#also everyone should just integrate all the sports

[inchidentally]

thinking about how long Oscar has been a fan of Lando's... how much a fan he has been of Lando's... how Lando - who wants to keep his people close to him forever, went through heartbreak twice with former teammates... how he loved being the younger teammate and wasn't sure about this new guy replacing Daniel... how having Alpine, McLaren and Danny Ric fans all against Oscar from day one made Oscar go completely inside his shell which inadvertently hid his real personality from Lando at first... how it felt to suddenly be the teammate of the guy you once told your mom you'd love to have as a teammate 'because everyone knows how good he is and Oscar won't be expected to equal him right away'... but Lando is wary and unsure and hates instability... Oscar is constantly having his integrity openly questioned by every team principle and talking head and his every mistake jeered at by fans... so they still connect very delicately and from a distance of very different places on the team and in the sport... are clearly feeling each other out for months... a lot of things seem to click between them and they have identical needs and wants for the car, and genuinely tender moments where Lando finds taking care of his tall rookie to be quite sweet and rewarding actually... but then Oscar goes back to being quiet and watching Lando from inside his shell... Lando goes back to hanging out with his old teammates... the old ways of McLaren's legendary multi-cam teammate PR is officially dead... but Oscar keeps coming up to parc ferme to congratulate Lando's podiums... and Lando starts noticing that Oscar is making a real point of being steady and patient and faithful... Zak and the team are fully in Lando mode for a long while because the other half the garage keeps changing... but Andrea sees Oscar for what he is and makes sure to hug him and say that he sees him every time he stands with the team watching Lando receive a trophy... and then Oscar grabs Lando's waist one day and tugs him close and Lando's face breaks into a shocked smile... and before long Lando's staring back at Oscar... and then they start waving at each other from the cars... and they start seeing a future together... and Oscar re-signs at every opportunity... and Lando wavers for a moment, eagerly pursued by every team, but then he re-signs... and says Oscar's the teammate who has pushed him the most... calls them the strongest teammate pairing around... and their relationship has been tested when they come together, when team orders are a mess, when strategy and driver error lose them the top step... but they smile at each other, show up for each other and they swallow their own pain and they move forward.. and then they are jokily but also seriously congratulating each other for the team culture they have built... that they want to grow old together and that they are both locked in together by the common bond of pushing each other and racing each other but also never wanting to lose sight of doing right by all the people who made the car... and when one of them knows their weekend isn't quite what it should be, they put all of themselves into joy for the other when they're nailing it...

and Lando complains that Oscar doesn't like any of the activities he does with other drivers... and so Oscar goes hard into padel and suddenly we hear that they play each other more and more... until they spend a week in Bahrain 2025 together after the race playing padel and relaxing... and Lando takes over for sparkling at the cameras and fans while Oscar takes over the lengthy wordy to camera pieces and interviews and Oscar helps Lando find the right words and Lando helps Oscar relax by teasing him and Lando finds it cute when Oscar is a hopeless nerd and Oscar finds it adorable when Lando pretends to throw a fit... and now there are some weekends they just stay glued together and won't even separate for the driver's parade and Lily and Zak and Adam are patiently waiting for them to finish talking after the race and they've spent every single season being begged by media, fans, and Bob Netflix himself to hate each other and fall out and destroy everything they've worked for and they giggle and sigh and smirk at each other over who's turn it is to answer this time

and we all know there will be Moments and Tensions but also look at how many Moments have happened already that have caused rifts or angry words in any other driver pairing... but these two just take a breath, shake hands, eat nuggies, play a board game, do their immediate little solo debriefs, and get over it bc now this isn't just Lando's home, it's also Oscar's home

where they asked for a privacy door so that they are the only ones who have direct access to each other's driver's room doors !!!

and am I too stupid pilled to say that Oscar watched Lando so faithfully as they both grew up and they both already shared a friend in Max and Lando needed someone as patient and persistent as Oscar to make him believe in a teammate the way he does about his own team... and now they are each other's home and they so badly want to keep it whole and it's not just cynical championship pursuit talking it's a fondness and a genuinely carefully slowly cultivated relationship that is unlike the easy buddy-buddy friendships on the grid or the childhood trauma bond friendships but instead a rare third thing where they handle what they have with delicate hands and caution but only because they respect each other so much and feel all the stronger because of it...

[jonquilyst]

Day 14 - Challenge Day

2 weeks into the 3rd season of TDS, only two-thirds of our cast of 18 are still in the running. That's still more than half, of course, but the one-third of the cast that has already been eliminated is a sizeable chunk. Not to mention one of our teams has already dissolved! The plane is beginning to get less and less crowded...

We've ventured away from the city and have arrived in Forgotten Hollow! It's a pretty bright day for an otherwise gloomy and sleepy place. Legends say this neighborhood can get pretty dangerous at night for humans, since it's home to vampires. Thankfully, it's too sunny for any vampires to be roaming around, so our human contestants should be safe.

That isn't to say we won't have a good scare, though! In today's challenge, one member from each team will take turns grabbing a treat from a pair of trick-or-treat bowls. These aren't ordinary trick-or-treat bowls, though. Each time a treat is taken, the bowl will scare the treat-taker!

Here's the catch though: these bowls have several different jumpscares, and the teams will need to get two specific ones to receive points: either the zombie hand or the ghost. If a contestant gets any other jumpscare (mist or simply the candy flying out), it will not count. The team with the highest points wins invincibility and first class!

Also, our team numbers are even, so everyone is participating today!

Raylan (OD) and Estrello (IN) were chosen to go first! As you can see, Alanna (IN) is feeling pretty competitive today and urged Estrello to get the correct jumpscare. Lucky for him, he got a ghost! But Raylan also got a ghost, preventing Team Integrity from starting a lead. Both teams score a point!

As if TDS hadn't done our beret club dirty enough, the wheel of names have chosen for Carson (IN) and Marilyn (OD) to go against each other!! In the end though, Carson got the mist and Marilyn simply had candy flying out with no ghost or zombie hand, so neither of them score a point for their teams.

It was the same story for Nite (OD) and Matteo (IN), who both got the glowing mist. The teams remain tied at 1-1.

Things take a turn when Touma (OD) and Avery (IN) have their turns and both are met with zombie hands! The score increases to 2 for both teams.

When Ziggy (OD) and Alanna (IN) have their turns, at long last the tie between the teams was broken when only Ziggy got the correct jumpscare! He got a ghost while Alanna was stuck with the glowing mist. Team Odyssey takes the lead!

Last but not least, Tomiko (OD) and Elio (IN) have their turns and a similar outcome unfolds. Tomiko got the ghost, while Elio only had candy fly out. Tomiko has her treat knowing she just secured her team's win! The challenge ends with a score of 4-2!

TEAM ODYSSEY WINS!

Congratulations, Team Odyssey! You weren't gonna let Team Integrity have another win, so you've successfully won invincibility and taken back first class! You are all safe.

And Team Integrity, it's time for another elimination for you! This time just you and your team alone. Who will you be sending away this time? We will find out...

Today's Confessional: Ziggy Skint

"I knew we had it in us to win and get first class back. Sure, we might not be the best singers, but we're good at many other things, and I know we aren't afraid of any ghosts or zombie hands! I thought the jumpscare was pretty funny."

"Elio is pretty popular on their team, so I thought it was epic seeing Tomiko beat them and therefore winning the challenge. I know Elio's a good sport, but they looked pretty sore after they lost!"

@ethicaltreatmentofcowplants @bloomingkyras @changingplumbob @lyratea @invisiblequeen

@paracosmic-sims @matchalovertrait @aliengirl @nakasumi-sims @kissalopa

@hellogreta @kari-sims

[storkmuffin]

The Yeosang Tragedy Part 1/?

a.k.a. The Problem of the Perfect Boy in the Glass Box.

This is a work of fiction written in the form of an analytical essay. It's nonsexual RPF. I do not ship, romantically or sexually any of these people. If you do, you are right, I am wrong, and we both agree that you are also a better person than me. Whatever it is that you think about anybody whose names I borrowed to write this fiction is more correct than whatever it is I say in here.

All humans are always living out at least one narrative at all times. If a human gets emotionally invested in something someone else has made, the source of that investment is the (al)chemical reaction caused by the thing in a core value or problem within the on-going narrative(s) of the fan's life.

Feel Free to Skip To the Next Section, Because This First Part Is a Personal Essay

My father, for example, watches soccer. He more than once tried to get me to give a shit about the sport, so he could have a friend to talk about his favorite player with, but sadly for him, I am an anti-sports extremist and think all soccer players should become ballet dancers. But my dad did tell me why he loves soccer so much, and it's relevant here.

According to my dad, he finds the spectacle of a group of men doing the same stupid things over and over (run, kick the ball, sometimes headbutt the ball, ad infinitum) very meaningful and soothing because of how Soccer The Game works. In sports, there are rules of the game which are very clear, and norms of sportsman-like behavior, which are also clear. This makes soccer better than real life, where such things are NOT clear, consistent nor universal. Among the players, there are those who abide, and those who disobey or cheat, just like in real life, but unlike in real life, everything is recorded. Unlike in real life, there exists a referee. Unlike in real life, a player is guaranteed the presence of a coach, who is always on the player's side. Unlike in real life, there exists a very high chance that the liars and cheaters face consequences for their bad actions, and if they don't, a stadium full of people will be hollering about it on your (the player's) behalf, in real time. My dad's story of himself is that he grew up fatherless and under-protected, in a world where nobody could really show him the ropes nor teach him the rules, and even worse, life has been full of encounters with liars and cheaters who were rewarded for being evil. Of course he's going to be obsessed with soccer - it's real life made perfect.

Why then am I obsessed with Kpop all of a sudden? What's the kernel that's reacting chemically with my life narrative?

The narrative frame that was placed over my life has been one of endless, head-on competition with everyone around me. Teachers as early as kindergarten told us that we'd have to compete to get into college, for life to have any worth. Moreover, I have been asked to fulfill two irreconcilable demands simultaneously:

Demand 1: Be a team player. Be liked by everyone. Do not offend. Don't be embarrassing, excessive or otherwise cringey.

Demand 2: Stand out. Be unique. Be exceptional. Win, even when the winner takes all and there is no such thing as a win-win. Take risks. Be brave.

To me, the people who become performers in K-Pop are having to integrate almost the identical set of irreconcilable demands in their working lives, as well as their personal ones. That's where my investment in all this comes from. It fascinates me when it looks like they're making it work, and it breaks my heart from quadruple levels of empathy when it looks like any one of them is failing.

Physically Talented People's Lives

Koreans are fantastic at categorization. We shove performing arts and sports into one category, and call it, 예체능 (Arts-n-Sports) I haven't seen people in other cultures (correct me if I'm wrong, I'm very interested) shove pianists and actors, soccer players and ballerinas, opera singers and gymnasts, all into one box, but consider!

Each of these disparate looking specialties have identical demands: 1) Lots of people dream of doing these jobs, but few have the actual physical capacity, and it is first and foremost physical capacity that matters - your toes have to be the right shape, or your fingers. You have to have the right physical proportions or basic tone of voice, or whatever, and these are rare occurrences among the general populace.

2) You need specialized training, obtained as early as possible, to maximize your potential.

3) There are a very limited number of spots in a very limited number of places where you can obtain this training.

4) You have to make a hardcore commitment to your professional career while still a very young child.

