#he’s giving diving or track/field or soccer

[mistydeyes]

my little drunk mind running wild with thoughts about olympian!gaz giving you fly kisses as you cheer him on in the sidelines and absolutely loving how you help him recover after each training session or qualifying round <3

when the cameras are on him, he’s sure to give a little wink for his girl watching her baby absolutely demolish the competition

[birdy-bat-writes]

If the batboys were to play sports, what sport do you see them playing?

I like this one!

Bruce: martial arts, basketball, free diving and fencing. There are a few reasons to it. Basketball from that one episode of young justice where Bruce and Dick played basket together (that was heart-warming), and martial arts because Bruce is a pro martial artist, however with his personality and discipline, I can see him going to a martial arts dojo after school as a teenager.

Dick: soccer, gymnastics, basketball, and cross country. I don't know why but he just gives me chill soccer player vibes and gymnastics is because he's an acrobat. Basketball for the same reason as Bruce and cross country just because he has amazing stamina☺️😉 Don't worry, I'm thinking clean thoughts (No I'm not). I'm thinking of those comic panels in which he was training at the police academy and he ran long distance so effortlessly because of his training.

Jason: ICE HOCKEY! Ever since I've read @prettylittlebrownskingyal 's in fic for Jason, I can't see an ice rink and not think of him. Also, soccer, rock climbing, and bowling. Very much bowling. I like to think when Dick would visit the manor and Jason was Robin, they would have played soccer together and Jason would feel like a million dollars every time he made a goal against Dick. Back then Dick would let Jason win a few times, but now he and Jason have rematches and Dick isn't going easy on him anymore. He's very unhappy that Jason is beating him. Rock climbing seems like something he would do to be alone and just sit at high heights. Bowling just because I see him and Roy doing that every weekend. 🎳👌🏼

Tim: track and field, baseball, swimming, soccer and table tennis. Table tennis because I have this weird habit of propping half of the table up and playing against myself when I'm overthinking. Why do I feel like he would do that too?? Track and field because he's quick and controlled with his movements. I feel like he'd be a good sprinter. I'm not sure why but I can just see him in a baseball cap and jersey (this may or may not be my softball girlfriend-baseball boyfriend fantasy taking over). And I just see him swimming to take his mind off of things so yeah. I mean he has a swimmer's body, just saying. 👀👀

Damian: martial arts, fencing, archery, and tennis. I would have said badminton but that is not a game of power; it's more about controlled, light movements. Tennis is where hitting a ball hard will serve a purpose. I feel like he could get some anger out against the tennis ball machine and we all know Damian is our precious anger baby. I can see him going out into the back fields of the League of Shadows training grounds when he needed to be alone and shooting a few arrows. The sound of them flying through the air and striking the target is oddly satisfying to him even now.

[lovinmullen]

okay i’m a sports junkie so here’s a list of sports i’ve connected to the hbo war boys !!!!

toye - ice hockey.

hockey doesn’t make character it reveals it to quote pinterest lmao and to me toye needs that feeling of being able to reveal himself and he needs to find a constructive way to let out all these pent up emotions he has going on. hockey while it is a great way to get that emotion out (from the pov of someone who plays 3 sports) there’s something so intimate about a hockey team to me. like the love and trust there amongst the ribbing is unmatched and he needs that. as a field hockey player ice isn’t really my forte but i chose ice for him because of the freeness you get from skating. it’s just something else man and to me i feel like he’d seek that. also the quick pace of the game is a good way to silence everything going on. you have to put so much concentration in the game. it’s so quick moving it’s so violent you have to put your full focus into it so you don’t get checked lmao? and that’s a good way to silence and channel that anger into something constructive!! while he does need the side where he can get it out he needs the support and the moral side too. like he’s not a lone person. i feel he appreciates his alone time but he needs people and the bond in a hockey team would give that to him i feel.

dick & runner - swimming.

dick has always loved swimming. it’s always been a quiet, calming escape for him when everything’s getting too loud so when he got noticed one early morning at 5am doing laps attempting to clear his head, he didn’t bat an eye at the thought of joining the swim team. more of his favourite hobby? what more could you ask for! at first he was just doing it for fun, now he’s the capatain and while he is one of the most supportive captains you will ever meet be careful because he loves swimming FAR TOO MUCH to take any of your shit.

runner is one of the best swimmers in the school. he’s won every front crawl he’s ever enterd and he’s got a killer butterfly however because of his name everyone can’t help but ask if he takes track and it BOILS HIS BLOOD. because his competitive ass hates the fact he’s got ‘the best butterfly this goddamn school has ever seen’ and people STILL have the audacity to get his chosen sport wrong? disgusting. this boy has a PB of 51.86 seconds in the 100m freestyle. the world record is 46.91!!! if you ask him, few more years under his belt then ship him off to the olympics! that being said however... he can not do back stroke to save his life. all coordination goes out the window. he can’t swim in a straight line and he’s constantly hitting people so yeah... he’s their best swimming as long as no one asks him to get on his back. his divings also a lil clumsy bit it gives him a good enough head start against the other competitors so people don’t question it.

hoosier - soccer.

he is a bad bitch in defence !!!! he is a centre back and he is not afraid to slide tackle your ass. don’t even try diving because he calculated that shit TO A T to ensure he misses your ankles. ESPECIALLY if he’s in the box. he ain’t giving away no penos does he look like david luiz???

he gets proper into the game. and i mean INTO IT. he is incredibly competitive and is no stranger to getting all up in the ref’s personal space when he doesn’t agree with a decision (his captain andy who is used to his ‘charming but extravagant enthusiasm’ now can usually calm him down before that happens though!!!)

leckie - tennis.

he’s pretentious. enough said... ALSO his freinds make fun of him for the grunts he makes ALL THE TIME. not just back at the dorms... live too !! hoos and runner often get sent out because they’ve been shushed for their sex jokes one too many times and chuckler just leaves with them apologising through his giggles because he’s embarrassed about being sent out and he’s proud of leckie finding a sport he’s good at and it’s once that makes him happy but this shit is just too fucking funny lmaooo

chuckler - baseball.

he’s the pitcher and captain !!! he will catch any and EVERY straight ball hit at him. he’s such a caring and supportive captain who is constantly cheering his boys on and lifting their spirits but he will not hesitate to make fun of you if you make a dumb mistake. his legs are so long it takes him like 4 strides to get to each base. the boys actually make fun of him for how he runs but he’s getting at least 1/2 every time so they can’t bully him for too long when he’s getting the job done.....

bonus !!!! guarnere is a gym junkie and his gym buddy is toye🥺 lieb will often join them because the times they go for their work out is usually the same time he has boxing classes😌

[thanksforthedinosaur]

international year of plant health

hi. i made a playlist of a snapshot of the stuff i’ve listened to this year if you’re looking for some recommendations! xoxo mae

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0VkfnggwpC1TEj2wsaHyZr?si=4JJd6Z-kRoCHuHypRtWK3g

1. little simz - might bang, might not 2. jean deaux - recipe! 3. logic - open mic\\aquarius iii 4. spittzwell - the lesson 5. ivy sole - kismet 6. vel the wonder - fine art 7. megan thee stallion - shots fired 8. kari faux - look at that 9. rico nasty - own it 10. flo milli - beef flomix 11. kodie shane - 2 many 12. kali uchis - ¡aquí yo mando! 13. tkay maidza - shook 14. bree runway - atm 15. yung baby tate - i am 16. almondmilkhunni - grapefruit 17. princess nokia - soul food y adobo 18. bosco - attention 19. kiana ledé - movin. 20. diamond white - secondhand 21. queen naija - i’m her 22. danileigh - mistreated 23. parisalexa - 2 optimistic 24. qveen herby - farewell 25. jhené aiko - p*$$y fairy (otw) 26. chloe x halle - forgive me 27. kehlani - water 28. umi - pretty girl hi! 29. rimon - i shine, u shine 30. disclosure - birthday 31. phora - cupid's curse 32. roy ayers - synchronize vibration 33. thundercat - unrequited love 34. thelonious coltrane - perfect timing 35. [ k s r ] - passion 36. alina baraz - more than enough 37. alayna - glowing 38. savannah cristina - self love 39. paloma ford - rain 40. nakala - she interlude ii 41. orion sun - lightning 42. jaz karis - hold you 43. cleo sol - when i'm in your arms 44. keiyaa - do yourself a favor 45. alicia keys - me x 7 46. yazmin lacey - morning matters 47. be steadwell - succulent 48. daniela andrade - k.l.f.g. 49. yung lean - dogboy 50. bladee - sun 51. blackwinterwells - algae 52. sullii - moonlight 53. misogi - heart chained 54. aminé - talk 55. tobi lou - lingo starr: drunken master 56. busta rhymes - look over your shoulder 57. 2 chainz - southside hov 58. atmosphere - the future is disgusting 59. meltycanon - moody blues 60. alfred. - sheeshfred 61. love-sadkid - ephemeral 62. jay squared - vision like you! 63. tuamie - you needed time you said 64. oatmello - blue 65. wun two - a noite 66. kuranes - calm 67. omaure - drama 68. dust and moonlight - sleeping or sinking 69. phlocalyst - image 70. ocha - r33 71. sugi.wa - love u 72. palm - memories of winter 73. goosetaf - tripwire 74. bryzone_ybp - the count 75. orancha - smoky banana 76. evil needle - midnight 77. eevee - romance 78. chief. - can't explain 79. ngyn - aerith 80. fujitsu - move on 81. meitei - nami 82. swum - breezy 83. chris mazuera - perspective 84. jinsang - maybe 85. tesk - cascades 86. saib - nautica 87. mf eistee - uprising 88. kaskade - when you’re dreaming 89. tatsuya maruyama - love you - lo-fi remix 90. towerz - before i gave in 91. baechulgi - abyss 92. underbelly - glitchwater 93. notsure - icecoffee 94. yutaka hirasaka - arise 95. akisai - ecossaise 96. nom tunes - missing piece 97. sweet dove - on the viewless wings 98. park bird - new place, same people 99. city girl - ji-eun's favorite 100. katie dey - loving 101. mary lattimore - sometimes he's in my dreams 102. teen daze - peaceful groove 103. pacific coliseum - turquoise 104. tycho - outer sunset 105. [.que] - glimmer 106. lights & motion - separated hearts 107. roger eno - celeste 108. talsounds - opening 109. alva noto - xerrox voyage 110. 36 - stasis sounds for long-distance space travel (stage 2) 111. stan forebee - bedscape 112. daniel avery - illusion of time 113. arbee - 2sum - charlie dreaming remix 114. okada takuro - waterfront (up-01) 115. gabriel ólafs - lóa - bing & ruth rework 116. warmth - the creek - mixed 117. rhucle - rev 118. com truise - surf 119. sarah davachi - still lives 120. gastón arévalo - sur les traces des explorateurs 121. peter bark - ascension 122. kara-lis coverdale - flutter 123. totally enormous extinct dinosaurs - brockley 124. green-house - peperomia seedling 125. four tet - green 126. morimoto naoki - aru 127. kaitlyn aurelia smith - remembering 128. dj python - te conocí 129. ocoeur - glow 130. christina vantzou - snow white 131. alonefold - strange rainbows 132. savoir adore - dancing temples 133. tengger - water 134. suzanne ciani - a sonic womb pt. 3 135. mogwai - major treat 136. this will destroy you - entrance 137. sleepmakeswaves - time wants a skeleton 138. elsa hewitt - rebird 139. ulla - i think my tears have become good 140. aether - she isn't here 141. zoe polanski - the last frontier 142. lyra pramuk - witness 143. ana roxanne - a study in vastness 144. julianna barwick - nod 145. the leaf library - about minerals 146. gia margaret - barely there 147. lucy gooch - my lights kiss your thoughts every moment 148. briana marela - forgiveness 149. loma - homing 150. mree - open arms 151. ellis - saturn return 152. alexia avina - fit into 153. fenne lily - to be a woman pt. 1 154. noble oak - evaporate 155. mint julep - blinded 156. rush week - best laid plans 157. mini trees - slip away 158. winter - bem no fundo 159. yumi zouma - cool for a second 160. laura veirs - burn too bright 161. terry vs. tori - keepsake box 162. castlebeat - shoulder 163. candace - still phase 164. tiny deaths - if i'm dreaming 165. lydia - heavy 166. caspian - nostalgist 167. nova one - lovable 168. corey flood - heaven or 169. hazel english - off my mind 170. bantug - dizzy 171. tops - colder & closer 172. the hidden shelf - miracles 173. ruru - 99 174. widowspeak - even true love 175. cheerleader - providence 176. wild nothing - blue wings 177. deradoorian - corsican shores 178. strfkr - second hand 179. mint field - contingencia 180. ringo deathstarr - god help the one's you love 181. no joy - dream rats 182. white poppy - orchid child 183. keeps - swiggum 184. flung - firstly zested 185. the bilinda butchers - rie 186. sipper - kid 187. radiator hospital - imposter syndrome 188. addy - equinox 189. boyo - dogma 190. alexandra savior - the archer 191. phoebe bridgers - chinese satellite 192. soccer mommy - circle the drain 193. routine - numb enough 194. quarter-life crisis - comfortable 195. madeline kenney - sucker 196. layne - linnea 197. wilsen - align 198. pynkie - you 199. bandanna - ghost home 200. waxahatchee - can’t do much 201. crisman - portrait 202. liza anne - i wanna be there 203. purr - gates of cool 204. honey cutt - hung up on me 205. the beths - out of sight 206. the ophelias - grand canyon 207. sjowgren - flip phones 208. haim - gasoline 209. thanya iyer - i forget to drink water (balance) 210. sad13 - good grief 211. porridge radio - give/take 212. lannds - not in a good way 213. katie von schleicher - wheel 214. hey cowboy! - detective farmer brown 215. tombo crush - pink 216. eliza moon - tell me / why'd you 217. anna mcclellan - raisin 218. this is the kit - this is what you did 219. snarls - walk in the woods 220. blushh - deal with it 221. long neck - cicada 222. chloe moriondo - ghost adventure spirit orb 223. momma - biohazard 224. varsity - runaway 225. land of talk - footnotes 226. bully - stuck in your head 227. diet cig - stare into the sun 228. expert timing - gravity 229. slow pulp - track 230. maddie jay - shakes 231. beabadoobee - together 232. luna aura - crash dive 233. sorry - perfect 234. torres - good grief 235. partner - honey 236. beauty queen - this time around 237. maggie lindemann - knife under my pillow 238. bryde - paper cups 239. mundy's bay - sleep away the summer 240. squirrel flower - red shoulder 241. mourn - stay there 242. dream wife - so when you gonna... 243. illuminati hotties - superiority complex (big noise) 244. l.a. witch - true believers 245. hinds - burn 246. beach bunny - cuffing season 247. suzie true - idk u 248. bacchae - hammer 249. peach kelli pop - stupid girl 250. oceanator - heartbeat 251. pins - read my lips 252. best coast - different light 253. muncie girls - take steps 254. kailee morgue - this is why i'm hot 255. beach slang - let it ride 256. silverstein - take what you give 257. new found glory - scarier than jason voorhees at a campfire 258. the lawrence arms - quiet storm 259. mikey erg - bon voyage 260. pet symmetry - had a name, don't remember it 261. thank you, i'm sorry - backpack life 262. ratboys - alien with a sleep mask on 263. joyce manor - leather jacket 264. jeff rosenstock - scram! 265. the aquabats! - aliens and monsters! 266. the used - the lighthouse 267. hidden hospitals - how amazing 268. dikembe - all got sick 269. time spent driving - trust no 1 270. the casket lottery - more blood 271. record setter - someplace 272. emma ruth rundle - out of existence 273. gulfer - blurry 274. options - don't mind 275. i love your lifestyle - stupid 276. orchards - stealing your sleep 277. no tongues for quiet people - lake house lake house 278. into it. over it. - hollow halos 279. mountains for clouds - full disclosure 280. joan of arc - destiny revision 281. no thank you - saturn return 282. the front bottoms - camouflage 283. ride your bike - make like a tom and cruise 284. dragon inn 3 - yer brothers 285. the goalie’s anxiety at the penalty kick - jars filled with rain 286. mansions - laser beams 287. waveform* - hello goodbye 288. owen - headphoned 289. cassino - tacoma 290. ajj - normalization blues 291. penelope scott - sweet hibiscus tea 292. angel olsen - (new love) cassette 293. trace mountains - fallin' rain 294. johanna warren - part of it 295. frances quinlan - lean 296. tomberlin - hours 297. samia - triptych 298. field medic - better way 299. adrianne lenker - my angel 300. jack m. senff - another day 301. lomelda - polyurethane 302. rosie carney - high and dry 303. brigid mae power - i had to keep my circle small 304. overcoats - new shoes 305. anna burch - not so bad 306. hop along, queen ansleis - the cactus 307. mandy moore - easy target 308. laura marling - held down 309. lisa loeb - doesn't it feel good 310. trixie mattel - gold 311. lilly hiatt - move 312. molly tuttle - sunflower, vol. 6 313. sarah jarosz - pay it no mind 314. katie heckel - help you mend 315. katie pruitt - my mind’s a ship (that’s going down) 316. in love with a ghost - trans rights 317. snail's house - imaginary express 318. isuka hino - dreamin' adventure!! 319. 4s4ki - nexus 320. lapix - loneliness 321. you - painter 322. aice room - dreary planet - yukiyanagi remix 323. zekk - oxygen 324. lu-i - loved happiness 325. synthion - volt switch 326. sanaas - polestar - junk remix 327. mameyudoufu - fluffy 328. awfuless - redemption 329. rejection - around you 330. toriena - getting into a pose 331. cosmo@bousoup - mow*mow*abduction!!! 332. yunosuke - ziqqurat 333. android52 - lovin', scratchin' 334. サクラsakura-lee - nobody else 335. desired - emotions 336. mikazuki bigwave - sakimashita bloomin'!! 337. skule toyama - smooth 338. adrianwave - goodbye 339. macross 82-99 - melt 340. cape coral - 707 hotline 341. 80kidz - heat 342. night tempo - baby 343. yaffle - lng, before 344. greyl - let me be with you 345. serph - palmtop tiger 346. happy kuru kuru - natsu no hi no labyrinth 347. couple n - earmie 348. airuei - magic sign 349. somunia - non player girl - nyankobrq 2p ver. 350. cosmicosmo - those that we once loved 351. maeshima soshi - the terminal 352. kijibato - 1room 353. yuc'e - ghost town 354. neko hacker - erased 355. jam2go - apotrope 356. mizuki ohkawa - cosmic cleft 357. singto conley - flora 358. 2tonedisco - shoelaces 359. cy8er - もしもしじゃぽん 360. nayuta - connect 361. t+pazolite - himitsu cult 362. milkoi - higher, higher, and then... 363. freezer - caramel rain (sanaas remix) 364. kotonohouse - pitter, patter 365. aika - superstar 366. yukiyanagi - love overdose 367. nanahira - twinkle password 368. ducky - hyper bloxxd 369. porter robinson - something comforting 370. moshimo - シンクロ 371. bish - スーパーヒーローミュージック 372. scenarioart - it's all right 373. base ball bear - ポラリス(c3 mix) 374. majiko - エスカルゴ 375. akaiko-en - ジャンキー 376. the peggies - weekend 377. lovely summer chan - more light 378. polkadot stingray - sp813 379. shishamo - フェイバリットボーイ 380. aimer - run riot 381. österreich - i'll take you everywhere 382. sora tob sakana - 夜間飛行 383. the shes gone - ふためぼれ 384. aimyon - marshmallow 385. cö shu nie - supercell 386. kensei ogata - violin case 387. せだい - yellownola 388. yonige - あかるいみらい 389. bearwear - i think 390. hitsujibungaku - ロックスター 391. cidergirl - 飛行船 392. room97 - faq 393. she's - ugly 394. bbhf - tokenai mahou 395. alisa takigawa - 夢 396. satomoka - glints 397. radwimps - shinsekai 398. pinoko - コリドー街 399. helsinki lambda club - you are my gravity 400. lucky kilimanjaro - 君とつづく 401. dish// - sauna song 402. zombie-chang - snooze 403. mizuki ohira - 無重力 404. みゆな - 歌おうよ 405. iri - come back to my city 406. aya a.k.a panda - i miss u 407. chelmico - disco (bad dance doesn't matter) 408. seiko oomori - 絶対彼女 409. yaeji - my imagination 상상 410. daoko - zukizuki 411. eill - night d 412. cifika - déjà vu 413. yeye - step in time 414. saevom - just like i dreamed then 415. cheeze - today's mood 416. stella jang - reality blue 417. younha - one day of twenty 418. jeong eun ji - whoo 419. fromm - aliens 420. crush - tip toe 421. heize - 1/1440 422. femm - level up 423. awich - poison 424. jessi - nunu nana 425. (g)i-dle - luv u 426. summer soul - tinder 427. taeyeon - worry free love 428. boa - l.o.v.e 429. fromis_9 - feel good (secret code) 430. faky - re:chase me 431. monsta x - night view 432. twice - up no more 433. loona - hide & seek 434. wjsn - pantomime 435. iz*one - fiesta 436. exid - ddd jpn ver. 437. gfriend - crème brûlée 438. april - lalalilala 439. weki meki - 100 facts (cool eng. ver.) 440. momoland - starry night 441. steve aoki - play it cool 442. bts - dynamite 443. sakurako ohara - shine on me 444. sumin - zaza♡ 445. onepixcel - lagrima 446. little glee monster - i feel the light 447. celeina ann - purikura 448. アイラヴミー - そのまんま勇者 449. okkyung lee - here we are (once again) 450. luca - lune 451. hakushi hasegawa - hikari no rock 452. haruka nakamura - your sonnet 453. itoko toma - shade 454. rina katahira - hoshizora* 455. ichiko aoba - easter lily 456. satoko shibata - 変な島 457. 角銅真実 - 6月の窓 458. 熊川みゆ - sixteen 459. 眉村ちあき - 緑のハイヒール 460. 竹内アンナ - striking gold 461. saucy dog - film 462. kaede - -ending- night blue 463. aseul - paradise 464. 박혜진 park hye jin - like this 465. charlotte is mine - road movie 466. plastic plastic - ฮัม - (hum) 467. clams - shiny rider 468. seventeen years old and berlin wall - no paradise 469. nuit - nightbirds 470. fulusu - ghost 471. rammells - sennengo 472. stargaze shelter - emulation (mode:totonee) 473. ヨルシカ - 昼鳶 474. nakamuraemi - 大人の言うことを聞け 475. kenshi yonezu - ひまわり 476. tk from ling tosite sigure - reframe 477. penguinrush - 色彩 478. lee jin ah - candy pianist 479. mei ehara - どちらにピントを 480. jizue - because 481. mouse on the keys - room 482. fox capture plan - stand my heroes - groove version 483. ryutist - girls 484. yeti let you notice - bouquet 485. tricot - 真っ黒 486. madison cunningham - giraffe 487. covet - atreyu 488. floral - maybe not one day 489. envy - eternal memories and reincarnation 490. baths - mikaela corridor 491. sufjan stevens - run away with me 492. fractures - feel 493. the 1975 - frail state of mind 494. dan mason ダン·メイソン - everytime i cry 495. brothertiger - cannonball 496. porches - rangerover - bonus track 497. tame impala - instant destiny 498. washed out - paralyzed 499. pink skies - portland 500. so below - bone 501. purity ring - silkspun 502. llll - breathless 503. slow magic - somewhere 504. kasbo - lune 505. cloudnone - let the music in 506. jody wisternoff - blue space 507. drama - hold on 508. satin jackets - meridian getaway 509. direct - opal 510. lane 8 - road 511. baile - jlm 512. yuni wa - starships 513. nora van elken - sakura 514. geotheory - the day i left you 515. yota - hazy paradise 516. spencer brown - chance on us 517. the avener - conscious shadows 518. kalbells - mothertime 519. bella boo - in love 520. kirara magic - neon 521. mija - digressions 522. cuushe - emergence 523. transviolet - rituals 524. keep shelly in athens - steady to go 525. young ejecta - ah ha 526. annie - in heaven 527. lany - good guys 528. dominic pierce - glad xoxo 529. tender - what you're missing 530. alice jemima - binge love you 531. kitty - baby pink 532. faye meana - like honey 533. lunadira - am i gonna die? 534. loony - white lie 535. justine skye - fav 536. wafia - good things 537. victoria monét - jaguar 538. malia civetz - love thing 539. keiynan lonsdale - i confess my love 540. deaton chris anthony - tuethday 541. kallitechnis - body&soul (ish d remix) 542. talitha. - ineedsomeone 543. keke palmer - thick 544. kesha - birthday suit 545. l.e.j - pas l'time 546. selena gomez - rare 547. the aces - daydream 548. jessie ware - mirage (don’t stop) 549. joan - try again 550. melanie c - blame it on me 551. astrid s - dance dance dance 552. little mix - holiday 553. justin bieber - yummy 554. ariana grande - positions 555. bea miller - feel something different 556. lady gaga - rain on me (with ariana grande) 557. raye - regardless 558. the weeknd - hardest to love 559. andrea valle - lovergirl 560. k/da - the baddest 561. allie x - susie save your love 562. terror jr - dinner plate 563. shawn wasabi - halo halo 564. benee - snail 565. sevdaliza - oh my god 566. gupi - modest 567. six impala - sweetsweetsweetlikebubblegum 568. charli xcx - i finally understand 569. golin - hanakotoba 570. shygirl - freak 571. madge - ethanol 572. arca - afterwards 573. kelly lee owens - re-wild 574. ari mason - pangaea 575. gabrielle aplin - dear happy 576. taylor swift - the 1 577. awfultune - buds 578. sneaks - scorpio on your side 579. izzy camina - kill your local indie softboy 580. mxmtoon - ok on your own 581. wens - giant bat 582. billie eilish - my future 583. tash - when you leave 584. fletcher - the one 585. silver sphere - ghosts! 586. tei shi - ok crazy 587. dounia - sucked all the fun 588. tatiana hazel - carmen sandiego 589. magdalena bay - killshot 590. kllo - insomnia 591. leisure suite - closer 592. morgan saint - i dreamt that i knew you 593. ayelle - got love 594. michi - escondida 595. lyrica anderson - lyfted 596. sasha sloan - lie 597. niki - plot twist 598. sarah reeves - heart first 599. salt cathedral - caviar 600. chelsea cutler - sad tonight 601. rituals of mine - heights 602. e^st - flight path 603. sara diamond - great together 604. phem - stfu 605. carlie hanson - daze inn 606. lauren aquilina - latest ghost 607. caroline rose - command z 608. misterwives - oxygen 609. ella vos - turbulence 610. austra - i am not waiting 611. triathalon - you 612. phoebe ryan - icimy 613. katzù oso - kiss u better 614. luwten - control 615. raveena - heartbeat 616. oohyo - 2020 617. oklou - another night 618. jouska - bring you back 619. fleur east - easy to love 620. soft glas - overbite 621. jaden - muted sunrise 622. snny - better to leave it 623. saint mela - alkaseltzer 624. mia gladstone - ego 625. helena deland - truth nugget 626. oh wonder - oceansize 627. steven padin - sashimi 628. kacey johansing - i try 629. treasureseason - spinning plate 630. landshapes - drama 631. tennis - matrimony ii 632. pomplamoose - morning waterbug 633. soko - being sad is not a crime 634. the big moon - barcelona 635. shamir - diet 636. knox fortune - static 637. carly rae jepsen - let's sort the whole thing out 638. real estate - the main thing 639. hayley williams - roses/lotus/violet/iris 640. nada surf - something i should do 641. bombay bicycle club - is it real 642. the seshen - faster than before 643. thao & the get down stay down - how could i 644. marla hansen - path 645. christine and the queens - la vita nuova 646. half waif - siren 647. malena zavala - ritmo de vida 648. bendik - himmelen 649. hanna järver - kalmar slott 650. frida sundemo - anything 651. kate nv - telefon 652. ambar lucid - questioning my mind 653. coco reilly - mirror 654. ghostly kisses - lydian 655. kacy hill - told me 656. lianne la havas - can't fight 657. donna missal - how does it feel 658. felivand - gone 659. jordana - divine 660. empress of - void 661. banoffee - ripe 662. vanessa carlton - i can't stay the same 663. fiona apple - heavy balloon 664. poppy - concrete 665. rina sawayama - stfu!

