#they’re rivals. they’re teammates. they’re gay

[ovrarches]

fanart for @duelamort’s f1 au because i am Obsessed!!

[beyondthegame]

DEMO (coming soon...)

The referee brings the whistle to their lips, ready to kick off the game…

There’s no easy road to becoming an athlete. You of all people will know that. Now you’ve finally got your chance. From playing football in a muddy park during a rainy afternoon to signing the professional contract you’ve been dreaming of — the road to stardom is here. You can imagine it all now: being an athlete that jets across the world, having fans that wear your name on the back of their shirts; gaining sponsors and money, and… fame.

You’ve put pen to paper in London and now the ink has dried. It's official. You are an Inter City FC player. You’re starting your career as a professional footballer with a club that has objectives of their own. Winning the league. To the new club you’ve signed for, you’re the missing puzzle piece to their success. 

But, the beautiful game is more than just a mere ball at your feet. It’s more than just your manager and teammates. It’s the media, the opposition, the rivals and everything in between.

There isn’t anything you want more than this. To make a name for yourself on and off the pitch. To press your lips to the shiny trophies you’ve worked so hard for. To hear fans chanting your name in the crowd. To have a club that feels like a family.

Nothing can get in the way, that’s been your motto since you first started playing. Surely the beautiful game won’t ruin you when you’ve given so much to it. 

You just wonder whether it’ll be worthwhile.

Let the match commence…

This is an 18+ game due to explicit language, sexual themes, mention of sexual themes, mental health issues and more.

Customise and play as a male, female or non-binary; straight, gay, lesbian, bisexual, pansexual, graysexual, demisexual, asexual, footballer w/ the choice of your own pronouns.

Choose your footballer’s position: goalkeeper, defender, midfielder, or striker.

Pick your footballer’s public persona. Will the media adore you? Or will you keep them on their toes? Will they love or loathe you?

Did you make it due to hard-work or sheer talent?

Manager your social media presence.

Decide your footballer’s playing style and strengths: a player with flair? Or a no nonsense baller with physicality?

Play as a person of colour (this choice can have an effect on the story). Your gender can also have an effect in game. 

Travel the world with your football club that will become a family.

Romance any of the five romantic options; four of which are gender-selectable; male, female and non-binary. The ROs are: the rival, the teammate, the best friend, the idol and the heir — these romances will get the rumours starting…

Develop meaningful friendships, relationship… or even hook-ups.

Take the sporting world by storm. Do you play football for the fame? Or for your love of the game?

THE RIVAL

It didn’t start off as a rivalry. But you and Nikita/Navarro/Nevada Tallon weren’t the best of friends either. The two of you started at the same football academy, and whilst you were signed for an extra year, they were rejected. That was their first loss. For a while, they lost their dream. Forever: they lost you. Now it’s different. They’re all grown up and they’ve found a football team to call their own — A.C. United — the football team that happens to be the rival to yours. Football is full of history, it’s full of emotion too — and you and N have plenty of that to give, both on and off the pitch. Their one goal is to win. The two of you are, once again, fighting for the same crown. To be the best footballer in the city. Maybe even the world.

Maybe things will be different this time around between you two. The stone-cold glares and the snide remarks could dissolve into something else. Into something real and something beyond hatred.

THE TEAMMATE

You’re the newcomer. You’re waltzing into a team that’s somewhat established already, so having a teammate like Léa/Lando/Lakelyn Santos (their gender matches your mc's) to ease you in is always welcome. They’re the captain of Inter City and they’re a bit of a media darling. Graceful on the pitch, and even more graceful to the press. They’re confident, assured, calm and collected. But, beneath all that lies something else. It’s been a while since someone’s seen the real them. They were burned in the past, all because of a well documented break-up that took a lot out of them. Since then, L has been sworn off of falling for another athlete again, and they're keeping everyone at an arm's length. Beyond football, it’s not easy to get close to them.

But if you did, what a powerful couple that would grace the footballing world.

THE BEST FRIEND 

You know how hard it is to be an athlete. Milan St. Clair knows it too. Since becoming best friends in your twenties, you know you’ve both had the same goal. Whilst they are trying to conquer the tennis world and you’re making it in football, they’re the one constant that remains. The one who is familiar and comforting. Maybe the two of you could’ve been something more, or maybe your passionate personalities for your sports just got in the way. Milan’s rising through the tennis ranks now, they’re becoming more known. Their game continues to improve more than anyone ever expected. They have Grand Slams in their sights.

But you are right in front of them. You could both cross that line, take that next step and become more than friends…

THE IDOL

Cypress de Vera, known for their precise and thunderous tackles — Cypress is footballing royalty. Their potential was high, their talent was even higher — they’ve set records for the ages. But, their career came to an abrupt end after tragedy. Despite all that, football is still their life, they live and breathe the sport. They are always going to be idolised. You idolise them and so does the press. The media still want to know what the great Cy de Vera is going to do next — and now they’re at Inter City. Back at the club that gave them everything, to steer them to success, only this time it won’t be as a player.

Stern and hard to impress, Cypress de Vera only has a championship title on their mind. But sometimes you need to lose focus, let your guards down and just feel something more than a ball on the tip of your toes.

THE HEIR

Estelle/Evren/Everest Acevedo. They’ve been involved in football all their life, but not in the same way you have. Their father is your new manager. E has riches, fame, and a powerful last name — but take it from them, it’s not all its cracked up to be. They’re in a world that’s entirely their own, they model, sing and now their passion has shifted to wanting to write a bestselling novel. Their life has been a whirlwind, and honestly, if the world came with an off switch they’d hit it immediately. But they like to have their fun: their sharp tongue, constant media presence, and attraction to chaos means they ignore their father’s footballing legacy and will continue to make a name for themselves. E has been branded as trouble and it's a current name they quite like.

There’s more to E than meets the eye, and they’re desperate for someone to see it. Give them a chance, peel back the confident persona. You’ll be pleasantly surprised…

[youcouldmakealife]

SOTM: Bryce/Jared, Elaine; Man of the Hour (Day, Week, Month, Year)

For the prompt: One of the articles Bryce mentions. "…like, a profile thing? How it was growing up gay in hockey, that kind of thing… A chance to establish myself as like, I am now,” Bryce says. “Kind of like — not set the record straight, exactly, but like, show I’ve matured and stuff. "

It’s the definition of a typical Vancouver day, drizzly and overcast, when I meet Bryce Marcus. He likely needs no introduction, but I will introduce him anyway: the star centre for the Vancouver Canucks who went from being the enemy while playing for the arch-rival Calgary Flames to becoming possibly the most beloved man in the city: certainly if you you asked the fans streaming out of Rogers Arena after watching the Canucks win the Cup for the third time, or the hundreds of thousands of lining Burrard to cheer on their Canucks at the Stanley Cup Parade on a beautiful sunny day this June.

The weather is anything but glamourous today, however, and at the Marcus Matheson household, the surroundings aren’t either.

Jared Matheson, husband and teammate of Bryce, apologizes as I step over a box in their hallway. “We’re kind of in the middle of a move right now.”

They’re trading their two-bedroom condo for something ‘a little more permanent’. Both have decided that wherever their NHL careers may take them, Vancouver is going to remain home, and they’ve just closed on a house nearby.

“Bryce is weirdly excited about getting to mow the lawn,” Jared tells me as we wait for Bryce to finish getting ready. In light of the hyper-competitive Vancouver real estate market it’s entirely understandable to be excited about lawncare — it means you have a lawn to care for — but one wouldn’t have expected that to extend even to Vancouver’s sports stars.

When Bryce emerges, five minutes after my arrival, he announces himself by swearing as he trips over a box of his own, and then apologising, both for his language and his tardiness.

“He was doing his hair,” Jared says.

“I was not,” Bryce scowls, but doesn’t offer an alternative explanation.

After a quick tour of their condo, which is currently half in boxes, Bryce and I hop into his Audi S8 — naturally courtesy Capilano Audi, whose ads featuring him are inescapable during Canucks games. We drive to Richmond so he can show me his old haunts: elementary, middle, and high school — though he finished high school in Washington while playing for the Spokane Chiefs — his home rink, the Dairy Queen his mother took him after hockey games. He’s a capable, if slightly aggressive driver. I mention this because from the dire warning I received from Jared on the way out the door I genuinely believed I might not survive the drive.

Bryce finally pulls into the driveway of an unassuming but cheerful house on a quiet suburban street. The morning drizzle has faded, and the weather is now just as bright and warm as his childhood home, and the mother who raised him there. Already waiting for us on the porch, his mother Elaine Marcus offers me a glass of lemonade. “Store bought, I’m afraid,” she says with a smile. “I’m not much of homemaker.”

Over lemonade and cookies — “Also store bought,” Elaine admits, “but this bakery is very good!”, and she’s right about that — she shows me an array of childhood and teenage photos while Bryce complains to his mother that she’s ‘embarrassing’ him.

The photos are more inspiring than embarrassing: photo after photo of a beaming little boy in an equally small Canucks jersey, proudly brandishing a plastic mini-stick (Canucks branded, of course). A true example of someone who grew up to live his childhood dream.

Sadly, as he gets a older the smile disappears, as does the man beaming in the background of so many of those happy photos. His father, Ben Marcus, was killed by an impaired driver at the age of 32. It devastated Elaine and Bryce, who was only four at the time.

“It was hard,” Elaine says. “He didn’t understand. I didn’t understand, when it came down to it. It was a hard time. He wanted to play hockey all the time, it was the only thing he wanted. He was really only happy on the ice.”

“I just wanted him to be happy,” she says, smiling tearfully, and as Bryce wraps a protective arm around his mother's shoulders, I offer to give them a moment.

“It was a long time ago,” Elaine says in dismissal, wiping her eyes. “It’s just hard sometimes. Ben loved hockey, loved watching the Canucks with Bryce — he’d have been so proud to see Bryce lift the Cup for them. I am too, of course, but it was always Ben and Bryce’s thing. He would have been so proud.”

I do give them a moment then, and when I return, my lemonade has been refilled and both are all smiles once again, though Bryce's doesn't last. He cringes as we go through photos of his teen years. There’s a sullen look on his face in every picture.

And what was Bryce like as a teenager?

"I'll let him answer that," Elaine says diplomatically.

“I don’t really know,” Bryce says, looking thoughtful. “Angry, I guess. I was an angry kid. And confused.”

About his sexuality?

“Everything was confusing,” Bryce says. “But yeah, definitely that too.”

“Bryce cared so much,” Elaine says. “About everything. He still does. The world’s hardest on the people who care most about it.”

Like so many hockey players who’ve come out since Dan Riley and Marc Lapointe did in 2010, he credits their coming out as a major influence on his journey of coming to terms with his identity as both a gay man and a pro hockey player.

“You don’t really put it together,” Bryce says. He turned sixteen the summer the Leafs won the Stanley Cup, and Riley and Lapointe subsequently came out. “Like, okay, sure, you can be gay and play hockey. Except nobody thought that. I didn’t think that. If you said that, maybe I’d say okay, but I didn’t believe it.”

How, then, did he reconcile being gay and playing hockey?

“That's the thing,” Bryce says. “I didn’t, you know? I was playing hockey, so obviously I wasn’t, right? Because if I was gay, then I wouldn’t be playing, would I?”

“It sounds so ridiculous saying it now,” he reflects. “But that’s what I thought. And I wasn’t the only one.”

But even more than Riley and Lapointe blazing a trail before him, he credits meeting his husband Jared at a hockey skills camp in Calgary. In the year before he met Jared, then twenty year old Bryce was arrested twice, for assault and DWI: the latter in particular shook his mother, considering how his father died.

"I was worried about him," she says. "That's probably an understatement."

“I don’t know where I’d be if I hadn't met Jared,” Bryce says. “I genuinely don’t. I don’t think I’d be out. I know I wouldn’t be happy. You know, everyone says it isn’t like in the movies. Falling in love, I mean. That love at first sight and all that is b******t. But that’s pretty much what it was for me.”

Was it mutual?

Bryce laughs. “You’d have to ask Jared, he tells it better than me,” he says. “But no, not really. I wasn't good enough for him. I'm still not good enough for him, but I try to be."

Another warning I’d received from his husband before my tour around town? That Bryce was an incurable romantic. This warning certainly seems more warranted than the one about Bryce’s driving.

