#water sibling week 2020

[heretodestroyou]

heart-shaped sunglasses.

pairing(s); matthew lillard!william afton x reader

fandom; five nights at freddy’s [movie]

w/c; 592

trigger/content warnings; slightly unholy thoughts from william about you in your uniform, fem!reader, (reader wears lipstick, has boobs, is called 'girl' by william and has medium-length hair), heavy lana del rey influences (diet mountain dew), mentioned that reader smokes cigarettes, age gap (william is late 40s, reader is mid 20s), no explicit romance but it's heavily implied there's mutual pining, written from william's pov, reader knows his real name, not proof-read, NO use of y/n, lmk if i missed anything.

stella speaks! at this point someone reblogs/tags me in a shitpost about this man, i add tags while my brain is inconsolably horny, and then all of a sudden i'm writing a new draft. and yes, ik lana wasn't really a thing in 1990s, but for now let's pretend he's still a silver fox in the 2020s.

tags; @truecobblepot bc ofc🫶🏽🫶🏽

inspired by this post and the shenanigans that ensued.

“I just wanted to know how much I appreciate you staying late these past couple weeks.”

William’s voice is smooth, he’s demeanor calm, the slight tilt of his head and the casual clasp of his hands in front of him giving no hint to the turmoil in his brain.

You’re his employee. His best employee, no less. He can’t afford to lose you, to drive you away. So he’ll make sure you’re not looking him in the eye when his roam your body.

The words that come from your mouth are sincere. He knows this. He doesn’t much care in this moment however. That red vest is pulled across your breasts, and the top button of your shirt is undone, your tie looser now that the building is empty.

It’s his fault, how tight your uniform is on you. He has your size on file, but he always orders a size down, just for him. He doesn’t pay mind to the way teenage pizza boys and older brothers here with siblings watch you, because he knows he’s miles better than they are.

His eyes linger in the plastic heart-shaped sunglasses hanging from your collar, and he nods towards them. “And those? I do hope you haven’t been wearing those all day.”

It’s a gentle correction. No matter how much William favors you, he still must keep his image up. You shake your head. “No, I just got them out of my locker when I closed up with Robyn.”

“Where did you get them?” He asks, leaning forward. The movement is subtle, but he knows you catch it.

“It was a gag gift from some party,” you answer, taking them off your vest and sliding them on. William's breath barely catches in his throat. The frames are the same shade as the blood red lipstick you love wearing.

It’s your signature. It’s how he knows you’ve been in the break room, paper coffee and water cups stamped with your lips in the trash, lipstick printed cigarette buts in the back alleyway that he’s convinced himself are prettier than anyone else’s.

William's brain is rapid firing all kinds of signals, ranging from you're nearly 20 years younger than him, to why have I never felt this was about my ex-wife?

Everything about you seems to catered to William's preferences. You hold eye contact with him and customers, you're great with kids (including his!), and you actually appreciate the care he takes of his animatronics.

He chuckles as you look around his dim office with your heart-shaped sunglasses. "Well, now, look at you. Never was there ever a girl so pretty." You giggle, tugging on a strand of hair and sliding them up into your hair. "That's so sweet, Mr. Afton!" William chuckles. You're picture perfect and William is damn well aware that he's no good for you. "Please, call me William. It's only fitting that we remain on first name basis...as of your promotion to assistant manager."

Your eyes widen, and you let out a little gasp. "Do you really mean that, Mr. Af-- William?"

God, the way your lips form his name is intoxicating. He nods, his demeanor wavering slightly as you beam at him, thanking him.

It’s a power move, he knows. A selfish one, no less. But he can’t risk losing the one competent employee. And besides, the assistant manager’s uniform is closer to his, the pale purple shirt and darker tie, black slacks and black shoes (of your choosing, of course).

And who is he to deny himself that view?

[zombielesbean]

Long post incoming! Since my minecraft creative world has been getting a lot of attention lately, I thought I'd do a post about the history of it!

previously I had thought it started in 2018, but looking into it it turns out I started it in 2017, which is the first year I played minecraft before that point, my sibling was really into it, but I'd never really been into it that much. the switch came out in 2017 and we got one pretty close to launch, and, not long after that, minecraft released for the system, and we got it so my sibling could finally play, and I gave it a try myself, too

I ended up getting very into it, my first base was this big building built into the side of a mountain :) after that, I got very into the building aspect of minecraft, much more than I liked survival, so I ended up trying out building in creative mode, and built this big house

it had a pool in the basement and lots of simulated furniture like a sink and refrigerator in the kitchen hehe

after this experience, I realized that building in minecraft creative mode is essentially having an infinite supply of legos, and I'd been really into videos about people's giant lego cities or terrain builds or big model train dioramas, and I realized this was the perfect way for me to get to build my own landscapes and such

and so, I generated a flat world

in minecraft for nintendo switch, you could generate a flat world with structures, plus some trees and water features, so that's what this was

the first thing I did was just, plant a huge forest, with little terraforming, and then I built a giant castle

and then I built a mountain

and then I started building an ocean

and here's just some other things I built around that time:

after that, I didn't play for awhile, until 2018, when they ported bedrock to the switch, and I picked up the game again because the performance improvements were really good, and also, it just spurred me on to play again in general ehe

here's a look at basically the entire world at that point:

not terribly long after that I met @da-mous and we started playing minecraft together and building stuff in this world together :)

After that there was another pretty long hiatus, I didn't really work on it more until 2020

before that it'd basically just been me and my sibling working on the world together, me doing all the terrain and that kind of stuff, and they were adding lil buildings to the village, but after meeting cass I started playing with more friends, such as @bisthefairy, who added trains to the world :)

at this point my plan was to build a big cliffside around the entire area and make it into a big valley, and then build more stuff (like an "evil" village and castle to oppose the "good" one I'd already built), and I'd started work on the cliff on the side of the world where I wanted that castle to be

but shortly after that, the first real breakthrough occurred: cass gave me new tools, using command blocks

she gave me tools that could do things like build a massive pillar of dirt below me every tick down to the world limit, build a massive square sheet of dirt below me, fill in a space with water, or paint blocks in front of me into whatever type of block I wanted

this absolutely changed everything, and the cliff project and the ocean project turned from things that would have taken me weeks or even months to complete working by hand, down to only days

and, my landscape structures no longer had to be simply hollow facades, but they were now solid all the way through and I could more easily make things like caves, too!

things started going so fast after that point, the entirety of the world I had built went from this area:

...to this (above pictured area is circled, and not everything pictured here was already built back then)

everything I had done in the last three years was suddenly dwarfed in only a few months

I finished the cliffs, I finished the ocean, I built a custom desert (based on the high desert in Oregon), I built volcanoes, I built mountain ranges, I built the evil castle, I built villages across the ocean, I built huge sloping plains, I built a huge underground cavern with a fairy village in it and fake stars on the ceiling... my projects had gotten so much bigger and more numerous

some time after this, I had to move to the PC version finally, because of an incident involving 14,000 end crystals being spawned into the world, which ruined my save file by creating an inescapable black hole of frame rate loss, and we needed to fix that lol

but anyway, that opened up a lot to me, I had much greater performance and draw distance, and I could play with using structure blocks to steal things from normally generated minecraft worlds, like buildings and just pieces of already generated landscapes, and the plop them into the world and then smoothly integrate them into my already built world, which was really fun

structures can only be of a certain size at a time too, so I had entire notebook pages dedicated to mapping out the pieces I was taking so I could copy paste them all back together seamlessly, ehe

also now that I was on PC, I started dabbling a little bit in external tools, mostly so that I could change the biomes; as a flat world, the entire world was the plains biome, and that really bugged me

I found one that was, honestly, pretty clunky, but did what I wanted with biomes, and that was pretty cool! there weren't a lot of tools for bedrock back in those days, so I did what I could haha

but, now my desert was actually a desert! it would actually snow on top of my mountains! huzzah! and I also took the opportunity to just copy paste ocean all around my world, so that it would become a continent surrounded by water, and I built a jungle island far away

after that, I played a little bit here and there, but wasn't really focused on it too much, I didn't really play at all in 2022 or 2023, I was just doing gamedev nonstop pretty much all year last year

that is, until Grey Area finally released, and @chemkitt had showed me a really cool mod for java edition called 'axiom' that's made specifically for terrain building, like a supercharged version of cass's command block tools, and the fire to work on my minecraft world was lit anew

it was just like the renaissance that occurred when cassie made those tools, suddenly things that had previously taken weeks now took mere days, I was able to completely finish the continent and surrounding lands in mere hours, built a giant archipelago in only a day, and could now change biomes and copy paste millions of blocks in an instant

finally satisfied with the size of the world, I also figured out how to go into the files and complete another long held dream I'd had for the world, to change it back to a normal minecraft world, and let the outer edges generate like normal, essentially kind of sealing in my world, and making it so that the outer edges are no longer endless nothing, which I felt was kind of creepy ehehe

and that's where we are today! my little flat world has grown so much :) my current project is building a new entire (even bigger!) giant continent to the east of the original, and another, smaller, southern continent as well!

and most recently, I've been building a big flower garden type of place full of lots of trees and foliage over on the original continent :)

it's been so so nice seeing so many people enjoy the work I've done here! I'm hoping to do a whole video tour of the place sometime soon, there's so much more to see and talk about than I even did here, ehe!

and there's lots and lots of space to decorate and build things and plant forests and all that, so I hope to invite more people over to add to it in the near future, too!

thanks for reading :3

[averagewriter-inthedark]

Ridin’ The Waves 🏄‍♀️ | Javy “Coyote” Machado Imagine

Takes place before, during and after the events of TGM

TGM masterlist

Characters & Pairings: Javy “Coyote” Machado x pro surfer!reader (romantic), dagger squad (platonic)

Content Warnings: fluff, profanity, pop culture references, details of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics | female!reader (she/her) | wc: 9.1k

Requested 📨 yes/no (for @a-court-of-roscoe-and-baby)

Premise: From the moment she could walk Y/n L/n belonged to the sea. Riding the waves that started as a hobby, only to lead her to the world’s greatest sporting stage. It would take time before her dream of Olympic Gold would happen as surfing had yet to be recognized by the IOC. But in her pursuit of becoming the greatest female surfer of all time, Y/n found who she believed was the closest person to paradise.