5) It's exceptionally difficult, almost a statistical anomaly, to become a professional at the thing, even if you have the physique, the training, the desire, and the stars align to get you to the finishing line.

6) And after ALL THAT, you might still end up with a mediocre nothing-worthwhile career, which is often over in less than 10 years.

7) If you succeed though, you will be able to gain adoration, admiration, fame, and sometimes even great wealth, and sometimes even real power. The stakes are super high.

re: 6) & 7) - Consider that a mediocre lawyer can last 40 years in a career and in most countries make a decent living throughout!

The Highly Political Life of a KPop Trainee (Except They're all Fucking 15 Years Old)

Kpop Idol Trainees have to have the most intense interpersonal politics. They attend the same training camps. They run into each other, over and over, at auditions. Even if they gain a spot at a Big 4 company, that might not be the end of it. They might cycle in and out, depending on who gets invited to 'join' a debut-ready team.

I would assume you want to be liked, generally, or at least, be inoffensive to others, since you never know when someone might be chosen as the "leader" of a team that will actually debut, and you don't want the producers to say, Oh A is so talented and so beautiful, but A won't get along with Leader Child, so better luck next time! And yet, if you're anodyne and boring, you'll just be shunted to the side after being yelled at about having no stage presence, because this is show business, after all.

It's very contradictory - I would imagine someone who insists on being chosen for a spot as an Idol trainee or being an Idol at all is a person who wants very much to be adored and admired by as many people as possible, but at the same time, given the brutal personal rejections that happen to people who step on to any public stage, you have to be tough minded enough to not give a shit if you're going to go the distance.

Any one of the people you meet in the course of your life as a Kpop Trainee could be either your teammate for the all-important first seven years of your career, or the mortal enemy who takes your golden ticket away from you at the last minute (they debut, and then you have to find another place that will take you on as Trainee), or even worse, after you manage to debut, be the one that's the breakout star when you were the one that was supposed to be The Handsome One, or The Main Dancer, or The Sexy One etc etc. Every encounter, every conversation, and every relationship is going to be fucking fraught.

What stance would you take?

I am what I am, and what I am is kind of weird but that means I'm in my own category that I only I can occupy, a la Song Mingi, is one option. I am a genius and a born leader, so stick with me is something a HongJoong or a Bang Chan might be able to do, but this is trickier. I'm the softest person you ever met, but I bring something very unusual is the route Felix Lee took, in Stray Kids, (given his super deep voice and his super pretty face). I'm an all rounder but I'm also extremely nice, so nice, you never met anyone so nice is the chosen persona of Yunho of Ateez and Han of Stray Kids. I got skillz bitches! say Jongho of Ateez, and Changbin of Stray Kids. You get my drift, surely?

I FINALLY START TALKING ABOUT YEOSANG HERE:

What Yeosang seems to have picked is I'm Beautiful, So Beautiful, but Harmless. This was also the early persona of the similarly astonishing looking Hyunjin in Stray Kids. I say 'picked' but I also wonder if this is one of those glorified straitjacket situations - if you're so amazing looking in the face that other children, also chosen at least in part for being exceptionally good looking, bow down in awe, maybe being harmless is the only way to survive the jealousy and resentment.

The thing is, Hyunjin Hwang has been able to develop this 'harmlessness' into a very useful "bit" - he uses it to create funny moments with other members in reality content, and he uses it to diffuse tension with his fans, yes, but he also deploys it to avoid having his star persona get too dangerously glossy, which invites puncture (there's a reason he's constantly shown eating $2 cup ramen, while wearing $2,000 T-shirts). And I think it's partly because the real Hyunjin isn't actually that committed to being harmless - he is actually a very loud person, very aggressive, and was pushy enough as a kid to be accused of being a bully. Moreover, Hyunjin found it somehow offensive to be told that he could rest on the laurels provided by his beauty (Hi, Hyunjin, can I have your problems for just, like, a week please? Thanks) - and he fought it to develop a multi-faceted stage and performance persona.

Yeosang Kang's commitment to "Harmlessness" is much more serious and restricting, and as a result, has cost him two things that put his career on a trajectory that has him playing a sidelined, quieter, subdued second fiddle to other team members over whom he has powerful advantages. This is because being very beautiful, and in possession of multiple rare commodities besides (a body that easily becomes visibly muscular, a deep voice, a refined personality shaped through probably strict upbringing that has him saying please and thank you in perfect grammar while high on anesthesia) Yeosang didn't so much have to ever fight for things as much as defend his natural advantage and superiority.

Once whatever happened to him at Hybe (I've seen rumors floating around that Yeosang was the target of many an intra-trainee conspiracy that always got him in trouble and had him weeping, because he was subjected to so much jealousy) that led him to being open to joining this start-up Idol company (KQ), he needed to switch over into the Fight For Things side of the tracks, and I don't think he has managed this to date. I suspect Yeosang didn't know how to fight for things when he was brought into Ateez because he hadn't had to fight for things before. He had had to endure, he had had to defend and he had had to protect (himself, his performance, his integrity etc). But fighting someone else, head on? It's neither his natural inclination NOR a skill he had to acquire out of necessity. He may be learning now, but a lot of time has been lost.

The first thing Yeosang didn't fight to keep was being Wooyoung's priority. He first of all didn't know a fight was on. When he did, though, it may have been too late. And the person he would've had to fight was San Choi, who also has a very powerful, well chosen stance - he combines both I am Harmless with I'm The Softest Person You Ever Met. Anyone who attacks him has to accept being an outright villain.

The second thing Yeosang didn't fight to gain was center stage. That's because he would've had to fight Wooyoung, and then San, and then Seonghwa. I pity anyone, actually, who faces any one of those three as adversaries, never mind all three.

Here's what I think happened.

(stay tuned for part 2)

[deadpresidents]

"Lastly, I would like us all to consider some important tasks for the present historical moment, since we desire a positive change for the benefit of all our brothers and sisters. We know this. We desire change enriched by the collaboration of governments, popular movements, and other social forces. This too we know. But it is not so easy to define the content of change -- in other words, a social program which can embody this project of fraternity and justice which we are seeking. So don't expect a recipe from this Pope. Neither the Pope nor the Church have a monopoly on the interpretation of social reality or the proposal of solutions to contemporary issues. I dare say that no recipe exists. History is made by each generation as it follows in the footsteps of those preceding it, as it seeks its own path and respects the values which God has placed in the human heart.

I would like, all the same, to propose three great tasks which demand a decisive and shared contribution from popular movements:

The first task is to put the economy at the service of peoples. Human beings and nature must not be at the service of money. Let us say NO to an economy of exclusion and inequality, where money rules, rather than service. That economy kills. That economy excludes. That economy destroys Mother Earth.

The economy should not be a mechanism for accumulating goods, but rather the proper administration of our common home. This entails a commitment to care for that home and to the fitting distribution of goods among all. It is not only about ensuring a supply of food or "decent sustenance". Nor, although this is already a great step forward, is it to guarantee the three "L's" of Land, Lodging, and Labor for which you are working. A truly communitarian economy, one might say an economy of Christian inspiration, must ensure people's dignity and their "general, temporal welfare and prosperity." This includes the three "L's", but also access to education, health care, new technologies, artistic and cultural manifestations, communications, sports and recreation. A just economy must create the conditions for everyone to be able to enjoy a childhood without want, to develop their talents when young, to work with full rights during their active years and to enjoy a dignified retirement as they grow older. It is an economy where human beings, in harmony with nature, structure the entire system of production and distribution in such a way that the abilities and needs of each individual find suitable expression in social life. You, and other peoples as well, sum up this desire in a simple and beautiful expression: 'to live well'.

Such an economy is not only desirable and necessary, but also possible. It is no utopia or chimera. It is an extremely realistic prospect. We can achieve it. The available resources in our world, the fruit of the intergenerational labors of peoples, and the gifts of creation, more than suffice for the integral development of "each man and the whole man". The problem is of another kind. There exists a system with different aims. A system which, while irresponsibly accelerating the pace of production, while using industrial and agricultural methods which damage Mother Earth in the name of "productivity", continues to deny many millions of our brothers and sisters their most elementary economic, social, and cultural rights. This system runs counter to the plan of Jesus…

Along this path, popular movements play an essential role, not only by making demands and lodging protests, but even more basically by being creative. You are social poets: creators of work, builders of housing, producers of good, above all for people left behind by the world market….

Governments which make it their responsibility to put the economy at the service of peoples must promote the strengthening, improvement, coordination, and expansion of these forms of popular economy and communitarian production. This entails bettering the processes of work, providing adequate infrastructures, and guaranteeing workers their full rights in this alternative sector. When the state and social organizations join in working for the three "L's", the principles of solidarity and subsidiarity come into play; and these allow the common good to be achieved in a full and participatory democracy.

The second task is to unite our peoples on the path of peace and justice.

The world's peoples want to be artisans of their own destiny. They want to advance peacefully towards justice. They do not want forms of tutelage or interference by which those with greater power subordinate those with less. They want their culture, their language, their social processes, and their religious traditions to be respected. No actual or established power has the right to deprive peoples of the full exercise of their sovereignty. Whenever they do so, we see the rise of new forms of colonialism which seriously prejudice the possibility of peace and justice. For "peace is founded not only on respect for human rights but also on respect for the rights of peoples, in particular the right to independence.”…

Similarly, the monopolizing of the communications media, which would impose alienating examples of consumerism and a certain cultural uniformity, is another one of the forms taken by the new colonialism. It is ideological colonialism. As the African bishops have observed, poor countries are often treated like "parts of a machine, cogs on a gigantic wheel."

It must be acknowledged that none of the grave problems of humanity can be resolved without interaction between states and peoples at the international level. Every significant action carried out in one part of the planet has universal, ecological, social, and cultural repercussions. Even crime and violence have become globalized. Consequently, no government can act independently of a common responsibility. If we truly desire positive change, we have to humbly accept our interdependence. Interaction, however, is not the same as imposition; it is not the subordination of some to serve the interests of others. Colonialism, both old and new, which reduces poor countries to mere providers of raw material and cheap labor, engenders violence, poverty, forced migrations, and all the evils that go hand-in-hand with these, precisely because, by placing the periphery at the service of the center, it denies those countries the right to an integral development. That is inequality, and inequality generates a violence which no police, military, or intelligence resources can control.

Let us say NO to forms of colonialism, old and new. Let us say YES to the encounter between peoples and cultures. Blessed are the peacemakers.

Here I wish to bring up an important issue. Some may rightly say, "When the Pope speaks of colonialism, he overlooks certain actions of the Church." I say to you this: many grave sins were committed against the native peoples of America in the name of God. My predecessors acknowledged this, CELAM has said it, and I too wish to say it. Like Saint John Paul II, I ask that the Church "kneel before God and implore forgiveness for the past and present sins of her sons and daughters." I would also say, and here I wish to be quite clear, as was Saint John Paul II: I humble ask forgiveness, not only for the offenses of the Church herself, but also for crimes committed against the native peoples during the so-called conquest of America.

I also ask everyone, believers and non-believers alike, to think of those many bishops, priests, and laity who preached and continue to preach the Good News of Jesus with courage and meekness, respectfully and pacifically; who left behind them impressive works of human promotion and love, often standing alongside the native peoples or accompanying their popular movements even to the point of martyrdom. The Church, her sons and daughters, are part of the identity of the peoples of Latin America. An identity which here, as in other countries, some powers are committed to erasing, at times because our faith is revolutionary, because our faith challenges the tyranny of mammon. Today we are dismayed to see how in the Middle East and elsewhere in the world many of our brothers and sisters are persecuted, tortured, and killed for their faith in Jesus. This too needs to be denounced: in this third world war, waged piecemeal, which we are now experiencing, a form of genocide is taking place, and it must end.

