#the boys were amazing

[artificalem]

Yup best concert of my life.. I miss fob land already (also BOB DYLAN)

[inbabylontheywept]

i did wrestling in middle school. on one hand, i was actually quite good at it, which was nice. being good at any sport was a new achievement for me. on the other hand, i was bi, and i was trying very hard not to notice that i was bi, and getting folded into knots by very kind, very muscular dorks made that task somewhat difficult.

adding fire to the problem was that my parents and my grandparents wanted to watch my matches, because they were very proud that their Gangly Nerd Son was actually Sporting, and they wanted to cheer me on. which would've been sweet and all, but if there are four people you do not want there during a key part of your Burgeoning Sexual Awakening, it is your mom and your dad and your grandma and your grandpa.

right? i mean, imagine some guy's got your head in his armpit, and you're going you know, old sweat smells bad, but fresh sweat has a sort of and then you make eye contact with your grandpa in the stands and you remember you're swearing spandex so if you pop a boner people aren't just going to be able to see the outline, they're going to be able to count the veins, and the only way you will be able to restore your family's honor after that would be by moving to siberia and renouncing joy, forever. that, or lift your entire body up by your kneck then twist 180 degrees without paralyzing yourself.

it’s a lot of pressure, is what i’m saying.

still it did motivate me to win my matches really fast. because i was so tall and skinny, i was stupidly good at the double leg takedown, and then once someone was knocked down, i'd just do the half nelson and kind of flip em over for the pin. then the ref would count to three and i’d win. EZPZ.

i had one match where that went great. won in the first ten seconds, sat back down, and prepared myself for a good hour or two of doing fuck all. didn't even feel bad the parents/grandparents were gonna be bored. the matches went up from me in 5 pound increments (i was in the 115 lbs division) and it was going great until we got to the 145 lbs division. the other school's wrestler stepped onto the mat, and she turned out to be a girl so our guy flipped, because for straight guys, wrestling a girl is not a pleasant experience.

i'm not entirely unsympathetic. my experience wrestling dudes was definitely a little traumatic. but also, i dealt. guy could've dealt too. instead, he refused to wrestle, and the coach went - fine. not even worth fighting over.

so he went to the 140 pounder, and that guy said, nosir, my mom said mormons can't wrestle girls. next guy down, 135 pounder, now he knew he could pull the same card and thus did. 130 pounder, 125, both tapped out. he got to the 120 guy, and that guy was catholic, but he said he was considering being mormon, and thus would have to pass. as a precaution.

coach blew up a little at that. he said "is there anyone - anyone - on this entire goddamn team that is willing to wrestle a girl?" and then he pointed at me and said "YOU. MAT. GO."

and i'll be real, if i'd been paying more attention, i'd have pulled the mormon card too, but i'd just been putting all that audio into a buffer file because i was reading, so i was halfway across the mat before i even processed what had been said and by then it was too late to turn back.

still i had a plan. and my plan - my beautiful, perfect plan - was to do what i'd always done. tackle, flip, pin, win. sit down. read. bore my family to death. move on.

i got the first part right. she was bigger than me, but she wasn't taller. just an incredibly stout woman. god built me like a snake with glasses, just as he built her like a combat cube. the problem was the half nelson. soon as she was down, i tried hooking my arm under hers from behind and for both genders, the defense for this move is just clamping your arms really fucking tight against your sides. if you're a guy, that's whatever, but if you're a girl - especially if you're god's chosen combat cube - that pins your opponents hand right against your boob.

so, i got the hook in, she clamped, my whole arm pressed against something soft, my coach was yelling THE HALF NELSON. BABYLON! JUST FINISH IT! FINISH THE HALF NELSON! and i was just trying to press hard enough to finish, when then my brain went

...oh.

and i flipped out. of course i flipped out. i like girls, and touching a boob is an elemental experience, and i was not ready. i was not prepared. i had not committed the sacred rites. i recoiled like i'd just brushed my arm against the surface of the sun, stood up, and backed away. nobody in the room knew why i'd given up. all they saw was me, right about to win, suddenly flailing around and scrambling. so everyone started screaming at me to just get the half nelson again, and i couldn't really yell back there's a fuckin' boob in the way and it was very distressing, and the only way i could think of to make them stop was just doing it over again the right way.

so i did.

i hunkered down and prepared myself for Wrasslin' Attempt #2: The Sequel.

i knocked her down again, EZPZ. i went for the half nelson again, but she knew what i was about to do so she super clamped, and i knew she was gonna super clamp, so i wound my arm back like a pop-eye cartoon punch before swinging my arm through the gap between her bicep and her side, but the amount of time i spent winding back super signalled what i was about to to do, which gave her time to clamp even harder, which somehow redirected the entire force of the popeye punch to the bottom of her bra.