Note: I gotta say writing athlete/Olympian!reader imagines with the dagger squad are truly some of my favorite. Gosh I cannot wait for next year because that means…..2024 Olympics 👀 Guys I’m almost done with my semester! I have less than two weeks and all i have left to do is a paper and final project !! Almost to the finish thank goodness and then I move in with my friend before starting my summer job! Hope y’all enjoyed this work and let me know what you think!

Be sure to watch the video I linked during the Rock’s segment. I didn’t make it up it actually was a segment during the opening ceremonies on NBC’s coverage.

————————

“Is this heaven?” He laid on the surfboard beside her, feet in the water with the warmth of the sun hit his back. A cool breeze was starting to set in as the most beautiful sunset was before him, painting the sky an endless murrel of pink and orange. Only the subtle echo of the low tide filled his ears. Javy pressed his cheek onto the board, finding her smile which made his own appear at her words.

“More like paradise.”

Everyone had their own definition of paradise. Maybe it was the quiet plains of Montana or the mountains of Appalachia. Maybe it was strolling down the streets of Paris with the Eiffel Tower in the distance. Rain pouring down on New York City with a steaming cup of tea in hand or driving down the Pacific Coast Highway with “California Love” blasting through the radio. Reading a book by the fire next to their soulmate, dancing with strangers at a concert. Ask anyone what they viewed as their own personal paradise and the responses will vary.

Y/n L/n felt she was in paradise almost everyday of her life. Waking up to the view of the ocean while birds flew overhead. Feet hitting the sand as she ran to the waters with her board, anxiously waiting to ride the waves. Salt water coating skin and hair, sun beaming down.

Paradise.

From the moment she could walk the beach became her second home. Having grown up on the island of O’ahu Y/n learned how to surf before riding a bike. Her parents surfed. As did her siblings. Getting an instructor wasn’t needed with a family who knew everything there was about the art of surfing. Y/n received her first board at age four, and from then on her life was devoted to the water. Owning more swimsuits than t-shirts and shorts by the time she reached fifth grade.

She was a natural at best. Always predicting when and where the best waves would be. Timing the push up so perfect others—even her family—were unable to keep up.

“C’mon, leave some for the rest of us,” her brother would groan, missing a wave due to her swooping in at the last second. Y/n only laughed in return.

“Gotta be faster than that.”

Her parents, surfers themselves, were basically her coaches. On weekends they were waking her up at the crack of dawn, breakfast on the counter and telling her to be on the beach when she was done. Then of course she had to apply sunscreen, the substance coating every inch of her skin. Once on the beach a thirty minute run and stretching was mandatory before she could get in the water.

Skipping such a step would have her sore all night.

“We’re gonna work on your 360, cutback, and tube ride before finishing the day with cleaning up your alley oop.”

“If I don’t make a lot of mistakes can we watch Lilo & Stitch after dinner?”

“Yes, that is a fair deal.”

Mistakes? What are those? Mistakes weren’t in Y/n’s nature and if they occurred it was a rare sighting. Only time Y/n ever did mess up on a maneuver was when she was first learning it. Once she had it down it was impossible to lose.

All the friends she made loved going to the beaches after school and on weekends—getting all their homework done during the school hours so their entire afternoon was free. They signed up for competitions together, Y/n entering her first at age 14 for the 2004 Juniors season after competitions in regionals since age 11. “You’re gonna win the comp, Y/n.”

“Oh stop playing,” she brushed her best friend off, only to hear the murmurs of agreement from the rest of the group.

“I’m serious! You catch the best waves and ride them perfectly. Those judges are gonna be amazed on Saturday—I bet you’ll even get a sponsor.”

Her best friend was right. Not only did Rip Curl—THE Rip Curl want Y/n to be the face of their new campaign, but the surfing world would know her name for generations to come.

“Welcome back to our coverage of the 2004 ISA World Junior Surf Championship here in beautiful O’ahu, Hawaii here on ESPN. We’re dwindling down on the final competition with the defending champion from last year's event, sixteen-year-old Carolina Kanoa, and newcomer, Y/n L/n. If you’ve been watching the competition then you know all eyes have been on the fourteen-year-old native of Kapolei here on O’ahu, who scored the highest in her heats and received all tens in the quarterfinals after a perfect run.”

“It was quite the sight, Tom. I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone so effortless in this competition. Y/n’s delivered a captivating performance each wave she’s catched—always getting the first one in her heats and pulling out a big score putting her high on the leaderboard. I wouldn’t be surprised if we see her on top of the podium today.”

“For anyone watching at home who are new to surfing or just want a little refresh on the scoring system, here is how it works: a panel of five judges determine a score one through ten, ten being the best, for each surfer on their wave based on degree of difficulty, innovative maneuvers, combination of major maneuvers, the variety of said maneuvers, and the speed, power, and flow. The highest and lowest score are thrown out leaving the remaining three, which are then averaged out. Now a surfer can catch as many waves as they please but only the two highest scoring waves will be added together to give the total score for that heat. From there competitors are eliminated until there are two finalists.”

Treading water, Y/n paid close attention to the scene in front of her. With only three minutes left on the clock, she was one wave away from crowning herself the Junior World Champion.

“Give me a sign,” she breathed in the salty air. Her thoughts were answered seconds later by a chill running down her neck, gaze snapping to the left where she saw the water draw back. Springing into action, Y/n paddled towards the forming wave, timing it at the perfect moment to end the competition on a bang. She heard the crowd cheer when she stood up, increasing each maneuver she did until finally riding out the end of the wave right as the bullhorn sounded.

Her heart pounded, “Did I just win?” Damn sure she did. Nothing could describe the feeling of holding the championship trophy at the top of the podium. And what made it ten times better, an ambassador of Rip Curl offered her a sponsorship. Before long Y/n’s name and face were plastered across all their campaigns. After winning the ISA Junior World Championships three years in a row—making her a household name in surfing—Y/n went on to senior international competitions. From there her glory only skyrocketed.

ISA World Surfing Games, World Surf League, Rip Curl Pro, Big Wave Tour, Vans Triple Crown of Surfing. Y/n’s little shelf of trophies turned into a full length china cabinet. Traveling back and forth from O’ahu to America. Sometimes even going to South America and Japan for international comps. By age 19 she had created her own maneuver earning her even more attention due to the level of difficulty.

“I don’t see what the fuss is about?” She chewed on a piece of spam, leaning her elbows on the kitchen counter. “All I did was add a couple of extra spins on my aerial.” Her mother gave her a bewildered look.

“That move in itself is difficult, Y/n. Not many perform it in competition and the fact you successfully landed one—with your little spoof nonetheless, people are gonna be amazed.”

“Well, I guess I just got lucky.”

Following high school Y/n turned professional and moved to Honolulu to attend the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa where she studied sports management with a minor in sports science. A family friend had an old Volkswagen Type 2 and Y/n was happy to take it off their hands, fixing it up to have the perfect beach van. Once classes were done for the day Y/n was packing it up with her board, cooler, boombox, and her closest friends.

“You sure this thing isn’t gonna break down on us?”

“Don’t insult Sandy. She’s as good as new,” okay that was a stretch, the van was literally 60 years old, “and I filled her up on gas this morning so we shouldn’t find ourselves on the side of the road.”

“Thanks for the confidence, Y/n. Much appreciated.”

It wasn’t uncommon for people to recognize her on campus. Having generated a public image in surfing—which many of her peers were also involved in—meant she was bound to hear, “Hey, you’re Y/n L/n?” “Oh my gosh I’ve been watching you compete since you were a junior competitor.” “Congrats on winning the Pro this year.”

There were times professors kindly asked, “Can you sign this for my kid? They’ve been into surfing lately and you’re their favorite athlete.” Taking photos with supporters happened occasionally as did giving advice to those wanting to get into surfing. It was a nice feeling for the woman to be able to inspire people and share the sport she loved.

Expanding the art of surfing to the world.

Four years of college seemed to fly by fast. Y/n was surprised she managed to pull through with a 3.6 GPA and graduate Cum Laude with everything in her life. A lot of the competitions were during the school year so Y/n had lots of work on her plate—thankfully some instructors were reasonable and allowed her to get an advance on the material. But she completed her degree with immense relief, aiming to get a career in sports going either by becoming a trainer or manager following her retirement from surfing.

“Y/n, It’s so great to see you again this year at the World Surf League World Championship. You recently graduated from the University of Hawai’i, you’re set to compete in today’s finals to defend your title—how many would this be for you? Number seven?”

Y/n chuckled with the reporter, brushing away a stray piece of hair. “Lucky number seven, yes. I’m so happy and grateful to be competing today—excited to hit the water and try to catch the best waves possible. Regardless of the outcome today I’m just really happy to be here again. I always look forward to this time of year—being able to compete and after working so hard in school this last semester, it’s definitely a relief to not have to worry about finishing a paper last minute once this comp ends.”

“There’s been recent talk of surfing possibly becoming an Olympic sport after much demand following the London Games this year. What are your thoughts? Do you think it’ll be featured in Rio and if so are you going to try and make the team?”

Since becoming a professional sport in 1959 following the first West Coast Surfing Championship in Huntington Beach, California, surfing had yet to reach the greatest sporting stage. The Olympic Games. Held every four years where thousands of athletes from around the globe come together to compete for the chance at gold. Duke Kahanamoku, the father of modern surfing and three-time Olympic freestyle swimming champion having won gold at the 1912 and 1920 Games respectively, first advocated the sport to be in the Olympics back in 1920. Had it not been for him, surfing may not have become as popular in the world as it was.

When it came to the Olympics, Y/n loved sitting by the tv to watch Team USA. Witnessing historic moments and record breaking finishes she was in awe of every athlete who came across the screen. Swimming, diving, track, gymnastics, soccer. So many sports events in a single fortnight. She hoped surfing would become an official sport in the Games. For she too had dreams of an Olympic gold around her neck.

