#i say this but i root for winning teams as well LOL

[puckpocketed]

what must it be like to root for a team where you can say “there are no moral victories”? Baby all we got here is moral victories. Will Smith Hockey won a faceoff who cheered, we hit 10 shots on goal, our power play got 3 consecutive passes off and even some shots that didnt immediately result in a rebound -> short handed rush chance, we are all enamoured with the referee gently cradling Luke Kunin’s shiny balding head post-fight, i think cheering for the sharks has given me (1) immunity to status effects such as “my team isn’t playing .500 hockey” <3 and (2) a strange relationship with the phrase “hole”

[dracimexidae]

So yeah since Jasmine and Sara are out of the Finals 😢, I'm left with the BJK Cup and then i'm basically on vacation myself from tennis (as for the more engaged and "stressful" part of watching matches😝- honestly it's "exhausting" being a fan a pause is definitely needed phew 😮‍💨🤣)

[runningfrom2am]

cold nights // part twelve

summary: may the odds be ever in your favour.

pairing: coriolanus snow x fem!reader

wc: 2.9k

masterlists / nav / requests

tags/warnings: tribute!reader and mentor!coriolanus, r is very sweet (too kind for this world. literally.), sunshine x grumpy trope kinda, he falls first, violence typical for the source material, r is very smart (as she should), district twelve!reader.

a/n: i can't believe we made it to the end of s1! i am so, so excited to move on to the next era of this story! this is a reminder if you love this series and you haven't already please reblog this or the masterlist! it makes such a big big difference for me and my fellow writers know it all too well lol.

my asks are also open to talk about this series! (i do have emoji anons open now too!)

send me any and all of your thoughts! here!

series masterlist // playlist

Coriolanus wakes up, head on the open pages of Romeo and Juliet as people start to flood in, everyone anxious about what would happen to you.

He rubs the sleep out of his eyes, quickly casting his view to the screen ahead, camera view still locked on you. There was no one else for it to be tracking, after all. Except now, you were on Lamina's beam, lying down with your eyes closed. He wasn't sure if you were awake, or when you had even made your way down into the clearing, but you don't move. He can see the steady rise and fall of your chest as you lay with his scarf bunched up behind your head. Tigris was right, you had survived, but you wouldn't have without him. You looked peaceful- not at all like the girl he had seen crumbling apart on the same screen just a few hours prior.

"I feel as though I should inform you, they'll be going in very soon." Highbottom says, grabbing the boy's attention. "But I'd put my money on those boys being dead in there. Congratulations, Coriolanus. This means almost nothing for you."

He walks away before Coryo is even done processing what he had said. He wouldn't get the prize, most likely, but he would still have you.

You don't stir until you hear the peacekeepers entering the arena, sitting up and seeing them with guns pointed in your direction. "Don't move." One of them spits at you and you nod, eyes wide as you raise your hands. You watch as a designated team in different uniforms make their way up to enter the vents, and others spray something over the piles of snakes, stilling those that were still showing any signs of life.

"Is it over?" You ask, confused.

"Not until we can confirm you are the only remaining tribute." One of them answers and you nod, chewing on your lip as you watch the men disappear into the vents.

"Okay... Thank you."

You know what they would find in there, the bodies of the two boys trapped behind your salt line. You could tell them where the boys would be found, but then you'd be outing yourself. You had only confessed to Coryo. Only he could know. Last night, you didn't care. You have to assume he was the only one who witnessed your breakdown, your confession, because if anyone else had, you'd likely be dead by now. You have to hope your secret is safe with him if you want to go home.

The morning drags on forever as you sit there with guns pointed at you from the ground, and Coryo is pacing in the hall. There were many people around, excited to see if you would be crowned as the victor. People were rooting for you, and he was proud of that, but support didn't mean that you were promised a win.

Vipsania and Domitia were the only other two remaining mentors, whispering to each other across the room after they came back. It was eerily silent.

Then, one of the men emerges from the vent, turning all heads including yours as he just nods toward the peacekeepers watching you.

"Alright. Come on down." The same peacekeeper addresses you and you nod, a tear falling down your cheek.

"She did it." Coryo whispers to himself, realization forcing a grin onto his face.

Lucky laughs, clapping his hands together. "She's won! Y/N Y/L/N from District Twelve!" He calls out, making his way over to Coriolanus. "Coriolanus Snow is the Victor of the Tenth Annual Hunger Games!"

Coryo laughs in shock, smiling as the man pats his shoulder. He catches in the corner of his eye as his two classmates storm out, and he's quickly crowded with congratulations and praise.

"I won?" You ask quietly, feet landing on the ground again.

"Yes, they were found." He nods, and quickly your arms are being grabbed as you're led out of the arena.

"Do you know, did Coriolanus get his prize?" You ask them, but your question is ignored as you walk down the hall toward the exit, looking back over your shoulder as the gate is closed behind you.

Just outside the gates, you don't get much of a taste of freedom before you're being pushed into the back of the same truck. Empty. Bigger. Lonely.

"Empty your pockets." The peacekeeper tells you, standing at the entrance.

You do so hesitantly, holding up the compact on a shaky palm. "I'm sorry to ask, but can I have some water? Please?" You ask, once again ignored as the compact is pulled from your hand. "Please, sir, that was a gift... If you must take it can you return it to my mentor? Coriolanus Snow?"

He opens the cold metal, pulling out the piece of paper and unfolds it, quickly scanning it's contents. "That is for him, too. Though, if I had the chance now I would change it." You explain. You knew you both would be in deep trouble if you were caught for what you convinced yourself was no more than salt, and clarity came to you enough to lie about what the compact had contained all this time.

The peacekeeper hums, closing it up again and shoving both items into his own pocket, pointing the gun at you again. "Clothes off."

"Ex-excuse me?" You reply, taken aback by the request.

"Clothes off. Now." He repeats and you nod, swallowing the lump in your dry throat as you begin to slide off your dress, letting it fall at your feet. He moves the gun again, gesturing for you to continue. With trembling hands you remove your underthings, your shoes, and the scarf, placing them on the floor in front of you. He quickly gathers them, taking a step back and nodding to someone outside.

He moves out of the way and you stand there confused, watching as he shakes out your clothes and searches them, when suddenly you're being sprayed down with a hose. You yelp from the fast contact of the cold water pelting against your skin, but it wakes you up. After the initial shock, it actually feels good to be somewhat clean again.

You pant as the water is shut off, catching your breath and rubbing your arms to try and warm yourself again. Your clothes are tossed back into the truck at you before the door is slammed, and you use the scarf to try and dry yourself off a little bit before tying it around yourself the same way Coryo had. By the time you pull the second strap of your dress back on, the truck is moving and you're lurching forward.

You're driving for a while before the door is opened again, and you're relieved to get some fresh air. It was cold in there, and you were shivering in your small dress that was now also damp from your skin.

Once the doors open you're staring down the barrels of more guns as the peacekeepers usher you out and into the train station, right where you were let off all those days ago. Days... or weeks? You don't even know anymore.

"Lay off, why don't you? She's been through enough." A man in a black suit comes into your view, and they drop their weapons and let you go.

He steps in front of you and you wrap your arms around yourself to try and warm up. "Thank you, Sir." You smile, nodding at him politely.

"Nothing to thank me for..." He sighs. "I'm Dean Highbottom from the academy, it's a pleasure to meet you. Congratulations on your victory." Surprisingly to you, he doesn't seem inconvenienced. Someone other than Coryo and Sejanus seemed to be willing to talk to you, to treat you like a human again. When he congratulates you, he sounds sad.

"Thank you, Sir." You nod again. "Do I... Will I be going home now?"

"Yes. In just a few minutes." He nods, gesturing for you to follow him toward the train. "I am extremely familiar with your mentor, Coriolanus Snow." He tells you as you join his side.

"Oh, wonderful!" You force a smile. "I have some things for him, just a note and something he leant to me. I gave them to that man over there. Would you mind making sure they make it back to him?" You point out the peacekeeper as you follow him toward the train.

"I'll see to it that he gets it back, yes." Dean Highbottom nods with a slight roll of his eyes, stopping next to the stairs that would lead you onto the passenger train. "But... if I may offer you some advice?"

