental health. high performance athletes sell their bodies. lets reckon w that!

getting into the ethics of sports while writing rpf abt it might sound hypocritical and i get that it isn't everyone's cup of tea, sometimes u just want to read abt hot people getting railed and that is fine! but honestly. i am making the case here for more whump fic. for more fic dealing w career ending injuries (even though theres already lots of that out there). but also, more maybe, the case for fanfic that deals with injuries that could have been career ending, but for any set of reasons weren't and now ur still left w ur body and ur career. u get older and u dont bounce back as easily as u used to. u have millions in the bank but nowadays u also have a Good Arm and the other one, u know?

and if nothing else. there should be so much more fic about hockey players shotgunning

can i say something about sports rpf if we all promise real hard to be cool

[theoriginalladya]

Get to know me

Tagged by @guileandgall.  Hah!  After all this time, I doubt there’s much I can tell you that you don’t know! :)  (Thank you!)  Anyone else want to participate?  Consider yourself tagged!

Who were you named after? Two grandmothers (combined for first name), a great grandmother and a great aunt (both same name which is my  middle name)

Last time you cried? Um ... it’s been a while?  Although, I can cry at the drop of a hat - hormones, temper, frustration; you name it, it usually ends up in tears, so I may just not remember because it’s such a common occurrence. :P

Do you like your handwriting? Most days, yeah.  Days when arthritis is acting up (which I’ve had in my hands since age 13) not so much because it looks ... wobbly.

What is your favorite lunch meat?  what the heck kind of question is this???   Hmm ... rare roast beef, probably.  Cut very thin - not shredded, but deli sliced thin

Longest relationship? Only one, actually:  sixteen year marriage.

Do you still have your tonsils? Yes

What is your favorite kind of cereal? Apple & cinnamon oatmeal

Do you untie your shoes when you take them off? Pffft - what world does that EVER happen in?  These days, however, I usually rely on slip on sneaker/mule things.  Comfortable and no strings attached!  ;)

Do you think you’re strong-willed? Hell yeah - grow up the only girl (aside from mom) in a family of five and you have to be just to be heard.  (my son says he’s rather proud of me for that, too)

Favorite Ice Cream? oh god ... these days it’s Moose Tracks, but back in the day, Baskin’ & Robbins Chocolate Peanutbutter started it all! lol

What is the first thing you notice about a person?  what do you mean by ‘notice’?  Something I’m openly looking for?  Probably a sense of their ... vibe, I guess.  Shy, scared, mean, nice, etc.  I’m usually pretty good at figuring out if they’re open and welcoming vs. ‘get the fuck away from me!’

Football or baseball? Right now, ALL OF IT.  I LIVE for sports (don’t ask me why, I’ve no idea), especially when I’m knitting, and I’m really hurting through this pandemic ...  (that’s not a complaint, mind, just an observation).  But during normal times?  HOCKEY!  And football - both American and European (as well as Australian Rules though it’s been a long time since I was able to watch that).  Also college basketball ...  (glances over at @swaps55 )

Favorite donut? custard filled and covered in chocolate.  followed by apple fritters.

Last thing you ate? Nutty Bar by Little Debby

What are you listening to? Nothing - I’m at work.  Though, I’ve had “At the End of the Day” from Les Misearables going through my head.  Again.  MAKE IT STOP!

If you were a crayon, what color would you be? The bluest blue there is

What is your favorite smell? Roses

Who was the last person you talked to on the phone? My Ex last night

Hair color? Good question as I haven’t colored in over six months!  lower portions sort of a mahogany brown, upper portions dark brown mixed with silvery grey.  Attempting to see just how much grey there is which, surprisingly, isn’t as much as I was afraid of

Eye color? Depends on mood - normal a golden brown.  Pissed off or emotionally charged in some way?  golden brown with green hints

Favorite food to eat? Pho

Scary movies or happy ending? Happy Endings.  I don’t do scary.

Last movie you watched in a theater?: Shit ... I havne’t been to a theater (including drive in) since before my divorce, for the most part.  Hmmm ...probably Star Wars Rogue One when a friend came to visit, though I don’t remember the year.

What color shirt are you wearing? light grey with white horizontal stripes

Favorite holiday?: Christmas

Beer or wine?: Neither, though I do like sake, and that’s a kind of wine?

Night owl or morning person? blargh ... whichever I need to get through the 24 hour period I’m awake.  I’m a mom and a former teacher - I can run on little or no sleep if necessary

Favorite day of the week? Friday or Saturday depending on the week - werewolf gaming day :P

Favorite animal? cats, dogs

Do you have a pet? Two cats (brothers) - Kaidan kitty and Cullen kitty.  I grew up with cats and dogs.

Where would you like to travel? A number of places.  New:  Ireland, Wales, more of England and Scotland, Australia, New Zealand, Hawaii    Places I’d like to revisit:  France, Austria, England, Scotland, WYOMING, Colorado

[night-filled-mountain]

so forgive me if this is kinda a stupid question but i have an oc from Boston and I've never actually been there (I'm from the south so my experience with anything in the north is limited lol) but I was wondering if there are like... certain phrases/interests/general info that I could use to build up her character a little more?

Not a stupid question! An exciting question!

So, disclaimer: I’m not a native Bostonian. I was born and raised in New Jersey. If I have any followers who can swoop in and correct or add to any of this, please do! But I’ve lived here on and off for 12 years and married a local, so I’ll give it my best shot.

First of all: Where in Boston is your OC from? This is pretty vital to pin down. It’d be a hugely different experience growing up in, say, Beacon Hill vs. Mattapan. There are plenty of basic breakdowns of the different neighborhoods online, but my one strength in answering this question is that I’ve moved all over this city like an erratic Ping-Pong ball. So if you need inside information about any specific area, I’ve lived or worked in: the Theater District, Back Bay, Allston, Brookline (not actually part of Boston, but closely associated with it), Kenmore/Fenway/Longwood (that’s kind of all one neighborhood, but I’ve got all three parts covered), the North End, Lower Mills (part of Dorchester, which is huge), and Mattapan. I’ve also hung out a lot in Downtown Crossing, Chinatown, Beacon Hill, and Cambridge (which is also not part of Boston).

If you don’t know what part of the city your OC’s from yet, think about her economic background, ethnicity/nationality, what she or her parents did/do for work, the kinds of places you imagine her spending her time, etc., and see if you can find a good match.

Other Boston things:

The accent: The Boston accent (as in “We pahk the cah on Hahvahd Yahd”) is real, but not universal. It’s mostly a thing in working-class families who’ve lived around here (and remained working-class) for at least a couple generations. My mother-in-law, who’s from a blue-collar Irish family in Dorchester, has it. Her husband is straight from Ireland with a full-blown brogue. And their four kids--all raised in the suburbs, all educated at private Catholic schools, after which they all went to college--have no trace of either accent.

Phrases: I feel like you want to be really careful with regional words/phrases in general, lest a character come off like a walking parody, but here are a few tips:

Possibly the most stereotypical Boston (and general New England) word is “wicked,” which is used to modify adjectives, as in “It’s wicked cold out” or “I’m wicked hungry.” (A girl from Maine was playing with my hair once and told me it was “wicked pretty,” and it was, like, the highlight of my life.) This is NOT something I hear on the regular, but I wouldn’t balk if your OC used it once or twice over the course of a story.

A liquor store is called a “packie” (short for “package store”). Don’t ask me why. My husband calls them this every time without fail, and was previously unaware that it was not a universal term.

A milkshake is called a frappe (which is pronounced “frap,” and does not involve coffee). Or at least, the drink in which you mix milk and ice cream, which would be called a milkshake in any other part of the country, is called a “frappe.” Supposedly, if you ask for a milkshake, you’ll get a drink made of milk and syrup with no ice cream, but I’ve never attempted this.

You don’t make a U-turn here--you “bang a U-ey.” Again, I can verify this one based on the fact that My Husband Says It. (And he once yelled it while playing a multiplayer video game involving cars, and was horrified when none of his fellow players had any idea what he was talking about.)

Interests: You’re probably already aware of the sports teams (Red Sox for baseball, Patriots for football, Celtics for basketball, Bruins for hockey). This is New England, Land of the Endless Winters, so hockey is pretty big (including casual kids’ hockey teams). Ice-skating is popular in general; the Frog Pond on the Boston Common (which doesn’t actually have any frogs) is a favorite spot.