Pausing for a moment, Y/n smiled at the thought of her becoming an Olympic Champion, “I think a lot of us can agree that we’d like to see surfing become part of the Olympic family. It’s one of the oldest sports and has its own professional circuit for decades now—I mean we’ve got people here today from Japan, Italy, El Salvador and Australia. Why not include it? And you can definitely expect me to be training the moment it is.”

It would be four years before Y/n could make do with that promise. On August 3, 2016, two days prior to the opening ceremonies of the Games of the XXXI Olympiad, the IOC announced surfing would finally be an Olympic sport.

“Exciting news for the surfing world,” the headline appeared on the screen of ESPN’s afternoon coverage, “the International Olympic Committee has just confirmed the sport will be introduced for the first time in its history at the Tokyo Olympics taking place in 2020–marking 100 years since surfing legend Duke Kahanamoku first started advocating for it to be featured. Professional surfing isn’t new to international competition having debuted at Huntington Beach, California in 1959. Since then there’s been several meets featuring surfers from all over the world—the most recent being the 2016 Rip Curl Pro where ten-time World Surf League champion Y/n L/n claimed the title once again for the fifth time since her senior international debut in 2007. L/n is just one of many professional surfers who’ve advocated for surfing to be in the Olympics over the years and expressed interest in competing for a chance at gold. With the confirmation by the IOC this morning, I’d say we’ll be seeing her at the trials in four years.”

The morning after the announcement Y/n headed to the beach to find her father propping her board into the sound. “So four years, huh?” Y/n crossed her arms over her chest, feeling the wind breeze past them.

“Seems like a long way, but it’ll be around the corner before we know it.”

“We better get started then.”

Morning, afternoon, evening. Every day Y/n was on the water catching waves left and right. Perfecting maneuvers, getting air in her aerials. When taking breaks she’d go on runs and to the gym. She still participated in yearly competitions and surfed with her friends, but her training habits became more intense as she prepped for Tokyo. When she wasn’t sleeping, eating, or competing she was on the water.

By 2019 Y/n had accumulated the most titles won by a female surfer with ten ISA World Surfing Games—formerly the World Surfing Championships, ten Rip Curl Pro trophies, five QuickSilver pro Gold Coast, five-time triple crown winner, and the 2016 champion of The Eddie Aikua Big Wave International. Winning The Eddie and becoming the first woman in history to do so after the event returned from a seven-year hiatus had Y/n on the front page of several sports magazines around the world. It was a huge accomplishment. Pushing Y/n as the favorite to win gold in Tokyo.

Towards the later end of the year, October in fact, Y/n found herself on the sunny beaches of San Diego, California. August to November were the best months to surf in the area, being it was late summer going into fall where the heat wasn’t excruciating. Still one had to wear a wetsuit to even touch the water.

Y/n was in town to visit an old friend from college and to help the Pacific Beach Surf Club with their beach cleanups and participate in a charity competition. Having traveled in San Diego a few times she was no stranger to the club and welcomed with open arms. Volunteering in their cleanups was the least she could do to prepare the beach for the charity event.

When they finished they all changed out of their clothes into wetsuits, wasting no time to hit the waves. “Hey!” Her friend yelled from where she was treading water, tone teasing, “be sure to leave some for the rest of us, yeah?” Y/n threw her head back in laughter.

“I make no promises!”

Anytime Y/n surfed out of training or competition she felt so free. No pressure to be perfect. No shouting from her father. No commentary from the sportscasters or questions from reporters. Only her, her board, and the beautiful sea.

She cheered on her friend and the people in their cleanup group when they caught waves. Complimenting them whenever they did a cool trick. In return they whistled and hollered for her. They soon developed an audience from the shore. Children and adults alike stop to watch them in awe. Instantly drawn to Y/n who glided effortlessly, guiding her board into a tube ride.

Unbeknownst to the surfer, a group of navy pilots had stopped their game of dogfight football to observe the show.

Jake whistled, “Damn she’s good.” Mickey agreed.

“I don’t think I’ve seen someone surf like that. She’s a natural.”

“Probably has been doing it for years,” Bradley commented, fixing his aviators. Natasha and Bob hummed in agreement.

“I think I’m in love,” Javy breathed out, simply in awe of what he was witnessing. The most beautiful woman he’d ever seen showcasing talent on a board he could only dream of possessing.

He wondered what her laugh sounded like, seeing her head tilt back at something her friend said. Even from the distance her smile was breathtaking. Hair pulled back into a tight bun, body adored in a wetsuit to combat the cool water. A cheeky smirk thrown at her peers when she started paddling toward a forming wave. Standing on the board like a pro and making all kinds of turns and tricks Javy knew he’d wipe out the second he attempted them. Speaking of wiping out, she hadn’t done it once.

Jake nudging him from the side snapped him out of his daydream, “Go talk to her.” At the nod of his head, Javy realized she was running across the sand, stopping when she got to an area of coolers, towels, and backpacks.

“No!” He hissed, eyes reading, ‘are you crazy?’

“Why not? Just go up and start complimenting her. Ask her how long she’s been surfing. That’ll start a conversation.”

Javy scoffed, “Easy for you to say, Mr. Ken Barbie Doll who doesn’t need a confidence boost when talking to women.” Jake went to rebuttals but the sound of Reuben coughing stopped him.

“Uh guys….” He lifted a finger, their gazes following to find a family of four approaching the young woman. They couldn’t hear what was being said, but seeing her take a notepad from the little girl before scribbling in what appeared to be an autograph followed by the father snapping a photo with his phone, it was enough to conclude she was someone.

“Are…is she signing autographs?” Javy wondered aloud. He watched her sign the little boy's boogie board, posing for a photo with him before kneeling down to be on both the children’s level and smile for the camera. Hell even the parents wanted a photo, one of her friends coming over to hold the phone while they positioned themselves on either side. Then finally the whole family had a group one, saying their goodbyes and thank you’s to the woman who waved as they left.

“So she’s kinda famous,” Bradley said the obvious, everyone in a daze. Probably trying to figure out who the woman was, as none had recognized her as an actress or singer.

While they were busy investigating, Y/n unzipped her wetsuit leaving her bikini underneath and pulled on shorts with a graphic t-shirt overtop. “What are you guys doing after this?”

“We’re gonna grab some drinks at The Hard Deck. You down?”

“The Hard Deck?” She repeated with a tilt of the head. Never had she heard of the place.

“It’s that bar over there,” Y/n turned to the direction her friend was nodding at, eyes landing on a building not far from where they stood. “Great vibes, but I must warn ya it’s always filled with Navy fellas.” Y/n perked up slightly. Having lived on O’ahu all her life she was familiar with Navy personnel. After all, Pearl Harbor was located just on the coast of the island.

“Really?”

“Yeah, Miramar is not too far from here. It’s where the pilots train so expect to see some in flight suits.”

At around 6 the group packed it up and headed for the bar. Upon entry Y/n saw exactly what her friend had warned. The place was buzzing. Servicemen and women on every corner, music blasting from the jukebox. They approached the bar top to order a round of beers before settling over by the high top tables, splitting the group up since there were about eight of them.

“Check it out, Machado,” Payback clapped his friend’s back, making him turn to where his attention was. Javy’s eyes widened upon seeing the surfer.

“Did they just get here?”

“Looked like it. You should talk to her—especially since this is the second sighting in mere hours.” The pilot rolled his eyes.

“I don’t wanna come off as a creep, Fitch. What am I supposed to say ‘Hey, sorry if this is weird but I saw you surfing earlier—can I buy you a drink?’ She might throw me to the sharks.”

Natasha shook her head, “men.” A moment later Penny arrived with a tray of beers, placing them down on the seat beside Bob where the guys were shooting pool, “delivery for my favorite dagger squad.”

Thanks were sent her way followed by Jake asking, “Say Pen, you know those guys?” The bartender glanced over her shoulder to see who he was referring to, nodding with a smile.

“Oh that’s some members of the Pacific Beach Surf Club. They were cleaning up the beach earlier for tomorrow's charity competition. Expect the place to be packed if you drop by, it’s always a madhouse. This year they’ve got some of the best surfers participating.”

“Do you know if she’s one of them,” Javy tried to act cool when pointing out the woman.

Upon Penny’s smirk, the answer was clear, “Unless my eyes are deceiving me, I believe that’s ten-time world surfing champion Y/n L/n.”

“Ten?!” Mickey repeated, “Holy shit.” Around him the others were matching his expression. Javy immediately grabbed his phone to type in the name. Sure enough the image of the woman seated at the table appeared on his screen. Clicking on the Wikipedia page he started to read aloud for the group the opening paragraph.

“Y/n M/n L/n, born y/b/m yb/d, 1990 is an American professional surfer from Kapolei, O’ahu, Hawaii and a ten-time World Surf League Women’s World champion, the most titles won by any female surfer to date. L/n made her debut at the World Surf League Junior Championships at age 14 in 2004 in her native O’ahu, winning three consecutive times before turning to senior international competition where she’s won a total of forty world titles—including becoming a five-time triple crown winner. As of 2016, L/n is the defending champion and first women to win the Eddie Aikau Big Wave Invitational. She is set to compete at the first ever U.S Olympic Trials in hopes of making the Tokyo Olympic Team where surfing will make its debut at the Olympics.”

“Well I’ll be damned,” Jake peered over Javy’s shoulder, watching him scroll down to view Y/n’s career statistics. Mickey appeared on the opposite side, whistling under his breath. Natasha took out her own phone to search herself, Bradley, Bob, and Payback all glancing over to see.

“She’s literally called the greatest surfer of this generation,” Bradley pointed out. “Talk about intimidating.”

“Now you gotta buy her a drink, Machado,” Payback concluded, igniting another glare from his friend. “Say you pulled an Olympian.”

“I’ll take it to her,” Penny offered, and before Javy could stop her the woman was back behind the bar. They watched her take a Corona from the cooler, add a lime and proceed to the table the athlete was at. “From the gentlemen by the pool tables,” Penny smiled at Y/n, nodding to the group, “the one the blonde is pointing at.” Turning her head, Y/n saw the guy in question pushing his friend’s hand down, a reddish hue on his cheeks when they made eye contact followed by a wave.