"Please." You nod, urging him on.

"Be grateful you survived him."

You want to ask what he means, but the anger you saw behind your friend's eyes that night in the arena would haunt you and you knew that. Surely, that's what the Dean is talking about.

"Yes." You agree, unsure what else to say when he reaches into his pocket and pulls out a stack of cash.

"Take this, your prize, I suppose." He hands it over to you. It must be hundreds of dollars. Maybe over a thousand. With this, you could do so much for your family. "Oh, and Miss Y/L/N... You wouldn't happen to know anything about the rat poison that was in that compact, would you?"

You tense up, tilting your head at him with a confused smile. "Poison? No... All I had put inside was salt." You reply. "Sejanus Plinth gave it to me, with food from his Ma. Salt is good for protection, you know, so I kept it for later. Keeps you safe from evil and harm." You ramble on, panic and shock in your tone. Sejanus had given you salt to put on some vegetables and sandwiches he brought you, but now that you're trying to piece the story together, you don't remember even opening the compact until you were in that vent. Coryo had told you not to open it, so you wouldn't have. Your own memory is confusing you.

"I've heard that." He nods, eyeing you skeptically.

The train horn makes you jump before you can even thank him.

"Go on, now." He urges you onto the train, deciding to let slide however you had came across the rat poison. Clearly, you didn't know what you had done. Or you were convincing yourself you didn't remember. "Enjoy your freedom."

You nod and step up onto the stairs. You were hoping you would get to see Coryo again, it disappointed you that you never would. Maybe it was a good thing you wrote your goodbye note, even if you had survived. "I give you, upon my knees, a thousand thanks." You smile to the man still standing on the ground below you who just nods in acknowledgment before you close the door behind yourself, Coryo's scarf still wrapped around your waist.

"Y/N?" Coryo calls out, walking into the high biology lab. He was told you had something for him, no doubt the scarf and the compact.

"She's gone." Dean Highbottom cuts in, just before Coryo spots him in the poorly lit room.

"I was told-"

"I know what you were told. Here." The Dean tells him, pointing to the metal compact on the table.

Coryo looks at it only briefly before returning his gaze to the man who offered it to him. "Where is she?"

"I wouldn't worry about that, Coriolanus. Your work is done." He explains vaguely. "Were you aware that she cheated?"

"Cheated?" Coryo asks. "How?" He feigns ignorance.

"The boys in the vents didn't die from snake venom, or violently, or, naturally- for that matter." The Dean tsk's. "It was rat poison. Which, before you argue with me, cannot be found inside the arena or even within reach of the monkey cage at the zoo. I checked. So be honest, you have no idea how she got her hands on such a substance?"

"No, I don't." Coryo lies. "But she did what she could to survive- don't take it out on her because she somehow cheated your games. Next year give them uniforms, or up security or something."

"Just thought I'd ask. She told me she got it from Plinth." He waves him off, and Coryo ticks his head in slight confusion.

"Sejanus? No, he-"

"She really... declined, in there." Highbottom cuts him off, making it evident that he at least believed that Sejanus wouldn't do such a thing. "Told me it was only salt. Genuinely, it seemed like she didn't know. Or, she forced herself to forget. A sweet girl like that, it doesn't surprise me that that's how she would rationalize her actions."

"Is she alive? Because if you killed her for that I-"

"You'll what, Mister Snow? I thought you said you just wanted the prize."

"She deserved better." He states simply, swallowing the anxiety building in his throat.

"She does. I agree." Highbottom nods. "Which is why you won't see her again."

Coryo furrows his brow. "I... I don't understand how that could be relevant."

"Oh, I know you do, Mister Snow." His superior replies, a condescending edge to his words.

Coryo snatches the compact off of the table and quickly pockets it, storming out of the room. At least he hadn't been caught for helping you cheat, though he was sure Highbottom knew better. Now, he didn't have the Plinth Prize, and he didn't have you.

When he finally got home, he couldn't help but slam the door behind himself.

"Coryo?" Tigris calls out, excited as she puts down the project she was working on and rushes to the entranceway to meet him. "I didn't expect you home so soon! Did you get to see Y/N?" Her smile fades when she sees his expression. "What's wrong?"

"They wouldn't let me see her. She's already gone." He explains, pulling off his blazer.

"Oh..." Tigris frowns, taking the blazer from him to hang it up. "I know you really wanted to say goodbye. I'm so sorry."

"She'll never forgive me." He shakes his head slightly. "If she's even still alive! I doubt they would tell me!" He laughs, bringing his hands up to rub his eyes with his palms.

"They wouldn't kill her, Coryo. People loved her too much." She is quickly reassuring, reaching out to rub his shoulders. "You did nothing wrong... You did all you could for her. She'll forgive you."

"Not that." He mutters. "It's what I told you. You didn't see the way she looked at me, Tigris. Like... Like I was a monster."

"She was already scared. She was way out of her element. I think now, that she's safe, she'll find the space to see it reasonably." She tries to soothe his worries as best she can. "You're a good friend to her, and she's a kind person. She'll understand."

"But I'll never know for sure that she does."

"You might one day... Don't beat yourself up about it, and don't give up on her."

After a long, two-day journey curled up on a bench on the train, you recognize the building the train is stopping at. Suddenly, all your energy is returned to you as it slows to a stop, and you're already waiting at the door. You hear the latch unlock and you couldn't get off fast enough.

No one you knew were there, not that you expected any kind of greeting party. You inhale the fresh air, once again surrounded by the trees and your own people. You walk out of the train station and down the street, in the general direction of your home. You tried waving at a few folks you knew on the way, but people just stared, for the most part, jaws slack with surprise. They had already grieved your death. Sometimes you were met with a sad smile, but no one wanted to speak to you. You understood. You were used to that after your time in the Capitol.

"Y/N Y/L/N, is that you?" An excited voice called after you resigned yourself to a quiet walk home, twenty minutes from the bustle of the train station. You turn your head to look up at the back entrance to the Hob, a wide smile taking over your face when you see the speaker.

Your friend is already barrelling toward you, throwing her arms around you as your eyes fill with happy tears. It was refreshing. "I never thought I'd see you again..." You sniff, resting your chin on her shoulder as you hug her back.

Rhythmically, your best friend sways you back and forth. "Oh, I know, I know, sweetheart..." She hums, rubbing your back reassuringly. You can hear her voice crack too. "But you're home now. You're okay..."

She lets you break down as she practically holds you up as you cry in each other's arms. From happiness or trauma, you're not sure. "I did some awful things, I regret it all..."

"Don't regret a thing." She shushes you. "You did what you had to."

"No, no... You don't know... You didn't see..."

"I watched, Hun. When I could." She pulls away, placing her hands on your cheeks to wipe your tears. "You did nothing wrong. All that matters is that you're home now."

You sniff again with a slight nod. "I fear too early, for my mind misgives; Some consequence, yet hanging in the stars, shall bitterly begin."

"No... Y/N/N. You're safe here. You are forgiven." She assures you, rubbing your arms. "Now, let's get you home. A good rest will do you well, your parents have been waitin' on you." She waits for you to nod before stepping to your side, guiding you in the right direction with an arm around your waist.

"Thank you, Lucy Gray." You mumble, allowing yourself to lean into her hold.

taglist: @soulessjourney , @that-veela-girl ,  @dreamyysouls , @rockstarbfs , @maysileeewrites , @baybieruth , @kitscutie ,  @fratboyharrysgf0201 , @totallynotkaibiased , @stelleduarte , @secretsicanthideanymore , @bejeweledreverie , @drewsandsebastianswife , @niicole-87 , @queenofshinigamis , @innercreationflower , @nallasstuff , @scorpiolystoned , @iovemoonyy , @thatmarvelchick19 , @wearemadeofstardust0 , @regulusblackcore , @puredreamagination , @fantasticchaosthing , @becauseseaotters , @secretsicanthideanymore

okay suddenly tumblr isn't letting me tag more people than this so i just made some cuts unfortunately :') i just left the max amount of people i could whose users i recognized and see in my notifs all the time :) if you're not on here and you should be i'm so sorry!

also this taglist is closed now!! if you’d like to get a notification when i update, turn on my post notifications!! i promise i won’t spam y'all :,)

[mysteriouslyjovialcolor]

Austria 2018

-Shortest circuit of the season

-Mercedes have won here since 2014! And have a front row lockout again!