it spat out a single boob the same way an action hero might spit out one single tooth after getting a solid crack across the jaw. as if to say:

*ptooie.* "that all you got?"

i did not actually see this. my experience was that first there was an arm, then there was a bit of boob, but i was braced, i was ready, forward at all costs, tatakae motherfuckers, and then the boob went away, and i didn't know where it went but my team, and the audience, and everyone who was in front of me, they all gasped like i just kicked them in the stomach. except for my coach. he was behind me, and thus one of the four people in the room who did not see the boob. now my mom, my dad, my grandma, and my grandpa, they all got flashed but nooooooo, coach thunderbutt was behind me, and he didn't see shit so he was still yelling NOOOOOO BABYLON WHAT ARE YOU DOING JUST FINISH THE NELSON! GO FOR THE KILL! BABYLON! BABYLON!

but i did not go for the kill. i stood up and she stuffed her boob back real fast, and we just kind of circled each other awkwardly until time ran out and i won on points. that's not technically allowed, but the ref had some mercy on me.

my coach did not.

i barely had time to sit down before he strode over to the bench to chew me out.

"babylon," he said, in that very calm way people get when they're too pissed to yell. "why didn't you pin?"

and i didn't know how to say well coach, i tried, but there was a boob, and it kept getting in the way, and my mom was watching, and so was my dad, and so was his dad, and his mom, and god (like bible god) and that's a can of worms because i'm pretty sure he was already mad at me, and i'm wearing spandex, and i think i might have to move to siberia, so instead i said

"i uh. i forgot how to do the half nelson."

which is actually impossible. forgetting how to do the half nelson is like forgetting how to swallow your spit.

and he looked at me, like i was the dumbest person in the entire world, and i looked through him like i'd just survived my 250th day in a trench at verdun, and he said: fine.

fine.

but we're all going to practice it for an hour tomorrow because you forgot.

and then he left.

and my buddies had the gall to be salty about it. i got so many comments saying "dude, why didn't you just tell him the truth?" and i said "you can if you care so damn much. you could've wrestled the girl too. maybe someone else should do the hard thing today."

but they didn't. so the next day, we did an hour of half nelson drills, and i spent a decent amount of time getting thrown around the mat, and it was pleasant in exactly the way that i hated and the year after that, to the surprise of everyone but myself, i quit wrestling and joined the trivia team.

and if you want more reasons to love my mom, my grandpa joked after the match that i might have to talk to my bishop about it, and my mom told him he would be allowed to make jokes after he stood in front of a crowd of 110 people in spandex underpants while wrestling a woman that was not his wife.

he paused for almost five seconds after that. then he said: aw. hell. sorry babylon.

and i'd have preferred my apology from god, but getting it from him was pretty good too.

[demigods-posts]

percy doing better than annabeth in college is one my favorite developments in the rrverse. if we reflect on percy and annabeth's academic upbringing. annabeth living at camp allowed her to receive accommodations for her adhd and dyslexia and surround herself with like-minded campers who had the same limitations. whereas percy was ridiculed, belittled, and routinely humiliated because of his adhd and dyslexia. even more so, percy's friends and family leave him out of the loop on so many important issue (no chb orientation film, no information about the great prophecy) which perpetuates his subpar confidence and self-esteem in his skills as a student and a demigod. but going to college at NRU changes his mindset because he receives the accommodations he should have gotten years ago and fucking thrives to the point of getting higher grades than annabeth — a person he deems way smarter and more prepared than him in every way. the most important thing percy is learning now is that a supportive environment makes all the difference, and he is more capable than he initially thought.

[vasattope]

Still can't believe last night was real 🥹🔥

[felis-rach]

My take on post-timeskip Nami and Robin!

I added the robe-like thing to Nami to resemble the Weatheria outfits, and I wanted to keep Robin a goth 👉👈 (and keep her "sexy Indiana Jones" look w the hat)

[surreal-duck]

some business to take care of

[crabussy]

was planning on going out to dinner with friends but they couldn't come so I decided I might as well go alone. the ramen place I was going to was REALLY crowded and there was a HUGE line outside. it got to closing time and me and this other guy were literally the only people left waiting. a staff member comes outside and goes "so sorry but we only have one table free! are you okay to share?" and I, hungry and desperate, say "yeah sure!" and this other guy agrees as well.