‘Well hello there,’ she thought, smiling at the handsome man. He was in a pair of basketball shorts and t-shirt reading NAVY in bold letters. The group he was with all scattered to make it look like they weren’t eavesdropping when Y/n approached, Corona in hand, “Hi.”

“Hello,” even his voice was attractive. Everything about him was. From his clear smooth skin to his dazzling smile. Toned arms and legs.

“Thanks for the beer.”

“Anytime,” he tipped the one in his hand, Y/n clicking hers against it. “Sorry if this is weird at all. I saw you surfing earlier and was trying to muster up the courage to come talk to you….but couldn’t find the words to say.”

Y/n smirked, gesturing to an empty pool table, “how about a game? Maybe it’ll help loosen your nerves.” Moving to a cue Y/n sees his grin widen, “I’m Y/n by the way.”

“I’m Javy, but you can call me Coyote.”

“Coyote?” She repeats with a chuckle, “That’s an interesting nickname.”

“Callsign actually,” he politely corrects before explaining he was a naval aviator. Grabbing his own cue while she sets up the rack, he added, “Wasn’t my doing.”

“Then how’d you get it?”

“Um…” he made a face, as though he was embarrassed to say. “I’ll tell you if you win this match.” A sound between a scoff and a laugh escaped her.

“So that’s how it’s gonna be.” Javy raises his hands in defense, laughing with her. “And if you win?”

His own smirk appears, “You give me your phone number…maybe even let me take you out.” Biting back a grin and fighting the warm feeling in her chest, Y/n removes the rack leaving the pool balls neatly centered.

“Challenge accepted, Coyote.”

It was safe to say both came out as winners that night. Though Y/n won the game and got the scoop on Javy’s callsign origin, he walked away with her number and plans to have dinner the following night after her charity event. Javy made the promise to come out and watch her surf, excited to see her in action. Hearing Y/n talk about the sport and her accomplishments was even cooler in person than reading it off the internet. From her amateur days to becoming a full blown professional. Winning countless championship titles, being the first woman to win The Eddie and her dream to win gold at the Olympics.

Javy was smitten.

“I’ll see you tomorrow then?” She smiled when they reached her van at the end of the night. They talked for hours to the point they lost track of time. It was 11 o’clock and she had to be up at five.

“You said it starts at noon?” At her nod Javy continued, “I’ll be there. And I look forward to our dinner plans after.” Y/n felt the heat rise, hoping it wasn’t displaying on her face.

“Me too. Thank you for a fun night, Javy,” feeling bold, Y/n leans to place a kiss on his cheek. The action leaves him stunned, smile growing bigger as she pulls away. “See you on the beach.”

Now Javy had loved the beach before meeting Y/n. But his love for it and the ocean only grew the moment he watched her ride the waves. Cheering from the sand as she dropped down and glided the tide with ease. It made him want to stay there forever.

He understood quickly why she was regarded as the greatest female surfer of all time. Yeah it was a charity competition and not a world championship, but Y/n treated the waves no differently. She was a beast. Total control of her board, little to no mistakes.

Their dinner date was filled with laughter, flirty sarcasm, stories so outrageous one would think they were bluffing. Javy spoke of his time at Top Gun and his friendship with Jake. Y/n told him about her college days. Both engaged in conversations about dreams and aspirations. Yeah they had their dream careers, but one can always dream bigger. Dream about friendship, dream about love.

Dream about the future.

When the night came to an end, Y/n laid her head on the pillow with a smile on her face, “I think this might be paradise.”

23 July 2021–The Hard Deck, San Diego California.

“It’s almost time for USA!” Javy hushes everyone, grabbing the remote to increase the volume. The place was packed mostly with the squad's friends, colleagues, the Pacific Beach Surf Club, and college students from UC San Diego. Togethery they were gathered to watch the opening ceremonies of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

The Tokyo Olympics.

Finally after a whole year of waiting the Games were finally being held. A global pandemic sure would be the only thing to stop the most iconic two-week sporting event in the world.

And Javy’s girlfriend, 12x World champion Y/n L/n, was there to be part of surfing's Olympic debut. Gold on her mind.

The two had been long distance the majority of their relationship, but FaceTimed nearly every day with promises to visit as soon as restrictions were lifted. Y/n traveled to San Diego in the winter of 2020 to mark the couple’s one year anniversary. Then Javy flew to Hawaii in the spring, spending two weeks in Kapolei where most time was spent surfing and late night drive on the beach.

“There’s no place I’d rather be,” he sang at the top of his lungs, windows rolled down .

“Than on my surfboard out at sea,” Y/n followed, smile wide on her face with her hair blowing in the wind.

“Lingering in the ocean blue.”

“And if I had one wish come true.”

Together they sang, “I’d surf ‘til the sun sets beyond the horizon!”

Y/n tilted her head back, “‘Āwikiwiki, mai lohilohi. Lawe mai i ko papa he’e nalu.”

Belting out together once again, their voices echoed in the night, “Flying by on the Hawaiian roller coaster ride!!”

“‘Āwikiwiki, mai lohilohi. Lawe mai i ko papa he’e nalu.”

“Pi’i nā nalu lā lahalaha. ‘O ka Moana hānupanupa.”

“Lalala i ka lā hanahana. Me ke kai hoene i ka pu’e one.”

“Heel, hele mai kākou ē.”

“Hawaiian roller coaster ride!”

During the Olympic surf qualifying event in Huntington Beach the whole squad was in attendance to cheer Y/n on. Javy embraced her in tears, lifting her onto his shoulders to the hollars and whistles of their friends and family.

Y/n was officially an Olympian.

Now usually during the parade of nations of the opening ceremonies Greece is the first to enter the arena followed by the countries in alphabetical order with the hosting nation entering last. Having waited a whole year due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the world was excited to get the Games started. But to everyone’s surprise the order of the parade of nations would proceed differently than prior Olympics.

Greece still entered first, followed by the Refugee Olympic Team and then the nations paraded in based on where they fell on the Gojūon system. Japan would be the last country to march in, but for the first time ever the hosting countries of the next two Olympics entered before the hosting country. And what were those two countries?

France and The United States of America.

Paris was set to host the upcoming 2024 Games just three years away, and then in 2028 Los Angeles gets the honor once again of bringing the world together. The last time LA hosted was in 1984, and the last time America itself hosted the Summer Games was Atlanta 1996.

“Okay everyone shut up!!” The tv was turned to the loudest volume possible, all in attendance falling to hush whispers.

“Everything changes,” Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson’s voice echoes through the speakers, his silhouette figure walking into an empty arena. “The longest wait of their lives is over.” The beat of the music gets louder, building in pressure. “And the combination of their blood, sweat, and tears,” his face is revealed under the light, “finally arrives.”

The beat drops in time with the image of fireworks rocketing from the Rio arena, an announcer’s voice stating, “this is the moment that you all have been waiting for.”

“It’s not easy to bring the entire whole planet together,” the Rock states, “and it certainly wasn’t tonight. But, here we are.”

“Finally!”

“It’s finally here.”

“The Olympics are finally here,” Gold Medalist Simone Biles grins.

“Yeah, I’m hyped up.”

“Can’t wait to show the world what I got.”

The image shows Dwayne once again, “Tonight we are all so lucky to witness the hardest workers in the room.” Then it changes to athletes training, from gymnast Sam Mikulak to sprinter Noah Lyles. “The athletes who are a brilliant tapestry of talent, commitment, and drive.”

“Drive, drive, drive!”

“Now what was once considered unthinkable just one year ago has become a glorious reality. We come together united to celebrate the Olympians who exemplify the very best in all of us.”

🎼 legs are shaking, hands aching, 🎼

Simone Biles appears, determination in her gaze as she races down the vault runway. “It’s Simone’s party and everyone else is just a guest,” Tim Daggett’s voice cuts in during the clip of Simone at the World Championships, followed by the Rock.

“She is absolutely the greatest gymnast the world has ever seen. But even if there’s nothing left to prove, there’s a chance to launch herself even higher into the rarest air of immortality.”

As Simone lands her vault, it transitions into Katie Ledecky entering the pool. “The most dominant swimmer in the world.” “It’s just ridiculous!”

“She swims like a machine created to wreak havoc and decimate with impunity.”

“Katie Ledecky smashes her own world record!”

“But in reality she’s about the nicest person you’ll ever meet,” the rock’s face returns, bearing his own smile like Katie. “And kindness matters. Always.” Track star Noah Lyles running takes over. “He makes running as fast as you can look the way it’s supposed to look.”

“NOAH LYLES, WORLD CHAMPION!”

Dwayne grins, “Damn fun.” The next athlete featured was the one they were all waiting for.

“On dry land she’s impressive, in the water she’s simply lethal,” the Hard Deck erupted in cheers, Y/n flashing onto the screens showcasing her drop in during the WSL World Tour.

“That’s my baby!!!” Her name appeared in big bold letters like the others, ‘Y/n L/n. Kapolei, O’ahu, HI.’

“Monstruos wave for Y/n L/n, but she handles it like a pro.” The clip shows her pointing to the sky in victory following her win. “She’s here to prove why surfing should’ve been in the Olympics ages ago,” the Rock looks proud, “and look cool as hell while doing so.”

The tone of the video shifts, bringing forth the raw and emotional reality of athletes who’ve given every inch of their soul to be on the world’s greatest sporting stage. “They’re kids from Minneapolis—.”

“Kenny Harrison!” A girl crosses the finish line in joy, soon embraced by her father. “Raleigh.”

Fellow surfer and native Hawaiian Carissa Moore is shown, “And Honolulu.” A baby in a stroller being pushed by her mother. “They’re working moms with unfinished business.” Allison Felix with her daughter.

“This is what makes all the sacrifice worth it.”

Simone Manuel becoming the first Black woman to win an individual Olympic gold at the 2016 Rio Games. “The barrier breakers who’ve proven the power of the platform.”

“I can’t begin to tell you what this means for the sport of swimming in the United States.”

“There’s Jordan—!” A montage of Gold medal winning teams flashed. The Fab Five. The women’s soccer and basketball teams. The women’s rowing team. The Fierce and Final Five of U.S Gymnastics. “And the teams that have dominated for generations with no intention of changing the script for this one.”