To our brothers and sisters in the Latin American indigenous movement, allow me to express my deep affection and appreciation of their efforts to bring peoples and cultures together in a form of coexistence which I would call polyhedric, where each group preserves its own identity by building together a plurality which does not threaten but rather reinforces unity. Your quest for an interculturalism, which combines the defense of the rights of the native peoples with respect for the territorial integrity of states, is for all of us a source of enrichment and encouragement.

The third task, perhaps the most important facing us today, is to defend Mother Earth.

Our common home is being pillaged, laid waste, and harmed with impunity. Cowardice in defending it is a grave sin. We see with growing disappointment how one international summit after another takes place without any significant result. There exists a clear, definite, and pressing ethical imperative to implement what has not yet been done. We cannot allow certain interests -- interests which are global, but not universal -- to take over, to dominate states and international organizations, and to continue destroying creation. People and their movements are called to cry out, to mobilize, and to demand -- peacefully, but firmly -- that appropriate and urgently-needed measures be taken. I ask you, in the name of God, to defend Mother Earth. I have duly addressed this in my Encyclical Letter, Laudato Si'.

In conclusion, I would like to repeat: the future of humanity does not lie solely in the hands of great leaders, the great powers, and the elites. It is fundamentally in the hands of peoples and in their ability to organize. It is in their hands, which can guide with humility and conviction this process of change. I am with you. Let us together say from the heart: no family without lodging, no individual without dignity, no child without childhood, no young person without a future, no elderly person without a venerable old age. Keep up your struggle and, please, take great care of Mother Earth. I pray for you and with you, and I ask God our Father to accompany you and to bless you, to fill you with his love and defend you on your way by granting you in abundance that strength which keeps us on our feet: that strength is hope, the hope which does not disappoint. Thank you and I ask you, please, to pray for me."

-- Pope Francis, address to the World Meeting of Popular Movements, Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia, July 9, 2015.

[daceofs]

