#artists i need u to know we r ur biggest fans

[corporalswhore]

i think it’s absolutely surreal to have artists use ur works as inspiration like…that’s such a top tier compliment.

[machine-gun-casie]

The New Years Fic Writers and Readers Ask Game

i wasnt tagged but i really wanted to do this so here it is!

What was your biggest writing/reading achievement this year?

im glad that im still writing in the first place tbh. ive read more fanfic this year than i have in my entire life for obvious reasons. but im glad i finally wrote an angst piece for the first time in my life. also almond poppy see muffins is my literal child (as well as @enchantedamusedslightlyconfused ‘s, we co-parent)

What did you learn about yourself as a writer/reader this year?

i learned that my reader inserts are more of me inserts and that isnt necessarily a bad thing considering i mostly write for myself, i had just never thought of that. also slightly nsfw but i learned that reading smut makes me sleepy?? so i started reading smut before bed lol

Did you dive into something familiar or try something new this year?

familiar: yeah fluff is like a go to for me in whatever fandom. new: DEFINITELY i started writing for kells in 2020 (can you believe) and i also started writing for spencer reid :) many nice new things

Share a comment (if a writer) or story (if a reader) that lifted your spirits this year?

i love every comment people leave me (i also read all the tags) and i compile all the ones that i like to look back on with the tag #beautiful people on my blog, but ive also been told by a couple different people that they re-read my stuff which is insanely mind boggling so yeah

as for stories theres two mgk ones i go back to whenever im going thru a rough time: fit by my side by @angrylizardjacket and vegas run by @harringtonstudios

as for criminal minds, ive got my bookmarks on ao3 for my favs on there but my ultimate favorite writers are @reidscanehand and @write-orflight who are only on tumblr as far as i know so i felt like i need to include them :) anything these two writers post i will read no questions asked 

What are you grateful for?

in general? being alive and healthy. but a lot of good things happened to me this year (as well as some really really shitty stuff but oh well). the best thing that happened to me this year no doubt was meeting @enchantedamusedslightlyconfused i love you with my whole heart jordan 

im also grateful for kells, he helped me in a way no artist ever has. if u had asked me a year ago if i even liked rap i would have laughed in ur face i kid you not. he changed me along with so many things this year and i truly feel like im the best version of myself that has ever existed

im also eternally grateful for content creators, musicians and youtubers and designers, but specifically fandom content creators. if ur reading this and u r one, know that i am so grateful for you.

and my nephew. he cute as fuck.

Have your style (writer) or tastes (reader) changed this year?

im not entirely sure? i feel like with every piece i write i get better. in the sense that its a bit more realistic than when i first started writing. i know my fluff pieces are insanely fluffy and out of reach and very fan girly i truly understand, but it used to be so much worse. so overall i feel like my writing has gotten more realistic, which im proud of.

as a reader, i hoped i could see the appeal of angst this year but i dont think i ever will.

What’s the first thing you want to read or write this year?

i dont think i wanna have writing/reading goals this upcoming year. 2020 was the worst year of my life, but just cuz the clock struck midnight on the 31st doesnt mean that the shit show is over. so i hope that if i do continue writing this year, i do it when im ready. 

Anything new you want to try in 2021?

writing wise (again if i even do keep writing this year), maybe work on some ocs. ive never done that before. itll probably still be incredibly self indulgent but something new. and possibly write a few more soulmate!au’s because those bring me such joy

Do you have any fic resolutions?

i hope i never feel pressured to write anything this year.

im tagging @enchantedamusedslightlyconfused @angrylizardjacket @harringtonstudios @storiesforallfandoms @uhuhuh and if u werent tagged and u want to do this i genuinely mean it when i say consider urself tagged by me and tag me in ur post!!

[junker-town]

Frank Martin is South Carolina's intense, Pitbull-loving, teddy bear of a Final Four head coach

He has South Carolina in its First Final Four ever. He’s also one of college basketball’s most interesting coaches.

The coach guiding South Carolina at the Final Four weekend got turned down for a date seven times by the woman who’s now his wife. He adores Pitbull. He’s the son of Cuban exiles.

He’s also engineered one of the country’s stoutest defenses and brought the Gamecocks program further than they’ve ever gone before.

Frank Martin’s Gamecocks face Gonzaga in a national semifinal at 6:09 p.m. ET on Saturday (CBS, March Madness Live). They’re the Cinderella of the 2017 NCAA tournament, a No. 7 seed that hadn’t made the field since 2004 and hadn’t made so much as an Elite Eight in their history. Now they’re two wins from a national championship.