“Get the gold medals ready. Again!”

“These awe-inspiring multi-talented athletes are taking on the world.”

🎼 ‘You bring me back to life.’ 🎼

Between the music and feel good montage, some of the viewers in the hard deck were having trouble holding back tears. Chills racking up their body. It made them want to get out and start training to be a world class athlete.

“They really are the best of us. They’re bringing us together.”

“That’s a new world record!”

“And they’re about to give you, at long last, the greatest two-week spectacle the world has ever seen.” Close ups of Team USA’s Olympians rolled, Javy wiping his eyes when Y/n appeared. “It is their Games. It is our Games.”

Absolute chills.

“Ladies and gentlemen, I am so grateful to have the honor of presenting to you….Team USA.” At the last word the Rock disappears, cutting to Team USA entering the Tokyo dome—the American flag flying high, “USA! USA! USA!” Though they couldn’t hear the cheers from the Hard Deck across the ocean, that didn’t stop the building from erupting in whistles. It was only the opening ceremonies so one could imagine what it would be like come the 26th and 27th.

When Y/n hits the waves for a chance at Olympic gold.

Tsurigasaki Beach, located 40 miles from Tokyo, was the place where it would all happen. The damp sand beneath Y/n’s toes felt comforting. Although the overcast skies made her worried. Tropical Storm Nepartak caused the waves to be more aggressive and unpredictable. It was going to be an interesting day of competition.

After qualifying with a big score in her heat the previous day, Y/n was set to compete in the quarterfinals that morning. From there the semi-final contestants would be decided, going straight into the event before finals that afternoon. Three events in one day if she made it all the way to the end.

“I’m going to be so sore tonight.”

Shortboard in hand, Y/n raced to the water the second the horn sounded. Instant shivers along her arms from the cold feeling. Cloudy skies prevented the sun from heating the water, “goodness gracious.”

Quarterfinals breezed by. Y/n started off strong with a score of 7 for her first wave, going on to claim two more, another 7 and an 8 bringing her total score to a 15. Putting her, American Carissa Moore, South African Bianca Buitendag and Japan’s Amuro Tsuzuki into the semifinals.

“Stellar performance by Y/n L/n of the United States. She had a bit of trouble on her second wave—which we can’t blame her for; many competitors have been having difficulty today due to the impact of tropical storm Nepartak on the tide. L/n’s score of 15 puts her at the top for the quarterfinals, but that can all change when we return for the semifinals in the next hour. It looks like she’ll be up against Japan’s Amuro Tsuzuki for one of two spots in the gold medal match.”

“That’s how you do it,” Javy clapped at the tv, the footage replaying Y/n’s competition highlights. “Semi-finals here we go.”

During the semis the pressure was on. Y/n could feel it all over, anxiety coursing when the horn sounded. Thirty minutes on the clock, ticking down to eliminate either her or Amuro. Usually her luck turns out for the better whenever she gets the first wave, however, Amuro beats her to it. Catching the next one Y/n focuses on pulling speed and managing her flow into the maneuvers, receiving a score of 6.2 on her first wave, 8.3 on her second and 7 on her third. Unfortunately a wipe out early on her fourth and final wave results in a score of 3.

“Is that gonna be enough?” Jake cringes, noticing the look of unease on his friend's visage. Y/n appeared shaken from the wipe out. Very rare has she ever messed up greatly in competition. But there’s always a first for everything.

Javy had a paper in front of him, writing down Y/n’s scores and the ones of her competitors to predict what she needed and if she was qualified to the final round.

“Her six and seven will be dropped, putting her at 11.30,” he taps the pen on the bar surface, “if Amuro doesn’t get another wave in the next,” Javy checks the time, “two minutes then it should put Y/n through to the finals.”

Amuro did in fact catch another wave before the horn sounded, ending their round in the semis, but it wasn’t enough. Her total score accumulated a 7.43, eliminating her from the final competition.

“One more,” her father/coach took a hold of her shoulders. “You’re almost there, Y/n.” Almost to the gold. “Rest up, you got one hour.”

He didn’t have to tell her twice. Picking up a water bottle and plotting on the sand Y/n downed the liquid and munched on an apple. To pass time she scrolled through Tik Tok, sent a selfie to Javy—who sent one of him and the squad back—and called her family in O’ahu to calm her nerves. She had already talked with Javy that morning before quarterfinals, promising to FaceTime him after the finals.

It was nerve racking. Regardless of how the event went, Y/n was guaranteed the silver medal. USA would take home both Gold and Silver in surfing’s debut being fellow American Carissa Moore beat out South Africa’s Bianca Buitendag in their round.

One competition left.

Bidding good luck to Carissa, Y/n took her position and waited for the horn. Thirty minutes on the clock. Thirty minutes to a gold medal.

“Here we go,” Payback announced in time with Y/n paddling out to sea. Javy rubbed his hands together, eyes glued to the screen.

“And the two Americans are off in the first ever gold medal match for surfing. Carissa Moore, the 2019 WSL World Champion, and twelve-time title holder Y/n L/n head-to-head to declare who will become the woman to win surfing’s first gold medal. Both have exemplified great performances today—it’s not easy doing a quarterfinals, semi-finals, and finals all in one day, but these pros make it look easy.”

“There she goes!” Nat shouted, earning cheers at the bar when Y/n caught the first wave of the competition.

“Kicking off with the first wave, in just two minutes of the clock starting is Y/n L/n. Dropping in beautifully, easing into the wave…..Straight into an roundhouse cutback, which she does flawlessly. Bottom turn, I think she’s gonna try and do a off-the-lip right here….and she nails it! I think she’s hoping to elongate this wave as far out as she can. Carving now and finishing with a 360 into an Ariel. Wow! That was a great start by Y/n.”

“Yeah that’s what I’m talking about!” Javy shouted over the cheers, grin plastered wide only to brighten more when the score came back a 8.7. “HELL YEAH! LETS GO!”

Carissa’s wave was impressive. She managed to hold it down with complicated moves to earn a 8.5. Both women scored huge on the first waves followed by 7s across the board. Nearing the final five minutes Carissa managed to get a 6.43.

“She can’t get anything lower than a 6.23,” Javy felt sweat pool on his forehead, suddenly feeling hot in the bar despite it being the ass crack of dawn.

“She’s got this,” Nat patted his back.

The clock was ticking down. Two minutes to go and Y/n had yet to find a wave. Placing her palm onto the surface, she took a deep breath, “please, give me a sign.” Not a moment later she felt something in her say to look right.

There, brimming about fifteen feet away, was the perfect wave.

Wasting no time Y/n’s chest planted to her board, paddling as fast as possible. Her heart was pounding, salt water splashing. Positioning herself in front of the forming body, Y/n silently called out to whoever was listening for strength.

“Wow she’s going for that huge current out on the west side. Moore is too far back—it’s gonna be L/n on the final wave of the women’s competition. With one minute to go she’s dropping in—.”

Y/n allowed the adrenaline to consume her, giving it total control as she dropped in. The highest wave of the competition yet, Y/n knew she’d be having a tube ride with how it formed. Picking up speed, she knelt slightly, paralleling her chest with the wall of the wave, the water curving around her. Blocking the world from her view.

It was just her and the sea. No one else.

Closing her eyes briefly, she pictured she was back on O’ahu in the water she grew up in. Sun beating down and gentle hum of seagulls.

Like she was in paradise.

The image left as quick as it came. Y/n snapping out of her daydream to exit the tube ride to the cheers of her father on the beach, curing back into the wave to finish on a high note by performing her signature Ariel. Smiling the whole way down just as the horn signified the end of the competition.

“And there you have it folks. The women’s surfing finals has officially come to a close—Y/n L/n ending her Olympic Games with a remarkable last wave. Absolute perfection with speed, precision, and control. That’s gonna be the highest score for her I feel.”

“C’mon, c’mon,” Javy bit his nail, knee bouncing from the anxiety of not knowing. Carissa’s total score was displayed first, 14.93. Y/n’s lowest was a seven, highest 8.7. Her final wave was amazing, but judging was unpredictable. Anything could happen.

Then in the blink of an eye the hard deck exploded.

“I don’t believe it! Tens across the board for Y/n L/n bringing her total to 17.00!! Y/n L/n has won the gold for the United States—Carissa Moore with the silver. USA goes one and two in women’s surfing at its Olympic debut!!! Take it all in, we are witnessing history,” the screen shows Y/n and Carissa embracing, leaning over their boards to congratulate the other, “Team USA has much to celebrate, the world of surfing has their champion. Y/n L/n adds gold to her name—surfing’s first Olympic Champion here in Tokyo!!”

Y/n laughed the entire time she paddled to shore, raising to her feet to race towards her father. She was soaking wet but he didn’t care. “You did it!” He yelled, kissing her head with tears in his eyes. “You’re an Olympic champion! I’m so so proud of you!” Soon they were greeted by Carissa and the rest of Team USA’s surfing members. The two women were lifted onto shoulders, American flags draped over their backs with photographers surrounding them.

It was a moving image. Two women from Honolulu and Kapolei, Hawaii won surfing’s first Olympic silver and gold medal. If only Duke Kahanamoku could be there to witness.

Back at the hard deck celebratory drinks were served and toasts raised to Y/n. Javy barely contained his emotion, eyes watering the moment her name came back the winner. Natasha and Jake embraced him in a hug, the guys whistling and hollering. Penny rang the bell.

“She won! Oh my God my baby is a gold medalist!! This is the best day ever!!”

The entire podium ceremony Y/n was on cloud nine. Placing the gold medal around her neck, she took a moment to stare at it. Disbelief and awe in her eyes. ‘Wow, I actually did it.’

When the national anthem came to an end Y/n did the traditional bite of the medal for the cameras. Posing with Carissa and Bianca afterwards, Y/n was ushered to interviews.

“Hello, Y/n,” the reporter beamed, “congratulations are in store—what an amazing moment for you. You’re the first gold medalist in women’s surfing at the Olympics. How does it feel?”

“It’s absolutely a dream come true. For years the surfing community has wished for this—to be in the Olympics and for me to be part of its debut, winning the gold medal…I-I can’t put into words how much this means to me. I’m so grateful and honored.”

