#pinned for the offseason

[baiyunli]

how to watch baseball now: a primer

This is a long, hopefully-comprehensive guide on how to watch baseball for hockey fans feeling adrift during the offseason — I have constructed this from the perspective of not only how to understand what you’re watching, but how to make it interesting to yourself.

If the numbers aren't interesting to you, forget about the numbers! They don’t have to exist in your version of baseball. Make up your own rules and use them to watch the game. Watch games only for the one kind-of okay player you like. Pick your favourite team because of a video you saw of one of them bouncing a baseball off his ass (Sean Murphy, then of Oakland A's and now of Atlanta Braves). Baseball Olds will try to pretend like the game is this big thing that only people who already watch it can appreciate, but you just have to find what you love most about it. 

I’m using the NHL as my best point of reference: in terms of growing the game, I’d say MLB suffers from a very different problem than NHL (other than like, the current uproar around letting queer people exist, which is a throughline in both), in that while the NHL has a very exciting product but can’t reach people where they’re at, baseball is by and large perceived as a boring, slow game and the league will bend over backwards to make polarizing changes to the Boringest and Slowest parts rather than capitalizing on what excites fans about the game. However, both leagues are plagued by Shitty Commissioner disease. Such is the way of life.

Feel free to read all of this, or none of it, but I’ve tried to split it up in a way that makes sense and is easy to navigate. Last note: many people will tell you baseball is the only major sport going on in North America at this time of year. This is false. The WNBA and NWSL are both in full swing—not to mention the World Cup next month. Supplement your baseball watching with a wide variety of sports where you can!

How to Love Baseball

Pick a Team, Any Team

The first step in becoming a baseball fan is obviously picking a team! I could probably give you NHL comparatives and let you figure it out from there, but I don’t personally think your favourite NHL teams have much bearing on your favourite MLB ones, so I’ll give you a quick and dirty rundown of my teams instead and how you might want to pick a team.

The easiest team for me to love is the Seattle Mariners because I live just across the border, and they aren’t good enough to be annoying but also not bad enough to be embarrassed about. They’re just kind of there, which I enjoy greatly. I also love the Philadelphia Phillies because they’re my friend’s favourite team. They went on a Cinderella run to the World Series last year (before losing to the Astros in the final) and are now solidly middling. My other favourites are the Washington Nationals because of their fantastic social media presence and their hilarious stadium traditions. The current-day Nats are very much the epitome of "how can we lose when we're so sincere?"

Some teams you might want to look into are the LA Angels (actually of Anaheim) for Shohei Ohtani, the Milwaukee Brewers for — at least from what I understand — their boyband energy similar to the New Jersey Devils, the Baltimore Orioles or Tampa Bay Rays for an exciting and winningest team, and the Oakland A's for a miserable fan experience including horribly dysfunctional team management and a coming relocation to Las Vegas. 

The easiest team for me to hate is the Toronto Blue Jays, which is a result of their god complex re: being the only Canadian team. A funny thing from this season is that the Rays opened their season with a historic 13-game win streak, only to be killed 6-3 by the Blue Jays to end it. Something about Toronto teams and ending another team’s 13-game heater, or whatever.

Also look into any local teams if you can. In Vancouver, our local minor league team is the Vancouver Canadians, and setting up a little picnic on the grass with friends while watching a Canadians game is a summer staple. Here’s a very cute article about them. There are a variety of lower-level and exhibition teams across the world, especially in countries where baseball is incredibly popular. One exhibition team is the Internet-famous Savannah Bananas who are dearly loved on TikTok. If there isn’t a huge baseball foothold in your area, it’s worth looking into which MLB teams are most popular where you live and/or have the most coverage. Some analytics sites like FiveThirtyEight will occasionally create maps showing each team’s popularity in different states, countries, etc. and that can be a great guide.

Petty Rivalries 101

You can always just Google these, but I decided to just list off a few major ones for your perusal: the Yankees and Red Sox, the Rangers and Astros, the Dodgers and Giants, and the Orioles and Nationals. As Toronto Maple Leafs scholar Acting the Fulemin once put it, the point of sports is to be sad in a group, and the counterpart to this is that it absolutely rules getting to see a team you hate lose.

A quick note on the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry is that it's brought us one of my favourite ever quotes from ex-Mariner and current Yankee Nestor Cortes:

Once you’ve chosen a favourite team, they’re bound to have some kind of geographic or historic rivalry, and you can search those up to find out the background behind them. Also, I highly suggest deciding on a random team you hate for no reason. It makes the season experience much more interesting and gives you the chance to pray on their downfall whenever possible.

Where to Watch

As with most things about baseball, this will vary by your team. Depending on your cable package, you might be able to watch your favourite team already! That’s great news. Even if you can’t, feel free to turn on the TV, find a random baseball game, and imprint on either of those teams like a baby bird. The MLB website offers games broadcast with an MLB.tv subscription, but if you have an account you can also watch the Free Game of the Day and collected highlights from previous games! This is a great way to expand your team repertoire and figure out which team broadcasts you hate with a burning passion. Local radio stations do commentary on games if you like listening to that. 

If you just want to get your feet wet rather than diving in straight away, pretty much every major game of the postseason will be uploaded by some “FirstName BunchOfNumbers” user on YouTube: for example, you can watch Game 1 of the World Series last year by just searching 2022 World Series Game 1 Full Game. However, watching the full game might be a slog if you don’t know what’s going on, and you can learn the intricacies of the sport without having to watch all four hours and twelve minutes of like, the 1962 World Series Game 7 (although that is a very exciting game). In that case, skip to the ‘How the Game is Governed’ section and read on.

All of this pertains to MLB teams, but there’s plenty to watch elsewhere. If you have a local baseball team, you might be able to catch a game or two in-person! Minor League Baseball also has their own broadcasting services and highlights are available on YouTube or their website. 

League Structure

The MLB season is 162 games long. Spring training, aka the preseason, begins in February. During the regular season, teams play a three or four-game series with the same team before playing another with a different team. For example, this month the Philadelphia Phillies played 3 games in a row against the Washington Nationals on consecutive days. The day after the conclusion of their last game against Washington, they started a series against the Tigers, which was three games with one rescheduled due to weather, and then another three games against the Dodgers. This leads to a schedule that looks like this:

Occasionally, due to weather issues or other postponement reasons, a game will be rescheduled for the same day as another game against the same team — so they’ll play two full games in one day. This is called a double-header. They used to be routinely scheduled in MLB, but now they’re only played as a result of scheduling problems.

Team-wise, it’s a little more complicated than the NHL. Like the Eastern and Western conferences, MLB is separated into two ‘leagues’: the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). Both leagues have fifteen teams, and until the 1990s teams in different leagues didn’t play each other during the regular season at all, leading to different styles of play, tactics, and rules implemented between them. This is no longer the case! However, it’s important to recognize that unlike the NHL, NBA, NWSL, etc., Major League Baseball comprises two leagues, rather than two conferences of the same league. This matters because individual awards like the Cy Young or Gold Glove are given to the best players at their position in both the AL and NL, and the MLB MVP includes both an AL MVP and NL MVP. 

MLB is made up of six divisions, with three in each league: AL East, AL Central, AL West, NL East, NL Central, and NL West. A division has five teams. If you know much about US geography, you might notice that the teams in each division don’t actually correspond very well to their geographic location: this is for a variety of reasons, not least of which is expansion teams requiring change in division partitioning, but nobody’s going to fix it at this point. And that’s okay!

