#im entering the triple digits

[interstella-eyes]

WHAT?!?!?!?!?@@?! THE FUCK?!?@,-,!!

THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH!?!!?!!!!! 100 followers, and that in less than 6 months on tumblr?,.,!?!?!?! Y’all are insane /pos <3

Little doodle to commemorate ^^

[syrupspinner]

i just beat Half Minute Hero: Super Mega Neo Climax Ultimate Boy

at least i think so? i beat princess and evil lord 30, and ive been told thats supposed to unlock knight 30, but it just kinda didnt. i wanted to do more of the side modes but i guess since i completed the main campaign i can say its beat? whatever i cant play any more

so yknow how xbox won the 7th gen console war right? the wii focused on a casual market, so its only competition was with the ps3. fortunately, the ps3 cost 599 us dollars (my internet is fucked right now but i promise thats over $1000 today) and was built in such a roundabout bullshit way that yeah you could technically get higher specs, but 3rd parties had no idea what they were doing, so all commercial comparisons made it look bad. i bring this up for irony's sake, because considering that the ps3's fatal flaw as inaccessibility, the psp was a hotbed for indie games. it was popular enough to attract creative devs, but not popular enough to attract shovelware, and digital distribution taking off right about then means that its off to the fuckin races

enter half minute hero, which would later be released as half minute hero super mega neo climax ultimate boy (which ill be calling HMHSMNCUB for short) on steam. congrats on landing the lucrative supermega sponsership!

the main mode is called hero 30, and it works like this. each level is basically an ultra-condensed jrpg. random encounters last like one second, you can usually cross the entire levels map in like 15 seconds, and itll usually that about half a minute to level up enough to beat the levels boss. which is great because every level has a time limit of 30 seconds. theres like a statue you can pray to for more time, but it costs more money each time, and you usually only need to use it like twice max

yeah, the first thing that tipped me off to this being a handheld game is the level structure. you ever notice how few handheld/mobile games there are with long levels or open worlds? the exception is genshin-style gachas, which only really took off to keep up with how phones are powerful enough to emulate a ps4 now. if you ever wondered why luigis mansion dark moon was the only one in the series with a short mission structure, its because its the only game in the series native to 3ds. its to match the ethos of "play a little then move on" that most in-your-pocket games find success with. itd be awkward if you were in the middle of a triple-a cinematic moment when your bus got to your stop

anyway! the game is fun enough. it fulfills the niche its trying to fulfill pretty well, i think. i can imagine busting this out on a steam deck (i dont have a steam deck) on a road trip or something, busting through a few levels. a lot of the levels near the end (im talking level 30 out of 31) took way too long in my opinion, the punishment for failure being that you lose like 20 minutes of gameplay is like a jumpscare in a game that was so fast-paced until then. but other than that, target hit, congrats game

it does a lot for replayability too, which was super important when it came out and still underappreciated now. i was a pretty poor kid, so i ended up just replaying levels in mario 3d land over and over again. games with seemingly endless content like final fantasy tactics a2 were like a godsend, you can just keep playing and playing forever! nowadays i feel like people value shorter games more then ever, but that might just be that im an adult with spending power, so ive got a life with errands and shit AND ive got like a million other games on my backlog.

but i digress. there are titles that you can earn based on your performance in a level, some of which are mutually exclusive. they mostly exist to point you towards scenarios they accounted for and dont want the player to miss out on. like, theres a title for if you reach a village before lava is meant to destroy it, which gives unique dialog. theres also a bunch of equipment in each level that you usually have to go out of your way to grind for, and you dont have a lot of time to waste in this game so it asks for juuuuust enough strategy.

oh yeah, the dialog. this game has a pretty irreverent tone. it likes to parody jrpg conventions, with the villains pointing out that their apocalypse spell will kill them too, and npcs in distress snork mimimimimi snork mimimimi. sorry i dozed off for a sec, im just kinda sick of irony. i feel like i dont have to tell you that it kidna sucks when something is afraid to take itself seriously. that said, i feel like the game does a good job at keeping the tone consistent and keeping it from being annoying. believe it or not, this game doesnt wanna waste your time, so it keeps the quips brief. also the skip button is lightning fast. all in all, not to my taste, but it does what it sets out to do well, so its hard to really insult it for that

theres also, allegedly, a ton of additional modes to unlock when you beat the main game. they shake up the gameplay WAY more than i was expecting, they have totally different fundamental mechanics. evil lord 30 is about summoning different minions suited for different tasks to defeat enemies, like a real-time strategy instead of a jrpg. i love the magic circle mechanic, its so simple but it does a great job of building risk/reward when the time limit is still a major factor. then theres princess 30, which is a fucking shoot em up? theyre all complete with 30 levels and stories that are just as fleshed out as the main campaign (for what thats worth), although there arent the same depths of branching paths and optional equipment. i was VERY presently surprised

but uh... thats where it ended for me. theres supposed to be knight 30 but it just kinda didnt unlock, even though it says online its supposed to show up after you beat the first three modes, which i did. its a shame i couldnt play around with it, but im not unsatisfied with the experience i had. it used to go on sale for like 3 bucks but it hasnt budged from the full $11 since last year, so... i guess i lucked out? personally, i think thats a prefectly acceptable asking price if youve got some space change on you, especially if youre more of a completionist type and you know youre gonna squeeze the extra value out of getting all the titles and shit. for everyone else, its worth a shot if you dont mind more repetitive gameplay loops. if you dont die and skip all the cutscenes and everything you could probably beat this game before the refund window is up, so there ya go

half-minute verdict. i had fun, but i dunno if i would buy it for 10 bucks. humour was meh but i liked the gameplay gimmick and i really like the replay value. wish it didnt screw me outta knight 30

[anon853]

@fagrance

Ok so I had (and still have) a 1970s "racecar". I drove it around and tried to keep it running (think early 2000s autism I guess) Anyways I had issues with it. I had an engine issue (from before I knew how to repair them correctly). I had issures with the car well not feeling "right"" I guess. the really bad time the first thing I can rememver was driving to work and hitting my brakes hard and trying to steer was , I guess NOT WORKING. A wheel bearing went bad (probably becase I didn't hand pack it right when doing my first brake job) anyways The brakes were workimg super soft. vnhffffffffjjghf someone made me mad enough to race them and I was, well moving faster than I should have been on a good day, let alone a day when everything was operating correctly. anyways, I entered the turn at somewhere over 80MPH. I have no idea how I even kept my car on the road. Someone was challenging me and despite driving a really unsafe vehicle, I got mad and raced them. I hit a triple digit speed and was slowing down when I felt a pop in my brake pedal(super antique manual brakes) anyways, whle my brakes were going out my steering went out a bit. Im not remembering this right but the short was a wheel bearing was going bad and I had been driving while the brake master cylinder was completely shot but I had learnd to drive from my dad who tought me to be light on my brakes so take a 35 year old car with 35 year old brake lines so the first time I tried to actually use them correctly they just exploded and I dont know how I'm alive. Anyways, I entered the curve and was pulling up HARD on the emergency brake handle. Somehow I made it around the curve. I took the exit really messed up.

Anyways, I blew out a brake line. I made it to the mechanic. I was loading the car onto the shop lift when the muffler fell off.

I also need to say I combined 2 issues together. yes I raced two people. on two other days. I cant remeber both issues sepatare. I did tht curve TWICE, but the secont ime was the really bad time . the firstr time t was just he master cyliner was going bad a little bit and the brakes wer super soft with the steering going out and the second time was the super hyper mega boost where the brakes failed dangerous day even though both were really dangerous

Anyone want to hear about a couple of times I drove a car that was in super dangerous condition?

[dailykoreanpop]

IU, BTS, ATEEZ, BLACKPINK, Kang Daniel, And ONF Top Gaon Monthly And Weekly Charts

Gaon Chart has revealed its latest monthly and weekly chart rankings!

Monthly Album Chart

BTS topped the physical album chart for the month of February with their latest album “BE,” which also received an official triple million certification from Gaon this month after the new “Essential Edition” of the album was released on February 19. BTS previously topped the monthly album chart with “BE” once already, back when the album was first released in its “Deluxe Edition” form in November.

SHINee’s new studio album “Don’t Call Me” debuted at No. 2 on the monthly chart, while NCT’s 2018 album “NCT 2018 Empathy” reentered the chart at No. 3.

UP10TION’s Kim Woo Seok’s “2ND DESIRE [TASTY]” came in at No. 4, and Wonho’s “Love Synonym #2 : Right for Us” rounded out the top five for February.

Weekly Album Chart

ATEEZ topped the physical album chart for the week of February 28 to March 6 with their new mini album “ZERO : FEVER Part.2,” which debuted at No. 1.

SHINee’s “Don’t Call Me” stayed strong at No. 2, while (G)I-DLE’s “I burn” climbed back up the chart to No. 3.

VERIVERY’s “SERIES ‘O’ ROUND 1: HALL” debuted at No. 4 on the chart, with ENHYPEN’s “BORDER : DAY ONE” rising to No. 5 for the week.

Monthly Digital Chart

IU achieved a double crown for February after topping both the overall digital chart and the streaming chart with her latest hit “Celebrity.”

KyoungSeo’s “Shiny Star (2020)” followed at No. 2 on the overall digital chart for February, while BTS’s long-running hit “Dynamite” held onto its spot at No. 3.

“Show Me the Money 9” rappers Mirani, Munchman, Khundi Panda, and MUSHVENOM’s hit collaboration “VVS” (featuring JUSTHIS and produced by GroovyRoom) charted at No. 4, trailed by 10cm’s “Borrow Your Night” at No. 5.

Weekly Digital Chart

IU also maintained her double crown on the weekly charts, where “Celebrity” remained No. 1 on both the overall digital chart and the streaming chart for the sixth consecutive week.

Four years after its release, Brave Girls’ newly viral hit “Rollin’“—which the group recently announced that they will be returning to music shows to perform again after its sudden rise in popularity—shot up the overall digital chart to No. 2 for the week.

KyoungSeo’s “Shiny Star (2020)” came in at No. 3 this week, followed by BTS’s “Dynamite” at No. 4 and Jang Beom June’s “Can’t Sleep” at No. 5.

Monthly Download Chart

Kang Daniel topped the digital download chart for February with his new single “PARANOIA,” which previously debuted at No. 1 on the weekly chart as well.

SECHSKIES’s “Don’t Look Back” entered the chart at No. 2, trailed by IU’s “Celebrity” at No. 3, ONF’s “Beautiful Beautiful” at No. 4, and Kim Woo Seok’s “Sugar” at No. 5.

Weekly Download Chart

ONF’s latest title track “Beautiful Beautiful” topped the weekly digital download chart for the second week in a row, while Kang Daniel’s “PARANOIA” and SHINee’s “Don’t Call Me” also maintained their respective positions at No. 2 and No. 3.

Brave Girls’ “Rollin'” shot all the way up to No. 4 on this week’s chart, and Highlight’s Yang Yoseob and Apink’s Jung Eun Ji’s new duet “Love Day (2021)” made its debut at No. 5.

Monthly Streaming Chart

The top four songs on the monthly streaming chart for February were exactly the same as the overall digital chart: IU’s “Celebrity” came in at No. 1, KyoungSeo’s “Shiny Star (2020)” at No. 2, BTS’s “Dynamite” at No. 3, and Mirani, Munchman, Khundi Panda, and MUSHVENOM’s “VVS” at No. 4. Finally, Jang Beom June’s “Can’t Sleep” rounded out the top five for the month.

Weekly Streaming Chart

IU’s “Celebrity” held onto its spot at No. 1 on the streaming chart this week, with KyoungSeo’s “Shiny Star (2020)” similarly defending its position at No. 2.

Brave Girls’ “Rollin'” rose to No. 3 for the week, followed by BTS’s “Dynamite” at No. 4 and Jang Beom June’s “Can’t Sleep” at No. 5.

Monthly Social Chart

BLACKPINK continued to top Gaon’s “Social Chart 2.0” for the 10th consecutive month, while BTS held onto their spot at No. 2. Im Young Woong rose to No. 3 on this month’s chart, trailed by Young Tak at No. 4 and Lee Chan Won at No. 5.

Weekly Social Chart

The top five artists on this week’s social chart were exactly the same as last week: BLACKPINK remained No. 1, with BTS at No. 2, Im Young Woong at No. 3, Lee Chan Won at No. 4, and Jang Min Ho at No. 5.

Congratulations to all of the artists!

Credit: Soompi 

[forsythiias-blog]

heyy there !! im rachel ( so new to being twenty i keep accidentally saying im nineteen / she & her pronouns / gmt ), and im gonna be bringing this lil serpent bb to life !! i hope y’all like her as much as i do, and if u wanna plot or anything, pls just hit that like !! 