Mystic Falls High

Part 1

I honestly do not know what I am doing

~~~~~

"Paddd...muh...nee"

"Padhumanidhi Sundarrajan" I blurted stopping the counselor from making my ears bleed, "I am the new transfer student."

"Yeah that's what I said" she muttered, "You are signed up for...?"

I take a deep breath, "AP biology, Integrated Math, Racket Sports, Theatre, Drawing and Painting, AP World history, French and AP Literature."

I knew it by heart because each subject was hand picked. Ivy league here I come.

She flippantly gives me a form, "fill out your club applications."

I smiled. Tightly,

I look through it,  I need to pick a minimum of two and I know exactly what they are, I eagerly fill the applications for Photography and chess. I wanted to pick films, but previous experiences have thought me that film clubs in US are not fun at all.

Chess has Asians and Indians, whichever little population of them this back water town has.

I submit my forms and take my schedule with a smile. Inside I'm shaking.

I'm wearing a short red kurta and jeans, I have simple bracelet, two gold earrings, a small miniscule bottu and my hair is plaited into a single messy braid. I wore two until last year, but I'm 17 now, so I'll wear  a single braid. But that still gets me a few weird looks.

Thankfully, I have my earphones and my ipod, A birthday gift. Yeno Yeno from Aadhavan soothes my nerves as I scramble to my history class.

The teacher is late.

Apparently he's new too so he begins to introduce himself.

"ALARIC SALTZMAN"

The name on the board reads, then he begins to explain how to pronounce his name and honestly I wish I could do that.

But it would be of no use.

I sigh and gear up for a busy day.

~

A week later

I am at school, everyone is dressed up, I am wearing a hoodies and my hair is a bun. Everyone is going to the dance, I am going to the chess club. Because today is the last day to 'officiate' my membership by showing up. I didn't even have time until now and now it bit me in the ass.

It's not that I was missing the dance. My mum would have barely allowed, I would have been so out of place. It's just that.. I feel like a creepy stalker.

I navigate around the halls and rooms, trying my best to not be seen.

I just need to dump these books in my locker. Take my Ipod and go to the club. Someone had stayed behind today for me... because there was a dance, it was officially school hours. It was a rare chance and I should make use of it.

Determined I walk into the empty hallway.

And.. immediately regret it.

Two, decidedly hot but also kind of creepy guys are right at the end of hall standing at the entrance to the small eatery with the vending machine.

The guy who is good at history, Stefan... I remind myself and another guy. He's older and creepier.

And they....

are both looking at me.

Vary.

It lights up my nerves on fire.

"Padmuh" Stefan asks. Oh god he knows my name, that's how he butchered it so well. I'm going to die. This is so awkward.

"Yeah?" I answer fidgeting.

"This is like shady parts of a city right now, what are you doing here?" the man asking is smiling but I know that it's not an innocent question at all. I can sense it. I just don't know why.

"Uhhh" I mutter, my lip curling in confusion, "this is my locker." I point at it. What is happening?

"Padmuh" Stefan starts again, ugh, that is not my name, "Why didn't you go to the decade dance?"

Am I being interrogated?

"It's just everyone is there.." he elaborates.

"Oh I couldn't go... I have work" I explain.

He nods.

I walk to my locker. The other one is staring at me, Stefan smacks him and he stops and turns to look at him. I shove my books in the locker. I take my ipod and walk away from there like I'm running away from an animal.

The entire time I could feel someone's eyes on me.

The experience grates on me and I drag my tired body to the club. I just want some peace and quiet until I finish this.

I step in and there is music... blaring...

"Devudaaa..

(Oh god)

Naa mathi chedipoyenu poorthiga,

(My mind has completely gone to ruin)

Ayanaa..."

(Yet)

(Noppi noppi song from Pokiri 2006)

Well at least it's not some rock garbage, it's a good song. I step in to the club room. With a strained smile that says 'touch me and I'll kill you.'

There is a single boy in the classroom and... he is Indian.

"Baagundhi haay-"

(It feels good-)

He pauses the song listening to my steps and goes rigid. The strain leaves a little from my smile.  He looks up and relaxes. He stands up and awkwardly extends his hand, my smile is not strained anymore.

"Hey"

"Hey"

I shake his hand, "Padhumanidhi Sundarrajan! Call me Padhma"

"Venkat Ghattamaneni" he follows.

"A telugu guy huh?" I ask, he gives a 'yeah' with a smile and I follow with, "I'm a tamilian."

"You're the only one here?"  I ask as we both sit down by something that looks like a table. I take out my bottle and start drinking some water.

"There were two other members, one transferred and the other..."

"Left?"

"Died!"

I spit out the water I was drinking and coughed. He laughed dryly despite himself and gently patted on my head.

"I was not expecting that!" I said still sputtering.

He sighed, "It was an animal attack, I wasn't in town... I didn't even know her name."

"Hmm" I hummed in thought, "sorry though."

We had nothing better to do... so we talked.

He told me that he had started living in the town three months prior. But was out of town for a week. His father's friend/colleague's daughter's wedding.

He'd just got back.

I told him I moved here a week ago.

That I missed my country and I missed my elder sister. She'd gotten into Yale.

He told me had an elder sister, she got into IIM and was back home.

He missed her terribly.

We had history, theatre, racket sports, integrated math and French together.

"Wait you were going to stay at the Salvatore boarding house?" He asked surprised.

"Yeah" I said with a chuckle, "We didn't find a house yet, the motels weren't good at all. But it cost an arm and a leg and my mum got really bad vibes."

"I am even surprised that you got to talk to someone in the house" he chuckled, "The guy from history, Stefan, I assume you know him, he's really good. He lives there apparently and they don't get customers. Like at all!"

"Wow" I exclaimed, "Good thing my dad asked around before trying to check in."

"Yeah... Good thing" he agreed.

Soon the session ended, we absolutely did nothing.

Then my dad called, he'd come to pick me up. By this time the school was already empty.

He was waiting at the entrance with an umbrella.

He smiled as soon as he saw me and I smiled back. It was a mild drizzle but I still got under the umbrella.

"How was the session ma?" He asked holding me around my shoulders.

"Semma pa" I grinned, "I made a friend."

(It was great)

Venkat had come out too. He was wearing a rain coat over his jacket.

I showed him to my dad.

My dad waved.

"Vanakkam uncle" he waved back, "I'm Venkat."

(Hello)

I cocked my brows in shock.

"My mum is half Tamilian... So, I'm quarter Tamilian" he explains with a smirk.

I look to my dad and smile, "Avuna sare ayithe..."

(Oh okay then)

This time he is shocked.

"My atha married a Telugu guy when I was 7" I explain.

Then a car pulls up behind ours and he goes, "that's my father."

A man around my dad's age gets out of the car also wearing a rain coat.

My dad and him exchange a hello and something about the roads in the town.

~

Around two weeks later

Venkat's family had come over to ours for dinner. My mum and his mum connected as the only Indian aunties in the entire town.

We lived in the same street, a few houses apart.

So, we were neighbors and to be family friends.

"Ma... can me and Venkat go for a walk while you guys talk?" I plead.. no beg.

She gives me a stern smile, "Walk where?"

"Just out" I say in a small voice, trying to give her puppy eyes.

"Don't go out of town" She says.

I nod dutifully and then walk out with a smile to my dad and Venkat's parents.

Venkat does the same and follows me out.

We lived on the near edge of the town, so it was more like don't go out of the block.

"So, where should we go?" he askes me just as we're out of the house.

"You're the host" I answer, "to this walk.. you should decide"

"Remember that Salvatore boarding house?"

"Hmm hmm"

"It's right around the lane" he reveals, "we could walk until the property, look at what gave your mother bad vibes and come back."

"Sure" I chirp.

We start on the way, "So, how's the town?" he asks.

"It's okay" I answer.

"Okay as in I am getting used to it and it's gonna be great or I hate it but I have to get used to it" he asks with a mischievous smile.

I mirror it and answer, "One of those."

He laughs. I join him.

"It's just that it's so different from India, from home, this town doesn't even have a theatre" I whine, "it might have a prissy theatre but it's not gonna play any Indian movies."

"You like movies?" he asks. "A lot" I answer, "Especially Indian movies. You don't?"

"I looove them" he almost purrs.

"There's this new movie coming out" I say, enthusiasm filling me, "It's a Telugu movie. You probably know it."

"Which one?" he asks, curious and excited.

I think for it's telugu name, then it strikes me, "Magadheera" I announce.

"Ohh" he mirrors my excitement, "I am madly waiting for it."

"But how do we watch it" I dampen the mood, "it's not gonna play around here."

"It will play in Cincinnati" he points out, "it's a few hours  from here."

"My parents will never agree" I say rolling my eyes.

"Well neither will mine" he joins in, "but we could ask nicely. There's a train."

"One can try" I cave into his hope, "how do we do it?"

"Sudden perfect grades, chores.. what else?" He schemes.

"That should do it" I confirm, "We'll see if it works."

We're about to enter the property and we can see the boarding house from here.

"Ta da" he  says pointing at it.

"That" I mutter, "is definitely haunted."

"I know right" he chuckles.

Then we hear it. A strange rustle with a rush of air, it's not human.

Then it happens again, and..

"Jai hanuman gyan guna sagar, jai kapeesha tihun loka ujaagar

Rama dhoota athulitha baladhama, anjani putra pavana sutanamaa"

(Hanuman Chalisa)

(Hail hanuman who is an ocean of knowledge, who is from the kapi clan and who is known in all three worlds…

Rama’s messenger, strong beyond comprehension, the son of anjana and the heir of the god of wind.)

Venkat nearly screams, I look at him ready to laugh, but he is completely serious and gesturing at me to move. So,

"Mahaveera vikrama Bajrangi, Kumati Nivaara Sumati Ke Sangi

Kanchan varsna viraaja Subesaa, Kanan kundal kunchit kesa"

(Greatest of warriors, valiant as thunder, friend to the good and exterminator of the bad)

I sing with him as we kind of, no, definitely ran from there.

We're at  "Raghupati Kinhi Bahut Badaai, Tum Mama Priya Bharata Sama Bhaii" by the time we reach the road and then he stops, so I stop.

(Rama gave you the greatest praise, ‘you are as dear to me as my dear brother bharat’)

Then I start laughing while I am panting and he's just panting.

"Did you seriously just scream Hanuman Chalisa?" I ask him, incredulous and near hysteric.

"I did not scream it" he says, weakly.

I laugh some more.

"It worked didn't it" he points out.

"That it did!"

~

What on God's Green earth was that?

Damon has been alive for lot more than a century and this is the first time, he had seen such a reaction when he preys on someone.

He was so weirded out that he didn't even eat them.

"Only in mystic falls" he muttered as he vamped back to boarding house.

"Found anything" Stefan asked now changed from the shirt Frederick stabbed him in, but still wincing and favoring the side.

"This is exactly why I tell you to drink people blood"  he pointed out again.

Stefan gives him a bitch face. Well your loss baby brother, just don't bleed on my carpet again, just don't bleed again.

"No sign of any tomb vamps" he says, then pauses, considers.

"but?" Stefan asks, "There is a but, I feel that but."

"I saw that girl from the other day" I confess.

"Padmuh?" he asks.

"Yeah she was with an Indian boy" I continue.

"Whenkat?" He asks again.

"You know him?" I ask him back, I could do with information like that.

"How many 17 year old high school going Indian boys are there in this town?" He deadpans.

"Well something is weird about them" I brush him off, "I tried to scare them..."

"Damon" Stefam admonishes.

"They were on the property, right after two vampires tired to attack us unprovoked on a perfectly good evening" I droll the dangers into his dense head.

"They were on the property?" Stefan asks puzzled.

"Just outside" what does it matter duh! "The point is they're suspicious. The boy came into town with you and the girl came into town with Alaric. They might be working with Noah!"

"Damon" Stefan whines, "they both have families. They are perfectly normal. They-"

"How are they in school?" I cut him off.

Stefan rolls his eyes. Rude, "Well they're polite, nice. They're very studious and have strict parents. They mostly keep to themselves though."

"We saw her right after the dance being all sketchy. They weren't at the dance. They weren't at the desirable bachelor thing."

"Because it was for people in mid 20s like you... there were rarely any kids present" he counters again.

"Well then explain this brother... the day I didn't get Katherine out of tomb... every stupid child in the town was at Dull or Duke or whatever's party. Except for them" Damon presents fool proof evidence.

"Strict parents Damon"  Stefan drawls.

"I still think they're fishy... they don't act like regular students" I emphasise.

"They're not regular students" Stefan points out, "both are emigrants and exchange students."

Yeah sure Sherlock

~

Hindsight is such a bitch.

Stefan is now an anti therapeutic punching bag and he needs Van Helsing ripoff and little miss Katniss to get him out.

He manages to goad the hunter/teacher into helping them. He shows them stuff he had specifically brought  to kill Damon and oh goodie how useful.

They each stock themselves and come up with a fool proof contingency plan.

Well it's not fool proof but he doesn't have the time for it.

I exit the room, Alaric and Elena on my heels and there she is.

The suspicious girl from other night.

She doesn't look like a hermit this time but she shouldn't even be here.

When he's making a plan to get his vampnapped brother out.

I give a smile which is actually a sneer and she clutches the books in her hands tight as if they could offer any protection.

Alaric jumps in, unnecessarily, "Padmuh... what are you doing here? It's not a school day.."

"Mr Saltzman" she greets him, then continues, "Ms Jones asked me if to help her with a project for extra credit."

She looks at Elena and fidgets.

I roll my eyes with a sigh. Have we learned nothing?

"Were you eavesdropping on us? Answer truthfully" I compel her.

"Damon" I hear Elena... Gee Elena, it's not like we have the clock ticking to a rescue and cannot risk any failures.

"Chiii" the girl exclaims, uhm, then she continues, "why would I ever do that?"

(Ewww)

"Well then I want you to forget this conversation" I compel again.

"I want that too, I'll try" she replies with barely hidden disdain.

You'll what...

"I'm sorry, we were just doing some founder's business" Elena covers immediately. Ooh clever.

Except she's on Vervain Elena.

"Yeah no problem" she says in a rush and sidesteps me.

Before I can act, "We need to go" Elena drags me ahead.

"She's on Vervain" I hiss.

"We can worry about that later"  she hisses back.

"Paagal Saale" I hear a murmur. Is she hexing us?