Fandom and Things As Such

Baseball fandom, regrettably, is not much of a Tumblr phenomenon these days, but Baseball Twitter does have some incredible gems. The Baseball RPF tag on AO3 is also fairly fleshed out (albeit not to the extent of HRPF) and you’ll find that many authors who write HRPF have dabbled in baseball as well. If you’re lost on where to start choosing a team, going through the AO3 grab bag and choosing a random player who you really like in a fic is also a very respectable avenue.

I cannot stress this enough: the easiest way to learn the game without having to learn the characters is reading baseball AUs. That’s it. They’re ten times more approachable than trying to memorize everyone on your favourite team’s roster, and they abound in HRPF if you’re looking for a landing port. I have witness testimony from Lil (@wymgreenteam) that she learned what pitching signs and shortstops were from the wonderful Jack/Nico baseball AU. It works! Obviously fanfiction won’t teach you everything, but if you’re feeling overwhelmed they can be a fantastic first step and really illustrate the game from a fan perspective.

Other Media

I will caution against taking the ‘consume baseball-related media’ advice too seriously, because I find that unlike baseball AUs, other media involving baseball does not always come from someone who watches and loves the game. Think of it like hockey romance books—just like the main characters of those novels are probably not scoring hat tricks in 5 consecutive games, they probably aren’t reaching such baseball heights either.

With that said, I have not watched Daiya No Ace but I’ve heard that people do enjoy it! For genuine baseball culture-oriented media, Roger Angell wrote fantastic articles and books on the game. I love his book ‘Five Seasons: A Baseball Companion.’ Then there are movies like Moneyball and shows like A League of Our Own which tackle specific aspects of the game and how it’s played. Depending on your eventual favourite team(s), hometown coverage will also play a huge part: for the Phillies, that’s outlets like the Philadelphia Inquirer or Penn Live.

Narratives

Once upon a time there was a young man named Shohei Ohtani who was breaking records set in the 1920s while playing on a horrible, failing team that refused to build around him. I assume you have some familiarity with Ohtani, but he is very difficult to describe because he is literally making history. He is the only two-way player in MLB right now: a two-way player is someone who is both a pitcher and a batter; there are a ton of rules about what constitutes a two-way player, but currently Ohtani is the only true two-way player at the Major level. This is not a perfect analogy, but he’s sort of like if Jason Robertson went out there and had a 50-goal season, then immediately jumped into net and played like Juuse Saros. He’s the best all-around player in MLB, and even though he isn’t the best pitcher or the best batter, the fact that he’s incredible at both of them makes him stand out. He also plays with Mike Trout, who’s breaking records of his own, while trying to drag the LA Angels to any sort of notoriety. Here is a prescient article about the Ohtani-Trout era in Anaheim.

Each team has their own current narratives and pairings, but Ohtani and Trout are the biggest one right now. People compare them to McDavid and Draisaitl, but it’s more like if the Oilers had McDavid and Draisaitl but were also one of the worst teams in the league right now. However, Trout is currently in the worst slump of his career while the Angels have won the last 11 of 14 games, so really all this means is that baseball is fake.

Baseball is rife with redemption and villain arcs—you just have to dig a little to find them. I have presented the Ohtani and Trout trainwreck because it’s the closest comparable to the Oilers tragedy, but there are plenty others that really depend on team and current events.

Bush Leagues

MLB teams have a very different relationship to their minor-league affiliates than NHL teams do. There are about five hundred various regional minor leagues, but the MiLB levels are Rookie, Single A, High A, Double A, and Triple A, each of which has two or three individual leagues similar to the AL-NL system in MLB.

The fun thing about MiLB is that it’s a lot closer to home than MLB! Most places don’t have an MLB team, but there’s a good chance anywhere in the USA has a nearby MiLB or regional/collegiate league team. They also have way more interesting names, like the Portland Pickles, Rocket City Trash Pandas, and Sugar Land Space Cowboys. The prospect pipeline in MLB runs a whole lot slower than it does for the NHL, and generally through those Double or Triple-A affiliates, so it’s definitely worth paying attention to minor-league teams and their standout players to see who might be the next rookie on your favourite team.

MiLB player compensation has been an issue for a long time, and the players recently unionized! A few great write-ups on it: 1, 2, and 3.

Regional Popularity

I’ve said this plenty, but I truly do think that finding your baseball niche hinges upon imprinting on a hometown team or a player you just really like. This sport isn’t just an American pastime: it’s hugely popular in Central America and parts of East Asia, and some of the best and brightest up-and-coming (and current) players hail from countries that haven’t traditionally been viewed as bastions of baseball. The game is growing every day, and it’s wonderful to see.

Baseball is very popular in the Dominican Republic, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Japan, and Korea. Out of those, I’d probably say the Dominican Republic has the largest MLB presence, with only American players outnumbering Dominican ones in the league, but the sport is also fast-growing in Japan, Korea, and Australia. Japan won the 2023 World Baseball Classic, which is the baseball equivalent of the World Cup of Hockey, where the best players in the world compete against each other and Shohei Ohtani (captain of the Japanese team) pitched to Mike Trout (captain of the American team) in possibly the most electric moment of baseball in the 21st century.

How to Understand Baseball

How the Game is Governed

Rather than doing a big writeup on this, I figured I would just find some articles and videos that go through the rules well and hold your hand through it! Think of these like helpful assets, similar to the first time you search up ‘what is goaltender interference’ or 'what is offsides' after hearing it mentioned on the play-by-play and a goal got turned over and all the fans were mad and you wanted to be in on the reason why. This is that search.

Baseball Explained in 5 Minutes

How to identify baseball pitches

Everything there is to know about the The Strike Zone in Baseball.

Intro to Baseball: Positions

What’s going on with the DH in MLB? (MLB Originals)

Rules Glossary | MLB - PDF Version

Lastly, once you’ve got a good grasp on the rules and positions, I probably wouldn’t go straight to watching a full game—you want to make sure you’re using your three hours well rather than staring at a game you don’t really get or don’t care about, or both. Instead, watch YouTube highlights of various players and best (or worst) plays of the week! This gives you an idea of what creates excitement in a game and why, and different positional strengths. From there, you can start watching longer clips, like full innings or the highlights uploaded after each game, which give you a better idea of the game’s pace. 

Pressing Play

While I was writing this I remembered that a fun and unique baseball tradition is players having walk-up songs when they’re up in the batting lineup.

Most teams will post their players' walk-up songs on Spotify, YouTube, etc. and while there are a few songs that are synonymous with legendary players - like Mariano Rivera's "Enter Sandman" - players usually like to switch up their songs. Often, a song will become emblematic of an era in that team's history (Anthony Rizzo's "Intoxicated" and the Cubs' 2016 playoff run). After a while, you'll notice patterns in what players pick.

Learning about each player’s song rotation can be extremely revealing, like Mark Canha switching his walk-up songs to Born This Way, Vogue, and I Wanna Dance with Somebody in honour of the Mets Pride Night last week!

Diamond Sports Bankruptcy

I’m not going to pretend to know anything about broadcasting or RSNs, but Diamond Sports, the group that runs Bally Sports, recently filed for bankruptcy, which has really affected some franchises’ profit margins and where their games can be streamed. Not sure if this interests you, but you can read about it here!

The Oakland A’s Relocation

Again: I’m not an Oakland fan, but there’s a lot of debate right now about the owners of the Oakland Athletics moving the team to Vegas despite the wishes of the town and city. Rob Manfred, the MLB commissioner, also made rude comments about Oakland fans as a result of their Reverse Boycott Night, where almost 28,000 fans came out to support the team. A professional sports league commissioner acting like an asshole to fans of a small-market team is nothing new, but it’s the culmination of a lot of drama between terrible owners and a market that loves their team.

