#coca cola skateboarding fun

[barbielore]

Happy June 21st, it's Go Skateboarding Day!

A yearly event to promote skateboarding and to encourage the accessibility of skateboarding -- oh, heck. You're here to see the Barbies.

Barbie's younger sister Stacie, conceived as a more tomboyish and athletic member of the Roberts family, was skateboarding back in 1999 with Awesome Skateboard Barbie. Her friends Whitney and Janet could join her too.

But skateboarding isn't just for kids, is it? Barbie herself can get in on the sport.

That was true at least from 2001 onwards, with Coca Cola Skateboard Fun.

Actually there might be an earlier one -- I'm not 100% sure. This was the earliest one I could find for definite, but I feel like I must be wrong because surely there was an earlier one?

As the years go on, Barbie has been skateboarding more and more, including at the Tokyo Olympics.

Where she was a gold medalist.

And of course, one of the more popular skateboarding Barbies...

Okay, the Made to Move skateboarding Barbie is a little less popular because of the raw power of her skateboarding, and more because all made to move dolls are extremely popular among people who want to rebody other dolls onto these more dynamic bodies.

[cherrynflowergarden]

· · ─ ·˚⊱𓇼˖°🪷° ִֶָ☾.⊰˚· ─ · ·

𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐬 || 𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦𝐠𝐢𝐫𝐥 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫

· · ─ ·˚⊱𓇼˖°🪷° ִֶָ☾.⊰˚· ─ · ·

𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦𝐠𝐢𝐫𝐥 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫. "cherry" by lana del rey & "primadonna" by marina and the diamonds. spoiled rotten by her parents. comes from a very rich background. owns a successful bikini line called 'bombshell '. flirty. feisty. powerful. has an aura that attracts anyone and everyone. proud cherry vanilla coca cola lover first, human second. loves her lipglosses more than her life. always has juicy & plump lips. body mists. body glitters. spends the day in the beach or pool & night in business parties or galas. loves to photograph her life. stickers, stickers & stickers everywhere. florals are her aesthetic. she's known for that. will always have a flower either in her head or as a piece on her clothes or shoes or as a claw clip. long dresses. camisoles. hair & nails are always done. statement sandals & heels. layered necklaces, stacked bracelets & chunky earrings and rings. physical touch. gift giving. acts of services. written by lana del rey & marina and the diamonds.

· · ─ ·˚⊱𓇼˖°🪷° ִֶָ☾.⊰˚· ─ · ·

𝄞⨾𓍢ִ໋ she smiled and looked at me

i was surprised to see

that a woman like that was really into me .♬·ᝰ.ᐟ

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𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐬. "uptown funk" by mark robson ft bruno mars & "blinding lights" by the weekend. baggy pants. sweatshirts. plaid shirts & jackets. often layers his shirts. pepsi addict. you may see him in jail but not without pepsi. converse. bucket hats. wired earphones. has a five dollar note in his phone cover. pockets are always full of the most random items. he claims it's for "emergencies". skateboards. decorates all the skateboards he has. yapper. knows the most random, out of the pocket fun facts. doesn't think before speaking. plays video games. despite having the good looks he has never held hands with a girl. is super possessive of the people or things that he likes. always up for karaoke. will trip over the air. due to which he often has a bruised knee or a twisted ankle. loyal. silly. has zero concept of personal space. a literal goof ball. biggest simp. making playlists is his love language. acts of services. quality time. written by mac miller & tyler the creator.

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y'all @55sturn has loser!chris au on her page which is so good and you should totally go read it🫵‼️

· · ─ ·˚⊱𓇼˖°🪷° ִֶָ☾.⊰˚· ─ · ·

[phightingheadcanons]

hc/headcanons:

vinestaff likes to make pottery, she also likes rock tumbling!!

every faction has a sub faction.

shuriken is a eel. he likes geodes,, and pretty rocks.

skateboard likes coca cola and Dr pepper, no reason it just tastes good. he also likes collecting bottle caps and trading cards for fun

coil and skateboard like showing off their collections of random things. coil likes building Legos with skate, no reason other than he just thinks its fun.

he (coil) will also jokingly will break a little bit of whatever skates building with Legos or knock it down bc its funny, skate doesn't mind this, he does it back and then they help rebuild it :P

skateboard has a friend group that consists of: coil,bb/boom box, sling, shuri, and rocket

rocket does interact with the playgrounders from time to time. he doesn't mind any of them, he just would rather not be associated with playground because a lot of people dislike playground, mostly cuz skate but yuh

thats all of my silly hc. these are mostly tidbits and silly stuff. I don't know how to articulate my words so if this sounds stupid, sorry I tried not to make it sound stupid

.

[roxyteal]

So I made Denied too and wanted to just have them talk about whatever and

Keep in mind I did not add any lore to them. I never put in anything pertaining to the Internet. I used the wiki and nothing else. And somehow...

Also Billy with the glowstick, girl help. Is it purple? It better be purple

Also also it thinks Denied might be a shapeshifter.

They play "guess the brand" for a bit (yes, McDonald's and Nike and Coca-Cola all show up), before Denied is basically like "fuck this im taking you to THE HOUSE OF CONSEQUENCES" and then he uses a skateboard!!!!

Perchance has decided that Billy's shoulders are a mood indicator and change color to do this and. You know what, whatever

OH BILLY YOU AND YOUR INNOCENCE

Also apparently the answer was "pixel". Makes no fucking sense. (Billy guessed a coin, while I would've said a snake)

It repeatedly tells me throughout this escapade that it's implied that Denied lost an arm to this fucking place once. And I can't tell if he genuinely wants Billy to succeed and/or have fun (which he does), or if he's hoping something bad happens to him. It's crazy. And Billy is completely unaware.

It also wants SO BAD to make Denied clap his hands or cross his arms so every time I sigh and edit the messages. I later add a reminder to his settings that since he has one arm, he can't do things like that.

Only for it to repeatedly use the phrase" his one arm" and assumes his left shoulder has a stump. SIGH......

Overall there are phrases that get really repetitive but honestly I just want to know how this shit ends or if Denied will just never let Billy leave THE HOUSE OF CONSEQUENCES until he gets hurt.

Help I'm psychoanalyzing a chatbot convo

Eventually Billy wins a golden USB stick, and while Denied says it has knowledge in it, he later jokes that it could just be a collection of cat videos.

I'll take the cat videos to be honest

The last thing he says in this message is more in-line of what Dave would say. Maybe I should make him sometime.

(I want to make John first. He needs his BFF)

And when he does the puzzle, it describes his dance as "precise and calculated". Coincidence I'm sure, but that was like his whole thing in WTTW, being precise with all his movements.

By this point I sighed and gave up trying to correct the statements. I said "fuck it".

"His metallic nose almost touching the pixels" That's adorable

And like I said before, I have no idea what Denied's real intentions are. It's intriguing... (AND ONCE AGAIN IT BEATS INTO MY HEAD THAT ONE TIME HE HAD AN ACCIDENT HERE AND LOST AN ENTIRE FUCKING ARM PLEASE STOP TELLING ME PERCHANCE I GET IT)

A SUNDAY STROLL THROUGH THE BINARY BUSHES I CAN'T

TOUGH EXTERIOR??????

What the fuck is even happening anymore

This is the part where I went, "Maybe he does have good intentions" because why would he do this.

Update they ended up in space. I have lost track of all meaning of this adventure.

Captain. Oh God........

Yeah I'm sorry I can't keep up with this anymore.

[sugutoad]

hiii omg can i please have both the chosen one and masquerade balls??

fandom for both is pjo please <33

i’m emma, i love everything pink and taylor swift, wear converse almost chronically, am a barista, australian, christian, stubborn and funny, loves love, (daughter of aphrodite btw), short auburn hair, snacker and chocoholic, lives on coca cola, adhd, loves all things beach, always has music playing like 24/7, sarcasm ™️, loves to write more than anything, swimming > life-ing, shopping is fun 💕, denim shorts and shirts and cute sunglasses >>, rom coms, baking cookies, skateboarding and biking, climbing trees and kayaking, playing soccer (football), and watching movies at night, can’t take criticism, hates slow people, loves little kids and can’t wait to get married + have them, thinks about romance 24/7, loves to dye my hair, pinterest > everything, wattpad is the goat, and can’t stand spiders + rice.

tysmm, muah 💋

romantic match: percy jackson

cabin: aphrodite

best friend: thalia grace

rivalry: annabeth chase

[itsmoonphobic]

Dream SMP characters and my interpretation of them:

-Techno: The smell of Dirt and soil,blood,wine and old books. Silk pillowcases,golden jewelry,mosaics,stained fingertips, grand staircases,scented candles,storyteller,lazy smiles, secretive,slow dancing,sad resting face,elegant language,cold weather,confident,doubts himself,philosophy, messy braids,glowdust flakes, poetry,graceful movements,neat and cursive handwriting, greek mythology, oriental music,pale skin,libraries,sarcasm, long-lasting friendships,quotes,frosted windows,layering clothes, know-it-all,rude but endearing,pile of papers,cherry blossoms,muted colors,overthinks everything,devotion,logical thinking,insomniac,scattered mind,castle walls,laid back,tired eyes,long debates,show over tell,lingering touches,rulebreaker, dirty palms,old movies freezing feet,old habits,late nights studying,early riser,skips meals,eye bags,tea with milk,velvet jackets,dimly lit by streetlights,ancient wood floors,flowy curtains,art museums, gravely morning voice,echos in the middle of nowhere,sleepy whispers,nostalgia everywhere,red lipstick stains,loves animal more than people,calm and quiet, healing stones,parked car conversations,sharp jaw,obsessed with memes,violins,doves, doves,floats instead of walks,unbroken promises,twisting and winding hair around fingers,nail biting, repeating phrases,mist secret scars,rumors,always wearing earphones,metaphorical, emotions fragile as a flower, speaks with his eyes,fluttery eyelashes,dog lover,forehead kisses,calligraphy,pretty knives,cares too much,lopsided grins,messy desks,talks for hours no,rolling his eyes all the time,powerful strides,wants to conquer the world,slender hands,good grades, dusty book covers,wax stamped envelopes,vintage mirrors