*　benedetta gargari, cisfemale, she/her, canon　━━　riverdale’s very own FORSYTHIA PARTHENIA JONES is now nineteen years old. she has lived in town for all of her life, bar a few years break, and pop never forgot her regular ━ fried chicken, chilli fries and a cold nehi on the side. you’ll likely find the student and part time waitress hanging around pops / the speakeasy, probably playing whats new pussycat twelve consecutive times on the jukebox or trying to survive her coursework. her friends on the southside will tell you all about how she’s individualistic, tenacious and morally sound, but others might describe her as loquacious or acerbic. oh well, no matter how you feel about jb / jellybean, you can’t deny that with her debate skills, she’s gonna be one hell of a lawyer someday. you can check out her pinterest board HERE !

   it's the heat that drives the light, it's the fire that ignites,     it's not the waking, it’s the RISING.

part one of three : bullet point history. trigger warnings for talk of infant health issues. 

im gonna have to uh. ask for forgiveness in advance cause riverdale has nOT given ya girl a lot to work with in regards to jellybean, and the comics are another mess altogether. this is a history steeped in headcanon to flesh out what’s non-existent in canon, which i hope is all ok !!!!!!!!!! 

august fifth, nineteen years ago. it was a sticky autumn night when forsythia parthenia jones entered the world with a pitiful cry - the only daughter of two southsiders, gladys and fp and the younger sister of jughead, she wasn't born to MUCH... which made all that she did have matter all the more. a mother and a father that loved her? check. an older brother she would someday idolize like no other? double check. a small ventricular septal defect, discovered only after her birth? triple check.

forsythia was, it seemed, destined to be a sickly child. her first few months of life were dotted with trips to the emergency room and visits to the family doctor, something always seeming to be wrong. infant colic was ten times worse. she caught a chill when she was two weeks old, and needed to spend a week in icu because of the resulting chest infection. the doctors who treated her at birth had been confident that over time, the hole in her heart - jellybean shaped, on the first ultrasound - would close by itself, as many do. however, it DIDN'T... and as she got older, the effects of this became more and more pronounced. she kept suffering chest infections. she wasn't putting on weight. breathing was, at times, a struggle - and she was sleepier than any baby they had ever known before. the original plan had been to wait and see and hope that forsythia's heart healed. at ten months old, when it became apparent that this wouldn't happen, she had to have a surgery.

your baby is supposed to be perfect. she's not supposed to take ill every few days, and ultimately require open heart surgery. it was likely a very HARROWING experience, and those first few months of forsythia's life were understandably marred... but if there had been any doubts before, it became clearer than day when she came out of surgery that the youngest jones was a FIGHTER, through and through. they'd been prepared for a month long wait to bring her home - it ended up only being a fortnight. she didn't cry, after. she didn't FUSS. it was like she knew the first while had been tough, and was hellbent on making everyone's lives a little bit easier, afterwards. lord knew the jones' needed it, considering the stress of her early months was just ON TOP of the stress of money. 

now affectionately named jellybean after the defect she had survived, she grew to be a remarkably NORMAL child. there were some differences, of course, between her and the kids she grew up with - she required regular checkups, she needed to dress extra warmly in winter, and she always got a bit more wiped out than everyone else - but anyone told the story behind the scar in the middle of her chest gaped in SHOCK. the girl who swung from the lower boughs of the trees at the edge of sunnyside trailer park and sprinted after her friends full speed had once had a hole in her heart? impossible! that sort of health issue was associated only with those that had a lot less LIFE to them than the high-spirited girl that jellybean was known as, and never once did she allow it to define her. she was a SPITFIRE, pure and simple, and she's proud to say that never once did she sit out of an experience.

life wasn't all sunshine and adventure, though. not every child notices cracks in their home life as they're appearing. jellybean didn't - not until the rug was pulled right out from under her feet. to her wide eyed and rose colored self, everything seemed to happen over night. one day, she and her family were happy. the next, her dad had become an alcoholic, and she and her mum were in transit to toledo. she didn't UNDERSTAND the why of it all - couldn't have even hoped to, when she was still so young. the reality of her father losing his job and their lives going to shit thanks to it didn't sink in. all she knew was that she had lost the father she idealized and the big brother she wanted to BE.

she spoke to them both on the phone, of course. she was even lucky enough to see jughead a couple times - it must have been jarring for him, the first time he turned up to see that the pigtailed little girl who loved kids pop that he remembered had sheared her hair overnight and now listening strictly to pink floyd and the other classics - but it wasn't the SAME. it wasn't having their family together. to say her drastic transformation might have stemmed from a place of resentment towards whatever forces were at play in the ruining of her family wouldn't have been incorrect. jb wanted things to go back to NORMAL. it taking so long to do so killed her.

and what killed her more was that they never really did. she and her mom returned to riverdale, finally, but things never went back to how they were BEFORE. she learned not to talk about it, though, and now... well. NOW she's older, and wiser, and she knows how to hide her real feelings behind an easy bluff. there's nothing to do but make the most of what she does have and stop dwelling on what she used to, she supposes, so that's really all she's doing. 

part two of three : headcanons.

first things first - law. jb hasn’t always wanted to be a lawyer. scratch that: she never wanted to be one, right up until she announced it was her chosen major. when she was still in single digits, she wanted to be a real life PRINCESS. no reason, per say, other than overhearing some of the older serpents sarcastically referring to the jones’ as southside royalty, and really running with it. when she hit doubles, though, and started growing up, jb decided ( right around the time she chose to shorten her jellybean nickname ) that what she wanted more than ANYTHING was to own a record shop. nothing too extravagant, really, just a first floor, one room sorta deal - she’d plaster the walls with posters of the greats and keep the merchandise in crates resting on rickety tables, and every friday night she’d hold a jams night where people could come and lounge around the floor on beanie bags, listening to some of their favorites. she had it all planned, and it’s still something of a dream - but if there’s one thing that jones’ family knows how to do, it’s sacrifice dreams for reality. with penny peabody DISGRACED, the serpents and southsiders in general need someone who knows them to represent them, when things go to trial, and feeling a sense of duty to the people she was raised around, jb bit the bullet and stepped up. she’s got a love for arguing and a knack for winning, so much so that god HELP whoever goes against her in a courtroom, someday - but it’s more a duty thing than it is her passion. 

she has yet to officially join the serpents ( reasons tbd, though it’s not for lack of WANT ) - but jb went right ahead and got a tattoo on her right hand anyway, cause as a jones, she’s still serpent adjacent. the only difference between the picture linked and the one she has is that hers is done in white ink - her way of keeping things lowkey while still honoring her heritage.

miss her with a motorbike. they’re COOL and all, but jb values her life a little bit too much to trust a two wheeled death trip waiting to happen. she’s more into classic cars, anyway, and has pretty recently invested in the frame of a 1979 pontiac gto from the scrapyard, that she plans on fixing up to perfection.

her style is southside meets cute. of course she loves her leather and fishnet combos - but jb is ALSO a huge fan of dungarees and sloganed t-shirts in a whole assortment of colors. anything ‘edgy’ she wears ( big boots, mesh tops, the list .. could go on ) gets coupled with something a little less so ( pink scrunchies, colorful makeup, a disney bag ... again, the list could go on ), and that makes her her. 

and finally, for now, cause i’m not sure i’ve done a good job of conveying it - jellybean is a good kid. she REALLY, truly is. she’s got some bite to her ( enough of a short fuse that it’s advisable not to test her limit ) & wouldn’t be her fathers daughter if she DIDN’T, but she’s also genuinely sweet. being a serpent doesn’t equal being a bitch, and so long as people out there treat her with respect, she’ll do the SAME. jb doesn’t turn unless she’s given reason to ... and if they do, she won’t hold back. 

part three of three : wanted connections. 

kids from the south ( or north ) side that are in or around the same age, who jellybean would have grown up with / went to school with !! they might have reconnected after she returned to riverdale and now know her as who she’s become, but they also might be people who she lost contact with for a LONG TIME and who never got to see her post transformation - any and all variance on this wc would be fun! 

anyone attending riverdale college who she might, maybe, rub shoulders with !! i don’t know if there are any other law students here, but i’d still love the most mundane of connections - maybe they sit with each other during lunch, or they help each other study, or one time, jb dropped a book on their head in the library and they’ve been friends / enemies since! gimme anything !

regulars at pops / the speakeasy. so .. jb is pretty self sufficient, and she’s paying her way in terms of college by working shifts at pops and picking up extras in the speakeasy. she’d know a lot of people from that, i’d wager, and i’m sure she has her favorites! 

more people southside serpent adjacent who she can play off of !! one of jb’s goals in life is to become an OFFICIAL member of the gang, which she hasn’t yet - but she is something of a southside princess, and that means she’d know most of them in some way! 

p much anything else

i love her so much and just wanna throw her at everyone 

[faegal04]

It’s Always Been You

PAIRING: Dean Winchester x Reader, (past mention) Sam x Reader

WORD COUNT: 2451

WARNING: Angst, mention of attempted suicide attempt (it’s kind of detailed, so if this is a trigger, please be warned)

A/N: This was written for @nichelle-my-belle and her 4K angst celebration. I picked the prompt “It’s like when I've spotted you in a crowded room, only to see you searching for someone else.” I didn’t use the quote as written, I played with it, hope that is okay! Feedback is much appreciated!

Tagging: @ellen-reincarnated1967 @demondean-for-kingofhell @winchesterprincessbride @jotink78 @winchestersnco @iamdeanfknwinchester @skybinx-blog @16wiishes @s4m-w1nch3st3r5287 @chaoticevilanddowntofuck @pizzarollpatrol @14readwritedraw96 @anokhi07 @mrswhozeewhatsis @kittenofdoomage @bigdaddymongoose

Beta’d by: @damn-it-now-im-obsessed thank you sooo much for helping me out! Anytime you need anything let me know!!!!!

One Year Ago

“Dean, I need you to do something for me,” Sam said quietly. He looked over his shoulder to the backseat, smiling softly at your sleeping form. The interior of the car silent, the only sound that could be heard was the wheels riding along the asphalt, it’s rhythmic cadence the one sound all of you found soothing. Sam licked his lips tentatively, “After I triple Lindy into the pit with Lucifer, you have to promise me that neither you or Y/N will find a way to get me back. No deals, no spells, nothing.”

Dean looked at Sam in shock, “Not happening,” he said, voice gravelly.

“Listen to me! We both know this isn't going to be anything like your tour of Hell-”

“Ex-,” Dean tried to interrupt, his fingers tightening around the steering wheel, his knuckles turning white.

“NO!” Sam all but yelled with a quick glance to the back seat, making sure you were still asleep. “You take Y/N and you run, Dean…Out of this life, both of you, for me,” he continued softly. “I know you love her” he paused as Dean shook his head emphatically.

Sam smiled at his brother, “It's okay Dean. She’s amazing and the fact that you love her makes leaving her hurt less. Because I know she’s safe with you.”

“Sam, ya’ gotta know, I would never, I mean she doesn't know how I feel. I tried not to, you know?”  Dean licked his lips and looked over at his brother with sad eyes.

Sam held his hand up, “I know. You’re the only one I trust with her, with her heart,” he bit down into his lip to keep his tears at bay, exhaling shakily, “Get out of this life, Dean. Take Y/N someplace and heal each other; grab the Apple pie life you’ve always wanted and deserved. Promise me, Dean!”

Present

The minute the alarm sounded, Dean was silencing it. He had been awake for at least an hour already, watching the green digital numbers change slowly. Today was going to suck, he thought dejectedly. He stretched and looked at the wall that separated him from you, the memories of the past year filling his head.

The first couple of weeks had been the hardest. Once Cas had been remade or whatever, he healed Dean, brought Bobby and then you back from the dead. Dean had murmured a thank you, swooped you up in his arms and carried you to the Impala. He looked at Bobby, saying everything he could with just his eyes as he walked quickly around to the driver’s side.

Bobby nodded sadly, raised his hand to both of you, tears sliding down his cheeks. He knew that in that moment, Dean Winchester was done with the family business. Not only had he lost Sam, now he had lost his other surrogate children as well.

Dean slid behind the wheel, his gaze locked onto you. It was tearing his heart out, listening to the gut wrenching sobs fall from your mouth. “C’mere sweetheart,” Dean said, voice wavering. He couldn't break down now, not here, he needed to get you away from this place.

You slid across the seat, clutching his coat, your face burrowed into the space between his jaw and shoulder. Dean wrapped one arm around you pulling you tighter to him, closing his eyes he gently kissed the top of your head. Your whole body shuddered as he murmured, “I’ve got you sweetheart.”

Dean quickly started the car, turned it around and headed out of Stull Cemetery. Once on the road, Dean didn’t have any idea as to where to go with you, he just knew that for both of your sakes it couldn’t be Kansas any longer.

He shook his head, dragging himself back to the present when he had heard you start moving around. Jumping out of bed, he grabbed jeans from his dresser and slid them on not bothering to button them. Dean snagged a t shirt from the folded clothes on top of his dresser and threw it over his shoulder as he headed out of his room and to the kitchen.

After he got the coffee going, he walked into the living room heading for the front door. Dean used the small broom and dust pan by the door to sweep the salt line up, old habits died hard after all. In the year that the two of you had stopped hunting, nothing had come after either of you but he wasn't taking chances with your safety. He opened the door and stepped outside, grabbed the paper and waved to the next door neighbor, who was walking their dog. He shut the door behind him and smiled softly when he heard you in the kitchen.