The Long, Storied History of Cheating

The long, storied history of cheating in MLB encompasses not only stealing signs and tipping pitches, but also foreign substance usage on hands (which pitchers sometimes try in order to change how they pitch the ball), illegal equipment, and more. It’s kind of a lot. The most notable, recent case is the 2017 Houston Astros World Series Win.  

Houston’s Fucking Astros

Nobody likes the Astros except Astros fans. They won the World Series last year and are universally hated, not least of all because of the 2017 cheating controversy. 

In baseball, ‘signs’ are what catchers use to communicate to pitchers what kind of pitch they should throw. These rely on knowledge of the hitter currently on the plate and catching them by surprise. Each pitcher-catcher battery will usually have their own signs. In 2017, a year in which Houston won the World Series, the team set up a video camera in the center field seats with a full frontal view of the catcher, and they would use that to figure out what pitches the pitcher would throw. Then from the dugout, whoever was watching the video feed at the time would use a signal (audio cues, like banging garbage can lids) to tell the hitter who was up what pitch they had to expect. This was mostly possible because of the time delay between a catcher signalling and a pitcher throwing, which has been changed by this season’s pitch clock implementation. 

In 2020, The Athletic published the first exposé article about the Astros cheating scandal, and it rocked the baseball world. Several immediate consequences followed: the Astros GM and field manager (head coach) were suspended for the full 2020 season, and although players received no punishment, the team gave up four draft picks (their 1st and 2nd round picks in 2020 and 2021). 

Pitching and Sticky Stuff

Pitchers applying foreign substances on their hands is always a controversy in MLB games. Recently, star pitcher Max Scherzer was ejected and suspended 10 games after an umpire decided his hand was unusually sticky. TLDR: cheating is common, and consequences vary. Nobody has gotten over the Astros cheating scandal.

Expected By Whom

A quick rundown on the analytics side of the game and how baseball stats look very different both in their progress and insights than hockey. This is how you can sound like you know ball.

The Moneyball book does a great job explaining the rise of sabermetrics (baseball analytics) in the early 2000s, starting with Billy Beane and the Oakland A’s. Because MLB doesn’t have a salary cap and their luxury tax isn’t difficult for big-market teams to pay, small-market teams like Oakland have to constantly innovate in their game tactics in order to stay competitive, and that’s why the game today is so numbers-oriented. Watching a baseball game, you’ll see far more stats than you would in an NHL broadcast: OBP (On-Base Percentage), ERA (Earned Run Average), pitching speed, slugging percentage, pythagorean win percentage, and more. Do not fear the big numbers. You don’t have to know what every stat means in order to love the game, but if you watch enough and you hear commentators discussing what, say, Kodai Senga's ERA is, you’ll come to learn what they mean! In a pinch, you can also easily just search up ‘league average [stat]’ to figure out what the standard is.

Some websites that are really instrumental in baseball analytics are Baseball-Reference, FiveThirtyEight, and FanGraphs, plus YouTube channels like Foolish Baseball and statisticians like Bill James and Tom Tango. Baseball is a lot further along in its analytics revolution than hockey, and as a result, such analysis is not just a thing for Stats Nerds but also a huge part of the way the game is played and watched today. Personally, I love stats that assess umpire accuracy in calling strikes, and so Umpire Scorecards on Twitter is one of my favourites.

It's Too Long and Too Much Money

If Connor McDavid played in Major League Baseball and was close to the kind of player he is in the NHL right now, he would be getting paid north of 400 million dollars, not to mention endorsement money. Instead, he sold his soul to a sport where reporters ask about his biological clock and his only consolation for living in Edmonton is his heated driveway.

Because MLB payrolls are so much larger than the NHL’s and they have a luxury tax rather than a salary cap, contracts are worth much more. The sport itself is less volatile as well: both a product of the longer season (larger sample size) and the luck factor inherent in chance-based games like hockey that isn’t present as much in baseball, a player's year-to-year performance is easier to predict and therefore teams feel more comfortable betting on their production. In contrast to the NHL’s 8-year limit & penalty for long contracts (like the Kovalchuk deal), and bridge deals made when a player hasn't demonstrated that their performance is sustainable, MLB GMs often give their stars contracts over 10 years, and for hundreds of millions of dollars total. Mike Trout is on a 12-year contract for almost $430 million, and by several estimates, his endorsements and the money he receives for being named All-Star, AL MVP, etc. brings that up significantly.

MLB front office terminology is very similar to the NHL, but their contracts differ in another important way: baseball players can opt out of a contract and enter free agency. For example, last season Carlos Correa agreed to a 12-year, $310m deal with the New York Mets, but the Mets were worried about the results from his physical and his injury history, so they pulled out of the deal before the season began and instead, Correa signed with the Minnesota Twins on a six-year, $200m contract.

The Used Boy Auction

Drafting in MLB works very differently than the NHL. The amateur draft (the Main one, which is also called the Rule 4 Draft) takes place mid-season and lasts 20 rounds (used to be 40), plus picks that teams are given as compensation for other events. Teams can draft players either out of high school or college baseball—while the majority of players in the early days were picked right out of high school, nowadays the largest percentage are collegiate players. High school players are only eligible after graduation, and they don’t have junior leagues like the OHL or USHL. Players at universities can only be drafted after their 3rd season there in order to avoid going to a university only for drafting purposes. 

Teams retain the rights to sign the players they draft until July 15 of the following year, and a player who does not sign with their team is eligible to be signed once again as long as they meet the age and educational requirements (attending an academic institution, three years of college, etc.) Unless the player has consented to be re-selected by their old team, they cannot be chosen again in another draft year. This leads to players like Brandon Belt having been drafted three times, by the Red Sox, Braves, and Giants, and ultimately playing for the Giants after his college career.

The Rule 5 Draft is another major part of the MLB drafting system. It's sort of similar to what happens in the NHL with an expansion draft, but it takes place in the winter every year. As the MLB prospect pipeline moves slower and it's easy for teams to Stockpile high-quality prospects and bury them in the minors due to the team's current success, this draft aims to ensure that young players have a chance to play in the bigs on a team that needs more manpower. Not every team has to select a player in the Rule 5 draft; last season, 15 players were taken, including the Nats selecting Thad Ward and the Phillies selecting Noah Song.

Here's the official MLB description of the drafting process:

Podcasters or Whatever

My most toxic trait is that I unfortunately love listening to sports podcasts, so here are some good baseball ones:

The Athletic Baseball Show

Ballpark Dimensions

Effectively Wild

The Strike Zone

I hope this serves as a useful first step! Feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions or want to yell about baseball - I wrote this for two people, so if either of those two people find it helpful, the three hours I spent on it will have been worth it.

[coffee-at-annies]

Call me Anne (she/her). My main is in the blog description. I can’t promise I’ll follow back but drop me a dm or ask if you wanna chat.

This is my sports sideblog so expect Penguins hockey (🐧🤩), Pirates baseball (💔😴), Bananaball(🍌😴), the occasional omgcp post, and lots of lbing. Hockey is back and so am I!

The hrpf/arts&crafts sideblog is over here. Any fic or edits will hopefully live there and get cross posted here.

My main hockey tags are #penguins hockey, and #off season more like nap season. My main baseball tag is #anne watches baseball. Currently #the end of naptime is in sight. (aka preseason tag)

Tags to follow/block for lbs are #anne watches hockey, #pens lb, #anne watches baseball, and occasionally #pirates lb. Games I make it to irl are tagged #anne attends a game.

My tag for talking (to ppl or into the void) is #chit chat. Sometimes #gc shenanigans, happen.

Feel free to hit me up via dms or my askbox. My current open #offseason ask games/#ask me stuff, is true/false guessing game, my forever ask game is send me an ask and I’ll respond with a photo of my cats.