“You’ve been around for a while now,” the reporter mentioned, “2004 was the first time we saw you and you’ve gone on to have a stellar surfing career. Winning the WSL World Surfing Games twelve times now—competing when it was still called the WSL World Championships and became the first woman to win The Eddie Aikau Big Wave Invitational in 2016. This is your first Olympic Games, surfing will be at the Paris Games in three years. Can we expect to hopefully see you there?”

“I wouldn't rule it out,” Y/n winked with a giggle. “Paris is in three years and I would love to return to the Olympics again. After dreaming for so long I don’t want to let it go so easily. Of course anything can happen between now and 2024 but with my family, friends, and boyfriend cheering me on with their endless support…” she gave a cheeky shrug, “I’m gonna work hard and get back in the water once I’m home.”

“We’ll be rooting for you, Y/n. I don’t think the surfing world is ready to say goodbye to you. Anything else you’d like to say before you have to go. Anyone you’d like to say thanks to?”

Instantly the Olympian brightened, eyes locking on the camera. “I wanna give a shoutout to my hometown of Kapolei on O’ahu—the place where this journey started on the beautiful beaches and waters of my home. To my family and friends, thank you for your love, support, guidance and always cheering me on even when the going gets tough. My dad, who’s been my coach since I was seven is with me here to share this win, I couldn’t have done this without him. To my San Diego family watching, you better save me a beer at the Hard Deck when I come visit next week,” she winks, knowing the squad would get a kick out of it. Then Y/n softens, “and finally to my boyfriend, Javy, who’s with our friends in Fightertown. I love you so much, thank you for being my rock during quarantine and pushing me to do my best. I can’t wait to see you and this is for you.” Holding up the medal, Y/n blows a kiss to the screen before saying goodbye to the reporter.

Upon landing in San Diego two nights later, Y/n was greeted by a celebration from her friends. Members of the Pacific Beach Surf Club were there, as were the dagger squad. Javy met her in the middle the second she exited the terminal, lifting her in his arms. “Finally your back!! I’m so fucking proud of you!” Setting her down, he kept his arms around her and the two jumped up and down like school children in a heap of laughter.

Finally they calmed, sharing a sweet kiss. “How was your flight,” he walked when they pulled away, moving to grab her carryon back.

“Long,” she moaned, leaning into his side. “But worth it.” Soon she was surrounded by their friends. Congratulations all around, Mickey asking to see the medal, Jake saying all her drinks are on him, Nat telling her how much she missed having another girl around. “I missed you guys,” Y/n pouted, “man I wish you all could’ve been there.”

“Don’t worry, Y/n/n,” Bradley patted her shoulder, “We’ll be there in Paris.”

“That’s quite a bit away, Roo.”

“Yeah,” he shrugged, “but there’s no harm in planning now.”

“Let’s let the woman rest before kicking her training mode into gear,” Javy teased, earning a playful nudge from his girlfriend. Together they got her bags and headed straight for The Hard Deck. They drinked, they danced. Javy and Y/n had a rematch of their pool game.

“This feels a bit like deja vu,” she smirked, chalking up her cue. Javy winked, puckering his lips in an air kiss causing her to laugh.

For a week Y/n stayed in San Diego before flying home to Hawaii with Javy. Again she was greeted at the airport by her family and friends she’d grown up with. The local news station was present, students from schools wanting to join in on the celebration. It felt amazing to be home after two weeks away.

They settled in at her Honolulu home, finding the perfect place to display her medal and ordered take out since neither was in the mood to cook after a 6 ½ hour flight. Once finished with dinner Y/n gave her boyfriend a knowing look, “Wanna watch the sunset?”

She didn’t mean sitting on her porch or even the sand. No, she meant taking the boards and laying out on the sea as the calm surface of the water kept them afloat.

Javy agreed, rushing to get his swim trunks on while she put on a swimsuit. Grabbing their boards they locked up the house and jogged the quarter of a mile to the beach, paddling out to get a front row seat of the descending sun. Colors of bright orange and pink painted the sky. A beautiful contrast to the deep blues of the ocean.

“Is this heaven?” He whispered, finding her eyes staring back at him from where her cheek pressed to the board. All the love conveying in the simple look. And with her gentle words, Javy felt all the worry and unease he ever experienced lift from his soul.

“More like paradise.”

……………….

TGM Tag list: @avaleineandafryingpan , @caitsymichelle13 , @poppyalice2001 , @cutelittlepotatofry , @luckyladycreator2, @americaarse , @elenavampire21 , @back-tooo-black , @wildellaa , @artemissunn , @pinkpantheris

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

Would I be the Asshole for not buying my brother a Christmas gift?

I’m not comfortable sharing my or anyone else’s ages (or any other identifiable information) online so I’m keeping this as vague as possible in that regard.

The context: My family consists of my dad (60s), my mam (late 50s), my sister (late 20s), my brother (late 20s), me (18-21), and my younger sibling (late teens). My dad and Mam split up around the beginning of covid and he has been moved out since the end of summer that first year. My sister also moved out around that time. The only people left in the house are me, my mam, my brother and my sibling.

The situation:

Sibling and I came out 2020/21 to our family. I came out first, testing the waters for them, and then helped them come out. So far our family has been... supportive? The best way to describe it is that dad is performing how accepting he is so he can garner brownie points, sister is trying and even correcting people, sibling and I have had no problem whatsoever, and Mam has kinda just been hoping it’s a phase but otherwise tries to use the right terms.

Brother, however has been nothing but passive aggressive about it. He won’t call us by our chosen names, he won’t use our pronouns, and even when he accidentally uses the right name and pronouns, he corrects himself to the wrong ones. He also just generally sucks as a person. I’ve never even had a full conversation with him. My mam keeps making excuses for him (she claims it’s autism, which he was diagnosed with, but I was also diagnosed with it and I don’t throw away Christmas gifts people got me in front of them. He’s just an asshole).

Anyway, this year I had planned to just not get him a present. My own little way of saying “you suck”. I figured no one would even notice, and if they did they probably wouldn’t say anything. If they did say something, though, I had a whole teary-eyed speech prepared about how awful brother has been treating me and sibling and how deeply it’s been affecting us and how I just can’t tolerate it anymore.

Then my mam told me that this year would be the last family Christmas. It would’ve stopped years ago were it not for sibling, who my mam wants to have one last Christmas before the entire family crumbles apart.

I’m now kind of conflicted. As of writing this it’s Christmas week. There’s still time to get him a present and not ruin sibling’s last Christmas, though by the time this is posted, Christmas will likely have already come and gone. I just can’t stand him though, and the only thing he asked anyone for was black socks, which he will be getting plenty of anyway. Sibling also knows about the plan. I told them ahead of time when my Mam informed me about this being the last Christmas. But I also know that they hate conflict.

I just wanna know, I guess, whether I’m an asshole if I follow through.

What are these acronyms?

[natlacentral]

‘Avatar: The Last Airbender’ Renewed For Two Seasons At Netflix; Live-Action Series Will Conclude With Season 3

Avatar: The Last Airbender, the anime-inspired live-action series, will be able to tell the story of the four nations: Water. Earth. Fire. Air after Netflix renewed it for a further two seasons.

The streamer has handed the show a two-season renewal order to conclude the story of Aang’s journey to become the Avatar. 

It comes after the show premiered on Netflix on February 22 and recorded 41.1M views in its first 11 days, topping its TV list for the last two weeks and being on track to enter its top ten most-watched list over its first three months.

The plan is to film these two seasons – seasons two and three – in close succession in order to mitigate the fact that child actors tend to grow up quickly.

The series comes from Rideback, whose boss Dan Lin, an exec producer on the series, was recently named Netflix’s new film chief, replacing Scott Stuber. Albert Kim is showrunner, having replaced original creators Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko in 2020.

Its three season run will mirror the structure of the animated series, which featured three books across three seasons to Aang’s story that premiered on Nickelodeon in 2005, and became a hit on Netflix during the early stages of the pandemic.

It’s not clear how many episodes will be produced for season two and three. Season one features eight episodes.

Avatar: The Last Airbender takes place in a world that is divided into four nations: the Water Tribes, the Earth Kingdom, the Fire Nation, and the Air Nomads. “Benders” are people that have the ability to telekinetically manipulate and control the element corresponding to their nation, using gestures based on Chinese martial arts. The “Avatar” is the only individual with the ability to bend all four elements.

The four nations once lived in harmony, with the Avatar, master of all four elements, keeping peace between them. But everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked and wiped out the Air Nomads, the first step taken by the firebenders towards conquering the world. With the current incarnation of the Avatar yet to emerge, the world has lost hope. But like a light in the darkness, hope springs forth when Aang (Gordon Cormier), a young Air Nomad — and the last of his kind — reawakens to take his rightful place as the next Avatar.

Alongside his newfound friends Sokka (Ian Ousley) and Katara (Kiawentiio), siblings and members of the Southern Water Tribe, Aang embarks on a quest to save the world and fight back against the onslaught of Fire Lord Ozai (Daniel Dae Kim). But with a driven Crown Prince Zuko (Dallas Liu) determined to capture them, it won’t be an easy task. They’ll need the help of the many allies and colorful characters they meet along the way. Ken Leung and Paul Sun-Hyung Lee also star.

Kim and Lin exec produce produce alongside Jabbar Raisani, Lindsey Liberatore and Michael Goi. Goi and Raisani directed episodes in season one alongside Roseanne Liang and Jet Wilkinson.

It is Netflix’s second anime-inspired live-action hit after One Piece, following a rocky start in the genre with Cowboy Bepop. The streamer highlighted it as one of its latest successful adaptations, coming on the back of other IP-driven series such as The Sandman, Wednesday, Arcane and Sweet Tooth.

The creative team behind the series is keen to expand the story. Avatar executive producer and director Jabbar Raisani told Deadline that there’s stuff that they filmed that didn’t make it into season one.

“If we get another season, then we will certainly have those things, because I know what we missed now and I know how to do better the second time around,” he said. “The animated series is a really good guide…for where the show can go.”