-Championship battle between Seb and Lewis again

-Very random but the graphics are better this season

-Ooh Valterri has pole!

-Oh? Daniel’s 29th birthday? Nice!

-Carlos is in Renault!

-Pfft apparently Ocon and Gasly are already clashing (they’re not even on the same team yet)

-Charles Leclerc is here this season!!!

-I’m looking forward to seeing his old races

-Fernando starting from the pit lane (Maybe I’ll actually see someone start from there this time)

-“Lance Stroll who is a traditionally very fast starter” Is it the Aston Martin that sucks then?

-“Only 2 drivers have ever won a Grand Prix on their birthday” who??

-George Russell!!!!

-Ohmygod Kimi had such a good start and then he lost it!!

-Both the Ferraris going wide

-Can I root for Nico having a good race this time or is that a lost cause?

-Charles going up 3 places 👏👏

-Oh no he went wide! He’s p19 now! (I may have jinxed him 🫣)

-Toto’s reactions are so emphatic

-Not me focusing more on Charles moving from p19 to p17 than focusing on whatever is happening out in the front

-“Nico Hulkenburg in trouble I think there” NO! ABSOLUTELY NOT! JUST WHY!

-I hate this Renault

-Sigh, at least let Sainz pick up a point or two

-Oh no! Valterri retiring too??

-I’m sensing that the cars did not in fact get better in 2018

-Stacking pit stops for one team looks very cool

-Yay Sainz in points

-New season and still no radio subtitles, the disappointment is real

-Ricciardo p3!! Red Bull 2-3!!

-Kimi locked up so many times this race

-The Williams and Sauber look so similar

-Fred Vasseur is Sauber’s team principal? No wonder Charles works well with him now, he basically debuted under him

-Lewis running out of power too?

-Just learnt about blistering in real time. Really wish I didn’t learn about that through Daniel Ricciardo’s tires

-Sainz has dropped to p17, my curse on Renault worked a little too well (It was supposed to avoid you Carlos, I’m sorry)

-I’m going to be so sad if Daniel loses p2 on his birthday

-Big sigh

-That was a smooth overtake by Vettel on Hamilton

-Ferrari 2-3 now

-James Vowles: “Lewis, sorry. I have thrown away the win today but you can still go back up there, I believe in you”

-If I was Lewis I would so curse the man out

-Oh come on, let the Ferraris race

-I’m going to be so annoyed if the team just makes them swap positions without letting them fight

-“What about Max Verstappen?” “Is he still in the race?” lol as he leads 7 seconds ahead

-Oh Charles in p13

-p12

-“I’m feeling good so don’t worry” At least Max is having a good day

-Haas is having a good day too, which is really weird to say, but I hope they have a good day at COTA 2024 too

-Oh for god’s sake, Red Bull was supposed to have a better car this season, why is Daniel out rn, on his birthday too

-At least Charles is in the points now

-“We are not okay, we are not okay” I see the Toro Rosso has not improved at all

-From a Mercedes 1-2 to a Red Bull 1-2. If Ferrari manage to overtake Max, it would be a Ferrari 1-2.

-That would be a crazy race run

-“Unless, if the two Ferraris and Red Bull blow their tires up now, Hamilton might still have a chance here” Now that’s a tall order

-Nice move there from Checo

-Woah cars up to p5 have been lapped

-Oh no Charles out of the points again

-* gasp * Lewis actually lost power! No way!

-Who put a curse on the Mercedes this race??

-My only consolation, once again, is that this means Charles is back in the points

-p9!

-“They’re looking maybe for some divine inspiration to help Max Verstappen to win the race here” yes me too

-“I think he should keep that rear tire if he wins this Grand Prix, make a coffee table out of it”

“Kiss it for good luck maybe”

Oh these guys think they’re so funny

-One more lap, ohmygod this is stressful, I can’t believe I’m worrying about tires, what has life come to

-Come on come on come on

-Let’s go Max!!!!!

“Aah this is amazing, in front of all those fans, in the Red Bull ring, with a Red Bull” yesss let’s go!

-Aww the mechanics just pulling him into a group hug

“Your fourth Red Bull victory. It felt like your first now with Kimi Raikkonen chasing you down till the last lap” That’s such a good call back

-The last time Mercedes had a double mechanical retirement was in 1955- that’s crazy. They really did get cursed.

-They’re all so cute on the podium

-Adorable fr

[thegeminisage]

UGGGHHH ok its star trek update time, Special Deep Space Nine Finale Edition

did not love the finale. mostly this comes down to two things 1. pacing bad 2. everybody's ending sucked

pacing problem: the pah wraiths came in at the last second, AFTER the big space battle was all done. it really feels like they should have been directly involved with the battle somehow, like that time sisko vaporized all those spaceships. also, speaking of that, wasn't not getting to rest on bajor his trade for making that happen? yet it didn't get brought up at ALL. ok. more on that later. anyway, the pah wraith thing seemed like a fucking afterthought, which was crazy considering we had winn and dukat scheming and plotting for all those episodes. one would expect the pah wraiths to be like. actually let out. to Do Something. to be scary. we have been building up to this! and yet. nothing happened. a lot of other plots were also wrapped up way too quickly - ezri's romance with julian, miles leaving, etc - but that's more a problem with the endings being bad - they did not have time to build up to what they decided on, or maybe they did and just chose not to utilize it wisely

endings - going thru this character by character

SISKO: this is of course is the very worst offender. avery brooks spent 7 years putting blood sweat and tears into a positive portrayal of a black father only to be contractually obligated to act out a deadbeat dad plot in the 11th hour? man, no wonder he was pissed. there was also no explanation of WHY he had to live in the wormhole, it was just more mysterious wormhole alien stuff. if it's punishment or a trade for what he did before, why not remind us? and i definitely get why avery brooks wanted them to do this rather than him just not ever coming back at all, but it's such a copout to be like "and then he has more adventures" when we can't conceptualize of what those adventures might be, and doubly so when there was no sure bet of having a ds9 movie later, bc they didn't get to have one!!! overall the entire wormhole alien plot in s7 got REALLY weird to me, with a tone shift + lack of explanations about literally anything, and wrapping up sisko's fate in their lore fell short because of that reason too. preferred ending for sisko would have been for him to die during the big battle, then come back right as everyone got overrun by pah-wraiths to save them. if he HAD to go into the wormhole, could his family had come with him? if he had to sacrifice something to win the battle, could it have been a future on bajor specifically, or connection with the prophets? idk, amnesia or something? his sight, like dukat? it was just a bad ending.

JAKE & KASIDY: putting them together because what the hell lol. the final shot of jake looking out the window while kira comforted him might as well have been ripped from the visitor...genuinely it's disappointing they enver found anything cool to do with jake, because i feel like there are a lot of good stories you could wring out of "journalist who covers the war and comes of age at the same time." i could almost see him teaming up with bashir to root out section 31 or something like that. as for kasidy, i've said this before, but it's so unfair to both her and sisko that she was basically invented to be his perfect woman and never got a personality of her own, and DOUBLY unfair to knock her up in the penultimate episode just to drag cheap tearjerker shit out of sisko's ending, which was bad. it's the same thing as having jadzia discuss a baby right before they kill HER. what is wrong with these guys??? plus, we didn't even a discussion of what they'll do now. wait for sisko on ds9? go to earth and live with grandpa sisko? remain together so jake can help with his new sibling? jake didn't even get to say goodbye to his dad. we got a scene with KASIDY, who, love and light, has even less personality/stuff going on than jake did.

O'BRIEN: this was the only ending (besides worf's) i actually liked/understood, though i feel like it didn't get nearly enough screentime. war's over, o'brien has served long enough, it's time for him to go back to the safety of utopia with his family. i like his plot about not being able to tell julian goodbye, it reminded me of the mash movie, but i wish they hadn't wrapped it up in the MIDDLE of a battle scene. like, what??