Let’s Go Pens!🐧🏒

Let’s Go Bucs!🏴‍☠️⚾️

[jakeotters]

Okay get ready cause I’ve got a TON

1. I don’t deserve you. I don’t deserve any of this

2. I like you damnit! Is that what you wanted to hear?

3. You make me want to be better

4. Can you please come and get me

5. “Why didn’t you tell me?” , “I thought you’d bench me”

I have more

thank you so much for sending these!

I Don’t Deserve You (scott miller x reader)

warnings: kissing, scott is NOT a dick (surprise), there’s a thunderstorm

a/n: i apologize for taking so long to get to requests, i’ve been in the process of moving and am still trying to get settled so i haven’t been able to sit down and write :(

my inbox is open for requests! rules for requests are on my pinned post :)

Your passion for weather extended long beyond the confines of your chase vehicle and the stormy skies during the months of April and May. It may have been the offseason, but that didn’t stop you from running outside to stand below the darkening clouds that hung in the sky above you.

And here you were, standing on the concrete pathway that lead up to your front porch, head tilted up, staring at the sky like you’d never seen a storm before. The darkness of the clouds caused a shadow to hang around you, the light fading as the thick blanket of clouds took over the afternoon sunlight.

Scott watched you from the screen door that separated you from the inside of the house. He loved storms just as much as you did, but something about your love for them was so endearing to him. He always watched when you’d stand at the door, watching the towers of cumulonimbus clouds grow into thunderstorms, some of them growing into supercells.

Scott waited for the moment when you’d jump up and pull your shoes on, running out to see what awaited behind the safety of your house. It was almost like you had a sixth sense that told you when storms were coming.

He’d stand at the door and watch when you were outside, you were just as the beautiful as the storms you loved watching. It was one of the only times when his rigid demeanor would melt away and his hard personality would soften.

You watched the clouds, a steady rain beginning to fall from the grey sky above you. Thunder rumbled in the distance, low but clear enough to give a stern warning of what was coming. You didn’t say anything, the twinkle in your eyes was enough to show just how amazed you were.

Scott opened the screen door, stepping out onto the porch. He was quiet, not wanting to disturb you. You looked so peaceful, so relaxed despite the rumble of thunder growing louder and the rain beginning to fall faster. The wind picked up, goosebumps forming on his arms as the cooled air hit his skin.

Lightning began to flash across the sky, illuminating the sky and the ground below. The white flashes shined in your eyes like shooting stars. The rain was starting to soak your hair and your skin, the wind blowing water on you, but you didn’t move. You stood there, eyes focused on the sky like nothing else existed.

Scott stepped off the porch, making his way down the pathway to where you were. The rain immediately hit his skin, the lightning shining in his blue eyes. For the first time, you took your eyes away from the storm. You looked at him, immediately feeling his presence behind you.

Scott didn’t say anything. He didn’t have to, the way his lips met yours was enough to tell you what he felt. The rain dripped down your face and his, but at that moment, nothing mattered. He kissed you long and passionately, wanting to feel your lips on his forever.

When he pulled away, he rested his forehead against yours. The smell of his colgone filled your nose, mixing beautifully with the smell of the rain.

“Scott…”

Your voice was quiet, barely above a whisper.

“I don’t deserve you, I don’t deserve any of this.”

You were taken aback by his words. He wasn’t one to be soft, or express how much something meant to him, but his admission felt so raw, so personal. You met his eyes with yours.

Both of you were soaked, your clothes and skin dripping with rainwater. His eyes were soft, everything about his usual harsh demeanor was gone. You couldn’t wrap your mind around any words to say, all you could do was wrap your arms around him. He responded by holding you to him.

He loved you. The storms were beautiful, but there was no one like you. He didn’t deserve you.

[coimbrabertone]

Injuries, Job Security, and How MotoGP and Indycar Differ...Or Don't.

In the last two years, two racers I support have been seriously injured. One was Enea Bastianini, rider of the #23 Ducati in MotoGP, and the other was David Malukas, who never actually got to drive the #6 NTT Data Arrow McLaren-Chevrolet Indycar.

So, just to go over what happened to them: Enea Bastianini was injured in the opening sprint race of the 2023 MotoGP season, the Portuguese GP at Portimao. Luca Marini went up his inside into turn five (Torre VIP), lost it, and his bike slid into Enea's bike. Enea broke his collarbone in this crash, wound up missing the opening five races, came back, injured himself again at Catalunya, and missed another three races.

Enea would return for the Indonesian Grand Prix and would then win the Malaysian Grand Prix towards the end of the season. That win, combined with Jorge Martin on the Pramac Ducati failing to beat Francesco Bagnaia for the championship, secured Enea's seat for 2024.

So, while Enea was enjoying a secure offseason, David Malukas was preparing for his switch from Dale Coyne Racing to a frontrunning team in the form of Arrow McLaren...except, he never actually made his debut for the team.

David Malukas was mountain biking in California, riding an easy trail, when, trying to slow himself, pulled the front brake too hard, went up and over the handlebars, and landed on his hands. He would break his left wrist and it was announced he would miss St. Pete and probably Thermal.

St. Pete and probably Thermal soon became St. Pete and definitely Thermal, missing those two races. Callum Ilott would fill in.

Malukas missed Long Beach next, with Theo Pourchaire in the car now.

Then Theo Pourchaire raced Long Beach as well.

Around this time, various rumors started flying about Malukas getting replaced. This only grew as Nathan Brown reported that Malukas had traveled to Panama in order to receive stem cell shots to speed up his recovery, and only then did he get the pins in his wrist removed.

Then, after Barber - the fourth race of the season, Malukas blacked out his twitter page. I was sat in a discord debating what exactly this meant with some other Indycar fans, with news picking up that he had been dropped. With the story pretty much out there, Arrow McLaren made the announcement early in the morning, David Malukas had been released after failing to meet his contractual obligations.

By now, it's been announced that Ilott will do the Indy 500, and then Theo Pourchaire will fill out the rest of the season in the #6. The Malukas at McLaren story ended before it could even begin.

Meanwhile, in MotoGPland, Enea Bastianini continued with the factory Ducati team. However, with Jorge Martin now building up an annoyingly large championship lead and Marc Marquez on the Ducati stealing all the attention, the whole world seems to think it's between the two of them to get the Ducati factory seat for 2025.

For the record, Enea is tied on points with Marquez, just two behind his teammate, and spent this weekend's race - the French Grand Prix at the Le Mans Bugatti Circuit - starting tenth, getting a penalty, recovering to fourth, setting fastest lap, and finishing just 2.2 seconds off the lead.

Enea is an immense talent, he's the rider I chose to support when I decided to become a MotoGP fan ahead of the 2023 season, and it's so rotten to see his career falling apart because of factors outside of his control.

As for Malukas, he's a young, popular kid and has proven so talented on the ovals in a Dale Coyne Racing car. I was so eager to see what he could do with an Arrow McLaren, particularly at tracks like Iowa, Gateway, and Nashville which seemed like they'd suit him. Now, we're not going to get the chance, and it's unclear where he might land if he were to try and return to Indycar.

So, in theory, MotoGP gives more time to injured racers, but no matter what series you're in, motorsports can be a cutthroat business. Bastianini and Malukas certainly aren't the first racers to lose top rides after an injury, and they certainly won't be the last. It's not exactly an industry known for job security.

If I could manifest a happy resolution to both, I'd have Enea Bastianini go to factory Aprilia to join Maverick VInales, while David Malukas could join Meyer Shank Racing (perhaps with Tom Blomqvist returning to IMSA with the same team) to reinforce their oval program the same way Felix Rosenqvist has revitalized that team on the road and street circuits.