(Lunatic bitch)

But I feel nothing and I don't have time for this now. So, I comply.

~

Founders day rolls around and hell breaks loose.

Damon is still greedily gulping his blood bag. He reeks of ash and smoke and hates it with every fibre of being.

He feels Stefan's eyes on him and that grates him even more.

"What were you doing down there?" he manages to ask. He knew Stefan wasn't down there, he'd checked, it was the first thing he did.

"Saving your ass" comes the answer.

"Why?" he wants to know.

"You're my brother... Go Figure" Nonchalance huh brother it doesn't suit you.

He doesn't even say it out loud. Just gives a listless smile.

"That went so well" someone squeals and they both become alert.

'Went well?' what kind of diabolical-

"We should do that again" some else says and they're bloody chuckling and he wants to snap their neck.

"Who was that?" he grates, "Someone from council?"

"Has to be" Stefan says, the tomb vampires are all dead after all.

"We should plan it better though" he can hear it better now and he knows it's a girl and he's heard her before.

"Yeah it got quite late" the other one's a boy and he's heard him too.

"Yeah well..." the rest turns into garble as a taxi stops by them.

"Padmuh" Stefan realises, "and Whenkat!"

They're too weak and slow to follow them now, "We've got to deal with them."

"Damon" Stefan chides.

"You heard them" Damon hisses, "they had a plan, it went well... who knows what they did!"

~

"So... we watched Magadheera" Padhma squeals into her phone, "Akka it was so good."

(Big sister)

"Wow" Maitreyi, her sister replies equally enthusiastic, "You sound like you enjoyed it a lot. How was Cincinnati?"

"It was okay" she answered, "better than this backwater town."

"I wish we could have watched it together" Maitreyi says with a small whine.

"Next time come to Cincinnati" she suggests.

"Or I'll take you all to New York" Maitreyi counters.

"Brilliant" she chirps.

They chat for a few more minutes before hanging up, she comes down to the living hall.

Her parents are talking about something seriously.

"Ma" she asks tentatively, "everything okay? How was the celebration?"

"It was great kanna" her mother answers, "but there was an accident. The mayor died."

(Sweetheart)

"Oh" her eyes widen in shock, "that's so sad."

"Yeah" her father sighs, patting her shoulder, "We're all going to the memorial tomorrow."

"Should we take anything?" her mother ponders.

"Lasagna, apparently" Her father answers.

"That is so weird" her mom says and they all chuckle.

How very morbid!

~

"Hey there's Tyler" Venkat says taking a sip of water, everything else is alcoholic here and their parents would kill us if they as much as drank a glass. They're at the memorial, the entire town is.

Their parents are talking to other adults and after the formalities, here they are, in the garden.

"Oh yeah" Padhma ponders, "should we go say hi?"

"We don't even know the guy" He points out.

"It's a minimum curtesy" She counters.

Their argument comes to moot when he walks inside the house, away from the crowd with a guy who just arrived, must be a relative.

"Well" he smirks. She shakes her head. The she smiles.

"Oh hey there's coffee" she chirps. He perks up, "Now you don't have to worry about feeding only water to your manly body."

"I never said that" he says abashed.

"No?" she teases. She picks up a cup of it, with a straw in the lid and hands it to him. He takes it with a tip of an absent hat.

He sips it and immediately spits it out.

Padhma looks at him startled, then looks around embarrassed. He collects himself and stops sputtering. They both look around before he puts the cup aside.

She clicks her tongue and rolls her eyes, "Wow!"

He raises his finger to point in his defense, "It was hot and there was no milk. Why are they serving espressos at a funeral?"

"Would you prefer they served Iced caramel lattes?" she asks with a huff.

"As a matter of fact" he answers, "yes!"

~

"No" This idiot. We watched it all happen, they're frolicking chatting something we can't catch and he's still in denial.

"Stefan, listen" Damon implores despite himself, "he took a sip of coffee and spit it out. The coffee has vervain in it. That's exhibit 1, Exhibit 2... the other day I couldn't compel her. Exhibit 3, she was being shady in an empty hallway. You were right there, Exhibit 4-"

"Damon" Stefan sighs, "you're spiraling. The other day you were convinced that they were in the council. Now you're convinced he's a vampire and she's a witch. This isn't fanfiction Damon."

"No little brother" Damon drawls, "This is our very real messed up life which is why there are no coincidences. Especially because Katherine is here."

"Fine" Stefan relents, finally, "there's a high school carnival tonight..."

"We'll take care of them there" Damon finishes.

"No" Ugh, Stefan, "We'll investigate."

"Fine" Damon relents, "how do we know they'll show up, given everything they've... skipped?"

"I'll invite them" Stefan answers.

Well...

~

They're, embarrassingly, chuckling like teenagers when Venkat sees Stefan approach them.

"Oh shit" he mutters.

She follows his sight and her eyes widen, she hits him lightly and mumbles, "I told you this wasn't appropriate behavior."

She turns to Stefan who is now standing just a couple feet before them, "We're sorry. We know this is disrespectful."

Surprisingly, he chuckles, "Oh no.. I know funerals can be boring, especially when you know no one."

"Yeah" Venkat nods with a guilty smile, "but we're still sorry."

"Don't worry about it" Stefan says, "I'm not policing you guys."

She gives him a strained smile, he continues, "I was just wondering why you guys didn't show up to the Founder's day celebrations..."

"Oh yeah" she drawls, they skipped it, "We were out of station. Our parents went, initially we were supposed to come too but well our schedules clashed."

"Your schedules clashed?" He asked confused, "What happened?"

"Well" Venkat answered, "We went to Cincinnati to watch a movie."

Stefan looks baffled, "you went to Cincinnati.. to.. watch a movie?"

At the expense of not sounding crazy, Padhma continues, "It's an Indian movie. It doesn't play around here."

"Oh" he almost sighs, "I see. You guys like movies huh?"

Venkat shrugs and Padhma chuckles. "I like them too" he continues.

"Really?" Venkat asks and Padhma follows, "are you in the film club here?"

"No" Stefan says with a dry laugh, "listen there's a school Carnival tonight. I'm sure you know.. are you planning to come?"

"Uhm" she mumbles not knowing what to say.

"You should come" he implores.

"We will come" Venkat answers, "thanks for the invite Stefan."

He nods with a smile, they smile back and he leaves.

"You think they'll agree?" Padhma turns to Venkat.

"Sure they will" Venkat answers, "It's a high school event and we've been on our best behaviour."

~

"Well played Fincher" Damon teases him as soon as he comes back, "smooth."

"We have to find out who the 'they' they were referring to is." Stefan says not playing that game.

"We will" Damon smirks.

~

"This is the worst high school carnival of my life" Damon says phantom dusting his pants.

"This is the only high school carnival of your life" Stefan points out standing beside him.

"Har har Stefan" Damon bites. Stefan smirks.

"So... we've got problems 1,2,3 covered... moving on to problem 4... where are the brown love birds?" Damon quips.

"I did spot them earlier, they were playing some games" Stefan answers, "They should be around."

"Let's go find them" Damon smirks all evil debauchery in glory.

Finding two shifty possibly humans or maybe vampires should be easy for two fine vampires such as the Salvatores.

Except they've combed the entire ground and haven't found a whiff of trace.

"Where are they?" Damon almost shouts, annoyed.

"They'll be here.. they'll be here.." Stefan placates.

"Who are you searching for?" Elena asks them having seen the fuss.

"Have you seen Padmuh and Whenkat?" Stefan asks her, in a 'this is important but don't worry' tone.

"Padmuh and Whenkat?" She asked.

"Yes" Damon hissed, "the Indians."

"They left" she stated.

"They left?" Stefan asked, incredulous.

"Yeah.." she said confused, "something about a curfew."

Stefan looks at Damon, completely exasperated.

"Curfew?!" Damon bites, borderline hysterical, "IT'S 9:30!!"

To be continued

Part 2 https://www.tumblr.com/daceofs/767922715345764352/so-we-start-from-season-2-episode-3-season

[angy-grrr]

hello!! about your post the other day on how people think bkdk is just another sns, do you happen to have the source for ‘horikoshi dislikes the ending of naruto’? its such an integral part of my bkdk worldview and why im so convinced theyre gonna be canon, but i cant for the life of me figure out where horikoshi mentioned that 😅

This is the link of a transcription of the twitter thread! This was from the middle of 2015, even before Katsuki got kidnapped and wasn't super clear whether he would stay in the hero or villain, so I think we need to keep it in mind when reading about this too.

To give more perspective, a reminder of what happened in that time: Bakugou vs Deku 1 happened in January, and this interview probably happened when the sports festival was starting (as we see it goes until August/September)... A year later we get Katsuki's origin chapter, two years later the second Kacchan vs Deku fight after the kidnapping and rescuing, and six years later we get the apology.

(Interview under the cut, the parts where this is discussed)

The interviewer asks what Horikoshi thought of Naruto and Sasuke's rivalry, and Horikoshi says it was frustrating. Horikoshi says he really liked the "Valley of the End" and thought that would be the end of the series. - Kishimoto notes a lot of readers though Naruto and Sasuke would make up after the Valley of the End and go back to the village together. But he made them fight. - Horikoshi continues that all the misunderstandings during the second part were frustrating to watch and when it all came together in the final fight he almost felt like a parent watching these characters he had grown up with, and he was rooting for them both. - Kishimoto says he's happy to hear that, he wanted people to be able to understand both Naruto and Sasuke's feelings. Horikoshi notes it was really emotional, built up over 15 years. - Kishimoto notes he likes Bakugo as a rival and found it funny how he's an ally almost like a villain, telling the main character "die". He thinks Horikoshi did a good job since you don't know if Bakugo will stay an ally or become an enemy. - Horikoshi notes Bakugo is horrible, but thought it would be more interesting that way. He says he wants him to be like Vegeta from Dragon Ball but doesn't know how it'll play out from here. Kishimoto says he thinks it'll be interesting whichever direction Bakugo goes.

I think this last comment is kind of a reference to what he planned for prototype Katsuki Gougou -he was a really nice guy who would insult ppl accidentally and be loud during fights, but he found it annoying. He probably thought and took inspiration from V*geta in order to craft a rude personality for the beginning, and as we know it wasn't clear whether he would even ever support Izuku in the first place or stay as an obstacle to surpass.

I dont believe we are reading into things when thinking Katsuki has become way more than another V*geta, and that his relationship with Izuku doesn't resemble the one he has with G*ku, as far as I know -cmon he is literally crying over feeling like he lost his chance to be by deku's side forever, while not caring about his own arm or possibility of not being a hero, I dont know about DBZ but I dont think something similar happened lol.

When we say he doesnt like it, its because he clearly states very bold declarations in front of the author -who is basically a sensei, a superior role than his and who he should always respect the most. So being critical about it makes it even more clear how much he truly disliked it -he was tired of the misunderstandings and hoped they would just go back together to the village. So, to say the least, he never really truly enjoyed the idea of a rivalry where the characters are so important to each other, but end up fighting for more unnecessary misunderstandings.

We can see how he took notes from the whole everyone coming together for the fight, and he likes that emotional aspect -also making tribute to DBZ with everyone cheering for the hero just like many ppl did irl. We'll have to see what happens, but I believe we'll see more of Katsuki and the reasons why he was able to survive this long and see vestige All Might

[gaymattsharp]

none of the dog sees god characters are popular theyre all weirdo loser freaks no one likes but the majority of them are too self centered to even realize this. my reasoning 👇 (ITS REALLY LONG AND THERE ARE MULTIPLE IMAGES. WARNING)

ok this has kinda like always been how i interpreted things and then i looked literally anywhere else where people are talking about dog sees god and all the summaries are like pigpen and charlie brown and peppermint patty and marcie are COOL and POPULAR and BULLY the UNDERLING that is SCHROEDER. and that just like. doesnt feel right? like narratively that feels incorrect so im going to explain this now.

first ok. so this is also like a completely separate pet peeve of mine but the text literally never says that cb and matt play football like literally every single fucking source everywhere says. like matts page on the villains wiki says one of his hobbies is playing football and like. no???? they never???? say that????? like ok. we know their school HAS a football team (beethoven mentions it in the vipers nest) and we know cb and matt play SOME sport (matt mentions that they "shower together after practice" in the hangover) but the connection is never explicitly drawn between the two. in FACT beethovens line about the football team (below)

kind of like. goes against the idea that cb and matt are on the football team??? like hes talking to cb here i feel like if beethoven were to mention even sarcastically ogling a group that cb is apart of hed make some kind of comment about it. like this is before their whole thing gets resolved theyre still fighting when he says this line it would make complete sense for cb to say something about this. and like ok its peanuts right like just reminding everyone that its peanuts. you know what sport it would make more sense that charlie fucking brown plays like you know what sport it would seem logical for him to play oh i dont know fucking BASEBALL????? im realizing now that this is like a lot less relevant to my original idea than i thought but i still want to keep it here. i think its just kinda like. its not canon that theyre super popular stars of the football team for all we know they could be playing fucking tennis the fact that they play A Sport doesnt make them well liked. also it literally never says at any point that theyre even good even if they are on the football team they could be the worst players we dont fucking know!!! need i remind you of charlie browns only* experience with football

*besides youre in the super bowl charlie brown but that specials bad so were ignoring it. and its not like he was good at football in that either

and if you buy into the idea that they play baseball (which you should baseball is such an integral part of peanuts it makes the most sense) charlie brown (and pigpen for what its worth. also like everyone else too) is DOGSHIT at baseball like its an entire decades long running joke how fucking awful they are at baseball. "maybe he practiced and got better" hes terrible to his bones practice does nothing. heart