[valensfm]

❛                     WHAT  A  WICKED  GAME  TO  PLAY  .

okay  so  like  –  listen  ,,  i  am  an  apogeehq  stan  first  &  human  being  second  .  that  being  said  ,  hello  !  i’m  cc  &  i’m  testing  out  valens  because  in  theory  ,  i  like  the  idea  of  him  .  anyway  :

( wong kunhang + twenty-one + muse 01 ) isn’t that valens lau over there? i heard he joined faction one after they got back to west ham. it’s funny, ‘cause they were only on the service trip because he helped organize the event. hopefully they fit in there – they’re virtuous, but also obstinate. oh, i’m sure they’ll be fine. 

───  𝙛𝙪𝙣𝙙𝙖𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙖𝙡𝙨

full  name  :  valens  lau

nickname(s) /  alias(es)  :  golden  boy  ,  

age  /  dob  :  twenty  one  /  september  14  ‘99

hometown  :  west  ham  ,  kansas

current  location :  new  ham

ethnicity :  chinese  (  macaunese  )

nationality  :  american

gender  :  cis  male

pronouns  :  he  /  him

orientation  :  bisexual  ,  biromantic

religion :  atheistic

faction : one

muse # : one

label  :  golden  boy  

tropes  :  good  is  not  soft  ,  i  was  just  passing  through  ,  

face  claim  :  wong  kun  hang  /  hendery

language(s)  spoken  :  english

speech :  very  well  spoken  ,  polite  &  overall  charming  .  he’s  got  a  way  with  words  that  makes  people  just  want  to  listen  to  him ,  whether  he’s  talking  about  the  clean  up  trip  out  of  town  or  what  he  wants  to  eat  for  dinner  .  either  way  ,  he’s  got  a  certain  charm  about  him  &  it’s  unknown  where  it  comes  from  (  since  both  of  his  parents  are  ,  how  you  say  ,  not  the  most  well  spoken  people  )  .

hair  :  dark  brown  –  almost  black  ,  but  he  keeps  it  natural  without  styling  it  too  much  .  it  falls  naturally  in  curls  ,  but  it’ll  very  quickly  will  straighten  itself  out  &  nobody  knows  how  it  happen  .  either  way  ,  he  gets  away  with  not  combing  it  or  styling  it  cause  he  sometimes  looks  like  a  prince  .

eyes :  big  ,  brown  puppy  eyes  that  honestly  –  showcase  every  single  emotion  he  has  .  it’s  because  of  them  that  he  can’t  hide  any  of  his  feelings  ,  since  they  really  are  the  windows  to  the  soul  .

height  :  five  feet  ,  eleven  inches

build  :  more  lean  than  broad  ,  but  still  athletic  from  years  of  playing  soccer  –  played  collegiately  as  well  .

tattoos  :  none  .

piercings :  none  .

scars  :  a  small  ,  barely  visible  scar  on  the  pad  of  his  right  thumb  .

clothing  style  :  very  boring  ,  comfort  over  style  ,  basically  .  he  cleans  up  well  when  he  has  to  ,  but  prefers  sweatpants  (  grey  ,  adidas  ,  track  pants  )  paired  with  whatever  shirt  he  grabs  first  in  the  morning  .  as  leader  ,  he’s  tried  to  dress  better  (  i  .  e  .  khakis  ,  button  ups  ,  whatever  )  but  will  still  often  be  found  around  town  looking  like  the  college  jock  who  will  walk  you  home  at  night  .

usual  expression  :  awestruck  puppy  who  can’t  quite  believe  the  world  he  lives  in  .  he’s  endearing  ,  with  a  face  that  tells  people  they  can  approach  because  he  just  looks  like  the  kind  of  guy  that’ll  listen  &  help  you  out  as  best  as  he  can  .

distinguishing  characteristics  :  high  cheekbones  ,  a  nose  that  scrunches  up  whenever  he  laughs  .

───  𝙧𝙪𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨

exterior   :   wants  to  make  up  for  everything  his  parents  did  in  their  lives  –  valens  is  pure  good  .  he  is  sweetness  &  morality  mixed  up  into  a  child  that  should’ve  been  wicked  ,  but  he’s  looked  evil  in  the  eye  ,  shook  hands  with  unfortunate  circumstance  &  still  chose  to  be  good  .  it’s  been  seen  in  west  ham  ,  valens  helping  the  old  women  cross  the  street  &  laughing  at  their  stories  ,  letting  them  fix  his  hair  &  collars  before  he  climbs  a  tree  to  retrieve  a  stubborn  cat  .  that  lau  boy  is  good  ,  you’ve  heard  before  .  he  walks  his  friends  home  in  the  dark  &  gets  his  fists  bloody  for  the  underdog  –  the  town  of  west  ham  thinks  of  good  &  they  think  of  valens  lau  ,  golden  boy  who  shows  up  early  to  church  to  help  open  doors  &  wipe  down  pews  .  a  people  person  ,  has  a  natural  gift  for  making  everyone  feel  loved  &  special  .

i  .  e  .  cool  jock  that’s  friends  with  everyone  ,  thor  odinson  in  thor  :  ragnorak  ,  good  guy  with  a  heart  of  gold  ,  golden  retriever  but  make  it  boy  ,  boys  will  be  boys  but  wholesome  version  .

interior   :   wrangles  with  a  lot  of  pressure  &  weight  –  because  he  knows  what’s  expected  of  him  .  one  slip  up  ,  &  he’s  just  the  lau  boy  ,  what  everyone  expected  .  but  he’s  not  ,  he’s  worked  hard  to  shed  what  people  think  of  him  &  embrace  something  else  .  he  is  good  above  all  else  ,  to  the  point  that  he  puts  everybody  else  before  himself  (  &  those  closest  to  him  )  –  he  loses  himself  in   making  sure  that  everyone  else  is  okay  &  taken  care  of  ,  nights  where  he  doesn’t  sleep  to  make  sure  everyone  has  a  locker  dec  ,  or  days  where  he  forgets  to  drink  water  because  he’s  babying  his  team  .  slow  to  anger  or  frustration  ,  he  rarely  shows  signs  of  wear  &  tear  ,  opting  to  keep  all  of  his  negative  emotions  in  anyway  to  avoid  worrying  everyone  else  .

i  .  e  .  “my  people  come  first  ,  everyone  else  before  me”  ,  self  -  sacrificial  ,  dangerously  loyal  &  moral  ,  self  sacrificial  atlas  –  holding  the  weight  of  the  world  solely  on  his  own  shoulders

───  𝙘𝙝𝙧𝙤𝙣𝙞𝙘𝙡𝙚

TRIGGER  WARNINGS  :  tbd

the  lau  family  lives  on  the  outskirts  of  west  ham  –  a  small  house  that  can  be  more  considered  shack  than  home  .  nobody’s  around  when  valens  is  born  ,  his  cry  loud  enough  to  send  a  flock  of  ravens  flying  from  the  overgrown  lawn  .  innocent  life  ,  baby  blessed  by  goodness  –  he  doesn’t  know  how  corrupt  his  parents  are  or  how  hard  they’ve  had  to  fight  to  have  the  life  they  have  .  the  things  they’ve  done  &  the  people  they’ve  wronged  is  one  long  list  that’s  unknowingly  passed  down  to  a  child  that  the  townspeople  look  down  on  .  they  turn  their  noses  up  at  a  baby  born  in  the  dirt  &  expect  the  worst  from  him  –  if  he’s  anything  like  his  parents  ,  they’d  better  lock  their  doors  &  keep  their  purses  close  ,  the  lau  family  is  rotten  –  it  only  makes  sense  that  their  only  child  will  be  as  well  .

but  he  grows  wild  &  good  ,  a  sunflower  trapped  in  a  field  of  weeds  .  valens  comes  to  church  on  his  own  ,  arrives  at  school  in  rags  &  at  first  ,  the  townspeople  tell  their  children  to  stay  away  from  the  lau  boy  .  but  he  does  things  that  a  boy  like  him  shouldn’t  do  –  he  holds  hands  with  the  new  widow  her  first  sunday  back  at  church  ,  he  wipes  her  tears  &  lets  her  hold  him  .  he  dives  into  the  street  to  pull  back  a  wandering  toddler  ,  saving  her  life  &  disappearing  before  her  parents  can  thank  him  .  they  know  he’s  hungry  ,  but  gives  the  sandwich  he  got  from  wiping  down  counters  at  the  diner  to  the  old  man  who  lost  his  son  .  valens  is  good  –  the  whispers  start  ,  but  he  is  blind  to  them  as  he  is  blind  to  parents  who  steal  for  dinner  .

eventually  ,  school  gets  easy  for  him  .  his  teacher  gets  him  into  soccer  &  pays  all  his  fees  so  he  can  play  with  the  other  boys  ,  &  he  has  his  first  kiss  in  third  grade  with  a  girl  who  sits  next  to  him  during  reading  .  valens  gains  popularity  simply  for  being  good  –  he’s  friends  with  everyone  ,  the  richest  ,  the  poorest  ,  nobody  ever  sits  alone  if  he’s  there  .  for  some  reason  ,  people  tend  to  like  that  on  him  ,  but  he  doesn’t  do  it  because  he  wants  people  to  like  him  ,  he  does  it  because  he  knows  what  it’s  like  –  going  hungry  ,  sitting  alone  ,  everyone’s  eyes  on  him  for  something  he  didn’t  do  .  what  a  shitty  feeling  ,  he  hopes  nobody  else  has  to  suffer  the  way  he  has  .

a  full  ride  to  west  ham  on  a  soccer  scholarship  ,  valens  makes  sure  to  thank  his  second  grade  teacher  for  getting  him  in  in  the  first  place  .  by  the  time  he’s  eighteen  ,  he’s  the  golden  boy  around  town  ,  known  for  working  in  the  greenhouses  &  bringing  flowers  to  the  elderly  women  who  sit  in  the  square  on  saturday  mornings  .  the  lau  boy  is  different  from  his  parents  –  he’s  kind  &  good  ;  the  kind  of  boy  people  wish  their  daughters  would  marry  &  the  good  kind  of  hero  that  is  humble  enough  to  deny  the  accusations  .

he  wins  sga  president  for  his  senior  year  ,  thanks  to  both  his  charm  &  influence  on  the  student  body  .  college  has  been  a  ride  for  him  as  he  shoulders  all  the  weight  on  his  shoulders  to  pretend  that  everything  is  peachy  ,  ignoring  any  cracks  that  might  be  starting  to  form  in  his  perfect  marble  form  .  he  organizes  the  trip  ,  invites  as  many  people  as  he  can  &  expects  it  to  go  business  as  usual  ,  only  for  things  to  of  course  go  horribly  wrong  .

people  look  to  him  for  leadership  ,  as  they  should  –  he’s  the  only  one  around  who  technically  ran  for  president  &  won  ,  but  it’s  barely  starting  &  he  can  feel  the  cracks  starting  to  get  bigger  .  there’s  a  lot  of  concern  that  he  has  in  his  heart  for  everyone  ,  not  just  the  people  who’ve  fallen  under  his  command  .  at  the  end  of  the  day  ,  valens  want  everyone  alive  ,  happy  &  thriving  &  he’ll  do  almost  anything  to  ensure  it  .

[dcmiiniic]

wuddup, is mini ! again so dom needed a revamp since some people left and now some things don’t make sense. also i know jackshit about sports unless it’s soccer or basketball. i have bamboozled myself, so i switched things around to fit connections better and just how dom is. :)

❛ new york’s very own Dominic Parker was spotted on broadway street in  Off-White White 3.0 Off-Court Sneakers. your resemblance to Reece King is unreal. according to tmz, you just had your twenty third birthday bash. while living in new york, you’ve been labeled as being impatient, but also idealistic. i guess being a sagittarius explains that. three things that would paint a better picture of you would be reading a book by the beach, torn up runners, and neon highlighters & ( cismale & he/him )

LET ME KNOW IF YOU WANNA KEEP CONNECTIONS, OR FIGURE OUT NEW ONES. LIKE THIS AND I’LL IM YOU 🖤

(if not imma just assume) 

Basic Information

Full Name: Dominic Omar Parker

Nickname(s): d, dom

Age: 23

Date of Birth: December 20th 1995

Zodiac sign: sagittarius

Hogwarts house: ravenclaw

Ethnicity: african-american/white

Nationality: american

Gender: cis male

Pronouns: he/him

Orientation: bisexual

Religion: agnostic

Language(s) Spoken: english

Accent: american

Favourites

Weather: summer

Colour: orange

Music: logic, big sean, etc.

Movies: the lion king

Sport: track + field

Beverage: hennessy or red label

Food: oxtail soup

Animal: sea lions + turtles

Family

Father: henderson parker

Mother: cassandra parker

Sibling(s): 3 siblings ( 1 sister, 2 brothers WC? )

Children:  aaliyah strawberry parker, 1 yr. (stormi webster fc) 

Pet(s): a turtle named franklin

BIOGRAPHY

The Parkers are a family known for their businesses worldwide through import + exports - of what ? we don’t ask. It’s more or less legit, but there’s some shady stuff under it all that no one really talks about. So, Dom’s mom is from the Bronx, and his dad is from Brooklynn, the two met at a house party, and were street pharmacists for awhile, just to get things started. They invested the money they made from their business into a consumer goods company that arose in mid 90′s, it becoming known worldwide. 

Dominic was raised with his siblings, him being the middle child and they were primarily raised by his grandmother in The Bronxx. 

At 10 years old, The Parker’s moved from NYC to California for a few years, and in Cali, Dom mainly studied since that’s really all he could do.

He was really into books, music, and going for runs a lot. Studying came easy to him.

Out of all his siblings, Dom got the higher grades without even trying, and that’s why his dad had super high hopes for him. There was a lot of pressure on him once his dad saw he was able to get straight A’s without having to stress very easily. 

Dominic never rlly saw himself as anything besides average - he knows he’s smart, and he can get away with a lot, but he really never cared, but seeing his dad be happy just from his accomplishments made him want to please him more.

@ 15 years old, The Parker’s moved back to NYC bc Dom’s dad wanted his kids to go to Uni back in NYC. While Dom wasn’t responsible with studying, he did well, and he got a lot of beatings from his grandmother when he didn’t study, or stayed out late a lot before an exam. 

It was a wild ride but at 18, he got into Columbia University for Law, and did 4 years to get his degree. As easy as it was for him to get that piece of paper and please his dad - and Dom was being groomed for the business - It was something Dominic didn’t want. He didn’t even like his degree at all if he was being honest. 

After getting his degree, and during the first year of his Master’s program, Dominic dropped out to pursue other interests. 

Dropping out of school caused a strain in his relationship with both his parents. For awhile Dominic was cut off and had to make way for himself. Good thing his name was already floating between bigger collaborations.

He was a socialite for awhile, attending parties, going to fashion week, being sponsored by brands. His whole life was kinda to just show up, and be this influencer. 

He’s opened up Youth programs in different parts of New York city to help kids become dreamers for a better future. 

On top of being a program co-ordinator, he’s diving his hands on creative/artistic directing for different brands. Right now it’s with Louis Vuitton, Balmain ( So think of Olivier Rousteing or Virgil Abloh  ) AND Nike.

He did this in 2 years, mf is poroductive af ok

A year and a half ago, Dom had a one night stand with some girl, and that wasn’t serious except for the fact that she got pregnant. That’s when Aaliyah Strawberry Parker was born! There’s no bad blood between dom and his baby mama (npc), except maybe that they don’t agree on things but it’s fine, it’s cool. Dom still does his best to be a dad, and he doesn’t really talk about his daughter in public cos he’s the type to keep that part as protective as possible, y’know? 

And you know, he’s still a mfng fuckboy, out here doing dumb isht.

PERSONALITY + HOW HE IS

Throwback Dom and present Dom are two different people. When he was younger, he took things a lot more seriously, mainly because he was oppressed to do the things he actually wanted to.

Now, he’s pretty laid back, but he has really good resting bitch face, most people will probably think he’s serious since he doesn’t smile too much.

He’s kind of always analyzing things inside his head. He loves a good book, puzzle, challenge.

Really, once you know him, he’s a goofball, pretty dumb. Loves his face masks and old books bc he likes the relaxing life too.

Take him to a party or anywhere really and he knows how to work a room. his smile is infectious and once you get him in a meeting, interview, etc, it’s like game time.

He’s pretty honest and blunt, and cares a little too much without wanting to care but acts like he doesnt care which he can pull off. Feelings man, they do these things to you. fkdfghdfsjkg

He’ll go for 10k runs just to let out steam, or just find some kind of work to do. so yes, he still loves track + field.

