#humans play soccer

[jpitha]

Heart to Heart

"Um, excuse me, Starbase?" Ta'reni timidly called out while she was in her quarters alone. After a couple of months on the joint Starbase, Ta'reni was getting a feel for the ebb and flow of life aboard, but it was very different than life planet-side.

"Good evening Ta'reni, how can I help you?" The Starbase AI on board the joint Human/K'laxi starbase was known to everyone as being someone they could rely on for a chat, or advice or even just someone with a sympathetic ear to listen to someone vent.

"I've heard that you're a good listener, and can sometimes help people with their problems. Can you help me?"

"I'll do what I can to help Ta'reni. What's up?" Ta'reni noticed that as soon as she asked for help, the demeanor of the Starbase changed. They became warmer, and sounded much more casual. It was strange.

"I have a friend, Nilan. She's really nice, and has shown me around and taken me to the best places to get food and even invited me to the big football match. I would be utterly lost here without her."

"It sounds like Nilan likes you quite a bit. I've seen how she is around you."

"She's very nice to me...and she's very pretty. I never was around humans very much back home, but here they are everywhere. Nilan is just so...so..." Her fur ripples, a blush. "I don't know what to do."

"In what way Ta'reni? You clearly like her and it looks like she likes you, so what's the problem?"

"But, she's a Human, and I'm K'laxi!" It was almost a wail.

"So? There are plenty of Humans and K'laxi in relationships here. It's pretty normal. Both of your species get along really well, it was almost inevitable. In fact," Starbase went on "I'd almost say that you've been on at least a couple dates with Nilan already."

"WHAT?"

"Sure, the football match?" That sure sounded like a date to me.

Ta'reni's fur won't stop rippling now. "B-but..."

"Ta'reni, don't worry. Look at it this way: Did you have fun?"

"Y-yes, I did."

"Did Nilan have fun?"

"Yes...she did too."

"How do you know?"

"S-she told me." Ta'reni's eye were wide at the realization of what Starbase was saying.

"Do you like her?"

"More than I ever thought possible!" Ta'reni was nearly in tears now.

"Are you attracted to her?"

"Ancestors protect me, I am. Far more than I thought."

"Then from an outside perspective I see two people who are good friends, who have a fun time together who are attracted to each other. This is not a bad thing Ta'reni, it's a great thing! You shouldn't worry, and you should try and enjoy it as long as you can."

"But, what if it doesn't last? What if she finds someone else! Someone more...like her" Ta'reni's ears folded flat at the thought.

"That may or may not happen" Starbase said evenly. "But it hasn't happened, and you have no reason to believe it will happen. So, don't worry about stuff you have no control over. Instead, have as much fun as you can, and build good memories so if it does end, you have something to look back on fondly."

"You know what? You're right." Ta'reni said firmly. "I should do what I can to enjoy our time together, and not worry about the future right now." She turned towards the door. "In fact, I'm going to go out there right now an--"

The door chimed.

Ta'reni jumped back an entire meter.

Through the intercom she heard Nilan. "Ta'reni, are you home? I was wondering if--"

Ta'reni ran to the door and opened it. Nilan was standing there, casually beautiful. Ta'reni's eye watered and she lept into Nian's arms.

Nilan caught her easily and blushed a deep crimson. "Hello to you too Ta'reni!"

Ta'reni buried her head in Nilan's shoulder. "Nilan, I really like you. I would like to be in a relationship with you, I don't know much about humans or relationships, but I would like to learn with you. Is that okay?"

"Is that okay? Ta'reni, that's wonderful!" She squeezed Nilan gently "Though, I must admit, I thought we were in a relationship already!"

"You did?"

"Yeah, the football match? Dinner out? The trip to the gardens in Little Earth? Those were all dates."

"Oooooooh" She said. Turns out Starbase was right. She had to remember to thank them next time she was home alone.

"Well, let's go out again."

"I'd love nothing more."

[the-physicality]

thinking this labor day about all the athletes in women's sports who didn't have a stable league, who were only making decent money from a spot on their national team, who had to fight to get even a fraction of what they deserve. who spent their prime without a club league or the infrastructure to propel the sport. who came of age after title 9 in the usa [forcing schools to fund women/girls’ sports], the ones who fought for cbas and are only seeing big change at the end of their careers or after their careers concluded. who didn't have the media attention before, but are now showing just how much they can sell out stadiums and arenas. the players who played year round because overseas teams paid athletes what they were worth. athletes who endured and reported harassment but the league never took appropriate action. athletes who never had the media attention or ability to monetize their talent but who had careers that were just as impressive as the stars of today. who did it without the help of the science, technology, and medicine we have today. who set records with less support and fewer games in a season, which will be broken by kids who have had personal trainers since high school. athletes who played great games that are no long available to view, their talent no longer archived and accessible for young or new fans. athletes who still don't have a league or are just getting one in 2024. athletes who took it upon themselves to create change for which they will never reap the full rewards.