-Phil: The smell of cold air,pine trees and sandalwood.Dead birds and mothballs,stops on the sidewalk to make sure nobody is left behind,morning person,herbal teas,crows,eats breakfast outside,constellations,family portraits on walls, chirping and whistling,crime documentaries,cool father figure, graveyards,weeping angels,meteor shower,many friends but only a single close one,contagious laugh,fragile teacups,fog, early mornings,fuzzy blankets,springs of thyme,bare feet, empty streets,rosemary stems,flickering lanterns,burnt wood bowls,feather collector,antique silverware,a sky full of stars, skylights,torn pages,overstuffed bookshelves,makes you feel comfortable whenever you talk to him,organized,full of ideas, believes in magic,gives the best advice,lost in his own way, warm hugs,scrapbooks and bullet journals,old cars,soft features,daydreaming,bright eyes,getting lost in the woods,moonlight,self knitted sweaters, stargazing on tailgates,the universe,hand in hand with wandering hearts, garage sales,questioning life but feeling at peace,attic bedrooms and haylofts,pursuing science and desiring art, photo albums,hopeless romantic,dark chocolate,open windows and quirky morning rituals,actually knows what brunch is, succulents,a kind-hearted loner,free-spirit,plaid button-ups, always ready to let you rant,abandons projects quickly, complicated past,bold moves,goes with the flow,aims for things that seem unachievable,lives in extremes,knowing smiles,constantly busy with something new,soft touches,love at first sight,naps alot,subsequent tea stains,sparkly eyes, abandoned barns,handwritten notes,feather quills,fascination with the sky,whispering secrets to the wind,great with kids, takes a backpack everywhere,hugs trees,big winter coats,road trips,knows tons of medical info,bites his nails,comforting presence,lost souls,city lights from a high rise

-Wilbur: The smell of fire,smoke,caramel and coffee. Stands up for people who can't for themselves,emotional wreck,loves his family too much but still yells at them,soft turtlenecks,sits in different spots every time he eats dinner,chipped nailpolish, songwriter,probably depressed,wakes up in the middle of the night to write down random thoughts,heartbroken teenager songs,dark psychology and deep meanings,globes and maps, wants to travel and make lots of memories,curls of steam, earbuds in,spattered ink,good singer,keeps to himself,old music and dusty vinyl,the type of person that you could stare at for hours,loud laugh,ride or die,dreams about his future, believes in fresh starts and new beginnings, messy and tangled hair,summer nights,soft features,deep thinker and dimples, having crushes,musicals and theater, half finished diaries and laptop stickers,mixtapes,quirky love notes, secretly kinda insane,always ready for coffee,thrift shops, beachy waves, bonfires,probably drives too fast,cutoff jeans, cream and sugar,nude colors,always creating new problems for himself, fights for equality,long debates and tired eyes, tapping a rhythm and humming quietly,spends all his time on social media,beanie galore,trench coats,foggy glasses,cozy sweaters, dancing around his room to the Beatles,looking out the window when the sun is setting,birkenstocks,guitar strumming on a warm summer evening,bells and chimes,subtle sadness, the feeling of diving into a deep pool,perfect proportions,too many playlists,holding hands,pretty boy,sew on patches and bomber jackets,candid photos,warm sun on bare skin,dancing silhouettes on the sunsets,beach walks at midnight,messy but cozy room,different mood every minute,singing his favorite song at the top of his lungs,sharp grins,haunted houses, paranormal stuff,late night snack runs with friends,explores creeks and lakes,double checks everything he does,walking through hot sand,backyard campfires,acoustic songs,photo booths,train platforms at night,s'mores,sun bleached arbors

-Tommy: The smell of plastic,fresh cut grass and musk. Does the bare minimum at School,unless genuinely interested in a topic,doodles on the side of his paper,movie marathons,empty coca cola bottles everywhere,rope swings,glossy nailpolish,lots of energy,life of the party, kidcore ,can always make you laugh,loves photography,eyestrain and bright colors,bruised knees and untied shoelaces,paperballs in class,brand new red converse,denim jackets,pins and clips,chalk drawings in the middle of the road,every text contains emojis, garden sprinklers,graffiti,wreck this journal,vibrant dyed hair, scribbles and highlighter pens,carnivals,involed in many things, watermelon flavored anything,loves to climb trees,screaming on playgrounds,oversized t-shirts,stained glass windows, anklets,skateboards and hula hoops,milkshakes on the front porch,social butterfly,always in a hurry,pinkie promises,tangled headphones,melted crayons and gummy bears,bean bags and hummingbirds,spinning around till he gets dizzy,chaotic and crazy yet so fun to be around,rushing into things too quickly, roller coasters and derbies,doesn't get knocked back by criticism,cans of fizzy drinks and neon lights,skips school,tye dye shirts and nitendo games,impulse and class clown,sticks stickers on stranger's things,pickpockets his close friends,has to carry a walkie-talkie around with him at all times,sleepovers and sneaking out through windows,pockets full of change and random buttons,stands out in crowds and makes friends easily, pretends to be fearless but is scared of the littlest things,trips and rips his jeans daily,uno cards,social butterfly,music discs, fights with his family but would actually kill for them,broken handwriting,flannels and jerseys around his waist

-Tubbo: The smell of honey,fresh bread and citrus. Lowkey soft, hugging a teddy bear,pressed flowers,eats alot of bread,big hoodies,fairy lights and blanket forts,prank calls while holding in your laughter,beeswax candles,sidewalk dandelions,gentle cuddles on the couch,pastel yellow and cute doodles,flower crowns and diasy chains,plays the ukulele,fascinated by bees and supports local coffee shops,outdoorsy sunshine addict, sparklers and iced lemonade,festivals with fireworks and fireflies in mason jars,homework done as soon as its assigned, watercolor paintings,giggling uncontrollably,long hugs and lazy cartoon afternoons,park dates and forehead kisses,cutting pants into shorts,messy wild hair and pear lollipops,has tiny random braids decorated with golden yarn,hearing the crinkle of leaves underfoot,suprise piggy back rides,adult swim shows and lip gloss stains,being goofy without meaning to,bounces in his step and stops to pet stray animals,baked bread and washi tape bracelets,bike rides and summer picnics,rolling down a hill in the spring and bringing home grass stains on his jeans, waving at someone across a crowded room,spontaneous hang outs and self made clay rings,sitting in the warm sunlit grass on early spring mornings,rock painting and hiding them for other people to find,picking apples from trees but needing to be held up in order to reach one

-Ranboo: The smell of peppermint tea,denim and rain. Is there for everyone but never themselves,regrets things they said but can never find the nerves to apologize,clumps of mascara and winged eyeliner,writes down every tiny thing in notebooks, loves children and their friends,forgetting that they already grabbed a waterbottle,drawing on condensation windows,rainy days and puddles,always on the edge of a breakdown,elevator music and long limbs,old tape recordings and cassettes,moss covered ruins and greenhouses,wanting to be in multiple places at the same time,different colored socks,long hugs and head pats,reading under the covers,collages and spray paint,record players and walks alone through the woods,loves playing by creeks and collecting stones,always wondering and worrying about things they shouldn't,vivid dreams and leather jackets, silver necklaces and piercings,snoozing their alarm clock, seeing the moon in the early morning,blurry photographs and windswept hair,downpours and comfortable silence,wrapping gifts and handing them over with shaking hands,sitting on a rooftop and spontaneous plans,lofi sounds and long train roads,deja vu moments,randomly dissapears and sipping tea, cold concrete and city parks,tickets and brochures from places they visited,dusty parchment and desperately trying to be a good person,wikipedia articles and lace-up boots,often loses track of time while talking to people they love,sings to the radio and avoids conflict if possible,can't sit still for five minutes, perpetually in an emo phase and knows more than they let on, hawaiian shirts,henna tattoos and sparkling water,sleeping in complete darkness and the relief of falling into bed,midnight thunderstorms and anticipation for the coming day,lucky charms and the sound of rain hitting the windows

-Dream: The smell of apples,eucalyptus,vanilla and green tea. Freckles and smiley faces,glow sticks and wrinkled linen, probably a really good singer,wild laughter and jellyfish, popular,tanned skin and cruising with the top down,doesn't take shit from anyone,analytical and self assured,beachy waves and dreamy sunsets,running barefoot,likes being active and on the go at all times,sassy and dramatic as fuck,dream catchers and hammocks,glow in the dark stickers on his phonecase, feisty and a sense of danger,brought home stray cats when he was a child,falling in love with strangers,waking up early and continue laying on the bed,golden hours and 4pm naps,soft aching hands burried in messy hair,center of attention,static and heavy breathing,old percy jackson books under the bed, throwing pebbles at the closed windows of his friends' room, retro diners at 2am,adrenaline junkie and nighttime thriver,will go insane if cooped up indoors for too long,deadlines till last minute,oversleeping and coming home past midnight,naturally a really good surfer,hugs from behind and neck kisses,checking the fridge at 1am,ice cream in bed and cat cuddles,always picks up over facetime

Might make more parts for some of the other guys :)

[sunsetcurveofficial]

Ooh, drunk Willex with Alex deciding NOW is the best time for Willie to teach him how to skateboard

this is my first time writing main willex (as in, not just as background relationship). been super excited for it but i feel like i still need some warming up to get their dynamic on point. let me know what you think!! 

there is also a side of peterpatter in this because. have you met me?

hope you enjoy this fun little fic. xx

also available on ao3

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In hindsight, Alex should have known that it wasn’t the best idea to get drunk on alcohol Willie smuggled out of Caleb’s cursed club with the three most chaotic people he knew. Which, coincidentally, also happened to be three people - or ghosts, really - he loved most in the world. But sometimes the most inadvisable ideas also turned out to be the best ideas. Even Alex had to admit that. 