There had been times over the last year that Dean wasn’t sure if either of you would make it. The guilt so strong in him at failing to keep his little brother safe, it made him want to crawl inside a bottle of whiskey and never come out again. Then he would look at you and know in his heart he wouldn't fail in his promise to Sam. That's not to say he didn't fall off the wagon but it was you that brought him back from the edge, crying and pleading that you couldn't survive losing him too.

He paused in the doorway of the kitchen to look at you. He smirked when he realized you were wearing one of his old AC/DC shirts and then his eyes widened when he noticed you had a pair of his boxers on! He groaned inwardly, jaw clenching as his cock started to take notice as well.

“Mornin’, sweetheart,” he said gruffly.

You jumped, squealing unintentionally at being caught unaware. “Jesus Dean! Are you trying to make me pee my pants?”

He raised an eyebrow cockily, “Your pants? Hate to break it to you, princess but those are my pants you would be peeing in.” He grinned at the blush that filled your cheeks.

You bit down on your lip, “Sorry?” You raised your eyebrows innocently. “You know I sleep better in your shirt and I wasn't having a good night, so instead of bothering you, I just grabbed them hoping it would help,” you finished softly, eyes cast to the floor.

Dean crossed the kitchen quickly to stand before you, he put his finger under your chin and lifted your head, “You should have woke me up. You know I don't mind, hell Y/N I sleep better when we’re together.”

You chuckled softly, “Dean, one of these nights you’ll bring a girl home and will be glad that I swiped some of your clothes instead of climbing in bed with you.”

He shook his head, there were times when he thought you knew how he felt about you, times when he thought he saw desire for him in your eyes. In those moments it took every amount of willpower he possessed to not take you in his arms, because every time you looked at him like that he knew the minute Sam popped in your memory from the way your eyes dimmed and your smile dropped.

He cleared his throat, “Sweetheart, there hasn’t been a girl in my bed for a long time now. I would rather be there for you than picking up a one night stand.”

You stared into his emerald green eyes and froze at what you saw. He loved you. How did you not see it before? How could he love someone as broken as you?  You gently laid a shaking hand against his scruffy cheek, gasping when he rubbed his face in your palm.

Dean’s heart froze when you touched him, his eyes fluttered closed. He turned his face into your palm, and laid a gentle kiss against the scar along your wrist. A scar that he had stitched closed with tears running down his face, the memory dragging him under.

He rubbed at his red, tired eyes as he stared at the bed where you laid. He didn't know what to do, you were slipping away and he couldn't stop it. After two days of non stop crying-an act that he would give anything for at this point, you had entered a near catatonic state.

This was the third day of you laying there, not sleeping just staring. He had to spoon feed you and he was able to get you to drink water but that was it. Dean had called Bobby, yesterday to see if he knew of a way to get you back but Bobby had already been off on a new case. As much as he hated to do it, he knew now what he needed to do. He stood up abruptly, the old dining room chair sliding noisily across the floor. “Sweetheart, I don't know if you can hear me, but I'm going outside for just a minute,” he walked over to the bed, he smoothed you hair back from your face and kissed your forehead gently, “I'm not leaving you, I promise.”

He stepped outside the motel room, leaving the door open just in case and he started praying. He prayed to God, Balthazar, Ezekiel, hell he even tried Gabe, before he called out to Cas. His shoulders started shaking and the tears fell from his eyes again as he felt abandoned. The flutter of wings and the snapping sound of a trench coat sounded behind him and Dean gratefully murmured thank you to whoever.

“Dean. I came as soon as I could. What do you need?” Cas asked.

Dean chuckled cynically, “What do I need? I need my brother back, but since I know that can’t happen, then I need you to go in that room and heal her.”

Cas looked over Dean’s shoulder into the motel. He looked at Dean, bracing himself for the outburst to come, “I have heard Y/N’s pleas over the last several days,” he began, “Unfortunately, there is nothing I can do. I can only heal physical ailments and hers is an ailment of the soul.”

“Bullshit!” Dean growled. “There has to be something you bastards can do. Haven't we done enough? Haven't we lost enough?”

Cas shook his head, “De-”

“No! If you can't help her, get out of my sight! You tell your God and any other angels that we’re done! Get someone else to be the whipping boy!” Dean spat.

He clenched his fists, slamming them down on the trunk of the Impala as with another flutter of wings Cas disappeared. Dean’s chest was heaving and his blood felt like fire as it raced through his body. He had to calm down before he went back inside. He slowed his breathing as he concentrated on what he needed to do to help you.

Only minutes had passed, when Dean thought he heard a noise from inside the room. He spun around with a small smile on his face when he saw the empty bed. He rushed inside, “Y/N!”

He stood at the bathroom door, his happiness turning into concern when you didn’t answer. Knocking on the door, he called out, voice wavering, “Sweetheart, answer me please!”  The only noise coming from the room was that of the shower turning on.

His heart thudded painfully in his chest, paranoia set in when the steam started wafting out from under the door. Terror grabbed him by the throat at the broken sob that rang out. He tried turning the doorknob first but it was locked, adrenaline rushed through his veins as he he threw his shoulder into the door breaking it open on the first hit. The steam and humidity so thick in the small bathroom that sweat broke out on his brow.

Dean looked down into the tub and inhaled sharply. You were sitting under the spray, your pale flesh turning rosier by the hot water. The image that seared into his brain though was one of your blood swirling together with the water turning it a pinkish hue.

“Fuck! Baby, what did you do?” He reached down and turned the water off and picked you up bridal style from the tub. He grabbed one of the cheap white towels from the rack as he carried you out of the room.

Gently he laid you down on the bed, he found the razor blade in your left hand, the palm of which was bloody from the grip you held on it. He blinked back tears as he wrapped your right wrist with the towel. “I need to stitch this up, sweetheart,” he said softly.

He grabbed his duffel from the floor, pulling the first aid kit out. He was laying everything out on the bed when you spoke for the first time in five days.

“D-D-Dean? H-Hurts.” You said, your voice scratchy from non-use.

“I know it does, baby. I'm going to fix it though, I promise,” he said shakily.

 Dean sat down next to you, he took your right arm first, hissing to himself when he poured the whiskey over it, slowly he started sewing the gash closed. He had to stop often as the tears fell from his eyes.

As he laid his lips against that scar, he felt you shudder and breathe out a small sigh and knew the time was right to tell you how he felt.

He opened his eyes to stare at you, “Sweetheart, there’s something I need to tell you. I don't know if you’re ready to hear it, but I can't go another day without telling you.”

You blinked slowly, then nodded, mentally preparing yourself for him to say he was leaving. Your mind convincing you that that was what was about to happen.

Dean licked his lips, “Baby, I know that you still love Sammy and that you always will. I also know that when I spot you in a crowded room, I can see you searching for someone else-for him, but what I really want you to see is me. I'm standing right here in front of you wanting to love you.”

Slowly, he takes his hands and cups your face, “What do you say, Y/N, will you let me love you?”

[bloodsoakedace]

BECAUSE YOU’RE ALL THE GREATEST

I’m gonna gush for a little first because this really does mean a lot to me.

In my almost three years of rping on tumblr, I have only ever had one other blog break triple digits, and it was my first. I’ve had a lot of blogs since then, and none have managed to reach the level of success that this one has, and I only opened this blog in August. Really, from the bottom of my heart, thank you all. I know I’m not always the best at expressing my sincerity, but I really am so happy for everyone that hit the follow button here, and I’m even more grateful for everyone that’s taken the time to write with me, and especially those that put up with my less than perfect timeliness. You’re all amazing.

Okay, with that out of the way, onto the giveaway!

TO ENTER:

You must be following me. It is a follower milestone thing after all.

Like or reblog this post. One entry per blog to keep it fair.

Non-rp blogs can enter as well.

PRIZE:

A short fic with the winner’s choice of subject and characters.

I WILL NOT WRITE: Smut of any kind, pedophilia

I WILL WRITE: Pretty much anything else. Angst, fluff, crack, shippy stuff, gore/horror etc.

Fandom is irrelevant so long as I am familiar with it

CONTEST PERIOD

Entries are open from now (Jan. 11) to next Wednesday (Jan. 18). The winner will be chosen on Thursday, Jan. 19 and contacted via ask or IM. If a topic is not chosen by the end of Saturday, Jan. 21, a new winner will be chosen.

Once again, I’d like to thank all of you for supporting my blog and my writing. I really can’t express how much this means to me in words.

[helloluckybouquetbearus]

Kang Daniel and SSAK3 dominated this week’s Gaon charts!  On August 13, Gaon Chart announced that Kang Daniel had officially achieved a triple crown for the week of August 2 to August 8 after topping three separate charts.  The singer’s new mini album “MAGENTA” debuted at No. 1 on this week’s physical album chart, while its accompanying title track “Who U Are” claimed No. 1 on both the digital download chart and the BGM chart (which tracks the songs that people purchase to use as background music for their blogs and KakaoTalk profiles).  Meanwhile, SSAK3 earned a double crown after their debut title track “Beach Again” remained No. 1 on both the overall digital chart and the streaming chart for the third consecutive week.  Finally, BLACKPINK continued their reign over Gaon’s Social Chart 2. for the 11th week in a row.  Congratulations to all of the artists!  Check out the top five for each of the latest charts below: Album Chart  Kang Daniel’s “MAGENTA” and (G)I-DLE’s “DUMDi DUMDi” entered the physical album chart at No. 1 and No. 2 respectively this week. ATEEZ’s “ZERO : FEVER Part.1,” which debuted at No. 1 on last week‘s chart, stayed strong at No. 3, followed by Red Velvet – Irene & Seulgi’s “Monster” at No. 4. Finally, Baek Yerin’s “Every letter I sent you” rounded the top five for the week.   Download Chart  Kang Daniel also topped this week’s digital download chart with his new title track “Who U Are.” SSAK3 swept the next three spots on the chart: Lee Hyori’s solo song “Linda” (featuring Yoon Mi Rae), which she released under the name Linda G, claimed No. 2; Rain’s solo song as B-Ryong, “Let’s Dance” (featuring MAMAMOO), came in at No. 3; and SSAK3’s “Beach Again” charted at No. 4. Finally, (G)I-DLE’s new single “DUMDi DUMDi” entered the chart at No. 5.   Overall Digital Chart  SSAK3’s “Beach Again” held onto its spot at No. 1 on the overall digital chart for the third week in a row, while their relatively newer song “Play That Summer” similarly maintained its position at No. 2. MAMAMOO’s Hwasa‘s “Maria” also managed to hold on its spot at No. 3 on the chart, followed by Linda G (Lee Hyori)’s “Linda” at No. 4 and BLACKPINK’s “How You Like That” at No. 5.   Streaming Chart  The top five songs on this week’s streaming chart remained exactly the same as last week: SSAK3’s “Beach Again” came in at No. 1, Hwasa’s “Maria” at No. 2, SSAK3’s “Play That Summer” at No. 3, BLACKPINK’s “How You Like That” at No. 4, and Block B’s Zico’s “Summer Hate” (featuring Rain) at No. 5.   Social Chart  BLACKPINK remained No. 1 on Gaon’s Social Chart 2. for the 11th consecutive week, followed by trot singer Im Young Woong at No. 2 and BTS at No. 3. Yang Joon Il rose to No. 4 on this week’s chart, with APRIL rounding out the top five for the week.   Watch SSAK3 on the latest episode of “How Do You Play?” below: Watch Now  (2) Facebook Twitter Pinterest Tumblr by Korea Stars TV

[rickhorrow]

15 TO WATCH/5 SPORTS TECH/POWER OF SPORTS 5: RICK HORROW’S TOP SPORTS/BIZ/TECH/PHILANTHROPY ISSUES FOR THE WEEK OF MAY 21

with Jamie Swimmer & Jesse Leeds Grant

They started the season at 500-1 odds to win the Stanley Cup. Now, the Vegas Golden Knights have advanced to the championship, and the few people who took those long odds pre-season are looking at payouts of $10,020 for a $20 bet. After a 4-1 defeat of the Winnipeg Jets, the Golden Knights becomes the first expansion team in all of sports to reach the championship round since the St. Louis Blues did so in. Tickets to Vegas home games during the playoffs have been “among the most expensive, if not the priciest, on the resale market,” and with the expansion team now headed to the Stanley Cup Final, the market for games at T-Mobile Arena is “only heating up,” according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal. The average sale price on StubHub for Friday’s Game 4, "was $567." And even though sports books are bracing for a loss, the Golden Knights’ success has benefited them in other ways. Hockey betting is reportedly up 35% across the board, and the Golden Knights have also created a lot more casino traffic. If the Golden Knights triumph against either Tampa Bay or Washington, they will go down as one of the most unlikely champions in sports history.