As someone who is Not A Sports Person, I can also assure you that whether you want them to or not, the Red Sox will affect your life as a Bostonian. You will find yourself almost smothered to death on the T by dense crowds of drunk people in Sox gear on their way to or from a big game. You will be casually shopping downtown when a deafening wave of noise approaches, confetti rains down from the heavens, and you are nearly trampled to death by a post-World Series parade. You will be unable to sleep a wink the night after a game if you live anywhere near Fenway. And do not set foot in a bar at such times. DO NOT.

Other things that Bostonians care about more than the average person, in my experience: SEAFOOD; St. Patrick’s Day (I’ve never been to the parade because of reasons, and honestly, I’d also recommend avoiding the bars, the T, and even the very streets if possible); the Boston Pops concert and fireworks display at the Esplanade every Fourth of July (ok, that’s actually pretty fun); and all things American Revolution (well, you may not be interested, but you probably studied it intensively in school and visited a lot of local historical sites).

Public transit: Boston’s train/bus system is called the MBTA (Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority), but literally everyone calls it “the T.” If you travel on the T regularly, you probably have a CharlieCard:

These are named after an old campaign song by a politician who promised to lower the fares. It’s absurdly catchy.

Knowing what neighborhood your character is from tells you which T stations she would’ve lived near, which is also super important to my Bostonian mind. Is she a Red Line kid? Green? Orange? Blue? Or maybe she mostly took Silver Line buses, or rode the Commuter Rail (a.k.a. Purple Line) to work. (I‘ve only ever lived on the Green and Red Lines and certain bus lines, so I have Biases.)

College town: Boston is a college town. It is lousy with colleges. That’s what first brought me here, and even though I’m a townie now, I remember the culture well. College students make up around 20% of the city’s population when school is in session, and the downtown neighborhoods in particular are crawling with them. They swarm the bookstores and museums and bars (with real or fake IDs) and trendy restaurants. They work in every cafe and perform in every theater. They smoke clove cigarettes and take Duck Tours and ride the Swan Boats. If your character is a local, she’s had annoying encounters with college kids at some point or another. I promise not to take offense.

The Emerald Necklace: This is the nickname for a giant string of parks and waterways that surrounds the city of Boston. No matter where you live, including the most inner-city neighborhoods (which is where I currently live and work), chances are good that there is a substantial amount of green space and water in your general vicinity. Complete with hiking/bike paths that, if you follow them long enough, will take you through literal woods where you can see nothing but trees and hear nothing but birdsong. This is possibly my favorite thing about the whole New England region. It’s so heavily forested that you can still find your way to a little bit of nature in the most unexpected places.

Miscellaneous:

Dunkin’ Donuts is not found only in Boston, but it is more beloved in Boston than anywhere else on earth. I swear there is one on every block in the city. It is the place to get coffee as well as doughnuts. Starbucks is around here too, but is scorned in comparison.

J.P. Licks is a local chain of ice-cream stores with locations all over the city. Everyone goes there. It is very tasty.

The annual Christmas tree on the Boston Common is donated by Canadians from Nova Scotia. There’s a story behind it. It’s pretty cool. (The tree lighting is a huge event with speeches, music, fake snow, and sometimes fireworks. They actually light up the whole Common, which is gorgeous at night. I could see it from my dorm windows in college.)

This is obviously just a tiny fraction of Boston lore, but it’s still probably more than you wanted, and I should wrap this up while the day’s still young, so...hope some part of this was helpful! Let me know if you have any follow-up questions. I’m happy to ramble about Boston all day (...which is probably obvious by now).

[grenawitka]

I was tagged by @u-okay-hen- thank you! 💛💛

1. What is the color of your hair brush? i had a red one, but it broke. and now im using my parents that is black and purble but i just ordered one that is made of wood and another ne that is light blue. 

2. Name a food you never eat? im very picky with what i eat so the list is long

3. Are you typically too warm or too cold? too warm

4. What were you doing 45 minutes ago? daydreaming about the life ill never have lmao

5. What’s your favorite candy bar? i like a lot of candies

6. Have you ever been to a professional sports game? no, the only other sport i like besides hockey is fútbol (football or soccer), but the fans get a little aggressive after the games, and shockingly enough i wouldnt like to die out there, so no, i havent.

7. what was the last thing you said out loud? ella es tan linda (she’s so sweet) (about my tutor being the nicest person on earth)

8. What is your favorite ice cream? its a bar of chocolate that they made an icecream. its called sahne-nuss and its delicious

9. What was the last thing you had to drink? a glass of coca-cola (coke, whatever you guys call it)

10. Do you like your wallet? yeah, i guess. its plain black, i like black.

11. What was the last thing you ate? a banana

12. Did you buy any new clothing last week? i bought a corey perry jersey, because hes my king👑

13. What’s the last sporting event you watched? stars winning game 5. lets go for game 6 tonight!!

14. What is your favorite flavor of popcorn? sweet

15. Who was the last person you sent a text to? nh-ell! shouout to my girls💖

16. Ever go camping? not technically. every summer, me and my cousins set a tent in my backyard and we spent the night but i dont think the world would count it as camping, even tho we totally do lol.

17. Do you take your vitamins? im not exactly trilled with the idea of living so why try and be healthy to make it longer 😌😌

18. Do you regularly attend a place of worship? no

19. Do you have a tan? nope, we just got rid of winter here.

20. Do you prefer chinese or pizza? ive never had chinese food, and pizza is the best invention EVER

21. Do you drink soda through straws? not really but i actually like drinking from straws. reusable ones - LETS SAVE THE PLANET YALL

22. What color socks do you usually wear? i was just gifted a huge amount of socks of all colors and i am living my best life right now

23. Do you ever drive above the speed limit? i can barely drive

24. What terrifies you? losing the people i love, but i guess we all fear that

25. Look to your left, what do you see? my wallet, which reminds me i owe my dad money for buying me the corey perry jersey

26. What chore do you hate the most? i hate aking my bed but i love when my bed is made. i guess is the price to pay.

27. What do you think when you hear an australian accent? i think about a movie where a group of friends go into the middle of nowhere in australia and when they go back to their homes the world was at war. i cant remember the name of the movie, it wasnt good either, but the trauma of that happening stayed with me. also chris hemsworth. 

28. What’s your favorite soda? coca-cola. i think americans call it coke. nothing better than something that kills your liver

29. Do you ever go in a fast food place or just hit the drive thru? drive thru arent very popular in my country. i mean, they exist but we usually dont use them.fast food places are where is at

30. What’s your favorite number? 27

31. Who’s the last person you talked to? my mom

32. Favorite cut of beef? whatever is eatable, idk. i just eat it

33. last song you listened to? punto y aparte by morat 🎼

34. Last book you read? guys, i dont read, stop asking me this 🙃

35. Favorite day of the week? friday’s but only at night because i have classes in the morning. friday’s are ussually family day - we all gather and we dance, drink, sing and do something stupid. i love my family.

36. Can you say the alphabet backwards? if im drunk enough i can do whatever 💯

37. How do you like your coffee? i dont drink coffe

38. Favorite pair of shoes? i just bought a pair of brown boots, and theyre so fluffy and warm and pretty, but dont wear them because im in lockdown :(

39. Time you normally get up? 8:00am, but only because i have classes either way it would probably be at 1pm. i love my sleep😌

40. Do you prefer sunrise or sunset? sunset

41. Describe your kitchen plates? a have a few that are plain white, others have an organge adge, others have flowers, others have blue and red stripes. i own a lot of plates

42. How many blankets are on your bed? 4, we just reached spring in my country, so its still a little bit chilly down here in chile

43. Describe your kitchen at the moment? white, with a table... i dont know how to describe places, sorry😅

44. Do you have a favorite alcoholic drink? i change favorite drink, like i change socks but right now im really into diaquiris. also, i like making my own drinks.