For now though, we wait to see what happens to them.

To end on a happier note, Brad Keselowski won the Darlington Goodyear 400 NASCAR race last night running a throwback scheme in honor of the TOM's Castrol Supra. That is an awesome motorsports word randomizer and the fact that it's real is why NASCAR is really cool in 2024.

One day I'll write a blogpost where talking about current NASCAR is actually the point instead of just spending the final paragraph gushing about last weekend's cool race.

[alpineshift]

Could you do prompt 13 that’s somehow connected to the werewolf au where Nico discovers that Jack is courting him? (P.S. Quinn’s reaction to jack courting Nico without telling him was so funny. His exasperation at the situation was so perfect)

yess! LOL I promise I love Quinn I just also happen to love putting him in the most SituationTM ever. here's the werewolf!Jack au!

13. "You want me, don't you?"

Ever since his conversation with Quinn, Nico's world may have shifted a little bit.

Well. Shifted a lot. Like, slide to the left, take it back now y'all, cha-cha real smooth kind of shifted.

The fact that Jack outright lied to him--Nico had been hurt at first, then humiliated, but then he sat with it for a day longer and the feelings almost dissipated instantly.

From what Quinn described and explained, it seems like Jack's harbouring feelings, and he simply can't bring himself to act on it, even if his wolf appears to have no reservations. Nico can relate, considering he's had the biggest crush on Jack for the longest time--and convinced himself that it couldn't possibly work out.

So that brings him to the second major shift in his recent understanding of the world--Jack likes him. Jack likes him back. Jack has been actively courting him in wolf form. Jack likes him back.

(Everybody clap your hands!)

Nico chews on this for another two days before he finally breaks, calling Quinn up for help, internally cringing with mental apologies for the awkwardness that is bound to follow.

He's right. The minute Quinn picks up on FaceTime, the two of them stare at each other through the screen with haunted expressions, both innately aware of what this conversation is going to be about.

"I gotta hand it to you," Quinn finally says. "I kinda expected to get this call sooner."

"I really wish I weren't making it," Nico offers. "I just--I don't want to do the wrong thing. We've already figured out I'm shit at understanding wolf culture. Can you just--help? Give me a run down?"

Quinn is helpful, which Nico is eternally grateful for, even if he also has to sit through a wolf version of the shovel talk. And it's kind of wild how the wolf shows through so easily; Quinn's voice gets raspier, his eyes sharper and brighter as he talks about Jack.

"One more thing," Quinn adds, uncharacteristically solemn. "Don't go through with this if you aren't serious about Jack, Nico. Wolves don't fuck around when it comes to courting. I need you to know that."

"I know," Nico replies with full sincerity. "I would never do that to him."

"Great," Quinn says, suddenly more cheerful. " 'Cause if you mess with my kid brother I'll tear you in half, Hischier. See you in the offseason." And he hangs up in Nico's face.

So the next time it's the full moon, Nico's ready. He's awake when Jack slips into his room in his enormous wolf form, absolutely killing the bed with his extra weight, and goes through the whole routine of licking all over Nico's face and neck before flopping over him. Nico wraps his arms around Jack, rubs sleepily at his ears, and whispers, "Stay with me in the morning, bud."

And obviously Jack does not do that. Nico wakes just as Jack's lifting himself off his chest, back in human form, clearly ready to steal Nico's pants and make a hasty escape. He moves fast, twisting to wrap his arms around Jack's middle, then rolls over and pins them both to the bed with all his body weight, making Jack yelp, then wheeze.

" 'schao, what the fuck, you're squashing me--"

"You want me, don't you?" Nico asks quietly, and feels Jack freeze beneath him. "You want me, but you were going to sneak away like you do every other time, and leave me behind, weren't you?"

"Nico," Jack says, his voice sharp and panicked, and Nico squeezes him tighter, hiding his face in the sensitive spot at the back of Jack's neck. Jack's whole body locks up, fingers digging into the sheets.

"Don't go," Nico whispers, pressing his cheek against the spot, then his forehead, and then his lips. He can feel Jack's shocked exhale, then his hand fumbling down to clutch at Nico's, practically hearing the gears click into place as understanding dawns. Nico threads their fingers together, clinging on. "Stay here. Stay with me. Please don't leave anymore."

[hourcat]

i do think they should wrestle.

“Stop fighting me,” Pierre grits, one hand pressing Charles’ shoulder into the mattress as the other tries to catch his wrists. “You want to be fucked or no, Charlo?”

Charles just grins. “You would not have me if I went so easily, Pierrot, I know you.” The grin transforms into a smirk as he hooks a leg around Pierre’s knees and tugs him down, toppling his balance so that they’re chest-to-chest, breath entirely knocked out of him from the force of Pierre’s weight collapsing right on top of him. They’re touching at every conceivable point, skin-to-skin, Charles’ cock hot like an iron as it presses insistently against Pierre’s groin like it’s taunting him. (Knowing Charles, it probably is.)

“You’re such a fucking brat,” Pierre growls, mouth at the nape of Charles’ neck as he speaks. Charles just whines in response, hips hitching up into Pierre’s and bouncing the two of them from the effort. “Fuck. Charles, you—fuck, how do I get you to fucking stay down—”

“What if I want to fuck you, mon petit,” he interrupts, voice gravelly and low and right in Pierre’s ear. “What if I want to fight you for it.”

The thought is…more than appealing enough to Pierre, even just on the surface. Charles is right, of course—as much as Pierre loves when Charles submits to him without second thought, he loves it more when there’s a chase involved. Like when Pierre has to pin him to the wall to get him to stop trying to undo the buttons on his shirt, or the time he had to tie Charles’ wrists together with an abandoned pair of socks just to keep him from touching himself. They may not have had equal footing on track for a good chunk of their careers, but at least here they can battle it out as equals.

Except, well, Charles has worked out plenty in the offseason, and it’s showing up now as he doesn’t even seem to be straining much to keep Pierre down against him. “You want to fight me for it,” he echoes, a touch of disbelief mingling with the arousal that’s bled into his voice. Charles nods, once, eyes bright and so lust-blown Pierre knows he’ll get lost in them if he doesn’t figure out a way to beat him soon. “What are we going to do, Cha, arm wrestle?”

Charles’ arm hooks around Pierre’s shoulders, fingers carding lazily through his hair with the confidence of a man who knows he will win. “We would have to get out of bed for that,” he muses, then tightens his grip for a moment to tug sharply. Pierre hisses. “Mmmm, Pear, if you really don’t want to—”

“I want to,” Pierre interrupts, the desperation level of his response making his own ears burn. “I—you hold me down, Charles, and I will see how quickly I get free.” It’s a game they played once before, ages ago—Pierre had won convincingly, what with Charles’ body still gangly and pale and scrawny from youth. Pierre, at least, had the benefit of a full-body diet then. He’d built himself bigger than Charles, and it’d worked in his favor in no time at all.

Now, as Charles stares back at his idea with a devilish look in his eyes, Pierre knows the outcome will not be anywhere close to the same. “I go first?” Said almost breathlessly. His cock twitches against Pierre, more than enough to say that he’s remembering that time exactly the same.

Pierre nods once. “You go first,” he echoes, still half-straddled, half-pressed against Charles. “But the only rule is that we both get a turn, bebe—everything else is fair game.” It’s the only way he’s confident he can weasel his way out of Charles’ grasp, really. He can’t pretend that Charles won’t have much more of an advantage than last time. But Pierre has this.