On the heels of the Supreme Court’s decision to legalize sports betting in all 50 states, professional leagues have begun pitching legislation to states. According to the Providence Journal, MLB, NBA, and PGA Tour officials have already made their way to Rhode Island to speak to state lawmakers “for a cut of the action on sports betting should the state legalize it.” All three leagues proposed taking a 0.25% rights and integrity fee of all money bet on their respective sports in the state, which would surely account to tens, if not hundreds of millions of dollars over the years. The NFL has yet to pitch state legislatures on the issue, making it unclear how America’s preeminent sports league feels on the topic. The leagues also “want the state and its chosen gambling operator to share betting data with them and use their official statistics, which would be licensed, presumably at an additional cost.” Many believe that giving the leagues a cut of the revenue would help wipe out any misaligned incentives between the existing parties. The legalization of gambling is not only going to change how we view sports, it's also coinciding with a data revolution that will change the parameters of what we can bet on.

While other leagues such as the NBA and MLB have showed their eagerness to profit from the Supreme Court’s decision to legalize sports betting, the NFL is expected to “sit the whole integrity fee out, for now.” According to The MMQB, the NFL, America’s most popular sports league, noted its opposition to an integrity fee. Different estimates have been floated around how big these fees would be, but such fees could ultimately “wind up costing Nevada sports books, and later those in other states, around 15-20% of their annual revenue.” With the court decision, however, the NFL could relax its strict policies around teams partnering with casinos, which would likely be lucrative sponsorship opportunities. For the NFL and other leagues, the windfall of cash expected from the court’s decision should lead to a spike “in everything from TV ratings to franchise valuations” and beyond.

Pittsburgh Steelers investor David Tepper has agreed to purchase the Carolina Panthers for a record $2.275 billion. According to SportsBusiness Journal, $2.2 billion will be paid in cash by Tepper, with the final $75 million being deferred. There has been no indication yet of minority partners joining Tepper, nor has there been any signal as to what his plans are for Bank of America Stadium. The 5% share of the Steelers that Tepper initially bought in 2009 is worth $122.5 million now based on the team’s current valuation, though he will have to give up his stake as he takes control of the Panthers. Despite putting in a bid that was hundreds of millions of dollars less than South Carolina businessman Ben Navarro, Navarro was “unable to raise the estimated $2.6 billion he was said to have offered.” Tepper is unlikely to make any major organization changes. If you think these numbers are crazy talk, keep in mind that in 2014 Business Insider pegged the NFL’s total value at $45.7 billion – more than MLB and the NBA combined.

As the Indianapolis 500 readies for its annual Memorial Day Weekend run, IndyCar veterans believe the current crop of young drivers will make a lasting impact. Chip Ganassi Racing Managing Director Mike Hull told the Associated Press, "We've got good, quality guys under 25 and now they're driving for owners who hopefully will stick with them…I think the crop you're talking about is the crop we've needed for a long, long time but we didn't have the stability to do that. Now, we do." IndyCar President of Competition and Operations Jay Frye called this young group "'advanced' in terms of their experience and business savvy." Andretti Autosport driver Zach Veach, 23, sponsored by Group One Thousand One, "looks like the perfect guy for IndyCar's youth movement." He has a "full-time ride with one of the series' top teams, stable sponsorship and what appears to be a bright future." If Veach succeeds, he could "emerge as a cornerstone for the next generation of stars." It is possible more than 20% of this year's Indy 500 starters could be younger than 25, including Veach, Gabby Chaves (24), Ed Jones (23), Sage Karam (23), and Kyle Kaiser (22). Another quality group will assemble at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Friday, as Horrow Sports Ventures alongside IMS and Octagon convenes a symposium of Indy’s top sports minds: Colts COO Pete Ward, Pacers Vice Chairman Jim Morris, IndyCar CEO Mark Miles, and Group One Thousand One CEO Dan Towriss.

As the industry continues to react to the Supreme Court decision, Legal Sports Report has reported that Irish bookmaker Paddy Power Betfair is close to acquiring FanDuel. Little is known about the deal’s terms, but the price point appears to be less that the $1 billion valuation that the company held in mid 2015. PPB acquired FanDuel competitor DRAFT for around $50 million in May 2017, so should the deal go through, the company would own the 2nd and 3rd most popular DFS apps. FanDuel CEO Matt King indicated earlier this month, that his company would “get into sports betting” if the courts voted in New Jersey’s favor. Paddy Power Betfair isn’t collecting DFS companies for sport – FanDuel has a database that contains 6 million DFS users (many inactive), and PPB believes they’ll be able to convert many of those individuals into sports bettors. The FanDuel brand also brings PPB some value, as the popular U.K. gaming operator lacks U.S. name recognition; though it does own California based horseracing betting business and digital broadcaster TVG and the NJ online gaming site Betfair Casino. FanDuel raised $430 million in venture funding, but has struggled to raise additional capital since the third quarter of 2015, so investors were pushing to either pursue a sale or public offering.

Justify won the Preakness on Saturday, despite rain, mud, fog, and threats of moving the iconic race. The second leg of horse racing’s Triple Crown was marred by a cloud of fog that defied Pimlico Race Course’s old technology. Throw in the “effects of such a heavy deluge on the aging grandstand and it’s no wonder,” the Baltimore Sun noted, that Stronach Group COO Tim Ritvo “couldn’t hide his impatience with the facility.” Ritvo “left the distinct impression that barring some dramatic infusion of local government funding to renovate Pimlico, Maryland’s signature sporting event is headed for Laurel Park.” An “announced 134,487 came to Pimlico, ending a four-year rise in Preakness Day attendance.” Attendance was down 4.2% from last year’s record, but was still the third largest in the event’s 143-year history. The total Preakness handle was $93.66 million, also falling short of last year’s record mark of $97.168 million. Now, all eyes are on Justify and the June 9 Belmont Stakes in New York. While the long drought of Triple Crown winners was broken not that long ago – by the beloved American Pharaoh in 2015 – don’t be surprised if Justify, now 5 for 5, adds his name to that rarified equine list.

In the wake of Friday's school shooting at Santa Fe High School near Houston, Texans star J.J. Watt told school officials that he will "pay for the funerals of the victims who died," according to the Houston Chronicle. Houston Rockets CEO Tad Brown has also confirmed that Owner Tilman Fertitta and the Rockets organization are "discussing plans to support the victims and families" of the school shooting at Warriors-Rockets Game 5 on Thursday and "in the community.” Rockets guard Chris Paul on Friday reacted to the school shooting, saying, "It's scary that that's become the norm here, and we've got to do something about it.” And the Houston Astros before Friday’s home game against the Indians "held a moment of silence" and "flew the Texas state flag at half-staff" to honor the school shooting victims. While this is yet another example of the healing power of sports and the ability of individuals like Watt and organizations to shine in the face of both natural and human-driven tragedies, it is also another opportunity for athletes and teams to use their influence to drive societal change.

FIFA is forging ahead with its plan to organize a new 24-team Club World Cup. According to the London Times, the first tournament is being planned to take place in June 2021, with China already expressing an interest in being the first host nation for the event. Participating clubs could earn more than $135 million each from the tournament. With 12 European teams planned to enter the field, FIFA has noted its preference for inviting clubs that have won at least three Champions League or European Cups to the first Club World Cup. Based on that criteria, Liverpool, Manchester United, Real Madrid, Barcelona, AC Milan, Bayern Munich, Ajax, and Inter Milan would all be included automatically, while Juventus would “also be invited on the basis of having won two European Cups and two intercontinental titles.” FIFA seems to be well on its way toward yet another successful extension of its brand.

10.Derek Jeter taking control of the Miami Marlins has seemingly done little to pique fan interest in Southern Florida. According to the Associated Press, through mid-May, the Marlins have averaged the fewest fans per game in Major League Baseball, drawing an average of 10,676 fans per home game at Marlins Park – that number is more than 4,000 fewer that what the Tampa Bay Rays attract per game. Since changing the way they report attendance figures – instead of counting all tickets distributed, including giveaways and heavily discounted ones, the club announces tickets sold – the Marlins have reported four crowds of less than 6,000 at a stadium that has a capacity of 36,742. “We’ve gotten a positive reception with what we’re trying to do,” said Jeter. “But the bottom line is, we want more people to come. We’re not happy with the number of people in here. A lot of that goes with how we perform.” While winning helps, some Bill Veeck-inspired promotions and/or slashing concession prices a la Atlanta Falcons might nudge away the franchise’s summertime blues.

Two of the country’s most storied college football programs will meet for a home-and-home series when the University of Alabama and the University of Texas face off in 2022 and 2023. According to USA Today, the announcement of the series has caused a lot of excitement across the country for all college football fans, hoping that this “signals a trend.” This pairing now joins a list of marquee non-conference matchups like Ohio State-Oklahoma, Texas-USC, Texas-Notre Dame, Georgia-Clemson, Clemson-Auburn and Auburn-Penn State. The 2022 game between UT and Alabama will be the 10th meeting between the two schools, but the first since Alabama beat Texas in the 2009 BCS National Championship Game. Despite a lack of on-field success over the past few years, Texas currently has the second-most wins in college football with 898 all-time, while Alabama sits in fifth with 891. UT had to rework its schedule a bit to make this work, including cancelling a home game with UCF that was scheduled for 2023. But Bama is Bama.

12.English soccer club Chelsea just signed the most lucrative sleeve sponsorship contract in the EPL, coming out to nearly $70 million over five years. According to the London Times, South Korean car manufacturer Hyundai is set to pay $13.54 million beginning next season. The new sleeve sponsorship for the club is worth double the annual amount of EPL champion Manchester City’s deal with Nexen Tire and will “set the new benchmark for such deals, with Arsenal and Manchester United in the process of negotiating their sleeve partnerships for next season.” The EPL only began permitting this new type of on-jersey sponsorship this past season, meaning that most clubs are still working to strike their first sleeve deal. This year, Chelsea had a one-year contract with Alliance Tyres, a subsidiary of the club’s main kit sponsor Yokohama Tyres, “which has two years left on its five-year deal worth $271 million.” Clearly, the EPL kicked the tires on this sponsorship model and declared it sound.

As Calgary is pushing to finalize its bid for the 2026 Winter Olympics, complaints coming from key organizers cite the bid’s underfunding. According to the Calgary Herald, of the $30 million in funds assembled by the municipal, provincial, and federal governments for the Olympic bid corporation, $5.2 million has already been spent. “We are under-resourced, significantly under-resourced,” said Calgary City Manager Jeff Fielding. In addition to the lack of funding, the work of the bid’s organizing committee, including 32 consultants who have been hired by the city at different times to assist, has been challenged by “new information coming in almost hourly.” As the group races to make key deadlines on the Olympic file, including the completion of a draft budget with forecasted capital and operational costs for hosting the Winter Games, other bid groups competing for the right to host have enjoyed an easier path. Sapporo, Japan; Sion, Switzerland; and Stockholm, Sweden, are all vying with Calgary to win the 2026 Games. But the IOC may once again announce multiple winners simultaneously, with the “loser” getting the Games in 2030.

Changes in MLS' salary structure have made the league "more attractive to young foreign stars and older U.S. players alike, resulting in deeper rosters, more exciting games, and a level of play rapidly approaching that of Mexico's Liga MX," according to the Los Angeles Times. LAFC Executive VP, Soccer Operations John Thorrington said, "Look at the on-field product week in and week out and MLS is in a very different place. The types of players that are coming have a lot to do with that." The MLS Players Union released the first 2018 survey of player salaries, which "showed the number of millionaires in the league increased to 46 from 28" in 2017, while the guaranteed salary total for the league's 669 players topped $249 million for the first time. Houston Dynamo Senior Vice President and General Manager Matt Jordan told the Houston Chronicle, "There's a lot of top players who have the choice to go to China and make a ton of money. (But) It's a totally different culture, it's a totally different lifestyle…The one advantage we have in the MLS is that it's a very stable league, it's a very organized league -- very professional -- and it's growing.” You only have to look at the influence of MLS players such as the LA Galaxy’s Zlatan Ibrahimovic to understand the impact young foreign stars are having on the American game.

Los Angeles Football Club (LAFC) have announced a three-year partnership with the Francis Ford Coppola winery. Under the terms of the deal, the Californian vintner will serve as the official wine partner of the MLS newcomer. Francis Ford Coppola will supply LAFC’s Banc of California Stadium with its Sofia and Diamond Collection wines. The partnership will include pre-game “tailgate” events in the LAFC fan zone with a Francis Ford Coppola branded bar. Future integrations will include interactive moments within LAFC’s app, animated videoboard celebrations in the stadium, and short-form content highlighting players and the Coppola winery. Francis Ford Coppola said: “There is nothing like a live event. In a world of pre-recorded experiences, there’s a certain thrill to being in a stadium watching a game. Los Angeles is a city dear to my heart and I’m glad we’re a part of the much anticipated opening of LAFC’s Banc of California Stadium.” LAFC is rapidly gaining ground on the Galaxy in the hearts and minds of Los Angeles soccer fans, and the marquee deal with Coppola only adds more star power.