45. Do you play cards? yes, tho i just know how to play a few type of games. i usually play with my family

46. What color is your car? my parents have a car and its black👍🏻

47. Can you change a tire? kinda. i struggle a little but yeah i can do it.

48. Favorite state? new york - its my dream place (i love cities. oh to ignore everyone!), tho im poor and i could never afford to live there 🙃

49. Favorite job you’ve had? i’ve never worked before

50. tagging: tagging people gives me anxiety because i think they may not like it and therefore won’t like me, and today sucks so i won’t do it (unless anybody wants to)

[mychemicalficrecs]

Hi so I've read 2 my chem sports AUs recently (All We Need Is Daylight by Helena_Hathaway and Getting the Gold by frankiesin) and I loved them surprisingly a lot because My Chemical Romance and various sports are not something you'd expect go together. I'm wondering if you know of any other sports AUs?

Hi Nonny!

There's a few Sports AUs I know and if you don't mind High School Sports AUs, there's quite a few of those as well!

Sports AUs

All We Need is Daylight by Helena_Hathaway, Frank/Gerard, 240k [WIP], Explicit. Frank is thrust all too suddenly into a new life, one where he's not warmly welcomed. He's the best goddamn hockey player he knows, though, and he's not going to let anyone take that away from him. Or at least, not until his world comes tumbling down.

Getting the Gold by frankiesin, Mikey/Pete, 9k, General Audiences. It's Mikey's first time as an Olympic coach, and he's navigating the new role pretty well until he meets the men's swim coach. Pete's gorgeous, funny, and entertaining as hell, but Mikey's pretty sure he's already got a boyfriend. Also featuring Mikey and Lindsey being Super Bros, and way too many baby athletes in need of supervision.

you wanna get it for free by akamine_chan, Ray/Mikey, 2k, Explicit. Ray's a wrestler, you see...

Pages In Your Passport by inlovewithnight, Mikey/Pete, 15k, Explicit. Pete pursued soccer instead of music. He has a good long run in the game. Then in 2010, he meets this guy in a band.

The Circuit by stoplightglow, Frank/Gerard, 24k, Teen And Up Audiences. In the world of competitive motorcycle racing, nothing is more prestigious than the Grand Circuit Tour. Americans everywhere gather to watch as the twelve best racers in the nation compete for the title of Circuit Champion and $100,000. Gerard Way is no stranger to the race. When he was a teenager, his name was practically legend - but after disappearing without explanation six years ago, he's become little more than a relic of the past. Now, at age twenty-six, Gerard is back on the Circuit with something to prove. It's Frank Iero's first year on the tour, but he's more than ready. No one has seen a kid blast through the ranks so fast since Gerard Way first appeared on the scene a decade ago. With a cocky attitude and the whole country swooning over him, nothing can slow him down. The stakes have never been so high. Welcome to the Fourteenth Annual Grand Circuit Tour.

Down And Dirty by dear_monday, Frank/Gerard, 3k, Explicit. Gerard's own beloved cherry-red Harley has pedigree in fucking spades, sure, but she's seen better days, and she just doesn't have the power to outrun Iero and that revolting custom paint job. The matching helmet painted to look like a jack-o-lantern is just too much. An AU wherein the boys are dirty bikers, inspired by the recently-released photos from the Japanese Rolling Stone shoot.

shut up and drive by Trojie, uglowian, Patrick/Mikey/Pete, 139k, Teen And Up Audiences. Pete Wentz is the grid girl, Andy Hurley loves him (not like that), and Jared Leto is the bad guy. A.K.A.: the bandom The Fast and the Furious AU that literally no one asked for.

Another Cog In The Murder Machine by ace_writez, Ray/Mikey, 3k [WIP], General Audiences. Mikey's life is set. He's going to get a basketball scholarship for university and then play in the big leagues. All he has to do is get team captain his last year of high school. But he runs into some competition when another good player also tries out. Suddenly he's not so sure he's going to make it. Ray is also trying for a scholarship. As the star quarterback of Belleville High for three years, he's gunning for a fourth. When a situation at home suddenly drags him down, and a certain boy at school catches his eye, he finds himself at a crossroads. Two boys. Two sports. One school, and one story.

Day Seven: Half Dressed - Frerard by LeatherlipsIero, Frank/Gerard, 3k, Mature. Frank reached out his hand for the stranger to shake, "I'm Frank, let me buy you a drink as an apology?" He smiled again when the stranger grabbed his strong and callused hand with his own soft one. "Thank you, but it's my fault, honestly." The strange and pretty man tried to explain but Frank didn't care. "I insist." He said and sent the beautiful stranger a half smirk with half-lidded bedroom eyes, which had the poor boy blushing in seconds. Score.

Olympians by krissykane, Frank/Gerard, 3k, General Audiences. Frank is a shooter who has (somehow) made it to his second Olympic games. There he joins the crowd at a fencing event and sees a certain Team USA fencer for the first time.

Take One For The Team (Excuse Me If I'm Rude) by frenchpirate (Whiskey_n_speed), Mikey/Pete, 25k, Explicit. “So, your coach,” Gabe started, change of subject, thank god. “Yeah, what about him?” Mikey asked and glanced over at Pete who was heading towards the coach locker rooms, dragging a net of footballs after him. “You never told me he was hot. I’m pretty sure that’s withholding indispensable information. I should’ve signed up for the soccer team.” He said halfway jokingly, and William scoffed and rolled his eyes. “What, he’s not-“ “He so is. He’s like totally – small and handy,” He made a smooth explanatory hand-motion. “I want to fit him in my pocket.” * (Or; twenty eight scenes about skipping school, douchebag friends, post-college parties and way too much soccer)

Boxer!Fic by iamdali, Frank/Gerard, 47k, Explicit, General Audiences. After med school, Gerard had this idea of what life would be like. The idea now probably seems more than ridiculous, but still it’s what he clung to in order to drag himself through those gruelling morning hours after an all nighter of studying or writing some preposterously long paper on some disease or medical break through or why whatever part of the human body does whatever it does, and what happens when it doesn’t.

It's Not A Side Effect Of The Triple Axel (I'm Thinking It Must Be Love) by mizubyte (b_dsaint), Mikey/Pete, 10k, Teen And Up Audiences. If not for Alicia, Mikey never would have stepped on to the ice, let alone become a figure skater. Now, over 15 years later, Vancouver is Mikey's last chance for Olympic Gold. If he doesn't get distracted by snowboarder Pete Wentz, that is.

If The Skates Don't Fit by halfeatenmoon, Lindsey/Gerard, 12k, Teen And Up Audiences. Lyn-Z thought her rollerderby team might have a chance of winning some games this year, until she discovered that the new girl she'd recruited to the team was actually a man named Gerard. With a week to go until the first match against their long-time rivals, the Cobras, Lyn-Z and her teammates instead steal one of the Cobras' players - Maja, who has been feeling underappreciated since her side was joined by a new star. Maja's a great player, but it's a challange to learn to skate with a new teammate with only a week to go, especially when she still has some unresolved issues with her old captain.

Split lips hurt by toxic_fox, Frank/Gerard, 769 words, Teen And Up Audiences. Every Thursday, at six o’ clock sharp, frank goes boxing. He loves the adrenaline, the rush he gets from fighting, the blood, the pain. He kind of likes the kind medic as well.

Uppercut by mcrhomo, Frank/Gerard, 3k [WIP], Teen And Up Audiences. Frank is dealing with a lot in his life, including body dysmorphia. When he signs up for a boxing class to lose weight, he meets Gerard, and his whole life is turned several different ways (for better and for worse).

I Believe You're The Enemy (Game On) by imanemostan, Frank/Gerard, 2k, Mature. Constant affairs kept secret by frank and gerard, on different laser tag teams playing against each other. weirdly enough, both their schools have an official laser tag team. How will they ever be able to keep this a secret?

I Just Want You by Bridgetti, Frank/Gerard, 2k, General Audiences. Frank teaches Gerard to skate.

It's All In the Game by happilysurviving (orphan_account), Frank/Gerard, 46k [WIP], Mature. Even jocks have issues. Especially the closeted ones who have friends they have to kick off their football teams. And it gets even worse when they have to kick them off because of a homophobic coach. But of course that's only the beginning as this is Dan Howell and he always has to have larger problems on top of the ones everyone else would believe to be impossible to handle. Having Frank as his best friend certainly doesn't help or the head gossip guru in town as his mother but it could be worse, right? I mean he could be in love with an opposing team's quarterback... Oh wait.