Charles, apparently, can read his mind. “You are such a cheating scoundrel,” he mumbles. But he’s grinning, is the thing—so wide it’s all but blinding as he loosens his hold on Pierre’s hair just to trail his fingers down his spine. “But I love you, even still.” The trace of his fingertips stops just at his hip, where he rubs soothingly.

It’s so easy to fall into his touch like this—Charles has this superpower over him, this impossible ability to draw every thought Pierre has right back to him like he’s the center of the universe. Like he’s the sun. His words of sweetness land the way they always do, on affection-warmed ears—

And then Charles digs those fingers into Pierre’s flesh and flips them with a grunt of effort, Pierre’s eyes wide as he bounces back against the mattress. “You are so easy, Pierrot,” Charles murmurs, a fond look blossomed across his face. “Cheat all you like and I will still win.” He’s straddling Pierre’s waist fully, now: no longer that pale scrawny boy Pierre had bedded all those years ago. He’s been touched by the sun a little more, now, just enough to catch Pierre’s eye. He’s bleeding confidence, oozing it in a way that’s almost unlike him, if Pierre didn’t know Charles out on the racetrack as intimately as he knows him behind closed doors.

“We’ll see about that, ma cherie,” he drawls, watching the blush of understanding spread across his cheeks like wildfire. “I like my chances.”

Charles rolls his hips a little—just enough to garner friction, just enough to make him squirm in the perfect line of sight for Pierre to watch—and then leans forward to catch one of his wrists and pin it over his head. Pierre’s heart is slamming in his chest, blood rushing in his ears as he feels his lover sink more and more of his weight into the mattress. He shifts, once, experimentally. (Charles groans something soft, a pleased little noise just shy of a growl.) “Ready?” the Monegasque asks.

Pierre nods. “Ready.”

[chompinatthebit]

2024 NFL Storylines

Now that rosters have trimmed down to 53, for the most part, it's time to finally look ahead to the NFL season which begins Thursday September 5th. We all know that sports brings about drama that keeps us glued to the tv each and every weekend of the season, this NFL season won't be any different. With that in mind, I will give you my storylines to watch this season.

1. Super Bowl or Bust - These are teams that I feel realistically have pressure to get it done this season:

Baltimore Ravens - They have the reigning MVP, a top 5 defense that returns mostly everyone and added Derrick Henry over the offseason. They made the AFC title game last year but came up small, especially offensively, it's safe to ask can they get it done? Lamar has 2 MVPs and 2 playoff wins, enough said.

Kansas City Chiefs - They are going for a three-peat and with that rarified air, as they would be the first to complete the feat. It doesn't hurt that they have the best QB in the league, they also added Xavier Worthy and Hollywood Brown to a WR core that hasn't even been all that dynamic the past couple of seasons.

San Francisco 49ers - The offseason saga with Trent Williams and Brandon Aiyuk's contract highlights the fact that they have some serious decisions coming up very soon. They have Deebo Samuel and Brock Purdy, who will be looking for new deals next offseason, they also lost in the Super Bowl last season. Could this be a last stand for this group?

Philadelphia Eagles - This team was just in the Super Bowl 2 years ago but took a step back last season. They have locked up their WRs and have taken steps to fix their secondary which was a major problem last season. They replaced both coordinators last season who were held accountable for the slide in performance. Nick Sirianni would technically be the next to go if this season doesn't pan out.

2. Young QBs thrust into the spotlight - Looking around the league, we are seeing that a good number of teams are pinning the direction of their season on the success or failure of unproven QBs.

Caleb Williams (Bears), Jayden Daniels (Commanders) and Bo Nix (Broncos) will be starting from week 1. JJ McCarthy seemingly was on pace to possibly be the starter with the Vikings, before he went down with a season ending knee injury. Drake Maye could very well take over the starting job at some point this season from Jacoby Brissett for the Patriots.

We also have guys in CJ Stroud (Texans), Bryce Young (Panthers), Jordan Love (Packers), Will Levis (Titans), Anthony Richardson (Colts) who are entering the season with varying experience from this past season but are still developing in their second season as starters.

We are looking at 1/3 of the league with young guys at the most important position on the field, how many of them could take their team to the playoffs this season?

3. Who makes the quick turnaround - In 19 of the last 21 years at least one team has gone from finishing last in the division the season before to division champs the following season. With that in mind, who is most likely to pull off the feat this year.

Cincinnati Bengals (AFC North) went 9-8 last year in a season where Burrow missed time and dealt with an injured wrist, if Burrow stays healthy this season they could absolutely pull it off.

Tennessee Titans (AFC South) went 6-11 last season but have done a great job in improving the roster this offseason, if Will Levis continues to improve then they could be the team that challenges the Texans this year for the AFC South crown.

Chicago Bears (NFC North) were a 7-10 team last season after a good finish to the season, they seemingly have their guy in Caleb Williams to run what they believe will be an improved offense. The defense has some pieces as well but not completely sold on coach Eberflus.

The other teams that finished last in their divisions were the New England Patriots (AFC East), LA Chargers (AFC West), Washington Commanders (NFC East), Arizona Cardinals (NFC West) and Carolina Panthers (NFC South).

With every season there are so many storylines that will play out so these are just 3 for you to monitor over the course of the 2024-2025 season. We are just days away from the season starting so strap in and get to the edge of your seat, the fun is about to start.

Make sure to give me a follow and check out my other content on my blog page. You can also follow me over @passionandprecision as well with my friend/co-host @jorissportsstories who you can also follow for her great content as well.

I appreciate you for taking the time to check out my article, until next time...

[bitchinbarzal]

offseason swayman family trip vibes

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/817051557413325076/

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/750130881711845308/

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/419749627782227756/

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/624030092142964259/

-linkedin anon

Yes yes yes!

They have a cabin they buy in Alaska for the off season so the girls get a chance to experience what their dad did

[dearestclement1ne]

they’d have cute game day routines when they’re in other cities :( always going out to a cute cafe for breakfast and sightseeing when they can. stewie gets her a pin in every city for her to add to her rookie backpack

rooks backpack being decked out by the end of the season ☹️☹️☹️ when they go on vacation over the offseason stewie always gets her pins from the places they go too

[cellarrentalsvhs]

Hey all, Rev here, hesitantly re-entering the found footage community. But you probably don't know me, so I'll explain a bit.

An Unfortunately Necessary Disclaimer

I am affiliated with nothing. This is a fan account. I have projects I wanna make, I might share stuff about em, I'll make that explicitly clear. A friend of mine got hit with several copyright strikes from Studio71 for having the nerve to make a fan film based on the concept of V/H/S. (I made a cameo in the retooled sequel.) So I reiterate, anything I post is owned by the respective creators, NOT ME.

History

For those who don't know (probably all of you) Cellar Rentals VHS began as @/vhscultist on Instagram in September 2022 to keep up with news about the then upcoming V/H/S/99. I fell deep into a found footage phase after watching 94 (Raatma my beloved 🖤) and just wanted a place to compile news. Then people attached to the series started following me, so I started covering news & anniversaries related to the series, until I got bored in the... offseason? Between 99 & 85, I went for a more general found footage theme. Then I got bored and inactive, and decided I didn't wanna keep up with news. I deactivated without warning. But I think I still wanna be around, and Tumblr permits you to be a lot more... passive with posting.

Contents of This Blog

If you've read my bio, I'm dedicating this page to what I've elected to call ephemeral horror. Found footage, analog horror, digital horror, horror films on old VHS tapes, technothrillers, basically I know it when I see it. If you like fuzzy footage of freaky guys, you're at home here.