Tech Top 5

Facial-recognition app could pull Olympian profiles from TV to phone. A facial-recognition app developed for a Japanese university student competition that can immediately access athlete profiles has caught the attention of Tokyo’s 2020 Olympic Committee. Eisuke Sugitani, a junior at Doshisha University in Kyoto, developed the idea that would allow users to direct their smartphones at a TV and instantly receive biographical information back. Sugitani, who is interested in how sports and technology can be linked, wanted to create something that could be used easily, after giving thought to the behavioral tendencies of young people like himself. Another idea he has is to display sports videos on the internet that are sorted by artificial intelligence on the basis of one’s search history. Tokyo’s organizing committee has begun looking into making the student’s winning idea a reality. Takeshi Tachi, head of the committee’s Technology Services Bureau, said the app would likely be useful because even people who are unaccustomed to conducting internet searches could use it, giving it a versatility that would appeal to many generations.

FOX partners with Intel, Ericsson to deliver 4K at the U.S. Open. FOX Sports, in cooperation with the FOX Innovation Lab and partners Ericsson, Intel, and AT&T, will use 5G technology to stream 4K video over 5G for potential broadcast nationwide at this year’s 118th U.S. Open Championship on June 14-17, carried on FOX and FS1. The 5G wireless technology will transmit 4K HDR images from two FOX Sports cameras positioned on the challenging par-3 seventh hole at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club through the FOX Sports production truck, making it available to FOX Sports and its viewers through DirecTV. In the future, 5G could possibly be used to deliver real-time virtual reality views from the course. Deployed for the first time at broad scale earlier this year by Intel and partners at the Winter Games in PyeongChang, 5G technology has the potential to provide disruptive abilities, to broadcasters and consumers alike. The groundbreaking trial will be the first available broadcast footage enabled using 5G technology from a premier U.S. golf event.

Riddell adds head injury analytics to smart helmet. Riddell is upgrading their current technology to assist coaches in analyzing head-damage tendencies to scale back the prospect of damage. Riddell launched the InSite Influence Response System in 2014 to alert soccer coaches when an athlete suffered serious impacts. The primary-era system was meant to assist coaches and trainers on how to handle potential concussions as quickly as they occurred. The 2018 model, referred to as the Riddell InSite Coaching Software, will do all of that plus present detailed head-damage analytics. Riddell’s evaluation is predicated on a dataset of more than five million head impacts, which the corporate has been amassing over the last few years. The data has been used to inform rules modifications to the sport, and now these tens of millions of situations of head impressions will be used to help coaches implement safer practices day-by-day.

MiLB partners with Satisfi Labs on bilingual AI solution. Minor League Baseball announced a new collaboration with Satisfi Labs, a leading artificial intelligence engagement platform, to create a bilingual customer service AI conversation platform for more than 30 MiLB teams. This unique partnership marks the first time a sports league will communicate with its fans in both English and Spanish by leveraging Satisfi Labs' AI capabilities.  This new product solution will amplify MiLB's national multicultural initiative "Es Divertido Ser Un Fan®" (It's Fun to Be a Fan®") and its new "Copa de la Diversión™" ("Fun Cup™") season-long event series specifically designed to embrace the culture and values that resonate most with participating teams' local U.S. Hispanic/Latino communities. The interface will initially be made available to the participating Copa teams to support their respective fan engagement efforts. The AI platform will operate within individual teams' Facebook Messenger pages and answer fans' questions pertaining to aspects of the game day experience such as ticketing, parking, and other common inquiries surrounding the venue, game, and teams, while providing unique answers based on the users' locations. MiLB and Satisfi Labs plan to roll out an expanded AI conversation platform and league-wide fan engagement tool for the 2019 season.

All-diabetic pro cycling team to use NormaTec for recovery. Team Novo Nordisk has announced a partnership with NormaTec. The team will use the company's dynamic compression products to help its riders recover after long and grueling days on their bikes. The NormaTec PULSE Series Recovery Systems use dynamic compression to speed recovery and reduce muscle tightness and soreness. NormaTec’s patented technology employs a sophisticated form of biomimicry to enhance circulation and mobilize fluid, following a precise sequence of pulsing, gradients, and distal release. The NormaTec recovery massage leaves limbs fresh and light, so athletes are ready to tackle their next workout or competition. NormaTec was originally developed to help patients with circulatory related disorders, and the technology has since been honed to benefit the specific needs of athletes. NormaTec’s patented compression massage has revolutionized athlete recovery, and today, the NormaTec PULSE Series is relied on by 97% of pro teams.

Power of Sports 5

NFL helmets give helping hand. Two young San Luis Obispo boys are giving back after their own family received some much-needed assistance. Six-year-old Bryson Thompson and his eight-year-old brother, Brock, are raising money for a local nonprofit by collecting signed NFL football helmets. Brock and Bryson started the campaign to benefit the local nonprofit "Jack's Helping Hand." They were inspired to collect NFL helmets not just because of their love for football, but because six-year-old Bryson has epilepsy and has to wear a special helmet to protect his head from falls when he suffers a seizure. The family sent out a video of themselves asking NFL players to sign a helmet, jersey, or football and send it in. The video has spread quickly among the football community. Jack's Helping Hand helped the family pay for Bryson's epilepsy helmet when the family's insurance company deemed it unnecessary. The boys subsequent call for signed helmets, footballs, and jerseys was met with overwhelming support from NFL teams and players across the country. Now, they'll be auctioning off the items they've collected. Auction items include signed helmets and footballs from Tom Brady, Steve Gleason, Joe Namath, Bo Jackson, Nick Dzubnar, Russell Wilson, Odell Beckham Jr., Brian Dawkins, Sidney Jones, Derek Carr, Peyton Thompson, and Luke Kuechly.

WNBA launches empowerment program for women. The WNBA launched “Take a Seat, Take a Stand,” its new women and girls empowerment program for the 2018 season.  As regular-season games begin this week, WNBA tickets do more than support women’s sports. When fans take a seat at a WNBA game, they will also have the chance to support several organizations that are changing the game for women and girls. For each ticket purchased, the WNBA will donate $5 to one of six organizations of the fans’ choosing in addition to a ticket to send a young woman or girl to a game to inspire her by the strength, talent, and leadership of the women of the WNBA.  Fans can also choose to donate tickets directly to one of the organizations. “For 22 years, the WNBA and its players – women playing at the highest level of their sport – have stood up as role models for millions of women and girls,” said WNBA President Lisa Borders. “With ‘Take a Seat, Take a Stand,’ we are proud to come together as a league to stand with our partner organizations, our fans and the many inspiring women raising their voices for change in the current women’s movement.” The six national partner organizations for “Take a Seat, Take a Stand,” selected for their advocacy on behalf of girls and women, are Bright Pink, GLSEN, It’s On Us, MENTOR, Planned Parenthood, and The United State of Women.

Dallas Cowboys raise $50,000 for Salvation Army. Last week, the Dallas Cowboys held their seventh annual Reliant Home Run Derby. The team raised a total of $50,000 for the Gene and Jerry Jones North Texas Youth Education Town of The Salvation Army Arlington. Cowboys linebacker Jaylon Smith was a powerhouse at the plate, named the 2018 Reliant Home Run Derby champion, hitting a total of 12 home runs and raising $13,700. The Cowboys players were split into two teams representing the offense and defense. Before a final bonus round that doubled donations, team offense raised $13,800 and team defense raised $12,200. Last year’s Home Run Derby also raised $50,000 for The Salvation Army, and over the course of seven years the event has raised more than $330,000 for various local charities. Reliant supports local communities through volunteerism, charitable giving, and partnerships with a variety of organizations. In 2017, over $4 million was donated to different Reliant-sponsored causes with employees giving more than 8,000 volunteer hours. Before the Cowboys took the field, Reliant brought together local Dallas media to show off their baseball skills and raise money for their charity of choice. An additional $25,000 was raised for eight nonprofits across the area.

CFL stars donate to children’s charities. James Wilder, Jr., Brandon Banks, and Mike Reilly secured the top three spots in the 2017 Shaw CFL Top Performers program and decided to donate their winnings to children’s charities. Wilder, the Toronto Argonauts running back, donated $25,000 to Covenant House — which provides shelter for homeless youth — while Reilly, the Edmonton Eskimos quarterback, allocated $15,000 to Adarius 4 Autisim, which was founded by former teammate Adarius Bowman for youth diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder. And Banks, the Hamilton Tiger-Cats speedy receiver/kick returner, donated $10,000 to the David Lane Youth Successful Fund at John Howard Society through Give Proof to Our Youth in Hamilton. “I’m always trying to impact and affect youth,” said Wilder, a 26-year-old father of four children aged five and younger. “Some of these kids just need opportunity, they just need a chance.” The CFL and Shaw Communications announced that Shaw would also donate $50,000 to the Canadian charities selected by the league’s top performers.

Chicago Bears host annual charity gala. The 23rd annual Chicago Bears Care Gala will be held this week at the United Club at Soldier Field. Through the annual Gala, Bears Care has been able to award over $14.5 million in grants to Chicago-area research efforts focused on finding a cure for breast and ovarian cancer and improving treatment options for those currently battling these diseases. The Chicago Bears have a longstanding tradition of supporting numerous charities and assisting those in need. Bears Care was incorporated in 2005 as a charity organization committed to improving the quality of life for people in the Chicagoland community, especially disadvantaged children and their families, through targeted programs supporting education, youth athletics, and medical research and health awareness programs focusing on breast and ovarian cancer. Since that time, Bears Care has issued grants totaling over $17.5 million to over 100 qualifying agencies.

[bearsontheinternet]