Frerard Football Team AU For Which I Could Not Think of a Title by franks_hands, Frank/Gerard, 5k, Teen And Up Audiences. In the locker room and at practices, Frank was noisy, bordering on obnoxious. He seemed to bounce off the walls sometimes. He didn’t know about personal space.

of cute boys and rollerskates by etselec, Mikey/Pete, 1k, General Audiences. “I’m teaching you how to skate,” Mikey nearly fell as he removed Pete’s arms away from him. He squeezed his hand instead, “so our next date it won’t be as awkward.” “Date?” Pete asked. “Well, we’re holding hands already, aren’t we?” Mikey smiled at him.

Hand in Mine, Into Your Icy Blues by sundrowned, Frank/Gerard, 28k, General Audiences. Gerard is the captain of the hockey team and his overbearing father is the coach. When a new boy named Frank joins the team, Gerard has to decide weather to follow his father's orders to stay away from the boy or choose his own path.

Skating In A Ttutu by runaway_killjoy, Frank/Gerard, 51k, Teens And Up Audiences, Explicit. Frank has to move towns with his mom. He's disheartened to realize that teenagers are judgemental and manipulative no matter where you go. And no one gets judged quite as bad as the ballerina/skater boy who isn't even 5ft. Skater boy AU prompt, Frerard

Powderpuff by Gorgeous Nerd (gorgeousnerd), Frank/Gerard, 2k, Explicit. It isn't like Frank's opposed to powderpuff football. The timing's just kind of bad.

Get Up And Go by inlovewithnight, 6k, Teen And Up Audiences. Mikey Way: Ultramarathon Runner.

[insanityclause]

Just months ago, following a critically acclaimed run at London's Harold Pinter Theatre, the four-person cast of Betrayal all made their Broadway debuts. One of the four was Eddie Arnold.

With poetic precision, rich humor, and an extraordinary emotional force, Betrayal charts a compelling seven-year romance, thrillingly captured in reverse chronological order. Arnold brings humor to the revered Pinter play, not only starring as the Waiter, but also understudying 'Jerry' and 'Robert'- roles played by stage and screen stars Charlie Cox and Tom Hiddleston.

Before Betrayal, Eddie starred in stage productions of Hamlet, The Vote, Journey's End, Jumpy, Saki. His film credits include: Mary Queen of Scots, Dead in October, Guardians, The List. Television credits include: "People Just Do Nothing," "Sticks and Stones," "De Infiltrant," "Man in an Orange Shirt," "The Vote."

As the play begins its final weeks on Broadway (closing on December 8, 2019), Eddie checked in with BroadwayWorld to reflect on the show's journey so far and how he is preparing to say goodbye to Broadway.

I know that a lot has happened in the past year, from opening in London to coming here... has it all hit you yet that you're really on Broadway?

I don't think it will hit me until it's too late and I get back home and say, "Oh no, it's over!" [Laughs] I feel like I'm living in this hyper-reality of the world that I used to be in. London was so incredible and such a lucky experience to get to share the stage with these three geniuses, and to be directed by Jamie [Lloyd], and to speak Harold Pinter's lines. But to then have the opportunity to come to New York, which I've only been on holiday to, and be able to come and offer it up to a new set of eyes is incredible. The American audience gets to experience it in a different way now. It was all so incredibly lucky. I feel like i've been floating on this bubble of happiness the whole five months I've been here. I've fallen in love with this city.

You're now a few months into the run. How has it been going at the Jacobs since opening night?

We are definitely all counting our lucky stars every night that we got this lovely, beautiful theatre that we've been invited to perform in. The audiences have been so receptive and so responsive. The funny thing is that the play has so many different threads that you can follow throughout, that an audience can be laughing hysterically one night and almost silent the next night... and yet they are just as into it at the end. They end up getting lost in the words and liking or disliking one of the characters for whatever reason. Or the next night someone else becomes vilified or loved or pitied. Each time it is so different.

It's really beautiful to see that every night, because I get to listen to it through the relays for about two thirds of the show. I get to watch how the audience is gauging it and how the actors are honing in on parts of each scene and working it in a different way. It really pumps me up. Like a football team has "Eye of the Tiger," I get to listen to Tom Hiddleston, Charlie Cox and Zawe Ashton perform scenes 1-6.

The magic of live theatre! Every time is something different...

Coming into the show in a later scene, in a production where the other characters don't leave the stage, I always get this beautiful feeling as the audience turns and watches me walk on. They're going, "Who the heck is that guy and why is he on stage?" And then it moves to, "Oh, ok! Here is a new dynamic that we haven't seen that will spice things up." They warm very quickly. I think Pinter has written it in a really great spot, where all of these characters that have been onstage before have been firing at each other constantly. Now suddenly, they have this new person who they can direct all of their anger and sadness and annoyance at. He's not going to beaten down that easily though!

This being a drama, with some comedic moments, you're the biggest moment of comic relief in the play. Is there pressure in that?

There's never any pressure going on because you've got to live in the reality of the moment- there are these very angry, posh men in front of you, who are trying their best to conceal their feelings for each other, especially with the information and power they hold over each other. So I've been caught up in this very awkward conversation and how do I talk my way out of it as quickly and effectively as possible? And of course they keep going in berating me. The comedy is really written into it already. So I just try to go into it as naturally as possible. Sometimes people laugh! At the end of the day you just have to be truthful to what you're playing and hopefully the writing and direction will help you out when you're not firing on all cylinders.

Were you intimidated at all at the beginning of the rehearsal process in London?

I had seen a lot of Jamie's work before. Three Days of Rain was such an incredible production and I had seen lots of the Pinter stuff as well. Obviously he is very big director who has done a lot of acclaimed work in London. Then the other guys, if you don't know who they are, you've been living with your head in the sand. At the end of the day I just wanted to nail the part as much as possible.

And luckily for someone like myself and others in this industry, between jobs, you serve at bars or restaurants. It's part of being a gigging actor. I made sure that I brought all of that experience- how many times I've bitten my lip at someone dropping their food and looking to me to pick it up... I thought, I can do this. I've done it before. It's actually a lot more pleasant this way because I can do it with lovely people and we can have a laugh about it in the end.

So intimidated wasn't it... more like honored. I'm so happy to have been allowed to perform and learn. You learn so much just from watching actors of this much talent and ability. Hopefully some of it will seep in and I'll be able to take it to my next job.

Have the four of you become close?

Oh yes, we've had a lovely time!

Your Halloween costumes were incredible.

Oh! They were great, weren't they? Captain America fit the bill for me. And I had to come out first as the leader of the Avengers. But we had so much fun dressed up like that. It was pure laughs backstage.

You've got a lot of time offstage throughout the course of the play. How do you occupy yourself?

I've read quite a few books! Right now I'm halfway through Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace. It is about 800 pages and people call it the most remarkable achievement of the modern era of novel-writing. Then I've got another called A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara. That one is about 700 pages long! So I'm trying to eat my way through both of those.

Then Dylan [S. Wallach] and Jesmille [Darbouze] are right above me. We get to hang out and catch up, which is lovely. We watch the show and run lines once or twice a week. Then I get to chill in pants and wait for my turn to go on.

So you have your own dressing room?

Yes! I bought a couple of plants to zhuzh it up, but I'm going to be really sad to leave it. It's been home for the last five months and it feels very much a part of me. I have very quickly adapted to life here.

What have you enjoyed the most about being a New Yorker?

Everyone is so incredibly welcoming. Also, New York has the best Italian food ever- I love Italian food. I still haven't bee to the Bronx, where I'm told the proper, old-school Italian restaurants are. That is definitely on my list of things to do before we finish.

Also, there are all these sports that don't even exist in England, like basketball and American football, baseball, ice hockey. I've been to see the Knicks and the Mets! I'm really trying to soak up every but of this American lifestyle before it gets taken away from me. [Laughs]

Have you gotten to see any other shows?

Oh goodness, yes! We saw Sea Wall/A Life, with Jake Gyllenhaal and Tom Sturridge. That was incredible. In the same way as our play, it felt so natural and timeless. It was so beautifully acted. I went to see Dear Evan Hansen as well. That was phenomenal. Tom and I went to see it and then we've been singing the songs ever since. We're backstage singing our hearts out! That kind of acting, where you come on and sing for two and a half hours... it seems like an alien thing to me. I cannot imagine ever being to do that. How do they do that?