And what does Bryce think about Jared’s warning, and his additional suggestion to take anything Bryce said about him with a healthy grain of salt?

“[Jared]’s just modest,” Bryce says.

“He lights up when Jared’s around,” Elaine says. “It’s just like when he was a little boy — every time he stepped onto the ice, he beamed. It’s the same thing with Jared. He’s so happy. It’s so wonderful to see him like that.”

And how was it, not only getting to play with his husband, but to raise the Stanley Cup together?

“It’s a dream come true,” Bryce says. “Really. I know that’s such a cliche, but so is love at first sight, right? And the hometown boy winning it all for his childhood team. They’re all cliches. But they’re my life.”

“I know just how lucky I am,” Bryce says. “Winning with Jared, with this team — it’s been such a whirlwind of a year.”

I tell him to enjoy it.

“I do,” he says, smiling so widely I have no doubt he’s telling the truth. “I really, really do.”

[fernandopiastri28]

quand c'est? - part 4~ ln4 x op81

part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5, part 6, part 7

A red flag is called, and Lando hears repeats of ‘Lando, are you alright?’ in his ear over and over, Will’s fussing over the radio. Will fusses over him, Jon fussed over him earlier, Oscar always fusses over him.

Like he’s some sick, fragile, baby. 

warnings: major illness, cancer, sickness, major angst wc: 1985

Lando bites at the skin around his thumb, his right leg bouncing up and down as he attempts to stay still in his seat. The heat outside is worse than expected, so he has the hem fireproof shirt hitched up to rest just over his nipples in order to cool down before the race. He has a fan on him and a water bottle in his hand- even then, it’s pretty unpleasant. 

Oscar is busy off somewhere skipping, as he usually is just before a race. His stomach is growling, desperate for some food. He doesn't risk it though- he knows eating anything will make him feel nauseous again and he’lll just need to violently throw up.

He’ll tough it out until he gets back to the hotel, then at least he’ll have Oscar by his side while he’s puking.

“Lando,” Jon’s hand plants on his shoulder, Lando moving his head at the interruption from his blank out. “We really need to do some stretches before you get in the car- I don’t want you making one bad turn and fucking up your neck,”

Lando bites harder, a faint metallic taste spreading over his tongue. “Yep,” He pops the p at the end, trying to sound enthusiastic. He stands up, wobbly and shaking knees and ties the sleeves of his race suit tighter around his waist.

He follows after Jon, akin to a small dog, Leo, for example, to behind the motor home. Oscar’s just finishing out his skipping- his cheeks rosy red and his hair standing tall. “Hey Lans,” He fist bumps him as they walk past each other. “Feeling any better?”

Both Kim and Jon know they’re dating, so it’s not as if they have to worry about showing affection to one another in front of their trainers. It’s more that even though they’re somewhat hidden by the motorhomes, they are still technically in the paddock and can be seen by guests at any given moment. 

They’d learnt to not take the risk of being outed to the world for a single kiss when someone had snapped a photo of Max and Daniel kissing after Daniel’s announced break of McLaren contract back in 2022. It was before Oscar had even properly entered the F1 scene, yet he knew better to never take that risk.

“Somewhat,” Lando shrugs, giving Oscar a toothy grin. He still really doesn’t feel good, but he wants to prove to Oscar that he’s safe to drive, that he’s ‘got this under control’. Oscar’s eyes flicker down to where Lando’s tanned stomach is fully on display and his lips quiver, holding back a smirk.

“That’s good,” Oscar smiles warmly, tugging his suit up higher from where it’s been gradually dropping from around his waist to just below his hips, “See you soon, mate,” Lando gets squirmy whenever Oscar calls him mate. It’s fine when they’re at home and just talking casually, but when it’s used in the place of ‘babe’ or ‘love’, it just feels cruel that it’s their reality.

Being gay is difficult enough as it is, being a gay athlete adds a different degree of difficulty. Dating your teammate, who is supposed to be your most similar rival is downright awkward and stupid. All of that while being forced to remain closeted, it’s pretty much a full time fucking job.

Lando shuffles his feet, tugging his shirt down to get ready for the stretches. Usually, he just lays in his driver room and naps- maybe listens to music if he’s in the mood- he’ll have time for that later. 

First up is skipping. Lando bites the inside of his cheeks to stop him from crying out in pain as his brain rattles around in his head. He’ll be done with it soon, he just needs to calm down.

Jon allows him to stop when he looks on the verge of passing out, “Lando? Are you feeling okay?” 

Lando shrugs, weakly passing him the skipping rope, “Let's just go for the massage now,” He’s not up for a talk and based on how much tension has built up in his body, a massage is about one of the only things that he thinks might make him feel better right now.

Lando hitches his shirt back up, enough that Jon will be able to ruin his back with his ‘magical hands’. It’s cringey to call them that, but it’s so true. In another universe, Jon is a professional masseuse. 

He lays down on the massage bed, his face smushed in the head hole. They both just stay silent for the most part, despite a few groans and hisses coming from an over-sensitive and tense Lando. “How’re you feeling about the race,” Jon finally breaks the silence, his thumbs pushing hard into Lando’s shoulder muscles.

“Fu- good, I’m excited,” It’s half a lie. He is obviously excited to race, racing is his biggest passion in life, but he would be enjoying it all so much more if he felt good. Feeling ill after a race and feeling ill before a race are two completely different things- because he knew he would only go downhill from where he was at.

“How’s Oscar feeling about it?” Jon, always the instigator.

“He’s probably more excited then I am- he’s starting pretty high up,” Lando mumbles, the slow unload of relief through his body making him feel better than he has in days.

Lando closes his eyes, studying the red that swirls around on the inside of his eyelids. He’s in the calm before the storm right now- he needs to shut his mind off. It’s a task easier said than done, especially when all his focus is grouped towards just how fucking bad his head hurts.

“Jon?” A knock rattles the door, a pair of shuffling feet in addition. “Is it alright if I just hang out here?” If it was anyone else asking to just hang out In Lando’s driver room, Lando would be telling them to piss off and go to their own room- for Oscar though, anything that is his own is also Oscar’s. 

“F’course Oscar,” Jon hums, not even asking for confirmation from Lando. He doesn’t need it, he knows that it’s a given that the answer would be yes.

Lando pries his eyes open, looking straight down at the ground in front of him. A pair of big brown eyes stare back up at him. What a weirdo Oscar is, getting down and laying on the ground just to be looking at lando.

Lando is so in  love with him.

“Please tell me you’re feeling better,” Oscar pushes himself up on his elbows, his core tensing at the 45 degree angle he’s keeping himself.

“Somewhat,”

“Somewhat my ass. Do you genuinely believe you’re up for this tonight?” Someone’s feisty tonight.

“Yes,” The lie feels almost like the truth by how many times he’s promised it. “I’ll just… I’ll take it easy in the lead up to COTA,”

Oscar puffs out cold air onto his top lip, a wrinkle of distrust forming between his scruffy brows. Lando is not one for taking it easy- ever. “We’ve got a month until then- you better keep that promise,”

“I will,” It’s veering off a lie, but it still is one. He knows just as well as Oscar that he’ll allow himself to get up to 75% good health and then wear himself back out again. It’s just what he does. 

Oscar doesn’t look convinced. “I promise Oscar- on my life,”

“Don’t do that,” Oscar snorts, “I don’t want you dying on me,”

“Oh shut it you mupp-'' Jon shuts him up with an elbow digging into his ass cheek and he yelps out in pain. Oscar looks satisfied by getting the last jeer in.

Lando carded his hands through his curls, pushing them off his forehead to put on his balaclava. Even from inside the garage he could hear the endless screams of the crowd. Fuck, this was gonna be a long race. He was starting in between Stroll behind and Ricciardo in front- a true recipe for disaster.

WIth that combo, he’d be more likely to be getting backshots from Lance than Oscar.

No, don’t think about that Oscar. Don’t think about getting crashed into.

He considers the other thing a positive thing to think about. It’s a pleasant distraction.

He stands still, his feet planted far apart enough to make his stance into an upside down V. He pushes his hips from side to side, limbering up that last bit before he gets into the car. 

He tucks his bottom lip under his teeth, contemplating going and grabbing some painkillers last minute. He knows if he does, Oscar will see him and physically prohibit him from racing. Painkillers are pretty harmless, nothing to not race over, but to Oscar- it’s everything. If Lando feels the need to have painkillers to be able to race, Oscar doesn’t see him as fit to.

So he decides to go without. Clambers into his car, slides his feet in and lifts his hips up, trying to get comfortable. His helmet is put onto him by the help of two members of the McLaren pit crew, his steering wheel from another.

Hot streams of air push through his nostrils, trying to get himself to calm down. Holy fuck, clam down Lando. You’ve done this a hundred times before, you’ll do it a hundred more times- nothing is going to happen. 

It’s going to be a good race, he’s going to prove Oscar wrong. He’s gonna win, or he’ll get a podium.

When instructed to, he begins to drive up to his starting spot. There’s a buzz that starts in his head and travels down to his thumbs, one that isn’t from the rumble of the car. It’s another impending headache, one of the really bad ones. He’s had too many over the course of the past three days to the point that it’s expected- he just needs to remain collected.

First red light turns on.

Then the second.

Third, fourth, fifth.

Then they all go out and his foot stomps down on the pedal. It’s a good reaction, quick, he’s got Will in his ear telling him that. Around the first corner, he watches Daniel slow down, and he overtakes him. Hulkenberg was just in front of the older Australian, and now Lando feels himself just scraping past him. 

It’s off to a good start, and that’s expected. When Lando’s in the car, he’s no longer ‘Lando Norris’- he’s a Mclaren Formula 1 Driver. And that’s just what he does- drive.

By lap seven, he’s up four places, trying to get ahead of Alonso. Once that’s done, Russell is just in front with a quickly decreasing gap to Albon. He can easily take either of them once he’s at that point, both of their car’s pace look awful.

But by God, Alonso is proving difficult to get past. Lando swerves jerkily, trying to get on the inside of Alonso. As he does, it feels like he takes a knife to the head, a sharp pain shooting through the left side of his head. He loses the car, loses control, loses the race. He goes straight into a barrier, his back left wheel flying off. 

A red flag is called, and Lando hears repeats of ‘Lando, are you alright?’ in his ear over and over, Will’s fussing over the radio. Will fusses over him, Jon fussed over him earlier, Oscar always fusses over him.

Like he’s some sick, fragile, baby. 

Like he’s tragic and can’t take care of himself. 

Like he’s just made a silly little mistake for the first time in his career.

Like he’s not just an absolute fuck up who can’t say when. 

His vision goes first, then his hearing, then his ability to move. Then he’s out- like a fucking nightlight.

[blueikeproductions]

EarthSpark OCs, since I’m seeing my previous EarthSpark topics light up my dashboard and I’ve been meaning to post these for awhile.

Due to a Warp Gate accident in peacetime in the CV Life on Earth universe, the Autobots’ human allies Grahm, Thompson, Meister and Maddie along with Optimus’ Mini-Con partner Leon, get whisked away into the EarthSpark universe, but the group gets separated from each other in Witwicky. By chance each kid winds up finding the Emberstone chamber and unwittingly activates it, creating more Terrans separate from the Maltobots. Unlike the Maltobots, these Terrans were born with alternate modes, scanned from choices in each child’s mind from their universe. These Terrans are also more openly aligned with the Autobots due to Grahm and the others’ bond with their previous Autobot partners, and are more oriented for combat than their Maltobot cousins.

Phoenix: Bonded to Grahm. Hotheaded, smart mouthed, and no-nonsense, Phoenix can and will tell off Optimus, Megatron, Termagax and Dot if he thinks they’re demeaning himself or the other Terrans. Gets along with the Maltobots, but finds Twitch and Hashtag’s exuberance draining to his circuits. The oldest of the new batch, he’s the de facto leader, and while well meaning, his slightly abrasive demeanor is off putting to his teammates. Like his namesake, he possesses literal firepower, and is hard to take down, always getting back up when it looks like he might be down for the count. His vehicle mode is based on a car Grahm fancied back at his Uncle Sparkplug’s garage.