ok onto more substantial points. so if you buy into the interpretation that their childhood was just literally normal peanuts (which you should because its very funny) then you can assume that these guys have all known eachother since elementary school (and even if you dont there are multiple lines that reference them being friends as kids so point still stands). but also by virtue of dsg being a peanuts parody and a lot of the comedy just coming from "haha that s like from the comic strip :)" (I WILL TALK ABOUT THE INHERENT TRAGEDY OF THIS LATER) besides like. one guy. every single character mentioned is an established peanuts character. and like idk about you but my highschool is a LOT bigger than my elementary school. like. there are substantially more people there. what im trying to say that while not impossible it is fucking WEIRD to have a decently sized friendgroup that has not changed the slightest bit in almost a decade. what im getting at is these bitches are INSULAR!!!!!!!! they are extremely hyperfocused on an only think about people from their childhoods. i will get back to this

LETS TALK ABOUT SALISBURY STEAK CAN WE TALK ABOUT SALISBURY STEAK PLEASE GOD MAC IVE BEEN DYING TO TALK TO YOU ABOUT SALISBURY STEAK ALL DAY ok so this scene. woof. ok. this is where the majority of my reasoning for this comes from. first, i want to draw attention to the fact that frieda, the girl that tricia and marcy make fun of so frequently, is another goddamn peanuts character. and so another elementary school friend. it just doesnt end with these bitches do you think about anything else!!!!!!

if tricia and marcy had any kind of actual social standing, them constantly gossiping and shittalking frieda would matter to her. being so constantly and relentlessly made fun of by popular people would have an impact (hi yes i know youre thinking of beethoven ignore him for now were gonna come back to him). but it doesnt! frieda doesnt care about what tricia and marcy think of her, why would she? theyre just those two girls from elementary school who are angry all the time. friedas on the outside, shes not apart of this. the only student mentioned thats not a peanuts character? thats her boyfriend. she is the only window into the world of normalcy

THIS^^ THIS RIGHT HERE IS THE LINE THAT GAVE ME THIS WHOLE IDEA IN THE FIRST PLACE. im fairly certain the purpose of this line is to place doubt in our minds on whether or not what we assumed the entire play is actually true. which its not!!! of course this isnt the cool table, all these people do is argue an gossip an stew in their own misery!!!!

ummmm lighting round of things that support my point. if they really were these ultimate cool all powerful popular kids why the hell are they still friends with van. van is a burnout stoner with a sister in an psych ward. considering the things they pounce on to make fun of, this is MORE than enough to completely open fire. but theyre not gonnaaaaa because theyre in the same boat as him!!!!! van and them are on the same level of popularity!!!!!! ummalso THE PARTY the party. the only other guests mentioned to be at this party are franklin (another peanuts character, another childhood friend) and fucking RERUN ? in the comics rerun is established to be MUCH younger than the main cast, even younger than sally, who is mostly shown to be in kindergarten, meaning hed be in middle school at the MOST. and its not like this is a party at vans house and his brother just happens to be there NO!!! THIS IS MARCYS PARTY HE BROUGHT RERUN WITH HIM LITERALLY WHY IS RERUN THERE. THIS PARTY FUCKING SUCKS I KNOW IT IN MY SOUL.

were coming back to beethoven now the thing is that hes in the exact same boat as everyone else. while we do know that its not just the main cast that are outwardly homophobic ("i only got called a queer 3 times ^_^!") it is consistently shown that the main perpetrators are the main cast, much more so than anyone else. beethoven posits that the only reason cb only got called queer is because everyones scared hell beat them up, but i do think its worth considering that the main cast are the only ones who would ever enact actual violence. beethoven is in the same situation, but moreso by force than by choice. hes forced to relive reminders of traumatic childhood events and forced to cling to the past BECAUSE the people that target him used to be his friends. theres a reason they were the only people in peer counseling.

like i said, there is a certain tragedy that comes with dsg being a peanuts parody. its because of the referential comedy that bert royal created a cast of characters so self centered and so hung up on the past that theyre still extremely fixated on the kinds of people they were and the drama they had and their feelings about eachother from when they were literally fucking 8 years old. and isnt that jsut so much more thematically interesting than "oohh popular kid bully gay unpopular kid ooohhhh" theyre all unreliable narrators!!!!!!!! theyre all sick freaks and everyone knows it!!!!!!!! there is no possible justification for their actions, theyre hypocrites plain and simple.

or maybe im reading into everything too much idk its 1 am im talking about the fucking peanuts yaoi fag play. bye

[theemporium]

ok this might be like a warm take but i feel like during 4 nations i would have rather died than have america win because of everything that trump was saying and so i was happy canada won but when america won worlds and accepted the trophy with the gaudreau jersey i thought that that is what 4 nations should/could have been instead of what it was... like worlds was kind of fun! rip to switzerland seeing nico sad was depressing but i had fun seeing the us win it! 93 years! thats cool!

i still hope trump dies a horrible stupid painful agonizing excruciating death with a never ever before seen rapidity and i hope everyone that supports him has a horrible stupid life but like... go america

okay i do think this is a hard one and i have seen a lot of debates about it on my dash

from a purely hockey perspective, it is truly a wonderful story for team usa to win after so many years and for them to bring out the gaudreau jersey. it was a very sweet gesture, and with cases like will smith who can sometimes be cast aside when he is constantly sharing the spotlight with mack, it is nice to see them get a solid win and be such an integral part of the team where people can appreciate their skill in its own right

however, just like four nations, there is obviously people who are upset about team usa winning. and i see the argument of "don't bring politics into hockey", which is understandable but unfortunately, a lot of people have made hockey about politics. from the banning of pride tape all the way to trump putting his stupid fucking orange foot into the four nations tournament, politics is unfortunately very intertwined with the sport and the narratives being talked about

and i know there's gonna be people all up in my inbox talking about how hockey is a predominantly white, republican sport with many players supporting trump. but just because that is the case, it does not mean people should have to expect it or accept it, or not be severely disappointed by their fav players/teams showing support for such a hateful man with hateful views

yes, it would be lovely to live in a world where sports and politics were not so intertwined, but unfortunately they are. and people in and around the sport are very outspoken with it and it's hard to enjoy things like the monumental win for team usa when there are so many unspoken agendas mixed with the win and what it means in our current climate

so whilst i can appreciate how big of a win this is for team usa (regardless of which teams i supported through the tournament), i can also appreciate how detrimental it is in the current state of the world and how disheartening it can be

anyways, not-so friendly reminder that this blog hates trump and his supporters so don't even try to start that debate🙃you will be blocked!!!

[jamiesfootball]

more leverage/tl thoughts. any time they need someone undercover in sports or labor, they send eliot. which of course makes sense. for eliot. and also probably au roy.

but consider: jamie is NO good at any of that stuff. he can do a lot of sports, especially anything where you have to be fast or agile, and he takes the boxing job - though he has to fight roy on it, but roy is on his last legs and they all know it. but when it comes to labor jamie doesn't know how to do shit, and he's prissy too. doesn't like getting his hands dirty. he's totally comfortable in his own sweat, sure, but he even gets a bit squeamish at blood he was the one to spill especially if it gets on him (this was never a reason roy cited for why he didn't think jamie should be their new hitter, but in hindsight it's Very Obvious lmao).

anyway, so the team is always like yeah you send in the hitter to fill an undercover role in labor, because his asset is his body, right? wrong. there's a gradient when jamie switches from hitting to hacking, a small transitional period of time where he's doing both, but roy always has to step in for any "hitter" job that isn't... well, hitting. he gives jamie all kinds of shit for being a gen z city boy who doesn't know how to change a tire or whatever, but tbf he's glad for the excuse to only be part time retired lol.

& then when they bring isaac(?) on to be roy's replacement since jamie didn't work out (and roy never stops saying he told everyone so about that), he doesn't know how to do a lot of labor stuff too, but he's happy to learn - unlike jamie, who would do the work of course but he'd whine about it and even when he shut up and bore it you could still tell he hated every second - but usually they don't have time for him to get fully trained in stuff so they have roy on comms talking him thru it and jamie always chimes in with totally wrong info just to be obnoxious aksjfks.

My hand didn't slip so much as it went ice skating, stayed out past curfew, and forgot why we were here in the first place:

"How are you so bad at this?” Roy asked over comms, and it took every bit of his restraint for Jamie not to throw the big-scissors right through the mark’s window.

Bad enough that he had to put up with the older man critiquing his fighting style on a daily basis, and the smugness when he pinned Jamie in a headlock, and the eyerolls when he thought Jamie was being purposely ignorant about some complicated maneuver.

(And he wasn't being deliberately obtuse. Roy just knew more obscure fighting techniques than God, and appeared to think that Jamie should have learned capoeira on the back streets of Manchester while reading a dictionary.)

That's what Jamie had to put up with if he wanted to get better. That was the price of having a stable gig, one that paid per diem even when they weren't on the con. Ted basically paid him to hone his craft, on the off-chance it'd be useful to him later. Jamie banked money, his bones didn't break, and the only note on his head these days were the sticky notes Roy left on his forehead when Jamie nodded off in the breakroom.

("I think it says 'Dante's Inferno,'" Keeley said as they shared a stolen sandwich; Roy really was a good cook. She squinted at the tiny, furious handwriting. "Do you think it's a clue?")

He understood the old man was frustrated; his grandad knee had the structural integrity of a broken bottle that'd been glued back together. He'd be stuck in Beard's weird, smelly little van for at least the duration of the job. But it didn't give him the right to be a dick to Jamie about yard work. Where did Roy get off thinking Jamie had ever learned to prune a rose bush?

"You can't cut it down that low or you risk it having to grow up from the graft."

Jamie yanked the big-scissors back from a deadened stalk. “Then you should’ve swapped me with Keeley,” he hissed.

A while ago she'd been gagging over the comms. Her and Ted had a long debate--the kind Jamie could never get away with--about whether she actually had to clean the mark's bathroom as part of her reconnaissance. Yes, the tank was an excellent place to hide stolen jewels; no, she'd never found one there in her life.

Jamie wondered if the housekeepers wore maid outfits. Keeley would look dead fit in a maid outfit. He'd look dead fit in a maid outfit. Anything would look better on him than the gray, stiff-collared maintenance uniform Beard had presented him without comment.

The earbuds made it sound like Roy was right behind him, whispering disapprovingly, "Keeley's on the inside so she can crack the safe when she finds it. And you're supposed to be keeping a lookout on the armed guards. Focus." The hairs on the back of his neck stood up. Focus, he said. Like Jamie had the luxury of forgetting that not ten metres away stood a burly man armed with an assault rifle and a blind spot in the cameras. All Jamie had was a pair of big-scissors and a prickly old bastard in his ear.

Honestly? He'd rather scrub the bathroom.

Jamie could scrub the hell out of a bathroom. Hell, he could scrub a carpet so well the landlord would never find the bloodstain. Roy might get high and mighty when Jamie admitted that he'd never used a drill or whatever, but Jamie knew the ins and outs of patching holes in the wall. He couldn’t change a tire, but he could steal a hubcap in under thirty seconds. He couldn’t slice an onion, but he could make twenty pounds at the grocers stretch for two weeks. Crouched eye-level with the rose bush and with a hidden spycam on his top button, him and Roy faced the same barren pot of twigs. Somehow Roy could see the instructions that would guide it to blooming, but Jamie couldn't. To him the rose bush was a dead thing, simple as that.

The big-scissors in his hand curved sharp and short with a thick handle for wielding. He was sure they had real a name for them, but he was also pretty sure his dad used to have something similar around for threatening the debtors who ran late on payments.

He could use a hammer. Roy never asked him if he knew how to use a hammer.

He made another go at the rose bush and got himself pricked for his trouble.

"Shit!" he swore, and over the comms Roy demanded to know, "Are you bleeding?"

"Don't leave DNA," Beard added. Jamie startled; he'd forgotten about the creepy weirdo entirely.

Danger shifted to his left. The guard rounded towards him, boots crunching in the gravel. "Hey! Is there a problem?"

Roy swore. Beard warned him not to engage.

Jamie rose to his feet with his best charming grin slapped on like a plaster over a nasty prick. He held his bleeding hand out like an offering, and with the other he slipped the big-scissors into the sleeve of his shirt.

One of Rebecca's first rules of the con: if you're uncomfortable, use it to make the mark uncomfortable.

He squeezed the big-scissors tight. "Yeah sorry, mate. Got a bit of a nasty cut--don't want it to infect. Could you point me somewhere I could clean up?"

[secretlyblondexo]

TERF

This word leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Why is it that when women want to protect spaces made for them, they’re called a “terf?” This makes no sense to me. Although I support trans women, I do feel like there are certain restrictions that they’ll have to come across in society because they are anomalies. When you are an anomaly to a group, if you want to blend in or be accepted, you should not disturb the order of those who you wish to integrate with. If majority women say that you cannot be in women’s sports because you’re not biologically a woman, accept it. If majority women don’t feel safe with you in their restrooms, accept it and move on with your life. I like to use the example of Tarzan (yes, Tarzan).