So doing a musical is not on your bucket list?

It might be on my bucket list, but I don't think that anyone would come to see it! [Laughs]

With just a few weeks until the end of the show's run, what are you most looking forward to in the time you have left?

I want to eat as much American food as I can! [Laughs] No, it's about not taking anything for granted. Everything becomes so happy and easy until these last few weeks and now I have to start saying goodbye to people. I need to make sure I've said thank you to about 500 people who have made this experience what it is. I need to seek them out and tell them personally. Any of my free time will be spent hunting people down to show my appreciation.

[evak-fic-rec-turtleanon]

Evak Fics - Sports

Any kind of sports or physical activity. Swimming. Skiing/Snowboarding. Football. Hockey. Others. I have a separate list for dance aus.

***** SWIMMING *****

Summer nights by Alwaysevak2121 (1k words) - Summer night, heat and swimming.

Sommernatt by Bewa (5.1k words) - The only thing that kept his mood up today was that it was Friday, and Even had promised him a surprise when he got home from work. Birthday.

cupid by evak1isak (5.2k words) - Isak, a water polo player and uni student, didn't think that he'd bump into his high school crush again. When he does, he wasn't expecting so much drama in his life.

from an earth to its sun by traumatic (18k words) - the entire world goes to bed normally and wakes up with glowing countdowns above their heads. No one's sure what causes the numbers to drop, only that when they hit 0, you hit the ground.

Drowning in your love by depressed_mermaid_53 (62k words) - Even is captain of the swim team. Isak and the boy squad join the team. In this universe a pool is a bigger part of their story.

Panic And Patch Me Up by intothewind (70k words) - (5/6 chapters posted) Swimmer Isak, Boxer Even and Boxer Jonas. Involves Josak. The thing with Jonas is complicated, but the thing with Even isn't making it any easier.

***** SKIING/SNOWBOARDING *****

Sprained Ankles, Netflix and Chill by Bellakitse (1.1k words) - Isak sprains his ankle while on a school ski trip, Even keeps him company in the main cabin.

Hot Chocolate and Snow Angels by GayaIsANerd (1.2k words) - Isak hates skiing. There’s nothing deep or traumatic about it, he just hates skiing.

Suck My Board Bitch by nyicris (1.3k words) - When Isak and Even go on a ski trip to Switzerland with their squad, they meet another LGBT couple. They don’t get competitive. At all. E!Online Poll AU + henrik’s extra ass (wow this brings back a lot of memories!)

From A Safe Distance by MinilocIsland (1.4k words) - Isak hasn't bothered to watch skiing for years. Or, so he claims. Even knows him too well not to sense the truth.

The First Noel by colazitron (1.9k words) - Even's parents have a cabin in Hemsedal where the family traditionally spends Christmas. This year, Isak's coming with.

Just Kids When We Fell In Love by wyoheartsmusic (5k words) - Isak and Even go to university 3000 km away from each other. Luckily, it's Christmas break and they had the brilliant idea to go on a cabin trip together.

Shred by Jules1398 (23k words) (SERIES, 2 FICS) - There were two versions of Isak Valtersen. The first Isak was the one that his friends knew. The second Isak, the real Isak, was trans, gay, and then there was his five year-old son, Adrian. Keeping the two Isaks separate wasn't that difficult. At least, not until he saw Even again.

Cabins, Coziness and Conspiracies by evakuality (24k words) - Isak and Even have to share a bed, their friends are strangely obsessed with their lives and things are not exactly as they might appear. Cabin ski trip.  

My Very Personal Ski Trainer by Crazyheart (28k words) - Sana has invited Even and her other friends to a Holiday cabin trip, and Even needs to get in shape so that he can beat his buddies in Sana’s planned ski race.

Different, but same by Crazyheart (31k words) - Isak and Even had broken up almost a year ago, and Even was devastated. He tried to get over it and went on a ski holiday with Yousef and Elias. He met a guy that looked like Isak, except his dark, buzz cut hair, well trained body and rough, charismatic personality. The fact that he called himself Markus Simensen was even more confusing... Even started to doubt who the guy was but of course... he had to be Isak.

***** FOOTBALL *****

Norway. A Summer's Tale by wyoheartsmusic (7k words) - Isak, as the first openly gay footballer and newly recruited teammate on Norway's National Squad, travels to Russia for the FIFA World Cup 2018

Chapter 3 of take me into your loving arms by diminuendodaydream (955 words) - The Pat is a hug that is all about friendship and camaraderie.

Take Me As I Am by givemesumaurgravy (9.9k words) -  Isak is the coach of Even’s daughter’s football team and Even likes Isak’s bum. One day there’s a parent football game and Isak, just maybe, starts hitting on Even and, just maybe, Even gives in.

Hail Mary Pass by thekardemomme (20k words) - the term hail mary pass has become generalized to refer to any last-ditch effort with little chance of success. sleeping with isak valtersen until time starts running out is what causes even to realize just how vital these passes can be. American football

i didn't mean to kiss you (you didn't mean to fall in love) by shadesofcool (24k words) - football/cheerleader au with not much football and cheerleading because i(the writer) only know the basics

If You Love Me, If You Hate Me by MacksDramaticShenanigans (44k words) - (9/11 chapters posted) Isak could be chill. He was the chillest. He was a mature, reasonable adult that was perfectly capable of controlling his emotions. Not even Even could ruin that.

we've made it this far, kid by everythingislove (straykid) (60k words) - Isak is just trying to raise his nephew as best he can with the help of his best friends. He doesn't expect to fall for Felix's gorgeous football coach along the way.

And at night I dream of golden curls and pink hair bands by Zabn (80k words) - WIP. Last update Oct 2019. Even swore himself to never get involved with a football player ever again, but then he meets Isak...

***** HOCKEY *****

it started with a kiss by pansexuaIeven (1.8k words) - Chris surprises Isak with tickets to a hockey game. Things don't work out as planned, but maybe they still end up okay in the end.

"So, it was you?" by Julieseven (2.4k words) - Isak is an amateur hockey player and Even kind of falls for him from afar

Checking From Behind by DickAnderton (156k words) - Isak is to captain his hockey team this season which means he has to somehow learn to cooperate with the newest addition to their team: Even Bech Næsheim.

Checking From Behind. 2809. by DickAnderton (102k words) - Sequel.  Isak has been drafted to potentially play hockey for the KHL in Helsinki. Even is soon going to face his abusive coach in court. 

***** OTHERS *****

Seriøst? by CiaraSky (716 words) - Isak and Even go ice skating.

Fireworks by multifeelings (1k words) - Just how a baseball game brings two boys together in a different way than you may think.

powerslide by evak1isak (1.6k words) - Summer is boring and Jonas teaches Isak how to skate. And at the park, Isak meets Even.

Brunch Dates and Basketball by waitineedaname (2.5k words) - In which Sana and Yousef host a double date with Isak and Even. Basketball 

Flying High by colazitron (3k words) - Isak Valtersen has announced his retirement from the quidditch pitch and, ahead of his last World Cup, sits down for an interview with Magical Norway's quidditch correspondent Even Bech Næsheim.

Off the Backboard. by Samanthaa23 (3.8k words) - Isak and Even meet for the first time during a basketball game between Bakka and Nissen. They don't meet again until 5 years later at a charity basketball game.

Beer Pongs and Mistletoes by yllawonders (5.2k words) - Then somehow they ended up arm wrestling and this time Even won’t pretend to lose because Isak thinks he is a tough guy when he knows and he will prove it today that he is in fact, a big fat softie.

the universe was made just to be seen by my eyes by ikerestrella (5.9k words) - Set six months after the events of Season 3. They are on a hiking trip, and Isak definitely did not get them lost in the woods. 

Slippery Slope by Laika_the_husband (11k words) - the guys wrestle in sun oil and the Balloon squad shows up.

scarves of red tied 'round their throats by puddingandpie (15k words) - The last time Isak saw Even, he was sweaty and naked underneath him, only to pack up and leave the next morning. Now, they're together at the Winter Olympics, a coincidence which was never going to be a coincidence considering Isak was well aware of the profession that Even was in as well. Figure skating, snowboarding, hockey, skiing...  