[appledashbitch]

rainbow dash human headcanons wooo!! (going to be mad long j a warning)

she is 19. i actually do not like the idea of her being short/average height! I see her as ab 5’9 so tall but not taller than applejack duh

she is def very thin but toned!! she just zooms around toooo much for me to think she’s jacked 😢 i HIGHLY dislike it when people use bra sizes as a guide bc they vary so much depending on the band sizes. she is flat chested like let’s be real here. i also j LOVE this idea of rarity basically forcing her do to modeling for her fashion designs bc of her proportions and because everyone loves rarity she will do it just for her 😏

ethnically i like the idea of her being hispanic & white, was thinking along the lines of colombian or cuban?? and then i feel like the white would be italian, specifically having an italian mom bc they are something! skintone i see her as very tan. naturally and due to being outdoors allll the time

it’s time to discuss the classic one.. what is rainbow dash’s sexuality? my idea is she would only ever date a girl because she is literally a gay horse but BUT she is not opposed to getting w/ men. this is because she is kind of a slut! i just see her having a higher libido and not giving a fuck about being “ran through” bc she knows it’s all misogynistic bullshit. i also feel like she ends up getting w/ a lot of her friends bc she is just that bitch. definitely twilight, rarity, pinkie, & aj. no fluttershy bc she sees her as the sister she never had.

appearance-wise she mainly wears shorts, jeans kinda like a levi’s 501, crop tops and sweats. she will dress up depending on the occasion. she is obsessed with converse for sure. she has a bunch of ear piercings and three big tattoos. one of them is ofc a pair of wings on her back, then lightning bolts under one ribcage and clouds under the other. in general she is very pretty and she in fact cares a lot about her appearance. she keeps her hair about armpit length because she feels more traditionally feminine that way, and she keeps it up all the time. i’m thinking naturally light brown hair and blue eyes and she would eventually bleach her hair and dye it rainbow.

she has ADHD, PTSD, and seasonal depression, with the PTSD and seasonal depression stemming from a major car accident she was in at 14 that killed both of her parents and severely injured her. she kinda “copes” with it by smoking a ton of weed during the off season from soccer since she wouldn’t want to test positive for any drugs & she just for sure has a thing for beer and cider. scotch if she wants to get really fucked up

last but not least, applejack ❤️ she has had a crush on applejack for FOREVER and after they drunkenly hookup AJ begins to see her in this way.

okay that’s it! that’s my dashie. i feel like there’s a LOT of potential for fanfic writing with all of these headcanons so we’ll see how it goes

[rexscanonwife]

I'm a little sleep deprived and it's late but never underestimate to make any media angsty 0_0

But there's so much mystery behind Sportacus, his upbringing, and the 9 previous heroes before him. We don't really know anything about it but it seems to be (at least among fans) passed down GENERATIONALLY through a family tree, and you gotta imagine it's something that's trained into them from a young age.

Idk I was just watching the show and thinking about how sweet and playful Sportacus is 🥺🥺💖💖 he's always going along with the kids' games and such, it kinda makes me wonder if he likes to join them because he didn't really have anyone to play with while he was growing up.

[appledashdailydoodles]

here to steal the ball & steal your heart <3

bonus: team appledash is unstoppable

[kitkatt0430]

Benjamin Sisko is an amazing man, but it's still hilarious that so many people to fixate on him as their personal rival.

Dukat, Eddington, and Solok are the most notable three. And all three all wind up completely changing their personalities to revolve around one-upping Sisko and he winds up beating them anyway.

After Dukat destroys his career, he re-fashions himself into what is essentially the Emissary of the Pah-Wraiths. He's always been fixated on Sisko to some degree, but the final season takes it up to eleven.

Eddington becomes fed up with his career and projects his frustrations on to Sisko, re-imagining their relationship to be one where he's the noble criminal and Sisko the evil, relentless enforcer. But reality was never going to conform to his imaginings.

Solok, the Vulcan who was so obsessed with one-upping Sisko that he also developed an obsession with baseball. He drags his crew into it. He taunts Ben with it, makes things personal in a way the other two can't. In part because Solok is so incredibly petty. The other two are so grandiose in their methods, but Solok takes the petty route every time.