“How does this even work?” Reggie asked when they were about two bottles in. There was a lilt to his voice that left no doubt about his state of drunkenness. “We don’t have a bloodstream! Why are we drunk?” 

“Well, how did we eat without a stomach, Reg? It’s ghost magic,” Alex said, too busy looking at Willie to even turn his head in Reggie’s direction. 

“It totally is, bro. But it’s neat, isn’t it?” Willie didn’t take his eyes off him either, and Alex smiled at him, the fluttery feeling in his chest spreading through his entire non-body. He still didn’t understand how he had a body but didn’t have one both at the same time. It was confusing, and Alex had always been most comforted by a clear explanation for things that made sense. And this ghost thing still didn’t make any sense at all. 

“I never got drunk when we were alive,” Alex admitted, “It feels nice. All fuzzy.” 

It did feel nice. Warm and tingly. He was feeling less anxious about, well, most things. He barely even thought about the fact that ghosts shouldn’t be able to get drunk. And he thought he could kiss Willie right now and would barely feel nervous about it, which was also pretty nice. In fact, he felt like he could conquer the world right then if he wanted to. 

Or, “Teach me how to skateboard!” Alex blurted, and Willie’s eyes widened for a second before he broke out into a grin. Alex blamed his friends for this. It seemed their chaotic energy was so infectious that it made Alex suggest something stupid like that at 2 am. He knew he would only make a fool of himself, but Willie looked way too excited for him to take it back now. 

“That is a brilliant idea!” Willie said. 

“I wanna come, too,” Luke announced. He’d been unusually quiet all night, and now he had his arms wrapped around one of Reggie’s arms like it wasn’t a limb but a stuffed animal he cuddled for comfort. Or something. Luke had always been very physically affectionate, clingy almost, and it appeared that particular trait only got enhanced by the alcohol in his non-existent blood stream. 

“You already know how to skateboard, Luke,” Reggie said a little dumbly. Luke made a whining noise. 

“I still wanna come! I wanna see Alex trying to impress Willie and falling on his ass instead.” 

Alex glared at his friend just as Reggie’s face lit up. Great.

“Actually, I wanna see that, too!” 

Alex rolled his eyes, but then Willie took his hand and he didn’t really care anymore. He just wanted to be close to Willie, and getting taught how to skate seemed like the perfect opportunity.

So that’s how they ended up by the beach, on a dimly lit path that Willie deemed good enough for practice. Luke and Reggie flopped down onto a log on the side, whispering about something, and Alex let Willie guide him onto the board. 

“Let’s try it together,” Willie said, pressing himself behind Alex on the short skateboard, wrapping an arm around his waist and using the other to take his hand. Alex felt all warm again, and he took a deep breath to steady himself. The fact that he was still feeling a little drunk certainly helped. 

Willie started pushing them along with the leg that wasn’t on the board, and Alex mirrored his movements. He wasn’t really surprised that they only made it about five feet before landing in a tangle of limbs on the ground. Alex blushed, but Willie laughed like he was having the best time of his life. He jumped up and offered Alex a hand.

“Let’s try it again, hotdog.” 

Alex smiled at him and let himself be pulled up. He would try again and again just to have Willie pressed against his back once more. 

They tried a few more times, getting steadier and steadier every time, while Luke and Reggie kept cheering them on from the side. Luke had slung his legs acrss Reggie’s lap the last time he looked at them. But Alex didn’t really care much about what they were doing anyway. He much rather focussed on his almost-boyfriend instead, who kept giving him animated instructions that made his heart flutter. 

Alex absolutely did land on his ass again the first time he tried skating by himself, with Willie cheering him on. He poked his tongue out at him as he was sitting here, waiting for Willie to pull him up. 

“You’re a regular Tony Hawk, hotdog,” Willie said around a laugh when he offered Alex a hand and pulled him up with a little more force than necessary, making Alex stumble right into him. Willie wrapped his arms around his waist to steady him, and Alex’s heartbeat sped up. If he wasn’t still drunk, he would probably start a thought spiral about his heart speeding up when he didn’t actually have a heart anymore. But his head was still feeling blissfully fuzzy, so he smiled at Willie instead, eyes darting to his lips. He’d never kissed anyone but Luke before, back when they were 14 and just trying things for the sake of it, and he wasn’t sure he wanted to be tipsy and a little out of it on a dimly lit path along the beach when he kissed Willie for the first time. 

“Oha, hotdog, you’re really making this hard if you keep staring at my lips,” Willie said, grinning stupidly. “I really want to kiss you now.” 

Alex made a choking sound, his chest feeling a little tight, but there was still none of the anxiety he expected. So he smiled tentatively. 

“Okay,” he breathed, nodding. 

And Willie kissed him, right there, right then, and Alex thought that it probably wasn’t the perfect moment, but it felt perfect, and that was what really mattered, right? Willie was grinning against his lips when Alex kissed him back, and it was the best feeling in the world. No offence to Luke, but their awkward kissing didn’t compare at all to the way Willie’s soft lips felt against his, the way his hands were roaming over his back, and the way he tasted like ghost liquor and - Coca Cola chapstick? 

“I’d say you’re much better at this than you are at skateboarding, Alex,” Willie told him when they broke apart, both breathing a little heavily, and Alex knew his dopey grin matched Willie’s. He really was the most beautiful person - ghost or not - Alex had ever seen. 

Luke and Reggie were cheering from the sidelines, Luke hopping up from Reggie’s lap to come over and clap Alex on the back. That boy really did not know any boundaries at all. Reggie joined them too, and Alex squirmed away from his touchy friends to wrap himself around Willie again instead. 

“It’s really not fair!” Luke suddenly complained, the whiny voice back in full. “What does a ghost have to do around here to get a kiss like that?” 

“Be in the right place at the right time for someone cute to run you over on a skateboard,” Alex said cheekily, and Willie kissed his cheek. 

“Run someone really cute over on your skateboard in the right place at the right time,” Willie told him with a grin, and Alex felt all fluttery again. He thought he was falling in love. Kinda hard and kinda fast, but right then it didn’t even scare him that much. It was good. 

“You guys are too cute,” Luke whined, flipping them the bird. Reggie was suspiciously quiet, eyeing Luke from the side. Alex saw it coming the moment Reggie moved. He just knew him too well. Reggie grabbed Luke’s arm, made him turn around, and then pressed their lips together in a kiss that made Luke gasp not-so-subtly. 

Alex laughed as Willie nudged him in the side. 

“Looks like sometimes you only need to whine enough for your friend to take pity on you,” Alex commented. Luke pulled away from Reggie, eyes wide and cheeks flushed. There was a frown growing on his forehead. 

“Pity?” he asked, looking hurt as he stared at Reggie. 

“Poor choice of words, hotdog,” Willie whispered conspiratorially. Reggie glared at Alex, who raised his hands in surrender. 

“Okay. No pity, then. Have fun, boys,” he said. Reggie pulling Luke back in by his shirt was the last thing he saw before poofing away, arms still wrapped around Willie. He brought them to a skate park close to his old high school. 

“Now that we got rid of those clowns. I wouldn’t mind another lesson,” Alex said, smiling at Willie. 

“In skateboarding or kissing?” Willie asked, wiggling his eyebrows. Alex did mean skateboarding, but putting it like that… He pulled Willie into another kiss instead, leaving the skateboarding for another day. 

-  End.   - 

[cursedcataclysm]

Since my mind only seems to come up with these things during school and very late at night when I should be asleep-

Actor AU!! this does feature shipping so if that makes you uncomfortable feel free to skip this, it’s only with content creators who are ok with it tho!! and ofc personas and characters, not the irl people

- Techno is the stunt choreographer/trains all the actors in stage combat, Dream actually did parkour and skateboarding before auditioning so he and Techno bond over doing stupid tricks and choreography

- Karl is an assistant director, he’s fresh out of college and a bit of a klutz but he loves helping out around set and he always remembers everyone’s coffee orders

- Philza is Tommy and Tubbo’s agent/manager, although he’s close friends with Wilbur and Techno as well

- Since I absolutely love Tommy and Dream’s dynamic we’re going to throw in some Tommy/Dream mentor/mentee vibes, Dream finds Tommy practicing some stunts one day in the studio and goes over to help him out, they end up talking for hours while training, now it’s a Thursday night tradition (Techno shows up sometimes too)

- Dream gets anxiety attacks sometimes, Tommy helps him learn how to manage them (Tommy got them too for the first few years of acting, Tubbo helped him learn how to cope)

- George and Sapnap have been acting/modeling for years, although Sapnap is definitely a better actor. George gets a lot of modeling gigs, Dream takes every opportunity to make fun of how he doesn’t have a fashion sense of his own but still ends up on the front page of Vogue

- Wilbur and Fundy prank everybody on set all of the time, Wilbur’s known for purposely messing up lines or going full improv mode (although they usually end up keeping the improv scenes for the final cuts)

- Fundy and Niki help design the costumes sometimes, Niki and Wilbur both sit in the costumes room and sew to destress, and Fundy is surprisingly good at design

- Tommy and Tubbo share a trailer on some of the outdoor sets, it’s covered in posters and string lights and empty cans of coca cola but they hold sleepovers there sometimes when filming goes really late

- Tubbo is secretly really good at hacking and has sabotaged filming on more than one occasion just for fun