Head Over Heels by LostInAdmiration (46k words) - Isak wished for the hundredth time that his stupid friends could just be normal so that he could go home and bundle himself in his duvet and re-watch Breaking Bad again, instead of spending all of his spare time outside in a pathetic excuse for a skate park.

Breaking Free (Outta the Closet) by valtersass (58k words) - (11/12 chapters posted) Isak, the popular captain of the basketball team, and Even, the brainy and beautiful member of the academic club, break all the rules of Hartvig Nissen society when they secretly audition for the leads in the school's musical. HSM au

Next to you, is where I call home by LostInAdmiration (101k words) - “Why don’t you start track too? You’d be a good sprinter, I’m sure you’d do great,” suggested Isak. Isak wasn’t entirely sure why he asked - he mostly liked being alone and he barely knew Even - but there was just something about Even that had drawn Isak to him.

The trip to you by charlyflowers (148k words) - Isak hates Even. He hates him with all his heart. What a pity the art class is also coming to the trip to Germany. Volleyball.

To Proudly Bleed These Colors From My Veins by Evensleftbigtoe_91 (164k words) - WIP. Last updated Aug 2019. Mixed martial artist Isak's dream is to feel the weight of a UFC Title Belt across his waist. But Isak has a long and difficult path in front of him. (I haven't had the chance to read this yet so I'm not sure if Evak is the main or endgame pair. But this fic sounds really cool.)

[ayyoparayko]

things i find hilarious... context I’m an oilers fan (grew up in alberta) and have friends that are bruins fans. The bruins are my favorite east coast team. todays game they went off about how the oilers got away with everything under the son. went off about how dirty of a player drai is. drai for sure should get penalized by the league for that. the kicker is that their other favorite team is the stars. yet they saw nothing wrong with perry at the wc or with marchand.

Sorry just saw this today. I’ll warn you (Anon who sent this or whoever’s reading this) that I’ve had a crappy day and I might have went off on my rant. Here’s my take though:

Look I’m one of the older hockey fans on tumbler (which is weird to say cause i joined almost a decade ago). There’s things I’ve learned over the years and this is not just about hockey and the NHL. It’s about sports culture in general. For instance I see a lot of this stuff with my brother-in-law who is obsessed with Basketball (and football to a slightly lesser degree).

The face of the matter is... Fans are 90% blind to their own teams faults. I try to keep an open mind when my team plays and I’ll call my team out for their bullshit or I’ll keep my mouth shut because I don’t want even more hate to be spewed. For instance, I’m a Blues fan. I don’t like Binnington at all as a human being. I think he’s a racist piece of crap. Is he a good goaltender, yes. Will I praise his plays on the ice, yes. Will I praise him as a person, no way in hell.

[[MORE]]

That being said you can look at my other team the Vegas Golden Knights. I love them pretty darn close to the Blues but slightly less. Tuch is also a racist piece of human garbage who like Binnington hasn’t truly apologized for the racist things he’s done. Do I get excited when he scores, yes. I want my team to win and if it’s because he scored a goal then I’m not going to get mad. Am I going to dislike him as a human and refuse to support him, of course. As soon as someone shows their true colors and doesn’t learn, grow, and sincerely apologize for them, I’m done. Binnington and Tuch have been given chances. Tuch basically ignored it, Binnington played the “I was young and stupid card.”

A lot of people shit on binnington because he got caught, he’s been called out... but refuse to acknowledge that players for their own team, even some of their favorites have said/done things in the past as well and not apologized for it. For example Auston Matthews this summer. Tumbler was furious but eventually when the case got dropped people immediately forgave him and praise him both on and off the ice.

The fact of the matter is this is at not just a league wide level but a fan wide level as well. The NHL does next to nothing unless it is 100% confirmable that a person has done something wrong, even then some of these people only get a slap on wrist (Austin watson, Semyon Varlamov, Patrick Kane {the cab driver incident in this case since it was proveable}), etc.

There’s also the case of fans going after the refs because sometimes they miss a call, sometimes from their vantage point they don’t see what started a fight, etc. Fans get pissed and say things like “refs choke”, “refs must be getting paid under the table”, “Refs are fucking blind”. I’ve been hearing that since my college days. Hell I used to say some of those things in my college days. Yes sometimes the refs favor a team, whether intentional or not.

What fans refuse to see is when the refs favor their favorite team. They get defensive about it. “You’re just pissed because my team won”, “maybe it’s because we know how to do it when they aren’t looking”, “you’re only saying that cause your team has more penalties”.

The fact of the matter is, fans only want to see the good in their team and not the bad. Fans will destroy another team for anything but as soon as someone reverses the situation and attacks their team it’s “playing the victim” as shitty as this phrase is. I say this because as much as I love the Demons group chat (and I love them all dearly). Every time the Blues play either the Knights or the Stars they go ham on saying things like “fuck the blues”, “refs dressed in blue and yellow tonight”, “which blues player do we hate the most and why?”. These all came into the group chat tonight. From the beginning of the game to the end of the game I sent a total of one message.

That’s common for me. When the Blues played the Stars in the playoffs last year I very very rarely sent a message during game time and for a good couple hours after.

Because if I were to say anything bad about the Stars I’d get the binnington card thrown at me. Even though Tyler Seguin has said some pretty shade shit in the past I won’t bring it up in the group chat “because he’s changed”. Look if any demons are reading this, I’m sorry but here’s my full thoughts on this and it might hurt you to hear but the fact of the matter is, I get that you hate my main team, I get you’re pissed about last years playoffs, I get that you hate Binnington (I do too), but I keep my mouth shut in the group chat about a lot of things when it comes to the stars because so many of y’all are fans of them. I don’t like the stars as a team. I don’t like Seguin and there’s been some shitty stuff by the management that has soured me on the team as a whole (Jim Lite in particular).

My issues with Seguin are fairly simple. I can’t fault him for his partying ways back in Boston. He was a 18-21 year old, drafted 2nd overall, and won a Stanley cup his rookie year. That being said, he chose this as his profession, when he signed that contract as a legal ADULT he chose to follow the rules set by the team. He got benched for missing breakfast and fans were up in arms about it. It was a mandatory breakfast, which means he was contractually obligated to go. He broke part of that contract and as such he deserved to be benched to learn a lesson.

He’s also said some homophobic and racist things in the past. Yes I’m 100% talking about the tweet from his trade. He used the “I was hacked” card. I’m sorry I don’t buy it and it’s convenient that he was hacked and said something like that right after he got traded.

Onto the racist piece of his. I use this term lightly because it was said in regards to other white people but it was in regards to non-Northern American people. The quote was “Guys always talk in different languages. Sometimes you just put your foot down. We’re in North America, we’re not going to have a team of cliques.”

That is so tone deaf, because people would have been up in arms if he had said that about people of color (I would too because that type of shit is fucked up), however if he’s willing to say that about his fellow white teammates who happen to be European why would he not be saying the same thing about migrants from Hispanic countries?

He sounds so ignorant. Does he go to Quebec and speak strictly French? Did he speak French and German exclusively when he played for Biel in the lockout?

It’s rhetoric like that people just glance over and pretend wasn’t said.

I’m pretty sure everyone at this point knows I don’t like Corey Perry. I think he’s a dirty player, have since he was a Duck.

People loved Roussell when he played for the stars, yet he slew-footed like crazy, gets in to multiple fights for seasons but the minute anybody back in the day attacked him they were bad guy for pointing out he’s a dirty player.

Non-Stars player that I have an issue with that I’ve been given flack for across multiple platforms is Sidney Crosby. He might be one of the best players to ever play in this league. He has also used this to his advantage way to many times to do some pretty dirty things that fans excuse because “it’s Crosby”. (I will forever be pissed about the Claude Giroux wrist incident).

So at the end of my massive rant here’s the summary.

1. Fans will continually bash another team for their dirty plays but praise their own (or completely ignore it or defend it) for similar things. (Bruins fans with Marchand, Hawks fans with Shaw, Caps fans with Wilson). That isn’t going to change.