Landhammer: Bonded to Thompson. A gentle Gorillabot, who enjoys reading and tabletop gaming. He’s good friends with Nightshade and Jawbreaker, due to their shared interests. The muscle of the group and a natural protector, he prefers defense over offense, despite having a punch strong enough to shatter the likes of Groundpounder’s arm. Has some degree of mastery over earth and can cause fissures and quakes with a punch or stomp.

Nightscream: Bonded to Meister. Shares Meister’s love of music, and has a particular interest in opera, perhaps influenced by Meister’s memories of Cyberverse Soundwave’s own love of Cybertronic opera. Has a bit of a rebellious bad boy streak that masks his insecurities, comparable to RiD15 Sideswipe. Openly gay and a bit of a flirt, but hasn’t found a Transformer he particularly likes yet. His best friend among the Maltobots is Thrash. Enjoys flustering male Decepticons with his flirty side to catch them off guard in a fight, though the tables can be turned when a Decepticon genuinely reciprocates back at him. Specializes in sound and sonic based attacks, making him a natural rival to EarthSpark Soundwave. Has a form of Mode Attachment and can usually be found in his Beast Mode.

Abhorrus: Bonded to Maddie. Functionally the daughter to Maddie’s previous partner Repugnus, and shares much of the Monsterbot’s schematics and personality traits. Naughty, hyperactive and mischievous, but a good kid all around. Her closest friends among the Maltobots are Twitch and Hashtag. While powered by Quintus Prime blessed water like other Terrans, Abhorrus enjoys Energon drinks, particularly K-Juice, and loves Pepsi products, and can usually be found with a drink in hand. Likes to get her hands dirty, and is usually the one to commit an act the other Terrans and Autobots are reluctant to do. Has casually bragged about off lining other Decepticons, and doesn’t trust them, being uneasy about EarthSpark Megatron due to awareness of other versions of Megatron because of Maddie’s memories of the Legacy Wars. Packs a powerful Cybervenom in her Beast Mode’s tail that can force an enemy into Stasis Lock after a couple bites.

Leon: Cyclone Mini-Con bonded to Optimus Prime. Calm, wise, but not afraid to show his softer, sillier side to compliment CV Optimus’ stoicism. Originally from Cyberverse, but has partnered with the local ES Optimus to better coordinate with the two sets of Terrans and their human partners. Was originally a star Baske-Trek player on pre-war Cybertron alongside Orion Pax until a humiliating defeat saw the two retire from the sport until their Earth adventures. Has a bit of trouble fully connecting with ES Optimus due to different universal circumstances such as this Optimus being more of Cube player.

[depressedhatakekakashi]

For the AU request...Kakashi/Iruka and Akatsuki! Kakashi???

Also congrats on the follower count, that's amazing 🥳🎉💕

This took me a lot longer to finish than I thought it would, so I'm sorry for that, but here we go! I focused a bit more on their love affair here because I thought it would be fun <3 <3 <3

NSFW IS UNDER THE CUT!!!!

Akatsuki Kakashi AU (KakaIru)

Iruka’s Life

Becoming an Academy Sensei is the best decision Iruka has ever made in his life. The work can be hard and the students get out of hand on a regular basis, but it’s a lot more fulfilling than being a field shinobi. He feels like he’s making a real difference.

None of this changes the fact that Iruka can’t get his mind off of that last mission. The bodies of his two teammates haunt him, but they’re not nearly as bad as the voice in his ear.

Hatake Kakashi is a man Iruka hears a lot about. Whether he’s asking questions or just overhearing gossip, there’s always something that catches his ear.

Tales of the ruthless murderer. The man who had once used his skills to protect Konoha, but has since turned his back on his village and begun murdering the shinobi he once called allies.

Some of the stories terrify Iruka, largely because they bring back memories to what Kakashi had done to his teammates. How he’d taken their lives without hesitation or remorse.

Other stories intrigue Iruka. The stories are said in whispered tones when the speaker is certain there’s no one listening in. They tell of a man who lost so much. Who kept giving to the village not just in effort and blood, but in friends. 

They whisper of the man Kakashi once was. The shinobi lost his father at the young age of five, a pain that Iruka himself can understand. They tell of the boy who failed to save his first teammate, killed his second teammate for the good of the village, and lost his Sensei in the Kyubbi’s attack.

Iruka never hears enough of these stories. Either someone shushes the person telling them, or the world around him becomes too loud for him to hear. It always feels like something is missing. As if there’s information that the people of Konoha don’t know or refuse to say.

At first, Iruka doesn’t know who to turn to. If he asks the wrong questions he could get into trouble, but there’s a voice in the back of his head begging him to ask. To search out the answers he so desperately needs to understand the man who killed his teammates but chose to leave him alive. 

Then one day he happens to be passing one of the training fields and spots Maito Gai doing his daily work out and it hits him. If there’s anyone in the village who would be willing to provide him with answers, it’s Gai. 

Iruka gathers up his courage, takes a deep breath, and heads straight for Gai. 

He doesn’t even need to ask. As soon as Gai spots him he smiles and says “You’re here about him, aren’t you?” and they both know who it is Gai’s talking about. So, Iruka just nods his head, a little ashamed that he has been called out so easily.

Gai’s not like the others, though. He holds no judgement towards Iruka for seeking out answers. If anything, he understands Iruka better than anyone else. His feelings for Kakashi may be platonic, but they’re not less powerful. 

When he speaks of Kakashi, Iruka can hear love in his voice. A fondness of the man that he had once called ‘Rival’, and a sorrow that drips into his voice whenever he’s forced to remember what has become of that man.

Iruka asks all of the questions running through his mind, and Gai answers as best as he can. They’re not always the most helpful answers, and Gai certainly doesn’t hold all of them, but it’s enough to give Iruka a better understanding of the man who simply won’t leave his mind. 

The thing Iruka knows above all else is that he cannot allow anyone else to know his interest in Kakashi. There are so many people in the village who hate him, and for good reason. Iruka’s not even sure why he’s so obsessed with a man he has only met once.

All he knows is that he can’t get his mind off of Hatake, and that fact cannot be discovered by anyone. So, he gets good at lying. To the people around him and to himself.

Pretending that he doesn’t daydream of that intoxicating smile, or those confident, strong hands.

There’s one good thing that Iruka gets out of all this. Gai.

The two of them have always gotten along well enough, but having something new to bond over brings them closer. Pretty soon Iruka finds himself spending more and more time with Gai. They don’t always talk about Kakashi, but even if they do it doesn’t ruin their cheerful mood.

Iruka gets to hear all sorts of stories about the man from his best friend. Stories that no one else tells because they have either chosen to forget them or they never had access to them.

He hears about all of the competitions that Kakashi and Gai had in their childhood, the days they would spend sitting side by side watching the sunset just enjoying each other’s company. He even hears about the things that haunt his memories.

That smile was so soft and kind but full of sadness. Gai talks about it a lot with a fondness in his voice, and he’s always smiling a little bit brighter just thinking of the friend he has lost.

His laughter. A sound Iruka hasn’t heard much of, but which sounds absolutely intoxicating when Gai tells him about it. Iruka thinks if he ever had the chance to hear that laugh, he might just melt in his spot. 

The kindness. Gai always tells him about Kakashi’s kindness with a sad look in his eyes, but that sadness never stops him from telling the best stories of days long since gone, and Iruka can’t help but listen. Clinging to every word Gai says.

Sometimes Iruka wonders if he could ever meet the man Gai missed so much. The kind, dorky friend that Gai still missed. Is that man still around, or has Hatake buried him under grief and anger? If they were to meet again, would Iruka ever hear that laugh that Gai speaks so fondly of?

He’d never admit it out loud, but sometimes he hopes he has the opportunity to meet Kakashi again. If only because he wants to know if it’s possible the man Gai misses so much is still there.

Kakashi’s Life

Where Iruka feels as though he has to hide his interest in Kakashi, no such restrictions exist for Kakashi.

His job in the Akatsuki is different from the others. Instead of chasing after Jinchuriki, he focuses on gathering intel about the five great shinobi villages and wrecking as much havoc as possible to cover the other's tracks.

He’s also the only Akatsuki member who doesn’t have a partner. Pein tried to give him one a few times but it never worked out. Kakashi simply refused to do teamwork with people whom he didn’t care about and who he couldn’t trust to watch his back.

Because of this Kakashi spends most of his time alone. Tobi and Pein check in on him once in a while, but mostly he gets missions, carries them out, and then sends the intel to Pein before relaxing and enjoying some quiet before the next mission arrives.

Sometimes Tobi shows up to taunt him about his ‘crush’ but Kakashi usually chases him off with harsh words and a reminder to keep focused on his job instead of bothering him. It never stops the man from appearing at his side randomly, but Kakashi never gives him the answers he’s digging for.

Whatever he’s feeling for Konoha Shinobi is between him and the universe. Tobi doesn’t need to hear about it no matter how many times he begs Kakashi to tell him. 

Pein has also made comments about the ‘Konoha Shinobi who seems to be distracting you’ but unlike Tobi, he doesn’t push. All he ever has to say is a reminder for Kakashi to keep focused on their goals, and a new mission to keep his mind occupied. 

This leaves him with a lot of time on his own, and while he does try to occupy his mind with books most of the time it’s not always successful.

Before meeting Iruka, Kakashi didn’t think too much. Sometimes he’d dwell on all of the people he lost and the friends he left behind in Konoha. Particularly he’d mourn over the fact that he’d left Gai, the only living friend he had left, behind in a village that would sooner see him dead than recognize his talent. 

After, though, Kakashi finds it almost impossible to think of anything other than Iruka. The way he’d stood there in defiance of him, even when he’d murdered his teammates in cold blood. How he’d stood there staring at Kakashi with fear in his eyes, but also kindness. 

Kakashi scoffs at himself for thinking it, but no matter how often he tells himself he was seeing things he simply can’t forget it.

There was kindness in those eyes and it intrigues him. This leaves him with questions about the man who would dare to look at a monster in such a way.

Kakashi does everything he can to forget Iruka.

He takes more missions. Dives straight into the nuclear option and tries to do increasingly difficult jobs that he hopes will lead to his death. It never does though.

For two years he throws himself into his work. Sometimes it works for the Akatsuki, and sometimes it's just fighting he decides to pick against nobody shinobi's he sees passing by while he's trying to relax.

It's always for the same reason. To get Iruka off of his mind. To convince himself that he doesn't deserve to think of someone like Iruka.

How could a monster ever be loved by someone so soft? How can a Nukenin expect to be thought about by someone so loyal to his village?

He always succeeds, though, and in the end, he's left feeling a little emptier and thinking even more of the man he meet over two years ago.

Unable to get Iruka off of his mind, Kakashi decides to take a direct approach to his issue. The next time Pein wants some information on Konoha he opts for stealth instead of the direct approach.

Donning his Sukea disguise, which he has used many times over the years in multiple villages, he heads into Konoha.

It doesn’t take him long to find that familiar face, though he struggles to see so many other faces he knows. He’s only thankful that Gai is gone on a mission during his visit because after all these years he’s not really sure how he’d handle seeing his friend's face again.

Once he finds Iruka though, everyone else ceases to matter. 

Deep inside the village, in the academy field surrounded by kids, stands the man who has plagued his mind for months. The only Konoha shinobi he has allowed to walk away from an encounter with him.

Umino Iruka.

He found his name quickly enough in the village’s files and vanished just before the third Hokage arrived. His file is small, and there are no big impressive feats he has accomplished, yet Kakashi finds himself even more intrigued by the man.

With a name and more information, Kakashi heads out to accomplish his next goal. Approaching Iruka. 

Together

Sukea is a great disguise. With a quick explanation of his history as a photographer, and a little bit of flirting, Kakashi wiggles his way into the academy area to explore and take some pictures ‘for a local newspaper coming out 

Once he’s in, it’s easy enough to get to Iruka. He’s right in the field teaching his Taijutsu. Immediately Kakashi can see that the man is in his element. 

During their last encounter, Iruka had been unsure of himself. He’d paused and faltered at all the wrong times, allowing Kakashi to get what he needed without having to kill him. There were of course some sharp words, but that was the first thing that had drawn Kakashi to him.

Here, with students surrounding him, Iruka looks happy.

For a second Kakashi allows himself to get lost in Iruka’s face. To forget about his job, who he is, and everything he had done, for just a few precious moments as he watches Iruka guide his students through the steps.