JULIAN & EZRI: i absolutely HATE that ezri became julian's replacement miles. i almost understand why they got together because when i tried to conceptualize my ideal ending for ezri it was ??? because i don't know enough about her passions and desires. where does ezri dax believe she can do the most good? where does she want to spend her life? with whom? obviously i'm into ezri/quark and ezri/worf, and i would have been fine with her staying with either of them, but with julian? and he just...stays on ds9? i was so sure julian was gonna dedicate himself to taking down section 31 or fighting for the rights of genetically enhanced people. him fighting section 31 would have been a great ending because he could have said something like "i'll ring you up for advice as often as i can" to garak or something. just...hanging out on ds9 is boring if everybody else is gonna leave.

WORF: also mostly acceptable, though i still think he should have been chancellor. i guess then he can't just randomly show up in tng movies lol.

GARAK & DAMAR: it's such a fucking copout to kill damar. that speech garak gave, where he talked about the rich history of cardassia being reduced to ashes? where he talked about how some people would say cardassia deserved it for what they did to bajor and other worlds just like it? that should have been damar's speech. kira's "yeah damar what kind of people give those orders" was setting him up as someone who goes through what the bajoran people did and learn empathy from it. dukat could have never done it because he cares about himself first, but damar actually has principles. furthermore, giving garak the speech doesn't make any sense because for all the crimes garak has committed, they were ON CARDASSIA. he wasn't out doing the colonizing. he's done crimes but not those crimes. it makes no sense for him to have to live with them. GARAK'S moment was when he realized mila was dead and his house was about to be leveled and you can never actually go home. THAT was his moment, and it was incredible. he didn't need that double beat. i think a better idea for garak is to have him decide he doesn't want to be on cardassia anymore (kind of like klinger deciding he's not going back to america after all) and joining bashir in taking down section 31. not even just for shippy reasons, though there's that too, but i think he'd insist julian would need someone like him around, and he would be right. meanwhile damar leads cardassia, and he and kira being kinda-friends now means that they leave bajor alone and become allies in the future

KIRA AND ODO: what the fuck girl...ok, you know who needed the "i'll be back" ending? odo. "maybe tomorrow, maybe next year, but i'll be back" should have been odo's ending. i get him leaving. i even agree with him leaving. he's got to cure his people or he wouldn't be odo. and he deserves to spend a little time in the great link like he's always wanted to do. but part of what makes odo so compelling is that even though he loves his people, he condemns what they do, and he has come to love his found family more. if odo rejoins his people permanently to keep them on a leash then he's just another changeling. odo who every day chooses to be with and love people who are so fundamentally different from him is what's compelling. it's what makes his and kira's relationship so beautiful. as for kira, nothing could be lamer than her quiet no-rage acceptance of odo breaking her heart and giving her no goals or ambitions outside of that. i think she should have tried to work towards bajor joining the federation in sisko's absence, since that was his goal in the pilot. like maybe not NOW, but something to work for in the future.

DUKAT & WINN: so i was really hoping winn would push dukat into the fire, and it's very sad that she did not do that. i also have mixed feelings about her mini-redemption, since it was ultimately useless. if anything, winn should have thrown herself in with dukat to spare the emissary, like IF you were gonna redeem her. let's fuck the devil but for like ever. in hell. on the other hand, i would have preferred if she unceremoniously had dukat killed and then got possessed and became the final boss. i think an unceremonious death for dukat is kind of fitting because he wants to be important. if not unceremonious, at least something where he fucked around and FINALLY found out, you know?

NOG: he didn't? get?? an ending?? i think that final vic's scene should have been with nog instead of quark, because they were such good friends. they could worry about...

QUARK: while his goodbye to odo was PERFECT, i kind of wish there had been some emphasis on him being one of the few people to stay behind. in an ideal world, it's just him and nog and kira, and vic too i guess. even his brother is going back to ferenginar! he has no one to take care of or snipe at! i liked his final scene with kira, but i would have liked to lean a little more into it. if quark/ezri, he wouldn't mind being left behind because she'd be there with him, but if not, his talk about making everyone happy but himself includes creating a space for them to come back to. and since he can't have this chat with vic, he could have it with...

MORN: come on. ONE line of dialogue! it would have been so funny.

overall it still wasn't the worst thing i've ever watched. there were some positives. it was well acted. i was very fond of everyone. even though "the way you look tonight" went on a little long for me it did give me an emotion. i liked the flashbacks even though i missed jadzia (o'brien's and julian's was really gay). but jesus christ, what a mess!!

[glitchaxolol]

Honest opinions on Wrestlemania XL Sunday:

Drew v Seth: I was so happy for Drew when he pinned Seth. Seth was taking those hits like a boss but Drew was honestly slaying. Drew’s entrance looked cool asf but wth was Seth’s😭!? Him tweeting during the match was actually so funny. But anyways, DAMIAN CASHING IN WAS AMAZING AND JUDGEMENT DAY CHEERING TOGETHER AT THE END MADE ME SO HAPPY!!! (I expected Damian to cash in but I was glad he did) Match was still really short tho.

The Pride v The Final Testament: I like both teams but may I say, Scarlett and Karrion looked badass. Some of those hits had to be painful, on both sides. Also Karrion just picking Scarlett up at the end was lowkey sweet. Again, it was really short.

LA Knight v AJ Styles: That flip from AJ over the top rope was smooth. Both of them got in some good hits. That Avalanche German Suplex was actually insane. I was honestly rooting for AJ(who was looking like an absolute daddy btw😩) and I’m genuinely sad he lost. The end was lowkey stupid tho.

Randy Orton v Kevin Owens v Logan Paul: The start was genuinely funny, Randy getting on the back of the cart and riding along. Teaming up on Logan was a good idea. Also like, what did KO expect? Ofc Randy was gonna try to RKO him. They all got some good hits. I was NOT expecting IShowSpeed to be in the suit😭🤣! I was pulling for Randy but I still didn’t mind Logan retaining. Honestly he makes a good heel.

Bayley v Iyo Sky: Bayley’s wrestling gear looked great but Iyo looked lowkey drunk walking down(lol). They both gave us a good match tbh. Bayley was being an absolute beast, taking those hits pretty well. And I’m so happy that Bayley is finally getting what she deserves, she absolutely deserved that win!

Cody v Roman: The orchestra for Roman’s entrance was pretty cool honestly. (He looking fucking hot as ever btw🤭 also he stuck his tongue out so omfg, he cannot keep lookin like that😩). (He could call me a little bitch if he wanted🤞). Jimmy and Jey coming out to fight was pretty cool. I was just waiting for Solo to show up lol. John Cena and Rock coming out to face off with each other was great! I was hoping Dean was the one to come but Seth is alr ig. Roman choosing to hit Seth over Cody was a nice “Fuck you” for when they were in Shield. I actually cheered when Taker came out!!! Both Roman and Cody were absolute BEASTS during the match. I love Roman and I would’ve loved for him to win but it was for the best.

Overall: The matches were a bit short but holy shit was it worth it. The main event was amazing and so chaotic!!!

Reminder: These are just my opinions so don’t get like pressed or anything lol.

[imaginespazzi]

I was def rooting for the Lynx to win but tbh I’m not up in arms about what happened. If the bad foul call had put the Liberty ahead and won it for them in reg then yeah I would be livid, but Minny still had a whole extra 5 mins to go win it and they didn’t show up in OT. I get how fatigued they must have been by then and the mental effect of seeing how close you were to that trophy only to have it “taken away” BUT champions move on and bounce back and they didn’t.

Bad officiating has always been a problem in the W, we know this and it needs to change, but i think it’s incredibly unfair to say this was given to NY. Lynx shouldn’t have lost game 3, plus let’s not act like there wasn’t also a FT disparity in the Lynx’s favour in game 4.

I’m also really disappointed with how Cheryl Reeve handled it in the presser, i mean i’m not surprised given her history lol, but she still had to be better than that. They just didn’t execute in OT, that’s it.