As far as offering warnings, I'll do my best. I'm sorry, I'm forgetful. Things like body horror will get tagged as such without a tw, as there are not only people who want to avoid it, but there are also people seeking it out, while things like blood will get a tw, as it should be expected if you're following me, but plenty of people don't wanna see that.

Ok, But Who Are You Exactly?

Valid question. My name's Reverend Ray, I really like movies (especially genre film), I wanna make some someday. Right now I'm kinda just floating through life unfortunately. I'm an avid physical media collector and, when I feel it's necessary, digital archivist. If you wanna see any of my takes on movies or other random garbage you can find my Linktree in the pinned post of my main Tumblr (linked at the top of this post.)

Some of my favorite films that meet the criteria for this blog are V/H/S/94, The Blair Witch Project, 8MM, Videodrome, Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum, Ring, & Deadstream. Some horror webseries I like include The Monument Mythos (one of my all time hyperfixations tbh), Daisy Brown, Lacey's Games, Winter of 83, Midwest Angelica, They Lie Above, & RHKQ. Obviously, those are nowhere near comprehensive. If you'd like to know more about me or my taste, or recommend me something, or tell me I should die or whatever, my askbox is open!

DNI?

Honestly, if I don't want you here I'll probably just block you. Idc anymore. I would *discourage* minors from interacting or following, but I'm not gonna enforce it.

TERFs, right wingers, racists, incels, other assorted bigots & dickheads, y'all just fuck off. Block me before I block you.

The rest of you, enjoy your stay!

[reavenedges-lies]

So as of now (3:03pm PDT on July 12th,2022) this spreadsheet is UTD as far as I know.

[brockachu]

an update (not hockey related; cw for negative ideation, probably)

i'm officially debt free for the first time in my adult life. no more student loan, credit cards all paid off, no more car loan, medical debt paid off, housing stable, phone paid off, etc etc. i want to feel relieved. i want to feel grateful. i Am grateful. but i've never learned how to let myself enjoy a big thing without a lot of complicated feelings. in a sick way, i feel like i'm mourning more than i'm celebrating. i had to sell my house to get here. i turn 31 in a couple months and i still have no idea what 'career' i'm even aiming at. giving up my house & re-setting my 'career path' is a whole nother process of letting go of who i was clinging to being. a whole new cycle of figuring out who i want to be, what i want to do, knowing that things turn out ok but don't necessarily get easier.

i'm ok and surviving in a deeply broken and cruel society and i'm so mad that i can't Feel ok enough to make something better in a world that has been much kinder to me than it has been to so many others, people i've known and people i'll never know. it feels shitty to not be happy when i am doing so much better than maybe i 'deserve'. (i don't want to go into the fucked up concept of 'deserving' right now, but i could and maybe should eventually.) it feels shitty to be ok when so many people aren't. it's shitty and useless to everyone that i'm even thinking about this. i'm figuring out how to just accept, how not to make everything something i have to dissect, how to stop policing my own feelings and not even worry about them that much. i'm so fucking self-centered and i don't know what to do about it and it's still coming down to 'i feel' 'i am' 'i want' 'i ...' etc etc etc

Anyway, tomorrow i'm taking a day trip up to one of my fav art museums & parks a couple hours away and i'm gonna try to get tf over myself. and i hope y'all find something kind and fulfilling and beautiful that makes this world softer for you. i hope y'all forgive yourselves. i hope y'all are kind to yourselves. i hope i get there too.

[coffee-at-annies]

Call me Anne (she/her) and this is my sports sideblog. ~*~sports gay intensifies~*~

Current interests are Penguins hockey, Pirates baseball (off-season), with Ted Lasso, and OMG Check Please when they cross my dash.

Url is an old omgcp reference. Blog title is a joke, yes I know omgcp is finished, it’s not returning from war, that’s the point.

I try to tag. Most sports stuff is tagged. If you wanna blacklist, my hockey tag is currently #penguins hockey, my offseason hockey tag is #off season more like nap season, and my current baseball tag is #anne watches baseball.

During the season I liveblog games, the tags are #anne watches hockey, #pens lb. Games I make it to in person are #anne attends a game. Sometimes I chat with ppl in reblogs and those posts can get long. Sometimes I just wanna muse about random thoughts. Both categories of talking are all tagged #chit chat.

Feel free to talk to me about other stuff. My current ask game, #ask me stuff is music asks, forever ask game is send me an ask I’ll answer with a photo of my cats

Let’s Go Pens!🐧🏒

Let’s Go Bucs!🏴‍☠️⚾️

[huggybug]

drunk people do dumb things - brock boeser

inspired by ‘drunk people’ by chris lane | (brock’s texts are bolded)

word count: 1.4k

series masterlist

“Y/n don’t do it” Your friends warned you but you ignored them as you unlocked your phone. 

“I’m just going to congratulate him on his game” if it wasn’t for the alcohol flowing throw you, you wouldn’t even think about texting Brock. The breakup was about four months ago, he claimed that things were getting to complicated and he needed to focus on improving during the offseason. You were upset but you understood, it was always hockey first and it always would be with him. The two of you had broken up just before the playoffs and you had talked twice since. Once when you graduated from university and again when his team was knocked out of the running for the cup. The Canucks just beat the Sens 5-2 and Brock contributed two of those goals so you argued that he deserves some congratulations.

“Can we get it in writing that you’re going against us to do this because I don't need you bitching at us tomorrow” You glare at your friend before taking a shot and opening your phone. 

Hey Boes, great game! Hope you’re celebrating tonight

You send the text and set your phone down, not expecting a fast reply. You direct your attention back to your friends who ordered a new round of drinks. When you’re on you way to the next bar, you open your phone to see a reply from Brock

Good to know you’re still watching.

As a Vancouverite, you grew up loving the Canucks and that hadn’t changed since your breakup. When you were dating, you became friends with the team but especially Quinn and Elias. You had stopped talking to the team since they were Brock’s friends but Quinn and Elias wouldn’t let you go that easily so you still would text them frequently, providing any major updates in your life as they did for you as well. 

You left Brock’s text unanswered as you downed drink after drink, trying to find something but you weren't sure what. After another hour of drinking and talking to different guys, you were bored and you found yourself opening your texts to figure out if you could go see any of the guys you talked to. It seemed as though Brock’s name was screaming at you from the top of your messages and before you knew it, you were opening the conversation thread and typing out a message to him. 

Hey, you up?

Yeah, what’s up?

It’s been a while… I miss you

I miss you too ;)

What’re you doing right now? Can I come meet you?

Brock dropped a pin

Be there in 10.

You texted your friends quickly to tell them you were leaving, leaving out every other detail before you stepped into the cool fall air outside. You got to the club faster than expected but you didn't let yourself think about what you were doing before you were inside, looking for the table. You saw them almost immediately. Brock was facing away from you but you could tell it was him and Bo, Quinn, Nils, and Elias. When you got closer, Elias jumped up and hugged you who was followed by Quinn. 

“What are you doing here?” Quinn asked when he backed away. He and Elias formed a wall between you and Brock which they probably were proud of themselves for protecting you but Brock just moved around them and came to hug you. 

“Hey baby” Brock whispered in your ear and you smiled. You knew it was a bad idea to meet up with him tonight and that you would probably regret it in the morning but you didn't care, you were happy right now and that's all that mattered. 

“We’re going to go catch up, see you guys tomorrow” Brock announced to the table and you said goodbye, ignoring the confused looks from Quinn and Elias. They were hurt because you hadn't told them you were talking to Brock again but that again, was a problem to deal with tomorrow. 

You walked out with Brock and let him take you to his apartment. Tonight, you were happy and even as Brock guided you to his bedroom, you couldn’t think of a reason to leave.

...