He almost regrets leaving the village. If he had stayed, he might have met Iruka under better circumstances. Been able to actually have a life with him.

Those thoughts are quickly expelled from his mind. Kakashi has made his decisions and he’s not particularly sorry about them. He has regrets, but he’ll never feel bad for leaving a corrupt system behind. A system that would set him up for failure, and his friend up for an early death, and then turn around and blame it all on him.

Iruka may be stunning to look at, but he’s not worth returning to the system that cost Tenzo his life. 

So Kakashi will have to make do with what he can have.

Putting on his best act, he approaches Iruka as Sukea the photographer. A harmless man with no ulterior motives.

The two of them hit it off immediately, though Kakashi can sense that Iruka’s on edge. The way he glances around them as if searching for someone.

Part of him wishes it was him Iruka was looking for, but he shoves that thought away quickly. Not only does Iruka have no reason to search for the man who killed his teammates, but Kakashi isn’t worth his attention. All he is is a murderer and he has come to accept that he’ll live a lonely life because of that.

That doesn’t stop him from letting Sukea have a little fun though. There’s flirting, compliments, and an offer to pay for lunch (which Kakashi can only do because he makes a habit of taking spare Ryo off of shinobi he has killed. They’re not using it.)

Kakashi thought he was coming to Konoha to get Iruka out of his systems. Have a little fun, explore a tiny bit, and be done with it.

He was so very wrong.

Hanging out with Iruka only makes his desire to be around him worse. Where he only had his imagination before, he now has genuine information about the man that feeds into every single one of his daydreams.

The only downside is having to see Gemma and some of the other people he would have once called friends. Hearing them laugh and cheer with Iruka as if any of them have the right. It leaves him burning with rage, knowing that all of them get to be here having fun while so many others are gone. 

It’s unfair. He hates it, but there’s nothing he can do but chock back his anger and play the innocent photographer.

There will be a day when Konoha faces justice for everything it has done. Not just the elders and Lord third, but all of the shinobi who called Kakashi a monster while ignoring the deep corruption in their own village.

Now is not that day and they’re not who Kakashi came here for, so he ignores them. Focuses his energy on Iruka instead.

It doesn’t take much convincing to get Iruka away from them, which surprised him a little but he’s not going to question it. 

With the suggestion of catching the sunset for a perfect picture, the two of them head out.

It’s only when they’re far away from each other’s that Kakashi finally relaxes, and as soon as he does Iruka turns to him and invites him over to his house. Something that he was not expecting at all.

The two of them don’t even make it in the front door before Iruka starts tearing at Sukea’s clothing, muttering something about needing to get someone off of his mind. Kakashi doesn’t need too many guesses to figure out who this person is that’s plaguing Iruka’s mind.

It seems the Acadamy Sensei is hooked on him after one meeting. A feeling that Kakashi knows all too well since he risked sneaking into Konoha to find him. 

The two of them quickly fall into bed together, but before they get too far Kakashi pulls back and tells Iruka he needs to let him in on a secret. See, murder is fine with Kakashi. Konoha trained him to be a murderer after all, but he’d rather Iruka know what he’s getting himself into.

So, dropping his voice back to normal he leans in close and whispers into Iruka’s ear words that he knows Iruka will associate with ‘Hatake Kakashi’.

‘I like you’

They’re not words that only he has ever said, but he knows they’re the right ones to let Iruka know who he is, and its words.

As soon as Iruka hears those words he stops. His hands press against Kakashi’s chest, fingers curling into the green jacket he’s wearing. 

Kakashi asks if he wants him to leave because he’s certainly not going to stick around to be captured and a chunin isn’t going to be able to stop him, but Iruka doesn’t answer.

Taking that as a hint, Kakashi begins to extract himself from Iruka’s grasp. Before he can though, those fingers curl even tighter into his jacket and pull him forward.

He’s not sure what to expect, but Oruka’s lips against his in a hot, passionate kiss is certainly not it. 

After that, there’s no more hesitation. Kakashi happily falls into bed with Iruka and lives out every fantasy he has been silently daydreaming about for months. 

After a passionate night together Kakashi makes a quick get away and leaves the village before anyone realizes he was ever there. With that night he figures everything is done. He has gotten his fill of Iruka, and explored all of the thoughts and ideas swimming around in his mind. He’s done.

He’s so very wrong.

Not even two days later and Kakashi’s already thinking of Iruka again. His mind is drawn to him like a magnet, always pulling him back. Returning to Konoha is too dangerous, so Kakashi sits back and waits for his opportunity. The perfect chance to swoop in and claim his prize.

Iruka, meanwhile, is having even more difficulties getting Kakashi off of his mind. He’s able to do his job and keep his friendships, but it feels like he’s thinking of the rogue ninja even more than he already was which should be impossible.

He knows he shouldn’t want to see Kakashi again. He should want nothing to do with the man who murders Konoha shinobi without worry or hesitation, but he can’t help it.

There’s something about him that draws Iruka to him. Whether it’s a sense of danger he wants to explore, or that kind heart that Gai still speaks about in hushed tones whenever they’re hanging out, he’s not quite sure.

Whatever it is, Iruka’s desperate for answers.

NSFW

Iruka tries everything he can to forget Kakashi, including sleeping with other people. He doesn’t limit himself on who he sleeps with, his only hope is that being with someone else will help him get his mind off of Kakashi.

It doesn’t work

No matter who Iruka falls into bed with, what position he’s in or how much he’s genuinely enjoying himself, he can’t help but think about Kakashi.

Kakashi’s skilled hands explore his body. Playing with his nips while he speaks right into his ear. That mouth on his neck left bruises that everyone will see the next day. Claiming Iruka as his.

He becomes accustomed to biting something, anything. It’s the only way he can think of to keep himself from moaning out Kakashi’s name.

Daydreams are the worst though. When Iruka’s alone with just his mind and maybe a toy or two. When there’s no one with him to hear the name he wants to call out when he’s cumming. That’s when he has the most fun.

His favourite thing to think of is Kakashi’s hands. How they’d pin him to the bed, or hold him tight against his body. Rough, worn hands run all over his body, playing with him while he moans and begs to be fucked. 

Meanwhile, Kakashi’s off somewhere occupying himself with only his hands and his imagination. If that imagination happens to produce an image of a very naked and eager Iruka in front of him, he’s not complaining.

If Iruka’s daydreams are overwhelming, Kakashi’s are destroying him. With little else to keep his attention some days, Kakashi finds himself thinking about all of the things he could do to Iruka.

How he’d sink his teeth into tender, undamaged skin and lay his mark on the man for all to see. 

He really loves thinking of the way Iruka might beg for him. Plead for him to show some mercy and fuck him after being teased for far too long. 

None of those daydreams live up to reality.

The first time Kakashi lays his hands on Iruka he feels like he’s on fire. He’s desperately grabbing at Iruka as the two of them fumble to tear each other’s clothing off. Neither of them cares if some of that clothing doesn’t survive to see tomorrow.

Iruka thinks it will be hard and fast. It would make sense since they’re in the middle of the academy and Kakashi is a nukenin who would be targeted as soon as anyone saw him in the village but once again Kakashi surprises him. He takes his time, enjoying every inch of Iruka’s body that he can get his mouth on. 

His tongue traces over Iruka’s thighs, tasting his skin as he lays against his desk panting. 

Then, without any warning, Kakashi slips his mouth over his cock and starts sucking. Irukams hands fly into his hair, gripping at long silver strands and tugging each time he inches further down on his cock. 

Iruka’s not sure how, but before he knows it Kakashi has deep-throated him. His nose is buried in Iruka’s groin and there isn’t a single coherent word leaving the academy sensei’s mouth anymore. He’s gone and he’s not sure he ever wants to come back.

Kakashi doesn’t let him cum down his throat unfortunately, which is a bit disappointing because Iruka was so damn close when he pulled back, but his disappointment quickly washes away when Kakashi asks for a bottle of lube.

He’ll never admit it, but Iruka has been carrying around a bottle for about a week in his weapon’s pouch. It seemed like a stupid idea when he first put it there, but now he’s glad he thought of it. As he points down to the pouch lying by Kakashi’s feet, he sees a smirk tugging across the man’s lips. A look that would send anyone else running for their lives, but which made Iruka’s cock twitch with excitement. 

Iruka has been with a few people before. Mostly friends, but sometimes the odd civilian who’s the company he chose to keep for a single night. None of them compare to Kakashi.

Everything he does is calculated and slow.

He takes his time and has Iruka on edge from beginning to end, teasing him. Playing with him like a toy.

Iruka’s certain he would hate it with anyone else, but with Kakashi, it feels amazing.

By the time Kakashi’s cumming, Iruka’s overstimulated and desperate for release. He can feel Kakashi’s mouth on his neck, sharp teeth dragging across his skin and sinking into his shoulder when he finally cums.

It’s only when he’s done and has pulled out that Kakashi releases his grip on Iruka’s arms and gives him a sharp, firm order.

‘Jerk yourself off’

Iruka doesn’t pause to think about the order. Reaching down, he wraps a hand around his cock and starts stroking. Already ready to burst, he knows it won’t take long for him to cum.

It takes even less time than he thinks. 

When Kakashi leans in close and attaches his mouth to his neck, sucking on the already tender skin, Iruka knows he’s done for.

He spills between them, decorating his chest with his release while Kakashi closes the distance between them and gently rocks his hips. Within seconds Iruka sees white and he’s pretty sure he has died and gone to paradise.

If this was how Kakashi killed everyone, he’s certain no one would be calling him a monster.

By the time he comes to, Kakashi’s gone. The only evidence of his presence was Iruka’s cum drying on his chest and a single piece of paper laying on his windowsill. A letter from his late-night lover.

It’s the only time the two are together like this. Kakashi never makes a second visit and Iruka’s left with little more than a memory to live off of. Sometimes he’ll clutch that letter in his hand while jerking himself off late at night, desperately clinging to those sweet tender moments he had shared with a killer.

The worst part, in Iruka’s mind, is he would gladly do it all again.

If he had to fight Kakashi to protect Naruto and his village he will, but at the same time if he has the option of falling into bed with the Nukenin he will do so without hesitation.

[passanima]

tag from foot2rue is gay, here’s the receipt, season 3

1/ gabriel spend time with his girlfriend and guess who’s mad about it? the whole team is upset because he has less time to train now; but the first to react and who feel the strongest about it is still tag

2/ BEN IS BACK (dude tag had a visible crush on in s1) and he’s the only one that looks happy about it and they break away from the rest of the group to talk one on one, ben listening to tag’s problems and offering advices. bonus points because tag doesn’t ask any of his teammates for advices (not his bestie or his girlfriend)

3/ they bond over them both being the captain of their teams, the difficulties in the responsability... and tag reacts a bit too strongly when ben says he has to go home now, asking (sounding way too desperate, boy, come on) him to stay a bit longer. the WHOLE vibe when they were talking alone felt incredibly soft from tag’s side and you could explain it as just nostalgia and being happy to see a friend after a long time... expect they weren’t friends but rivals! and ben clearly doesn’t feel the same way i’m so embarrassed for tag

4/ his BEST FRIEND notice how sullen he’s been in the 2 hours since ben left... this boy is yearning for real

5/ ben replace one of their players in a match but because the rest of the team hates him it goes poorly (hmmm sounds familiar) then they hear a rumor that he’s the one behind tag’s accident and they all get mad at him, not giving him time to explain... expect tag. who refuse to believe it and puts his faith in ben. he was, of course, right about that, but in this situation he had no reason to believe ben (the guy has a really bad reputation) yet didn’t hesitate A SECOND wow... that sure is something

6/ the trutst at least is reciprocal because when tag, in the middle of the match, orders ben to do something, he just nods and do so without the need for an explanation or getting annoyed (like some of the other players) and i didn’t expect it as they’re both captains and so could butthead about who’s in charge and ben having a strong personality... it was nice. THEN ben gives advice on how to play and this time it’s tag who decide to put his pride aside as captain and follow him. you see slight hesitation on his face but he does it anyway. IT’S HUGE idk what to tell you, tag can be really stubborn in his bad decisions and gets mad really fast when things don’t go his way so wow again!