They’ve also got a coach who’s pretty cool. Here are a few things about Martin on the eve of the biggest game of his coaching career.

Martin’s known as a yeller, but they say he’s much different off the court.

Here’s a standard picture of Martin during a recent game:

Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports

"Wow, this guy maybe needs to relax a little bit. I'm just saying he seems pretty intense." - Tom Thibodeau watching Frank Martin coach

— David Roth (@david_j_roth) March 26, 2017

Martin is not quiet during games. But that doesn’t seem to tell his whole story.

How cool for South Carolina. Frank Martin seems like such a rough customer on the floor, but he's an absolute teddy bear off of it. Awesome.

— Jay Bilas (@JayBilas) March 26, 2017

After beating Florida in the Elite Eight, Martin gave an emotional interview on the court, with tears welling up in his eyes. “It’s all these guys,” he said, pointing to his players. Martin looked overwhelmed.

"It's all these guys." - Frank Martin #FinalFour #ForeverToThee http://pic.twitter.com/GIGWxOVGXT

— NCAA March Madness (@marchmadness) March 26, 2017

Martin’s mom explained to USA Today a moment she shared with her son on the court at Madison Square Garden after the final buzzer.

“I was out of breath, and then when I hugged my son, it was just ‘Please, God, give me some peace,'” she said. “He told me, he said, ‘Mommy I’m so happy, but please don’t cry.' But he was crying, too. I’ve been crying for a while now.”

Martin is a serious Pitbull fan.

Give Me Everything, Castle Made of Sand, the other three are older R-rated tracks. @MeetMeAtTapps @FrankMartin_SC

— Gamecock MBB (@GamecockMBB) July 22, 2014

He’s tweeted about Pitbull from his personal account many times. Examples:

@LifeofFitz it doesn't get any better than my boy Pitbull

— Frank Martin (@FrankMartin_SC) August 24, 2011

Wife and I getting ready 4 dinner and then Enrique Iglesias and @Pitbull concert. Feels great 2 act like a husband. Much respect 2 @Pitbull

— Frank Martin (@FrankMartin_SC) October 3, 2011

"Reach 4 the stars & if u don't grab them at least ur on top of the world"gr8 line @Pitbull concentrate on every step & focus on finish line

— Frank Martin (@FrankMartin_SC) May 17, 2012

I felt inclined to make a joke about this. I don’t like Pitbull’s that much. He wears funny-looking suits and is an easy dude to make fun of. But Martin’s appreciation of the artist comes from a deeper place. ESPN’s Eamonn Brennan in 2012:

Martin, like Perez [Pitbull’s given last name], is an American-born son of Cuban parents who grew up hard in Miami. Like Perez, who was dismissed for much of his early career, Martin had his share of initial difficulties in the coaching profession. Like Perez, Martin transcended his origins, working himself to one of the highest levels of his profession. Both men’s stories really do represent very similar, timeless versions of the American dream.

Martin’s a first-generation Cuban-American, just like Pitbull. It’d be cool if Pitbull showed up at the Final Four to support Martin.

Martin’s awesome interaction with a kid reporter showed his thoughtfulness.

SI Kids, the young person’s Sports Illustrated, often sends young correspondents to NCAA tournament games. After South Carolina thrashed Baylor in the Sweet 16, Martin fielded a good question from one of them.

The exchange:

SI Kids reporter: “When you coach or teach your team defense, what’s more important: technique or attitude?”

Martin: “First of all, a lot of respect to you. that’s a heck of a question. I’ve been doing this a long time, and that’s the first time anyones’s ever asked me that, thats a heck of a question. Attitude comes first. We gotta have guys that are gonna believe in our mission, that are going to believe in what we do. Once they believe, then we can teach them the technique.”

The reporter, Max, asked a philosophical question about Martin’s defenses. Martin responded kindly. It was a heartwarming moment, and it offered some lessons to reporters many years older than Max.

Martin is one of basketball’s best defensive coaches.

There’s a reason that reporter wanted to know how Martin coaches defense.

In 2011-12, the last season before Martin’s arrival, South Carolina went 10-21 and had the No. 170 defense in Division I by adjusted efficiency. Martin’s made improvements ever since — slow ones at first, leading to a 17-16 record by 2015.

Last year’s team won 25 games, and this year’s has had more success than any Gamecocks team in history.

The key all along has been defense.

The Cocks were an awful 230th in the country in adjusted efficiency in Martin’s first season.

Then they rose to 115th in his second year and 21st in his third year.

Now in his fifth season, they’re No. 2.

Their defense is the biggest reason they’re here and the biggest reason they could win it all.