now mailing Christmas cards :U ) scenes: photo 1: racheal recently saw claw smoking a huge cigar behind the prison, being a teenager she secretly stole some from claw and started to smoke. however claw noticed it has her and told cyrag, cyrag being a parent was outraged but strangely calm. as a punishment he grab his pipe and made racheal a deal if she can smoke as much as he can she can keep on smoking. in the long run she lost and gotten sick for weeks and now completely disgusted with cigars and smokes. photo 2: shadow beasts or what everyone else calls them "boogiemen" eat the souls of mortals, especially children. one tried to enter and eat racheal's soul but little did the beast known cyrag was in her arms at the time and..well you can guess the rest photo 3: cyrag hates getting pictures taken lol _________________________________________ revamp of cyrag~! new ref sheet! ________________________ Name: Cyrag victor ruthless Species: plushy dog gender: male city or town of birth: new hy'dron ((shadow claw ruthless settlement)) sexuality: straight enough Age: lived for quite awhile, lost count after he hit the triple digits Alignment: chaotic neutral leaning into lawful evil. ((alignment doesnt really apply to him)) Weapon/gear: salvaged: mini smoke bomb. good things do come in small packages ~gunner these little smoke bombs produces some of the biggest distractions and field covering smoke known in all of ooo~ courtesy of the smoke kingdom! however these smokes don't last very long so you have to be quick! corrupted tech: electro grenade don't activate indoors :U ~gunner this little babeh~ is your common corruption grenade. it acts mostly like a flashbang but with additional effects~ lets just say your enemy might be a tad bit "shocked" hehehehehehe, electric effects were off after a blink or two, however like most flashbangs the blinding effect will last a couple of seconds. crafted: charged..uhhhh charges! aka happy cyrag~ finally! home made fireworks! ~riku a marvel made from bombmaster riku himself~ something doesn't want to blow up? EASY! just set the timer, place it on the thing you want to blow and..KABLOWEY! shows a pixelated laughing cyrag at the end of the count down for effect. salvaged: explosive ninja stars ninja's are so great man ~gunner i dont think a explanation is needed for this one black market: corrosive darts OH NO! IM MELTING IM MEEEEEELLLLTINGGGG ~gunner got a big lug, beast, or tank with very hard to pierce armor? no problem! these corrosive darts can melt through even the hardest of armors! blackmarket guaranteed! theblackmarketwillnotberesponibleifsaidprojectcausesyourdemise plushy arms: standard issue military knife its old and rusty..not to mention it smells like chicken...and i don't cut chickens with this..~cyrag just your regular old military knife cyrag used when he and brown were left in the woods by stripes :3 alone..  GREAT PARENTING salvaged: throwing knives like carnies use? ~claw iron steel throwing knives for all of your long distance kills needs~ comes in packs! crafted: viper antivenom RACHEAL ANTIVENOM! NOW! ~cyrag vipers venom is potent enough to kill a fully grown man in under 49 minutes..it attacks the nerve system and the lungs at the same time..however thanks to racheals skills in poisonmancy she was able to develop an antivenom. which brown made for widespread use across the lands. plush arms: deathwatcher its more of a..ummm..show off weapon ~stripes a blade forged of pure ironsteal *cough*and a few other things stripes doesn't want to mention *cough* just for cyrag when he was still prince of the plushy kingdom. when a plushy prince or princess reaches maturity its proper for the plushy king to give them their first weapon in arms~ however cyrag isnt the sword type so he only uses it for show. however in his spare and alone time he does take it out of storage and begin to practice with it. it brings back good memories. blackmarket: spring loaded shoulderpads. how many of you thought cy's pads were fo sho? ~gunner blackmarket grade combat shoulder pads! because the best defense is the best offence. crafted: choker shhhshhhhshh..let it happen ~lois if you need something more cleaner then a knife to the back, then claw has your back~! its a common tool claw learned how to make in prison..sadly i dont need to explain why claw needed to use such a weapon..prison ya know :U medical: threads and needles please please please dont be a idiot..~paw needles and thread common medical tools for the common plushy~ legendary: number 41 twin corrupted claws. ask-theruthless.deviantart.com… weapons choose there owners..legendary weapons take that a tad bit to literal metal laced cape. given to him by his friend sherry sherbet for his birthday according to her this cape is laced with hard metals threads that can protect the user from some weapons, bullets, and the occasional explosive. cy send a small scrap of this cape to froggers to see if he can replicate it, mass produce it, and equip it as fabric implants for the plush army. Class: combat assassin stealthy. check, handy with all weapons. check, a ego large enough that it has its own gravitational pool, check. congrats you have the makings of a combat assassin~! a type of assassin that has knowledge about stealth but prefers to fight head on; face to face. utilizing every trick, trade, and tool in his or her arsenal to cause the demise of anyone who is unfortunately in his or her way. Occupation: loving father, currently jobless due to personal reasons. Height: 7.1 Voice:  www.youtube.com/watch?v=kwfuKv… Theme: Relationship status: happily married to the assassin usha :U Status: alive and laughing at everyone who tried to kill him. currently living: deep in the winter lands; in the ruthless estate. native language: plushy languages known:  oooian, plushy, Spanish, demonic ((has a heavy accent; only words that he remembers "may i use your bathroom?")) Quote: "SCREW! OOOOFF!" (fluffy: "come laugh at my face then!" he lets off a light growl until cyrag gladly complied and rushed to the generals face. cyrag: "ha..ha...ha.." fluffy: "gr-great see now w-we can laugh to-together..") "DAMN IT GUNNER!" "SHUT UP GUNNER!" "you have five seconds...to apologize to me AND sew the scratch your weapon left on my check..if not...well atleast you'll make great penguin feed." "what do you mean i left you in the mall!" Extra fact: cyrag is a vegetarian; due to the fact that meat becomes less than pleasant to look at when you see in raw in your line of work extra fact 2: he never curses at gunner. hence you never expect him to say "shut the "hell" or "fu" up gunner". just "shut up gunner" extra fact 3: in his free time he likes to do gardening or sunbathe. extra fact 4: he gloats..alot Likes: his family His clan His friends ((to a point :U)) Tofu Rapping ((ask about that I dare you lol)) random organized fighting money ((omg give him the greens`!)) trophies Professionalism cooking gardening ((lol ask about that to ;3)) testing his own strength rich sheet Dislikes: Snakes When a plan goes horribly wrong Thinking in the middle of a fight Meat Abadeer gunners and Brown’s stupidity ((infact stupidity in general)) Doing jobs for free ((even if it’s for a friend)) Scammers fighting for any others enjoyment except for his own ((tournaments and other things like that)) Humans…((oh crud he hates humans as much as he hates snakes. )) Strengths/Powers/skills: plushy strength plushy people are very very naturally strong despite of there fluffy stature. this is because of their strong will, this will is converted to physical strength by the plushies' soul. however how much they can lift depends entirely how much will a plushy has. but despite being extremely willful cyrag has a stitch deficiency; this causes him to rip easily when he uses his to much of his physical strength. shock absorption due to a plush fluffy body they can absorb most physical blows making fighting a plushy with fisticuffs a bad idea in general lol. however this goes the same for the plushy, if a plush punches you it will just feel like a pillow hitting your face, UNLESS they have implants that would make there punches hurt. cyrag has hard leathers implanted on his fists, elbows, arms, legs and feet. static electricity it can only be done if the plush is standing on a fluffy carpet or if there's another plushy next to him/her. since the plushy is made completely from fabric the static shock can be very strong, strong enough that if passed to another plushy it could temporally cut the link between the stuff animals body and soul causing temporary paralysis and dizziness. hand to hand combat master twin claw mastery~! dog senses despite racheal destroying his sense of smell when she was still a infant, cyrag's still retains his profound sense of hearing and vision. corrupted static he can generate vast amounts of static electricity increasing his speed, strength, and overall power. however this corrupted static energy effects his own mentality making him more corrupted and bloodthirsty so to speak. to keep this from happening cyrag keeps a anti-static collar that suppresses this power. however once remove it will released the suppressed energy in a large corrupted burst of energy. this collar must not be removed in closed spaces.   Weaknesses: fire fabric+fire= ash water water can clean a plush BUT it will make him/her sluggish and slow until he/she dry. to much water can lead to fabric breaking apart and stitching moving out of place. negative emotions to much of it and a plush will start feeling drain and weak due to it draining his/her soul the nightosphere due to the chaotic energy in the nightosphere a plush can be drained to the point of death, the time it take depends on the plushy. all browns cant sorta? fly even tho he is adopted, this was sorta passed down to him. he tends to get air sick. a huge ego :U not really a weakness. anything that can destroy fabric really be creative lol if you give a ruthless some cash. he will spend everything in your bank account. five people used to live in the ice kingdom..now all the family resides in the mansion. with crest there, they are effectively spending less money when only five people lived in the household. Figure/Build: thin, slender, well built for killing Hair Color: black/brown Eye Color: dark green Scars/Distinguishing Marks: cheek scar and a heart patched on his chest. Hobbies: gardening, cooking, and target listing Summary bio: former prince, assassin, Family man, clan leader, and a bit of an ass; these are words that describe this vegetarian assassin. Unfortunately cyrag is very very hard to befriend, he usually doesn’t trust anyone until they proven themselves to him. If you do befriend him and his family then you'll have a very very strong ally that commands even stronger allies! but if your unlucky enough to make him one of your enemies AND attack his family then it will suck to be you.. If you’re an enemy and he hasn’t attacked you to teach you a lesson then he is just trying to get information on you by any means necessary this includes spying, computer info, surveillance, interrogation of your love ones, and acquiring a bargaining chip. so ya not the best guy to mess with. despite being the adopted son of stripes and brother to the plushy king, he isnt in speaking terms with the kingdom associates. banned from the kingdom.. the only way for cyrag to visit his brother is viva sneaking around, brown twisting the laws, and outside of kingdom grounds. now in present times tension rises as sylas is behind bars, stripes and brown appealing to the plush council to repel the ban on cyrag and his family. but an uneasy arcanick can ruin this and raise tension between the ruthless and the plushy kingdom ((spoiler alert..he tots does and starts a small feud between the two. but more on that later :U)). this egotistic plush is now his own boss and still one of the worlds dangerous assassin!

[trendingnewsb]

Issa Rae: ‘So much of the media presents blackness as fierce and flawless. Im not’

The creator of Insecure talks the dating totem pole, films obsession with slavery and the gender-race pay gap as season two begins

I dont want the stench of the current administration on this show, says Issa Rae. I dont want people to look back and be like: Oh, this was a Trump show. I want them to look back and say Insecure was an Obama show. Because it is: Obama enabled this show. The sharp, pithy, Los Angeles-set comedy, dubbed by US fashion and beauty site the Cut as the black, millennial Sex and The City, which Rae co-created, writes and stars in, first aired on HBO last autumn, exactly a month before the US election. Culturally, Obama made blackness so present, and so appreciated; people felt seen and heard; it influenced the arts, and it absolutely influenced how I see blackness, how I appreciate it, says the 32-year-old Rae. When a black president is a norm, it enables us to be, too.

Being a norm is a matter of some import to the actor and writer, who in spite of her personal allegiances had no desire to make an overtly political show. She never wanted Insecure to be, as she says with a generous eye-roll, a story about the struggle or the dramatic burdens of being black. At the heart of the series is the relationship between her on-screen iteration also named Issa, who works for an educational nonprofit called We Got Yall and raps soliloquies to herself in the mirror and her best friend Molly (Yvonne Orji), a high-flying corporate lawyer. Together, they navigate the professional and personal challenges of late-20s urban life.

I just wanted to see my friends and I reflected on television, in the same way that white people are allowed, and which nobody questions, continues Rae. Nobody watches Divorce [a HBO stablemate, starring Sarah Jessica Parker] and asks: What is the political element, what is the racial element driving this?

Watch the trailer for season two of Insecure.

But so rare is it to see what its creator describes as a show about regular black people being basic in contemporary entertainment Insecure has nonetheless been hailed as revolutionary. It wasnt always so. Growing up, Rae was an avid fan of the predominantly black US sitcoms Moesha, Girlfriends and A Different World. Then they disappeared, she says of the film and television landscape. Somewhere along the way, being white became seen as relatable, and you started to see people of colour only reflected as stereotypes or specific archetypes. So much of the media now presents blackness as being cool, or able to dance, or fierce and flawless, or just out of control; Im not any of those things.

It is a hot and swampy summer afternoon in Manhattan, and Rae is in town doing the requisite rounds of late-night talkshow appearances ahead of Insecures season two premiere. On arrival, she seems a little lethargic entirely understandable, given her promotional schedule. But once seated in a buzzy restaurant, specifically chosen because its the sort of spot that the on-screen Issa and her girlfriends would patronise, Rae immediately perks up, emanating charismatic good humour.

Born in an affluent suburb of Los Angeles, Rae real name Jo-Issa Rae Diop is the third of five children, her father a Senegalese doctor, her mother a teacher from Louisiana. The rapid rise in gang violence in the city prompted Raes parents to move the family to Senegals capital, Dakar, when Rae was five years old. Her father tried to open a hospital there but things didnt work out and, three years later, they came back to the US, but to Potomac, Maryland, on the east coast, where Rae attended a predominantly white private school. When the family moved once again, this time back to LA, Rae entered a largely black and Latino school. Everybody thought I was lame and hated me, she says, matter-of-factly. It was a huge culture shock.

Part of the on-screen Issas insecurity of feeling not black enough for black people and not white enough for white people is, Rae says, something that I have been called out for by kids in my life. Ive experienced a real sense of feeling out of place. But with admirable chutzpah, she found a creative solution: I wrote a play and cast all of my bullies, and they loved it. They thought I was cool after that. She pauses, and gives a wry smile. Well, cool is a strong word. But I wasnt on their shit-list any more.

Big society … Raes character with co-worker Frieda (Lisa Joyce). Photograph: Justina Mintz/HBO

While studying at Stanford University, Rae began to notice that many of the television shows she loved, including Curb Your Enthusiasm and Seinfeld, were all-white comedies. Of course, sense of humour is relative, is subjective, but there is an assumption that black people wont find certain things about white comedies funny, she says. I got really frustrated and just wanted to start making my own stories. She conceived and directed Dorm Diaries, a mock reality show with an all-black cast, in the style of MTVs The Real World. When she posted it to Facebook, it quickly circulated, and Rae realised that she had a talent for portraying everyday black life; she has called it my epiphany moment. A few years later, she created what would be her breakthrough web series and the forerunner to Insecure, The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl.

A web show is one thing, of course, a mainstream television show on a high-profile cable network quite another. I ask her about the sociologist and civil rights activist WEB Duboiss concept of double consciousness, which she has referenced in the past, defined as the psychological challenge of always looking at ones self through the eyes of a white society. Does she feel that even more sharply now than before?

Absolutely. I didnt create this show for white people, I didnt create it for men; I created it, really, for my friends and family, and for their specific sense of humour, she nods. But now that we know we have an audience including HBO executives the double consciousness comes into play, because youre always wondering: How do they see what I am writing? Are they laughing at this specific joke for this particular reason? When season one aired, I had Asian women coming up to me on the street, saying: Oh my gosh, this reminds me of me and my best friend, she recalls. And thats wonderful thats what you want for a show but you are always wondering: What elements do they relate to the most?

I suggest that in future she stops fans and asks for further, more detailed feedback. She throws her head back and laughs. Yes. Excuse me, but why do you like the show? Tell me right now, please.

Boyfriend material … Jay Ellis as Lawrence in Insecure. Photograph: Justina Mintz/HBO

While Insecure may be only inadvertently political, this second season is noticeably more charged with social commentary, and examples of everyday discrimination. Through Molly, the show explores the gender pay gap, with an added issue to unpick: is she being paid less because of her gender, or her ethnicity, or both? These are questions that we constantly have to ask ourselves, as minorities, or double minorities, or triple minorities, nods Rae. In terms of the intersectionality of it all, you are constantly asking yourself: Which part of me is being discriminated against? Which part of me is being targeted? If not all parts of me.

The often-dispiriting experience of modern dating features prominently, too. At the start of this series, Issa has recently broken up from her long-term boyfriend, Lawrence (Jay Ellis), and thrown herself into the choppy waters of Tinder, Bumble and Hinge. Dating in todays digitally enabled world is rough enough but there is, Rae believes, an added dimension for her characters. Black women are at the bottom of the desire chain, of the dating totem pole; were not the trophies, she says.