Sometimes too chill for his own good wELP

CONNECTIONS (i took from my old intro, but these can spark other connections. )

some connections based off of muse posts :)

one

two

three

four

five

six

seven

eight

nine

ten

besides that, i’m down for anything !

unrequited connections

toxic relationship/friendship

brotps

give me a SQUAD

first loves

childhood friendships

sibling type friendships

exes on good and bad terms

all the fwb~

creative type friends

enemies plots pls

crossword puzzle friends pls

[awesomelaura1996world]

can i throw my wash nike air prestos

can i throw my wash nike air prestos in the wash This leaves aside all concerns about the questions that the poll was asking, which some say were skewed to present the result they did. If an application doesn't fit into the productivity or games category chances are you'll find it here. The exhibition curated, researched and developed by myself and a colleague explores the stories and day to day experience of soldiers and families through oral history and images found in the archive from an on going project. And an honest all American junk food flavor it is. Road races that have instituted drug testing in the wake of high profile runners from around the world testing positive for performance enhancing drugs. He had also caught numerous Salmon, too many to count. As Rio goes, so goes Brazil. But last winter, finally and famously, Nintendo seduced laypeople back to home video games with the physical, player friendly Wii. There are some technical and design differences between shoe brands, but the basic principles remain the same.. Like most other critics, we loathed almost everything about Suicide Squad and struggled to understand how anyone greenlit such a dumpster fire.. It is Google optimized so material is more visible, easier to find, and cited more frequently.. Turn that rest stop into your personal jungle gym do push ups on the picnic table and hop from the flagpole to the interpretive sign. She can peg a line full of undies quicker than George Bush can duck a flying shoe. After a rough patch in 2016 saw sales of smartwatches decline for the first time, category leader Apple rebounded to sell 16 million units last year, a 60 per cent increase. According to the NCAA, for organized college sports, football is the clear winner, followed by baseball/softball, track and field, soccer, basketball, cross country running, and swimming/diving. A programmable date board with a digital display. Ces essais ont lieu New York et visent dployer la livraison de colis domicile, alors que les occupants sont absents.. Costs of three additional wildfires in Southwest Alaska have been added to the NICC report during the same time period the Ethel Creek Fire, the Tokaina Creek Fire, and the Tokaina 3 Fire. Certainly working at it. Inside, mold is a hazard, lurking in damp places like basements, the kitchen sink, and anywhere you have leaks or standing water. However, there are situations where government can be liable for damages while undertaking government functions, such as snow and ice removal. Louis man who in a scene that could have easily been part of a Tarantino movie calmly and brazenly lit a cigarette while the bar he was in was being robbed. Please see ourPrivacy Noticefor details of your data protection rightsEmpire TheatreBianca Del Rio to bring her UK tour to Liverpool next month here's how to get ticketsThe It's Jester Joke Tour heads to the UK this SeptemberFood DrinkLook inside Dirty O'Sheas on Seel StreetLiverpool barsLook inside Dirty O'Sheas the Irish bar opening inside Seel Street's former Empire nightclubThe Seel Street building is open after being closed for two yearsthings to do kidsBlackpool Illuminations switch on 2019: start times, line up, parking and moreThere will be a Coronation Street star on hand to turn on this year's lightsLiverpool City CentreTSB confirmed to be replacing Yankee Candle in Liverpool city centreThe store closed unexpectedly in December 2018Most ReadMost RecentLiverpool FCLiverpool players past and present show support for Luis Enrique after tragic loss of nine year old daughterThe footballing world voiced their support for the former Barcelona manager after his nine year old daughter passed away following a battle with bone cancerLiverpool FCMoment ex Liverpool player Dean Saunders tells police: "I've had one pint"Footage shows an officer tell the TV pundit: "Your driving is atrocious. The estate served as dormitory, dining hall, and classroom for the summer school, called L'Ecole Arcadie under the direction of property owner Richard Gott.. Back in October 2006, our own bigmouth called fellow state Rep. However, the most common form of co branding when booth brands has similar audience. If you're into Eaglemoss figurines, they've got 'em, too, and Whatever is known for carrying a large selection of action figures of yore. Than a month ago, at the Peachtree 10K Road Race in Atlanta, unusual heat and humidity prompted race organizers to issue a flag warning to runners. Into this virtual world they released thousands of particles that represented phytoplankton and Cheap Fake Yeezys then ran simulations multiple times, comparing past and present runs for accuracy and making tweaks to improve the model. Many others, no doubt, would be even more than just sceptical. As a player he was writing down some of the sessions and he now gained so much experience from the managers he worked under."got to Manager reveals the reason Aston Villa star isn playingRevealed: The millions of pounds being pumped into Aston Villa by owners Wes Edens and Nassef SawirisChelsea have made a slow start to the season under Terry's long term pal Frank Lampard having won only one of their first four Premier League matches.They sit in 11th place with five points ahead of Saturday clash against Wolverhampton Wanderers at Molineux.Like us on FacebookFollow us on TwitterMore OnChelsea FCJohn TerryRoberto Di MatteoAston Villa FCallAston Villa FC'He'll do it' Dean Smith has been backed to make this big change at Aston VillaAston Villa news Tyrone Mings and Bjorn Engels have stepped up to fake yeezys for kids become the preferred pairing in the middle of the AVFC defence, starting all four Premier League matchesWolverhampton Wanderers FCWolves complete transfer ahead of Chelsea clash as Frank Lampard learns of yet another cheap yeezy shoes injuryLatest Wolves and views from BirminghamLive includes the expert view on Chelsea, another injury worry for Frank Lampard, Wolves player completing a move and moreAston Villa FCAston Villa coach John Terry tipped to become Chelsea managerAston Villa news Terry enjoys legendary status at Stamford Bridge having left Chelsea at the end of his contract to initially join AVFC as a player before switching to coachingWolverhampton Wanderers FC'Huge' Frank Lampard dealt fresh blow ahead of Wolves as Chelsea injury list mountsLatest Wolves news WWFC entertain Chelsea his weekend as the Premier League resumes after a host of internationals, but the break has caused more headaches for Frank LampardAston Villa FC'P off' Manager rages at broken Aston Villa promiseAston Villa news Former AVFC owner Tony Xia sacked Roberto Di Matteo after just 11 games of the 2016/17 Championship season and the Italian has now spoken outBirmingham City FCBirmingham City give update on ex Chelsea man as Blues star issued Aston Villa challengeLatest Birmingham City news and views from BirminghamLive includes team news for Charlton Athletic clash, Lee Bowyer on facing former club BCFC, Josh McEachran latest and moreWolverhampton Wanderers FCWolves complete transfer ahead of Chelsea clash as Frank Lampard learns of yet another injuryLatest Wolves and views from BirminghamLive includes the expert view on Chelsea, another injury worry for Frank Lampard, Wolves player completing a move and moreAston Villa FCAston Villa's 100m strategy revealed as Dean Smith told to make bold changeLatest AVFC news and views from BirminghamLive includes Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens cash injection, Dean Smith told to make change and referee chief's VAR admissionWest Bromwich Albion FCLeeds United urged to sign West Brom star on this transfer conditionWest Brom transfer news Former Leeds United forward reckons WBA midfielder Romaine Sawyers is the ideal replacement for Kalvin Phillips if he leaves Elland RoadAston Villa FCNewcastle United plot winger move after failed Aston Villa transfer reportsAston Villa transfer news After a protracted summer transfer saga, the Algerian stayed with Brentford, but it has now been revealed they faced Premier League competition.

[itsawhumpthing-blog]

Bad Things Happen Bingo #2: Sports Injury

(What a great prompt and a perfect excuse to bring an old universe out of mothballs! This is an alternate reality in which Canada is good at soccer and has its own, pretty decent professional league; Kathy Fox is the first woman ever to sign for a Canadian professional men’s team, and Patrick Hatley is her childhood friend and rival)

(There should be a picture of my bingo card here, but tumblr won’t let me do that right now, so I’ll have to add it in later)

"You all right, Fox? You're walking kinda funny."

Nothing brings Katherine Fox down to earth quicker than having someone worry about her. She straightens her back and nods, adjusting her gait. "I'm fine. I think I slept funny." Her teammate gives her a dubious look.

"You slept funny on your ankle? Are you a flamingo?"

Laughter ripples through the Royal Windsor side of the tunnel- on the opposite side, the Quebec City players remain studiously silent, all but Patrick Hatley, who snickers. "It's called nerves, Fox!" he calls across the gap.

He looks just as relaxed as always, grinning that same dumb grin with his canine teeth sticking out, rocking on the balls of his feet with his hands on his hips like he's king of the world.

"Whatever helps you feel better about yourself, Hatley," she replies blandly, and he smiles and nods like that was exactly his intention. Not nerves, that much she's sure of. Kathy Fox doesn't get nerves. Her left ankle may be hurting, and it may have been hurting ever since she woke up this morning, but it's definitely got nothing to do with nerves.

After all, she's been looking forward to this game for months.

The atmosphere is already hot as they walk out onto the field. The chants are in French, of course, and therefore unintelligible to Kathy, but the venom behind the words is a universal language. Forty-eight thousand people (the attendance hasn't been announced yet, but this game could never be anything but a sellout) bounce in unison, rattling the old stadium's metal bones right down to the field. The away support is impossible to miss, sequestered as they are in the north corner with three rows of empty seats between them and the home fans, and they're doing their best to be heard above the chaos. 

The perfect atmosphere, in other words, for a late-season battle for first place. Kathy soaks it in, smiling, as the rituals get underway. She shakes hands with Quebec City's captain, calls the coin toss, and kicks off under a hail of boos.

"We're gonna psyche them out," Coach Leo had said in the locker room. "Start strong and fast. If we can dominate possession for a spell, keep them on the back foot, the crowd will get antsy. Score first, and they might just turn on their own team."

This was a well-documented phenomenon with Quebec City's supporters.

"We are not playing for a draw here. A draw will be the same as a loss, got that? They'll still be ahead of us, and their run-in is easier than ours. We're attacking."

Kathy doesn't mind that he was looking right at her for most of that speech. She's the captain, after all.

And she gets Coach's gameplan off to a good start less than five minutes in, sending number seven down the wing with a daring through ball. The crowd goes nearly silent until he blasts into the side netting, then express their relief with a shower of sarcastic applause.

Then suddenly they're cheering again, louder than ever, as a series of impressive one-time passes split the Windsor midfield all the way to Kathy. Her sore ankle almost lets her down, but she puts on a burst of speed to dispossess her Quebec counterpart.

He looks surprised, as they so often do. Sometimes it's nice to be a woman in a man's world.

"Don't wear out your stumpy little legs, Fox," says Hatley as he positions himself for the throw-in. He'd had a good run on goal, but he doesn't look too fazed by the lost chance.

"Don't waste your breath, Hatley," she replies.

He runs for the ball when it's thrown in and bounces a pass off his number ten. Dragging the ball through a wall of defenders isn't exactly his strong suit, so Kathy is somewhat taken aback to see him dodge past three of her teammates and suddenly find himself one-on-one with the keeper. The roar of the crowd builds to a peak; he goes for the bottom right.

It's a brilliant dive, and it just barely deflects the shot around the post.

The roar diminishes only a little.

"That was sloppy," she admonishes the defenders as they arrange themselves for the corner. They're all young, and the youngest is only nineteen- Akela Donovan from Toronto. He looks sheepish.

"Forgot he was fast."

"Don't forget again."

He nods earnestly.

The corner comes in high, with a dramatic curve. Patrick "Hat Trick" Hatley jumps for it, Windsor's goalie leaps to catch it, and three bodies collide in midair. The ball trickles away from the goal line, and Kathy lunges for it, clearing it away downfield.

"Fucker! That was a foul!"

Not Hatley's voice; he was never the type.

"Penalty!"

She backs away, not wanting to be associated in any way with the knot of Quebec players crowding into the referee or the knot of Windsor players trying to drag them away. Instead she glances towards the jumbotron, trying to get a sense for what just happened. Did Windsor's number four drag Hatley down? Was it the goalie? There's no good view, and the ref is unimpressed.

Play resumes. The crowd is livid; the curses thrown by the spectators in the fieldside seats can easily be made out through the roar. Hard to say if the gameplan is working yet; they're definitely provoking a reaction, at the very least.

The pain in her ankle is getting worse- now it's a deep, biting ache, and it's getting distracting, which is dangerous. One absolutely egregious pass to no one makes her suddenly wonder whether she should ask to be subbed off.

*Give it five minutes*, she decides, gritting her teeth.

It's an end-to-end game, much more so than Coach Leo wanted- he's getting red-faced on the touchline, and Kathy knows that at the next stoppage he's going to ask her what the hell is going on.

Hatley, on the other hand, is having one of his best games of the season, splitting their defense open with ease, and the frustration on her teammates' faces is starting to get to Kathy as well. It just figures, that he's playing like this while she's flailing.

She should really see it coming, what's about to happen. But she doesn't.

It's the thirty-sixth minute, four minutes into the five she's allowed herself. Her ankle doesn't want to bear her weight; she forces it to, exploding forward to beat her Quebec counterpart to a high ball, and makes what must be her best pass of the night to her number six. But his touch is poor, and the ball is gone from in front of him before he has a chance to recover.

Everything happens very quickly. Windsor's right fullback is backing up, trying to anticipate the Quebec winger's run, but the opposition player suddenly stops in his tracks and delivers a superb cross.

To fucking Patrick Hatley.

With a clear run at goal.

Akela Donovan is the only one near. "Go! Go!" Kathy screams, uselessly, sprinting after them. The crowd is on its feet- the stadium is vibrating- Donovan is three feet behind, he's not gonna make it, and Hatley is turning for the shot.

Donovan lunges in with both feet. Patrick goes down like a sack of potatoes, all six feet five inches of him, and Kathy stumbles in her tracks. The pain in her ankle is gone.

Her heart drops. She runs.

In the silence that's descended over the stadium, two sounds can suddenly be heard with terrible clarity. One of them is Akela Donovan, babbling in incoherent horror, and the other is Patrick Hatley, screaming.

She gets there first, falling to her knees beside him. "Patrick!"

"Hh... Kath..." His body is twisted, his fingers digging into the grass, but he opens his eyes to look at her. His gaze flicks downward.

"No, don't look at it," she gasps, grabbing his hand. "Look at me."

It's hard enough for her to see it, to see that brilliant right foot twisted to the side, looking so defiled, so wrong. And the blood... it's a testament to the amount of pain he's in that he obeys her immediately. She holds his gaze, and his hand, which clutches hers in a vise grip.

There are people all around them now. A voice is yelling for a stretcher. Kathy tries to smile. She wants to punch someone. "It's fine. It's not that bad. You... you should be ashamed of yourself, diving like that."

He tries to smile back. "You're... the one who... fell for it," he manages between breaths.

For a second she can almost believe that he'd fake this just to mess with her. Then the physios are there, and she's pushed aside, and Patrick just barely manages not to scream again as they lift him onto the stretcher.

The sound that comes out instead is almost as bad.

There's no faking that.

It takes Kathy a moment after she stands up to realize that Akela Donovan is already gone. She wonders if anyone spoke to him. She wonders if she can trust herself to do it.

All the spirit has been sucked out of the stadium; the game finishes dismally, with a 0-0 draw. As bitter a point as any Kathy's had in her career. She goes through the motions of sportsmanship afterwards, feeling aimlessly angry and very much like she shouldn't talk to Akela Donovan.

But there's no getting around it; he approaches her in the locker room once everyone else has left.

"Fuck, Fox, I'm sorry," he says, and the misery in his voice and on his face seems genuine. "I fucked everything up. I-"

"Don't apologize to me, Donovan. I'm not the one whose career might be over."

His face goes gray. "Over...?"

"Yeah. Or shortened. Missing a large chunk, at the very least. You-" She can hear the venom starting to seep into her words, and she cuts them off, waving her hand. "Now's not a good time to be talking to me. I know you didn't do it on purpose. Go on, get moving."

He does, quickly, and she follows.

The verdict comes through only a day later; Akela Donovan is suspended the rest of the season. Four games. They'll miss him, but Quebec will miss Hatley more.

She calls Patrick in the morning.

"Apparently it's pretty gnarly," he tells her with forced nonchalance. "The bone went right through the skin. Just popped right... ugh, fuck."

"You can't even describe it," she teases, grinning.

"Take off."

"How are you, though?" This is the loudest that she'll ever voice her concern. Patrick clears his throat.

"Well, uh, it hurts." He pauses, as if to let this sink in, before continuing. "I'm just trying not to think about it too much, because I won't know if I'm out for six months or forever until after the surgery. So until then, why worry?"

It's clear from his voice that he is worrying. "Shit."

"It's the fucking worst."

A commiserative silence fills the air for a few moments.

"I'll come and visit tomorrow," Kathy says.

"While the rest of your team flies home to Windsor? Don't be stupid, you'll miss training. You're the captain."

"We've got a bye week anyway. I'll get another hotel."

"Well, okay," he concedes quickly. She almost laughs, but it occurs to her that he might not even be aware of what just happened. She lets it go.

"I'm gonna eat breakfast now. I'll see you soon."

"Yeah, see you soon, Kathy."

No more than a minute after she ends the call, her phone is ringing again. Donovan, says the call display. She has to admire the kid's guts, at least.

She answers it. "Donovan. What's going on?"

"I'm doing what you told me to."

"Oh yeah?" She can't remember what she told him to do. Fuck off, maybe?

"Yeah. I'm going to apologize. I just thought you would want to know." There's a note of uncertainty in his voice; this is definitely new territory for him. She almost feels sorry for the kid.

"That's good. Good luck." It's tempting to tell him not to expect too much, but she knows he's not stupid; he must have come to that conclusion already.

However, she does take one precaution; once he has hung up, she texts Patrick.

F: Expect a possibly unwelcome visitor at some point today

H: What, you're arriving early?

F: Donovan wants to come say sorry

H: Oh

H: All right

She sighs as she puts the phone down. She's scared- on her childhood friend's behalf, and in general, a sort of all-encompassing dread. Was it wrong for her to put on a cheerful face, to banter with him like nothing was wrong, when she's this afraid? And if she's this afraid, what must he be feeling?

She slips the phone into her pocket and reaches for her shoes.

[opulopful]

I’m posting my Paranatural fanfic here because Reddit won’t allow comments over 10,000 characters for some reason. Warning: I went full fanfic mode on this thing; OC protagonist and everything. It’s also less joke-heavy than usual. Also I have done exactly zero editing. Anyway, hope you enjoy.

Suzy’s grand scheme

The third grudge was being uncooperative. Not that the other two had gone particularly smoothly either, but there’s a certain point you reach after a day of running back and forth through the woods, up and down hills, and through Mayview’s small-town streets that you begin to take every scraping stick and uneven curb as a personal offense. Marcella had passed that point an hour ago. It’s not easy to track a spirit, even a rampaging one like the insectoid monstrosities of today. Apparently somebody had disturbed a nest and although most of the swarm had been contained, a few had become grudges and escaped. That’s when they’d called Marcella. “Lazy Consortium… smidges!” She hissed between her teeth as she hurdled another log in pursuit. Marcella tended to make up new insults whenever she was feeling particularly upset. “‘Oops, messed up a basic containment procedure, who should we send to do cleanup? Oh, I know, let’s send Marcella. She loves cleanup runs. I bet she doesn’t even need any help; she’s just so good at them!’” She caught a glimpse of a shiny insect leg through the leaves ahead and tried to put on a small burst of speed. It didn’t work. Her foot caught a tree root and she only just stopped herself from falling. She stopped, hands on her knees, gasping for breath. Something was buzzing in her ears and it was getting louder. It took her a moment to realize it was coming from outside her head. A bluish green streak flew towards her, cleanly clipping several leaves from the branches above as it passed. The giant bug spirit had turned around and come back the way it came. “It’s taunting me.” Marcella panted. It was coming directly towards her at quite an alarming rate. “Maybe not taunting exactly…” The bug spirit screamed through the air toward her trailing fresh-cut leafy debris. Marcella was forced to dive to the side to avoid its assault. The grudge traced a shallow curve as it zipped through the trees, looping back around for another pass at Marcella. The shrill buzz of wings grew louder as it approached, yet since it was a spirit, the birds gave it no notice. Sounds produced by spirits are very strange to those used to sounds in the corporeal world. Since spirit sounds don’t interact with the physical world, they often don’t echo off of surfaces or reverberate through objects. A ghost duck’s quack has no echo. However, there is still a ghost Doppler effect for some reason and this is what Marcella was hearing as the bloatfly-lookin’ grudge hurtled toward her although it is unlikely this technical audio-spectral phenomenon was on her mind at the time. Instead, she was probably thinking something along the lines of: “If it hits me at that speed, this dumb bug is going to cut me in half.” The dumb bug was going all out, it had extended sharp-looking spectral energy protrusions to either side of its body to maximize its slicing efficiency. Leaves and branches alike were falling to the ground as it traced a long line through the trees. It dropped altitude as it made a- “Bee line haha get it?” Marcella grimaced at her own joke. -a bee line towards her with clear lethal intent. “No dodging to the side of the bugger this time.” She thought. “Bring it on, bug! I’m not afraid! Unlike some people, I can face my doom with decency.” It complied with remarkable enthusiasm. The persistent human was dead in its sights. No way to dodge now. She’d smushed her last larvae! It had almost reached her when Marcella jumped. The second to last thing that went through the grudge fly’s mind was “humans aren’t supposed to be able to do that!” The last thing that went through the grudge fly’s mind was the opposite end of the grudge fly. Marcella dropped the ten or so feet back to the ground, landing with an unnaturally soft thump. She smirked at the gooey blue blob behind her. “The thing spirits always forget is that there are, in fact, some downsides to poltergeisting.” The fly may have been fast, but even it was no match for a large sturdy elm. As Marcella slipped a marble back into her pocket, its color faded from a dull grey to bright blue streaked with white.

“Did you hear that, Collin? Sounded like crime to me!” Marcella looked around, the voice was coming from a nearby clearing: past the line where the trees stopped and the edge of a field began. A soccer field. “Oh man, I didn’t realize I had come this far.” Mayview Middle School held few positive memories for her and she tended to avoid it as much as possible. “All we could hear was you yelling, Suzy.” “Shudup, Dmitri, Collin can speak for himself. You heard that crash right, Collin?” “Actually I-“ “Told you he heard something. C’mon let’s investigate! Everybody spread out!” Marcella decided she didn’t want to be spotted snooping around in the woods behind the middle school on the opposite end of town from her own school. She hid in a nearby thicket. She could hear the small group drawing closer. “What do you think we’ll even find out here anyway? Suspicious squirrels?” “Well, Dmitri, I’m glad you asked. As a matter of fact, I just so happened to overhear a member of the Activity Club -“ (The tone of voice Suzy used to say ‘Activity Club’ was the kind of tone people usually reserve for such things as ‘cockroaches’ or ‘infidels’ or perhaps the name of the bandit gang who burned my small rural village and murdered my family and who I’ve dedicated my life to training in order to defeat) mention that they would be meeting out here after school today. I thought it might be worth investigating.” “Suzy, you stuffed yourself into the locker next to Max’s and waited for two hours until he finally showed up.” “Your point, Collin? A good investigative journalist must be prepared to do what it takes to get the scoop.” They were quite close now. Almost to the bush Marcella was hiding in. Suddenly they stopped. “Ok, Collin, you go left, Dmitri, straight. I’ll go right. Make sure to stay in contact via radio.” “You call this a radio?” “You know it’s the best we can do with our club’s funds, Dmitri.” “I was referring more to the glitter glue.” “Hey, Suzy, I thought you said you knew where the Activity Club was meeting. Wouldn’t left be the opposite direction?” “It’s important to be thorough in your investigations.” “Right, but-“ “Move out, team!” Marcella heard a deep sigh and a resigned plodding away through the underbrush. Another, lighter set of footsteps went the other way at a much faster pace. Almost as though someone had somewhere specific to be as soon as possible. Then Marcella noticed a pair of white sneakers standing next to her thicket. They weren’t walking anywhere. The other footsteps faded away. Marcella looked up. “Hi Dmitri.” “Hey Marcy.” “You know I hate it when people call me that.” “Yep.” Marcella stood up and dusted herself off. “Sounds like you have somewhere to be.” “Nah, Suzy can handle herself without my help.” “That’s what I mean.” “Oh, ha. Well, I’m not too worried about it.” “I thought you were part of the Activity club.” “I was.” “Oh.” There was an awkward pause. Well, awkward for Marcella. Dmitri never seemed to be awkward. Like a middle schooler talking with a high schooler in terse phrases about a ghost club in the woods behind the school was the most normal thing ever. “Weellp, I’ve gotta go. Always nice chatting with you, kid.” She gave Dmitri a pat on the shoulder. The look in his eyes could melt glass but his expression remained unperturbed. His hands never left his pockets. “See ya later, Marcy.” They turned and began to walk in different directions. “Hey Dmitri” Collin’s voice came through the trees. Marcella dove into another bush. “I heard voices, were you talking to somebody?” “Nope. Just coming up with some new lyrics.” “Oh, cool. Should we go after Suzy yet or…” “Eh, give it a minute or so.” The sound of something crashing through the trees came from the direction Suzy had gone. “On second thought, maybe we should check it out.” Marcella stood as they dashed off and removed a small rope with a loop on it from her wrist. The other end hung over a tree branch nearby. It smelled of orange juice. “Who put this thing here?” She muttered to herself. Then she heard a familiar buzzing overhead. “Not again.” Another large fly passed overhead. It wasn’t attacking but it was flying with purpose. “Aw man, I thought I got the last of them.” She rushed after the fly and toward the distant crashing.

“Do you hear it, Collin?” “Yeah I mean it’s pretty loud.” “That’s the sound of a scoop.” “Sounds like a moose.” “Don’t be ridiculous, Dmitri. A moose sounds more like- wait, I won’t fall for that again. We can’t afford to blow our cover this time.” “Wow, you got me Suzy. Foiled again.” The three were huddled behind an overgrown shed. Nearby, a few rocky outcroppings poked out of the hillside above the forrest of pine trees that stretched for miles around this side of the town. A few of the pine trees below seemed to be moving. This was where the crashing was coming from. “You’re sure you saw the Activity club?” whispered Collin. “Sure I’m sure.” Said Suzy “Just before you got here I saw them go behind that rock.” “That one?” “Didn’t I tell you to go the other way? We coulda flanked ‘em.” “But if I had gone the other way I would-“ “Shhh. Look!” Mr. Spender ascended one of the rock outcroppings and posed dramatically. “Now kids, I want you to pay close attention. This can be a great learning opportunity for all of you. Especially you Isaac.” Suddenly, he flew backward off the rock and landed in the grass below. After a moment, a driving-gloved hand emerged with one finger held upward. “Lesson one: Never let your guard down.” “Thank you for the demonstration, sir.”