7/ listen... i can’t even explain this one cause you need the visuals but. tag trust ben with an insane move, where ben could easily let go at the worst time and hurt him. and he does so while SMILING. not a once of doubt for this boy in his mind. HIS EX-NEMESIS. there would be no story without weirdly earnest 13 y/o gay boys, i’m emotional over this (and laughing cause it was an incredible visual; it’s at the end of ep 4 ig you’re curious about it)

8/ someone is rude to tag’s gf and he doesn’t react to it, even when she’s visibly upset and leave the room because of this, he just ignores her

9/ gabriel gets an opportunity, education wise, that means he will leave the team at the start of next year. and tag is not doing well. the rest of the team is cheering on gab, while tag exit the scene looking all sad... and emotional music starts playing while he looks on the horizon... next a flashback of their moments together the two of them... and tag cries all alone

it makes sense because they’ve known each other their whole life(?)(or most) and are very close but damn. in comparizon gabriel isn’t at all bothered, due to being more rational (this does not mean they won’t see each other again) and riding the high of such big news. really makes you feel for tag

anyway, back on gay reading; it gives tag another reason to be more heartborken over this compared to gab

10/ HE FEELS SO BAD that he has no motivation to play the tournament and even SAYS SO openly to his teammates, i quote “without gabriel there’s no point”. there have been times when other players were at ricks of leaving the team and while annoyed, tag never reacted this badly to it before

holy shit he’s crying in front of everyone this time... they were trying to comfort him with “people leave sometimes, then they come back” and “you should be happy for him as his bestie” but it had the opposite effect on making tag feel like he’s being a shitty friend and he cannot hold back his tears... everyone is shocked of seeing him like this

11/ wasn’t gonna note this one cause it’s not that serious but then shit kept happening. this ep has tag being sick and he elects jeremy as his replacement (as team captain) which makes everyone go “uuuh” cause jeremy is so not made for the post. he fucks it up, of course, and ends up all alone until tag gets better. the team complains about him and tag is the only one who stays behind him the whole time (a bit like with ben... hmm)(tag sure easily relate to the type of guys who are in constant danger of being rejected). the “not serious” part is that at some point jeremy come to tag about the whole situation and they stare at each other smiling while using language that, in french, sounds very romantic (even if the context isn’t)(jeremy “t’es pas mal” tag “t’es pas mal non plus”)(literal “you’re not bad” context being the sport + social thing BUT the very common use of this phrase means finding someone attractive, and i laughed because... a second later tag is on his knees in front of jeremy, his hands on the boy legs. the body language and double meaning is really intense for a scene that should be just “i got your back” like what am i supposed to do with this?)

12/ jeremy complains about his relationship with samira for 2 seconds and tag first reaction is to shut him up with “that’s none of my buisness” which is weird for him as he’s usually there for his friends and chill about romance talk... well, when he’s not interested in the dude talking about it, that is

[hattrickeryreviews]

Breakaway (Scoring Chances #1) - Avon Gale

"Drafted to play for the Jacksonville Sea Storm, an NHL affiliate, twenty-year-old Lane Courtnall’s future looks bright, apart from the awkwardness he feels as a gay man playing on a minor league hockey team. He's put his foot in his mouth a few times and alienated his teammates. Then, during a rivalry game, Lane throws off his gloves against Jared Shore, enforcer for the Savannah Renegades. It’s a strange way to begin a relationship.

Jared’s been playing minor league hockey for most of his career. He’s bisexual and doesn’t care if anyone knows. But he’s determined to avoid another love affair after the last one left him devastated. Out of nowhere a one-nighter with rookie Lane Courtnall gives him second thoughts. Lane reminds Jared why he loves the game and why love might be worth the risk. In turn, Jared hopes to show Lane how to be comfortable with himself on and off the ice. But they’re at different points in their careers, and both men will have to decide what they value most."

Did I reread it? Yes

POV: 3rd person limited, alternating between Lane Courtnall and Jared Shore

Tropes: Rivals, Age Gap, Emotional Scars

My thoughts:

Characters/Character Development: 3/5

Lane: Lane is a 20-year-old character that I imagine you either love or hate; I happen to love him. He is absurdly charming, with about no people skills and the charisma to make up for it. He is autistic-coded, and the best part about him is that no one ever asks him or wants him to change. His own character arc is unrelated to any shortcomings of his own, instead following the tense relationship between himself and his parents.

Jared: Jared is a hardened 32-year-old who has seen the ugly side of hockey and is learning to live with it. He’s slightly grouchy and generally rough around the edges, except when it comes to Lane. His character arc revolves around self-acceptance and a difficult family.

Overall, the character development is… okay. We see some changes in the characters, but not much. Lane’s own arc is mostly glossed over and left to the background, and it doesn’t really involve any personal growth as opposed to the growth of the people around him. Jared’s own changes are so incredibly internal that at times it is hard to believe anything is actually influencing them. However, the characters themselves (both main and side) all have very solidly fleshed out personalities that are easy to distinguish and charming. At times, they can be a bit of caricatures, but they are still decently developed.

Believability (Hockey): 5/5

This book specifically follows the ECHL, with accurate depictions of what that means for the characters. The team names themselves are fake, but the structure of the games and league is very real. I can’t exactly say what an ECHL locker room really looks like, nor can I speak on the true personalities on and off the ice of players, but I imagine it could be pretty close to this. Is it a little idealized? Sure. But this is fiction, and I think it’s okay to make things a little better than they probably would be, so long as it’s near the realm of believability.

Believability (Plot): 2/5

This plot is enjoyable, but I didn’t quite believe it. We basically follow two rival teams, yet I’ve been to high school football games with more animosity. I adore happy endings in my romance books, as I’m sure we all do, but I think that anywhere in a book it is important for characters to struggle, and you don’t see much of that here. Additionally, we’ve got a story where everything all works out without really any work done from the characters. Couple in with that an immigration that is way too quick and easy, and you’ve got a book that’s just on the wrong side of realistic.

Uniqueness: 4/5

Every hockey book is going to be at least a little bit similar, so it’s important to look for details you don’t see in other stories. Here, we’ve got our focus on the ECHL, which goes against the common “top in their sport” theme of sports books. The characters have personalities that you don’t come by in many books, especially Lane. Some of the plot points are pretty common in other books, but there’s only so many ways you can write a romance book.

Trope Integration: 2/5

I love the tropes that we see in this book; however, they are criminally under-utilized. We’ve got a sizable age gap, where one character is in his 30s and another can’t even legally drink, but besides a couple ‘old man’ jokes, it doesn’t really play into the plot at all. They’re both on rival teams, but even the rivalry itself isn’t a factor in the romance. We’ve got traumatized pasts and potentially homophobic parents that don’t impact the relationship and are hardly visible in the characters. They are used as talking points more than anything else, but at least they exist in the story at all.

General enjoyment: 4/5

This book isn’t going to change the world, and that’s okay. I love some of the one-liners, especially the ones we get out of Lane. This book is upfront about what it is and unapologetic. At some points I found the humor to be a bit repetitive, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t good. I have read this book one time before, and I definitely don’t regret reading it again.

Overall Score: 20/30 or 3.3/5

[bookloveravenue]

Hot Off the Ice (book 2): Country Boy by A.E. Wasp

Sometimes the toughest thing to have faith in is yourself.

The first time Paul Dyson met Robbie Rhodes, they ended up naked in Robbie’s bed. The last time they met, on the ice the morning after, Paul punched Robbie in the face and called him something he’d rather not repeat.

Two years later, they’re teammates on the Seattle Thunder hockey team.

Being gay is wrong, unnatural, and there is no room for them in his world. Paul’s heard that his whole life. So when it hits him that he is gay, he does the only thing he can: he shoves himself so deep in the closet he would need a map to find his way out again.

When the chance to fulfill his lifelong dream comes along, Paul can’t say no, even if it forces him to share hotel rooms with the only man he can’t resist. It doesn’t take long for Paul to give into temptation and find himself falling in love with his brilliant, caring teammate.

But as much as he cares for Paul, Robbie is finding it harder and harder to justify hiding who he is. It goes against everything he was taught was right. He feels like he has a duty to come out to the public. He’d be the first out gay pro-hockey player.

If Paul wants to be with Robbie, he will have to turn his back on his family and everything he’s believed in. If Robbie wants to be will Paul, he’ll have to do the same.

It’s going to take them a lot of faith to find their way together in this shiny new world.

Country Boy is a love story about figuring out who you are, who you want to be, and how to get there. It contains sweet hockey plays, a 1976 Corvette Stingray, fancy underwear, and the journey of a lifetime.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36174037-country-boy

********

January 16, 2023

My Review: 3.5/5 Stars

Robbie and Paul met two years ago for a night that neither can forget. But the next day, Robbie was both surprised and unsurprised by Paul's attitude on the ice when their rival teams played. And let's just say Robbie hasn't exactly forgiven Paul for his behavior two years later when they end up on the same pro hockey team. But the two of them are overdue for a long chat and some truths. Paul has been hiding who he truly is for a long time. Coming from a home and a church that has made it clear on their feelings of those who identify as gay, Paul knows he can never come out. Robbie has never denied he is gay but he is shouting it to the world either. Pro hockey at this time doesn't exactly have anyone who is out and representing in the league. And no one seems to want to be the first. When Robbie and Paul are reunited Paul gets a chance to apologize to Robbie for how horrible he was that night and what he was and still is going through. The two of them soon learn that the connection they had back then is still very much there and it isn't long until the two of them give in to their feelings and their connection only deepens the longer they spend together. But things are still complicated and neither can truly be themselves outside of their bubble. They also have a lot to figure out before they can have the happy ending they both want and truly deserve. Love Robbie and Paul! This story really touched on some sensitive topics but did a beautiful job of handling it. Definitely looking forward to the next book in this series!

[kirieshhhka003]

Pairing: La Squadra x GN! Reader

Warnings: language

La Squadra harem

Risotto Nero

Risotto, as a leader of the hitman squad, immediately notices the change of atmosphere among La Squadra once Y/n appears. Albino, to his huge dismay, understands that he’s not the only one who’s developed feelings for Y/n. Albino knows every member’s habits and usual behavior, capo is the first one of all hitmen who figures out that everyone is his rival now (but only when it comes to Y/n, he’s still their leader and he respects every member equally)

Risotto is more of a father figure to Y/n. He warms up to you shortly, pampering you with his attention and genuine care, always being there for you. You’re hungry? The two of you are going to the nearest cafe for you to have a proper meal and Capo won’t take “no” as an answer. You’re stressed and something messes with your pretty head? What a poor thing, come here, Risotto is always ready to listen. Others immediately catch on the change of Capo’s treatment, every day it becomes even more obvious that he has a huge soft spot for Y/n

Least favorite rival: Melone. Risotto hates how smooth purple-haired is around you, how he is open with his flirting, how sincere all of his words sound. Nero wishes he had at least half of sans gêne Melone has. He’s a Capo and he has a reputation to uphold, but behind closed doors Risotto has tried flirting with Y/n and it was so so clumsy and awkward, it’s just… not his style

Prosciutto

The second father figure for Y/n, but if Risotto is more of a sugar daddy, indulging you with expensive gifts and foods, Prosciutto mostly acts like a real father would, scolding you for going outside at winter without your hat on (tho he never wears a hat himself) or for petting stray animals on the streets

Even despite all of his parental sternness, Prosciutto is really caring and attentive towards Y/n, even more that Risotto is. You got scratched accidentally because of your clumsiness? We gotta clean the wound up and patch it, don’t even try to protest; it may be a simple graze but what if some dirt got in it? Your shoulders ache after a long tiring day? Come hither, your dear Prosci will rub all the pain away

Least favorite rival: Risotto. Prosciutto doesn’t hate or despise albino, no. Risotto is a capo, and he got this status for several reasons, so blonde man still respects his boss, but both man have pretty familiar tactics of charming Y/n, and that definitely annoys Prosciutto

Formaggio

Formaggio is one of the most oblivious of all La Squadra men, he doesn’t realize that he’s not the only one having interest in Y/n and even when other guys flirt openly with Y/n in front of him red-haired just thinks that his teammates just try to be friendly towards a newcomer

He’s definitely that type of macho from all the cheesy movies - attractive, excellent smooth talker with constant flirtings. Formaggio is not opposed of using all possible cringy lines what annoy everyone in La Squadra, even Risotto has hard times restraining the urge to roll his eyes at all those shitty teasings. But Maggi is an easygoing guy, it’s so easy being around him and even all his pick up lines don’t repel you from him

Least favorite rival: doesn’t have one. As I said, this man doesn’t notice that other guys try to get Y/n to themselves, the thought of having possible rivals doesn’t even cross his mind

Illuso

It’s not a secret to anyone that Illuso is a little nasty bitch with a huge god complex and all his wooing is no better. “You wanna spend time with me? Shit, you’re such a pain in my ass! Okay, I guess I will indulge you this time, but that’s only because of your cute face” - doesn’t sound so appealing, does it? And that’s exactly the way brunette flirts with Y/n (well, at least he tries to)

Illuso wants to make you crawl to him, to make you crave for his presence and his touch, you make you fall in love hard. Brunette wears his best outfits, uses the best of his perfumes make up stuff just to show you that he’s better than all of his teammates. Surprisingly, even his behavior changes slightly when Y/n is around - he’s not that unbearably churlish towards you, on the good days he may even compliment you - “Your hair… looks good today, I like it”

Least favorite rival: he hates all of La Squadra equally. Illuso is certain that he’s the only one who truly deserves Y/n’s attention, he’s the best partner for you and only he can treat you properly. Doesn’t even try to hide his hostility towards teammates - why would you want spending time with such a trash?