In rap culture, especially, theres always an idea that once you achieve an amount of success, your trophy is the white girl on your arm. However, she asserts, thats not limited to hip-hop. Its not scientifically proven, but theres evidence, in dating apps for example, that were the last to be chosen, the least desirable. The theory is also explored in Aziz Ansaris Netflix show Master of None, which includes a scene in which one of his dates, a black woman, tells him: Compared to my white friends, I get way less activity [on app dating sites]. I also find that I rarely match with guys outside of my race.

Lawrence, meanwhile, is also experiencing discrimination, albeit in a different form. In one scene spoiler alert! he is picked up by two non-black girls at a grocery store, who lure him to their apartment, where they proceed to seduce him. Their fetishisation of his blackness has echoes of Get Out, Jordan Peeles racism-thriller which triumphed at the box office earlier this year.

That was based on a real-life situation that one of our writers shared, says Rae of the uncomfortable tryst. It didnt end well, which had nothing to do with his blackness, but we thought: How can we make this story apply to fit our show? Every show can have a threesome story gone awry, but how can we make it unique for Insecure?

Off the clock … Rae in New York last month. Photograph: Amy Sussman/Invision/AP

There is a show-within-the-show too, an antebellum-era television drama that several of Insecures characters are glued to. Last year, our show-within-a-show was Conjugal Visits, which was a comment on the trash TV that consumes us all. Setting it in a prison a system which, in this country, incarcerates mainly black and Latino people and making that entertainment, was definitely meta-commentary, nods Rae.

This seasons skewering of popular culture is no less pointed. Theres [been] such an obsession with depicting slavery that the last few years, I have been kind of slaved-out, she sighs. So we thought it would be funny to have the characters obsessed with this new slave interracial drama. A guest-starring role for Sterling K Brown, who won an Emmy for his portrayal of prosecutor Christopher Darden in The People Vs OJ Simpson, ups that meta ante even further, but Rae is quick to assure me that this wasnt a casting that she chased down. No! We actually have an anti-celebrity policy on the show, she insists. We were doing something together for the Independent Spirit awards, and he was, like: I love your show, if you ever want to cast me The musician Syd, another self-proclaimed fan of the show, also makes a brief cameo.

Although Rae resists comparisons between Insecure and Girls and of herself to its creator Lena Dunham: I get the inclination to compare us because were both young women, but the stories were telling couldnt be more different, she says the two share a deliciously frank depiction of female sexuality. Broken Pussy, one of Issas raps, became something of a refrain in season one, after she speculates that Mollys run of bad luck with men might be the result of a defective filtering system.

My friend and I have a thing where we talk in, um, pussy sounds, Rae laughs. I think that most women know whether they want to sleep with a guy or not within the first five minutes of meeting him, and so we speak in Marge Simpson voices about whether or not a guy could get it. She demonstrates. If its a yes, well say: My pussy was like: [Perky, eager voice] Mm-hm, girl. Or, My pussy was like, [Low, negative tones]: Mm-mm. So, the conversation about Molly feeling like she wasnt attracting the right type of guys was me suggesting her pussy might actually be broken.

What did her mother make of this particular piece of dialogue? She only saw it at the screening! Rae laughs. She pulled me aside afterwards and was, like: That mouth, were going to wash it out but, good job.

Insecure continues on Thursday 10 August, 10.35pm, Sky Atlantic

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[golfclashhackwebt471-blog]

Detailed Notes on Golf Clash Hack

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[davidegbert]

25 secret WhatsApp tricks you (probably) didn't know about

Byline

Elissa Loi

25 secret WhatsApp tricks you (probably) didn't know about

There are over a billion WhatsApp users worldwide right now. The bad news? Your mum has already found her new favourite way to spam you. The good news? You can easily avoid her on the down-low, and that’s just one of the messaging service’s many secret tips you probably don’t know about.

From disabling its ‘last seen’ feature to bookmarking messages you don’t want to forget about, there are loads of tricks to make your favourite IM app more useful than ever. You just have to be in the know.

Luckily enough, we’ve scoured every inch of WhatsApp to gather up its most useful features. Read these top tips and you’ll be a pro in no time at all.

We've rounded up some top tips for everyone's favourite instant messaging service

Add to video view

1. Begone, blue ticks of misery

We know how it is. You're at figure skating practice, your phone buzzes, and you glance down briefly before nailing a spectacular triple axel.

Clearly, you've not got time to respond immediately. But at the same time, you don't want the sender to realise that you've already looked at the message, lest they think you're ignoring them when you fail to reply for two more hours. That's the privilege the blue ticks take away.

Recently though, the chat app has realised the error of its ways and silently come up with a workaround. The liberty of message-mulling is ours again.

How: Users can just access Privacy via Settings and disable Read Receipts. There, now it's time to iron out the kinks in your friendships that the blue ticks have caused.

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2. Figure out your BFFs

What’s the difference between a casual acquaintance and a bezzie mate for life? How often you message them on WhatsApp, of course. If you’re not sure how to divvy up the members of your social circle, then why not check how often you’ve messaged them.

How: Head to Settings > Data and Storage Usage > Storage Usage and you’ll see a list of your most important groups and contacts ranked according to the data you’ve expended on their behalves. Ah, the romance of modern living.

3. See when your messages are read

Think the double-blue ticks are the worst thing to happen to relationships since Tinder? Think again. Here's another way you could annoy your loved ones.

In addition to finding out the exact time your messages are delivered, you can also choose to see the exact time your message was read (assuming you choose to stick with the ticks).

How: Go to any of your WhatsApp chats, tap and hold on any of the messages you’ve sent in that chat, followed by the Info option. For iOS users, you can also drag towards the left to reveal a window which will show the time your message was delivered and subsequently read.

It works for group messages too, with the window listing the time each participant read the message.

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4. Hide your profile pic

Batman. David Bowie. Pepe the Prawn. All people who have built their much-vaunted careers on an air of mystique and otherness. You can bet they’d have their WhatsApp profile pics set to private, instead of treating the world to a bedraggled photo of them and a bottle of Lambrini. So, as the saying goes, always be yourself unless you can be like Batman.

How: Head to Settings > Privacy > Profile Photo > Nobody.

5. Mute group chats

We’re all in at least a few group chats at any one time, created because someone (likely the group admin) was bored. People tend to get overzealous in chats, especially since WhatsApp allows group conversations of up to 50 participants. Who hasn’t woken up to the horror of 100+ unread messages fuelled by a night of boredom?

How: To prevent yourself from being woken up by the constant lighting up of your smartphone screen, you can (a) either flip your phone over and ignore it or (b) mute the offending group chat. Tap on the group chat of your choice, then the name to bring up Group Info where you will find the option to Mute the chat for eight hours to one week or a year. Alternatively, you can exit it altogether.

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6. Get shortcuts to conversations

If there are certain people you chat to more often, it might be a good idea to create a shortcut for them directly on your homescreen, so you don’t have to keep opening and closing WhatsApp.

How: Tap and hold on the chat (group or individual) of your choice and a tab will pop up. Select the Add Conversation Shortcut option and the chat in question will appear as the person's profile photo on your mobile desktop. Unfortunately this only applies for Android users and not iPhone ones. Sorry guys.

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7. Find out the truth about where your friend is

We've all been a victim of that “on the way” lie when the person in question is still in bed. To prevent yourself from ever getting duped again, insist that the contact shares their current location with you by tapping on the arrow icon next to the text box and then Share Location. There's also a way of preventing them from manually entering their location...

How: The way the location appears is a clue. If it’s a real GPS-based location, the location share will appear as a dropped pin, but if it’s a location they entered, its address will appear beside the dropped pin. Feel free to call them out on it.

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8. Go incognito by switching off 'last seen'

WhatApp’s ‘last seen’ feature is a nightmare for anyone with self-esteem issues.

‘Why are they online and not replying to you right now? Do they have someone more important to be talking to? Surely it’s not Joel? That devilish son of a gun.’

If you’d rather your people didn’t think this way of you, there’s an easy ‘get out of jail’ card to be deployed. Just turn off the ‘last seen’ feature altogether, or restrict it to only your contacts.

How: Head to Settings > Privacy > Last Seen > Nobody.

9. Send messages hands-free with Siri

Ugh! Typing is a right faff when you want to use your hands for other stuff such as eating, cooking or fine embroidery. Once again WhatsApp has come to the rescue to this most first-world of problems via compatibility with both Apple’s Siri and Google Assistant. So you can now dictate any missives to your phone instead of punching them in with your digits like a total chump.

How: Shout out ‘Hey Siri’ or ‘OK Google’, then name the contact you want to send a message to and the contents of that message.

10. Send public messages privately

If you’ve got a generic announcement to make - an invite to a weekend BBQ or an intervention about your friend's unhealthy obsession with KFC - and you don’t want to do it on the loudmouth platform that is Facebook, this feature works in pretty much the same way as BCC-ing people in an email.

Your recipients will get the message as if it was a privately composed one, oblivious to the fact that you’ve sent the exact same invite to 342 other people. Sincerity? What's that?

How: On the top-left-hand corner of your WhatsApp Chats window, just below the search bar, you’ll notice a Broadcast Lists. Tap on it for the option to create a new list of contacts you want your message to go out to, and message away like you would normally.

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11. Stay selectively notified

Not all group chats are created equal, as some are filled with nothing but white noise. And it’s exactly those group chats you want to ignore until you get some downtime to sieve through everything that’s been said. On the flipside, there are the group chats you want to stay on top of, such as the ones deciding dinner plans for the night and so on. Here’s how you can stay selectively notified.

How: Go to the significant group chats, tap on the name to bring up Group Info and then Custom Notifications. There, you can select a custom message alert for the group chats of your choice. All you have to do now is remember which alert tone you assigned to which group chat. This customisation is only applicable for group chats though.

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12. Back it up

Worried about losing a year’s worth of messages? You don’t have to. WhatsApp knows how precious your chat history is to you and secures it all for you in the cloud.

How: iPhone users get the option of backing their chat history to iCloud automatically on a daily/weekly/monthly schedule. If it’s only selected chat histories you desire, click on the chat you want, then the user’s name and finally email conversation to yourself.

Android users can go to 'Settings', 'Chats and calls', and select the 'Chat backup' option, which will let you setup an automatic Google Drive backup. The next time you install WhatsApp from fresh on any device, you can simply select the Google Drive backup option at the setup screen, to have all your up-to-date messages injected into your device, straight from the cloud.

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13. Save your media (and data allowance)

When you’re on a 1GB data plan, every MB counts. You don’t want to be slapped with a hefty bill at the end of the month from sending stupid shareable memes and screenshots of every little thing. There’s a way to make sure that all that heavy-duty image sending won’t eat up what little complimentary data you might have in your plan.

How: Go to Settings, then Chat Settings and then Auto-Download and tweak the settings for how you want your received media to be downloaded. Choose Wi-Fi if you don’t want to overload your data plan. Alternatively, you can trigger downloads manually by switching Auto-Download to Never. You can also save the hassle of having to clean up your camera roll every so often by tweaking Save Incoming Media off.

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14. Tie the app to your number

If you’re overseas and you get a new data sim, there’s no need to go through the hassle of registering the new number attached to the SIM and faff around adding contacts. Just carry on using WhatsApp with your regular number.

How: When you put your new SIM in and activate WhatsApp, you’ll be prompted by the messaging service to register the new number. But doing so will mess up your contacts list. Just ignore the pop-up or cancel it, and your WhatsApp should work linked to your old number, while using your new data SIM.

[Image credit: Hongkiat.com]

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15. Star messages

When dinner time rolls around, the last thing you want to do is scroll through 352 frivolous messages to find the address of the restaurant you're meeting your friends at. Luckily WhatsApp lets you bookmark certain messages for easy access.

How: Double tap on any message and tap on the star icon to mark it. To find it again, all you have to do is tap on the chat’s name, and tap on Starred Messages to see all the messages you’ve marked out.

To see conversation context, just tap on the arrow next to it and you’ll be brought back to the exact place in the chat. When you’re done with it, just double tap the message, and hit the star icon again to unstar it. It’s only available for iOS users for now, so fandroids, wait your turn.

16. Make calls

WhatsApp is more than just a run-of-the-mill instant messenger. You can use it to make calls too.

How: Make sure you're using the latest version of WhatsApp. You should see a new Calls tab alongside the usual Chats and Contacts. Just send a voice call invite to another WhatsApp user and you'll be chatting away in no time.

17. Instantly add dates to your calendar

It’s easy to forget appointments when you’re a busy bee. You make vague plans for drinks, settle on a date, then promptly forget about it as the conversation rolls on. This handy little shortcut makes sure you commit to an appointment.

How: Just state a date and you get an automatic link to add it to your calendar. It also recognises words like ‘today’, ‘tomorrow’ and days. But it's still best to use specific dates, just in case you get the day wrong. No more excuses for forgetting drink dates anymore, then. At least, not for iOS users. Android users have to wait a little while longer we're afraid.

18. Use Whatsapp on the web

WhatsApp Web is the best creation since...WhatsApp itself. It’s not an entirely new feature (as any smug Android user will tell you), but their gloating days are over, as it's now available on iOS too.