2. You can either bring it to their attention and get flack for it and potentially end a friendship... or you can keep quite, ignore them in regards to that (until you eventually have enough, and then you do a super long post like this)

3. Every team has dirty players, a lot of teams have someone (or more than one) who has done or said something controversial. It’s up to you to determine if bringing this to other fans attention during a smack down of your team is worth it.

4. Love hockey for hockey. If their talk gets too much then maybe you need to take a break from them.

[suckitsurveys]

Do you know anyone who works at McDonald’s? No.

What are your plans for next weekend? I have a nice long 4 day weekend planned. Wednesday after work, mark and I are going camping for a night, then staying in a nice hotel for his birthday Thursday to Friday. We will go hiking and swimming in the hotel pool. Then for the actual weekend, everything is kind of up in the air. Might go to an apple orchard, might have a friend over to watch a movie. Not sure yet!

Do you know anyone who plays heaps of sports? Not “heaps,” no.

Have you ever been suspended from school? No.

When was the last time you had chocolate? Hmm. I don’t remember actually.

Have you ever been to a sports game? Many.

If so, what sport did you see? I go to baseball games most often but I have also seen basketball, hockey, and I think football when I was a real lil kid. And if my niece’s soccer games count, that too.

Have you ever gotten in trouble for using a phone in class? My phone went off in my locker once in high school and you could hear it in the class I was in because it was right outside. I got yelled at for having it on even if it was in my locker haha.

Where do your cousins live? Everywhere. Mostly Chicago but I have some in California, Tennessee, Florida, and Hawaii.

Have you met any of your second cousins? Yes.

Do you like the All-American Rejects? Yes.

What colour shirt are you wearing? Red.

Have you ever been ice skating? Yes. I suck at it.

Who do you sit near in math? I’m not a student.

Have you ever had Werther’s Original butterscotch toffee? Yes.

When was the last time you wore a skirt? I couldn’t tell you. Skirts are not for me.

Have you seen all the Shrek movies? No, I’ve only seen the first one.

What did you have for breakfast? Oatmeal.

Do you have any pets other than dogs or cats? Nope.

What colour is your bed sheet? White with a blue design on it.

Do you know anyone with the surname Matheson? It sounds so familiar but I don’t think so.

Are you the type of person who gets injuries often? Not horrible ones but I almost always have a bruise.

What does your soap smell like? My body wash smells like the ocean.

Have you ever finished a whole video game? Yes.

If so, which one(s)? Super Smash Bros lol.

Tell me about a funny TV ad you’ve seen. I haven’t been paying much attention to ads recently.

What time is it? 9:46am.

Do you know anyone with a pet snake? Yes, one of mark’s friends has a snake.

Do you own a purple hoodie or sweatshirt? Yes.

Do you have any bad habits? BITE MY TONGUE IT’S A BAD HABIT

Can you speak French? No.

Which one of your friends has great music taste? We all do.

What can you smell right now? Nothing really. Faint scent of outside since the window is opened.

What was the last movie you watched in theaters? Bodies Bodies Bodies.

What was the last CD you bought? I have no idea.

What will you do after this? Probably another.

[thefemalesportstake]

Why I Care about Sports

I love football. My first love is baseball and at this moment I can’t stop watching basketball. But I really love hockey. I was 14 years old when the Boston Bruins won the Stanley Cup in 2011, or what I remember as the best two month stretch for a new hockey fan who could potentially be on the brink of happiness or heartbreak. It was two months of witnessing the Bruins power through three, seven-game series to see Zdeno Chara hoist the historic Stanley Cup seven feet above the ice in Rogers arena, in a crowd of boos and soon enough nearby riots. Hockey is life. 

Before 2011, I watched Kevin Garnett declare to the world “ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE!!!!” when the Celtics beat Kobe’s Lakers in the 2007-2008 NBA finals and the Red Sox win the world series in 2007 and at age 10. I watched a dominant Red Sox team sweep the Colorado Rockies, with the most vivid memory of Jonathan Papelbon Irish jig dancing in celebration, after game four. I also watched the Patriots win a few Super bowls too. I know, another spoiled Boston sports fan is telling you we rule at sports and we’re the best sports city in the world. It’s true. But there’s something else I am afraid to admit. I hid this fandom for the majority of my life. 

I am an obsessed sports fan. I was always afraid to admit this part of my life to friends and family, and it's still hard to explain why. I felt like I didn’t belong with the “real fans” and if I had an opinion on which NBA teams would make the playoffs, someone would mansplain it to me. As a young female, I didn’t see many other girls like me who wanted to talk about Bill Belichick's defensive strategy against the Baltimore Ravens. I didn’t watch the latest episode of Pretty Little Liars because I was watching Ken Burn’s Baseball Documentary where I learned about Curt Schilling’s split-finger fastball combined with Randy Johnson’s fastball dominance during the 2001 World Series. I am even more aware that there are far fewer Asian-American sports fans like myself, let alone Female Asian-American sports fans. I often hid this obsession of mine when my guy friends talked about the Home-Run derby or the incredible Tim Thomas save against the Canadiens. But at home, I hid nothing. I jumped up and down in front of the TV when Patrice Bergeron scored his second goal in game seven of the Stanley Cup Final and then cried hours later seeing Mark Recchi hug his teammates and hold the cup, knowing this was the end of his 22 year NHL career. 

My dad is the only person in my life that truly understands the DNA and depth of this obsession. My dad likes Basketball and Hockey, but he loves Football and Baseball. He grew up in Korea knowing very little about sports. Later in life, his family moved to Venezuela where he saw very little sports on TV, but he saw Earl Weaver get thrown out of an O’s game and argue with the Umpires before stomping off the field. He thought it was pretty funny. After growing up largely outside of the U.S. for most of his childhood, he spent his twenties and thirties in Atlanta and watched the 90’s braves dominate baseball. He loved how Greg Maddux pitched with his brain and how Bobby Cox defended his players. He moved to Boston to raise our family in the early 2000’s and watched Red Sox games with me. Big Papi was my dude, that guy could be President in my book (if only he was born in the U.S). My Dad raised a young girl who liked watching sports more than she liked playing them. He showed me that as much heartbreak your favorite team could put you through, sports can get you through hard times in life. 

I religiously listen to the Bill Simmons podcast in the car on my way to work. I watch NHL classics for fun. I consume more ESPN and Ringer content than one can fathom. I still cry when I rewatch Kevin Durant’s MVP speech in 2014. I cried seeing Andy Reid finally win a Super Bowl and getting the recognition he deserved. I was angry and in utter disbelief when the Red Sox traded Mookie Betts to the Dodgers. I constantly wonder if baseball will ever strike a chord with the younger generation to become popular again, 

My fandom won’t go away despite any lingering feelings of betrayal or heartbreaks my teams show me. I don't look like your average sports fan, but that doesn't mean I can't talk the talk. Sports is my escape. Sports is my relationship with my Dad. Sports is my obsession. 

[junker-town]

9 sports books to read while you’re in social isolation

“Games Without Frontiers” book cover via Penguin Books

You’ve probably got the time — so learn something! (Or just read a good story.)

There is truly no time like the present to slip into a good book. And with most sports suspended, sports books can serve as both a blissful offline distraction and a way to fill that sports-less void.

This is just a small, small sampling of the available offerings, selected by SB Nation staffers. Most of them are available as ebooks, and all are easily accessible via your online book retailer of choice. (Buy independent if you can!)

Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game (2003) by Michael Lewis

It turns out that the revolution Moneyball inspired across sports was not exactly a universal positive. But at the time, before the pitfalls became apparent, it felt like the dawn of a new, more thoughtful way of appreciating sports. More than anything else, Moneyball is what got me writing about baseball.

— Graham MacAree

Beartown (2016) by Fredrik Backman

My current frontrunner for favorite novel is one I think all hockey fans should read. Backman’s Beartown was originally published in Swedish in 2016 and was translated to English in 2017. In it, a small forest town in Sweden is preparing for its junior ice hockey team to compete in the national semifinals when an act of violence changes everything.

Backman uses hockey as a lens to look at violence, class and identity, and how they affect an entire community. He doesn’t shy away from the realities of how sports mirror the worst— and the best — parts of society, which means that this story can be graphic. Yet it still feels like something that could happen anywhere.