Ghiaccio

Ghiaccio is a tsundere, do I even need to explain why? Is obvious to everyone in La Squadra that he’s head over heels for Y/n, but he still aggressively denies everything if someone points that out. He’s also very protective of you, if Formaggio or Melone or Sorbet try to flirt with you in front of Ghiaccio - they’ll get their nose bleeding soon (blue-haired gets scolded for that by Risotto often)

Blue-haired tries his best to hold all his outbursts in front of you. Even when you ask the stupidest questions, Ghiaccio would clench his fists til his knuckles turn white, grit his teeth, try doing breathing exercises - everything just to remain calm and not to get tantrum in front of you. And you guess that means really a lot

Least favorite rival: Sorbet and Gelato. Those guys (gays, lmao im sorry) don’t even try to hide their interest in Y/n, pinning for you, prying your attention only to themselves. They flirt so openly with you, some of their lines and allusions make even Melone feel slightly uncomfortable, so Ghiaccio sees those almost as if two husbands were shamelessly molesting Y/n

Melone

Melone knows that at times he may be a little bit… too much, so he turns it down for as much as he can so his “strange” tendencies won’t scare Y/n off. For the first few months purple-haired is nothing but sweet and caring, looking pretty normal, just like an average man that doesn’t think of breeding and all possible kinks every two minutes of his time

Even though, he acts like a gentleman with Y/n. Carrying heavy bags for you, giving you a hand when you get up, and if you’re studying medicine he’s up to help you if you have problems with understanding something. Melone had been studying for almost four years at medical uni but got kicked out for having sex with his cogrouper right in the uni. So he may be pretty helpful if you don’t get something or if you’re just interested in medicine

Least favorite rival: I can’t say that he cares much about other guys from La Squadra, but if he had to pick out one it’d be Illuso. It’s not about the way brunette tries to charm Y/n, purple-haired from every beginning didn’t like this guy. All of his conceit and arrogant behavior - it all just pisses Melone off

Pesci

Pesci is so so timid with Y/n, every time you walk by him, saying hi or just smiling at him, poor boy’s heart twists into tight knots. How are you so sweet? How are you so perfect?

Despite all your friendliness green-haired is still incredibly bashful, he is simply afraid of approaching Y/n. It doesn’t matter how much he likes you, Pesci just can’t force himself to try and initiate a chat. Sometimes Prosciutto helps him out with that a little (even though he doesn’t realize that he helps), but blonde is still careful with his actions, not letting even his precious Pesci get too close to Y/n

Least favorite rival: Formaggio. This guy is so noisy and vigorous, every time Pesci finally pulls himself together and finds the courage to approach Y/n this guy seems to appear from fucking nowhere, hogging your attention all to himself and leaving green-haired an angry blushing mess

Sorbet and Gelato

At the very beginning it feels more like you are Sorbet’s and Gelato’s child and they’re your parents fretting over you. They often take you with them on some trips, Gelato helps you with your school (if it’s something he knows about), Sorbet picks you up from work/school and drives you home etc

Sorbet is more of a tease, playing around with you, shamelessly flirting with Y/n, littering with not so pure compliments and comments. His touches are a little bit too long, his gazes are slightly too intense, even stupidest one would notice brunette’s longing for Y/n. Gelato is way less intense than his husband, blonde is way easier with his words, charming you with his sweet talking and constant doting. He’s more of a pillow that eases the expression Sorbet gives you

Sorbet’s least favorite rival: Risotto. Brunette hates how calm and well-composed Capo is, what if Y/n thinks that albino is cooler than he is? But Sorbet immediately makes a new plan in his head: if Risotto is more of a dad to Y/n, always doting on you and being so kind, Sorbet’s going to become your daddy, making you fall for him and Gelato, make you hungry for their attention

Gelato’s least favorite rival: blonde is pretty acknowledged that everyone in La Squadra tryies to get Y/n to themselves, he sees everyone (except Sorbet ofc) as his rival. Man dislikes everyone, seeing them as his opponents, but he doesn’t have a least favorite one. Yes, other members are hella pain in the ass, but blonde is pretty sure that Y/n will end up in his and Gelato’s arms anyways, so there’s no need to jangle his nerves

Masterlist | Smut Masterlist

[the-necessary-unnecessary]

Masterpost of all the openly LGBTQ+ women’s footballers at the Olympics (and their girlfriends/wives)

We did this for the 2019 World Cup and now here we are again for an encore celebrating all the lesbian, bi and trans women’s football players at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics! I’ve tried my best to be as inclusive and thorough as possible but do let me know if I’ve overlooked anything at all :)) Right, without further ado and in no particular order, let’s jump in! NOTE: yes this list is over 65 players long so most follow after a cut 

Vivianne Miedema (Netherlands, Arsenal): the woman, the myth, the legend. Not only is she an incredible footballer breaking records for club and country for years at this point, but she also has many off the pitch talents such as her incredible eyebrow raising skills, ability to take her teddybear everywhere she goes, be one half of the soft bros and the unmeasurable love and support she gives Lisa Evans who she met at Bayern Munich and they now play at Arsenal together (one of many gay footballing migrations) whilst working a side hussle as vloggers. Lisa missed out on a Team GB ticket to Tokyo (#JusticeForLisa) but she’ll be sporting that orange shirt from home in London for sure!

Shelina Zadorsky (Canada, Tottenham Hotspurs): her relationship with fellow Spurs player Rosella Ayane is still relatively new but they’ve already firmly established themselves as one of the cutest couples in futfem with their banter, incredible looks, podcast features, supportive messages and general sweetness. 

Tiane Endler (Chile, Olympique Lyonnais): she recently made two life changing decisions - moving from PSG to rival club Lyon, and marrying her now wife Sofia. Tiane absolute legend of the game for her incredible saves, her ability to carry like five players at a time and her casual openness about being herself.

Leah Williamson (Team GB, Arsenal): another player on the long list of Arsenal gays, she’s very much an icon with a love for Arsenal and for the game only matched by her love to tease her girlfriend, teammate and another footballer left out of the GB squad, Jordan Nobbs. With their questionable sense of style, endless Blu (Jordan’s dog) content, jokes about Jordan’s brain capacity from Leah and an overall level of supportiveness and respect in one another they are a couple to be loved both on and off the pitch.

Megan Rapinoe (USA, OL Reign): her and her basketball-playing fiancée Sue Bird are an Olympic couple if ever there was one! Sue Bird is about to compete in her fifth Olympics and try to bring back her fifth gold medal, whilst Megan has less Olympic gold but such accolades such as the Ballon D’Or and two world cups under her belt. As for her fight for equality, well what is there to say that people don’t already know?!

Marta (Brazil, Orlando Pride): there is no greater legend of the game than Marta. For coming up to 20 years now she has been making waves within and beyond the women’s football community due to her unmatched skills, her leadership and her passion. Recently, she’s been making waves by announcing her engagement to fellow Pride teammate Toni Pressley, with whom she is also the mother to some adorable dogs. I mean just look at the love and sweetness that radiates off of them!!!

Sam Kerr (Australia, Chelsea): depending on who you ask, and mainly going off ig comments, she may or may not be currently dating USWNT Olympian Kristie Mewis (USA, Houston Dash). Either way though, they’re both absolute gay icons in their own rights being very open about past relationships and generally living their iconic lives. But I mean yeah, just explain some of these comments...

Magdalena Eriksson (Sweden, Chelsea): a name that should be topping the list when it comes to futfem couples. Her and her long term girlfriend Pernille Harder are not just a force to be reckoned with on the pitch but also off it. After a picture of Danish Pernille wearing a Swedish shirt kissing Magda after a world cup match took the world by storm they have been using their growing platforms for so much good, doing tonnes of interviews, advocating about LGBTQ+ rights, donating money to charity etc etc. You cannot understate how much they do for the community and how cute they are with each other!!

Stephanie Labbé (Canada, Rosengard): She is part of another Olympic power-couple since her girlfriend is Georgia Simmerling, a track cyclist olympic medallist who is also the first Canadian to compete in three different sports in three different Olympic Games

Fernanda Pinilla (Chile, Universidad de Chile): she has given a few interviews speaking openly about being gay in Chile and the effect that this had on her footballing career and life outlook in general. She’s in a relationship with sports journalist Grace Lazcano Armstrong.

Lucy Bronze (Team GB, Manchester City) and Keira Walsh (Team GB, Manchester City): after having played in different teams and different countries for a few years, last year Lucy returned to the WSL so that they could play together again “for a new challenge”, and now they are thriving sharing changing rooms for both club and country!

Bárbara (Brazil, Sociedade Esportiva Kindermann): she openly addressed her sexuality after posting about her now-exgirlfriend on instagram before the 2019 world cup. Now she’s just living her best life looking this stunning

Merel Van Dongen (Netherlands, Atletico de Madrid): one of my absolute personal favourites, Merel and her Spanish girlfriend Ana Romero make one of the cutest matchups around. Having met when they were playing at Ajax, they then moved to Real Betis in Spain where they stayed until Ana’s retirement at the end of last season. They’ve now got a dog and everything. Merel has always been unapologetically herself, from standing up to homophobes during university in Alabama to doing interviews and posting openly about her sexuality, she really is a lesbian legend.

Chloe Logarzo (Australia, Kansas City): her and her girlfriend, ex-pro footballer and firefighter in the making, McKenzie Berryhill have recently celebrated their second anniversary together! Chloe has been very vocal about her sexuality and her experience of coming out saying that “there are still a few people scared that it is going to tarnish their image, but for me, if it was going to tarnish my image then it’s not the image I want because I’m not telling the truth.”

Hannah Wilkinson (New Zealand): she has always been very open about the relationships she’s been in and just talking about her sexuality in general, such as in an interview where she discussed what it’s like to be a part of the lgbt+ community as an athlete: “Coming out is an incredibly sensitive and vulnerable experience, and when supportive and reassuring people that have been through that same experience surround you, it makes a huge difference.”

Lina Hurtig (Sweden, Juventus): she has just had a baby with her wife and ex-professional football player Lisa Hurtig and they make the cutest little family! They even starred in a short Juventus documentary which got broadcast to the millions of social media followers the club has.

Christen Press (USA) and Tobin Heath (USA): probably the most well-known and one of the most successful - both football wise and in their off the pitch endeavours - footballing power couples! Sure they have never publicly announced their status nor talked about their sexualities but they don’t need to. They just live their lives being themselves and what says love and domesticity more than travelling half way across the world to play together, setting up their own company together, taking photos of each other with rainbows as backdrops etc etc?!?!

Kadeisha Buchanan (Canada, Olympique Lyonnais): never one to shy away from posting about her past relationships she it out and proud alongside being a crucial piece in the Canadian national team having been named the Canadian women’s player of the year three times!