Sunday morning. The universal time of recovery and reflection of the mistakes that were made on Saturday night. You woke up with Brock’s arm holding your naked body and you slipped out of his bed as quickly and stealthily as possible. Before leaving, you left a note because you weren’t a complete asshole, Had to go, thanks for last night. It was weird to thank someone for sex but what else were you supposed to say?

You were sitting on your couch, wrapped in a blanket and drinking a Pedialyte in attempt to cure the hangover. You now felt the consequences of your actions and you wondered how someone who graduated from UBC summa cum laude got herself into the world’s dumbest situation, obviously it isn’t the case at 1 am. 

Your phone had been going off all morning, your friends had tracked you last night when you left and they knew you went to Brock’s apartment so the group chat was going crazy. Quinn and Elias had both texted you separately multiple times as well as in the group chat between you three. You were the most shocked to see a text from Brock come through.

Can I call you?

You wanted to ignore him but it felt unfair. You seeked him out last night and it wasn’t right to just use him for one night. You answered with a quick ‘yes’ and almost immediately after your phone rang. You were confused because you knew morning skate was right now and you weren’t expecting a response until that was over but you answered anyway. 

“Hello?” You could tell by the background noise that he was at the rink which made your confusion grow even more.

“Y/n, I can't do this” Brock sounded hurt and it killed you but you were unsure with what was wrong. He seemed fine last night and he was the one who broke up with you so there was no reason for him to be upset right now. 

“Do what? Wait no, shouldn’t you be at practice?” 

“I’m taking a break. Look, I was standing in the shower and I couldn't stop thinking about you. I can’t believe I fucking slipped up and met you last night” He was angry but you were angrier. Is he going to blame you for this? Sure, you were the one to text him first but he didn't have to answer or give you his location. 

“What are you insinuating Brock? If it’s what I think it is I might come over there and kill you” You grumbled out. Your head hurt, you had already gotten sick more times than you could count and now Brock was being a dick.

“I just... I spent all summer trying to get over you and then I finally felt stable. I was able to think about something other than you but now I just want you to come back” You softened a bit but you were still agitated.

“Well sorry that I made the breakup you initiated hard for you. Don’t worry, I won't try to talk to you again” Now you knew he wouldn’t let you do that. You two were friends, maybe you didn't talk much but you cared about him and you knew he did too. Quinn had told you multiple times that Brock asked about you because he knew that you talked still. 

“No that's not what I want” Brock seemed stressed but you weren’t in the mood to baby him and follow his instructions on how he wanted your relationship to be. 

“Look Brock, its okay, drunk people do dumb things. I shouldn’t have texted you last night and you shouldn’t have taken me back to your place. Don’t let it get you down, we’re good. We didn't think about it until it was too late but we can’t take it back now. Get back to practice, it’s more important” It hurt that hockey was important, more important than you. That last part was never spoken out loud but you both knew it. It hung between you, making the silence on both ends deafening. 

You didn’t wait for him to say goodbye before hanging up. You stared at your phone for a minute before throwing it down on the couch beside you. It was true, drunk people do dumb things and you were officially a victim of that statement.

[imaginyimagines]

Hello

A/N: Rina prepares for the first meeting of Tom Brady as a member of the opposing team and her Patriots. Week 4 of the 2021 season. Fluff. 

Rina wrung her hands nervously as she waited in the portico area of the Gillette Stadium complex. It was certainly not the first time she was waiting for her friend Tom after he had left the Patriots. They'd spent several days in the offseason as families, their children playing and laughing together in the Florida sunshine. She'd been there for him during the playoffs and Super Bowl LV as a guest. That had been different, as she was not on the sidelines like she could be with the Patriots. Bruce Arians was cordial to her but was not trusting enough to allow her near his coaching staff or players during games. It was only fair; she was viewed as a potential Patriots spy. There had been plenty of media speculation that this had been a Belichick ploy to send in a Trojan horse.

It was indeed a different atmosphere than last week when she had been waiting for Jules, who was honored during last week's game. She felt a wave of unsureness as she turned to her phone again. It was a text message from her husband Josh, checking in with the kids as they were about to depart their Boston apartment to head towards the stadium. Even as AJ and Thomas grew older, it was hard for them to still be at the stadium many hours ahead of game time. A smile broke her lips as she saw them dressed in their little Patriots jerseys and jeans, Josh rebelliously wearing a Detroit Lions t-shirt as well. "See you soon, my loves, careful of the traffic, babe," was what she typed in response. Down the hall, she could see Steve Belichick's way towards her.

"Rina, my dad wants to see you," the youngest Belichick relayed his father's message. Rina nodded, following the younger Belichick back down the hall towards the team locker room area. As a woman, she preferred not to go into men's locker rooms unless necessary. So she waited across the hallway and down a few paces while the younger Belichick went in, and a few seconds later, the elder Belichick came out.

"Are you ready for this?" Bill asked abruptly; Coach didn't waste time, especially on game days. He'd be relying on her eagle eyes if she spotted something on the field, just in case one of the other coaches and assistants missed the tiniest opening. He also knew how she felt about Tom, and working against one of your best friends was never easy, especially for someone who wore her emotions as Rina could.

"Yes. I know my job here, Coach." Rina responded with her chin held aloft, the infamous McMahon dimple and gumption showing.

"I know you do. I'm asking if you can handle the other side," His blue-grey eyes pinned her to the wall as she felt the anxiety well up again. Looking down for a moment, she looked back up with a half-smile.

"It's not going to be fun, and I'm as prepared for whatever feelings may come up as best as I can be." Coach Belichick nodded.

"You going to go see him?"

"Of course,"

"Then I'll see you after that," With that, Belichick went back into the locker room, and Rina jogged back down to wait. When she arrived, she saw that she had to wait no longer, as Tom Brady was chatting happily with Robert Kraft. As Mr. Kraft moved past Brady at last, she walked over with a smile.

"Lookie here what the cat dragged in; gosh, they'll just let anyone in this place these days," She quipped to catch Tom's attention. He looked over his shoulder, they made eye contact, and a piece in Rina's heart clicked back into place.

"Hey now," Tom said as he reached out for Rina and pulled her close. As she settled into his embrace, memories of many years in this same building ran through her head. They didn't need to talk; they spoke regularly on the phone and by text. The symbolism wasn't lost on others, who let them have their moment unhurried and unbothered. Perhaps they could've made their relationship work so many years ago in another life. Nearly twenty years had passed since the two had dated, and Rina still felt the faintest butterflies in her stomach when he looked at her. She settled into the embrace and knew it was all just hopes and dreams. Those weren't ones to come true, not in a million years. Sometimes they were nice to reminisce and re-visit, to feel that way again for a moment. Now, as she looked up at his bright smile and blue eyes, she was even more thankful for how things turned out.

[lamarcodon]

I think one of the hottest looks out there is offseason/bulking bodybuilders. The ones who get up to 300 pounds of rounded beef are just so hot.

mmfff or, going hand-in-hand with that-- A) starting out/amateur weightlifter guys who are finally starting to make some progress and get some bigger muscles, and then they start bulking up BIG time and the muscles pile on faster but also ooooo the belly is... increasing... the waistline is thickening... fffuuuuck yes. Too many guys with great big chests but itty bitty waists X) If y'all wouldn't worry so much about your abs, you would look like twice as big honestly. The core/waist adds a lot of perceived size, or presence. Also hey, extra weight to pin your lovers down with mmmmff B) Exjocks, athletes who have stopped for whatever reason... manual labor career guys who start to plump up. hnnfff. Growing dadbods over previously sexy muscular bodies... especially if they still keep a lot of the muscle and never really get too "fat" but also never quite slim back down to their earlier weight either.