Tarzan was socialized with the apes and taught ape behavior, but he knew and the apes knew that he was different (because he was human). He was an anomaly to their society. He was welcomed to do certain things within their community, but when there were issues that only apes could handle, he had to be left out because he could get hurt, or because he wasn’t physically or biologically equipped to handle it. In turn, there were also things that Tarzan could do that the apes could not because they were not biologically or physically equipped for it. There’s more examples, but if you watch Tarzan at full length, then you’ll catch them.

*Anyway*

To me, being a “terf” isn’t an inherently bad thing. Many “terfs” are just trying to protect spaces that women have worked hard to occupy and I don’t see anything wrong with that. Yes, they exclude trans women because trans women are trans women. The way I see it, they don’t have hate for trans women at all. They are frustrated with the backlash and misogyny they face for simply wanting to protect spaces that the women before us fought to have. The backlash they get grows into frustration and that frustration grows into resentment which causes them to say things that are ugly. I don’t agree with the hurtful things they say about trans women but I do understand.

*Back to Bathrooms*

Obviously, if you pass really well, no one is going to go into the stalls demanding to see what you look like down there or asking you if you’re trans. To me, if you’re fully transitioned, I feel like it’s sort of nit picky to say you can’t come into a woman’s restroom because you socially pass as a woman and no one can tell. On the other hand, I also feel like using the family restroom is respectful and considerate to women who still are not comfortable regardless of how well one passes. Keep in mind that young girls occupy these spaces too. There should be more advocacy for trans inclusive or trans exclusive (meaning exclusive to trans people, not excluding them) spaces so then everyone is comfortable and safe.

[chenvs3000f24]

Blog #9 Unit 10

As I develop my personal ethic as a nature interpreter, I am reminded of the urgency and responsibility that comes with this role. The world is facing unprecedented environmental challenges, yet our connection to nature is dwindling. As Jacob Rodenburg (2019) mentions, “being an environmental educator in today’s world feels like you are asked to stop a rushing river armed only with a teaspoon”. To further this message, in a climate change discussion presented by the David Suzuki Foundation, it was mentioned that in San Diego, a city surrounded by stunning coastlines, 90% of kids can’t swim, 95% have never been on a boat, and 36% have never even seen the ocean despite living less than 20 minutes away (DavidSuzukiFDN, 2012). Both these points highlight a growing problem that extends beyond just San Diego. It’s a disconnect that, as a nature interpreter, I am committed to solving.

Once I stated this, I realized I might be in over my head by saying “solving” and rather maybe should say alleviate or mitigate. Even with mitigating this gap, I thought where would I start? How can I encourage a generation to care for a world they have rarely even experienced first-hand.

Connecting two worlds: The advantage of my generation:

Being born in the early 2000s, I believe I would have a unique perspective to take this challenge on. I had the advantage of growing up in an environment where outdoor play was common and afternoons were spent exploring the woods, playing sports outside, or simply daydreaming beneath a vast blue sky. I still remember the feeling of endless opportunities while emerging in nature, free of any digital world. During this time, even schooling was different. There was a greater emphasis on hands-on activities, outdoor field trips, and real-world discoveries than on screens and online classes. I have a vivid memory of the evolution of learning boards, which started with plain whiteboards and blackboards, to projectors (figure 1), and then to smartboards and more high-tech equipment.

Figure 1: this is an example of a projector that I still vividly remember my teachers using to give lessons. (Whatever Happened to the Overhead Projector?, 2021)

However, I was still young enough to experience the quick shift to a tech-centric lifestyle. As smartphones, tablets, and social media grew more integrated into our daily lives, I saw firsthand outdoor activities take the backseat. Children today, who have never experienced a world without continual digital connectivity, are missing out on the simple pleasures and deep connections that come from connecting with nature.

This dual perspective gives me an advantage when interpreting nature. I understand what today’s children are drawn to in the digital age, but I also recognize the irreplaceable significant of both hands-on and physical experiences. My goal is to use this insight to develop programs that combine the best of both worlds, utilizing technology to enhance, rather than replace, our relationship with nature.  

One of my firm views is that everyone, particularly children, has an innate urge to interact with the natural world. Jacob Rodenburg (2019), highlights this through his experiences that younger children are always eager to appreciate nature, all they need is a chance. He describes taking children to wetlands and seeing their faces light up as they discover salamanders and frogs. These experiences have taught me that the first step in encouraging environmental care is to instill a sense of wonder and curiosity.

Since this is a longer post I want to stop here at halfway and give everyone a break from reading and do this activity:

Think of a place in nature that holds a special memory for you- maybe a childhood park, a hidden trail, or even your backyard. Now think about if that is something children growing up now would experience. What did it teach you? How can you use this place to inspire someone else to love the environment?

As a nature interpreter, my job is not only to inform, but to inspire. Interpretation should aim to create memorable, meaningful experiences that inspire action (Beck et al., 2018). This includes acknowledging that both children and adults need to reconnect with nature on their own terms (Beck et al., 2018). It is not enough to discuss climate change or species extinction. Instead, I want to give hands-on, engaging experiences that will make people care profoundly about the environment around them. I can even do this by incorporating technologies, such as microscopes, magnifying glasses, and telescopes to look at nature. For example, when I was young my dad showed me how you can hold a magnifying glass up to a leaf in the sun, and the leaf will get a hole burnt in it. I still remember this experience to this day.

Here you can see a video of this in action:

https://www.shutterstock.com/video/clip-5804798-scout-burning-leaves-by-loupe-tries-holding

Futher, the identification of global warming as a severe hazard is not a new development. At the 1988 global conference, Steve Lewis and other renowned scientists raised the alarm about the dangers of climate change, urging the world to act. Despite decades of growing scientific data, development has halted and, in some cases, reversed (DavidSuzukiFDN, 2012). This lack of momentum is that the method was frequently based on just providing data and using fear to elicit change, rather than developing compelling, meaningful experiences that could inspire a deeper, long-term connection to the subject.

An interpreting technique that appeals to me is one that mixes storytelling and discovery. Rodenburg's significance on micro-environments serves as an inspiration for me when writing for younger readers (Jacob Rodenburg, 2019). Instead of bombarding children with information about vanishing glaciers or plastic-filled oceans, I can focus on the simple wonders right in their own backyard. For example, how he brought up the idea to take them to a local park and ask, "I wonder who lives under this rock?" so when they lift it and discover a wiggling earthworm or a little salamander, they feel as if that was their own discovery (Jacob Rodenburg, 2019). It's a time of pure exhilaration, where the thrill of discovery creates a deeper, more personal relationship to nature, instilling an actual care for the environment.

I also believe in the power of storytelling. By crafting narratives about the plants, animals, and landscapes around us, I can turn facts into intriguing stories that pique the imagination. This strategy not only makes knowledge more memorable, but it also helps people create a stronger emotional bond with their surroundings by transforming abstract concepts into relatable, lived experiences (Beck et al., 2018).

Quick interactive moment: What's one tiny thing you can do today to reconnect with nature? It may be as simple as planting a flower, clearing up trash. or taking a few minutes tonight to observe the stars.

References

Beck, L., Beck, L., Cable, T. T., & Knudson, D. M. (2018). Interpreting cultural and natural heritage: For a Better World.

DavidSuzukiFDN. (2012, July 20). David Suzuki and Richard Louv @AGO [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F5DI1Ffdl6Y

Jacob Rodenburg. (2019, June 17). Why environmental educators shouldn’t give up hope | CLEARING: PNW Journal of Environmental Education in the Pacific Northwest. https://clearingmagazine.org/archives/14300

Whatever happened to the overhead projector? (2021, November 15). Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom  Practice. https://larrycuban.wordpress.com/2021/11/15/whatever-happened-to-the-overhead-projector/

[thommi-tomate]

Interview with Lee PT.1

By: GQ Deutschland

You seemed to really like the fashion we picked out for the shoot. How did you experience the afternoon?

I had a lot of fun. The fashion was loud, but not too much, which I liked. I like it when it's special but discreet at the same time, without big brand names. Fashion should be timeless. I want to be able to leave it for a few years and then pull it out of the wardrobe again.

How do you integrate fashion into your life? Do you differentiate between normal everyday outfits and those for special occasions?

Of course there are special occasions when I try to be a bit better dressed than usual. But when I go to training, I don't really care what I wear. Otherwise, it's usually pretty quick and I don't give it much thought.

Has that changed over time?

I've always been interested in fashion, but for a while I was looking for my personal taste. Of course, in the beginning I wanted to look good above all else, but now it's mainly a matter of feeling and mood. That's why I like simple clothes that are easy to combine. With particularly eye-catching pieces, everything really has to match so that it actually looks good in the end.

(Leroy experienced first-hand just how much the spotlight can suddenly shine on you when you wear a graffiti-style Balenciaga jacket to national team training in 2019. The tabloids reported extensively, with one newspaper even putting price tags on his entire outfit. The - false - impression was created that Leroy cared more about his appearance than the sport - as if a jacket had any influence on how well someone plays football. In retrospect, however, Leroy certainly doesn't want to hang the moment too high.)

Do you consciously try to avoid such discussions today?

At that moment, I didn't really notice it at all. I even turned the jacket inside out and wore the lining inside out because I thought it was cooler (laughs). But I don't go to my closet now thinking about how people might react. I want to dress how I like it and how I feel comfortable. Some people like it and others don't, but that doesn't influence my decision. To be honest, the jacket was also a gift at the time

Does "feeling good" mean to you how comfortable an outfit is or how natural it feels?

Both, but someone can wear the coolest outfit - if you realize that the person in question doesn't represent this kind of fashion, then it quickly comes across as false and artificial. I think that the jacket thing was also made bigger than it was because these topics were already much more prominent on social media than before. Fashion is playing an increasingly important role and people are looking more at who is wearing which brands. I definitely don't aim to polarize.

In terms of fashion, the Germans are considered conservative. The best proof of this is the men's national team's pink away jersey, which has attracted a lot of - quite calculated - attention. How do you like it?

The colors are not restrained, but I am just as colorful with my football shoes. That's why I really like it

You're one of those players whose every gesture and failed action is interpreted negatively by the press. How do you deal with that?

I was warned early on by colleagues that little things could be blown up. That was very unusual for me as a younger player, especially at the beginning, and something that I only gradually became aware of.

Is that why you often hold back these days?

I don't feel like pretending to be something I'm not in order to avoid offending anyone. I wouldn't feel comfortable with that. That's why at some point I decided to put it all into perspective. I'm not someone who falls into a hole because of this kind of criticism or thinks: why is it always me? I've learned that I only perform at my best when I can play without any worries. It's impossible to please everyone and be liked by everyone

Do you read news about yourself or do you receive it?

Nowadays you get more than you want from social media (laughs). But I also get sent something from time to time or am asked about reports. I can't completely shut myself off from it, but I'm now good at assessing what is just an insignificant little thing. It's often the other way around: something is mercilessly hyped up. There, too, I know that it's just a snapshot in time. When things are going badly, everything is catastrophic. When things are going well, I can't do anything wrong. The right way is somewhere in the middle.

[jellogram]

Maybe it's because this is the Hates Sports website but I feel like discussions on here about transgender athletes miss two very vital points:

Height is a crucial factor in almost every sport. AMAB are usually taller than AFAB on average and that's a huge reason they're usually better at sports. If you grouped people together by height i.e. played everyone who is 5'6" together regardless of gender, you'd likely still see some gender variance, but significantly less. How much variance depends on the sport and the individuals. So AFAB are at a disadvantage, yes, but it's not because women are overall inferior. A lot of it is just because we're shorter.

The sports that are typically nationally or globally popular are almost invariably things that play into male body strengths. In addition to being shorter, females also typically have less upper body strength in exchange for things like flexibility. Activities that require this, like gymnastics, figure skating, and dance, are generally not valued in this country to the same degree as stuff like football and basketball which are tailor-made for people with AMAB bodies. So there are sports where being tall isn't a requirement, the public just doesn't tend to care about them as much.