anyway an hour later we were the last people left in the restaurant because we spent 80% of the time talking. this guy was like me from another universe??? he's an environmental science student at my uni too. he loves hiking. he's autistic. he called me sir like 6 times without me even mentioning I'm a trans guy. he's fun and silly and kind and super passionate about literally everything I'm passionate about. my ramen went cold because I was so invested in talking to him. we exchanged numbers at the end and have plans to meet up again. happiest accident ever holy shit

[heilos]

Don't mind me I'm just emotionally devastated by a black and red cartoon hedgehog and the loss of his human sister that he cared so so sooo much about in an insanely tragic event. I'm okay, i'm soooo normal and okay about episode 3 of Dark Beginnings at 3 AM yup yup super chill and so totally good and functional. :)

[demaparbat-hp]

Zuko looked up and locked eyes with his cousin, who was struck speechless. Then, ever so slowly, Lu Ten's lips twitched upwards. And then he smiled. And then he beamed. And then he nodded proudly once, just once, and vanished.

Lu Ten comes back in For the Spirits Chapter VII: Take Me South, only to leave Zuko with more questions than answers. Just how much is he truly aware of? When will he return? What is Zuko going to do now?

(What will the South bring?)

[respectthepetty]

I have several wild theories and random thoughts about Jack & Joker, and episode two gave me a lot of answers, like Joke’s chest tattoos are “Loyalty” and “Hate Love” (in black and red!)

But what I care most about is the colors! Joke wore red several times this episode starting with the prison uniform he wore at the beginning of the episode.

And when he opened his locker, all the items in it had red on them.

When he left the prison, he was, of course, all in red.

Because even when his face is hidden, the red gives Joke away.

It’s his color. When he performed the first con in episode one, his braces had red rubber bands.

When he performed the bank robbery, he wore a red tie.

And when he left his frowning face signature at the store, it was in red.

So in episode two, when he went to scam money from the loan sharks, he wore a red shirt (with the gold chain).

And in the end, he had a red rose around his neck, so we could know it was him without seeing his face.

So now that Jack has embodied his Jack the Reaper role, he starts wearing black.

Which could indicate his loss of hope and his acceptance of his doomed life.

But once he runs into Joke again,

And again,

And again,

Something changes in him due to his past popping up again.

Notice the red in the background?

As much as Jack is resistant to Joke’s reappearance, Joke has already schemed his way back into Jack’s . . . heart? Head? Life?

The light source appears to be coming from an altar, which if true, would be a nice nod to hope and repentance, two things Joke offers.

Jack watches over Save, who works at a restaurant with a red uniform, so I’m excited to see if Save’s personality is similar to Joke’s and perhaps this is why Jack worries about him.

And much like Jack, Joke has a bleeding heart (notice where he was cut) and wants to help others.

Including getting his gold chain back that was taken from him and a wedding ring back that means a lot to Jack considering it has his name all over it, and by “his name,” I mean Joke's since the ring is nestled in a case with a completely red interior.

But unlike the ring, which I’m confident Jack will put on Joke’s hand before this series ends, I’m not sure about the blues in this show.

In the first episode, both men wore blue, used a blue handkerchief to tend to their wounds, and now as Joke walked out of the prison, he wore blue sandals.

And perhaps my eyes are deceiving me, but even the whites look blue-ish.

And the darks look blue-ish.

And I think this is because the blue will connect these two.

Since it serves a reminder of who they once were and a happier time before everything went south for both of them.

But, once again, I’m not sure. Just like I’m not sure if my Tattoo x Aran ship is completely in my head even though I found it interesting that Tattoo knew Aran was the boss's son and what he would be doing without a second thought (as if he knows Aran from another time period).

However, it could just be that I like Tattoo and want him to have a rich boyfriend since he wore a Bob Ross shirt and got smacked with a hot pan while wearing a “City at Peace” shirt by a man named Hope (who I think will be a good guy).

SAIL SHIP SAIL!

[fyllophobia]

think fast! surprise trust fall

[moonchild-in-blue]

The Group Photo feat. Sam and Adam 🥹💙

All of my fav boys in one place 🥹

[khaopybara]

❝A place is what you can own, but a space is where you feel comfortable to be in.❞

HAPPY 2ND ANNIVERSARY, THE ECLIPSE!

[inklore]

i feel like some people forget pen has been pining after colin for three seasons. twenty episodes of home girl being love sick over this man, colin just needed to catch up. to realize him looking for pen in every ballroom, only feeling comfortably seen by his best friend, is something more. that’s why there is no slow burn. those twenty episodes have been the slow burn!

[vynnyal]

Of all games why this one

[augustheart]

it’s so small and stupid but this leverage bit kills me every single time