- Eret is really good with makeup/special effects, he helps out the makeup team when they’re prepping Tommy for a fight scene and gives him a huge cut across his arm, Tommy takes a million pictures for Instagram and immediately goes to find Tubbo and scare him

- Dreamnotfound but they’re too oblivious to realize their true feelings, fake dating trope for the publicity, it goes well enough for the first season but once they inevitably ‘break up’ things get rough

- Dream gets really close with Fundy during the filming break, they watch Treasure Planet together and talk about how difficult all relationships are as a celebrity

- Techno and Dream fight each other and challenge each other to do reckless parkour moves all the time, they’re amazing at coming up with fight choreography together even if they won’t admit it

- Premiere night of the first episode! Everybody gets ready in the same hotel room, it’s loud and chaotic and there’s a lot of panicked yelling while people pull on dresses and suits and do their makeup

- They all decide to wear some variation of the strawberry dress in support of Tubbo, Eret and Niki wear the actual dress, Tubbo wears the dress over a black turtleneck, Dream wears a strawberry-patterned button up with suspenders and a jacket, George wears a pink suit coat and a strawberry tie, Sapnap wears a black suit with strawberries on it (and a cowboy hat, much to everybody’s confusion), Fundy has a patterned button up and a vest, Wilbur has a pink sweater and a black coat lined with strawberry fabric, Tommy wears a white suit with a pink shirt and tie

- It makes quite a statement at the premiere, they’re on the front page for weeks and the show is an immediate success

- Dream skyrockets to fame as well, which is a bit overwhelming

- Quackity, Punz, Ponk, Antfrost and Schlatt all join for the second season, there’s some controversy with Schlatt because of his contract and then him leaving during the first season, but everything gets smoothed over

- Dream and George don’t talk at all during the filming break, even at conventions and signings and photoshoots they manage to avoid each other

- Until the script read-through, of course

[weasleyshungry]

The Gryffindor Aesthetic

Valor. Fidelity. Nerve. Fun. These are the things Gryffindors honor above everything else.

Things associated with Gryffindors: the lion. fire. faith. boldness. rebellion. combat boots. secret societies. gold. swords and shields. warriors. red velvet. the tiger’s eye. the blood of a defeated evil. heroes. bloody knuckles. lots of pranks. determination. taking the blame. the guitar. ripped jeans. energy drinks. old clothes. rock concerts. fireworks. vandalism with significant meaning. having a loud voice. bonfires. hilarious jokes. detention for the thousandth time. having the last word. bagels. cherries. parties until 4am. snowball fights. cheering the loudest for their team. danger. long hair. stubbornness. they have a will to die protecting their loved ones (e.g. james/lily potter, sirius black, remus lupin, nymphadora tonks, fred/george weasley, harry potter, just about every protagonist in the series). red flowers. making the most of things/looking on the bright side. carpe diem. sometimes being quick to assume. being the “strong and supportive” one in the group but sometimes needing to be supported instead. butterbeer. being spontaneous. old coca cola bottles. hating authority/wanting to be their own. open shirts. pool parties. cliff diving. skydiving. just sports in general. the kind-hearted jock. activists. skateboards. procrastinating until the last minute to finish a task. making a decision based on whether the choice should be made, not if it’s stupid or not. cranberries. singing with friends. dueling. super grunge. dyed hair. deliberately walking under a ladder, opening an umbrella indoors, or adopting a black cat simply to see if anything bad would happen/to prove that nothing bad would happen. curiosity. pinky promises. arm wrestles. cassette tapes. big 90s vibes always. car races. inside jokes. defense against the dark arts. sending bottled notes out to sea. pirates. zonkos. “spin the bottle” or truth or dare. their first kiss was probably a dare or just an irresistible impulse. bare feet. scribbled messages in school desks. cigarettes. lighters. dragons.

some pictures I feel are fitting:

(note that this is my personal view of what gryffindor house represents and/or its vibe! this will not apply to all gryffindors, so do not be disheartened if most of this does not fit your personality or opinion! you are just as valid as any other gryffindor!)

[iamdorka]

IMAGINE (PART III) ‘Y/N is an actress and one day she totally starts to fangirl about MGK on Twitter/IG and then Colson sees it.. ‘

Part I + Part II

- I can't believe you really put these on... to meet me. - Colson said with a hilarious, 'I don't believe you girl' smile across his face. He was blushing so hard he could not believe it. After just an hour hanging out together... he felt like he had always her in his life. Cliche or not. After she waved at him with a nervous smile at the very first minute he knew this night would be fun.

- Oh shit... it isn't the MGK convention? I'm so sorry. I think I misunderstood something. - Y/N stuffing some more french fries into her mouth.

- You really don't care at all. - he stated leaning closer to the table trying to steal some fries from her. - I like it. - he added, biting his lips without even noticing.

- Don't you even dare... - she immediately hit his fingers away before he could reach her sacred food. - ... never even try that! - she pressed together her eyes strongly with a serious look on her face but she knew really well that she was rather funny than serious but she wouldn't admit that, never in a million years. - French fries are life. Religion. Everything. - she pulled her plate closer to herself not even blinking, having a staring contest with the man who was just sitting in front of him.

- You can buy me with it... easily, but if you think I will share it. You are dead wrong. - she continued just sharing with him the facts.

- You are looking at me like you would gladly call the police on me if I moved again, just a bit, closer to your fries. - this conversation was easy and light. They didn't have to think, not a bit because everything came without even trying hard. Though none of them would admit that they were starstruck as fuck, but the awkwardness, the level of craziness what revolved around them made everything better and less dramatic but ohh if they could read each other's mind.

- No doubt on that. - she said firmly believing in her words strongly.

- I'm really glad we could met. - he admitted and waved to the waitress just to get one more french fries, lip syncing Y/N the following: 'Before anything bad happens'.

- Can I be honest? - she asked sipping on the coca cola she had with the fries.

- Why would I want otherwise? - he furrowed his eyebrows.

- I almost didn't came... because when I said I'm awkward I meant it. Like I know there is no zipper nor a lock on my lips when sometimes there should be... - she laughed it off yet she was still nervous. This kind of impromptu meeting was new for her, like she knew she is a control freak and now that she will meet a new person just a few hours before the actual meeting was a strange thing for her. She liked to plan, to know everything about everything but now she knew nothing.

- I'm almost throw up coming here... - he stated. - Jesus Christ... your face. No no no no... not because of you. - he tried to correct his poor choice of words because the look on her face was something else.

- I would totally understand... - she bursted into laughter. - Like if you would dig deep down on the dark web... you would probably have a restraining order against me right now. So... - again. She said too much. She just wanted to burry herself 6 feet underground.

- Why is that so? - he asked curiously and when the waitress came with the fresh fries and tried to flirt with him... he wouldn't even notice that. His eyes were focused on her.

- Let me have my secrets... it's better this way. For both of us. - she admitted and chose to eat instead of keep talking while having a random mischievous smile on her lips.

- Okay... but I'm still curious and let's pretend that I'm not gonna jump right into that dark web just to find out your secrets. - he wasn't gonna lie to her because it just wouldn't made sense for him. Honesty, number one rule this time. Like they could try lie but just this whole strange situation got this raw version of themself out of them.

- Okay... but then I'm gonna move to another country and change my identity. That's fine by me. - she told him dead serious. - Did I really saw the skateboard with you? - random subject changing was her specialty and this time it was the best time for it.

- Yeah? There is always a board in my car. - he admitted and looked in the way of his car through the window. - Don't tell me you skate because I might will ask you to marry me right here right now. - he said this without even thinking.

- Let that for later... okay? - she joked but when she realised what she said... she felt the urge to stand up and leave to place or at least do something rather than sitting there like an idiot. - Now... you should teach me how not to break my... everything. Because for your question here is my answer: I have never even stepped on a board before... probably because I wanted to avoid breaking every bone in my body which I could thank to my extremely nonexistent luck. - she was already back walking to the door still having an awkward eye contact with Colson.

- What about your love? - he asked gettin up himself too.

- My what? - she asked back.

- I mean your French fries... - he held up the freshly made ones.

- You can bring those... but don't even try to touch them... Because I will know... I KNOW EVERYTHING...

- Okay... Maybe I don't know how to stand still on this monstrous thing... - she stand in front of the skateboard which was between her and Colson body.

- Give me your hands... - he held out his long fingers towards her.

- Should we just call the ambulance already? - she asked knowing really well her luck and what would come after this. - Just to make sure...

- I will watch out for you. Just trust me. - he winked and finally she put her hands into his. - Now... carefully step on the board.Just step... but don't try to move... yet. - he explained her as smooth as he could but she was already fearing for her life.

- Why did I think this gonna be a good idea? I'm gonna die... I'm gonna die now. - she repeated and she was already imagining her funeral. Though she liked this black hoodie so it would be okay for her if they would burry her in that like right now. At least it was comfy and looked good on her.

- I won't let you do that... you are gonna be just fine. - Colson really tried to calm her down but she started to be on a really dramatic mood which was kinda understandable... for her at least. For him it was kinda funny but he enjoyed this get a long, bonding time with his new friend.

- If I fall... I will kill you. - she threatened him and held his long fingers so strongly that she thought they are gonna fall off just like that.

- A few minutes ago you wanted to marry me... now you wanna kill me. We move so fast girl. - he joked with a bright smile on his face while she had anything but a smile on hers.

- Moments before I was ea.... I'M MOVING. I'M MOVING. - she screamed so loud that even if that parking lot was empty she felt they were not alone, her scream could have wake up even the dead. - COLSON BAKER... I'M SKATE BOARDING. - she stated as he walked slowly letting her roll beside him with her hands in his just keeping her steady. It was not much but enough for her go gain a little bit of confidence. Now she thought she could live one more day after this.