[autumnslance]

LynMars FFXIV Write 2023 Master Post

This year's challenge completed! Congrats to everyone who wrote anything at all this month, even if just one prompt! Thanks again to @sea-wolf-coast-to-coast for 7 years of this!

Previous Years Master Posts: 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022

Anything wolcred ship-related is marked by an asterisk* as usual. Commentary and stats for anyone interested below the Read More.

01. Envoy: ARR; Aeryn makes her Grand Company choice. 02. Bark: Dark has the wrong pie thief suspect. 03. Free Day! 04. Off the Hook: EW; Lucia & Maxima explore their new HQ. 05. Barbarous: HW; Aeryn's frustrated by the land of her birth. 06. Ring: EW; keepsakes & memories of Aeryn's mother. 07. Noisome: Dark & Iyna contend with ubiquitous seasonal flavors. 08. Shed: EW; Aeryn answers Zenos at the edge of everything. 09. Fair: EW; Azem's brother tries to ensure the future has his aid. 10. Free Day! 11. Once Bitten Twice Shy: ShB Bozja; unwarranted concerns. 12. Dowdy: Backstory; Aeryn's always had Opinions about fashion. 13. Check: Iyna discovers C'oretta's personal business. 14. Clear*: ShB; semi-poetic sweetness of coming together. 15. Portentous: Backstory. Zaine speaks to Tanzel about a decision. 16. Jerk: EW; Aeryn meets an old friend as the Final Days loom. 17. Free Day! 18. Fish Out of Water: Shb: G'raha gets used to his new life. 19. Weal: EW; Vrtra sees to his people and their home. 20. Hamper: In a possible future, Iyna answers academic questions. 21. Grave: Legacy; Zaine Striker returns to his childhood home. 22. Fulsome: C'oretta sorts through her parents' old promos. 23. Suit: ARR; what the Scions wore that most fateful night. 24: Free Day! 25. Call it a Day: Pre-ARR; Iron Summer contemplating his daughter. 26. Last: EW; a final conversation between ancients. 27. Sole*: Post-ShB; Thancred vs the perils of Aeryn's flip-tastic jobs. 28. Blunt: Post-ShB; working with Gaius, like it or not. 29. Contravention: EW; "In from the Cold" violates laws of nature. 30. Amity: EW; Varshahn & Aeryn discuss Thavnair & Garlemald.

Only 2 short shippy prompts all month! All 4 modern girls got a couple spotlights, various family cameos and backstories, a future prompt as is tradition, Zaine had a few posts, a few NPC-only scenes, a LOT of Endwalker, and even Ancient Icarus got a story, tying into 2021's "Destruct" prompt and how/why the siblings' souls have been connected through time and reincarnations.

A few of these are alternate takes on scenes I've touched on before, but it's interesting what a new prompt at a different time can get one to say, how we change as writers in what we focus on and how we say it.

This comes in roughly 300 words shorter than last year, at 18,493. The week of the 18-22 I had off work for my birthday, and that had the most 1k+ prompts, with a word count nearly double the other 3 full weeks. While the longer prompts are good, I'm really happy with how so many of the short ones turned out!

I was again trying to be realistic about my time, energy, not pushing free write days...and also working on an original writing project on the side, so I actually did do more writing over the month, just not FFXIV related!

(Also why some of my responses were in just under the wire...)

But this was a good break and exercise from that other writing, and let me try a few new things.

And comparing to earlier years--especially 2017 and 2018 when I was getting back onto the writing horse and feeling out my OCs--I feel like my growth as a writer, especially to be more succinct yet still evocative when needed, is evident. I've gotten a lot of practice in over time, and this challenge is one of the things that helped me get to where I can write an original story on top of my fanfic!

Breakdowns for funsies: Longest: 21 Grave; 1,652 words Shortest: 14 Clear; 106 words

Between 100-500 words: 1 Envoy; 2 Bark; 4 Off the Hook; 5 Barbarous; 7 Noisome; 8 Shed; 14 Clear; 15 Portentous; 26 Last; 27 Sole. Between 500-1000 words: 6 Ring; 11 Once Bitten, Twice Shy; 13 Check; 16 Jerk; 18 Fish Out of Water; 22 Fulsome; 23 Suit; 25 Call it a Day; 28 Blunt; 29 Contravention; 30 Amity. 1000+ words: 9 Fair; 12 Dowdy; 19 Weal; 20 Hamper; 21 Grave.

I didn't look at the totals until the end; I only checked some of the shorter ones during the challenge to see if they hit my personal "500+ words" cut off for adding a Read More to the posts.

"Grave" honestly could have been a lot shorter; I started the plot too early, and much as I like Zaine making one last visit to his childhood Nana, for the purposes of the challenge, I could have just focused on going to the lichyard to save myself time and energy, and wrote about the visit on my own another time. On the other hand, it's done now!

Not sure which is a favorite; there's a lot I like.

As usual, these will be revised at...some point (some more than others, probably) and added to Ao3, in my various series and threads.

[sachermorte]

The anon DOES still want to hear the Prater incident!!! Your stories are WILD 😁

dramatis personae:

roland, a heavyset dark-haired man on a crutch, with a bearing that was described by a dear friend as soon as just the other day as "bizarrely edwardian"

ed, a slender, bespectacled man from oxfordshire

martha, a curly-haired woman from upstate new york

chris, some jackass, blonde and in a leather jacket, from somewhere in the UK but I didn't care to ask

tw: drug use, emetophobia

this was during the summer of 2020. the covid-19 pandemic had been raging for approximately three months, and this was the first of many brief quarantine relaxations that would take place in austria over the following year. we were permitted to travel, ride public transportation with a mask, and generally act like jackasses after too many long weeks of laying around in a stupor, doing nothing of consequence but giving ourselves mild alcohol poisoning with cheap, nasty beer and liquor. I actually can't drink rum anymore to this very day due to a separate event in march, but I digress. ed, martha, and I had been quarantining together in ed's apartment in the south of (sketchy-ass) linz near bulgariplatz, and to this very day I consider myself closer to these two people than I am my actual siblings.

but things were beginning to open and we were feeling stir-crazy, so we began tooling around the country together staring from around may. one trip to innsbruck/feldkirch/bregenz/liechtenstein, one trip to hallstadt/gmunden, one trip to bratislava, the works. lots of time spent in vienna because I quite honestly felt twitchy being away for too long but couldn't bear to leave ed and martha and completely shatter my already fragile psyche.

it came to ed's attention that a man whom he'd befriended during a study abroad term in vienna while he was doing his bachelor's, chris, was still in town, so we began hanging out with him, which quickly became one of the more unpleasant and draining aspects of our outings.

chris was an asshole. I can just come out and drop that one from the jump. loud, boorish, needlessly aggressive, had a sophomoric sense of humor, and seemed like he had it out for me in particular. literally everything out of his mouth was some unpleasant dig, usually towards me, and he seemed to think it was really funny to shout "hurry up, cripple!" at me and got all surprised pikachu when I didn't respond positively. I put up with it for ed's sake, as he seemed desperate for social interaction and appropriately embarrassed regarding chris' behavior.

the prater incident, as it has infamously come to be known, occurred during my last meeting with chris (and to my knowledge, anyone else's. I'm pretty sure ed stopped talking to him after this, and good riddance)

so we roll back into vienna and martha has a suitcase in tow because she's about to fly back to the US at like five in the morning, a fact we're all trying not to think about because it's just too brutal. chris comes and grabs us, immediately makes some stupid comment about how I'm dressed like a vampire, and we decide to head down to donauinsel because it's still light out and it's hot as balls

the second we get there, the second we set down our stuff by the water, chris rolls a couple of joints and thankfully shuts up for a minute while we smoke. and then opens his wallet and asks without any leadup "okay, who wants ecstasy."

record scratch moment as I have a terrible premonition of the night ahead. but I open my hand because, like, come on. I'm not not going to do ecstasy.

it takes maybe twenty minutes to start setting in, by which time the other three have started skinny-dipping in the river. I abstained despite chris throwing barbed comments my way because I didn't want to mess up my clothes (a puffy ecru pussybow blouse and an embroidered black velvet vest with silver buttons), I didn't want this jackass to see me naked and have more to comment on, and I was at that moment sitting on a rock and holding onto it for dear life to keep from falling off the side of the planet.

they stumble out after a while, the sun is going down and it's starting to cool off, and while they get dressed it's decided that we're going to prater because we're already on the U1 and where else do you go when you can't get into the club because someone's got a suitcase and you're all on molly.

at some point we consume an entire bottle of jägermeister between the four of us, just standing around at praterstern, which in hindsight was honestly probably not the best idea.

it's at this time that martha decides she doesn't feel like walking.

"I don't wanna," she goes, about to just flop to the ground and making ed and I take one of her arms to keep her upright. we literally have to brace her and drag her along. for the medically concerned reading: she was fine. she literally just didn't feel like it and wanted us to carry her.

we ride bumper cars at some point? ed and I in one car, chris and martha in the other. I drive and ram into them repeatedly. the attendant has to shut the whole ride down at one point to take the last of the jägermeister off of chris, casting us all a knowing, disapproving look before letting us finish our time. he gives it to me personally as we walk off, because I was the least visibly fucked up. I apologize, he just shakes his head.

we transition to pickwick's at schwedenplatz and drink more, not that it's a good idea. chris puts his jacket on me for some reason and tells me I look stupid. I roll my eyes and go out to the canal and smoke one of his cigarettes. In a fit of drunken, drugged pettiness, I literally fling his jacket into the canal and watch it float away. he never notices when I come back in. I never hear about it again. he's so fucked up he won't remember a single thing until we get to the airport.

because that's another thing. all three of these jokers are blackout, and no matter how drunk or high or crossfaded I get, I'm cursed by god to remain perfectly, terribly lucid, no matter how much I beg and pray otherwise.

so that's why I'm the only one to remember later, while we're all standing around at the bridge across the canal:

oh shit. martha has to go to the airport. like. right the fuck now.

martha is honestly lucky to still be in possession of her suitcase. ed is staring off into the middle distance, gently waving back and forth like a reed in the wind. chris is babbling some bullshit about "I just don't want you to hate me", on the verge of tears.