So like, yes integrate sports, but there's structural misogyny at play here that I don't think should be ignored. Of course all of this is sweeping generalizations, there's a millions exceptions, not everyone is male or female, etc, but in general I think these two points get left out of the conversation too often.

[crimsonblackrose]

11, 35, 37, 43, 86

Hello thank you for the asks! 11. what you have for breakfast on an average day? Usually I'm very boring and go for a bowl of cereal and some coffee. Just because it's fast and I generally don't leave myself time for a leisurely breakfast. Which is why if I can fit a nice breakfast or brunch into plans I will. I love brunch and breakfast foods so much. I'm going to put the rest under a read more because it's long.

35. average time you fall asleep? 🤣🤣🤣🤣oh no. So to be a responsible human being who functions I should go to bed at 10pm. And I do say goodnight to my aunt and uncle and put a stop to any movie watching generally at 9ish if I've got work in the morning. However...sometimes I don't go to bed until like 2am. 10pm becomes 2 am in the blink of an eye. And sometimes I'll stare at a word document until i can't keep my eyes open any more and then I'll be like oh I've got plenty of time to write only to realize it's 2am. And there are some nights where sleep is an elusive beast, and I try not to check the time on those nights. But if I'm stressed and worrying or panicking about something I'll put on a podcast until my brain calms down and I assume it's much later on those nights.

It's because I don't get much time to myself throughout the day and I realize I do kinda of the revenge bed time thing. Where I want to stay up and get stuff done and it just doesn't happen, but other times I'm good and get back from being out and go straight to bed. Like a responsible adult. (But it's rare. 🤣) 37. suitcase or duffel bag? Oooh I feel like a lot of these I'm like meh, both are good, but no this one I've got opinions on. Suitcase all the way. Specifically a hard shell suitcase with 360 wheels. Generally when I'm traveling I want to have space for like souvenirs or possibly gifts or heck stuff I don't want to get crushed and I just trust it better in a hardcase suitcase and the 360 wheels are just so lovely, like oh gotta go this way instead of that, my suitcase won't be unruly and will just dutifully follow along. Duffel bags I feel like are best if you're just traveling with clothes. Like sports or something like that. Throw all your soft things in a soft bag and toss it around and no problem. And I just don't travel like that. 43. hoodie, leather jacket, cardigan, jean jacket or bomber jacket? All? 🤣 I love jackets. I will say though I don't have a leather jacket. I nearly kept one of my dad's and then I think decided against it last minute because it just bummed me out and I also was swamped in it because he was a giant. But I do love the way they look. And I think I've had a bomber jacket as a winter jacket before, but honestly I prefer longer jackets. Spent most of high school wearing a jean jacket, my dad found it somewhere cheap and it was nice quality so I wore it all the time in the fall and spring or when it was a bit chilly out. But probably I wear hoodies and cardigans the most. Hoodies are generally things I wear around the house and cardigans I wear everywhere. 86. cookies or cupcakes?

oooh difficult question. Cookies are probably the easiest to share. You bake a bunch of cookies and you can throw them in anything. A take out container, a box, a plastic baggie. Easy peasy. Cupcakes however cannot be thrown in anything. The icing will get everywhere, the cake will crumble, it becomes a mess. I was visiting family and made these cupcakes for everyone and my cousin helped me put them in containers to take to my aunts and my aunt decided she wanted my cousin to take her containers back immediately so she shoved all the cupcakes into a big plastic bag, essentially destroying the integrity which meant by the time my other cousin got to try them she ended up giving like the majority of it to her chickens. Which I'm a smidge bitter about. 😅 But cupcakes can also be so absolutely fun. But oddly I think I just talked myself into cookies. 🤣 I mean it's much easier to make an assorted box of cookies instead of a box of cupcakes to give people. Thank you for the asks from this ask game here.

[sophiejt1234]

NFT Marketplace Development: 7 Important Features and Functions

In today’s digital age, creating a space where creators and collectors can connect makes all the difference. As an NFT Marketplace development company, we understand how vital it is to blend user-friendly design with powerful features. Whether you’re just starting or looking to elevate your existing platform, this guide will walk you through the essential steps and considerations for successful NFT marketplace development.

NFT Market Growth and Statistics

NFT marketplace development is more important than ever. In 2021, sales on major NFT platforms topped $17 billion, and by 2024, niche markets—like sports collectibles—were growing at 10–15% monthly. A foundation NFT marketplace model that supports emerging creators can drive community engagement by up to 40% within six months. These numbers prove that investing in a well-built NFT marketplace not only captures attention but also delivers real value.

Global NFT Sales (2021): $17 billion

Monthly Growth in Niche Markets (2024): 10–15%

Community Engagement Increase (Foundation NFT Marketplace): 40% in six months

What is NFT Marketplace Development

At its core, an NFT marketplace is a digital platform where users can mint, buy, sell, and trade non-fungible tokens. These marketplaces rely on blockchain technology to verify ownership and ensure authenticity. Whether you choose a public blockchain like Ethereum or a faster alternative, your platform should make it easy for users to connect their wallets, explore digital assets, and finalize transactions. By offering a clear, intuitive interface—paired with reliable back-end support—you create a space where users feel confident engaging with digital art, music, or any other tokenized asset.

7 Essential Features of Successful NFT Marketplaces

To stand out, your NFT marketplace must offer several key functions. Below are the seven essential features every top platform needs:

1. Advanced Search and Filters for Precise Results

Users expect to find exactly what they want—fast. With smart filters (by price, category, creator, or date added) and an intuitive search bar that suggests keywords, buyers can quickly narrow down their options. Integrating these tools is a core part of nft marketplace development that boosts user satisfaction and retention.

2. Diverse Trading Options to Cater to User Preferences

Every collector has a different buying style. Some prefer fixed-price sales, others enjoy timed auctions or bundle deals. By offering multiple trading formats—like “buy now,” English auctions, or Dutch auctions—you create a flexible ecosystem that appeals to a wider audience. These options help your platform expand and keep users actively involved.

3. Secure Wallet Integration for Safe Cryptocurrency Storage

Connecting wallets should be seamless and secure. Popular options like MetaMask, WalletConnect, and Coinbase Wallet must integrate smoothly so users can check balances, approve transactions, and store NFTs safely. Employing strong encryption and best practices in key management ensures user funds remain protected, which is crucial for building trust in your nft marketplace development services.

4. Real-time Listing Status Indicators for Enhanced Transparency

Nothing frustrates buyers more than discovering an auction has ended mid-bid. Real-time status updates—showing whether a listing is active, pending, sold, or canceled—keep everyone informed. Live countdown timers, instant bid updates, and notifications about new listings all contribute to a transparent, engaging experience.

5. Ratings and Review System: Building Trust Within the Community

Reputation is everything in online marketplaces. A built-in ratings and review system lets buyers rate sellers (and vice versa) based on past transactions. Displaying these ratings prominently helps newcomers feel confident purchasing from trusted creators. Showcasing “top seller” badges and spotlighting five-star feedback encourages positive engagement and enhances your NFT marketplace’s value.

6. Strong Security Measures to Protect User Data and Transactions

User safety is non-negotiable. Using two-factor authentication, SSL encryption, and thoroughly reviewed smart contracts helps stop fraud and keep unauthorized users out. Offering bug bounty programs and regular security audits guards against hacking attempts and smart contract exploits. As a dedicated NFT marketplace development company, we prioritize these measures to keep your users’ data and funds safe.

7. User-friendly Dashboard and Analytics for Creators and Collectors

Creators and collectors want insight into their performance. A simple dashboard that shows earnings, sale history, and trending NFTs makes it easier for users to make informed decisions. Including basic analytics—like views per listing, top-performing categories, or average sale price—adds significant value and encourages repeat engagement on your platform.

Choosing the Right Development Approach for Your NFT Marketplace

When it comes time to build, you have multiple paths: using a white-label solution, customizing an open-source framework, or developing a fully bespoke platform from scratch. Each approach has pros and cons:

White-Label Solutions Quick to launch and cost-effective, but can be less flexible.

Open-Source Frameworks High flexibility for tailoring your platform, but it demands strong internal development skills..

Custom Development from Scratch Maximum flexibility and unique branding, but often involves higher upfront costs and longer timelines.

As a dedicated NFT marketplace development company, our team excels at all three approaches. We begin by understanding your goals—whether you need a lean entry-point with a foundation nft marketplace or a fully branded experience with exclusive features. From there, we design a clear roadmap: wireframes, UI/UX mock-ups, smart contract development, and rigorous testing.

Why Choose Us for Your Project?

Our NFT marketplace development company offers end-to-end nft marketplace development services tailored to your needs. Here’s why clients trust us:

Proven Expertise We’ve launched high-traffic platforms with robust features—everything from advanced filters to secure wallet integrations.

Custom Solutions Whether you need a foundation NFT marketplace for emerging artists or a fully branded enterprise-level site, we tailor each feature to your vision.

Security-First Mindset We build on best practices—SSL encryption, audited smart contracts, and 2FA—to protect user data and assets.

Ongoing Support We don’t disappear after launch. Our team provides continuous updates, performance monitoring, and feature enhancements to ensure your marketplace thrives.

By choosing Justtry Technologies, you gain a partner dedicated to maximizing your nft marketplace value while delivering a seamless user experience.

Conclusion

In today’s competitive market, a well-built NFT marketplace can make all the difference. From enhancing discoverability with advanced search tools to securing transactions through top-notch wallet integration, every feature contributes to a thriving community. At Justtry Technologies, we blend cutting-edge technology with humanized design to help you capture market share and boost long-term growth. Ready to elevate your platform? Contact us to start building the next generation of NFT marketplaces. NFT marketplace development company

[mmafightstore]

Shock Doctor Mouthguard: Trusted Protection for Every Fighter

When it comes to combat sports, protection is non-negotiable. Whether you're stepping into the ring for sparring, preparing for competition, or just training hard at the gym, safeguarding your teeth, jaw, and mouth should be a top priority. That’s where the Shock Doctor Mouthguard comes in — a name trusted by professional fighters and athletes around the world.

At MMA Fight Store, we proudly stock a range of Shock Doctor mouthguards built to provide serious protection without sacrificing comfort or performance.

Why Choose a Shock Doctor Mouthguard?

Shock Doctor has earned a reputation for producing high-performance protective gear, and their mouthguards are no exception. Designed using cutting-edge technology and built for high-impact sports like MMA, boxing, Muay Thai, and BJJ, these mouthguards are engineered to absorb and disperse shock during heavy contact.

A Shock Doctor Mouthguard does more than just protect your teeth. It helps prevent jaw injuries, concussions, and internal lacerations — common risks in combat sports. With a proper fit and durable construction, you can train harder and fight smarter, knowing your mouth is well protected.

Options for Every Athlete

At MMA Fight Store, we carry a range of Shock Doctor mouthguards suitable for beginners, amateurs, and professional fighters. Whether you prefer a boil-and-bite style or want to explore gel-fit designs, there’s something for everyone in the collection.

Some popular models include:

Gel Max Mouthguard: One of Shock Doctor’s best-selling options, this mouthguard features a triple-layer design for maximum protection and a Gel-Fit liner for a custom fit.

SuperFit All Sport Mouthguard: Designed with an integrated breathing channel and sleek profile, this model is perfect for fighters who need protection without compromise on airflow.

Pro Mouthguard with Strap: Ideal for athletes who need mouth protection with added convenience during sparring and training.

Every model is made with safety, comfort, and performance in mind. They're also available in a variety of colours and sizes, making them suitable for athletes of all ages.

Boil-and-Bite Simplicity

One of the standout features of most Shock Doctor mouthguards is the easy boil-and-bite custom fitting process. Simply place the mouthguard in hot water, bite down, and you’ll have a secure fit in minutes. This personalised fit is crucial in combat sports — a loose or bulky mouthguard can become a distraction or even a hazard mid-fight.

Breathability and Communication

Breathing and communication are key in any fight scenario. Shock Doctor has refined their designs to allow better airflow and minimal obstruction while you breathe or speak. This means you can stay sharp, call out instructions (or listen to them), and maintain focus without feeling choked by your gear.

Trusted by Fighters Worldwide

Across MMA, boxing, and Muay Thai communities, the Shock Doctor Mouthguard is a go-to product. It’s trusted by pros for a reason — it combines top-tier protection with a comfortable, secure fit that doesn’t interfere with your performance.

Whether you're a striker, grappler, or all-around martial artist, protecting your smile and jaw is essential. Investing in a high-quality mouthguard is a small price to pay for long-term safety and peace of mind.

Shop Shock Doctor at MMA Fight Store

As Australia’s premier combat sports retailer, MMA Fight Store is proud to offer an extensive range of Shock Doctor mouthguards. Whether you’re just starting your martial arts journey or you're a seasoned fighter, our collection has the right fit for you.

We understand the demands of combat sports and only stock gear we’d trust ourselves — that’s why Shock Doctor is one of the leading brands on our shelves.