Quinn (Canada, OL Reign): despite being a self-proclaimed introvert, Quinn recognised the power of using the platform of a professional athlete of such high calibre and so publicly came out as transgender in September last year. They have done many interviews since, saying that “I think being visible is huge and it’s something that helped me when I was trying to figure out my identity... I wanted to pass that along and then hopefully other people will come out as well if they feel safe to do so and I can create a safer space for them”. By just being their authentic self, Quinn has become a trailblazer within the sporting community and beyond.

Kailen Sheridan (Canada, Gotham FC): she’s been dating Dominique Nicole for over three years now and cute pictures of them together abound on their social medias but I think this one just has to take the title for best!

Yenny Acuña (Chile, Santiago Morning): her and her girlfriend have been together for coming up to five years, and alongside their two dogs they make a very sweet family!

Demi Stokes (Team GB, Manchester City): she is currently engaged to a woman who she first met after her fiancée slid into her DMs, a modern love story if ever there was one lol

Sophie Ingle (Team GB, Wales): she’s been engayged for quite some time now and given her post a few months back about picking out wedding dresses I’m guessing the big day will finally be coming around soon!

Fran Kirby (Team GB, Chelsea): Fran’s story is one of resilience, and passion and dedication. Her and Maren Mjelde, fellow Chelsea teammate and Norway player, have been through thick and thin together and yet they’re still winning trophies and competing for the title of best dog owners!

Rachel Daly (Team GB, Houston Dash): if ever there was to be a centre to the current futfem dating circle Rachel would likely be it, but for quite a few months now she’s been dating fellow England teammate Millie Turner

Carly Telford (Team GB, Chelsea): her coming out story is about as low key as it gets in the media world, she just casually dropped into an interview in 2017 that she hoped her girlfriend Georgia Elwiss would end up a Cricket World Cup winner with her squad, at Lord’s- and so she did. And now she’s not just her girlfriend because they’re engaged!!

Lauren Hemp (Team GB, Manchester City): she met her gf whilst playing for Bristol and from time to time she’ll bless your timeline with photos like this one

Jill Scott (Team GB, Manchester City): I don’t know what it is with this team and being engaged at the moment but she’s also set to marry Shelly Unitt. They’ve also recently started a coffee shop together and nothing says power couple more than footballer businesswomen!

Formiga (Brazil, São Paulo): at the age of 43 she’s still playing football at the highest level possible having just resigned with the club where she started her career almost 30 years ago! Her legendary status also translates off the pitch, where she has been very open and posting about her wife after they married just a few months ago

Debinha (Brazil, North Carolina Courage): another one who has been dating her club teammate Meredith Speck for a couple of years now and look at them thrivinggg

Andressa Alves (Brazil, AS Roma): she’s been married for over a year now to her wife and ex-pro footballer who won silver in Beijing, Francielle. Let’s see if this year Andressa can do one better!

Gio Queiroz (Brazil, Barcelona): this eighteen year old has played at youth levels for three countries and is now already a consolidated member of the Brazilian senior squad. Ornella Vignola (who also plays for Barça B) and her, who knew each other since before last season because of Spain youth teams, have become the epitome of baby gay on their tiktok.

Aline Reis (Brazil, Granadilla Tenerife): her and her long-term girlfriend Bruna moved to Spain together a few years back and now Aline’s ig is full of photos of them living the footballing life in the Canary Islands!

Saari van Veenendal (Netherlands, PSV): she’s one to keep her private life pretty under wraps, saying that “I have the responsibility to use that fame to promote women's football and to inspire young girls. That feels like something wonderful. I do it with my heart and soul. But my Instagram is not full of photos of family and friends. Only my sister appears. My parents, friends and partner don't. I don't want my attention to be their attention" 

Stefanie van der Gragt (Netherlands, Ajax): she has a young daughter with her partner Mary and just look at the three of them goooo

Danielle van de Donk (Netherlands, Arsenal): her and Arsenal teammate Beth Mead have never been ones to shy away from posting about each other but lately they’ve been getting a lot more vocal about their love for each other and we absolutely love to see it.

Jill Roord (Netherlands, Wolfsburg): after being dubbed futfem’s most eligible bachelor for years it seems like she’s found someone in Norwegian player Ingrid Engen (no I’m not jealous of Jill... okay maybe just a lil bit)

Shanice van de Sanden (Netherlands, Wolfsburg): the amount of powerful gay energy that her and her gf radiate from this photo alone tells you all you need to know about them!

Sherida Spitse (Netherlands, Ajax): she’s got a family of four with two kids and her wife who she married with Van de Sanden as their witness, and the domestic vibes they have together are impeccable

Annouk Dekker (Netherlands, Braga): she started dating her girlfriend Laura Casanova after she met her at Montpellier, and after a short long-distance stint they’re joined the gay football migration and signed with Braga together.

Caitlin Foord (Australia, Arsenal): if lockdown gave us one thing it was the start of the relationship between her and Swiss Arsenal teammate Lia Wälti when they decided to spend lockdown together rather than alone, and the rest is history!

Tameka Yallop (Australia, Brisbane Roar): she’s one wife and one mum of another very adorable family! Her wife, Kirsty Yallop, is an ex-New Zealand footballer and now they’ve got a daughter too

Erin McLeod (Canada, Orlando Pride): she has been out and proud about being a lesbian for years, campaigning to get a change in the language of the Olympic Charter and serving on the Canadian Athletes' Commission as the LGBT representative. She used to be married to Ella Masar (who now has a son with Babett Peter) but has been in a relationship with Gunny Jonsdottir for quite a long time now.

Alanna Kennedy (Australia): since being part of the wsl aussie migration at the beginning of last season she has started dating her now ex-teammate at Spurs Becky Spencer

Teagan Micah (Australia, Sandviken): she’s been very public in the past about her relationships and now seems to be living her best life exuding a tonne of gay energy

Similar things can be said about Ellie Carpenter (Australia, Olympic Lyonnais),

Hayley Raso (Australia, Everton), 

Kyah Simon (Australia, PSV), 

Emily van Egmond (Australia) 

and Elise Kellond-Knight (Australia, Hammarby) - can you tell that the Matildas is basically a synonym for queer at this point?

Mackenzie Arnold (Australia, West Ham):  she met her girlfriend Carson Pickett whilst she was on loan to Brisbane in 2017, before Carson moved back to the US to play for Orlando Pride and she’s moved to England to play in the WSL. The distance, unsurprisingly, hasn’t been easy on them but it still looks like they’re going strong.

Abby Erceg (New Zealand, North Carolina Courage): she has been dating her NCC teammate Kristen Hamilton for years now and they’re cute on main on the time!

Hedvig Lindhal (Sweden, Atletico de Madrid): she has been happily married to Sabine Willms for ten years at this point with whom she also has two sons. 

Caroline Seger (Sweden, Rosengård): in an interview she said that she used to conceal her sexuality but decided to speak out circa 2014 to help other young people who may be struggling. She has also done a lot for gender equality in the sport, especially making sure that more younger girls get into playing. She has had so much of an impact that she was one of five of her teammates to be honoured with their own statue which then got defaced but the movement against the backlash showed how much greater the support is. She is likely to be in a relationship with national and club teammate Olivia Schough (Sweden, Rosengård)

Tierna Davidson (USA, Chicago Red Stars): an underrated gay icon on the USWNT, she’s been dating her girlfriend Alison Jahansouz for over four years now since they met whilst playing together at Stanford University.

Emma Kullberg (Sweden, BK Häcken): although her gf and teammate Julia Zigiotti didn’t quite make the Olympic roster they did do this really cute interview together the other month ://

Adrianna Franch (USA, Portland Thorns): not only was 2019 an amazing year for her due to winning her first world cup, but she also got wifed up to Emily Boscacci!!

Kelley O’Hara (USA, Washington Spirit): most people found out about her queer status during the celebration that ensued after winning the World Cup where her kissing her girlfriend for all the world to see has gone down in lgbt history. 

Jane Campbell (USA, Houston Dash): okay but three words only - family! Christmas! photos! 

Clare Polkinghorne (Australia, Vittsjö): nope we’re not even done with the Australians, she has a long-term non-footballing girlfriend :))

Carla Guerrero (Chile, Universidad de Chile): her girlfriend and teammate, Yael Oviedo just missed out on making the cut to board the plane to Japan, but going off her ig post of support she’ll be Carla’s no1 cheerleader for the duration of the tournament and beyond

Christine Sinclair (Canada, Portland Thorns): the record-holding goalscoring legend has for quite a few years been going out with another footballing legend as one of the 99ers, Tiffeny Millbrett

Sisca Folkertsma (Netherlands, Girondins de Bordeaux): her and her gf Patricia van Laar have been together for quite a few years at this point, they are just about to start a new chapter together in France where their ig accounts are likely to remain filled with contet of each other!

Lynn Wilms (Netherlands, Wolfsburg): her and Sophie Pieterson, they started their pro careers together at Twente in 2018 and have won a lot of silverware together before Lynn signed a new contract for the upcoming season in Germany.

Jennifer Falk (Sweden, BK Häcken): there’s a different kind of footballing power couple at play here since she is dating a a futsal player called Pernilla Johansson. It seems like their relationship was casually mentioned in an SVT article a few months ago , detailing how in a futsal final Pernilla was playing in audiences weren’t being allowed by Jenny was asked to be a ball girl which she immediately said yes to! 

Filippa Angeldahl (Sweden, BK Häcken): she is with Megan Brakes who works as a high ranking partner with Neverland management, one of the most reputed sports agencies based in Scandinavia. 

[reseaseo]

Sanders Grand Prix 03: “They Were Teammates?!”

Lol you okay there Roman? Lost you while you were gay panicking. 😅

Played around with the idea that the two were former teammates but ended up parting ways this season because they couldn’t stand having to give way to each other and act as mere support from time to time for the sake of the team—they’re both competitive after all. They BOTH want to be the star of the show.

Now they’re rivals. And I guess Roman just *loves* to hate the enemy, right? 👀

Self-gratifying #Roceit comic and I’m not guilty about it 💛❤️

[danthropologie]

idk who to send this so please im loosing my shit over this post . This is max with one of daniel’s well worn merch sweatshirt in their old Monaco apartment building or post race rbr circa 2018 polo (remember when they had that long motor home they had to share) .

first of all, obsessed??? second of all, maybe it's just the daniel brainworms speaking, but i kind of feel like it could go both ways re: maxiel?

(adding a cut because i kind of rambled on 😭)

like on one hand, as you said, it could be this idea of max still in the process of discovering himself. he doesn't really register that his feelings about daniel as a 'friend' are Different than just friendship until that experience happens. then, as any feral karting kid turned more-than-slightly repressed young adult would, he turns to the internet for help. but for him, it would be less about What It Means for him personally and more just about not wanting to compromise the friendship? like, daniel's so cool and fun and interesting, the first ever teammate he could call a friend, so of course the last thing he wants to do is make things weird or alienate him with these strange Feelings he's feeling!! he doesn't really even understand WHY it happened, but he's not really interested in the why either? he just wants to get it off his chest more than anything.

on the other hand, it also SCREAMS repressed bisexual daniel to me??? the clinging to straightness and reaffirming attraction to women despite this Not Very Straight thing happening. the downplaying and rationalizing of feelings toward the friend. the total avoidance of What This Means, while clearly having a bit of an internal meltdown about it.

like just imagine a scenario where it's like...it's 2019, daniel's left rbr, he's at renault now, and they're about halfway through the season. it's the end of another race weekend, and he's going back to monaco on air verstappen with max. it's a little chilly on the plane (max prefers it that way) and he forgot a sweatshirt, but max has an extra one he can borrow. when they land in monaco, daniel goes to take off the sweatshirt and give back, but max tells him not to worry about it, he can give it back to him later. so daniel takes it home with him.

later, daniel's in bed, trying to sleep, but between the jetlag and his racing mind, it's not happening. then he notices max's sweatshirt on the end of the bed. somewhere in the process of getting home and settling in it must have ended up there, and seeing it there now, he can't help but be drawn to it. so he picks it up, and at first he's just looking at it. examining it. tracing the cracked rbr logo on the back of it with his finger. he starts thinking about the team and how much a part of him still misses them. still misses max. nico is fine as a teammate of course, but he's definitely no max. he doesn't laugh at his jokes like max did, doesn't fool around with him in marketing videos and between meetings (and sometimes during the meetings) like max did, doesn't straddle the precarious line between friend and rival with relative ease like max did. but in a lot of ways, things between them are better now that they’re not teammates anymore. max is just his friend. there's no 'but' in the sentence. no caveat to the friendship. when they're together—like they were earlier that night on the plane—they're just max and daniel, exactly like it's always been.

and as the thinks more about max and how great he is and how cool it is that he gets call him a friend, something just comes over him?? all these thoughts and the lingering smell of him on the sweatshirt that's invading daniel's senses... next thing he knows, he's having post nut clarity and lowkey freaking the fuck out cause this is weird!! max his friend, and more importantly, he's straight!! so like any good raised-on-the-internet millennial would, he turns to anonymous internet forums for reassurance that this is Totally Normal and Definitely Not Weird (or gay)

[depressedhatakekakashi]

9 for the AU ask game

Akatsuki Kakashi au!