[valentineblacker]

I have decided to participate in fandoms by creating a piece of fan-art, entitled "What if the oocca from LoZ: Twilight Princesss had human legs and feet? I think it would go something... like this". Hope you enjoy.

[themanbexl]

Mad, we have 2 first time ever World Cup finalist teams this World Cup

We also have the potential of a first ever third place winner in Australia

So many teams have been able to change the way the world sees them and to earn new fans and respect for those countries teams

History is being made this world cup, and it's amazing to see it happening for so many incredible teams filled with unbelievably talented women

This is what it's all about

[wikimediauncommons]

file: Bram van Tongeren op het RCH-veld met zijn modelvliegtuig. NL-HlmNHA 54020771.JPG

[heyitsspaceace]

“doctor who is too silly now!”

oh you mean the doctor who that has flattened human skin as a character? the doctor who that has the episode love and monsters? the doctor who that says that the english royal family is werewolves? the doctor who that has james corden in it? the doctor who that in the same episode that james corden is in not only does the doctor speak baby, but the baby wants to be named Stormageddon, Dark Lord of All, AND the doctor can also play soccer very well.

doctor who has always been silly

[papasmoke]

israel could literally nuke gaza off the face of the earth and blame it on iran and every single western news outlet would act as stenographers for the lie, the IDF's singular go-to-move every single time they perpetrate an unforgivable crime is to blame it on their enemies, a famous american palestinian journalist is assassinated by IDF snipers? Blame it on stray gunfire from hamas. Bomb 5 palestinian children playing soccer on a beach? Blame it on Hamas. Bomb 20 ambulances? Blame them all on Hamas. Bomb a convoy of 70 Gazans fleeing south because you told them to? Blame it on Hamas. There is zero pushback in the western press because America does not find it convenient to view Palestinians as human, it is a cold calculated dehumanization of an entire ethnic group in service of maintaining a relationship with a military partner.

[jpitha]

The Big Game

"Please come to the commons with me this weekend, practically the whole starbase will be there for the game!"

Ta'reni read the note again. She didn't know why she felt nervous. It was her second month onboard the joint Human/K'laxi starbase and her friend Nilan invited her along to see the game.

K'laxi love to play games, but they tend to be more cooperative games than the competitive games the Humans brought. She didn't know what to expect when they walked out of her quarters that morning.

As she strolled around the Starbase, heading towards the commons, the place seemed empty. There was hardly anyone around; it was unusually quiet. As she passed empty stalls and restaurants and office buildings, she wondered where everyone was.

Her ears picked up a strange noise as she approached the commons. it was like the roar of the sea or the sound of jets taking off. As she got closer to the commons it got louder and louder until she could barely take the noise. She rounded a corner and learned why everyone was gone.

They were all at the game.

The commons was set up with a large rectangular green field - with real grass! - in the middle, with lines and circles painted on it. At each end was a frame of a box with a net around almost the entire thing. One side was open and a person was standing inside. On either long side bleachers had been set up and it was full of people. Human, K'laxi, even a few Xenni were there.

The noise was incredible.

The crowd's noise was nearly a physical thing, pushing her back like a strong wind.

Her headset chirped. "There you are! I'm so glad you made it!" Nilan ran up to Ta'reni. She was dressed in a flowing orange dress that complimented her figure nicely. Ta'reni fleetingly blushed, but regained composure quickly.

"I'm glad you invited me" Ta'reni said over the noise "What is going on though? You had said it was going to be a game?"

"It is! It's the final of the All Starbase Football League! Today is the last game of the season, the Dockers vs the Reactors! Come on, let's find a seat, I'll explain on the way."

As they walked, their headsets enabled them to be able to talk at a normal volume and Ta'reni wasn't overwhelmed by the noise. Nilan explained the game.

"Football is an ancient game from Earth, but it's still very popular on and off world. There are two teams of 11 players and the goal is to get the ball - she points at the small black and white ball rolling on the field - into the other team's goal - she points at the boxes at the ends of the field."

As they sat and watched, Ta'reni noticed how much the audience got into the spirit of the game. Both sides had musicians - human and K'laxi - who would play songs to get their side more excited. The audience would chant slogans and songs either to cheer a goal or to get the players excited.

There were K'laxi players on the field too. When Ta'reni points this out, Nilan smiles. "Yeah, the K'laxi love the game too, and who are we to say no when they asked if they could play? They don't have the same stamina as the human players, so it was agreed that half way through the match, the K'laxi players would come off the field and fresh ones would come on. That way more K'laxi get to play too!"

During the mid game break, they braved the press of crowds to get some drinks. Nilan bought Ta'reni a chamomile tea. She had only recently been introduced to the drink and loved it. Nilan had a coffee.