- You are not that bad. - he said really believing in his words. He liked that even she was really scared as hell she was doing it. He thought she was a fearless, badass girl with who he was lucky enough to meet today. It happened fast but it was good.

- Yeah... After this I'm gonna cast myself as Tony Hawk in a biopic. - she joked not letting him step aside from her.

- Ohh... clever girl. I like this sweet talk... - he said and step by step he tried to let her go and she almost didn't even realize that because she was so focusing on his face because it calmed her down... then when she realised what he was doing she instantly panicked without even noticing then she lost her balance... and was on the floor just in seconds.

- Fuck this... - first she didn't even processed that she felt but then the pain came. - I think... I broke my ankle...

- You did what?

[retvenkos]

Congratulations! Can i please have a 🔥 for Enola Holmes , the Maze runner and Percy Jackson/ Heroes of Olympus ship? Im a girl (17 years old) , bisexual , ENFP and a Gryffindor .I absolutely adore baking/cooking, skateboarding , photography and all kinds of art ( painting, theatre , music etc.).Im also into astrology and love reading about conspiracy theories and urban legends.🍪

I’m an extrovert with a pretty loud laugh , I love going to parties and telling jokes.Im also really protective of my friends and a loyal person ( the mom friend). I always stand by what i believe is right and defend anyone who needs it. Some of the things i dislike are coca cola , chihuahuas and close minded people. Hope thats enough , thank you in advance!🍪

Enola Holmes:

I ship you with Enola Holmes!

first of all, enfp’s are very independent, so you definitely need someone who will give you room to do your own thing while also being supportive and if that isn’t enola, then what is?

she 100% believes in autonomy while also being fairly practical - something that is needed if the two of you are going to be together.

i feel like you have so many interests and are pulled in so many directions, you need someone who can keep up with you as well as catch your eye - and enola holmes has so much going on at all times, it will always be a romp, hanging out with her.

furthermore, enola has probably dabbled in the majority of your interests, so she will either do them with you, try them out, or just watch you (because let’s be real here - enola on a skateboard in a modern au? a disaster waiting to happen). 

i believe wholeheartedly that enola loves your conspiracy theories and urban legends, and who knows? maybe the two of you will set out to prove some of them. sherlock will say the two of you are wasting your time because he doesn’t believe in stuff like that, and while enola may not believe in all of them, she would still listen to you ramble.

enola loves the fire in you - the way you stand up for what you believe in and your utter enthusiasm for life. she’s constantly surrounded by her brothers who are pretty jaded, and she often needs someone to remind her that the future is up to her - that this world can be whatever she makes of it.

enola definitely appreciates your art - she’s probably terrible at it herself, seeing as she doesn’t have much patience - but she loves to look at yours and listen to you ramble about it

and while you both lack a some practicality when it comes to daily struggles like upkeep or what have you, you both work on it together, and it’s something the both of you will remind the other in passing

enola has taken to writing on sticky notes to remember to do things, and you give each other arbitrary rewards for having done those basic tasks.

or, maybe you will do some baking if enola consistently does the dishes and she will buy you film for your camera if you manage to get all the laundry done for the week.

you both are very passionate people, so i imagine there’s always a bit of chaos, but you are both very extroverted, fun-loving people, so it’s never obnoxious (to the two of you, anyway)

i imagine the two of you end up doing a lot of active things - like going on walks or going to strip malls and window shopping. you just like to do things that keep you in forward motion or do things that seem new and exciting.

TMR:

I ship you with Minho!

first of all, both of you are energetic, passionate people. both of you are constantly doing something, searching for a way out of the maze or a way to live just a bit better. the two of you would never give up on finding a way out, and no doubt that means the two of you end up convincing others not to give up, too.

and you both are willing to stand up for what you know is right, or for those people you believe in! you probably both end up advocating for the same person on occasion, and maybe that’s what first makes you both notice the other.

and at the little parties that the gladers have, you and minho are always in the thick of things, laughing and making jokes. it’s a way that the two of you are able to destress and pretend like things are normal.

on a few nights when you can’t sleep, you go out to look at the sky and think about what all of this means - the maze, the grievers, and everything else. you’re mind can go into overdrive, considering all of the different possibilities, but it feels good to have answers, even if they are fabricated.

one night, minho can’t sleep either, and he finds you. the two of you talk late into the night, about everything and everything, and the two of you swap conspiracies and talk about the few memories you have and what they could mean. mostly, both of you just remember fear.

and when you get emotional and your mind starts to race, minho is able to bring you back from the edge. he has a steadiness to him that isn’t found in many other places, and it’s comforting.

and in a modern au, minho would love to skateboard. he’s still a runner, mostly, but he’d go to skateparks with you and you would both be terrible at patching up scrapes and bruises, but you’d both have lots of fun

minho also probably has the best taste in music - he’s especially fond of the kind of music that just embodies teen angst - so the two of you would swap music all the time

ngl, minho probably dislikes chihuahua’s too... yappy dogs aren’t his style.

getting minho into the arts would be a laugh - he’d probably be most keen to photography - but he’d listen to you while you ramble about your art. he wouldn’t understand it, but he’d love that you love it.

i feel like your relationship would be high energy all the time, but you’d get deep talks in between your shenanigans - minho probably isn’t into opening up, so it’s a process.

PJO/HOO:

I ship you with Percy Jackson!

admittedly, i don’t remember much about pjo, so this might be a little rough.

i think percy needs someone with energy - someone who can keep up with him and his killer quests and manage to have fun of them

and we all know that percy is a skater boi so....

when percy learns that you bake and cook! he’s going to make some good food with you, teaching you the art that is blue food. it’s very sweet and the two of you are definitely messy bakers, but it’s more about the experience than the actual food, right?

i also feel like percy would appreciate your painting and photography! i feel like percy has these really emo moments™ that will hit him out of nowhere, and he’d probably experience a lot of those when looking at art. he just has time to look within himself, y’know?

he’d get all the feels from your work and would assure you that even though he’s crying, it’s really good! 

and something i think is important to your relationship is that you can get percy to relax. this man deserves a break, so the fact that you are able to get him to take some quiet, calm moments means everything. furthermore, you’re so observant! you can tell when the weight of the world is resting on his shoulders, and you are able to swoop in and give him a well deserved break.

you’re just like “let. percy. REST.” or that meme where it’s like *person a gets a papercut* person b: gods, hasn’t he been through enough?

and both of you are so loyal, i can just see your relationship working really well. percy deserves a protective significant other, and i 100% believe you could fill those shoes.

also, the fact that camp half-blood is probably the biggest conspiracy theory the world could ever fathom makes your interest in conspiracies all the more funny - you and percy both are trying to constantly prove theories because if chb exists, imagine how many others are real! and annabeth is sobbing because she just wants one (1) day without your shenanigans. 

also, ummm, percy is a slytherin and a slytherin x gryffindor relationship has so much potential for teasing and prank wars don’t @ me

take part in my 2.5k celebration

[wavesmp3]

tagged by @tidalstorm tbh i’m not sure i did this right but it was still fun to do tagging @kyeomshine @secndlife @vernosaur @queenoats (choco lets ignore the fact that we’re technically not mutuals on this blog ssdnvks but i thought this tag game was cute and thought of u lol)

(soft!)

baby pink | iridescent | glitter is always a good option | no bra | minimalistic tattoos | cherry patterns | sweet scented perfumes | wearing generous amounts of blush | doodling hearts | getting excited to pet an animal | fun nails | rewatching old barbie movies | hair sticking to glossed lips | heart shaped sunglasses | taking pictures of the sunset or sunrise | stuffed animals | protecting nature | stickers everywhere | teen movies | the light rain that falls from a clear sky at the beginning of the night |

(dark academia!)

neutral tones | masculine outfits | studying languages | worn down copy of books | grey skies | turtleneck sweaters | loose fitting pants | hair tied with a silk ribbon | trying to remember a cool difficult word you read somewhere to use in a convo | thick belts | minimal makeup | windows fogged by rain | vintage jewelry | blouses with cuffed sleeves | reading a murder mystery and trying to solve it | oxford style shoes | sweater vests | subtitled old movies in a language you don’t speak | leaves crackling as you walk | annotating books to express your emotions about the story |

(edgy!)

closet full of dark clothes | fishnet tights | makeup sweating off | neon signs | searching for unknown songs | chokers | band tees | doodling on old converses | finding smoking aesthetically pleasing but not doing it | weird humor | accidentally very dramatic | dim lights | layered outfits | chain belts | chipped nail polish | messy hair | low quality pics | piercings | combat boots | scribbling on desks |

(seventies!)

colourful wardrobe | doodling flowers | wearing short shorts | using a bikini top or bra as a normal top | listening to ABBA | flowers in your hair | DIYing everything | jamming to songs alone in your room | drunkenly telling your friends you love them | patterned bandanas | mid heeled shoes | messy braids | flared sleeves | walking barefoot on grass or sand | bold sunglasses | the good kind of tired you get after doing something you enjoy for hours | feeding stray animals | fun patterned socks | room decorated with succulents and other plants | likes to go roller skating or skateboarding |

(preppy casual!)

collared clothes | drinking juice out of a champagne glass | getting excited to see the met gala looks | thick headbands | small pastel cardigans | making your friends take your ootd pics | plaid mini skirts | tweed two pieces | watching reality tv to pass time | frilly tops | watching old hollywood movies | academically driven | long manicured nails | new year’s eve fireworks | colorful tights | layered golden jewelry | yearns for luxury brand items | decorating your room with fairy-lights | cursive and neat handwriting | lace details

(tidalstorm!)