“What are they doing?” Whispered Suzy. “Perhaps some kind of elaborate role-playing game.” “Shut up, no one asked you Collin.” “Maybe we should go ask them.” said Dmitri amicably. “Don’t you dare! So help me if you blow our cover I’ll… I’ll… cut your salary for a week!” “Oh no… my salary.” “Well, you’ll be sorry, ok.” “I’m shaking just thinking about it.” “Shh, stop distracting me. I have an idea.”

Marcella was not getting paid enough for this. True, the Consortium never actually paid anybody at all. There had been that thing with the ecto tokens for a while until people began to realize that the tokens got up and walked away every time you stopped watching them and they always seemed to end up in BL’s treasure hoard in the end. Regardless, she wasn’t getting paid enough for this just on general principle. The fly wasn’t moving at full speed which meant she could just barely keep up with it. “Land, you dumb bug.” she said between gritted teeth. Her side hurt from all the running she had been doing and she was feeling quite dehydrated. Suddenly the ground dropped away in front of her and she skidded to a halt. Ahead were a few rocks, a shed, and the flailing tendrils of a horrifying monstrosity. This was where the fly was headed. “Oh no,” She gasped “It’s a Putrimoid.”

Suzy had a plan. Whatever the Activity club was doing, it was definitely illegal. If not now, it could be illegal later she was sure. It all depended on how she spun the story. And she would get the story whatever it took. “Collin, you’re with me. I need somebody to carry the camera case. We’re going to get some shots from down there, right next to the action. Dmitri, you stay up here and get some establishing shots, B-rolls, rolling shutters, stuff like that.” Dmitri thought quickly. “Thanks for trusting me with the more important job, Suzy. I’ll be able to get way better shots from up here without any trees or anything in the way.” “Hmm, on second thought, maybe you should go down and try your luck in the trees. As the head journalist, it is my responsibility to make sure we get the best photographs possible for our audience. Therefore I shall take pictures from up here.” “Sure thing, Suzy.” Said Dmitri. He breathed a sigh of relief to himself as he crept down the hill. No need to add Suzy and Collin getting squashed to the mix of today’s problems.

Marcella considered her options. A Putrimoid was the result of a dying animal, usually a deer caught by a wolf or something, which ends up as a ghost at the same time as a related spirit is created from something nearby. If these two come together in just the wrong way, they can get stuck together. Potentially things can get worse from there and the spirits can mutate and grow and feed off of the purification of the dead animal which is where they draw their name. Really gross, really dangerous. Highly likely to poltergeist. This one had flailing tendrils almost as long as the surrounding trees were tall. Some other spirits and ghosts including the bloatfly hovered around it at relatively safe distance. Sadness on this scale tends to attract them. Occasionally a stray tendril would slice through one that got too close and it would poof out of existence. The trees crashed and waved where it struck them. Clearly a full-blown poltergeist. “Ooh, boy. How do I handle this?” A bolt of electricity arced from behind a rock and struck the end of a tentacle. It recoiled momentarily and then lashed out with a violent smack that shook the ground. “No, no, no, no! The journalists will see you!” After a moment’s hesitation Marcella’s brows set in a determined frown. She clenched her fist and leapt from the cliff.

“Did you see that!” “You’re kneeling on my neck.” moaned Collin, his voice slightly muffled. “A good stepladder wouldn’t complain so much. There was some kind of flash and the whole ground shook!” “I think they’re just setting off some fireworks or something. I doubt we’re going to see anything interesting today.” “Dmitri! Why are you back already?” Dmitri shrugged. “Eh, I couldn’t find any good places to take pictures. Besides, there’s nothing interesting to see anyway.” The ground shook with a boom that shook rocks loose from the hillside. A blond spike of hair and a paintbrush emerged from behind a rock with a terrible war cry. The yell descended down the hill out of sight with a flapping of sandals, getting fainter. There was a sharp crack and then the yell got louder again as it came back up the hill. Apparently the charge had met some resistance. “Dmitri!” “Ok, fine, I’ll go back down.”

Time froze as Marcella fell through the air. The sky turned black and filled with an endless starscape. Standing on the forest floor yet towering high above it stood a blocky, roughly humanoid figure holding a massive beam across its shoulders. It’s face was lost in shadow. “WHY DO YOU HESITATE, CHILD?” “I’m not… hesitating. I’m planning my next move.” “THERE IS NO NEED TO PLAN, YOU HAVE MY POWER ON YOUR SIDE.” Marcella glanced at the marble in her hand. At first glance, it appeared to be a flat, dull grey, but if you looked closer you would see intricate details: tiny divots and cracks almost like… craters. “I don’t want to compromise my deal with the consortium. I can’t let the people down there see me.” “I AM THE FULCRUM ON WHICH THE WORLD HANGS. I AM THE SCALES ON WHICH ARE WEIGHED THE SANDS OF TIME. IF I HAD BUT ANOTHER EARTH TO STAND UPON I COULD MOVE THE WORLD. THERE IS NO NEED TO OBSERVE THE PETTY RULES AND REGULATIONS SO NEEDLESSLY PRESSED UPON YOU.” “I’m the same as everybody else, Fulcrum. And you’re not as great as you think.” Color returned to the world as Marcella’s feet touched lightly down to the rocky hillside. The marble turned blue and white again and she slid more heavily down some gravel and stopped behind a tree. She peaked briefly around it to make sure everyone’s attention was still on the shaking trees ahead and then ducked her head and darted between the pines.

Max lounged against a moss-covered rock, bat hanging loosely at his side. “Nice going, Isaac. Almost got it that time.” “Maybe if you would help a little we could actually make some progress here.” Spender was giving some inspirational instruction from the sidelines which was difficult to hear over the din from the trees below. Isabel was busy elsewhere on another mission which she had called ‘more important than some weak old rot ghost’. Ed was making another attempt at a charge. This time he managed to cut almost a whole inch off the tip of a tendril with an ink slash before making a hasty retreat. “Nah, it looks like you guys have got it under control. Anyway, what am I supposed to do? I’ve got magnet powers. Do you see anything magnetic?” “Well, you could try doing something.” seethed Isaac. “What if you ran up to there and then I could push you up over the thing with a wind blast. You could aim your bat down at a weak spot and I could shoot a lightning bolt through the bat and deal some devastating damage!” “Wow, what a great plan. I like it… except maybe for the part where I get tossed through the air over an angry tentacle monster and then you shoot a lightning bolt at me.” “Well, you come up with something then!” “I have.” “What is it?” “You’re looking at it.” Max started a game of snake on his phone.

Suzy was beside herself with frustration. “I can’t see anything, they won’t come out from behind that rock but if I get closer, they’ll see me!” “Don’t worry Suzy. I’m sure they’ll have to come out in the open at some point to eat or sleep.” Collin said helpfully. He was sitting in the shade massaging his neck. “No, I’m going to have to take matters into my own hands. I’m just going to have to go down there, no matter the risk.” “Ok, well have fun.” “Oh, I will. I certainly will. Muahahaha” “You know your evil laugh would be more convincing if you actually were laughing not just saying muahaha like a normal word.” “Let me have this Collin.”

The beast loomed through the trees ahead. A pulsating shapeless mass with dozens of protruding tentacles flailing in every direction. Some passed through the things they struck without a mark, others thrashed through the trees with a horrible cacophony of destruction. The overall effect was very disconcerting. “Ok, here we go.” said Marcella, but her feet didn’t move. Heroics are more easily said than done. “I just need to find an opening.” Suddenly there was a calm. The tendrils calmed for a moment and a sudden hush fell over the valley. “What is…?” Then the Putrimoid shivered and a large eye opened on its side. It was red-rimmed, twitchy, and opened sideways but it was definitely a functioning eyeball because it looked directly at Marcella. “Oh no. It mutated again.” Marcella barely had time to dodge as a tendril came smashing down on the place she had been standing moments earlier. She stumbled into a tree. “This is not good.”

Ed had an idea. It was a good idea because he had seen it in the movies multiple times and it almost always worked. “I’m going in!” He proclaimed. Max looked at him skeptically but Isaac, who was more in tune with common story tropes, began to look panicked. “N-No! Ed, that is not going to work! Do NOT-“ “That’s what they always say.” Said Ed grimly “But sometimes a man’s just gotta do what he’s gotta do.” “Ed!” Ed began to charge down the hill once more, but something was different this time. Maybe it was the set of his shoulders, maybe it was the hard, steely look in his eyes, or maybe it was the fact that his battle cry was so high pitched it could have shattered plate glass.

Marcella was nearly exhausted. There were only so many tentacles you could dodge before your luck ran out. She took cover behind one of the sturdier-looking trees as another attack flew by. “I can’t even get close to it.” The massive eye swiveled away from Marcella and towards the open hillside. A small boy with a paintbrush was flailing his way down the hill screaming wildly. “What does he think he’s… oh no.” There was a blur as a tentacle shot forward, almost faster than the eye could follow. It wrapped itself around the boy and hoisted him into the air. Marcella watched helplessly as the tentacle was retracted, pulling the boy in towards its awful bulk. He struggled valiantly but was pulled inexorably inward. Marcella dashed towards him desperately but a tendril caught her before she had gone 5 steps, knocking her to the ground. She watched helplessly as the tentacle finally dragged the boy the last few feet and then with an awful ’schlorp’ he disappeared into the grisly mass. “You fetid freak! You pustule of incontinence!” Marcella yelled. “I will be your end if it kills me!” The putrimoid paid her no attention. Her vision narrowed, she felt her heart rate spike. This was it. She had to act. She only saw one path forward and it was looking very bumpy. The sky went black. Her marble was in her fist. “Do you have my back Fulcrum?” “ARE YOU HESITATING AGAIN?” “No, just figuring out the timing.” The sky snapped back to blue. Marcella sprinted forward. A tentacle lay limply on the ground, apparently forgotten for the moment as the putrimoid flailed its others. She ducked as another went by her head and then jumped heavily onto the grounded tendril. It snapped upwards reflexively flinging Marcella high into the air. Much higher than she should have flown. For a moment, the earth fell away and she seemed to be suspended in mid air. In the distance was the lake between the two hills of Mayview. The setting sun sparkled off the still water. Pine trees carpeted the landscape below. Marcella looked down. She saw the shed and the cliff with the three journalists one of which was snapping pictures wildly. She saw the Activity club further below, quietly freaking out about their lost comrade. Directly below, the eye of the monster stared up at her looking about as surprised as a horrid tentacled blob is capable of looking. Or maybe she just imagined that part. “Taste the wrath of Jupiter you skrunge!” She shouted. The marble in her fist turned from a dull grey to a pattern of creamy bands adorned with a small red spot. You see, mass may be consistent, but weight is relative and a fulcrum can tilt both ways. A pound of lead may weigh the same as a pound of feathers, but if you move the lead to, say, Neptune, it would weigh much more. If you move the mass on a lever further from the hinge, it tends to have more of an effect. And if you put an angry teenage girl 60 feet in the air and give her the same weight she would have at the core of Jupiter, well… Marcella surrounded herself with a prism of purple spectral energy, point downwards and plummeted at a stomach churning rate. There was a squelch that would scar the memories of everyone present for years and a sudden, deathly silence.

“That was the most disgusting thing I’ve ever done!” exclaimed Ed proudly. Ed stood in the middle of a clearing of destruction and pale orange goop and looked around dazed. He was covered with slime from head to toe. “Wow Ed!” Said Max. “I didn’t think you had it in you, but in the end, it was the Blob that had you in it.” “I knew you could do it.” Said Isaac, trying to sound nonchalant. “Never doubted it for a second.”

“Yes! Victory! I finally have definitive proof that the Activity Club is up to no good! My scheme has finally succeeded!” Suzy held up her camera in victory. Collin sat against the shed rubbing his neck. “At least call it a plan or something. You don’t have to flat out say you’re evil.” he muttered. “Hovering around weirdly has got to be against some kind of rule somewhere!” Ed’s antics today had looked very strange from a non-spectral perspective. “Oh, hey, Suzy. By the way.” Dmitri walked over to the shed where they were hiding again. “Did you remember to replace the memory card after I took it out to use in my camera?” “Memory card!?” Suzy frantically checked the card slot on her camera. “I told you to do that before we left!” “Oh, whoops.” “Dmitriiiiiiiiiiiiiii!!!!!”

[tayegi]

New Rules Ch. 5

Word Count: 10,058

A few minutes later, you sit on the bleachers with Hoseok, notepad and audio recorder on the bench between you two as you watch Taehyung roll around in the grass with his high-tech camera, trying to get a good candid shot of the players.

"So," you clear your throat, calling attention back to yourself, "I'm going to begin recording now, and why don't we start off with some basic information?" You ask as you press the little red button on the audio recorder.

"Sure," Hoseok agrees, "What would you like to know?"

"Just the basics," you say, "Full name, age, year in school, position, etc."

"Yeah of course," he says with a smile, "Name: Jung Hoseok. Age: Twenty-two. Senior, and I'm an attacking midfielder."

"Oh, but I've heard that your position is flexible and you can easily shift between striker and defender in the same game," you say, miraculously spouting off knowledge you've read from Somin's notes just minutes ago.

"Wow, you knew that?" Hoseok asks, clearly impressed, "No one except like really die-hard soccer fans know that."

You rub the back of your neck, embarrassed, "Ah, wasn't it obvious?" you bluff through your teeth, "You're a very well-rounded player, Hoseok. No wonder you're captain."

His subsequent smile is as bright as the sun, "Thank you. That really means a lot to me."

Flustered, you anxiously fidget with your hair, feeling uncharacteristically self-conscious as you scramble for the next question, "S-so, the team's ten-game winning streak is all under your leadership. Can you tell us a bit about how you managed to accomplish that?"

"No, it wasn't all me," he says, but can't help but laugh at the flattery, "It was a whole team effort! We would be nowhere without Coach Bang's guidance. And we have some really outstanding players this year. For instance, there's Jeon Jungkook, who's scored the most goals not only in our team, but the entire district this season."

"Ah, I see," you mutter under your breath, "No wonder he's so damn cocky."

"Huh? What was that?"

"Nothing!" you exclaim, eyes widening as you realize your mistake. Oh well, you can always crop that out of the recording. "Anyways, can you tell me more about your goals moving forward this season?"

"Yes, of course. So as you know, we're playing our rivals in the district this Saturday. It's going to be a big match. But no matter how we play on Saturday, we will be able to advance to the finals, so it's really not—oh," Hoseok suddenly stops, mid-sentence, to blink up at the sky when a raindrop hits him in the face.

Soon, more follow the first, covering the metal of the bleachers with a sheen of cold water. "Oh no, my notes!" you exclaim, diving forward to protect your things under the cover of your sweater.

"Damn, the forecast didn't say that it'd rain today," Hoseok says, looking up at the dreary gray sky with concern.

"Ah, it's not a big deal though," you say, "It's only sprinkling, and I think we can continue."

"But your sweater doesn't have a hood," Hoseok says in concern, "You're getting rained on."

"It's fine," you say as you wipe moisture from your eyelashes, "I'm sure it'll stop raining soon."

"But what about your hair? Or your makeup?" he continues to pressure, "Aren't you worried it'll be ruined?"

"My makeup?" you snort, "Who the hell wears makeup the Monday before midterms start?!"

"I… oh," Hoseok says, taken aback by your bluntness, "Um… I don't know?"

Your face flushes with heat when you realize your mistake… that has been caught on tape, "Um… anyways," you gulp, trying to ignore the way he threads his fingers through his wet hair, making rainwater trail alluring down his sinewy neck, "Why don't we go back to the topic of the finals? What do you think—?"

"Hey, Hoseok!" a loud voice calls out, interrupting your interview.

The two of you look up from the bleachers to find the entire team trickling off the field. The source of the voice comes from Jungkook, who stands on the track in front of you, looking superbly displeased, "Coach is moving practice to the gym. Let's go, Hobi."

"Ah, can you give me a few more minutes?" Hoseok asks, glancing over at you.

"No," Jungkook bluntly replies as he crosses his arms over his chest, "Shouldn't you set an example as the captain?"

That sobers him up quickly. "Ok, I'm coming," the older man says as he gets to his feet and hops off the bleachers, "Sorry, ___. Maybe we can reschedule our interview for a different date?"

"Yeah," you say, trying not to sound as disheartened as you feel. "What time works best for you?"

"This week's a bit difficult for me because of the game. What about next week? Does Sunday—?"

"Alright, alright, stop it," Jungkook irritably butts in, "Let's go to practice."

"Wait, ___. Can I get your phone number or something?" Hoseok asks, even as his teammate starts dragging him away by the arm.

"Yes, it's—"

"I'll give it to you later," Jungkook snaps as he continues to drag the redhead across the field, "Bye, ___."

"Wait, Jungkook!" You call after him, but it's too late and they've disappeared off the field. You plop back down on the bleachers with a deep sigh, wondering what you can do with the now useless recording, when Taehyung emerges with a giant striped umbrella.

"Hey," he says as he walks over to share his umbrella, "You finished your flirting already?"

"Flirting?" you repeat as you wring out your wet hair, "What flirting?"

"With that really hot redheaded guy," he explains, "It looked like you were about to eat him up."

"What?" You exclaim, blood rushing to your face at once, "What the hell are you talking about?!"

Taehyung gives you a pointed look, "Oh come on, ___. Don't even try to deny it. It looked like you were two seconds away from mounting him in front of everyone."

You groan deeply in embarrassment and bury your face in your hands, "Oh god… Was I that obvious?"

"Yup," he chirps, gleeful in the face of your distress, "But don't worry. It seems like he reciprocated."

"Wait…" you slowly peek up from your hands, "What?"

"Yeah. Did you really not notice how badly he wanted to stay at the end? Or how hard he was trying to get your number? For some weird reason, that guy's got the hots for you."

"Oh," you simply say in response as you pat your warm cheeks, "I… I'm surprised…"

"Me too… How do you even get all these hot guys fawning over you?" Taehyung whines, "It's not fair."

"I… I don't know… I just… Wait—did you just say 'hot guys' as in plural?"

"Yeah, Jungkook was crazy jealous!"

Your immediate reaction is disbelief, "No way. Stop bullshitting me, Tae."

"No, I'm serious. I kept trying to take natural shots of the members, but Jungkook ruined all of them. He kept looking up and glaring in your direction, and that really killed the mood of the photos."

"Oh my god, stop lying."

"No really! Do you want to see the pictures?"

"No, I'm fine. Let's just go home, okay?" You quickly say, embarrassed by the very idea.

"Okay… But I just want to let you know that this is totally unfair! Why do you get to be the protagonist in a stereotypical love triangle drama? Look at your damn hair in the rain! Meanwhile, I wore my favorite gucci jacket today and nothing! So unfair!"

You lightly smack the back of his head to stop his whining, "Shut up. None of them like me. Just keep wearing your gucci, dummy."

"Wow, how nice of you to actually answer your phone for once," you grumble when Jungkook finally picks up after your third call.

"Sorry, I was in practice," he says with a little groan.

You pause, concern outweighing your anger, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah. The physical therapist was a just a bit too harsh on my back earlier today… I should really get a massage. But I'm too lazy," he sighs.

"Oh… Do you want me to come over? I can give you a massage instead," you offer.

"Wait, would you really do that for me?" Jungkook asks in astonishment, "It's kinda late."

"Yeah, of course," you say, "I really don't mind and I'm pretty good with my hands."

"That you are," he says, and you don't have to see him to know that he has a lascivious smirk on that stupid face of his.

You laugh, "How are you such a pervert?"

"It's been over two weeks since we last had sex!" He angrily points out, "I'm dying here!"

"Don't you have a big game coming up?" you point out, "You should be focusing on that instead."

He grumbles under his breath for a few seconds before agreeing, "Fine… I'll let you off the hook this time… But once the game is over, I want to fuck you."

"Yeah, okay," you easily agree.

"And not just once," he quickly adds, taking advantage of your strange compliance, "I'm always horny again after like fifteen minutes. One time isn't enough. For once in my life, I actually want to get my fill. I want to fuck you until my dick falls off."

"Of course," you chuckle, "Once you win that game, you can do whatever you want to me."

"Really?" he asks, suspicious, "Can I be in charge this time?"

"Anything you want, baby," you say with a giggle.

"What if I want to tie you up and have you call me 'daddy'?" he questions.

"Oh, Jungkook!" you exclaim, bursting into girlish laughter, "You are so bad. Hehe, of course you can, baby."

"Oh god, what's gotten into you?" Jungkook marvels at the other end, "On second thought, maybe not… This is kind of scary coming from you."

You throw your head back and laugh again, "You know me too well. You're so sweet."

"Are we not speaking the same language right now?!" Jungkook barks into the receiver, "Are you fucking high?"

"Aw, you too," you chuckle, "I'll be over in ten, babe. I miss you."

"Huh? What the fuck—?"

You hang up before he can finish his sentence and spin around in your chair to face Mijoo and Jimin with an award-winning smile, "Ah, guys, I would love to stay here and chat, but Jungkook needs me."

"I see," Jimin says with a suggestive arch of his brows, "He 'needs' you? What a cute euphemism."

"Are you sure you don't want to hang out with us instead?" Mijoo asks, concerned.

You shake your head as you sling your backpack over your shoulder, "Nah. You guys have fun on your own. Because Jungkook and I definitely will," you say with a wink.

"Can you guys at least put a sock on the doorknob so I don't walk into something that'll scar me for life tonight?" Jimin requests with a wry smile.

"Maybe you shouldn't come home at all," you airily inform him before marching out the door, "Don't wait up, Mijoo!"

As soon as you walk out of the sorority house and into the bleak cold of the night, a moment of emptiness seizes you. It feels like your heart has been seized by a skeletal hand, threatening to crush it to a pulp.

You stand there for a moment, deeply inhaling the frigid wintry air through your nose. A few seconds pass before the feeling finally dissipates. But even though the grip around your heart is gone, you still feel the heavy organ sink to your feet with every step forward.

But still… At least it's getting easier.

"Have you been possessed by the fucking devil?" Jungkook asks as a greeting when you arrive at the frat a few minutes later.

"Nice to see you too, asshole," you say as you irritably brush past him in the hallway.

"Ah, that's more like it," Jungkook says with a sigh of relief, "Thank god. I thought I was going to have to perform an exorcism."

"Why are you like this?" you snort as you follow him up the stairs, "Wouldn't you prefer me to be all soft and compliant for you?"

"No, not at all," he says at once, "That's just weird."

"Well, you call me weird all the time," you point out, "What makes this any different?"

"It just is," he insists as he leads you up to his bedroom and closes the door behind him, "I don't like it. It gives me the creeps."

"I think you're the weird one," you laugh as you toss your bag on his desk, "Most guys would love it if I lost the Ice Queen demeanor."

"Nah, that's just creepy," he says, "Why were you acting like that, by the way?"

"Jimin was over," you explain as you throw yourself on his bed with a sigh.

"Ah. That makes more sense," he says as he sits down next to you, "It's better than what I thought."

"What did you think?"

"Besides temporary demonic possession? That you might be in a rough spot with some overly handsy dude or something."

You scoff at that, "Yeah right. Do I look like I'd have any issue setting some yogurt slinger in his place?"

He grins, "Ah that's right. I'm forgetting who I'm dealing with here."

"Just worry about yourself, Jeon. I can handle any limp noodle dick."

"Speaking of limp noodle dicks… That damn Jung Hoseok keeps asking for your number. Can I tell him to go fuck himself?"

"Wait, what?! No!"

"Why? Do you want to go curse him out yourself?"