Back at their seats, the game began again. Ta'reni started to understand the flow of the game and was able to follow along and even cheered with Nilan when the Reactors - Nilan's favorite team - scored. When they sat back down, Nilan leaned against Ta'reni and sighed. "This is so much fun, I'm so glad you came to the game. I was worried you were going to say no."

Ta'reni's fur rippled a blush, but she leaned into Nilan too. "I would never turn down an invitation from you." she found herself saying without realizing it. She glanced up at Nilan, embarrassed, but she just smiled and wrapped her small hand in her larger warm human hand.

"I'm so happy to hear it."

[inkskinned]

the thing about art is that it was always supposed to be about us, about the human-ness of us, the impossible and beautiful reality that we (for centuries) have stood still, transfixed by music. that we can close our eyes and cry about the same book passage; the events of which aren't real and never happened. theatre in shakespeare's time was as real as it is now; we all laugh at the same cue (pursued by bear), separated hundreds of years apart.

three years ago my housemates were jamming outdoors, just messing around with their instruments, mostly just making noise. our neighbors - shy, cautious, a little sheepish - sat down and started playing. i don't really know how it happened; i was somehow in charge of dancing, barefoot and laughing - but i looked up, and our yard was full of people. kids stacked on the shoulders of parents. old couples holding hands. someone had brought sidewalk chalk; our front walk became a riot of color. someone ran in with a flute and played the most astounding solo i've ever heard in my life, upright and wiggling, skipping as she did so. she only paused because the violin player was kicking his heels up and she was laughing too hard to continue.

two weeks ago my friend and i met in the basement of her apartment complex so she could work out a piece of choreography. we have a language barrier - i'm not as good at ASL as i'd like to be (i'm still learning!) so we communicate mostly through the notes app and this strange secret language of dancers - we have the same movement vocabulary. the two of us cracking jokes at each other, giggling. there were kids in the basement too, who had been playing soccer until we took up the far corner of the room. one by one they made their slow way over like feral cats - they laid down, belly-flat against the floor, just watching. my friend and i were not in tutus - we were in slouchy shirts and leggings and socks. nothing fancy. but when i asked the kids would you like to dance too? they were immediately on their feet and spinning. i love when people dance with abandon, the wild and leggy fervor of childhood. i think it is gorgeous.

their adults showed up eventually, and a few of them said hey, let's not bother the nice ladies. but they weren't bothering us, they were just having fun - so. a few of the adults started dancing awkwardly along, and then most of the adults. someone brought down a better sound system. someone opened a watermelon and started handing out slices. it was 8 PM on a tuesday and nothing about that day was particularly special; we might as well party.

one time i hosted a free "paint along party" and about 20 adults worked quietly while i taught them how to paint nessie. one time i taught community dance classes and so many people showed up we had to move the whole thing outside. we used chairs and coatracks to balance. one time i showed up to a random band playing in a random location, and the whole thing got packed so quickly we had to open every door and window in the place.

i don't think i can tell you how much people want to be making art and engaging with art. they want to, desperately. so many people would be stunning artists, but they are lied to and told from a very young age that art only matters if it is planned, purposeful, beautiful. that if you have an idea, you need to be able to express it perfectly. this is not true. you don't get only 1 chance to communicate. you can spend a lifetime trying to display exactly 1 thing you can never quite language. you can just express the "!!??!!!"-ing-ness of being alive; that is something none of us really have a full grasp on creating. and even when we can't make what we want - god, it feels fucking good to try. and even just enjoying other artists - art inherently rewards the act of participating.

i wasn't raised wealthy. whenever i make a post about art, someone inevitably says something along the lines of well some of us aren't that lucky. i am not lucky; i am dedicated. i have a chronic condition, my hands are constantly in pain. i am not neurotypical, nor was i raised safe. i worked 5-7 jobs while some of these memories happened. i chose art because it mattered to me more than anything on this fucking planet - i would work 80 hours a week just so i could afford to write in 3 of them.

and i am still telling you - if you are called to make art, you are called to the part of you that is human. you do not have to be good at it. you do not have to have enormous amounts of privilege. you can just... give yourself permission. you can just say i'm going to make something now and then - go out and make it. raquel it won't be good though that is okay, i don't make good things every time either. besides. who decides what good even is?

you weren't called to make something because you wanted it to be good, you were called to make something because it is a basic instinct. you were taught to judge its worth and over-value perfection. you are doing something impossible. a god's ability: from nothing springs creation.

a few months ago i found a piece of sidewalk chalk and started drawing. within an hour i had somehow collected a small classroom of young children. their adults often brought their own chalk. i looked up and about fifteen families had joined me from around the block. we drew scrangly unicorns and messed up flowers and one girl asked me to draw charizard. i am not good at drawing. i basically drew an orb with wings. you would have thought i drew her the mona lisa. she dragged her mother over and pointed and said look! look what she drew for me and, in the moment, i admit i flinched (sorry, i don't -). but the mother just grinned at me. he's beautiful. and then she sat down and started drawing.

someone took a picture of it. it was in the local newspaper. the summary underneath said joyful and spontaneous artwork from local artists springs up in public gallery. in the picture, a little girl covered in chalk dust has her head thrown back, delighted. laughing.