On the whole, it was terrible fkn basketball from both teams, let’s be real and a disappointing conclusion to an all-time series. But both teams were equally deserving to win the trophy. The W is really gonna have to do better with how they schedule/space out a finals series cause i fear what the quality would like if it went to 7 😭

Anyway, sorry for the rant! Minny will be just fine, and I expect them to come back with a vengeance next year. And honestly, I’m happy for NY, i know a lot of people are anti-Liberty but man, Brooklyn showed out for them and it was super cool to see!

It's been a week but I want you to know, these were basically my exact thoughts.

Was the call that led to OT egregious? Yes. Absolutely.

Was the reffing in general atrocious the last two games? Again, yes absolutely.

But something I heard once was that if reffing can determine whether you win or lose, then you probably didn't play that well to begin with and that holds true, as you said, for both NY and MN. It's s shame that an all-time series ended that way but that's just how the cookie crumbles sometimes.

I will be rooting for Phee's revenge season next years with an MVPHee trophy and a championship run for the ages, BOOKMARK IT!

[pjsk-headcanons]

ok welcome to today's ted talk (i am procrastinating on doing my schoolwork bc brother eughhh i am not reading a book from 1500 or smth /jk i will eventually. just let me have this for now) today's ted talk is.... what teams and drivers in f1 pjsk characters would like bc f1 and pjsk is arguably what is maintaining me sane and idk why not. if you disagree uhhh thats fine idc lol this is purely based off of vibes and cardinal directions WxS - rui: as i have mentioned in my first hc he likes a) ferrari b) red bull c) mclaren, bc every f1 fan ik is at least A BIT of a ferrari fan even if they like only one team (*cough* that fan may be me *cough* *cough*), so rui is a ferrari fan and a red bull fan, probably because he likes the crazy shit on red bull's channel (look at this for example: https://youtube.com/shorts/uf9PQT0OgUY?si=yA8NM97AJHeyf0HH). maybe he likes the drink as well, now drivers! his favorite driver is lando, bc i think he will like his streaming content (perhaps his personality and his willingness to talk abt mental health and i am not kidding, search it up!!) (i'd like to note that rui is most definitely a very avid f1 fan) - tsukasa, emu and nene: they all like ferrari and red bull, they're not avid fans but they understand what happens in the sport (mainly because of rui) and as i think they wouldn't be as big fans as rui, so they probably just follow rui's opinions LOL im sorry if it's basic, but it's imo :3 L/N - ichika: she's a casual f1 fan, so she probably likes ferrari bc it's popular and she doesnt know how much depression it causes to be a tifosi. (ps: i am not a tifosi) her favorite driver is lando yet again, because she decided to learn a bit more abt the f1 drivers and found out he can play multiple instruments, so that sparked an interest in her and yeah - saki: she probably doesn't even care but she likes to listen to ichika and shiho talk abt the races. im sorry if it sounds like saki slander, i just dont think she would really like f1 😭😭 pls forgive me saki fans - honami: the ultimate of ultimate of f1 casual fans. that's it, maybe she would like alex but that's it - shiho: the less casual f1 fan out of l/n, she likes red bull and max verstappen. arguably she doesnt even care abt the f1 teams, but she likes max for how he is(me too shiho. it's actually sad to think i didnt like him </3) extra hc: ichika and shiho most definitely talk abt f1 whenever they have time to! VBS - akito: he likes whatever team is fighting an's favorite team. if she likes red bull, he likes mclaren, etc, etc. point is, he likes what an doesnt bc he has some beef with an (i promise you it's not idk levels of genuine hate it's like uhhh i forgot the word im not sure if this is clear!!) - an: uhhh i accidently explained her in akito's part - kohane: weirdly, super into f1. she's not the "i watch f1 for the drivers!" fan, she's the "i watch f1 for the sport!" fan (<- i feel like i have to clarify that) and although that may not make sense, she roots for all the teams and drivers. (even lance.) so tbh if you asked her "kohane whats your favorite f1 team and f1 driver?" she would say "idk i just like the sport i dont really care abt who's winning" - toya: he seems like he would like f1 but he doesnt know a shit abt f1(the creative juices are almost gone now afksahsjkdgbhdg) N25 - mafuyu: i feel like she heard abt f1 at school and ended up liking instead of the sport, the aerodynamics stuff. very specific ik - kanade: she would get distracted by the f1 sounds so she wouldn't even know what's happening and somehow compose a music based off the sounds of an f1 car/f1 related - mizuki: she heard abt f1 one day from rui and ever since she talks with rui abt f1 stuff (other than the in canon stuff)!! her favorite team is whoever is cooking at the moment (she doesnt want to suffer over like. omg bad strategies and bad car) and her favorite driver is lewis (1. his fashion style 2. how good he is) - ena: tbqh the same thing as an's

MMJ - my creative juices have almost completely dried. but tbh, i dont think they would have time for f1 bc they do so much shit yknow, ik they like have managers and everything but id argue they're dedicated to what they do and they'd prefer to do other stuff than learn abt f1 stuff. im so sorry mmj fans i promise ill make a better headcanon than this one day 😭😭

oops how did it get this long? anyways, thank you for joining my ted talk! hope everyone is ok :D - papaya anon

.

[forzafinally]

What was it that made you a Charles fan last year?

Hey! So my first exposure to F1 was through a few friends here who were very much into F1 and big Lewis fans. I didn't really know anything about Charles till I watched DTS in August I think because I was curious about what the whole hype was about.

The last season they had shown on DTS back then was 2022 and as sensationalised as the whole thing might have been, I was actively rooting for Charles to win the WDC while watching the show. I really liked his passion towards racing and the whole mythos surrounding Ferrari as a team. It seemed like something that was genuinely worth rooting for.

So then I checked the results of the latest race around that time which was Monza. I was hoping that Ferrari has finally got their shit together. As they were in contention for the WDC last year, I assumed that they would have learnt from their mistakes and built a car that was able to challenge Red Bull as they obviously had the technology and skills to build a car that was fast. Charles had come P4 iirc and I was like maybe that isn't so bad after all. But then I checked the results of the rest of the season and well, we all know how that went lol.

Singapore 23 was the first F1 race that I ever watched and I think that a Ferrari win gave me slightly unrealistic expectations about how competitive they could be. However, that race was also a Ferrari strategy disasterclass and I was just sitting there wondering how the hell Charles was staying with a team that couldn't handle two drivers being competitive at the same time.

Over the rest of the season I watched Charles drag the SF-23 to the front row multiple times and that was something that was impressive to me. Yes he wasn't able to match the Red Bulls in racepace. But even coming P1 in qualy is something that isn't easy. I can't imagine Max not wanting to start P1 even if he knows he has better race pace and can make up the positions later in the race. And it wasn't like Carlos was able to get the same results from the car.

Multiple people say that Max is what makes the difference as a driver in Red Bull, it's not just the car. Similarly it is Charles who was making the difference in Ferrari and not Carlos. The funny thing is that he was getting absolutely slaughtered for it by the media which is just?????? Any other driver was being hailed as a miracle for being able to challenge Max at all but when it was Charles it was somewhat taken to be a foregone conclusion. The bias was astounding.

Las Vegas as a race genuinely impressed me not just because Charles came P2 but his attitude throughout the entire race. Despite the fact that Max had won the championship at that time he still wanted to win the race and I don't think it was just wishful thinking on his part - he genuinely believed that he could win it. Looking at other driver's interviews throughout the season, I always got a sense of inevitability. That no matter what they do it's going to be Max who wins. Also if Max would overtake them once over the race it was over. Not many people would think they could challenge him again. But in Vegas, Charles kept trying multiple times and it was that tenacity that impressed me. He didn't settle for P3. He overtook Max just before he pitted the first time and overtook Checo on pure race pace on the last corner and that is something that showed me that he was a driver worth rooting for because he's not afraid to take that extra risk.

Also, in one of the end of the season interviews a reporter asked him how it felt to finish ahead of his teammate and his answer was that none of it mattered if he wasn't finishing first in the WDC. Now that's what a winning mentality is. I don't know how anyone can say that he's not serious about being a world champion when he keeps saying things like that.