"No! What's wrong with you? Jungkook, I need to finish interviewing him!"

"Why?" He asks with a look of annoyance, "I'm right here, so why settle for less?"

"Hon, he's the team captain. Of course I would need an interview from him! Just give me his number already, goddamn it," you say as you make a grab for the phone in his lap.

But he immediately moves it out of the way with his quicker reflexes, "No way. I don't want you talking to that creep."

"Why not?" you whine as you scramble forward to reach for his phone. But he easily keeps you at bay with his longer arm reach, "I really need to talk to him!"

"Hoseok might look all cute with that innocent smile of his, but I can promise you that he's the biggest fuckboy of them all."

"So what?" You demand as you attempt to climb up his body for the phone, "It's not like I'm going to fuck him or anything! I just want to finish the interview."

"Maybe your intentions are pure, but let me assure you that his are anything but. Did you even notice the way he was looking at you?"

"Maybe I wanted him to look at me that way!" you shoot back as you practically tackle him to the bed for his phone.

"Ouch," Jungkook hisses in pain when this accidentally places pressure on his sore back.

You stiffen with horror and immediately flinch back, "Oh my god. I'm so sorry, Jungkook, are you okay?"

"Yeah," he says, wincing as he reaches back to rub at the pulled muscles, "I think I just need some ibuprofen and a good night's rest, and I'll be fine in the morning."

Your mouth tightens in sympathy, "What about the physical therapist? Can they fix your back?"

"She's not back in the office until the morning," he explains, "But don't worry. It's fine."

You chew on your bottom lip for a moment, watching the way he gingerly rubs the kinks from his neck before you make up your mind, "Roll over on your stomach."

"Wait… Are you serious?" He asks, looking up at you with wide eyes.

"I'm no professional… And you should really see your PT in the morning… But I've taken a massage class in the past and I won't be able to fix your back, but I'll be able to make you feel better."

"Oh god, you're the best," he says, instantly flopping over on the mattress.

You laugh at his excitement and sit up on your knees for better access. You rub your hands up and down the wide expanse of his back a few times before you realize how awkward it is through the fabric of his hoodie, "Do you mind taking this off?"

As quick as a flash, his hoodie is on the ground, along with the t-shirt underneath. You blink at the sight of his bare back laid out for you across the bed, "Not what I meant, but I guess this is okay, too" you laugh as you lay your hands on his hot skin.

Jungkook hums in response, "This might be the only chance I get to have you touch me. Gotta make all I can out of it."

"I touch you all the time, you needy little brat," you mumble before getting distracted by his physique, "Damn," you curse softly as you begin working at the knots in his broad shoulders, "Were you always this buff?" you ask as you watch his thick muscles ripple every time he adjusts on the bed.

He chuckles at the compliment, "Are you seriously only noticing this now?"

"Yeah," you say as you silently marvel at how solid his muscles feel under the palm of your hand. It feels like you're touching solid metal instead of flesh. But his warm, velvety-soft skin stretched over the steel makes the experience strangely enjoyable.

"What? But you've seen me naked so many times now!" he complains.

"Only once," you remind him, "And we were both pretty drunk that night."

"Wait, seriously? Fuck, we need to change that."

"Yeah, okay," you agree, "After we turn in the first part of this project, of course."

"Oh shit, when's that due again?"

"Friday," you remind him, "Don't tell me you've forgotten…"

"Sorry, I've just been distracted by this game on Saturday," he sighs, "But don't worry, I'll turn it in by the deadline."

"Hmm. Since we're here anyways, should we just work on it together?"

"Um…" Jungkook hesitates, clearly unwilling to leave the pleasure of your hands, "I mean… I guess… If you think it's really important…"

"You don't want me to stop, do you?" you ask in amusement.

"Fuck no," he blurts out immediately, "This feels incredible."

The breathy, raspy quality of his voice makes heat flood the pit of your stomach. You lick your lips as you slide your hands down to his lower back and press down on the tense muscles there, "Alright," you agree, "Just this one time… Damn, you're really tense, Jungkook. How rough have your practices been?"

"The worst," he moans softly into his pillow when you work out an especially tight knot along the base of his spine, "Coach is out to kill us."

"These feel more like stress knots though," you comment as you continue to unravel him, inch by inch, "Have you been under a lot of pressure recently?" Then you stop and snap your jaw shut. You regret your question as soon as you ask it. The two of you are definitely not on that level to talk about such personal topics, nor do you think you'll ever be on that level.

It's quiet for a moment as you wait for him to brush you off with the stoic masculinity you're used to. Instead, he turns his face to the side and murmurs, "A little bit," in a small voice that takes you completely by surprise.

"O-oh," you try to hide your surprise by rubbing firm circles into his thick shoulder blades, "It's understandable… There must be a lot of pressure since you've been on such a winning streak, huh?"

"Like you wouldn't believe," he sighs, "And also… I've heard that there might be recruiters at the game on Saturday… I really have to play my best."

"Ah, isn't it still early?" you ask, trying to soothe him, "We still have another full year of school."

"Yeah, but Hoseok was recruited as a junior," he points out, "In fact, he was recruited in the beginning of his fall semester, so he was younger than I am now… And I can't deny that I'm beginning to grow antsy."

"Don't worry, Jungkook," you say as you continue to loosen his stiff muscles, "You are such a great player, and your hard work will pay off."

You can see the way his mouth curves into a smile from the side of his face pressed into the pillow, "Thanks."

There's a moment of amicable silence as you both enjoy the warmth of each other's presence. Then, Jungkook suddenly bolts upright, nearly dislodging you from the bed.

"Hey, wait a minute—isn't this coming from the girl who didn't even know I played soccer a week ago?!"

"Shh," you gently press his face back down into the pillows, "Don't worry about it, sweetheart."

Three days later, you meet up with Yerin for your weekly lunch dates. You'd normally have lunch with her on Sundays, but due to unforeseen circumstances (i.e., lying around deathly hungover in Jungkook's bed), you had to reschedule for today.

"Wait, I forgot to ask, but nothing happened when you were trying to get back home on Saturday night, right?"

"Nope, I was perfectly safe. Don't worry, ___."

"Of course I worry. Mijoo shouldn't have called you out so late at night… especially not to a damn frat party… What was she thinking?"

"___, you know that I'm a legal adult now, right? I go to frat parties all the time."

"What?!" You exclaim in shock, "With who?!"

"The girls on my floor go all the time," she informs you, "It's really not a big deal."

"Seriously?! Why don't you ever invite me?"

"Invite you?" she repeats in confusion, "But you hate frat parties."

"I do, but who else will protect you from nasty frat bros?"

"Who said I wanted to be protected from them?" She says with a playful quirk of her brow.

Your jaw drops, "Watch it, kid. I almost bent you over my knee."

"I'm not your baby anymore," she whines, "Stop it, ___."

"You'll always be my baby," you inform her in a serious tone, "Which is why I can't have you running into dangerous frat parties like that!"

"It was fine," She assures you, "I was with Mijoo the entire time, and at the end of the night, those boys from BTS showed up as well," she said, face flushing at the memory, "You were like the protagonist in a romantic drama, ___, the way three men rushed over at your beck and call to rescue you. I was so jealous," she sighs dreamily.

You look at her in utter bewilderment, "Yerin… you do realize that I was a belligerent drunk rolling around in a hotdog costume? And that Mijoo only called over the BTS boys to keep me from getting arrested. How the hell is this in any way romantic?!"

"Jungkook carried you in his arms like you were newlyweds," she sighs again, "It was so lovely… Wait, ___. Tell me, did he ravish you in his room?" she asks, wide eyes sparkling with excitement.

"What the fuck? Yerin, what's wrong with you?"

"Oh come on, just indulge this poor virgin," she begs you, "Did he throw you to the bed and rip off your clothes because he couldn't wait to have his way with you?"

"How the fuck would he be able to rip my hotdog suit?!" you exclaim, "That thing was like fifty pillows piled on top of me. And besides, it wasn't cheap! I would be so pissed if he ripped it!"

Yerin's face falls, "___, you're ruining the fantasy!"

You snort, "Sweetie, I have no idea what wild, idealized notion of sex you have in your mind, but it's really not like that. It's usually just messy and gross."

"Maybe with the wrong men," the younger woman argues, "But Jungkook is ridiculously hot. No matter how messy it got with him, there's no way it'd be gross."

You have to begrudgingly agree with that. Against your will, you're resentfully attracted to the fuckboy. "But it's not always rainbows and butterflies!" you argue, "In fact, it's never like that. It's just… merp. Just a relief of a basic need. Like scratching an itch. Or letting out a nice fart."

Yerin's face scrunches at your disgusting analogy, "___! Ew!"

Clearly you're a bit too much for her delicate sensitivities, "Sorry, Yerin," you automatically apologize, "That was a lie… Farts are better than sex."

"Even sex with Jeon Jungkook?" She asks in disbelief.

You pause a moment to think about that, "He's like a particularly juicy fart," you acquiesce, "You know, like the ones you've been holding in all day, and you finally take off your pants at the end of the night and just let it rip? Yup. That's sex with Jungkook... But still just a fart. Nothing more."

Yerin buries her face in her hands in anguish, "You're completely ruining this for me!"

"Good," you retort, "I'd rather you wake up to the harsh realities of intercourse now rather than later!"

"God, ___," Yerin groans into her hands, "We're in public."

"Are you embarrassed?" You ask. When she nods, you snap, "Good. You'd be more embarrassed if you were pregnant with a fuckboy's kid! Men are less than farts, never forget! I would rather cut the cheese any day instead of letting a nasty snot-nosed fuckboy put his moldy little carrot stick anywhere near my— Oh, hello, Yoongi," you break off to greet the silver-haired man who suddenly appears over Yerin's shoulder.

The blonde whips her head around in astonishment. Then her face strickens with anguish as she recognizes the older man standing behind her, "Oh… oh… shit."

Yoongi has clearly caught the tail end of your rant by the way his face scrunches in disgust, "Ah, I'm suddenly reminded of why we're only business acquaintances, ___."

"You're saying we're not friends?" you ask weakly.

"And hear you talk about bodily functions in my free time as well? No thanks."

"That's not all I talk about!"

"Yeah, that's right. You cursing me out on Saturday night was a nice change of scene," Yoongi says in a sarcastic tone.

"I was drunk and out of my mind!" You exclaim, "You can't possibly hold that against me!"

"___, you nearly threw out my back," he reminds you in a dry voice, "I had to lie in a tub of ice for a full hour afterwards… How is anyone so annoying and destructive when drunk? Goddamn it, woman…"

You flush with embarrassment, "If you just came here to berate me, then you can just keep walking!" you exclaim, "No one asked for your help!"

"Pssht, without me, you would've been arrested that night," he informs you, indignant at your lack of gratitude, "And besides, what makes you think that I'm here to talk to you, you self-centered brat?"

"What? If you're not here for me, then—"

"Yerin, I wanted to thank you again for coffee the other day," Yoongi says, interrupting you, "That was really kind of you."

Yerin's face turns a rosy shade of pink when he smiles directly at her, "O-oh," she mumbles, ducking her head as though to try to hide under her bangs, "It really wasn't a big deal… Thank you again for walking me home, Yoongi."

"Wait, he did what?!" you exclaim in horror.

Both of them ignore you, "If you're free this weekend, maybe we can grab a bite to eat?"

"Oh," Yerin's eyes light up like it's Christmas, "I would love that."

"What? No, you wouldn't!"

"Okay," Yoongi ignores you, "I'll text you then?"

"You gave this fucker your phone number?!" you screech.

As always, they politely pretend that you don't exist, "Yes, that sounds great!" Yerin happily tells him.

"Great, see you later then," he says, cheerfully waving at her before walking off.

"No, you won't see her later," you spin around in your chair to bark after him, "You won't ever be seeing her again!"

But he simply flips you off from behind his back before sauntering out of the café. You glare at him until he's out of sight, then whirl back around to face Yerin, "What the hell was that?"

She blinks innocently at you, "What do you mean, ___?"

"Are you dating him?!" you bark at her.

"No, we're friends… just like you and Jungkook, right?" she coyly informs you.

Your vision flashes red for a moment from the implication of her words, "Don't you fucking dare do this to me," you whisper in a low voice.

She giggles at your reaction and reaches across the table to squeeze your hand, "Why are you so freaked out by the idea of us dating?"

"I just don't like it," you say with a stubborn jut of your chin, "He's old and weird."

"He's only a year older than you," she kindly reminds you.

"So?" you snap back, "I'm old and weird too! Min Yoongi might seem like an okay guy on the surface, but I know for a fact that he's a weird pervert! I don't approve of all!"

"I think you're just unreasonably overprotective, ___." Yerin says in amusement, "What kind of guy would you actually approve of?"

You take a moment to think about it before the answer comes rushing to your mind, "Park Jimin," you say in a quiet voice, "I would approve of a man like Park Jimin…"

"Ah, is that why you're all over my ass and not Mijoo's?" Yerin laughs, missing the significance of the confession, "Well, not every man can be Park Jimin, ___."

Your gaze drops to your lap, "Yeah, I know," you whisper, "I know…"

Later that day, when you walk Yerin back to the dorms, she springs you with an unexpected question.

"Hey, ___, do you have any free time tonight?"

"Hmm? Yeah, I do. What's up?"

"Do you mind looking over my powerpoint for tomorrow? I'm not sure if all of my citations make sense."

"Sure," you instantly agree, "But I'm not sure if I can be of much help. What class is this for?"

Yerin stops in the middle of the street to stare at you with wide eyes, "___, please tell me you haven't forgotten about our creative writing presentations tomorrow morning."

It feels like the world has caved in around you, and for a moment you can't breathe. You slowly whirl around to face her, "Oh….. oh….. fuck my life," you croak out in a tiny voice.

"Oh no… Please tell me that you've at least started on the project!" She exclaims.

Your heart drops to your stomach and your throat closes up, "I… I…"

"Aren't you working on this with Jungkook?" She continues to scold you, "How could both of you be so forgetful?"

"I don't know!" You finally cry out, "Shit!" And with that, you turn on your heel and break into a sprint.

"___!" She yells after you, "Where are you going?!"

"I don't know!" you yell over your shoulder, even as you continue to run down the street like a mad woman, "Fuck!"

You call Jungkook twice on your frantic trip home, but the calls go to voicemail. It's a Thursday afternoon, and you imagine that he must be at practice, since the big game is coming up in just two days, but you can't help but feel anxious. How could you have forgotten and put off this presentation until literally the day before it's due? It is unlike you to be so careless.

You nearly bodyslam some sisters out of the way when they take too long to move, and rush up the stairs of the sorority, taking two steps at a time. As soon as you enter your room, you throw yourself at your desk and anxiously boot up your laptop. You have no idea why Jungkook isn't picking up his phone, but you trust him to turn in his part for tomorrow morning. There's no way he could be as forgetful as you… right?

You stumble into class the next morning with a venti container of pure espresso in hand, sunglasses on your face to hide your bloodshot eyes.

"Oh god, what happened to you?" Yerin exclaims in alarm when you remove your glasses to reveal your swollen face.

"Sorry I can't be beautiful all the time," you quip as you stifle a yawn with the back of your hand, "I pulled an all-nighter trying to get this presentation together."

"Oh," Yerin's face furrows in sympathy, "Did Jungkook help you out at the end?"

"No," you groan, "I wasn't able to reach him all night… that bitch better have the greatest presentation of all time planned for today."

"Ah, you completed your parts separately?" Yerin asks, "Aren't you afraid that it will be disorganized?"

You shake your head, "Nah. I texted him very explicitly what he needed to finish. So it should be fine."

"Okay, but class is starting soon… Where is he?"

"He's always late," you attempt to defend him, "It's fine." But even as you speak, the tendrils of worry curl in your stomach. You anxiously glance at your phone, but before you can send him a text, Professor Cha steps to the front of the classroom and claps her hands to capture your attention.

"Ok, everyone. Let's get started with the presentations. Do I have any volunteers to go first?"

Embarrassed, you slowly slide down in your seat, trying to make yourself appear as small as possible as you nervously wait for Jungkook's arrival.

Except he never shows.

Your anxiety is at an all-time high when the groups finish their presentations one by one in the front of the classroom. You can't help but glance at the door every few seconds, hoping against reason that the dark-haired athlete will miraculously materialize in the room.

When the last group finishes their presentation, you're practically trembling with nerves. You slowly make your way to the front of the classroom, feeling on the verge of vomiting, and not even Yerin's quiet encouragement helps.

"Miss ___, where is your partner?" Professor Cha asks in surprise when she finds you standing alone next to the screen.

"Um… He's just a bit late," you mumble, uncharacteristically shy before the dozens of eyes trained on your figure, "I'm sure he'll show up though…"

"Miss ___, you do realize that this is a group grade, right?" She asks with a quirk of an eyebrow, "If your partner doesn't show, then both of you lose points on the presentation."

You gulp, "Y-yes. I am aware of that…"

The older woman nods, "Alright… Well, whenever you're ready, please proceed."

You take a moment to inhale through your nose, deeply unnerved by the full classroom of people scrutinizing your every move. You can feel the sweat beading at your forehead, but it'd be too embarrassing to wipe it in front of everyone, so you let it stay there as you fumble with connecting your laptop to the projector, "H-hi, everyone," you stammer, "My name is ___, and this is my presentation on Chang Eileen… Um, my partner, Jungkook, is running a bit late, but he should be here soon."

Forty pairs of impassive eyes stare back at you, so you quickly hasten to change the slide, "Anyways, let me start off with some background information on Miss Chang…"

As the minutes slip by, you grow more and more stressed. You try to focus on this presentation that you've spent so much time on, but you can't concentrate on anything other than the fact that you're alone onstage while the whole class judges you. Where is Jungkook? How could he do this to you? When he knew how important this was to you?

Your heart has permanently sunken to the pit of your stomach when you come to the last of your prepared slides. Your pulse is thundering and for a minute, it's hard to even breathe. As though expecting a miracle, you glance at the door one last time, praying that Jungkook will breeze right in with his easy-going smile. But you're not that lucky. You pause as you stare into the judgmental faces of your classmates. Then you resign yourself to your hopeless fate.

"A-and, um… That's it. Thank you."

There's a confused smattering of applause, nothing as exuberant as the what the other groups had received.

"Ah, Miss ___, you didn't address any of your author's contemporary works. Did you forget that half of the presentation was supposed to include a comprehensive literature review?" the professor asks.

You can only stare at your feet in shame, "Yes… I'm sorry, professor."

She simply clicks her tongue in blatant disapproval, "I see… You may sit down."

You lower your head as far as you possibly can as you drop back into your seat. But the embarrassment never leaves you.

"I'm fucked," you croak at Yerin.

She sympathetically rubs your back. But not even your closest friend can bear to lie to you.

"I'm going to fucking kill him," you growl as you make your way with Taehyung to the stadium for the big game the following morning, "I can't believe I have to go to this stupid fucking game when he couldn't even show up to a presentation worth twenty-five percent of our grade!"

Taehyung sympathetically squeezes your shoulder, "Have you spoken to him yet?" he asks as he hands the attendee the tickets.

"No. That bastard won't pick up his damn phone because he's a cowardly fool!"

"Or maybe it's because he had a game to worry about?" Taehyung wryly offers.

"No, I don't think that's it," you growl.

"Hey, where are you going?" he asks as you march right past him, "There are two seats right here."

"My friend's saving us seats near the bottom… Which is great, because I want to stare that bastard in the eye and make him feel guilty about even being born."

"This is a totally healthy method of communication," Taehyung sarcastically says, "You guys totally aren't in need of some major couple's counseling…"

"We're not a couple!" You bellow at him, attracting the attention of everyone around you. "Why does everyone think that?! We're not even friends, for god's sake!"

"Oh, ___!" A sweet voice calls out, interrupting your rant, "There you are!"

You turn your head to the side to find a pretty blonde girl waving at you a few rows down, "Ah, Yerin!" You happily wave back, "You saved us seats?"

"Yeah," she calls back, "Come down here!"

"Okay!" You sing as you cheerfully skip down the aisle to meet her, "Thanks for saving us seats, honey," you say as you swing your arms around her for a tight hug, "You must've gotten here so early to get such great seats."

"It wasn't that early," she says in embarrassment, "Besides, I knew how sleep-deprived you were, so you really needed to sleep in."

Your heart melts at her thoughtful action, "Aww, my sweet baby," you coo as you squish her to your chest, content to plant little kisses all over her cute face until the end of time.

Until Taehyung awkwardly interrupts with a little cough, "Um, hello, I'm Taehyung."

Yerin immediately reaches over to accept his offered hand, "Hi, my name is Yerin. It's nice to meet you."

Taehyung doesn't respond for a moment, uncharacteristically flustered. You frown at the way his gaze drops to his lap and he moistens his lips with his tongue. You're about to call him out for it, when Yerin suddenly gets to her feet.

"Oh, the game is starting soon. I'm going to run to the restroom real fast. Can you save my seat?"

"Of course, sweetheart," you coo, already covering her seat with your bag. You smile fondly after her retreating figure when Taehyung suddenly grabs you by the shoulder.

"___," he hisses at you in a low tone, "Why didn't you tell me that we were meeting up with your friend?"

"Huh? I mentioned it several times, actually!"

"Ok, maybe, but you didn't say that she was this cute!"

"Wait, what happened with Hoseok?" you ask in amusement.

"He's hot, I'll give him that," Taehyung begrudgingly admits, "But even I can acknowledge a lost cause when I see one."

"What do you mean by that?" you frown.

Taehyung shoots you a wry look, "Come on, we both saw the way he was looking at you," he says, "It's obvious that he'll never look at me that way, so why bother trying? It's pointless to chase after someone who will never reciprocate."

It feels like an unpleasant weight has dropped to the pit of your stomach as you process his words. You swallow tightly and break eye contact, "Yeah, you're right," you gruffly say, "So now it's Yerin?"

"Yes, she's so pretty and sweet, I thought my heart would burst!" he dramatically exclaims, "And if you would've just let me know in advance, like a good friend, I could've worn my gucci!"

"Wait, who said we were friends?" you deadpan.

He ignores you, "Why couldn't you have been a bud and told me to wear my new gucci loafers?!"

"Because they're ugly as hell," you inform him, "And besides, why do you care? Do you wanna date my baby or something?"

He cowers under your sudden death glare, perfectly aware of how overprotective you are of your girlfriends. Namjoon made the mistake of asking you for Mijoo's number last semester and you nearly roasted him alive. "Um… maybe…? I mean… no? I don't know!"

"Okay."

"I didn't mean it like that!" Taehyung cries out in fear, before your response finally settles in, "Wait… what did you say?"

You shrug, "If you want her number or something, I'll give it to you later… With her permission, of course."

Taehyung warily peeks at you through his fingers, "Wait… are you really offering to help set us up? Me with your precious baby?"

"Well, this isn't the damn feudal era. It's not like I can sell her for three cows… Although that would be nice…"

"You know what I meant!" He exclaims, "You'd be okay with it?"

You simply shrug again, "Yeah, why not? You're a pretty okay guy."

"Wow, that's the nicest thing you've ever said to me!" he exclaims in genuine delight.

You smile at his reaction, "It's true though. You're not as bad as the rest of them. I can trust you to treat my dearest Yerin well."

Taehyung cocks his head to the side in confusion over your cryptic words, but before he can question you, Yerin comes bouncing back, "Ooh guys, look! The game is just about to start!" she says, excitedly gesturing towards the field.

At that, your face hardens, "Look at that stupid smug dumbass brat," you mutter darkly under your breath as Jungkook walks out on the field with his teammates, "Coconut bitch."

Yerin glances over at you in concern, "Are you alright?"

You simply grunt as you dig out a notepad and a pen from your bag, "Yup. Just peachy…"

"Haha. Look at that clumsy fool," you snicker as Jungkook has the ball stolen from him for the umpteenth time.