How: To enable inconspicuous chatting on the web while you do your work, all you have to do is go to Settings and tap on WhatsApp Web. Then head to web.whatsapp.com on your computer and scan the QR code that appears using your phone. Commence chatting on the sly without downloading anything. Handy, and also very, very distracting.

19. Save data on calls

Making calls via WhatsApp is a very convenient feature, but it can also consume a lot of data. Thankfully, there's a new option to help those of us with data shortage problems.

How: Pop into Settings then Chats and Calls. Right at the bottom, you’ll find Low Data Usage. Turn that on to decrease the amount of data used during calls made via WhatsApp. We’d still advise using WhatsApp calls sparingly on data if you’re on a limited data plan, but you can still save on calls when connected to Wi-Fi abroad.

20. Locate group chat

You can find old group chats by searching for individual members that were in the chat group, rather than the group name itself. This is useful for when you want to revisit old topics, as chances are you'll remember who was in the chat, more than the hilarious bants-laden group name that seemed so funny at the time.

How: Just tap on any individual chats, and tap their name for more information. From there you’ll be able to see all the groups you have in common with said individual, even if they go way back.

21. Back up everything including video

There was a time when you could only backup images in your chats, but not videos. Now that’s changed.

How: Get into Settings, then Chats and Calls, and pop into Chat Backup. This is the control centre for backing up your wordy memories.

You can choose when you want Auto Backup to happen (but make sure you disable backing up using data within your phone’s settings or there will be hell to pay). You can also choose to include videos in your backup by toggling Include Videos. Would it be greedy of us to ask for voice messages to be included in the next update too?

22. Visual reminders

Have the habit of reading messages then forgetting to reply to them? Now you have no excuse to neglect them as there's a new Mark as unread feature which lets you mark chats with a blue dot so that you can come back to them later.

How: Just swipe any of your chats to the right and the option to Mark as unread will show up. Tap on it and a blue dot will appear on the chat as a visual marker. Once you’re done with it, just swipe the chat to the right to unmark it. Simple.

P.S. Android users can achieve the same thing by long-pressing on a chat.

23. Stop people from accidentally reading your messages

Theoretically, all messages on WhatsApp are private - but not when you leave your phone on the table, and a new message notification pops up. How many times have you unintentionally read someone’s message just because you’ve curiously looked over when their phone screen blinked to life with a new message notification? Admit it, we’ve all done it, and sometimes read something we've regretted.

How: Go to Settings, then Notifications, and disable Show Preview. Now you can gossip in peace, without anyone accidentally reading your conversations by glancing casually at your phone when a notification comes in. Your notification still reveals who has just messaged you, without divulging any of its super secret contents.

24. Reply directly from a popup

Oh, new message! Swipe down the notification bar, tap the message and reply. Sounds simple, right? It is, but there's an even faster way - cut to the chase and reply directly from a notification.

How: Go to Settings, Notifications, then Popup Notification, and choose from four different options. You can change this setting for both individual messages and group messages respectively. Unfortunately, this feature is only available for Android. For now, anyway.

25. Send an attachment

Unlike EPMD’s hip-hop classic, WhatsApp’s ethos is by no means Strictly Business. If you do need to quickly send a document to a colleague, and email isn’t an option, it’s easily done. Just select the file you want from Google Drive, Dropbox or iCloud and WhatsApp will fling it onwards as a pdf.

How: Tap the + symbol > Document > select your cloud storage service of choice and then the file itself. Bosh!

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Issa Rae: ‘So much of the media presents blackness as fierce and flawless. Im not’

The creator of Insecure talks the dating totem pole, films obsession with slavery and the gender-race pay gap as season two begins

I dont want the stench of the current administration on this show, says Issa Rae. I dont want people to look back and be like: Oh, this was a Trump show. I want them to look back and say Insecure was an Obama show. Because it is: Obama enabled this show. The sharp, pithy, Los Angeles-set comedy, dubbed by US fashion and beauty site the Cut as the black, millennial Sex and The City, which Rae co-created, writes and stars in, first aired on HBO last autumn, exactly a month before the US election. Culturally, Obama made blackness so present, and so appreciated; people felt seen and heard; it influenced the arts, and it absolutely influenced how I see blackness, how I appreciate it, says the 32-year-old Rae. When a black president is a norm, it enables us to be, too.

Being a norm is a matter of some import to the actor and writer, who in spite of her personal allegiances had no desire to make an overtly political show. She never wanted Insecure to be, as she says with a generous eye-roll, a story about the struggle or the dramatic burdens of being black. At the heart of the series is the relationship between her on-screen iteration also named Issa, who works for an educational nonprofit called We Got Yall and raps soliloquies to herself in the mirror and her best friend Molly (Yvonne Orji), a high-flying corporate lawyer. Together, they navigate the professional and personal challenges of late-20s urban life.

I just wanted to see my friends and I reflected on television, in the same way that white people are allowed, and which nobody questions, continues Rae. Nobody watches Divorce [a HBO stablemate, starring Sarah Jessica Parker] and asks: What is the political element, what is the racial element driving this?

Watch the trailer for season two of Insecure.

But so rare is it to see what its creator describes as a show about regular black people being basic in contemporary entertainment Insecure has nonetheless been hailed as revolutionary. It wasnt always so. Growing up, Rae was an avid fan of the predominantly black US sitcoms Moesha, Girlfriends and A Different World. Then they disappeared, she says of the film and television landscape. Somewhere along the way, being white became seen as relatable, and you started to see people of colour only reflected as stereotypes or specific archetypes. So much of the media now presents blackness as being cool, or able to dance, or fierce and flawless, or just out of control; Im not any of those things.

It is a hot and swampy summer afternoon in Manhattan, and Rae is in town doing the requisite rounds of late-night talkshow appearances ahead of Insecures season two premiere. On arrival, she seems a little lethargic entirely understandable, given her promotional schedule. But once seated in a buzzy restaurant, specifically chosen because its the sort of spot that the on-screen Issa and her girlfriends would patronise, Rae immediately perks up, emanating charismatic good humour.

Born in an affluent suburb of Los Angeles, Rae real name Jo-Issa Rae Diop is the third of five children, her father a Senegalese doctor, her mother a teacher from Louisiana. The rapid rise in gang violence in the city prompted Raes parents to move the family to Senegals capital, Dakar, when Rae was five years old. Her father tried to open a hospital there but things didnt work out and, three years later, they came back to the US, but to Potomac, Maryland, on the east coast, where Rae attended a predominantly white private school. When the family moved once again, this time back to LA, Rae entered a largely black and Latino school. Everybody thought I was lame and hated me, she says, matter-of-factly. It was a huge culture shock.

Part of the on-screen Issas insecurity of feeling not black enough for black people and not white enough for white people is, Rae says, something that I have been called out for by kids in my life. Ive experienced a real sense of feeling out of place. But with admirable chutzpah, she found a creative solution: I wrote a play and cast all of my bullies, and they loved it. They thought I was cool after that. She pauses, and gives a wry smile. Well, cool is a strong word. But I wasnt on their shit-list any more.

Big society … Raes character with co-worker Frieda (Lisa Joyce). Photograph: Justina Mintz/HBO

While studying at Stanford University, Rae began to notice that many of the television shows she loved, including Curb Your Enthusiasm and Seinfeld, were all-white comedies. Of course, sense of humour is relative, is subjective, but there is an assumption that black people wont find certain things about white comedies funny, she says. I got really frustrated and just wanted to start making my own stories. She conceived and directed Dorm Diaries, a mock reality show with an all-black cast, in the style of MTVs The Real World. When she posted it to Facebook, it quickly circulated, and Rae realised that she had a talent for portraying everyday black life; she has called it my epiphany moment. A few years later, she created what would be her breakthrough web series and the forerunner to Insecure, The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl.

A web show is one thing, of course, a mainstream television show on a high-profile cable network quite another. I ask her about the sociologist and civil rights activist WEB Duboiss concept of double consciousness, which she has referenced in the past, defined as the psychological challenge of always looking at ones self through the eyes of a white society. Does she feel that even more sharply now than before?

Absolutely. I didnt create this show for white people, I didnt create it for men; I created it, really, for my friends and family, and for their specific sense of humour, she nods. But now that we know we have an audience including HBO executives the double consciousness comes into play, because youre always wondering: How do they see what I am writing? Are they laughing at this specific joke for this particular reason? When season one aired, I had Asian women coming up to me on the street, saying: Oh my gosh, this reminds me of me and my best friend, she recalls. And thats wonderful thats what you want for a show but you are always wondering: What elements do they relate to the most?

I suggest that in future she stops fans and asks for further, more detailed feedback. She throws her head back and laughs. Yes. Excuse me, but why do you like the show? Tell me right now, please.

Boyfriend material … Jay Ellis as Lawrence in Insecure. Photograph: Justina Mintz/HBO

While Insecure may be only inadvertently political, this second season is noticeably more charged with social commentary, and examples of everyday discrimination. Through Molly, the show explores the gender pay gap, with an added issue to unpick: is she being paid less because of her gender, or her ethnicity, or both? These are questions that we constantly have to ask ourselves, as minorities, or double minorities, or triple minorities, nods Rae. In terms of the intersectionality of it all, you are constantly asking yourself: Which part of me is being discriminated against? Which part of me is being targeted? If not all parts of me.

The often-dispiriting experience of modern dating features prominently, too. At the start of this series, Issa has recently broken up from her long-term boyfriend, Lawrence (Jay Ellis), and thrown herself into the choppy waters of Tinder, Bumble and Hinge. Dating in todays digitally enabled world is rough enough but there is, Rae believes, an added dimension for her characters. Black women are at the bottom of the desire chain, of the dating totem pole; were not the trophies, she says.

In rap culture, especially, theres always an idea that once you achieve an amount of success, your trophy is the white girl on your arm. However, she asserts, thats not limited to hip-hop. Its not scientifically proven, but theres evidence, in dating apps for example, that were the last to be chosen, the least desirable. The theory is also explored in Aziz Ansaris Netflix show Master of None, which includes a scene in which one of his dates, a black woman, tells him: Compared to my white friends, I get way less activity [on app dating sites]. I also find that I rarely match with guys outside of my race.

Lawrence, meanwhile, is also experiencing discrimination, albeit in a different form. In one scene spoiler alert! he is picked up by two non-black girls at a grocery store, who lure him to their apartment, where they proceed to seduce him. Their fetishisation of his blackness has echoes of Get Out, Jordan Peeles racism-thriller which triumphed at the box office earlier this year.

That was based on a real-life situation that one of our writers shared, says Rae of the uncomfortable tryst. It didnt end well, which had nothing to do with his blackness, but we thought: How can we make this story apply to fit our show? Every show can have a threesome story gone awry, but how can we make it unique for Insecure?

Off the clock … Rae in New York last month. Photograph: Amy Sussman/Invision/AP

There is a show-within-the-show too, an antebellum-era television drama that several of Insecures characters are glued to. Last year, our show-within-a-show was Conjugal Visits, which was a comment on the trash TV that consumes us all. Setting it in a prison a system which, in this country, incarcerates mainly black and Latino people and making that entertainment, was definitely meta-commentary, nods Rae.

This seasons skewering of popular culture is no less pointed. Theres [been] such an obsession with depicting slavery that the last few years, I have been kind of slaved-out, she sighs. So we thought it would be funny to have the characters obsessed with this new slave interracial drama. A guest-starring role for Sterling K Brown, who won an Emmy for his portrayal of prosecutor Christopher Darden in The People Vs OJ Simpson, ups that meta ante even further, but Rae is quick to assure me that this wasnt a casting that she chased down. No! We actually have an anti-celebrity policy on the show, she insists. We were doing something together for the Independent Spirit awards, and he was, like: I love your show, if you ever want to cast me The musician Syd, another self-proclaimed fan of the show, also makes a brief cameo.

Although Rae resists comparisons between Insecure and Girls and of herself to its creator Lena Dunham: I get the inclination to compare us because were both young women, but the stories were telling couldnt be more different, she says the two share a deliciously frank depiction of female sexuality. Broken Pussy, one of Issas raps, became something of a refrain in season one, after she speculates that Mollys run of bad luck with men might be the result of a defective filtering system.

My friend and I have a thing where we talk in, um, pussy sounds, Rae laughs. I think that most women know whether they want to sleep with a guy or not within the first five minutes of meeting him, and so we speak in Marge Simpson voices about whether or not a guy could get it. She demonstrates. If its a yes, well say: My pussy was like: [Perky, eager voice] Mm-hm, girl. Or, My pussy was like, [Low, negative tones]: Mm-mm. So, the conversation about Molly feeling like she wasnt attracting the right type of guys was me suggesting her pussy might actually be broken.

What did her mother make of this particular piece of dialogue? She only saw it at the screening! Rae laughs. She pulled me aside afterwards and was, like: That mouth, were going to wash it out but, good job.

Insecure continues on Thursday 10 August, 10.35pm, Sky Atlantic

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