[ilyrafe]

𝒅𝒂𝒅!𝒓𝒂𝒇𝒆

boy dad!rafe:

is conflicted at first, as he wanted a girl

when baby boy cameron is born and he holds rafe’s finger with his whole tiny hand, he knows then and there he would kill for that small human

baby boy cameron has everything

rafe wants him to learn young how to keep the family business, even though you have to remind him that the baby is still a baby!

whenever baby boy shows interest in something, rafe buys everything related to it

shows off his son to anyone because he’s just so proud 🥹

wants to give him a better childhood than he had with ward (emotionally speaking)

tries really hard to be more present and loving

tries not to repeat ward’s behavior

when baby boy is older, rafe teaches him how to play soccer

calls him “buddy” 🥰

tells him “i love you” often

puts him to sleep every single night

girl dad!rafe:

overprotective dad

spoils the shit out of baby girl cameron

oh, he takes so many pictures of her 🥹

a picture of you with her in your arms is his lockscreen

gives her jewelry as gifts “for the future”

buys her anything she wants or that reminds him of her

doesn’t mind waking up in the middle of the night to be with baby girl

calls her “peanut”

melts inside every time she calls him “dada” or “daddy” when she’s a bit older

never gets angry when she wakes him up super early

loves to pick her up from school

hires the best people to build her a tree house and paint it her favorite color (probably bubblegum pink)

attends her tea parties with her stuffed animals (reluctantly wears a tiara)

[mossadspypigeon]

it’s wild that both humanity and the media can display so much empathy for hezbollah leaders facing the consequences of their own heinous actions when they had none for:

druze children murdered while playing soccer.

the north being set on fire.

the thousands of israelis displaced from their homes due to hezbollah aggression.

the casualties as a result of hezbollah’s rockets.

they can condemn israel while refusing to acknowledge hezbollah started a war on oct 8.

8,000 rockets and no condemnation.

the world and the media are jokes.

[crossdreamers]

Soccer superstar Megan Rapinoe expresses strong support for transgender athletes

In a recent Time cover story interview, Megan Rapinoe said  that she “absolutely” would accept a trans woman on the United States women's national soccer team.

The two-time defending soccer World Cup champion despises policies designed to keep transgender girls and women from playing on female sports teams:

“We as a country are trying to legislate away people’s full humanity... It’s particularly frustrating when women’s sports is weaponized ...Oh, now we care about fairness? Now we care about women’s sports? That’s total bullsh-t. And show me all the trans people who are nefariously taking advantage of being trans in sports. It’s just not happening...

“The most amazing thing about sports is that you play and you’re playing with other people, and you’re having fun and you’re being physically active. We’re putting this all through the lens of competition and winning. But we’re talking about people’s lives. That’s where we have to start.”

According to Time Rapinoe believes that questioning transgender participation in women’s sports, as Martina Navratilova and ESPN anchor Sage Steele have done, does harm that reaches far beyond the athletic field:

“I don’t want to mince words about it. Dave Chappelle making jokes about trans people directly leads to violence, whether it’s verbal or otherwise, against trans people. When Martina or Sage or whoever are talking about this, people aren’t hearing it just in the context of elite sports. They’re saying, ‘The rest of my life, this is how I’m going to treat trans people.’”

Would Rapinoe embrace a transgender woman on the U.S. women’s soccer team, even if that woman took the place of someone assigned female at birth? Her answer: 

 “Absolutely. You’re taking a ‘real’ woman’s place,’ that’s the part of the argument that’s still extremely transphobic. I see trans women as real women. What you’re saying automatically in the argument—you’re sort of telling on yourself already—is you don’t believe these people are women. Therefore, they’re taking the other spot. I don’t feel that way.”

Read the whole Time article here.

See also: US soccer star Megan Rapinoe is supporting trans people’s participation in sports 100% US Soccer Star: Bills to Ban Transgender Kids from Sports Try to Solve a Problem that Doesn’t Exist