Also, Charles also seemed to be a genuine team player with how he was trying his best to help get Ferrari P2 in constructors last year. To me it did showcase a fair amount of maturity and growth and being selfless enough to look out for the team instead of just himself as an individual.

Also all the fan interactions that I would see on social media were overwhelmingly positive which is a huge green flag in my books because at the end of the day not all celebrities are kind to their fans. But Charles always seemed to make an active effort to be polite and kind and just not take that love for granted if you know what I mean? Lastly, it's obvious that his fellow drivers respect him so much. He's someone who is considered to be both a safe and fast racer which isn't something that you see a lot.

Ultimately, he's a tiofoso and a Ferrari driver who wants to win the championship and I think that's something that's worth supporting. I also don't think he's just blindly loyal to the team and it's all just emotion. He has been firm enough to put his foot down where it actually matters like getting Fred at TP and classy enough to not be messy in the media. 26 is not old enough to even consider him being washed. Ferrari has given him one of the longest contracts ever for a reason. And I personally don't think he has reached his full potential as a driver yet. I can't wait to see what happens when he does. So yes the season as a whole wasn't the best for Charles but I see great potential in him and I intend to stick around to see him live up to it :)

[citycircuit]

okay bad bitches we did it we made it through the indian wells round of 32! some thoughts on the upcoming matches:

also these are not technical notes i do not have the capacity to do that just yet i'm just rambling don't take it too seriously LOL

atp

lehečka/tsitsipas — you all know i want jiri to win this but i fear it is not happening and my boy is getting beaten down first thing in the morning. then again i haven't been watching stef lately so idk how he's playing but it feel silly to hold out any real hope

maroszan/alcaraz — carlitos straight to the qfs please Next

z****v/de minaur — okay listen i know their h2h isn't great but alex does have the most recent win over the rat (davis cup), not to mention he's been playing absolute lights-out full-dark no-stars tennis lately. like we have a chance. it's slim and i know this match is going to do terrible things to my heart rate but We Have A Chance

shelton/sinner — the main event! i'm not going to lie i am genuinely more interested to see how this goes than in who wins... ben being the only person still in the tournament to have beaten jannik AT ALL recently. this one's going to be a good one i'm excited

ruud/monfils — casper is looking in better shape but monfils is always something of a wild card... lowkey i will be happy no matter how this one turns out i just hope both teams have fun [heart]

nardi/paul — i'm mad at tommy paul for defeating ugo humbert even though i'm still mad at ugo humbert for deafeating daniil in dubai Whatever. luca nardi indian wells champion 2024

fritz/rune — okay listennn i have to support fritz as a fellow californian at the california tournament but also i think rune tennis is some of the silliest shit available as entertainment to the people. i could go either way on this one

medvedev/dimitrov — of course i'm rooting for daniil but this one should also be fun to watch

wta

potapova/paolini — jasmine paolini indian wells champion 2024 Next question

pavlyuchenkova/kostyuk — i am not kostyuk's biggest fan i fear

kerber/wozniacki — throwback match... honestly the fact that we get to see this as a r16 matchup in 2024 is kind of crazy (positive) i am quite looking forward to watching this one

światek/putintseva — listen on any other day i'd say iga's taking it but the last time she was in a wta 1000 she got knocked out fairly unexpectedly.... i do not know enough about putintseva to really say anything though so i could also just be loud and wrong

parry/sakkari — maria sakkari my icon my good friend... please avenge leylah for me thank you

mertens/gauff — coco 🔛🔝

yuan/kasatkina — i'm hoping for either dasha or jasmine to win the whole thing ngl so i fear i am on her side for this one

navarro/sabalenka — i like emma navarro but i am quite sure sabalenka is taking it

[beevean]

(1/2)yo, uh, hi. i've never actually interacted with you before but i think you have pretty cool sonic takes in general and are a cool individual in general. i wanted to say smth about an ask response you made a bit back about how sonic's game foils are stoic and serious while his western media foils are loudmouthed braggarts and like. jet the hawk exists. the babylon rogues are an in-universe parody of team sonic where jet is a braggart jackass, wave is snooty and prideful, and storm is stupid.

(2/2) just because a character intended as a foil to another, takes an unsavory trait of them and exaggerates it, doesn't mean they're always an accurate reflection of who they're foiling is. batman has joker and riddler as foils, completely different characters taking certain aspects of batman and shifting them to contrast him. chaos sonic takes sonic's taunts and verbal jabs and turns into a parody of what sonic is, and that's kind of like, his point. he's not sonic he's how the C.C view sonic

Lmao! My bad, I did forget about Jet 😂 the way you described them is precisely why I don't like the Babylon Rogues - sick designs and cute interactions with each other, but I don't like them as foils to the main trio.

Even then, Jet is one of many characters that work as foils to Sonic: he's his cockiness turned up to eleven, he's Sonic if he cared about winning more than anything else. But then you have Knuckles, who is the mountain to Sonic's wind: brash, aggressive, anchored to a place. Then you have Shadow: artificial, shackled to his past until his own game, introverted, cordial but aloof, more ruthless. Then you have Blaze, the fire to Sonic's wind: also introverted, straight up refusing to open up to others, burdened by responsibilities. And Metal, who is in short Sonic's power in Eggman's hands, completely chained to him.

I see more variety to explore Sonic's characters and give him different rivalries, and he has different relationships with all of these characters, from being genuine friends to being friendly rivals. On the other hand, Scourge and Surge are more or less the same archetype of "obnoxious edgy violent braggart" - Surge has a fairly interesting Shadow-esque backstory, but so far the story hasn't taken advantage of it, putting more focus on how "cool" she supposedly is (can't speak about Scourge in detail because I refuse to read Archie lol). And Chaos Sonic, well...

First of all, the problem with characters who are meant to be annoying is that they still are annoying lol. So uhhh good job I suppose? But I don't know how much I can praise you for getting on my nerves lol.

Second, Sonic here keeps making the same joke - "oh wow am I this annoying? stop talking!". He's the one who puts the focus on Chaos Sonic's singular trait: being unable to shut up. And, well... kind of? This Sonic is way more energetic and childish than Game Sonic. The joke falls flat for me because Chaos Sonic is not that exaggerated, he's just meaner.

Funnily enough, one can also see Surge and Kit as incarnations of how Starline saw Sonic and Tails: the former as a stupid (according to her) arrogant braggart, and the latter as a mindless sycopant. Get it, because he was all about being meta, blah blah blah sonic cycle :P in that case, I can accuse the writing at attempting to seem deeper than it actually was. Ah, don't let me start on the absolute mess that are S&K and how they came to be...

Anyway. The root of the problem is that generally speaking Western Sonic, from SatAM to Prime, has differed from game Sonic in having his cockiness amped up for cool points. That's his appeal here. Now, don't get me wrong, Sonic is cool in general, but he's more... effortlessly cool, I say. He's natural in his coolness, he doesn't try, he just is. That trait of his got flanderized in the '90s because of cultural differences, and writers nowadays are still playing under this misconception, from Flynn who writes a supremely arrogant Sonic (not even talking about his preaching attempts, even small things like basking in the praise of the crowd, or using his fame status to intimidate a waiter in Archie), to Prime Sonic being pitched as having to learn not to take his friends for granted, implying that he was too egotistical to care before.

And I see this reflected in the kind of rivals they create for Western media, which can be boiled down as "Sonic but meaner and all taunts, with zero redeeming qualities".