fashion!baby | the perpetual but adolescent itch of rebelling | jawline | perfectionist | impulsive hair colouring | weird handwriting | the sound of crashing waves and an acute smell of sea salt at night | cramming | fast learner | rumbling thunder in the distance, rain plopping down against cobblestones | inner child, frequently nostalgic | good singer. | spicy food enthusiast. | chokers + dainty neckpieces | multiple piercings | messy, not at all a planner, big fan of spontaneity | anger that you sense budding under your fingertips, buzzing up to the cavity of your heart. | the feeling of wind hitting your face with the car roof pulled down. | cuddly. | paying attention to details + colour. | little spoon. | astrology! | a cycle of reading relentlessly + not reading for 7 months straight. | has to win at all games. | art enthusiast | looks androgynous. | silent strangers listening absently to the train skidding against its tracks | music pouring out of your ear buds, a cold hand buried inside your trench coat while you find yourself thinking about something you long for. | laughing until your belly aches. | dark nails. | sleeping with your glasses on. | introverted. | taciturn. | having long conversations with children. | chubby animals

(wavesmp3!)

summer storms | coffee in the mornings | tea in the afternoons | a silence enthusiast | enjoys being alone | getting books but never reading them | dissolving to music | sticking heads out of a sunroof | sitting on the beach but never getting in the water | watching the same three sitcoms | dancing in front of a mirror | blasting music while driving | uses peace signs constantly | ‘ahaha’ | always using a blanket | constantly writing in my head | raging sweet tooth | coca-cola lover | funniest person i know | can not fathom being in love | doesn’t believe in the concept of one best friend | verified hoe for april ludgate | dancer | always having an eyelash in your eye | yearning for the sea | downplays intelligence | craves admiration and praise | a secure person | no makeup | never wears jewelry but loves it | hoodies | thinks forehead kisses are the purest form of intimacy but hates physical contact | ripped jeans | scrunchies | good student | teachers pet | lazy | 🤪 emoji’s number one user | and s’mores pop tarts.

[longitud-de-onda]

tag game ★~(•◡•✿) 50 questions you’ve never been asked before

Tagged by @murdermewithbooks  thank you love 💖💖💖

what colour is your hair brush?

wooden

are you typically too warm or too cold?

warm

what were you doing 45 minutes ago?

leaning over my bed and petting my cat who was sleeping on the floor

what is your favorite candy bar?

kit kats

have you ever been to a professional sports event?

yep, quite a few

what is the last thing you said out loud?

"come up here baby,” to my cat who is still on the floor and should sit next to me instead.

what is your favorite ice cream?

chocolate chip cookie dough

what was the last thing you had to drink?

water

do you like your wallet?

yeah

what was the last thing you ate?

some leftover curry chicken and leftover linguini pasta

did you buy any new clothes last weekend?

no 

the last sporting event you watched?

i’ve been watching a lot of olympic videos recently? and skateboarding? not sure which one was the most recent. but live? probably the superbowl.

what is your favorite flavor of popcorn?

i don’t like popcorn

who is the last person you sent a text message to?

my mother

ever go camping?

all the time!

do you go to church every Sunday?

nope, i’m not religious. but my family thinks i am (even though i have told them explicitly multiple times, to their faces, that i am not) and still tries to get me to go.

do you have a tan?

if you think this irish ghost skin tans, you would be very mistaken.

do you prefer Chinese food or pizza?

if we’re talking ‘authentic’ chinese food, then chinese. but if it’s not from a restaurant owned and run by chinese people, then pizza prevails.

do you drink your soda with a straw?

i don’t drink soda.

what color socks do you usually wear?

i wear brightly patterned socks with stuff like art or food or flowers on them

do you ever drive above the speed limit?

sometimes

what terrifies you?

a lot. but a big fear of mine is depth. like physical depth. oceans and deep pools freak me out.

look to your left, what do you see?

my glasses and a pen case on top of a stack of my kindle and two books.

what chore do you hate?

cleaning the bathrooms

what do you think of when you hear an Australian accent?

hot

what’s your favorite soda

coca cola is the only soda i’ll drink, but i hate the american formula so i don’t really drink soda. however, when i’m travelling, i will drink lots of it.

do you go in a fast food place or just hit the drive-thrus?

probably going in. i like sitting down.

who’s the last person you talked to?

my sister

favorite cut of beef?

sirloin

last song you listened to?

the ténéré remix of moonshine by caravan palace

last book you read?

i’m in the middle of deep river by karl marlantes

favorite day of the week?

wednesdays

can you say the alphabet backwards?

hell no

how do you like your coffee?

in the morning, just a straight shot of espresso. midday and afternoon? a latte or brewed coffee with a dash of milk.

favorite pair of shoes?

my vans

the time you normally go to sleep?

anytime between 11pm and 4am

the time you normally get up?

during this quarantine, my alarm is set for 9am but sometimes i’m still asleep at 11am

what do you prefer, sunrise or sunsets?

sunrise

how many blankets on your bed?

rn? my blanket is on the floor and i only have the sheets cause it is hot as fuck

describe your kitchen plates

thin, white, and i think ceramic? they’re from ikea

do you have a favorite alcoholic beverage?

tinto de verano. but i like cider and rum too. 

do you play cards?

not really

what color is your car?

we’ve got two cars shared between my parents and sister and me, one’s white, and one’s silver.

can you change a tire?

in theory? yes. but i don’t think i’d actually be able to do it. 

favorite job you’ve ever had?

i was a camp counselor for the jewish community center’s daycamp one summer? that was actually pretty fun, we went swimming every day (i got paid to go swimming. still not over that) and i learned so much, cause i was one of the only non-jewish people there. i had 3-year-olds who were bilingual and would come up to me speaking hebrew and i was so confused. 

how did you get your biggest scar?

i tripped walking home, got two gashes down each of my knees. kept walking home, and it didn’t hurt until i got home and saw both my legs covered in blood? i did first aid on my own and found out the next day i should have gone to the hospital cause i needed stitches. ended up not getting stitches and they healed,,, but they’re super wide scars. 

what did you do today that made someone else happy?

i commented on a friends fic? and also told her how much i liked it? idk if it made her happy but i would like to think it did

no pressure tags: @opheliaelysia @aerynwrites @youmeanmybrain @lesqui @qveenbvtch @equalstrashflavoredtrash

[eirgoddessofdarkness-archive]

WHAT IS YOUR MUSE’S BLOOD TYPE: Well she has Aesir blood so I don’t think there is a specific type. That being said, I’d assume it’s non-specific and can be used as a universal donor among those on Asgard. HOW DO YOU THINK YOUR MUSE HANDLES REJECTION?: This depends. I feel Eir would either take it well or it would break her completely. I mean, this is why she doesn’t or rather hasn’t admitted her feelings for Loki, she doesn’t even want to think how it goes. WHAT MAKES YOUR MUSE JEALOUS?: Not many things make her jealous, but I suppose the freedom that other individuals get is a big part of that. Also the fact that she could never be considered to marry royalty. WHAT’S A BAD HABIT YOUR MUSE HAS?:  She is a lip bitter. A major one. Especially when the stress gets to her. When she’s on Midgard she eats lollipops to stop it, so also eating lollipops to stop other habits. She also can  talk very meanly about herself, but never in the presence of others, when she does something wrong or something goes wrong. A PRIZED POSSESSION OF YOUR MUSE: A ring belonging to her mother. It was her mother’s wedding ring to be precise. ANY MEDICAL CONDITIONS?: While Eir has no physical conditions, she does have anxiety and depression, although she has never admitted to anyone except Einar about her depression. Not even Loki.

QUESTIONS FOR THE MUSE TO ANSWER

WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE COLOR: “I would be fond of the colour plum, but also teal. I think they’re lovely colours.” WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE FOOD: “I assume by this you mean for a main course or a starter? I actually love melon, specifically honeydew melon. I think it’s such a sweet starter. If you meant food in general, however, I like cake. Or rather icing that’s on the cakes.” SKIING OR SNOWBOARDING?: “I’ve never done either actually, but I like skateboarding so I assume snowboarding is somewhat similar? It looks cooler.” WORST INJURY YOU EVER GOT?: “Umm... I don’t feel comfortable answering this question honestly. But the one below that is that I’ve been near an explosion and nearly lost an arm once.” EARLY RISER OR SLEEP IN?: “I normally rise early because of work but on my days off I don’t wake up until mid afternoon... Although it isn’t a sleep-in if you go to bed late.” VIDEO GAMES OR BOOKS?: “Both. We don’t have video games on Asgard, but the young Spider and Ant have been showing me and teaching me all about them. I run a town as a mayor in one of them” SOMETHING THAT MAKES YOU CRY?: “Thinking about my mother or any of the times I’ve lost Loki.” SOMEONE YOU HATE? WHY?: “Hate is such a strong word... Despise. Now there’s a word. I despise my step-mother and father. He didn’t wait even a century before he remarried after my mother’s death. Lorelei just... she tried too hard too soon.” Sigh. “There are others I just haven’t created a list.” PHOBIAS: “I’d rather not say. Who knows who could be reading this and how they could use it against me.” FAVORITE SODA?: “That’s easy. I like sparkling apple juice or Vanilla Coca-Cola.” FAVORITE DRINK IN GENERAL?: “Tea. Without a doubt. I like brandy too but I only get that on Midgard.”

WHAT DID YOU HAVE FOR BREAKFAST?: “Well, today I had honeydew melon and some toast, but I was in a rush.” WHEN IN THE SHOWER WHAT DO YOU WASH FIRST?: “Normally I wash my hair first, but sometimes, if I’m being lazy, I do my legs first. It depends. I always wash myself last, however. That’s a constant.” 3 ITEMS IN YOUR TOP DRAWER?: “3 items? Let me have a look first... A collection of quills I never disposed of, origami paper and a photo of Loki, Thor and myself from our time on Midgard.” WHAT KIND OF UNDERWEAR DO YOU HAVE ON RIGHT NOW?: “Very comfortable underwear. Nothing sexy about it. Just comfy and cute. I’m also trying out those bralettes things that they have on Midgard as they are easier on my back.” STOCKINGS OR LEG WARMERS?: “Stockings. You can get so many kinds and some are fun to wear.” Wink. (Eir no!) SUPERHERO NAME: “Well, when I was with the Avengers I was called Nurse. So I guess nurse?”