Both Yerin and Taehyung look at you in surprise, "Why are you being so mean?"

"Yeah, whose side are you on anyways?" Taehyung adds, indignant.

"Oh please," you say with a roll of your eyes, "This big baby can handle a bit of my teasing. He's doing so well already. So whatever."

Yerin frowns in confusion, "___, what are you talking about? He's made so many mistakes today."

"Yeah, look at him," Taehyung says, pointing down at where Jungkook is streaking across the field, ball in possession, "He's really fucking up bad today."

"No way, he's by far the fastest. See, look at him run!"

Both of them turn to look at you at the same time, "Do you even know the rules of soccer?" Yerin murmurs in disbelief.

"___, he's been off-sides like six times now," Taehyung adds.

"What, is that like a bad thing?"

"…Why are you the sports reporter again?"

"Wait… so he's not supposed to run like that?"

Taehyung narrowly resists the urge to smack himself in the forehead, "No! He can't pass the last defender on the other team, or the ball goes back to the opponents. And he's missed most of Hoseok's passes… This is really bad."

"Oh shit…" you curse under your breath, brow furrowing as you finally realize the severity of the situation, "And this is such an important game… There are recruiters attending…"

"Wait, what?"

"Nothing!" you quickly say, turning your attention back to the game. Now that you're aware of the rules, you can confirm that Jungkook really isn't playing his best… And even from your distance up in the stands, you notice his frustration in the stiffness and the hard line of his jaw. You glance back at the scoreboard and your chest tightens when you realize that they're down by one goal… Jungkook and his team can still catch up, and he can still impress the recruiters, right?

Stressed beyond belief, you gnaw your bottom lip and sit straighter in your seat as you anxiously focus in on the game.

Half an hour later and the two teams are finally tied. Unfortunately, it's no thanks to Jungkook. He misses both of his shots to the goal, and not a single one of them are anywhere close. Luckily, Hoseok steals away the ball at around the 75-minute mark and manages to impressively dribble the ball all the way from midfield into the goal, sliding past nearly four different defenders. It ties the game, and then they advance to the free kick.

The tension is at an all-time high in the stadium. As unfamiliar with the game as you are, you find yourself biting your nails as you anxiously watch the action below. Losing a coin flip, the opposing team begins first. And the whole arena erupts into mutual groans of disappointment when the first kicker easily makes it past the goalie.

Then, it's your team's turn. Hoseok, as the team captain, starts off as the first of the five players from his team for the free kick. The talented redhead stops in front of the goal, carefully planting the ball in place before appraising the other team's goalie. There's a moment of silence as he knits his brow in concentration. Then, quicker than the eye can perceive, he suddenly jumps into action. The ball is neatly at the back of the net by the time anyone notices what happened.

As though of one mind, the entire stadium bursts into cheers. But you can't bring yourself to feel at ease until the next two opponent's players miss and your team scores again. The score is now 2-1 and you slump a little in relief, smiling at Yerin as she turns to reassuringly squeeze your shoulder. You force the negative thoughts out of your mind as you watch the remainder of the free kicks with a lightened heart… Until the next two players on your team miss… and the opposing team makes the last shot…

You're now trailing 2-3. Your team has to make another goal just to tie with the opposing team and enter the sudden death round. The arena seems to quiet with apprehension and everyone around you in the crowd begins to murmur prayers under their breath. You're right there with them, chest tight and sweat beading at your forehead as you clasp your hands together tightly and pray for a miracle.

It seems as though your prayers are answered for at that moment, your salvation arrives in the form of Jeon Jungkook strolling across the field as the last kicker. It feels as though the entire stadium heaves a sigh of relief. This is everyone's beloved idol—the highest scorer in the entire district and the superstar leading the school to victory for the first time in decades. As long as you have Jungkook, you're fine. You're all in good hands.

You exhale deeply as you lean back in your seat, consciously unclenched your balled-up fists. Everything is going to be fine.

Everyone is visibly relaxed as Jungkook sets up the ball in front of the goalie and carefully takes three long strides back. He might not have been playing his best this game, but this is Jeon Jungkook. He can't do any wrong.

Jungkook visibly sucks a deep breath through his teeth down on the field, then lightly jogs the one, two, three steps to the ball. His foot meets the ball in a loud punch that echoes throughout the eerily silent stadium…

Followed by a metallic clink as the ball promptly smashes against the post, flying far away from the goal. There's a moment of hushed disbelief in the stadium. Then, the opposing team promptly bursts into rowdy cheers. You watch in stunned silence as the boys happily hoist each other up and rip off their shirts in celebration.

Then your eyes dart back down to where the players on your school's team half-heartedly pat each other on the back and congratulate the winning team. You turn to Yerin and Taehyung with wide eyes.

"What the hell just happened?"

"Hey guys, let's go to the back and talk to the team," Taehyung suggests when the three of you finally recover from the shock to begin trickling out of the arena.

"Isn't that a bit weird?" You say, balking at the very thought.

"No, that sounds like a great idea!" Yerin pipes up, eyes shining at the idea of meeting all those athletes, "___, can we please go?"

"Ah, I don't know. Shouldn't we give them a bit of space?" you hesitate.

"I think it'll be good for us to give them a bit of support after that upset," Taehyung argues, "Don't you think it'll be a nice thing to do?"

"Yeah, please ___?" Yerin is practically whining at this point, "We really should go! You can even curse out Jungkook or whatever you want there."

You purse your lips into a thin line, but can't help but begrudgingly agree, "Fine," you grit out, "Let's just get this over with."

Moments later, the three of you stream down the hall where the home team exited the field from. Your stomach flips at the sight of Jungkook leaning against the wall, talking to a few girls who you recognize from your sorority.

Yerin notices you hesitating in the hallway and slips her arm into yours, "What's wrong, ___? Let's go talk to him."

But you shake your head, strangely discomforted by the whole situation, "Nah. I'm not feeling well. I'll wait for you guys outside."

Taehyung looks a bit perplexed, but Yerin is too excited to stop and question you, "Okay, we won't take long."

And with that the two of them happily jog away to greet Jungkook and the sorority sisters. You freeze when the tall redhead in the group turns, revealing herself as Hyejin. Surprised, you instantly duck behind the door to peek at them from a distance. You've gotten into enough trouble with your sorority sister over the past few weeks, and you don't want her to think that you're trying to steal Jungkook or anything ridiculous like that… again.

From down the hall, you can hear their conversation as clear as day. It's really just frivolous, with the sorority girls whining over the unfairness of the game and Taehyung patting Jungkook on the back and telling him there will be other games. Yerin is a little better.

"You played well, Jungkook," she tells him with the sweetest of smiles.

"Not that well," he says with a humorless laugh, "I kinda fucked up the game for everyone."

This is met with a chorus of protests from the entourage surrounding him, "No way!" Taehyung exclaims in horror.

"This was like no big deal!" Hyejin adds, "You really can't blame yourself!"

"Yeah, it was just a bad day," her friend says.

Jungkook smiles the entire time, but you know him well enough to see that the smile doesn't reach his eyes, "Thanks guys," he says, "But you should go on in and say hi to the other members. They'd really appreciate it."

The group mumbles their assent before they begin filing into the building. But Hyejin pauses by the door when she notices Jungkook still lingering in the hall, "Are you coming, honey?"

He offers her a tight smile, "I'll catch up."

"Alright, but don't keep me waiting too long," the beautiful redhead grins, and with a flirty wave of her hand, she disappears into the building.

As soon as she's gone, Jungkook crumples against the wall, head held in his hands. It's such a shocking 180-degree change that you're unsure what to do. Unlike how he looked during the game, dominating the field, he's practically curled up into his dirty, wrinkled uniform now. He looks so damn broken, just leaning against the cement as though his body will no longer support his weight. You've never see the bigger-than-life star athlete look so small before. And it breaks your heart.

You know more than anyone else what this means to him. Jungkook isn't the type to talk about his emotions that easily. And the fact that he told you about his worries and how important this was to him… The recruiters were there today. And he fucked up in front of all of them.

As though possessed, you find yourself stumbling forward into the hallway. The logical part of your mind curses you for this mystifying behavior. What are you even doing? This is clearly an uncomfortable situation for the both of you. And now he's going to know that you were eavesdropping on him like some kind of stalker… You really should've just left when you had the chance… But now it's too late and Jungkook has noticed your approach.

It's striking how he instantly tenses up when he recognizes you. It's so different from the friendly greeting he offered Yerin and the others, the way he eyes you with cold distrust. His jaw tightens and his hands subconsciously ball into fists, as though he's anticipating a fight.

"___," he murmurs your name in a dark voice, "Listen, I really don't have the time for this. Can we talk about this tomorrow or something?"

It suddenly occurs to you that he thinks that you're talking about the creative writing project… That you're here to scold him and make him feel worse, even in his vulnerable state.

You stand there for a tense second that stretches on for what feels like forever, helpless but to stare at him while he watches you back with guarded, suspicious eyes. And then you move forward again.

Jungkook exhales in frustration as he realizes that you're not letting up, "Okay fine, I'm sorry, alright? I am a disgusting fucking bastard and you have every right to—oh," he grunts in surprise when you suddenly spring forward to grab him.

He stiffens under your unexpected aggression, as though expecting an actual attack, and it takes him a long three seconds to realize that you're not actually hitting him… You're… you're embracing him.

More confused than he's ever been in his life, he nevertheless lowers his fists back to his sides and slowly unclenches them so that he can awkwardly pat your back. When have you ever willingly hugged him like this? It's so strange that Jungkook doesn't know what to do with himself.

"___?" he calls out your name in a quiet voice, "What are you doing?"

But you ignore him and bury your face in his chest as you cling onto him harder. He smells like sweat and the dirty grass of the field. But underneath it all, he still smells like Jungkook. And you delve your nose deeper, seeking out that familiar scent.

There's a moment of strained silence.

Then, Jungkook slowly relaxes, inch by inch, into your tight embrace. Still bewildered beyond belief, he nevertheless wraps his arms around your shoulders and pulls you more comfortably against him. You're so relieved that he hasn't pushed you away like you expected that you push in closer towards him. Soon, the two of you are so intertwined that you can hear the hard pitter-patter of his heart as it beats against his ribcage, inches from your face. You're so close to him that you can feel his every breath and the way the air empties and fills his lungs in a never-ending cycle like rhythmic waves beating against the shore.

He disintegrates further after a minute of this, muscles loosening and whole body growing slack as he rests his head heavily on top of yours. He's taller than you, and has his arms surrounding your figure while you can only cling to his waist. But still, it's obvious that you are the one holding him, and not the other way around.

Another minute, and he has all but melted into you, body bending like putty under your touch. He's clinging onto you at this point, desperate for your warmth as he digs his fingers into the fabric of your clothing and presses you hard against his heart. You allow him to, eagerly allowing him any comfort you can give as you tighten your hold around his waist and simply breathe him in.

It's impossible to tell how long you stand there in the cold alleyway, allowing Jungkook to hold onto you with such raw desperation that it's contagious. You clutch onto him in return, stroking your hands gently over the tensed expanse of his back and soothing him over your unspoken words of comfort. Words that would instantly break the spell if voiced out loud.

He holds you like a man drowning, and you're the life preserver. He holds you like you're a precious treasure that he will never let go. You can't remember the last time you've been touched like this—if you ever have, that is—and his pain seeps from his skin into yours until you can't tell what's his and what's yours.

For this moment in time… in this dirty, forlorn alleyway, the two of you have reached a tacit understanding that transcends the need for words. For this moment in time, you have melded into a single entity, connected by one beating heart. You can't feel the wintry air whipping in your face or the discomfort of his filthy uniform staining your clean clothes. You can't feel anything but the heat of his body against yours, the feeling washing away every other sensation.

There is something tying you to him in ways you can't explain. But you know he feels it too.

But then, you hear the sound of footsteps beyond the closed door.

You break from Jungkook's hold so quickly that you nearly send the both of you flying. Somehow, you're more paranoid about being caught in this seemingly platonic embrace than you would in an illicit affair. For indescribable reasons, this feels more intimate. Your heart pounding in your chest, you rapidly turn on your heel to flee for your life.

"Wait!" Jungkook calls out in surprise, "___, where are you going?"

But at that moment, a group of people come streaming out of the building, "Oh, Jungkook? What are you still doing here?"

"Yeah, it's really cold out here," Hyejin says, cutely reaching over to grab at Jungkook's arm, "Let's go inside."

Still, he hesitates, trying to peer around the corner for you, but you're long gone, "Okay," he agrees. He has no idea what the fuck just happened in this alleyway. He's still reeling from the experience, and trying his best not to feel disappointed by the fact that you didn't even look back.

With a forced smile, he follows them back into the building. Because they're right. It is quite cold outside… now that you're gone.

A/N: I’m sorry that the chapter got away from me and became much different than I was originally planning towards the end... But after this terrible week, it was such an emotional catharsis writing this and I hope that you guys can feel the same relief I did when reading it. 

As always, please don’t ask me about updates and Happy Holidays! Take care of yourselves and dress warmly <3 

[bunkershotgolf]

V1 Game App Gaining Popularity Among Amateur and Pro Golfers

From Rising LPGA Stars to Recreational Players, Data is Driving Measurable Improvement

The V1 Game mobile app from V1 Sports has been gaining significant traction in the golf world on the strength of its newest cutting-edge features - A.I. Shot Tracking, Virtual Caddie and Virtual Coach. Those features are resonating with golfers of all skill levels, including fifth-year LPGA player Dana Finkelstein, who is having her best season on tour, highlighted by a T-12 finish at the Hugel-Air Premia Los Angeles Open earlier this spring and a T-14 showing at the recent Volunteers of America Classic.

V1 Game, named “Best Apple Watch Golf App for 2021” by GolfPass.com, delivers an innovative combination of on-course GPS data plus deep-dive performance analytics – including numerous Stroke Gained categories – that help golfers understand their on-course tendencies and pinpoint the skills they need to practice most in order to improve. The app requires no external hardware or second screens to provide its A.I.-powered game improvement platform.

“V1 Game uses no hardware on your golf clubs to track your shots,” says Dallas Webster, co-developer of V1 Game. “And, it's totally unlocked for your first two rounds while the GPS capabilities stay free forever. Other technology on the market requires a $300 investment in hardware just to dip your toe into the water. Our artificial intelligence handles shot tracking and makes it intuitive and seamless, so you can focus on golf and put down your phone. Plus, V1 Game makes the data accessible and actionable, analyzing your data and telling you exactly what to work on to make the next leap in your game. Data fanatics can dive as deep as they want.”

UNDER THE HOOD V1 Game’s latest features are revolutionary. A.I. Shot Tracking uses sensors in your smartphone or Apple Watch to detect shots and automatically track your round. An Apple Watch helps V1 Game detect when you swing, marks your location, and emits a soft vibration confirming your swing detection.

“Our integration with Apple Watch obsoletes external sensors,” says Webster. “We detect swings, so you can just play. And when you replace worn-down grips, you don't have to mess with hardware.” Android watch functionality is also coming soon.

If you don't have an Apple Watch, simply start a round and keep your phone in a front or back pocket, or in the cart or golf bag. V1 Game uses the phone’s GPS and accelerometer data, to determine where and when you potentially hit a shot. You may need to do some slight post-round editing - as with every shot-tracking software on the market - by simply dragging shot locations with your finger on the hole map, in places the A.I. marked shots. You can also fine-tune the A.I., depending on if you play fast or not, to further increase its accuracy.

Virtual Caddie goes beyond anything else available, using A.I. to provide adjusted ‘Plays Like’ yardages but also building a history of how you perform from various situations based on club use, lie, distance to the hole and weather conditions. It then offers simplified insights during rounds, giving club recommendations and a quick snapshot of the data – just like a Tour caddie would – so that golfers can make the best on-course decisions. It even warns what to watch for on approach shots, based on miss tendencies from similar previous situations.

The feature-loaded Virtual Coach takes the app to yet another level. While many golf stat apps collect data and then dump it on you to figure out how to apply that to your game, Virtual Coach does the insightful heavy lifting. For instance, it plots putting performance, and uses A.I. to analyze the data and advise specifically what to work on. It displays advice, such as “Work on Approach Shots First” and “You are losing the most strokes on putts from 6-10 ft. Practice this range to improve the fastest.”

Golfers know exactly what to focus on in practice. Because the app also tracks their mistakes, Virtual Coach ‘trends’ plots to quickly see what areas of their game are improving with practice or declining from neglect. Pairing this data with a V1 instructor can further accelerate progress, especially if that teacher is armed with the V1 Coach app for instructors. This companion to V1 Game is a dynamic, data-rich system to help golf instructors and coaches manage their students’ performance data to optimize lesson content, practice plans, course management and scoring habits using the data supplied from V1 Game usage.

THIS TIME, IT’S PERSONAL In the four years since Webster began developing V1 Game with partner Ryan Hebert, he’s personally added 20 yards to his tee shots and cut his handicap by five strokes to below scratch for the first time - all while working two jobs and managing a growing family.

“It provides easy-to-digest data,” says Webster, an engineer by trade who’s now becoming a rising star as a golf tech developer and stats guru. “I didn't want to spend 45 minutes after a round to get to an understanding, so I selfishly built V1 Game to teach me what I did well and poorly, via quick and intuitive feedback. So, now, when I’m standing over a 175-yard shot, Virtual Caddie tells me I tend to miss short and left so I need to take more club and aim right. Easy and actionable. I want golfers to get answers fast and simple. And I’ve learned a ton from our users. I’m constantly in the chat room fielding questions. We take suggestions seriously, and if you have a good idea, we'll try it. If you have a pain point, we work on it. We’ve made many updates this way. We have passionate customers and I leverage them to improve the app for all. We're listening.”

TOUR-PROVEN TECHNOLOGY V1 Game is not just for amateur golfers. LPGA and Symetra Tour pros, including Finkelstein, Marisa Messana, Janet Mao and Vicky Hurst have also begun relying on it. Those tours don’t currently provide Strokes Gained data, so V1 Game is becoming a valuable tool in the hands of its early adapters.

“I love how simple it is,” says Finkelstein. “And I’ve already made a putter change after the app showed how poor my stats are with speed control and 40-foot-plus putts. It’s also showing a positive trend in how my stat tracking from driving and approach shots have drastically improved. That's really cool to see. It's nice to see all of the hard work I put in this offseason starting to pay off.”

Adds Messana: “It’s very helpful for my practice sessions, because I'm all about high performance, knowing myself and my tendencies. V1 Game explicitly says what I need to work on in order to close those performance gaps. People can tell me I’m not making enough birdies, so I therefore need to sink more putts. But really what I learned in V1 Game was that my proximity stats were not where they should be, in order to give myself those birdie opportunities. In other words, it wasn't really my putting, but rather my proximity to the hole on my approaches that I needed to improve. The Strokes Gained insights in V1 Game have already changed my game.”

Strokes Gained is the coveted stat that essentially lets you know how your game compares to other golfers of any skill level you set as a baseline. It helps any golfer. In fact, golfers shooting 100 will likely benefit the most from it because it makes their weaknesses obvious to inform practice sessions.

NEW FEATURES COMING IN HOT

Webster is out to make the V1 Game app even more intuitive. One recent update: As soon a score is entered, the shots graphically populate before one’s eyes. Another fresh feature is Friends Mode, in which golfers and their buddies can link their rounds when they start playing. This allows friends to share a live scorecard between each other and see everyone’s shots tracked on one screen.

V1 Game’s success is another testament to the visionary leadership of V1 Sports CEO Bryan Finnerty, an entrepreneur and former goalkeeper for the Detroit Rockers professional indoor soccer team. Finnerty has led the charge to improve V1 Sports’ technology, sales, service, support and product offerings. New offerings under his guidance include V1 Game, expanding into V1 Baseball, adding the V1 Pressure Mat product and education series. All the while, he’s helped make the V1 Golf and V1 Pro platforms the most commonly used video analysis platforms in golf.

"It’s easy for me to get excited about V1 Sports' vision and the convergence of sports and technology because the root motivation for our work should always be 'Does it make playing the sport more fun?'" he says. "Breaking the four-minute mile. Dunking from the top of the key. The first guy who bent a soccer ball around a wall into a goal. The Pele bicycle kick. I still get chills thinking of all those things because I remember being introduced to them as a kid. Today, with our core products V1 Golf, V1 Golf Plus, V1 Pro and now V1 Game, the market is telling us our vision, to have become more and more consumer-facing over the past five years, truly resonates.”

CONVENIENT PRICING MODEL Par: $1.99/month or $19.99/year – includes 40,000+ golf courses in the V1 Game directory, Accurate GPS Distances, Simple Shot Tracking, Breadcrumbs/Auto Shot Detection

Birdie: $5.99/month or $59.99/year – includes 40,000+ golf courses in the V1 Game directory, Accurate GPS Distances, Simple Shot Tracking, Breadcrumbs/Auto Shot Detection, Strokes Gained Data, DIY Golf Stats

Eagle: $11.99/month or $119.99/year – includes 40,000+ golf courses in the V1 Game directory, Accurate GPS Distances, Simple Shot Tracking, Breadcrumbs/Auto Shot Detection, Strokes Gained Data, DIY Golf Stats, Virtual Coach, Virtual Caddie

V1 Game is a perfect complement to V1’s current line of video analysis software and mobile apps, including the V1 Golf and V1 Pro mobile apps which allow golfers and coaches to conduct online video lessons with advanced feedback including voice-over, telestration and side-by-side swing analysis.

Visit https://v1sports.com/athletes/v1-game-app/ to learn more.

[insidethegiftbasket]

Stats Club 101 - Counting and Basic Rates

Evan’s Note: Hey, look at this! Another new contributor. We’re growing faster than Ortiz’s ass after the steroid needle hits it. Anyway, everyone say hi to AJ and yeah, go ahead and make another one more when you bring cupcakes to class next week. 

———

While Evan, Sam, and now Julio are breaking down players and series previews, I’ll be focusing on the NUMBERS! and SCIENCE! that surround baseball. Before you even think about yawning, let’s be clear: you’re a baseball fan. You do like those things in this context; you just don’t realize it. Hopefully I can help demystify the decimals and acronyms and spinning and launching, making it a little less scary and giving you a new perspective with which to think and talk about our beloved sport.

First up: The first installment of a dive into baseball statistics. 

———

It’s no surprise: baseball is numbers-heavy. Likely because it can be mostly described by discrete and well-defined events, baseball lends itself to digits upon digits upon digits. The spectrum of fan acceptance of this spans from those developing modern sabermetrics, to those who blame the Inevitable and Imminent Downfall of the Sport (100+ years and counting!) on anything outside of “traditional” stats. In-between you have everyone else: fans who don’t care either way; those who care a little either way; those who want to understand but find it all so damn intimidating; and even those who think they get it but carry major misconceptions (looking at you, r/baseball and your abuse of ‘regression’).

Well regardless of where you sit, Welcome to Stats Club! We’re gonna take a close look at the classes of baseball metrics, where they come from, and how to interpret them. Before we kick things off you should know of a few key rules:

The first rule of Stats Club is: Stats are not bad. 

The second rule of Stats Club is: Stats are not bad!!

But seriously, statistics are tools. Saying a specific stat is fundamentally bad because it doesn’t tell you something it wasn’t designed for is like saying a screwdriver sucks because it can’t hammer nails. The formula is what it is: what’s potentially bad are the inferences you draw from it. 

For example, suppose I make a measurement that is the total number of apples and oranges in my fruit basket: I call it 'wAO’. It’s very specific, sure, but it’s still carrying information. And although it only counts those two fruits directly, you may be able to infer what’s happening with the rest of my fruit supply if you know how much my basket can hold; e.g. a low wAO may mean I have bananas and kiwis too. But if you’re wrong, that’s not the fault of wAO. Rather, your methodology is flawed by not accounting for your own assumptions. Keep this in mind as we step through baseball statistics, especially when we get into sabermetrics.