But hey, this is my opinion. Thank you for your nice words ^^

[kohakhearts]

hey that pokemon 2000 gifset + your jn dub analysis made me think about the pokemon 2000 dub - I've only seen it subbed once (compared to the hundred times I watched it dubbed as a child) so I could be misremembering, but didn't the dub completely change the themes of the movie with the chosen one ash thing?

i actually haven’t watched the sub nearly as many as times as the dub either :p but i have read extensively about this topic bc it’s personally my favourite pokemon movie and yes! the first and second pokemon movies are both victim to this (like mewtwo’s epic speech we all love so much at the end of the first movie…being a complete fabrication by the dub team :p you gotta give those writers credit - they were VERY good at what they did), largely i’m guessing due to cultural values and expectations. since they were trying to sell the anime to an american audience, not a japanese one.

tangentially, i will say i also think that’s the root of this like…subtle distinction some people have between the characters “ash” and “satoshi.” i don’t differentiate them in any big way myself because fundamentally they still are very much the same, but it is true that in japanese, ash has somewhat different mannerisms and responds differently to events at times, especially in the early anime when it was so much easier to get away with making big changes for…a big assortment of reasons haha.

in THIS movie in particular, some of those things are like…well. the prophecy is probably the most obvious change. the dub team rewrote it to include the chosen one reference, which works great because of the word play on ash’s name. in japanese, it just says “an exceptional trainer will appear to help calm the wrath of the gods.” ash’s response to this is more mild trepidation than outright fear. he doesn’t hesitate like he does in the dub. and tbh? both reactions make perfect sense for his character in my opinion.

in japanese, his concern is more "do you really think i can fit that role?" this...tracks pretty well with his character development by this point. like yeah he said he could win the indigo league, but he's also thinking about dropping out after gary loses; it's that little grain of insecurity he has, which he's normally good at covering up with arrogance (a lot of which is also very genuine, don't get me wrong). but he sees the opportunity to help and he takes it. that's just...what ash does.

in english, though, the prophecy is pretty clearly about him. there's no one else it could be. it has to be him. and he...doesn't like that? that scares him. which, fair. anyone would be terrified by being singled out like that. it's also so much...not ash's thing, even at this point in the series. his character development is about embracing having to work hard to do well. to keep trying until you get it right, no matter how many times you get it wrong. the idea of being a "chosen one" completely robs him of his ability to be so single-minded about what he wants his destiny to be that it manifests as pre-determined; it just...pre-determines it for him, if that makes sense. lol.

the thesis of the japanese version of the film is that no one person or pokemon can stand on their own. everyone needs help. it's about harmonizing with each other and with nature. about letting others help you, and helping them in turn. the english version rewrites that into a story about power and destiny. the title alone says it all, right? it's called "the power of one" - no reference to lugia, no reference to the birds. in japan, the title is about the revelation (or "birth") of lugia.

westerners love a good chosen one story, so this was a really good choice by the dub team in that respect. i mean, it's a narrative that's stuck really well. fandom loves chosen one ash! in general, western fanbases are really into this narrative. it's everywhere. and there's a lot that goes into that, culturally, and especially religiously, historically, etc. so at the end of the day, i don't think the change is so much about conflicting ideas about collectivism and individualism. it's more about goals and ideals, on a personal level.

let me say again for the 273456784th time, i love that they resolved ash's story by having him realize that the goal he's really been striving for all this time is to meet and befriend pokemon. to learn from them. to earn their trust. it's like...he did the thing that everyone else thought represented his goal, maybe even himself included, only to realize that his dream was never about the end of it anyway. it was about everything he learnt and everyone he met along the way. (i also suspect nobody writing in 1997 knew that that would be the ultimate resolution, either. but it makes sense in the entire context. it's kind of a nice irony, even. to only figure it out after writing the story :p)

and i think this little distinction is important to that goal! it's his whole character! which is why even though i too love chosen one characters, i don't necessarily think of ash as one. because even if he is, his whole Thing is that he wants to try. a lot of the chosen one narrative is about characters being reluctant to be used for a "greater good," or about them collapsing under that pressure. ash doesn't really have that. he does what he thinks is right because he...thinks it's right. sometimes, sure, others have to push him into it a bit, but usually they're actually pushing the other way - it's too dangerous, you're going to get hurt, etc. and to me, i don't know - thinking of times he's died, or nearly died, and some legendary or mythical pokemon has saved him at the last minute...i don't think that has to mean he's special in a cosmic sort of way. i think it just means he's special to them. that he did something for them, or for someone else they had come to care for (thinking manaphy responding to may's emotions, not just to the fact that ash was drowning, or in mpm ash convincing latios to trust him because of their mutual desire to save latias, etc.), and so they want to help him. which is completely opposite to the typical chosen one narrative, i think? because he doesn't do those things out of obligation...he does them because he thinks he can become a better trainer by doing them, and he wants to do that. and well. he did do that.

anyway my tl;dr here is YES they changed the theme a lot haha, but i find it fun that they also changed the characters’ responses to that theme. funnily that’s…kind of also what fanfiction writers do all the time, lmao, but that’s a whole other conversation.

[3416]

Hello, I love reading your insight on the game! I wonder if you might have insight on a couple of things re: how things work in the nhl, as while I find it fascinating I'm still figuring a lot out:

what is the GM's motivation? maybe that's a wild question LOL but if I WAY oversimplify it: other than wanting to personally do well, the players need to impress the coach so they get time on ice, the coach needs to please the GM so they keep their job, is there a similar motivation for GMs (from owners maybe)? I think I just haven't seen as much movement with them so I am curious how/when they are held responsible for team performance

does the GM consult with the coach on trades/signings? i am wondering if the coach shows up day 1 and the GM basically says "here are the pieces, put together my cup-winning puzzle" or if the coach ever says "we have problems with X, and Y or Z from team blah blah that I coached before would do so much to help us fix X"

I'm not sure if there are necessarily "real" answers to these questions, but I would love to hear your insight either way!

hi there!! those are actually wonderful questions and get to the root of certain nhl jobs. i'm not going to pretend to be an expert here by any means. i only have real knowledge about the leafs and from what i understand, every hockey team is built a tad bit differently. honestly being a fan of something as complex as a whole sport and it's structure is just a constant learning process so fjdkdk forgive me if any of this isn't entirely accurate.

so brad treliving is our general manager and answers to brendan shanahan, the president (if you've ever heard of the term 'shanaplan'.. that basically represents this era of leafs while he's been president). brendan shanahan answers to the owner of the team aka the board of mlse (which is an entertainment company and can be broken into even smaller pieces if you want to get complicated w corporate nonsense. mlse is represented by their ceo keith pelley when it comes to leaf stuff.. he did the end of the yr media w brad and keefe). team to team that structure can kind of shift, like the president can also be the owner or the president and the gm can be the same thing, there can be multiples of roles for different sides of things, etc etc. basically a gm's job is to build the team/staff, a president's job is to oversee that and the org as a whole, and they essentially both have to answer to owners who want this all to be a profitable and successful venture. obviously everyone involved wants the same outcome, but the tier structure can cause hiccups. we actually saw this first hand the summer of 2023 when kyle dubas was fired from the leafs.

if you weren't around for that, essentially kyle dubas was the leafs gm for multiple years and he and the shanahan had a pretty personal-sounding falling out. his firing happened rather abruptly after he was going back and forth in negotiations for an extension, and one of the things hinted at as being most stressful was the constant hoops he had to jump through to get deals done. he needed things approved by shanahan and then the board just to make trades or big moves and it was slowing the process/stopping things from happening. this is evident when you look at the fact that the job he took immediately after departing the maple leafs was the combined role of general manager AND president of hockey operations for the pittsburgh penguins where he has MUCH more freedom. so essentially, the gms have to answer to everyone above them while also managing very hands on things like roster construction and staffing. there is a lot to consider at that position bc you're not totally free to build a team how you specifically want, the people above you still have a plan too. keith pelley had a quote after the playoffs this year about how "they aren't here to sell jerseys" which happens to be ironic bc... the board of mlse very much has an interest in what is financially best for the leafs and that definitely can be impacted by players on a team. the maple leafs are a special case bc they bring in so much revenue whether they win or lose... they sold out crowds back when the leafs weren't even making the playoffs bc toronto really is a hockey city. whereas other places less known for hockey might struggle to bring in crowds or viewership if their team isn't on the rise so there's more incentive to make desperate moves. so anyway, the gm DOES have bigger roles they answer to and their job is to build a team that can be successful so that everyone up and down the structure of the org can benefit. i bet lots of them view it as a puzzle, but also the paycheck does not hurt and it's just another rung on the ladder if you're moving up in the hockey executive world.