This is an especially good quarantine read because Backman also published a sequel titled Us Against You in 2017, and HBO Europe is currently producing a TV series based on the novel.

— Sydney Kuntz

Soccer in Sun and Shadow (1995) by Eduardo Galeano

One of the best, and one of the strangest. Eduardo Galeano’s wider reputation as a writer means this is one of the few soccer books admitted into the category of literature, but don’t let that put you off. Galeano loved football the way everybody does, but he wrote about it like nobody else: the assembled mini-chapters are lyrical and melancholic, weird and funny, passionate and wise. A full review of the book can be read here.

— Andi Thomas

The Breaks of the Game (1981) by David Halberstam

Halberstam’s classic deep dive inside the NBA at the dawn of the Larry Bird/Magic Johnson era through the eyes of the Portland Trail Blazers is the NBA book by which all others are measured. Halberstam talks to everyone — players, coaches, executives, television network presidents and commissioners — delivering an incomparable level of access and reportage.

What emerges is a poignant and intimate look at the people struggling to keep the sport relevant at the exact moment the NBA is posed to take flight into the ‘80s. Through Halberstam’s narrative, the Blazers feel like a family, albeit a dysfunctional family teetering on the edge following the painful breakup with Bill Walton. I’ve read it dozens of times and find something new in its pages with each reading.

— Paul Flannery

The Ball is Round (2006) by David Goldblatt

You could probably eat up an entire quarantine with just this book alone, and you wouldn’t feel like you’d wasted your time. Taking as his premise the question, “Is there any cultural practice more global than football?”, Goldblatt assembles a world-spanning, thousand-page history of soccer as it shapes and is shaped by society, money, politics and power.

— Andi Thomas

The Miracle of Castel di Sangro (1999) by Joe McGinniss

At the other end of the scale, this is a story of one season spent with a tiny club in Italy. McGinniss pulls off the fish-out-of-water American act brilliantly, and by the time the season approaches its conclusion, you’ll be in love with almost everybody in here. Which is why the ending will smash your heart into a million tiny pieces.

— Andi Thomas

Playing the Enemy (2008) by John Carlin

Enemy is about how Nelson Mandela used rugby to unify South Africa after his release. There’s always a lot of cheap talk about how sports can bring us together, but Mandela and that moment in time were proof it’s possible with the right leaders.

— John Ness

The Fifty-Year Seduction: How Television Manipulated College Football, from the Birth of the Modern NCAA to the Creation of the BCS (2004) by Keith Dunnavant

This is one of my absolute favorite sports books. It’s pretty hard to make the backroom mechanizations of college administrators sound like a riveting drama, but Keith Dunnavant does a great job making it not only accessible, but really interesting. No other book explains the real force behind college football as we know it today like this one, and it’s written in a way that you can knock it out in two days. Anybody who wants to peek under the hood and understand why bowl games, conference realignment and the NCAA itself work the way they do should read this book.

— Matt Brown

Games without Frontiers (2016) by Joe Kennedy

Half-travelogue, half-theoretical critique, this is a slim, rich, occasionally knotty, and often very funny book that investigates the development of football alongside modernity and capitalism. A lot of books that aim to “explain” sport intellectually end up sounding rather patronizing to their subject. Here, by contrast, Kennedy aims to find how “football and theory work on each other.” It’s great, and there’s nothing else quite like it.

— Andi Thomas

[zerolover66]

Tagged by @snowsflurries and @saphiraredbird Thank you guys!

THE LAST

1. drink: Coffee  2. phone call: My BFF 3. text message: My BFF 4. song you listened to: BeBe by Seo In Guk 5. time you cried: Two days ago while watching episode 16 of Moon Lovers 6. dated someone twice: Yes 7. kissed someone and regretted it: No 8. been cheated on: No 9. lost someone special: Yes 10. been depressed: Yes 11. gotten drunk and thrown up: Yes

3 FAVOURITE COLOURS

12. Pink 13. Black 14. White and light purple

IN THE LAST YEAR HAVE YOU 15. made new friends: Yes 16. fallen out of love: No 17. laughed until you cried: Many times!!! 18. found out someone was talking about you: No 19. met someone who changed you: No 20. found out who your friends are: Not in the last year more like in 2015 21. kissed someone on your Facebook list: Yes

GENERAL 22. how many of your Facebook friends do you know in real life: Most of them  23. do you have any pets: Not at the moment 24. do you want to change your name: No 25. what did you do for your last birthday: Just went to dinner with family 26. what time did you wake up: 7 am 27. what were you doing at midnight last night: Watching episodes 18 and 19 of Moon Lovers with my BFF (only one more episode to go and I am not looking forward to it) 28. name something you can’t wait for: Zeki to get married 29. when was the last time you saw your mom: Yesterday 31. what are you listening to right now: Nothing at this very moment. 32. have you ever talked to a person named tom: Yes 33. something that is getting on your nerves: Seeing something in the VK tag with someone who shall remain nameless 34. most visited website: Probably tumblr 35. hair color: Brown 36. long or short hair: Short 37. do you have a crush on someone: No one other than celebrities and certain fictional characters at the moment 38. what do you like about yourself: My insight. I have been told I am wise beyond my years more than once.  39. want any piercings: I have my ears pierced and that’s enough for me 40. blood type: Type O Negative 41. nickname: Green Eyes and not because of jealousy but because that is the color of my eyes and the love of my life just started calling me that and it stuck. That and crazy bitch too.  42. relationship status: Single not by choice, but by fate/destiny  43. zodiac: Pisces  44. pronouns: She/Her 45. favorite tv show: Absolutely no American ones at the moment. I have loved several in the past. Friends would be one on the top of my list of American shows. 46. tattoos: An ankle one with three Hawaiian plumeria flowers and a butterfly, another ankle one with the Philadelphia Eagles symbol (which is the head of an eagle) with blue eyes and a teardrop because that was the love of my life’s favorite football team and he had blue eyes, and a wrist one with the infinity symbol and both of our names. I am still looking to get Zero’s tat somewhere but I am not sure where I want it. I originally wanted it on my other wrist but I am undecided since I also would like to get sakura/cherry blossoms on that wrist as well. 47. right or left handed: Right 48. surgery: I had my gallbladder removed  49. piercing: Just my ears 50. sport: I used to love playing baseball. I also love volleyball and dancing. I like to watch ice hockey and football as well as baseball. 51. vacation: Last place I went was Busch Gardens, Virginia this summer. Favorite places I’ve been is Miami, Hawaii, Aruba, Bahamas, and Cayman Islands. I would love to visit Japan and South Korea!!!! Actually I really really want to go to both places like NOW! 52. pair of trainers: Nike

MORE GENERAL 53. eating: Nothing 54. drinking: Nothing 55. i’m about to: Read

56. waiting for: Next chapter of VKM

57. want: To do what makes me happy

58. get married: I am not sure.

59. career: Psychologist

WHICH IS BETTER

60. hugs or kisses: Both Hugs help relieve stress and kisses, if done right, can set your soul on fire. I wouldn’t trade either one

61. lips or eyes: Both again. These are the two things I notice on a guy right off the bat. But if I had to choose eyes would win by a hair.

62. shorter or taller: Taller 63. older or younger: Older 64. nice arms or nice stomach: Stomach 65. hook up or relationship: Relationship 66. troublemaker or hesitant: Hesitant

HAVE YOU EVER 67. kissed a stranger: Yes 68. drank hard liquor: Yes 69. lost glasses/contact lens: No 70. turned someone down: Yes 71. sex on the first date: No 72. broken someone’s heart: Yes 73. had your heart broken: Yes 74. been arrested: No 75. cried when someone died: Yes!!! 76. fallen for a friend: Yes!!! 

DO YOU BELIEVE IN 77. yourself: Most of the time 78. miracles: Not really 79. love at first sight: It can happen 80. santa claus: Yes 81. kiss on the first date: Maybe. It depends on who it’s with 82. angels: Not really

OTHER 83. current best friend’s name: Melissa 84. eye colour: Green 85. favorite movie: Several. But I will choose Gone with the Wind

I will tag only a few people

@nalushipperblog @sagapoexo @rainbowfraction @goldencolorrock @radiantsnow 

@h-o-d-z @kiiseru @lievaiya @unravel-me-soul and anyone else who would like to do it