SUPER VILLAIN NAME: SONG YOU ARE LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW?: “Well mun was letting us listen to what I wanted, which meant we were listening to darkwave to relax, but now she has on her music. So we’re listening to Andante Andante by ABBA.” WORST JOB EVER?: “I’ve never had a bad job. I haven’t actually worked at anything other than a healer or alongside the Avengers.” BEST JOB EVER?: “Well, I mean, a healer? Or a librarian, it looks fun.” WHAT’S YOUR TYPE?: “I wouldn’t say I have a type. I mean, there is quite a difference between my first love and my current one. Someone tall and kind, knowledgeable in areas I am not with an eagerness to teach me all about it. A love for books perhaps? I have a thing for dark haired individuals, and I like long hair. It’s good for petting. Sometimes a beard... I’m really going off tangent I think.” WHEN GIVING SPANKINGS, I USE: “I never give spankings in any sense.” EVER BEEN THROWN OUT A WINDOW? WHY?: “I believe I have once but that was to escape Odin’s wrath. Loki threw me out of it. I asked him to do it though.” DO DOGS RANDOMLY SNIFF YOU?: “Yes but for a good reason! I carry treats in my pockets.” WHAT’S UNDER YOUR BED RIGHT NOW?: Deep blush. “Nothing important. Just a box or two. Storage purposes you know.” WHAT KIND OF DRUGS ARE YOU ON?: “Nothing.” LAST PERSON TO GIVE YOU AN ORGASM?: “Einar or myself.” DO YOU REGRET WHAT YOU’VE DONE?: “Sometimes. I can’t help but wonder how things would’ve been different if I had done something else. The problems of an overthinker, I guess.” YOUR BEST PICK-UP LINE: “I rarely use them. In fact I didn’t use them until I started my relationship with Einar. Now I use them to cheer him up. My favourite has to be ‘Are you a fruit, because Honeydew you know how fine you look right now?’” ANY ROOMMATES?: “Yes, Einar. He only recently moved in actually... I don’t know if you could call the other people who live in the palace roommates.” ARE THEY SEXY?: "I mean, have you seen Einar? I swear I’ve seen some princess fawn over him before Thor. There is also one other individual in the palace who gets a yes but I won’t say who.” WOULD YOU STEAL A KISS FROM THEM?: “Of course I would. In the past I may have said yes to this from other palace individuals.”

CHOOSE BETWEEN BOXERS OR BRIEFS: “Briefs if I had to choose.” PANTIES OR THONGS: “Panties, no further questions.” COKE OR PEPSI: “Pepsi.” DOMINANT OR SUBMISSIVE: “Submissive or neither.” DOGS, CATS, OR BOTH: “Both. I love animals. I also keep cat treats in my pockets too.” C4 OR DYNAMITE: “Dynamite. Launch that fucker.” (Eir, language) CATCH PHRASE OR ONE-LINERS: “Both. Depending on what it is of course.” DAY OR NIGHT: “Nighttime~.” STAR WARS OR STAR TREK: "I like Star Wars but I’ve only seen the reboot of Star Trek and a few episodes of the Patrick Stewart era. So it’s one sided really. SPANKING OR WHIPPING: “Umm... well, if you mean sexually... spanking. But I never do it. I don’t like pain too much.” CAKE OR PIE: “Cake because icing.” ZOMBIES OR VAMPIRES?: “Vampires. Zombies are scary.”

Tagged by: @dearlokigodofmischief Tagging: @siiilvertcngue @i-am-the-bamf @alibi-white (because Alibi) and whoever else wants to do it

[sevens-evan]

pride month day 15

author: daisys-quake

rated: g

pairing: bucky barnes/steve rogers

word count: 1276

summary: Steve spends a lot of time living in the past these days, and he sees Bucky everywhere.

a/n: pre-ca:tws. this isn’t even that gay, really; i just have a lot of feelings about steve and the ice and Feelings. but it is a little bit gay, so i’m saying it qualifies for pride month. enjoy. i’m writing a fic a day for pride month; see my post with details here.

Everything is different now.

That shouldn’t be surprising; it’s been more than half a century, but it still bothers Steve. There’s still an alarm bell going off in his head, the one that started when he woke up in S.H.I.E.L.D.’s faux-forties hospital room, warning him that something is wrong, everything is wrong; nothing is quite how it’s supposed to be. Steve knows exactly why now, and the momentary panic that had set in when he woke up in a world that was wrong (God, the nurse’s hair, her clothes, the open window with a breeze that smelled of nothing at all; Steve had blamed his panicked escape on the baseball game because it was easier to explain than the sheer vastness of how fundamentally the world has changed) has faded, but still, his instincts whisper to him, telling him to run, to fight, to find out where he is and go home.

So he does go home.

Brooklyn is different now, too. Of course it is; Steve knew it would be. But there was some irrational, hopeful part of him that imagined turning a corner and walking right back into 1942, back into five-cent bottles of Coca-cola and bathtubs in kitchens and world fairs and recruitment posters and Bucky.

But Brooklyn is different, now. Steve wanders for hours, through what feels like every side street and alleyway in Brooklyn, and nothing feels familiar. There’s plenty of historic landmarks and such, but it’s all preserved, explained, accompanied with plaques and signs detailing what happened on this street corner, or who this park bench is named after, and all it does is make Steve realize that this isn’t home anymore.

Maybe he doesn’t have a home at all. But if he closes his eyes…

—but no, the air smells different. Feels different, he swears, even though it doesn’t make any sense. His hair is too short and his clothes are too tight and Bucky died in Europe decades ago, and there is no one standing beside Steve, no comforting presence, no familiar voice, no laughing blue eyes or carefully developed swagger. Bucky is gone, and Peggy is fading, and Steve is alone.

He leans against the grey concrete of the building at his back, staring up at the sky before closing his eyes. He ignores the unfamiliar scents of the twenty-first century, ignores the way his jeans are too tight and the waistband too low, ignores the uncomfortably exposed feeling of wearing nothing but a thin t-shirt in public, and closes his eyes and drifts.

Steve spends a lot of time living in the past these days. He thinks about the war sometimes, those months of—he doesn’t want to call it fun, because he wishes more than anything that the war had never happened—of freedom, running wild across Europe with the Commandos, he and Bucky and the best friends either of them ever had besides each other, saving people, fighting Hydra, living and bleeding and almost dying together.

He had never felt closer to Bucky. Before the war, he wouldn’t have thought the two of them were capable of being any closer, but the war had allowed a lot of things to be overlooked—the government needed troops, whether they were a little queer or not, so long as they kept their mouths shut about it; besides, no one was about to accuse Captain America of such things—and the Commandos were hardly judgmental.

That’s not to say they were a couple by any definition. No, Steve had been truly, stupidly in love with Peggy, and he wouldn’t have dared to dream of thinking of Bucky in that way back then anyway, but they were something. Something that involved sleeping curled around each other every night in the field, holding each other close like they did when they were kids when Steve was sick. Something that involved an almost telepathic understanding of one another. Something that involved, on one occasion, Bucky demanding Steve take his shirt off so he could learn Steve’s new body the way he knew his old one.

Something rather undefinable, really.

Steve opens his eyes, lowering his gaze to the alien streets of Brooklyn once more. Masses of people walk the sidewalks, modern cars that still look strange to him fill the streets. Across the street, a few teenagers are skateboarding. One of them whoops with glee, high-fiving his friend, and for a moment—Steve’s heart leaps into his throat—he looks just like Bucky. Then he blinks, and his hair is too light and his skin is just a bit too dark and it’s all wrong but God, Steve could’ve sworn Bucky was there only moments ago.

It’s not the last time he sees Bucky. Steve starts seeing him everywhere. On the way back to the apartment S.H.I.E.L.D. rents for him, he sees Bucky in a tired-looking twenty-something, carrying a backpack and looking half-ready to pass out. He sees him in the twin boys, no more than twelve or thirteen, who ask him for his autograph. He sees him in a man who drives past on a motorcycle, whipping in and out of traffic, dark hair streaming behind him.

That one doesn’t make much sense to Steve. Bucky’s hair had never been that long; he’d hated the way it got wavy and out of control. Or at least, he had until girls started complimenting him on it.

Baristas, S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, strangers on the street, they all start looking like Bucky. Steve dreams of big band music and cigarette smoke (they don’t let him smoke anymore, the S.H.I.E.L.D. doctors say it’s bad for him) and Bucky, and he buys a record player from a vintage shop and sneaks smokes whenever he can and sees Bucky in everything, everywhere, always.

Steve tells his S.H.I.E.L.D. therapist about it, once. The therapist is a nice woman, older (still younger than Steve, who looks young and is old and still wakes up in the middle of the night sometimes, ready to take over watch from Gabe), soft-spoken, never gets frustrated with Steve even when he spends hours deflecting or staring out the window in silence. She tells him that brains are complicated things, that people see what they want to see, and Steve nods politely, pretends to agree with her.

Truth is, Bucky’s been there for every good thing that’s ever happened to Steve. Late, sometimes, on account of things like being a POW when Steve became Captain America (really became Captain America, not an idiot fumbling through dance steps on stage), but there, always. And now, every good thing, every smiling stranger, every spot of happiness in the everyday lives of the people around Steve feels like it belongs to Bucky. Like wherever he is, Bucky is still showing Steve all the good in the world, still showing him what he’s fighting for, still keeping him grounded.