A third thing to be aware of is: unless stated otherwise, baseball stats are not predictive. They are records of the past, and we assume things will stay mostly the same going forward. But this is an assumption, and depending on what we’re talking about it can be a pretty bold one.

Part I. The Counting Stats

<Hits, home runs, RBIs, strikeouts, innings pitched, etc…>

Ah, it’s the most basic category: the stuff you can literally count. Counting stats get scoffed at because of how simple they are, but they’re at the core of everything that follows. After all, you can’t build a model of player production without having raw data to throw into your equations.

As I mentioned earlier, baseball is a nice sport from a statistics perspective because it can be almost completely described by counting stats, which are descriptions of discrete events. A batter does or doesn’t reach base; a pitcher either gets a strikeout on 3-2 or he does not; and so on. Compare to, say, soccer, where it’s not so easy to cleanly describe and quantify the details of player performance.

I say almost completely described because fielding remains a challenge. Errors are an attempt, but errors are a divisive counting stat because they’re uncharacteristically subjective for baseball. Like with soccer where we’re trying to measure continuous and complicated events, advanced analytics are really the only way to quantify fielding in any detail. But we’ll save that discussion for a later post.

Part II. The Rate Stats

<Batting average (BA), On-base percentage (OBP), Slugging percentage (SLG), etc…>

Counting’s great, but raw numbers can get large and unwieldy and difficult to interpret. We solve this by normalizing them, i.e. dividing the count by some standard unit. Then we get a rate, or measure of how often something has occurred (remember: baseball stats are not inherently predictive). BA is the rate of hits per official at-bats; OBP is the rate of reaching base—hits and walks and hit-by-pitch—per plate appearance; and so on.

For pitchers, Earned Run Average (ERA) is earned runs per inning pitched times nine, which just scales the rate to an entire 9-inning game. There’s also Walks and Hits per Inning Pitched (WHIP) which says what it is right in the name. On baseball-reference you’ll find SO9 and HR9, which are strikeouts and homeruns per inning, respectively, also times nine for the same scaling as ERA (for whatever reason pitchers get their rates expressed as whole numbers while hitters are stuck with fractions).

Let’s illustrate the first two rules of Stats Club by looking at the much maligned BA. It’s perfectly reasonable to measure how often a batter reaches base via a hit. Hits are exciting! There’s a crack of the bat, the ball goes into play, and the fielders scamper to unsuccessfully throw the ball in before the batter-turned-runner can reach. Not to mention, making contact with a small 90mph projectile and placing it where it can’t be fielded may be the hardest thing to do in all of sports, so getting a hit is always an impressive feat. 

But none of this is to say hits are the only things that matter. If you’re trying to get on base you don’t really care how you do it, and from that perspective a walk is just as beneficial as a single (even if Nick Johnson’s knowledge of the strike zone is slightly less dramatic than a clutch Gio Urshela double down the line). Thus the problem is not in BA being what it is, but rather in old-school baseball minds deciding it is the be-all, end-all of offensive measures. So definitely celebrate high batting averages, but don’t use it to definitively say one player is better than another. There are more appropriate tools for that.

Part IIa. OPS and Other Fun Rates

On-base Plus Slugging (OPS) is technically a rate, but it’s unique because it rather unceremoniously—but somehow very comfortably—smashes two other rates together: OBP, and the intimidatingly named SLUGGING PERCENTAGE (SLG), which is bases per at-bat. 

The idea behind adding the two is straightforward. In baseball you want to generate runs. And you do this by either getting on base or by hitting the ball so you get a lot of bases. Hey, that’s OBP and SLG! So if we add the two together we get a number that kinda captures a player’s rate of run creation. Hence, OPS.

There was a time when I ignored the first two rules of Stats Club and hated this number. Since the same hit is captured in both OBP and SLG, isn’t it double counting? And wait a second, OBP and SLG have different denominators; you can’t just add them! But as I went through my career I realized I was overthinking it: OPS is fine. Between 9am and 5pm on weekdays I’d call OPS a basic heuristic. A heuristic is a broad concept: it refers to any good-effort way to get a solution or estimate to a problem. Heuristics are explicitly not meant to be optimal or perfect: they just need to be justified by the designer. And OPS can be justified! Aside from the conceptual idea of run creation, it can be shown that OPS tracks with—and even has some level of prediction for!—actual runs scored. So there you go.

But be aware that even given that, we’re still inferring things about run creation from OPS. Inferences still rely on assumptions and interpretations and there was a desire to get more precise. Stats guys wanted a more refined tool to directly measure production. One of these tools is called weighted on base average (wOBA), but we’ll discuss that later when we dive into advanced metrics.

Batting Average on Balls in Play (BABIP) is another fun one. BABIP also has its description in its name: it’s like BA, but instead of hits per at-bats, it’s hits per balls-in-play (i.e. it ignores strikeouts and HRs). BABIP is used to gauge the statistical un/likehood of a hitter’s performance. The logic is as follows:

Major league ballplayers have a baseline level of fielding skill. That is, there are zones in which any competent player should be able to field a ball and record an out. That means there are also zones where that fielder won’t be able to make a play, and thus the batter—if he places it there—will get a hit. 

Given all that, we can expect a ball in play to be a hit about 30% of the time. If a hitter’s BABIP is far below .300, the implication is that fielders are making spectacular plays. And since spectacular plays are spectacular for a reason, the hitter is probably getting “unlucky”. Or perhaps he’s hitting into crazy shifts. Either way, a good hitter will adjust his approach and/or benefit from defenses being less spectacular. As a result, the expectation is that in due time he will see his BABIP regress upward towards .300. And if his BABIP goes up, so will his BA.

On the other hand, if a BABIP is far above .300, it implies the hitter is getting lots of bloop hits, which he certainly isn’t planning. Or maybe he’s beating defensive alignments, which any competent defense will recognize and adjust to. Whatever the reason, we’d expect his BABIP to regress down towards .300, accompanied by a drop in BA.

(BIG NOTE: Player skill is a factor here too! Elite hitters will be better at finding those gaps and can maintain a BABIP of around .350, while the worst hitters may sit as low as .260. If we know a player’s true BABIP after seasons of playing, we can have a good guess of how his BA may trend based on BABIP.)

For a while BABIP was THE indicator of statistical un/likelihood (or un/luckiness). This is why we curse the BABIP gods when one of our guys is “robbed” or when a team--probably the Rays or mid-aught Angels--bloops us to death. But thanks to Statcast, BABIP has been given a partner. Because Statcast logs everything about batted balls, we can, in real time, know exactly how often that type of contact (launch angle, exit velocity, etc.) has resulted in a hit vs. an out. No more inferences required! You know this stat as expected batting average (xBA). But more on that later.

Remember: Stats Are Not Bad. This is some cool synergy between classic rates and new-age Statcast. Use xBA for real-time analysis, but turn to BABIP when trying to project long-term trends.

Part IIb. Time to Normalize…Again!

Rate stats exist to make counting stats more readable, but it’s still not obvious what rate is a good rate. This is something you had to learn when you first got into baseball: you weren’t born with the knowledge that a .330 BA may win the batting title, or that a 5.36 ERA for a starter is disappointing. Rate stats are a useful tool but they don’t tell if a rate is what you want.

Enter the “pluses”, mainly OPS+ for hitters and ERA+ for pitchers. These are essentially the raw rates normalized by the league average rate, times 100 (so it’s not a fraction) with a few other adjustments. This gives a direct comparison to everyone else in the league over that period of time. If a pitcher has an ERA+ of 101 it means he’s in the middle of the pack, whereas an ERA+ of 205 means he’s 100% better than the league average pitcher. Similarly, an OPS+ of 90 says a hitter’s inferred run production is 10% worse than the rest of the league. The pluses are my favorite to look at because they’re nice clean numbers that quickly provide a lot of information.

Baseball-reference iterates on this with tOPS+ for player splits. This is the player’s OPS for that split, e.g. the month of April, normalized by his OPS for the entire year. This lets you quickly check out fluctuations over months, counts, and other situations.

Ok, two caveats here. First, the pluses are also adjusted by a “park factor”, which is a number that describes how pitcher- or hitter-friendly a stadium is. If two pitchers have the same ERA but one plays in an extreme hitters park, he will have a higher (i.e. better) ERA+ because the park factor adjustment accounts for how he has to work harder.

Secondly, because of how OPS+ is calculated—it actually sums what you could call OBP+ and SLG+—an OPS of 90 doesn’t exactly mean 10% worse than league average OPS. That’s why, in the example above, I said 10% worse run production instead. And now we’re bordering on more abstract concepts that may require additional tools to describe...

———

--And that is a good place to end today’s lesson. To recap: we started with counting to collect raw baseball data, and then we normalized those counts to get rates. To easily compare those rates we normalized again, but with a twist: to be a fair comparison we needed to adjust for the quirkiness of the various ballparks. And that’s not exactly something you can just count. You need a model, and more specifically, a model that checks out.

Furthermore, what about our sharper version of OPS? How do we more accurately and directly measure run production? And since errors are a weirdly subjective stat, and because hits themselves depend somewhat on defense, is there a way to meaningfully evaluate a pitcher’s performance while somehow ignoring hits and runs? 

The search for answers to these questions gave rise to the advanced metrics, or “Sabermetics”. wOBA, FIP, WAR and others are newer heuristics that use the history of baseball stats to develop models of performance. Next time we’ll dissect a few of these to better understand what exactly they’re telling us.

— Extra Credit —

< A place for footnotes and other remarks for the nerdiest nerds >

Throughout all this I’m going to use the statistics meaning of regression, which means a trend. The concept of regression towards the mean refers to trending towards a true average. It does NOT mean “To arbitrarily get worse”! Baseball fans routinely mess this up and it leads to very bad analysis! Much more on that later.

Isolated Power (ISO) is a rate like SLG, but it only counts doubles, triples, and HRs and gives them weights of one, two, and three, respectively (It can also be calculated as SLG minus BA). As you can guess from its name and its components, it’s a heuristic used to capture power hitting.

Here’s a fun quirk. A player’s OBP is always higher than his BA, right? Not necessarily! Check it out:

Two players with identical BAs for this game but very different OBPs. What’s happening here? It’s the sac flies! Since SFs count as a plate appearance but obviously not as getting on base, they go into the denominator of OBP but not the numerator. So if a player has more SFs than BBs, it won’t affect his BA but it will bring down his OBP. Of course, no actual major league player should have more sac flies than walks over any meaningful period of time, so this is mostly an early season quirk.

[sportsgeekonomics]

A Summary of the 6 Amicus Briefs filed on behalf of the Alston Defendants

Previously, I laid out a summary of the pro-athlete amicus briefs in Alston.  At the request of several folks, I reluctantly agreed to summarize the other side’s amici as well.  At first it was my goal to be very factual in my presentation of heir argument, but I simply could not do it without a moderate amount of commentary and, at times, snark.  

With that trigger warning out of the way, let’s dive in and see what we can learn about why the NCAA (purportedly) should win

Brief of Former Student-Athletes as Amici Curiae In Support Of Petitioners

This amicus brief is more important for who signed it (though not that even this is less clear than at first glance) than what it says.  The fact that the NCAA was able to find a dozen or so former athletes including a notable professional football player (Darren McFadden) to sign on to this paean to “the revered tradition of amateurism” made it instantly newsworthy.  Only later did it come out that the signatories were maybe not quite so reverent vis-à-vis “amateurism.”

The amici are Melsahn Basabe (Iowa Basketball), Walter Bond (Minnesota Basketball), Morgan Chall (Cornell Gymnastics), Catherine DeSilvester (Augusta Volleyball), Kelly Dopke (Idaho Soccer), María Fassi (Arkansas Golf), Jake R. Gibbons (Texas A&M Swimming) Kate Hall (Georgia Track and Field), Sarana Hyatt (Sacred Heart Track and Field), Alfrie “Tre” Kelley III (South Carolina Basketball), Olivia Lubarsky (Towson Gymnastics), Cody J. McDavis (Northern Colorado Basketball), Darren McFadden (Arkansas Football), Christopher Monroe (George Washington Basketball), Jamie Redman (Yale Rowing), Wallace Spearmon Jr.(Arkansas Track and Field), Kendall Spencer (New Mexico Track and Field), and Kara Winger (Purdue Track and Field).

The content is essentially fearmongering.  It’s not that they are explicitly in favor of mandatory pro bono efforts, but rather they fear that “If schools are permitted to offer virtually limitless benefits to recruit and retain top student-athletes, amici fear that future generations of student-athletes may no longer have access to the same opportunities they had—including access to higher education.”  That is, they fear schools will ONLY fund non-revenue sports scholarships if they can do it with money that, in a free market, would go to revenue sport athletes. Whether these amici realize it or not, they are essentially admitting the system extracts wealth from elite (mostly black) athletes and hands it out to lots of other folks (often from more privileged backgrounds, though not always) and they think schools won’t use their own money for this if they have to stop taking it from the revenue sport athletes.

The brief pulls a common switcheroo.  They start with the premise that “participation in intercollegiate athletics and integration into the university community, student-athletes learn invaluable lessons of self-discipline, leadership, and time management, while gaining access to the school’s network and academic and social opportunities. Unsurprisingly, then, most student-athletes report having a positive academic and social experience and have higher graduation rates than comparable non-athletes” but look carefully and you’ll see none of this hinges on the amateur status of athletes.  It’s basically “college sports is good for college athletes” but then they pull the misdirect and conclude that hence the “principle of amateurism is tremendously beneficial to student-athletes.”  This conflation, where college sports = good and hence amateurism also good, is essentially the primary theme of the brief.

Another interesting admission of this brief is that these amici firmly believe that if schools were allowed to pay athletes, they would all race each other to pay them more and more – they say that a “a compensation arms race … will inevitably ensue.”  As I have written (with co-author Ricky Volante, my boss at the PCL), and as Judge Wilken begrudgingly conceded,[1] as a matter of economics, if schools feel their correct economic move, given the chance, is to pay athletes more, then they must think their fans prefer them to pay their athletes, meaning consumers aren’t turned off by pay above COA.  It’s an odd stance to take from amici who also argue that “Fans’ interest may wane. Surveys have consistently found that “[t]he appeal of college athletics is driven by” perceptions that athletes are ‘playing for the love of the sport, teamwork and [not] for pay.’” and who filing in support of an organization that claims to know that consumers do not want to watch fully compensated athletes.

The final argument is essentially a very old one – that money is bad.  As they explain “Student-athletes’ educational experiences will also suffer” if they have access to more money.  It’s a sort of “these are mere children who cannot make good choices of how to spend their time between sports and school, so let’s deny them one of the incentives to focus on sports”

Brief of Georgia, Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi, Montana, North Dakota, South Carolina, and South Dakota As Amici Curiae Supporting Petitioners

I like to refer to this as the brief of five former confederate states and their sparsely populated mountain west allies (none of which were states in 1861 so they did not have to pick sides).  Of all the briefs, even compared to the illogical former athletes one, this might be the worst (from my non-lawyerly perspective), though the High School Sports Federations (at the end of this post) may give it a run for its money.  Their argument is essentially that because Congress (as well as individual states) are in the process of passing new laws to better define the rights of athletes vis-à-vis the NCAA, the Court should overrule this case because... and then the logic sort of just fails, since Congress would have the final say anyway, and until SCOTUS took this case, Congress was working on the assumption the Alston case would stand.  

The other argument they make is because the NCAA rules are harming college athletes (i.e., they are working in their role of preventing schools from paying athletes more than they do now, but if the rules went away, schools (including those from the southern and mountain west states filing this amicus brief) would totally want to pay lots more than they do now, that allowing these schools to do what they want that “injunction here threatens serious harm to collegiate sports in the amici states” by fording them to make the difficult economic choice of whether to have their cake or eat it, or as they put it: “The injunction will force schools to choose between either spending more on their athletic department— which for most schools is already funded by student fees and university support—or cutting sports and becoming less competitive on the field.”  In other words, please don’t make us have to pay market-price for our sports teams, oh gracious SCOTUS.

Brief of Amici Curiae Antitrust Economists in Support of Petitioners

These amici are, in theory, my peers (though I suspect they would deny it vehemently): economists who work in and think about the antitrust laws from an economic perspective.  They are Rosa Abrantes-Metz (NYU), Michael Cragg (Brattle Group), Daniel L. McFadden (UC-Berkeley… and for the record, one of my profs in grad school), and Janusz A. Ordover (NYU), and Richard L. Schmalensee (MIT).  The last two are interesting choices.  Schmalensee is one of the economists most associated with multi-sided market theory, which is related to the final point of this brief, and discussed below.  Ordover was an actual paid expert witness in the case on behalf of the NCAA, and I never knew you could be a paid witness and an amicus in the same case, but you learn something new every day, I guess.

Their primary argument is that we face a slippery slope: if the Court interferes with the NCAA’s right to define its product as college sports made without fair-market compensation, then other firms will be denied the right to define their products as well and pretty soon our economy will suffer from lack of innovation.  I’m not really exaggerating, as here are their own words:

“For those activities in which the joint venture or limited collaboration is the only viable organizational structure—intercollegiate athletics is but one example—the risk that product design decisions will be condemned may well cause entrepreneurs to forego experimentation with product design that would otherwise benefit consumers or bypass creation of otherwise procompetitive ventures altogether.”

That is, if a joint venture like the NCAA is not allowed to define their product as including a maximum level of compensation allowed (i.e., price-fixing), then other JVs won’t be able to design, I don’t know, cool technologies and cures for cancer and such.

By the way, there’s a bit of a technical dispute in this case whether the NCAA is a joint venture at all, and if so whether it is a joint venture with respect to setting pay caps.  I have no legal opinion, but I would say as a matter of economics, the NCAA is a joint venture but so too is OPEC.  Economically, the question is not whether joint actions by independent firms can be labelled a joint venture or not – it always is – but whether that joint action is pro- or anticompetitive.  When every cartel is a joint venture, simply proving your cartel is a joint venture doesn’t move you into the procompetitive column by itself.

These economists then take a bit of a diversion into pretending to be lawyers (not that I can claim to be blameless in this regard!) arguing that the “The Lower Court Should Never Have Reached the ‘Full’ Rule of Reason” (as if economists have any say in that) because, as they explain the court misread the anticompetitive effects of amateurism to begin with (even though the NCAA didn’t appeal this part of the case). Essentially, these economists are arguing that the restraint in question (which clearly did lower pay to athletes) did not competition at all (rather than claiming the benefits outweigh the harms, as the NCAA argues).  Instead they argue, once you see such “enormous demand for amateur athletes” (um, where was this proven?), you should just stop the whole inquiry.

The final argument is that if we’re going to let courts mess around with JVs at all (and these guys say, please, no!), then we at least need to “assess the effect on both product quality and marketwide consumer welfare.”  This is essentially a “wrong market definition” argument in disguise.  In the case, Kenneth Elzinga had argued that the market included everyone who works at a university, attends a university, or is a fan of the university, and unless you assessed whether the harm to athletes was transferred to those other stakeholders or not, you couldn’t even prove the first step in the process of the rule of reason, i.e., was there harm in the relevant market.  This relates to the really interesting scholarship on two-sided markets (which one of the amici, Richard Schmalensee, has written on extensively) , and is a direct appeal to the Amex case that said that in a true two- or multi-sided markets where transactions occur between the platform in the middle (like a credit card processor) and two distinct customers (a store and a customer) simultaneously, the market should include both sides of the transaction.  Leaving aside my view of that decision, Judge Wilken dispatched that argument with great and vicious precision (“Any testimony Dr. Elzinga gives regarding procompetitive benefits in his hypothetical multi-sided market is not relevant to procompetitive effects in the relevant market. Daubert, 509 U.S. at 591.”, and the NCAA did not appeal that part of the decision.  But these antitrust professors are giving it the old college try at reviving it.

Brief of Amici Curiae Antitrust Law and Business School Professors in Support of Petitioners

The scholars are: Thomas Arthur (Emory), Amitai Aviram (Illinois), Jodi  Balsam, (Brooklyn Law), Jorge Contreras (Utah), Anthony Dukes (USC), Vivek Ghosal (RPI), Michael Jacobs (DePaul), Jordan Kobritz (SUNY-Cortland), and Alexander Volokh (Emory).  They make an entirely technical antitrust argument (one also seen often, but from the other perspective, in the pro-athletes’ amici’s briefs), which is on how the Rule of Reason should be implemented with respect to when harm and benefit are balanced. These scholars argue “The Rule of Reason Places the Ultimate Burden of Proof on the Plaintiff” and say the Court failed to do that (though I think that’s contrary to the findings of fact in the case), and that the Court also erred in how in formulated the less restrictive alternative test, arguing that “the Ninth Circuit erred at step three because it ultimately required the defendants to show that their conduct was the least restrictive approach available.”  

Not much room for snark or economics here, so we can move on.

Brief of Professor Thomas B. Nachbar as Amicus Curiae in Support of Petitioners

This amicus brief was filed by a single professor, Thomas Nachbar of UVA.  There’s a little linguistic irony in the fact that he was unwilling to join with the other professors arguing mostly the same points, since Nachbar is German for Neighbor.  As the jingle doesn’t go, “like a good neighbor, Nachbar ain’t there,” I guess.[2]  

Anyway, in terms of substance, Professor Nachbar argues similar to the other law professors, that the courts in Alston misapplied the Rule of Reason with respect to less restrictive alternatives.  One interesting point is that Nachbar points to dicta in the Amex case, for the point that the Court can ignore things in prior cases if they were not part of the primary holding, but rather just commentary (i.e., dicta, from the Latin for “things said”).  This is probably true but it cuts against the NCAA’s argument that the dicta in Board of Regents[3]) should be read as law, to have own of their amici argue that dicta ain’t law seems problematic to me.

In short, Nachbar’s argument is that the search for less restrictive alternative is not a distinct step (though in every case I’ve worked on, it has been treated as such). Nachbar explains that even though lower courts have used the test, and even though the recent Amex case mentioned it as a distinct step (in dicta, as discussed above), nevertheless “the test has never been applied by this Court, even though it would have been applicable in many antitrust cases, and this Court has affirmatively rejected it in cases involving vertical restraints.”  Nachbar thus concludes that as a result “The Ninth Circuit’s less restrictive alternatives test results in misapplication of both the rule of reason and the ancillary restraints doctrine.”

 Brief for Amicus Curiae National Federation of State High School Associations in Support of Petitioner

And as our final entry in the amicus briefapalooza, I present the High School Sports Amici.  Even if I were not trying not be snarky (which from above you can tell was not a restraint I imposed), I would have to break that rule for this one. The argument here is essentially, well golly, amateurism is just great!  In the amici’s words:  “Amateurism—the principle that the dedicated pursuit of excellence in sports for non-monetary reasons develops well-rounded young men and women— benefits students, schools, and the community.”  Worst still, warn these amici, “Allowing compensation of college athletes threatens to undermine amateurism in high school athletics.”

What can I say except that this is one of those briefs that has zero evidence?  “Amateurism is Good” is an axiom, not a proof.  It’s merely an assertion of a philosophy that money-for-services is bad.  I suspect the lawyers who filed the amicus brief (not the amici themselves) did not take that approach when deciding on what to charge for their legal services in filing this brief, nor did the amici themselves when performing their roles as high school sports administrators.  But as they don’t say, “hypocrisy makes the world go around” and so on that note of hypocrisy, I think we can end our amicus brief excursion.

[1] “Plaintiffs and their experts strenuously argue and opine, perhaps correctly , that if this alternative were adopted, conference officials , as rational economic actors , would not act contrary to their members ' aggregate economic interests, and would not choose to pay amount s of cash compensation unrelated to education that would be demand- r educing f or Division I sports. … Be that as it may, the inevitable trial - and- error phase could result in miscalculations by one or more conferences as to level s of cash pay that would not reduce demand for the product…” (Case 4:14-md-02541-CW Document 1162, pp. 54-55, emphasis added.)