Iruka falling in love was never something he thought too much about. He had a lot of other things to worry himself over.

Iruka falling in love with a member of the akatsuki, though? That’s something he never wanted to deal with but here he js.

Kakashi is terrifying but hot

Unhinged but kind

There’s nothing about him that makes any sense and Iruka hates it because his brain is screaming at him to smarten up and move on but his heart isn’t budging. It’s attached

It wants the man who murdered his teammates in front of him and then proceeded to treat him with such tenderness that absolutely nothing in the world makes sense anymore

Iruka and Gai would be a lot closer in this AU because they’re the only one’s who have any hope or belief in Kakashi anymore. Gai because that’s his rival and friend, and Iruka because (in his own words) he’s hopeless and doomed

[etherealxgenie]

Why Adrien is Better off Gay/Bi/Pan || Miraculous, Why?

(Before I begin, note that this is my opinion over the topic and am no way am bashing anyone’s love for the ship and/or character. I respect who and what you like, therefore expect the same courtesy. However, if this is something you cannot handle, please click the back button as this will be a heavily discussed topic. No flames allowed. Other than that, enjoy.)

I’m afraid I have to address the elephant in the room. Of how the hetero pairings for Adrien are about as real as Twilight. Sometimes it makes me wonder if Thomas Astruc looked at the ships in the end of Naruto and though… makes sense? That’s a long shot convo for another day.

I’m going to take the time in this chat to discuss why each female who has an interest in Adrien has no chance of having a healthy relationship with him and to why male characters have better chances! Let’s look at the girls one by once.

Lila: Let’s start with the obvious. Lila is clearly not interested in Adrien for his personality, but merely for the good looks and fame. She really hasn’t demonstrated any behavior that she cares for him genuinely and hangs off of him constantly as a possession. It’s clear Lila sets her eyes on Adrien because he’s famous, popular and wants him as a trophy husband. Lila is pretty toxic on her own to go so far as to sneak in and stalk Adrien. What’s worse is that she now has Gabriel’s permission to do so. If he were to be paired with Lila, it’ll break him and be nothing but hell.

Chloe: While it shows itself that Adrien has only platonic feelings for Chloe, she still hopes for something more. Adrien cares deeply for Chloe because he was her first friend, though it’s obvious Chloe wants more. Though Chloe has a mean streak and a possessive behavior where she tends to be cruel to people aside from Adrien and expects to get away with it every time. With the behavior she gets from being spoiled and trying to live up to her mother, would it be farfetched to say a future marriage between these two would be like Audrey/Andre? I don’t think so. Plus, she forgets his birthday. What kind of friend does that?

Kagami: Not going to lie, out of all the pairs, Kagami does have the most potential to be paired with Adrien. She meets him through fencing, they get time to know each other and they slowly start to grow as friend. However, that just about ends when it comes to such as Kagami is another girl who takes it a step too far. Like Chloe, Kagami follows too much in her mother’s footsteps and also is overly aggressive and competitive. She looks to quickly claim Adrien because they’re ‘perfect’, which is a word Adrien hates a lot under his façade. She’s gets possessive around other girls near Adrien and moves too quickly, also forcing Adrien to make his decisions as if he doesn’t have the time to decide.

And last…

Marinette: Marinette… in a way is a small combination of the girls combine. No doubt she’s sweet, shy and tries help at times when matters. BUT she’s also obsessive, possessive, and hypocritical. Things a potential yandere usually becomes. She invades Adrien’s privacy, stalks him, and steals from him more so than Lila. She doesn’t mind crossing boundaries as far as doing illegal acts such as breaking into his locker, copying his schedule? How even. She also tried to confess to Adrien on the day his mother disappeared/died which is a time for MOURNING and COMFORT! She also has no problems calling other people out on this behavior, yet she does the same things. Hypocrisy is never a good color to wear.

Not to mention she only is ‘in love’ with one side of him. As Ladybug, which is important, she tends to put him down as Chat Noir, doesn’t give him proper respect in public and doesn’t include him with important matters, especially with Master Fu. She treats him as his sidekick rather than his partner and leaves him in the dark. She thinks of herself as Batman and him Robin. If you read the comics or watch some of DC shows, you know how well THAT goes. Marinette cannot love Adrien without loving and respecting him as Adrien AND Chat.

Granted, she’s not the only girl who treats Chat badly, but she is supposed to be his ‘partner’ so… yeah.

For these girls it wouldn’t make sense. Not to mention at least once, the girls tend to make Adrien uncomfortable holding him on his arm and such. They don’t act like they care of Adrien’s well being at all (except for Kagami sometimes), but make him to be some prized to be won. Forced shipping is toxic shipping.

I can gladly blame the poor writing on the show, but pretty much it did it’s damage enough for me to say I cannot or will not romantically ship these girls with Adrien. If there were potential girls, girls like Rose, Juleka heck even Alix, but it’s safe to say that’s out of the question.

You know who DOES have the more potential, though? The boys.

Yes. As we take a chance to look at the friends he bonds with, its easy to say Adrien is more comfortable around the guys. The party before it was crashed, the video game tournament, these are just a few that aren’t shown often but do show more of Adrien’s comfort level. What guys you ask?

A perfect example for a ‘friends to lover’ romance would be Nino for example. He starts off subtly and gets to know Adrien from the start, not showing any animosity after the misunderstanding with Adrien and his childhood friend, Marinette. Nino also goes through lengths to help Adrien as far as to stand up to Gabriel to give Adrien a friggin’ birthday party! And got akumatized for it. Adrien also shows to go through the same lengths to help Nino hook up with Marinette so far as to set him up alone in the zoo. Nino is sweet, caring and he works well with Chat.

Another potential love interest (my personal OTP), Luka. From the get-go of how they met from a trip accident, Luka greets Adrien with kindness and welcomes him to the group in Captain Hardrock. In ‘Desperada’, that same friendliness still holds as Luka trust Adrien with his guitar, his most prize possession. Luka also does his best to keep Adrien safe and hidden away as Adrien returns the favor to save Luka from getting hit. Don’t push me about the locker scene because there are MULTITUDINOUS ways of how I can make so many ‘In the closet’ references. Also, that wink Chat gave, and the look Luka had? Need I say more? Good. And let’s not forget the icing on the cake and keep in mind to remember:

Adrien chose Luka to wield the Snake miraculous. ADRIEN, not ladybug, chose LUKA. Not to mention the fact, as Viperion, he was eager to work with Chat the moment they met and has nothing but good working with him as a teammate. That’s a bonus.

Many fans of the show try to depict them as rivals for Marinette, but only Luka shows that interest in which Marinette doesn’t really accept because of her obsession with Adrien. To make Adrien ‘jealous’ is really out of character, but another topic I’ll cover.

Truthfully, it would be an interesting twist of all the girls pushed up against Adrien, he would turn around and go for the cute guitarist or starts talking about how cute the guy is! Tell me that Degrassi twist wouldn’t add some good drama.

Overall, the show demonstrates so far that most of the girls for Adrien doesn’t really possess healthy qualities for Adrien to have a good future. The boys give him a more comfortable understanding a gentle nature for a kid like Adrien. You could pair him up with Ivan or Max and Adrien would STILL have more chemistry than them. Note that he’s sheltered, and we have no clue off what other mannerism he was raised on or how truly strict Gabriel and Nathalie are. Hell, we don’t even know how it was like when Emilie was even around.

But for any relationship to work, friendship before romance. Slow but steady at the pace both parties can go. People including Adrien, need that.

[passanima]

tag from foot2rue is gay, here’s the receipt (just copy/pasting my live reaction to watching season 1 to friends)

1/ there's a sort of love triangle between two guys and a girl. the situation is that guy 1 and 2 are childhood besties that spend all their time together but one day a girl becomes part of their friend group. guy 2 gets a crush on her immediatly and guy 1 get PISSED and for a good almost 10 eps it REALLY looks like he's jealous that guy 2 pay attention to her, and not... what they meant to convey, that he supposedly has a crush on her also

2/ the boring het couple are together now BUT as soon as they are there's a jealousy ep (couldn't wait a bit longer to make them look like a real couple even) and THE DUDE. get jealous. in the MOST gay way like. talks about his "rival" like "he's so cool, and nice, and handsome, i get why she would prefer him to me" like do you hear yourself boy????? he tries to do the "angry boyfriend" thing of talking to the dude but gets flustered instead cause the guy just too handsome like COME ON writers

3/ in one ep he runs away and the only person he tells/says goodbye to is one of his guy friend (not even bestie, but another i can totally see him have a crush on), and not his "gf"

4/ other ep bestie isn't here and everyone is midly upset... expect main dude who is VERY upset, like nothing can cheer him up upset. gay boy. he's so upset his other friends are annoyed about it

5/ same ep: cause bestie isn't there they have to find another player and mc decide to pick their nemesis, his teammates are like "you lost your fuckin mind" but he goes on a monologue about how nemesis deserves a chance and he can relate to him and shit like BOY 

if there's no enemy to lover fic about these two, the fuck is this fandom doing

it's like poetry... the closeted gay boy who feels he would be rejected at any moment if his peers knew about him, and while he's currently popular, can't help but be stressed about this possibility so much he doesn't really fit in (from his point of view) and looks at how his nemesis is rejected by everyone for being openly himself (tho not about his sexuality) and think "we're the same" hence why he reach for him even if it means all his friends being mad at him... for the hope that if he gets rejected just like the nemesis one day, maybe at least one person would do the same thing he just did for that dude

5/ i legit gasped LOUDLY cause holy shit the dramaaaa

obv the rest of the team don't want to play with the nemesis so they're playing badly and almost loosing until nemesis has no choice but give up 

mc is like "the fuck is your problem" to teammates and they're like "we'd rather play as 4" (there's 5 people in teams) and mc is like "yeah? well get ready to play at 3" 

and fuckin LEAVES

with the NEMESIS 

ABANDONING HIS TEAMMATES

6/ this boy gonna make me faint... they just won the match that qualified them to the final and he LEFT before his team even started to go all YEAAAAH to follow the nemesis, like, this was more important to him

7/ next ep: mc gets up in the night and guess who he meets? his nemesis. who CHEERS him up, even tho they couldn't stand each other until last ep but mc being on his side must have meant so much to him they're on good terms now

also mc is sad over the thought of loosing his friends (in text, he has no real reason to believe he's gonna lose them)(in gay reading tho? oooooh boy) and AGAIN the way he talk to ex-nemesis about it, the one he relate the most to? bitch........

8/ i'm crying laughing....... ex-nemesis after all that "and your gf?" as in, what does she think of all this, and tag says he didn't tell her any of it (cause again the only one he felt like telling is ex-nemesis) and then PROMPTLY change the subject like i'm banging my fist on the table DUDE

9/ the fact that mc gets upset at his "gf" all the fuckin time but never treat his guy friends/crush that way (he had ONE fight with bestie but apologized quickly and it was a whole scene)(has he ever apologized to her? maybe once over all the times they got mad at each other)

10/ mc chose to babysit a kid even tho he had a date planned with his "gf", ditching her like he'd... rather do that, than spend time with her

11/ SCREAMING end of ep there's a good news for the team, everyone is cheering then the fuckin ex-nemesis enters frame but far away from them and winks 

for a sec i was like "who the fuck is he winking to? the audience?" but THEN zoom on mc's face, who winks back (he's the only one who saw nemesis, and og wink was meant for him precisely) like can you guys... stop... doing this to me

12/ i counted 4 boys tag seems to have a crush on in only 1 season