Steve smokes on his balcony when he gets home from therapy, and he swears he can hear Bucky’s voice in his head, indistinct but familiar. The actual words are incoherent, but a Brooklyn accent punctuates every syllable.

It sounds like home.

Halfway around the world, in a nameless city, on the hunt for a meaningless target, the Winter Soldier catches a whiff of cigarette smoke. He pauses for a fraction of a second, unnoticeable to anyone else, and somewhere in a mind unused to thinking, he wonders why the scent feels familiar.

my ao3

[skateofministry]

Covering a weird Olympics | bdnews24.com

When the Olympics happened at BMX

When a great athlete earned an event victory, the culmination of years of practice, dedication and sacrifice, there was some polite applause from a few scattered volunteers, or maybe a shout from a coach. Not the roar of a packed stadium excited by the spectacle they had witnessed.

But at the BMX cycling, one man tried to overcome that. Kye Whyte of Britain had just won a silver medal, and he paused to watch the women’s event. His teammate, Bethany Shriever, had two years before turned to crowdfunding after her state financing was cut. Now, as Shriever surged ahead of the other competitors, Whyte became a one-man cheer squad, shouting his approval and punching the air as she raced to the line. When she won, he lifted her in a bear hug, as joyful about her gold as his own silver.

“Bethany Shriever is absolutely the flipping best,” he said afterward.

The Olympics, with their masks, coronavirus protocols and oceans of empty seats, lacked some of their familiar joy. Whyte managed to bring it back, at least for a moment.

— VICTOR MATHER

A diver’s heartbreaking scratch

It was the women’s 3-meter springboard diving semifinal, and my first time watching the sport live.

Apart from an obvious belly flop, it was hard to tell how the judges could make the fine distinctions between all of these athletes whose twists, midair somersaults and slicing entries into the pool looked so impossibly difficult to me.

Then for her fourth dive, Pamela Ware of Canada stepped to the edge of the board and simply jumped, feet first.

Five years of training, persisting through a pandemic, following restrictive protocols to travel to Tokyo, all ending with a 0.0 score on her last attempt. What must she have been feeling? I watched as she bolted out of the water, her coach trailing behind her. She dipped into a tub in the corner of the aquatics center, her back to the pool. My heart went out to her. I hope she gets another chance.

— MOTOKO RICH

An athlete’s joke says it all

Basketball star Diana Taurasi sauntered into a makeshift conference room inside Saitama Super Arena on Sunday afternoon. Before taking her seat before a gaggle of reporters, she demonstratively removed a bottle of water sitting on the table and held up the big glass bottle she had in her hand.

“No water,” Taurasi said, smiling. “Champagne, Ronaldo!”

It was unclear whether everyone in the room got the joke. Soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo created a viral moment this summer at the European Championship when he removed two bottles of Coca-Cola from a table before a news conference.

“Agua!” Ronaldo said, holding up a bottle of water for the cameras.

Taurasi had every right to have a little fun. Moments earlier, she had won her fifth gold medal with the United States after beating Japan. It was clear a weight had lifted from her shoulders.

Indeed, a predominant emotion among athletes at these Games, whether they won or lost, was relief that a long journey, under taxing circumstances, was over.

Taurasi said that when the Olympics were first postponed last year, she set a countdown on her phone to the opening ceremony. In the autumn of her career, Taurasi, 39, was not sure she would make it.

“Can you imagine how long that countdown was?” she said.

Taurasi made it, though, and for a moment she could revel at the finish line, swigging Champagne, slinging one-liners.

— ANDREW KEH

Luck shines through a glitch

I learned two years ago when I was in Tokyo for pre-Olympics reporting that the Japanese skateboard star Yuto Horigome grew up in Tokyo, and that his father, Ryota, was a taxi driver who had taught his son to skate. My loose plan was to return before the Summer Games and write a story on the father, maybe ride around in his taxi. Then the pandemic came, and I did not return to Tokyo until the eve of the delayed Olympics.

I tried to reach Ryota Horigome when I arrived, using contacts to nudge him, but did not hear back for several days. It turned out he was working nine days in a row in the cab. Finally, late one night, I got a response: “Sorry for replying so late. Nice to meet you. I’m not good at English. But I will answer possible. Is that OK?”

What resulted might be my favourite story from the Olympics, and a bit prophetic: Yuto Horigome won gold the day the story ran.

That night I received a note from his father: “Thank you thank you thank you”

— JOHN BRANCH

Touching scenes off the stage

For an Olympics all about restrictions, social distancing and masks, what I’ll remember most about my first Summer Games is the people I met.

The taxi driver who, during an hourlong conversation facilitated by two translating applications, told me about his hometown, Yokohama, where I went often for softball and baseball. The man who worked with the Belgian men’s field hockey team and tipped me off to the sophisticated training techniques it had used for the Tokyo heat before its eventual gold medal run. The Olympic volunteer from Japan who spoke Spanish and was assigned to help the Mexican baseball team.

The US basketball star Diana Taurasi with her fifth Olympic gold medal, in Tokyo, Aug 8, 2021. Members of The New York Times staff at the Tokyo Olympics reflected on moments that will stay with them from a Games undercut by the pandemic but filled with emotional twists. Doug Mills/The New York Times

There was also the American wrestler whose humanity and personality radiated on the mat and every time she spoke. The French judokas who, many minutes after winning a mixed team gold medal, couldn’t stop hugging each other, posing for photos, bouncing up and down and smiling.

Dominican baseball players were so thrilled to bring home the country’s first Olympic medal in the sport that they fist-bumped volunteers as they walked to the team bus. The Ivory Coast bronze medalist in taekwondo explained how much it meant to her that she had received so many messages of support not simply from her home country but from across Africa. A Polish wrestler was so happy to win a bronze medal that he did a back flip and laughed when his 53-year-old coach flipped him over and slammed him onto the mat.

— JAMES WAGNER

Tracking the big underdogs

The Philippines, a country of 110 million sports-mad people, had never won Olympic gold until Hidilyn Diaz improbably outperformed a Chinese champion in the women’s 55 kilogram weightlifting division.

Diaz’s delight was infectious. And her story — of a strong girl who grew up in poverty, then toiled abroad as part of the Philippines’ army of overseas workers — was for me one of the most uplifting stories of the Games. When we chatted after her victory, she started off by saying, “Can we talk? I really want to talk.” And she did for 20 minutes, before Olympic officials dragged her to her news conference, where she talked some more.

For a story on why India underperforms at the Olympics, I kept going to see Indian athletes who were considered medal hopefuls. And, with one exception, they all crashed out.

It got to the point where the Indian journalists joked — or maybe they weren’t joking — that I, the sole foreigner tracking the Indian team, was bad luck. Maybe it’s true. One day, I chose between going to women’s field hockey and women’s boxing. I went to boxing. She lost. Without me, the Indian hockey team won.

— HANNAH BEECH

The adventure of the unfamiliar

The Olympics are all about making yourself uncomfortable, covering something you’ve never done before. You can spend two weeks doing the same-old same-old, or you can do something goofy like raise your hand to cover an equestrian competition.

I had never been to an equestrian event, and showed up to write about Jessica Springsteen, the daughter of a pretty big rock star whose music has been the soundtrack to my life. If the key to being a decent reporter is asking a lot of dumb questions, I got in more than my share that night.

A sampling of some of the zingers I asked a few kindhearted souls in the equestrian press who took pity on me: What is going on here? Who’s good? How long is this going to last? Are these thoroughbreds? Do horses like to jump?

Plenty of discomfort. What a joy.

— MATTHEW FUTTERMAN

Fighting in the home of sumo

Walking into the sumo wrestling stronghold that is Kokugikan Arena, the Olympic boxing venue, it became immediately clear that among the sumo crowd it stirs up the kind of affection some American sporting fans have for places like Madison Square Garden, Wrigley Field in Chicago or Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.

Boxing may have borrowed Kokugikan for nearly 300 Olympic bouts, but throughout these Games it still belonged squarely to sumo, and it was a welcome touch among Olympic venues that can take on a standardised feel.

Enough touches remained as reminders of what this place is really like when the red box seating divided by rails — known as masuseki — is filled with fans who pay by the group. Portraits of 32 grand champions — yokozuna — line the rafters (with some more in the nearby subway station).

As Olympians waited in the bowels of the arena for buses to and from the Athletes’ Village, wrestlers who live and train nearby could be seen walking around outside in their robes and slippers, not for tourists but simply to get around between training sessions, in hopes of one day becoming yokozuna, too.

— OSKAR GARCIA

A sweet encounter at day’s end

While I was walking back to my hotel from the gymnastics arena at 11:30 one night, two women stopped me and asked, “Are you here for the Olympics?”

I told them yes, and we started talking. They were big Olympics fans. One had been to the 2000 Summer Games in Sydney and the Athens Games in 2004.

“We are sad that we can’t go to the Olympics in our own city because of COVID,” said the other, who told me she had worked at a New York City hospital for two years as an autism researcher.

The other woman worked at a store called Ginza Mitsukoshi, calling it the Harrods of Japan.

They asked if I was having a good time. And they had other questions: Did I get a chance to tour Tokyo? Were the athletes nice? What was it like in the venues? After 14 days of quarantine, it was my first interaction with regular Tokyo citizens.

I told them, yes, I was having a good time — especially after meeting them. Meeting local residents is one of my favourite parts of the Olympics. Under a dim streetlamp, we took a selfie and exchanged contact information. They sent me off with a bag from Ginza Mitsukoshi. Inside was a beautifully packaged slice of gluten-free chocolate cake and vegan vanilla cookies. The cookies had smiley faces on them.

— JULIET MACUR

© 2021 The New York Times Company

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