[2] Apologies to the professor for the name games but as a guy whose last name was used in a movie as a euphemism for penis (“I see your Schwarz is as big as mine”), I feel like I have earned enough karmic justice to dish out some of what I’ve taken over the years.

[3] “The identification of this "product" with an academic tradition differentiates college football from and makes it more popular than professional sports to which it might otherwise be comparable, such as, for example, minor league baseball. In order to preserve the character and quality of the "product," athletes must not be paid, must be required to attend class, and the like.”

[blewminds]

Influencer Marketing | An Overview

What is Influencer Marketing?

Influencer Marketing (also referred to as influence marketing) is a type of social media marketing involving endorsements & product promotion by influencers, individuals & organisations who have an alleged degree of experience or social impact in their area.

Basically, you can leverage the status of an individual or organization to boost the profile & standing of the company as a whole.

In simple words, an Influencer is someone who can influence others.

Few well-known Influencers are, Cristiano Ronaldo (Professional Footballer at Juventus Football Club) on Instagram in the field of Football/Soccer with 250 million+ followers. He has been a brand in sports by his beautiful gameplay & other activities off the pitch.

One such example on LinkedIn is Mr. Sandeep Kochhar (Founder CEO of Blew Minds Consulting LLP) who has been impacting perspectives, thoughts & lives with his unique, vulnerable & personalised Storytelling & Writing styles. He has more than 540,000+ followers on LinkedIn & has written more than 2000 stories till date. He was also rewarded with LinkedIn Top Voice 2019.

The right influencer will deep dive, build trust & fuel interaction with the targeted audience. They produce original material that is enticing. What sets them apart is their knack to create unique content each time, who are not keen to follow template ads & rather share true stories to not just reach out to their audience but also build a relationship with them.

But the question is,

How to Create an Effective Influencer Marketing Strategy?

1.  Define Your Goals

The basic step of every marketing strategy is to identify the goals. Think, research & reflect, what would you like to accomplish from an Influencer Marketing campaign? This will help you build a consistent strategy & will enable you with metrics to monitor/track the progress at every stage.

Some goals that you can consider are as follows -

Brand Awareness

Brand Identity

Audience Reach

Engagement

Lead Generation & Sales

Backlinking

2.  Type of Influencer Marketing Campaigns

Now it is time to narrow down to the type of Marketing campaign you would wish to implement.

Marketing for influencers depends on 3 kinds of partnership triggers: inspire, attract or a combination of both.

Few types of influencer marketing strategies you can consider:

Give aways & Contests

Guest Posting

Paid & Sponsored Content

Co-creating Content with Influencer

Digital Media mentions (Social Media platforms mainly)

Influencer Takeover

Affiliate Marketing

Brand Ambassadors

You can incorporate one or more of these in your Influencer Marketing Strategy.

3.  Identifying your Audience

This is the most important step in the strategy. Influencer Marketing is not about reaching a huge audience, it is about reaching the right audience. Identify your audience basis your offerings with demographic & psychographic analysis. Conduct research & finalise the audience you wish to reach before reaching out to Influencers.

4.  Finding Influencers

One of the best & easiest ways to identify the influencers is through Social Media Channels. These can be Bloggers, Youtubers, Thought Leaders, Celebrities, Business Leaders, Public speaker, Non- Competing Organizations. etc. List out the ones who share your audience demographics, to ensure effective investment, better reach & impact.

Keep your budget in mind. Do not be over ambitious & waste your investments. Micro-Influencers can be a good way to start with.

Use tools like Awario, Followewonk, Klear, BuzzSumo, Upfluence to find your Influencers.

5.  Collaborate with Influencers

Collaborate with the right influencers to create a greater impact. Try to Co-create the content & pitch in insightful ideas which benefits the Influencer & ensure your unique brand value reflects in the content put forth. Leverage strengths, offer brand service/product specific benefits in return, seek help/advice from him to improve your content.

Trust the expert's strategy & follow through for complete understanding. As influencers, they will have a good knowledge of their reach, audience patterns & impact. This will help you build a stronger strategy. Remember it is two-way street.

6.  Monitor, Track & Analyse

There is no better feeling than seeing your brand being promoted/mentioned on Social Media & being able to directly impact, interact with the audience. After all, they build your brand. This alone is not the success.

It is important for you to get back to your defined goals, check your progress & analyse results.

Use the data gathered to build your next Influencer Marketing Strategy. Learn from your mistakes/failures.

“A Brand is no longer what we tell the consumer it is – it is what consumers tell each other it

is.”

– Scott Cook

[techcrunchappcom]

New Post has been published on https://techcrunchapp.com/the-day-ciac-where-amateurs-know-more-than-experts/

The Day - CIAC: where amateurs know more than experts

And so once again, I’m forced to revisit what’s inevitably going to be etched on my tombstone: “Here lies Mikey D. He just didn’t understand.”

Latest example: our state’s bewildering governing body of high school sports. The Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference has now taken to haggling with the Department of Public Health over when and if fall sports should exist amid a pandemic.

When amateurs presume to know more than experts … on the next Oprah.

Per a published report: “in recent days, the CIAC has cited inconsistent guidance issued to CIAC interscholastic athletics versus non-CIAC youth sports opportunities. For example, girls’ volleyball (a moderate-risk sport) was recommended to be canceled or moved to the spring while basketball (considered high-risk) has been played in games and tournaments throughout the summer through separate programs.”

I think I’ve seen something dumber in my life. Just nothing immediately comes to mind.

The idea that anybody would equate summer sports programs — when kids aren’t next to each other in school all day — to organized fall sports structured around a school day is stupefying.

Think about it: Summer basketball does not require the participants to spend eight hours a day together in school before another two hours at practice or a game. They spend the day home and generally away from people, go to the park or the gym, play a game and then go home again and generally stay away from people. That’s significantly different and safer than spending eight hours a day in school near classmates and teachers and two more hours in their sport.

I mean, I’m not all that bright. You should have seen me during distance learning trying to (unsuccessfully) teach fractions to my 10-year old. But even I can process that summer sports programs and school-sponsored programs are Granny Smiths and Valencias (apples and oranges).

So can the CIAC stop the charade right now?

And while we’re asking questions: Why can Massachusetts figure it out, while we spin our wheels furiously with no traction?

Last week, the governing body of high school sports in Massachusetts teamed with the state’s office of Environmental and Energy Affairs (EEA) and Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) to form a plan. Ah, synergy.

The plan: There are approved sports for the fall season, proposed sports for the winter and spring and then a fourth “floating season” between winter and spring for “sports unable to play in earlier seasons.” Any sports played during the winter, floating, and spring seasons would be subject to updated EEA guidelines.

From the Boston Globe: “Fall sports deemed ‘low’ or ‘moderate’ risk — cross-country, field hockey, golf, gymnastics, girls’ volleyball, fall swimming & diving, and soccer — may be held during their normal seasons, with a start date of Friday, Sept. 18. The ‘higher’ risk sports will only be allowed to practice.

“According to the guidelines, the proposed winter sports would include gymnastics, indoor track, skiing, dance, winter swimming/diving, cheer, hockey, basketball, and wrestling. The spring season would include girls’ golf, baseball, softball, tennis, boys’ volleyball, lacrosse, track and field, and rugby. The higher risk sports in later seasons, including basketball, hockey, wrestling, boys’ lacrosse, and rugby, will continue to be evaluated in light of health metrics and EEA guidance.”

Boom.

Does the plan have warts? Some. I’m not crazy about any fall sports until science starts winning. But it’s creative enough to offer the “floating season” option. It gives everyone hope, gives science a chance, but also cautions that the situation remains fluid and is subject to EEA guidance.

I’m not sure our version of EEA guidance — what our Department of Public Health officials say — means anything here. The CIAC Board of Control made a decision about fall sports without DPH input last week and then — stunning upset here — had to backtrack when it looked haughty and irresponsible.

But that’s what we have here. When the amateurs know more than the experts.

I still like the 2021 model, as adopted in other states. No sports till 2021, during which we’d play winter sports in January and February, fall sports in March and April and spring sports in May and June, perhaps spilling into July if necessary.

But I’d settle for the Massachusetts plan. Meanwhile, we wait. And somehow the words of novelist Anne Lamott echo: “This is deteriorating faster than we can lower our standards.”

This is the opinion of Day sports columnist Mike DiMauro

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Phan Cam presents: Game Corner Central with Mario, Peach, Sonic, & Tails

Happy New Years, everyone! This is your announcer, Toad, speaking to you from the ever charming Castle Toadstool at the heart of the Mushroom Kingdom! And welcome to Game Corner Central. Let’s welcome are hosts for this most special edition!

Chao, everybody! It’sa me, Mario!

And I’m Princess Peach Toadstool, Sovereign Ruler of the Mushroom Kingdom.

Yo, Sonic’s my name and speed’s my game.

And I’m Miles Prower, but you can call me Tails.

Peach: Today, we have some very guests with us. Their leader fought with us in the game, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

Tails: And not too long ago, they helped some of our friends.

Sonic: That’s right, everyone, we’ve got with us, the one, the only...

Phantom Thieves of Hearts!

>With that, we come in the castle studio.

Thank you, all...

Though, I’m not sure how we got here. All we remember was coming out of the diner to welcome Violet back from her trip only to be shoved into a van...

Peach: (gasping) Details, details. Now, we brought you here to interview you.

A chance to get interviewed by some legendary video game characters? When is that gonna happen again? Count me in!

Same here. A chance to spend some time with my favorite Mario character, Peach is probably the best last minute Christmas present I could ever ask for.

Peach: (happy) I’m glad to hear that. Now, as you probably know, we just released a game sometime around the same time as the release of a game of yours, Persona 5 Royal. That’s right, we’re talking about Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020!

Tails: As you know, the real Olympic Games really is taking place in Tokyo in the summer of 2020. And you guys live in Tokyo.

Mario: So we would like to ask...

What would the Phantom Thieves do in the 2020 Summer Olympic Games?

Peach: Well, that’s what we’re going to find out!

Tails: But first, a word from our sponsors.

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Knuckles’s School of Great Finds and Exploration

That’s right! At the reasonable price of 50 Rings a month, I can teach you how to find treasures you never knew even existed. Find lost riches that you can’t find be normal means. Why use an ordinary shovel and pick axe? Each new students gets a free pair of Shovel Claws.

This special tool will let you dig through just about anything, expect stone and steel. And, we’ll give you a notebook to help track all of your finds. And, we’ll even through in an Adventurer’s Hat, Vest, and Coat. If you don’t believe me? Let’s hear what some of my best students have to say.

Before I met Knuckles, my digs didn’t exactly get me the results I hoped for. In fact, it nearly got me killed. But then I met Knuckles and he showed me a little more than what can be learned at any university. Now I’m finding treasures left and right with little problems at all.

I never much had an interest in archaeology before. But when I went to Knuckle’s School, even someone as young as me has become quite a pro at it. I like the hat, too. Thanks, Knuckle’s School of Great Finds and Exploration!

Knuckles: So don’t wait for your next adventure, come find it here at Knuckle’s School of Great Finds and Exploration! Located at the Master Emerald Shrine on Angel Island.

Peach: Welcome back to Game Corner Central. Let’s begin our interviews. First up, the leader of the Phantom Thieves, Joker.

Joker: Thank you, Your Highness.

Tails: So, Joker, what sports would you take up in the Olympics?

Joker: Well, at first guess it would have to be shooting. Particularly in pistol. But I’m thinking of giving other sports a try. Like cycling, especially BMX. Also, a trip to Hawaii got me into surfing. And let’s not leave out weightlifting and wrestling. And let’s not forget swimming, baseball, and golf. I’d also like to try out the decathlon. And recently, I got into skateboarding.

Sonic: So basically, you wanna try out for all of them.

Joker: Not really. I know I’m not that good at basketball, unlike Oracle. And for personal reasons...

We’re staying out of volleyball.

Tails: Well, it’s not surprise. Someone at your school was arrested and his sport is volleyball. He was your also your very first target.

Joker: I know. But don’t think we hate the sport. Heck, some of us are still going for it, but that’s another interview with another thief.

Peach: I see. You know, most of us already good with other sports in the Olympics. I’m sure you and your friends might be good.

Mario: That’sa true. Just look at me. I’m good with all sports.

Joker: That’s cool. I guess I could try all those sports as well.

Mario: And I hope we would face off again soon. Whether it be in Smash Bros. or in the Olympics.

I’ll look forward to it.

Sonic: (smiling) Same here. You’re actually quite fast... But not as fast as me.

Peach: Alright, on to the next thief. Next up is the muscles of the group, Skull.

All right! My turn is up!

Sonic: Now from what I’ve heard, you used to be quite the runner.

Skull: You bet. I used to be a member of my school’s track team. So I guess when it comes to the Olympics, track ‘n field would be my first choice. But I’d really like to try other stuff.

Peach: And that’s what we would like to know. What would you do at the Olympics other than track?

Skull: I really like to try shotgun shootin’. I also like to do sailin’, karate, and field hockey. Like Joker, I'm also interested in baseball. And maybe basketball. There’s also hammer throwin’, discus throwin’, swimmin’, water polo, table tennis, and skateboardin’. I’m even thinkin’ of givin’ fencin’ a try.

Tails: That’s a lot. And what about soccer? With your legs already somewhat strong, you look like you might be good at it.

Skull: Actually, I never thought of that. All right, I’ll give it a try.

Tails: And about skateboarding, I guess we can try that together. Right, Sonic?

Sonic: Well, it’s a little different than Extreme Gear Racing, but it’s just as good.

I’ve heard of Extreme Gear. I wish I could try that.

Sonic: (smiling) Maybe someday you will.

Skull: I was never really good a skateboardin’ at first. I have a board, but I don’t think I ever used it. It’s just sittin’ next to my shelf. But when I saw Joker skateboardin’ and a friend of mine made somethin’ similar to Gear, I thought I’d give it another try. He helped me, of course, and now I’m actually good at it.

Sonic: Then I’ll look forward to having a session with you... Not that you have a chance knowing my speed.

We’ll see about that. Yer on.

Peach: Wow, that sounds just fantastic. I should get in on that action as well. But right now, it’s time for another word from our sponsors. We’ll be back to talk more with Panther and Fox.

Hi, everyone, this is Amy Rose. We know the new year only just started, but it’s not too early to get your Valentine’s Day chocolates at Amy and Ella’s Cocoa Hearts.

I’m Ella. We have such goods ready at hand for buying any kind of chocolates for that special someone. They will show you their sweet side when you show them yours.

Amy: So place your order today at Amy and Ella’s Coca Hearts.

Amy and Ella: Happiness is a bom bom away.

Peach: Welcome back to Game Corner Central. Our next Phantom Thieves are Panther, the beauty of the group, and Fox, the artist. First thought, Panther.

Thank you, Your Highness.

Peach: So, Panther, what sports in the Olympics would you like to take part in?

Panther: Well, me and my friend used to play a lot of tennis back in middle school, so I guess there’s that. But I was told I might have a knack for other things. Like equestrian jumping, mountain biking, taekwondo, baseball, trampoline gymnastics, fencing, and boxing. Noir’s also got me into badminton.

Tails: That’s sound great. I also heard that your friend not only does tennis and volleyball, she’s also part of her school’s Stride Club. Have you ever thought of giving it a try?

Panther: I don��t know. I was already told why most girls don’t do Stride.

Peach: I know that. My friend, Princess Daisy, also knows the sport and has seen what happens when girls participate.

I know. I’m surprised my friend wanted to join. I guess she wanted to prove how strong she is.

Peach: But she’s proven that true, hasn’t she?

She has. I’m glad for that.

Peach: I’m sure. Thank you, Panther. Now, on to you, Fox.

I will be honored.

Tails: Before we begin, I love that you’re based on a fox.

Fox: I’m sure you do.

Tails: So Fox, what sports would you like to do in the Olympics?

Fox: Well, I’m not usually the sporty type, but I guess I would love to give archery a try. I would also like to try equestrian sports. As well, there’s artistic swimming, diving, the hurdles, the javelin, the high jump, boxing, fencing, kata in karate, judo, shooting, and table tennis.

Mario: That’sa lot. I thought you set you weren’t the sporty type.

Fox: It never hurts to try things that are considered out of character. I might even try wrestling.

I like the sound of that.

I know you would.

Peach: How romantic.

Mario: (a little unhappy) Reminds me of the Moon.

Sonic: I don’t think we should go there. Good thing we’re going into commercial time now. When we come back, we’ll interview Queen and Oracle.

Hello, I’m Pauline, Mayor of New Donk City in the heart of the Metro Kingdom. Planning on taking a trip? Then New Donk City is the place for you.

Yes, New Donk City. The Big Banana. The city that never leaps. The Modern Commerce Center and Urban Playground.

See the whole city from the top of City Hall. You won’t regret it.

You’ll especially love the view at night.

If shopping is on the list of things to do here, come check out the original flagship store for Crazy Cap, the world’s most trusted brand in headwear.

Really want to see the city up close a personal yet don’t want to walk all around? Renting a scooter should help. They may not look much, but these things can really pack a punch.

We New Donkers are also big fans of RC Car Racing. We have a tournament almost every day. Hope you’re ready to at least feel what it’s like to be behind the wheel.

And we have the Projection Room Theater where you can “really get into the movies".

So what are you waiting for? Plan your trip today. Of course, most will just wait until we hold our annual New Donk City Festival.

Yes, this festival let’s us celebrate our most wonderful city. You can really jump up, super star.

Well, whenever you decide to go, just remember, New Donk City is the place for you.

This has been brought to you by the New Donk City Tourist Association.

Peach: Welcome back to Game Corner Central. Joining us now are Queen and Oracle of the Phantom Thieves. Let’s start with the lead fighter. Thanks for joining us, Queen.

The pleasure is all mine.

Peach: So, Queen, what sport would you be good at in the Olympics? I was told you were quite the martial artist. Maybe karate or judo? Maybe even taekwondo?

Queen: Technically, I trained in aikido. But I think wrestling might be good for me. I might also like to try road cycling. There’s also relay racing, the high jump, marathon racing, pole vaulting, canoeing, rowing, rugby seven, the triathlon, soccer, shooting, and something Noir introduced me to, badminton. I’m also ging to give volleyball a chance.

Mario: Another balance type. Well, if you were in the Olympics for real, we wish you buona fortuna.

Who said I might not be in it?

Tails: Guess that’s a question for another time. Now moving on to my favorite Phantom Thief, Oracle.

I’m your favorite? Thanks, Tails, I’m happy to hear that from a fellow tech head.

Tails: You’re welcome. So, what sport are you interested in the Olympics? We were told you like basketball.

Oracle: I mostly do singles, but I think I can give teams a try. I’m also into handball, golf, trampoline, table tennis, archery, and boxing.

Tails: That sounds like quite the lineup. Though, you could try some team sports as well.

Oracle: Like what?

Peach: Well, there’s relay swimming, relay racing, I also recommend softball and rowing.

Oracle: I’ll think about it. And isn’t handball already a team sport?

Peach: I never thought of that.

Not many people do.

Tails: Tell me about it. When we come back, we’ll be talking with Noir and Crow. So stick around.

>After a repeat of the first commercial.

Sonic: Welcome back to Game Corner Central.

Tails: We’re now going to ask about the Olympics to Noir and Crow of the Phantom Thieves. Let’s start with Noir.

Thank you for having me here today.

Peach: So, Noir, what Olympic sport would you do?

Noir: Well, I suppose Queen and Panther already told you, I’m pretty good at badminton. I’m also thinking of giving wrestling a try. And volleyball. There’s also hammer throwing, shooting, archery, rowing, field hockey, sailing, poll vaulting, and baseball.

Mario: Mama Mia, that’sa lot of hand sports.

Noir: Well, I do a lot with my hands. Especially gardening.

Tails: That sounds like fun. Our friend, Cream, does gardening, too.

Noir: Really? I wish I could see what her garden is like.

Peach: So do I. I’ve heard so much about it.

Me, too. We should all see it sometime.

Tails: You’ll be glad you did. It’s really beautiful. Now, on to Crow.

Thank you. I’ll try to be as honest as I can.

Tails: I’m sure you will. So, Crow, what sport in the Olympics would you do?

Crow: Well, when you ask that, the more honest choice wold be fencing. Joker also got me into weightlifting, cycling, and baseball. I would also like to try the javelin, the discus, equestrian sports, soccer, canoeing, tennis, judo, rugby sevens, and shooting.

Mario: (a little worried) Why do I feel worried hearing you say shooting?

It’s a long story.

Peach: Well, either way, I’m sure you’ll be great. You already have some fame to you.

Crow: Well, it’s not uncommon for a detective to be good at some sport. A colleague of mine, Shinichi Kudo, does both soccer and shooting.

Tails: That’s true. He learned those things as part of his detective training.

Sonic: Don’t tell me it’s the same for you.

You never know. That might be true.

Mario: That’sa little vague. Well, we’ll have time to think about it during the break.

Tails: And when we get back, we’ll have our last guests of the day, Mona and Violet.

Hi, everyone, I’m Toadette. Did you know that even though we’re called the Mushroom Kingdom, we have more flowers than anything. So if you want any bouquets ready in time for Valentine’s Day, place your order from Toadette’s Bouquet Boutique. Everything from Piranha Plants to Fire Flowers, we’ve got ‘em all. Toadette’s Bouquet Boutique. Located in South Toad Town.

Mario: Chao, everybody. Welcome back to Game Corner Central. We’re here with our last Phantom Thieves to interview, Mona and Violet.

Tails: Mona, you’ve been with the P Thieves longer than Violet. Let’s hear what sport in the Olympics you would like to do.

If you got to know, I’d think any sport that requires cat-like reflexes. Maybe artistic gymnastics? I even want to try fencing and skateboarding. There’s even climbing, hurdles, wrestling, soccer, rugby sevens, and boxing.

Tails: Those do sound like they require cat-like reflexes. But it looks like you can also try swimming.

Mona: (a little hesitant) I’d rather give that a little more thought before trying.

Peach: I see. Still, you also look like you’d be good at karate and judo.

Mona: Yeah, I get that a lot. But yeah, I think I can give those a try, too. They tell me I have potential.

Sonic: Look like it. You might even give Eggman Nega a run for his money.

Mona: (getting ideas) A Phantom Thief of Justice going up against a villain from the future? I like that.

Sonic: (looking a bit grim) Why did I just say that? This is going to get crazy.

Peach: Anyway, now we’re on to out last thief of this edition. Before we begin, thank you again for saying I’m your favorite character.

Violet: You’re welcome.

Peach: So, what sport in the Olympics would you like to do. I was actually told that you are great in rhythmic gymnastics.

Violet: You win that bet. I think I also like to go for fencing and shooting. I also like tennis, badminton, baseball, high jump, judo, equestrian dressage,  and a bit of table tennis.

Peach: Those sound like nice sports. Actually, I do a lot of horseback riding in past Olympics myself.

Violet: Really? I know I played the game, I didn’t know you actually did it.

Peach: I do, sometimes. Actually, if we can, we can ride together.

Violet: Thank you. But I think that may have to wait until February.

Tails: You mean the release of Persona 5 Scramble: The Phantom Strikers.

Violet: That’s right. Me and Crow are not in it, so I think we can go.

Sonic: I wonder why you and Crow aren’t in it.

Violet: ... It’s complicated. I’m sure the other admin will think of something.

Peach: Well, it appears that is all the time we have. So before we wrap this up, any last words?

Only that we wish all the athletes participating in this year’s Olympics all the best of luck.

Good luck, athletes!

Mario: Well, that’s it for this edition. Grazie, Phantom Thieves for being here. Well, so long everybody.

Peach: And thank you for joining us for this edition of Game Corner Central.