as for the gm/coach relationship, there is lots of consulting going on there as far as i'm aware. what makes it hard is when you're introducing new people like the leafs have the past 2 years now (some teams have insane coaching turnover so... coaches may be taken with more of a grain of salt but leafs were blessed with the very interesting duo of dubas/keefe who had a close relationship).if you look at someone like craig berube... he doesn't totally have a grip on these players bc he hasn't had to coach them yet, but he has a style and a kind of player that probably personally fits his systems and i'm sure all of that is relayed and discussed. the leafs roster, like any hockey team, has holes they need to fill, and a coach's input matters but ultimately it's a gm who is supposed to see the bigger picture in terms of what's needed. it's the coach's job to make what is given work physically on the ice. the higher up the structure you go, the bigger the picture is supposed to be to each role, and the higher up you go, the less turnover there is on the whole. coaches are the first to go when things aren't working, then gms, then presidents if need be (haven't seen a lot of turnover of those tbh). but all of those shifts happen in conjunction with the highs and lows of a hockey team. lose their identity when they're losing and sucking, and then start to plan and shape rebuilds and see what players are drafted high enough to make a difference and built around them.

anyway, that is a longwinded thing.. don't mind me ranting LOL. but there are so many moving parts to the front offices of hockey team, and they all do interact with each other and get input from each other for sure. the leafs are VERY corporate and have a business image to maintain as well as being a unique and popular place so it feels like there is EVEN MORE going on sometimes.

[larsnicklas]

is it bad to say im truly not that devastated bc i didn’t want them to advance without boes :/ altho it sucks that demmer never got his chance to come back. also i’m on holiday starting yesterday and now i can actually enjoy it without my every waking moment being consumed by fear. like i’m upset but we move. cats 4 cup

no i felt the same way! lol. i think disappointment is also tempered by the fact that they overachieved on reasonable expectations from the start of the year so it feels like (and genuinely was) such an enormous step forward that nobody can possibly say they didn’t have a great season. i also think for me personally, with the exception of the caps, any loyalty to teams i have is rooted in the players i love and so the absence of any of my favorites really affects how badly i want them to win lol. the loss of demmer already stung a lot bc he’s like the only other goalie i’ve genuinely loved since h.oltby 😭 and then with brock done for the year i was kind of like. okay actually i don’t want to do this without them!!!! with brock particularly it’s like. that’s the guy that was the FIRST bit of light… the first spark of hope…. and after him came pete and quinn and so on and so forth but he was that first shift into a new core. he deserves to be a key part of any deep run and i know that’s not how sports work and you can’t guarantee anything but he’d already made such a huge mark in the first 12 games of the postseason i just know he would have had more signature moments!!!

i also think for me it was like. you run an assessing eye over the most important player on your team, the guy who tilts the ice for you on any given night, and he is so very clearly fighting through being quite banged up. and so realistically speaking how much more did quinn have left in the tank, you know? he did a good job even with any limitations from injuries but i just am not sure there was another quality round, much less a strong final in him lol. like i do believe he would have continued playing until physically unable/shut down by docs but the quality of play would have not been to his (very high) standards.

and then uh while i’m airing this out!!! when the c.anucks go deep i want ep in a good place physically and mentally and idk that he was either this postseason!! he’s such a game changer like when he’s at his best he is an incandescent player and one of the most exciting guys in the game. and obviously one of my particular favorites! any actual success the nucks see i would like him to be an enormous part of it, which i know he can and will be!

at the end of the day it always sucks to lose but there are so many good things to have come out of this season, including getting into the second round on the first try for this particular group. this experience is going to serve them so so well in the future and i bet they will all be itching to get back on the ice for the 2024-25 season ♡

[duchessofostergotlands]

As a Scottish person living in Madrid, I was defo rooting for Spain today. Somehow I thought fans of the women’s team would be less annoying, but no. Still with the “it’s coming home” nonsense. Which, in the case of the women’s team, doesn’t even make sense since they’ve never won before.

Haha perfect place for a Scottish person to be right now! And honestly I've never understood that phrase. At first I didn't know what was supposed to be coming home. Because the song is "football's coming home" but unless I'm mistaken they play football in England regardless of how well they do in international tournaments. Like...even if you don't qualify for the World Cup, you can still play football generally. I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one who knows that lol. But then if they mean the trophy then as you say, it makes no sense because the women's team have never won it so it's not coming home. And also the trophy was made in Italy so it's home would be Italy. And even if they weren't referring to football or to the trophy, they were referring to the title, England wasn't the first country to win the World Cup or the first Euros. So what exactly is coming home? lol. They codified modern football, sure. But could they express that in a slogan that makes sense to me please?

[edenvinity]

f1 hanahaki au snippet (carlos-centric)

OKAY so a bit ago i posted about a vague hanahaki au where its like carlos has hanahaki for ferrari but never really did anything with it BUT im back with a fully written snippet i did instead of sleeping !!! thank you for being my muse carlos LOL

im obsessed with the concept of hanahaki for intangible dreams SO ive released my brainrot onto you guys <3

(disclaimer: I DONT HATE FERRARI BTW they were just convenient villains 🫶)

——

hanahaki, though not commonly found in modern society, is heavily prevalent in the realm of professional sports.

youll find hundreds of failed athletes with crushed dreams who will tell you of the unspoken pills supplied to every minor league; the home remedies passed down team by team, the ones that slow the growth but can never stop the spread of roots and stems through your lungs.

there are some professional athletes who will keep bouquets of their flowers in their households as a testament to how theyve made it; others are unable to even look at the petals without tasting iron in the back of their throats.

this is no different in formula one; the ever changing nature of the sport along with the limited spots always leave some drivers in the dust, teeth stained red as they feel the weight of their dreams slowly eat away at them until they either pull themselves away or fall out of love with the sport completely.

carlos never thought that hed be one of them.

as the son of carlos sainz sr, rally champion, racing ran in his blood. from the moment he was old enough to get in a kart he was obsessed, and knew that he would be chasing this high for the rest of his life.

and so he did. carlos climbed and clawed his way through the different levels, hunting down positions and points in pursuit of more time on the track, more time among the barriers and burning rubber. until his name was no longer his fathers, but a force in its own right.

and when he signs the dotted line that will bind him to ferrari, he feels his chest swell with the knowledge that he will be driving for the team that everyone dreams of.

——

it starts as a tickle in the back of his throat. a little discomfort that pops up when the team seems to ignore him at meetings, glossing over his suggestions for strategy and instead focusing on the aspects of his drive that could be improved. pops up when he hears the comments from the italian media, comparisons to charles.

and. well.

he knew charles was always going to be the first driver. that the tifosi would always have high expectations for him as the teammate to their il predestinato. so he buys cough drops and clears his throat and ignores how the rosso corsa doesnt quite settle comfortably over his shoulders.

——

it becomes harder to ignore through the 2023 season.

this year, he knows that the power dynamics are shifting. this year, carlos feels like he can fight charles and win. and he knows the team can sense it too. he can tell from the whispers that follow him after every race, building in volume as the season goes on and he places the car higher and higher in the standings and charles continues to suffer from a streak of bad luck.

but despite the tightness in his chest and the cough that lingers long enough to make rupert frown, carlos pushes forward. pushes the car to the limits until that one glorious day in singapore; where he stood on that podium and sweet taste of champange the only thing that lingered on his tongue.

he believed, for a single moment, that this would be it. the only non-redbull victory of 2023 would be enough to satisfy the tifosi, that he would finally see his love and devotion to the team returned to him. he enters the offseason dreaming of the prancing horse, of being almost able to grasp it in his hands once again.

——

carlos finds himself hunched over the sink in the bathroom, petals crawling up his throat after fred calls.

it would be stupid to say that he didnt expect it, but his father always said he trusted too much for his own good.

the call had been short and professional; barely 15 minutes where fred explained the situation, expressed his condolences, and wished him luck on his future endeavors. carlos couldnt remember a word of it.

all he could taste was the iron, overpowering any senses he had until his world was narrowed down to the crimson filling his bathroom sink and the tightness in his chest as he took rasping breaths in between bouts of petals.

there was no denying it anymore. hanahaki, the disease that he was warned continously about, that he thought he would never be touched by, had finally claimed him as a victim.