"bit late for that," I say, wrenching his phone from his hands and ordering us an uber from his account. I shove the three of them in the backseat the second we get there, fling martha's suitcase in the trunk, and climb up front with the driver. I proceed to have what was, to that point, the most fluent conversation in german I've ever had in my life while mostly succeeding in appearing normal despite being fucked up beyond all recognition.

the driver's driving like he's running from god. I become aware that while it's certainly not mandatory that I vomit, I very much could at any point in time if I chose to do so. it was just a matter of making that decision.

we get to the airport in the nick of time. martha thinks she lost her phone. "we'll mail it to you," I say, hug her and kiss her on both cheeks, and practically shove her through to security. she later finds it in her back pocket when she sobers up a couple hours into the flight. of course.

ed and chris are starting to come to already, shuffling around in front of the spar by the train station at flughafen wien. we're all just trying to get our bearings, maybe eat something quickly before ed and I run back to linz.

"oh," I say quietly as I spot some airport police, in a voice that sounded like it was coming from very far away. "it's the gendarmerie." I'd just been in paris at the end of last year before the world ended, so the word is still at the forefront of my mind.

chris starts in on me again. "gendarmerie? gendarmerie? god, you're so pretentious, everything out of your mouth is the most ridiculous shit--" and on and on and on.

I look at him. I look him up. I look him down.

I remember that I still have certain options at my disposal.

BLEAURGHHHH

without warning, I bend right over and vomit all over his shoes.

ed immediately jumps to my side and frog-marches me to the bathroom, going "you'll be alright, you're okay, you're fine, let's go", and leaves me at the sink while he leaves with paper towels.

I glance at in the mirror, my complexion wan and my eyes shadowed, and lightly dab at my mouth with a tissue. I cock my head to the side.

I know I did it on purpose.

Chris knows I did it on purpose.

but no one will ever, ever believe him.

I make eye contact with my reflection and smile.

ed and I get on the train back to linz and don't say a single word. when we get back to his apartment I climb into the empty bathtub and lay there for several hours during the comedown. I never do see or hear from chris again, and it turns out that ed barely even remembers me puking on chris' shoes to begin with.

he remembers though.

that I'm absolutely sure of.

checkmate, you son of a bitch.

FIN

[teukquila]

Reflections on Maverick

A year ago, today, I watched Top Gun: Maverick in theatres for the first time. I’ve seen the first Top Gun before, sure, but anyone who knew me will tell you I was not someone with Tom Cruise posters on my wall or had any kind of interest in the United States Navy. Regardless, whatever demons compelled me were strong enough to move my legs to the living room, walk right up to my parents and say “let's go watch the new Top Gun movie tonight”— and we did. 

What happened next can only be described as pivotal. In all seriousness, going to the movies has always been integral part of growing up in my family. I remember my mom telling me about her dad making sure he took her and her siblings out to the cinema at least once a week, a ritual my mom has attempted to keep up with me and my brothers. My grandfather’s promise resulted in my mom spoiling every Paul Newman picture I put on the television screen before I even hit play, but her ensuring I saw a 5’7 man from New Jersey scale the Burj Khalifa on the Big Screen makes up for it.  My family even ventured out in the brief window of time when the theatres opened to see Tenet (back to the Movies indeed). But watching Maverick was another experience entirely. Every single seat in the theatre was filled, from the elderly couple in front of me to the kid behind me who loudly asked “is he dead?” when the Darkstar went down (everyone laughed, by the way). On the way out, I took a poster. It remains the only film poster I have taken from a theatre.

Maverick gave this audience a dose of something that we have all felt a severe deficiency of in recent years: sincerity. The film is sincere all the way through. It is sincere in its commitment to the genre and it is sincere in its presentation to the audience, even relegating a large part of its promotion to the sincerity of the In-Jet flight sequences. Before the film even begins there is a sincere form of gratitude that the lead actor and producer Tom Cruise gives the audience. This “thank you for coming to the movies” pre-show speech has been referenced to death and copied by a large portion of theatrical releases, but never done to the same effect as Cruise’s (for reasons I might discuss at another time). The genuine effort in the film was palpable, at no point did anyone in the theatre feel like they were failing a test because they did not do their Top Gun Lore homework, or that the filmmakers were patronizing them for even being there. 

The film is more effective in its summer of ‘22 release than it would have been if it had come to us in a timeline where everything had not gone to shit in 2020. The constant trend of postmodern irony and self-reflective fourth wall-breaking deconstruction but never reconstruction that just leaves us standing anxious on a non-construction have left many tired, yearning for the strong foundations that modernist films did and did well. Nostalgia was at an all-time high and we all wanted to not be Here. We wanted an ideal world where sons reconcile with their father figures and the water is always the right temperature for beach football. Where the rules of a two-ball football game did not even exist but the sun was out, One Republic is playing, and we are all hot as hell so who even cares. Many have lamented that there is no villain in Top Gun: Maverick just because its not the one in the MIGs. The villain is the idea that those humans on the beach do not matter. The idea that after all their efforts, they don't deserve to come home to that beach and enjoy their nonsensical football game. Every time we enter a theatre, we sign a contract with the projector to inhabit whatever world they have prepared for us, and that world is our home for the next 2ish hours will be. Maverick teaches the Dagger Squad how to come home, Tom Cruise shows us what that home we deserve is. He filled the seats, turned the lights down, and showed us what his home for us will be for the next 2 hours. Our home had love, forgiveness, sincerity, and ambition, coupled with real planes, real G’s, the world’s tightest screenplay, and some real good sound. Maverick took you for a ride and kindly dropped you off as you exit the theatre with a Tony Scott sunset on the horizon.

[coffeeandbatboys]

I feel like I gotta tell the story abt how me and my bestest guy friend (we are not dating whatsoever we are like siblings) met and then the crap that's happened to us since then. Because everytime I think about it it makes me feel so happy.

So in 2020 of course all kinds of stuff was going down. I was dealing with the loss of my Grandpa in January and not doing it very well. And one fine summer day this new kid shows up at church. We ended up arguing about the stars on the American flag (I don't remember who won) and then we talked and realized that we had 2 things in common.

Fantasy books and Nintendo games.

Over the next few months we became friends and started hanging out more often. We did a lot of stuff during Christmas and honestly had the time of our lives.

February of 2021 he starts having heart issues which freaked me out. Like, I cried when he told me he had a heart monitor (I was dumb and didn't think much back then) but thank God they went away on their own.

We did a lot of fun stuff during the summer like our pastor and his wife took a bunch of the youth group kids to Arizona Grand Hotel (not in a weird way just a retreat).

2022 this kid dresses up as a literal Christmas Elf and slays so hard. (Twas for a thing called angel tree basically kids who's parents are in prison get gifts from people who sponsor the kid). I was also an elf but didn't have as fancy of a costume.

2023 he gets a job at a grill in town which takes up most of his time, but he was able to squeeze in a trip to Prescott for a youth leadership conference.

(Christian stuff is mentioned here)

I had a moment during a worship service there where I absolutely broke down crying. Like ugly crying. When I got back to where we were sitting he was ready with a hug and that was when we realized that we might be really close friends. After that there was another worship service and he got up there with me and it was just really cool.

Over the summer we became more like brother and sister, (there were a lot of water gun fights this year)

And the last couple of weeks have been rough for both of us definitely.

But we've finally acknowledged that were best friends.

We've got each others backs.

And if anyone has any tall jokes pleaaseeee send them to me so I can counteract the short jokes he makes.

We are like Natasha and Clint, respectively.

Only NOBODY is dying young.

[brckenoncs]

(—) ★ spotted!! MICAH KENNEDY on the cover of this week’s most recent tabloid! many say that the 22 year old looks like HERO FIENNES TIFFIN, but i don’t really see it. while  the RETIRED ATHLETE/REALITY TV STAR is known for being AMBITIOUS my inside sources say that they have a tendency to be ALOOF i swear, every time i think of them, i hear the song LOSING MY RELIGION by R.E.M  { he/him, cismale}

the statistics

name: Micah Kennedy age: Twenty-One dob: April 1, 2002 gender: Cismale sexuality: Pansexual occupation: Olympic Swimming Gold Medalist for 50m Freestyle - 2020 Olympic Games, Olympic Swimming Gold Medalist for 100m Freestyle - 2020 Olympic Games, Olympic Swimming Gold Medalist for 100m Butterfly - 2020 Olympic Games, Olympic Swimming Gold Medalist for 4x100m Medley - 2020 Olympic Games,  Olympic Swimming Gold Medalist for 4x100m Freestyle - 2020 Olympic Games Reality TV Star - Current, Pianist - Current parents: Jordana Kennedy, unknown father siblings: Madeline Kennedy (twin, 21), Wednesday Kennedy (5) swimming career claim: Caeleb Dressel (minus the Rio de Janeiro Games)

the history

Growing up on camera would have thought to have made a bigger impact on Micah’s life than he let it. From a young age he was trained to have no qualms of the spotlight and made zero fuss when it came to his family’s hit reality tv show. To him, it was just another day at home.

At three years old, no one could keep him out of the ocean. His fascination with swimming and the water was unexplainable but it wasn’t long before he was enrolled in private swimming lessons.

At five years old he made the resolution to go to the Olympics and spent his entire life training to do so. It was amazing when he qualified for the 2020 Olympics at only 17 years old and even more of an accomplishment when he went on to win 5 gold medals, adding him to the list of only four other Americans to win that many in one Olympic Games. Also became the first male swimmer to win gold medals in the 50m freestyle, 100m freestyle and the 100m butterfly in the same games. 

tw: car accident In July of this last year, Micah was out with his sister at a party. She had gotten a bit out of control and Micah jumped into the car with her to stop her from driving away. She did so anyways and ended up crashing it. Micah ended up having to have surgery on his knee, which got completely twisted around during the accident, and his shoulder suffered a tear in his rotator cuff. The doctors had identified that the shoulder problem had been ongoing for a while, just escalated from the accident, but thus confirmed that he would need years of physical therapy to be able to walk normally again and couldn’t clear him to compete in swimming any longer – ending the career he spent his entire life working towards.

This pushed the already recluse of the Kennedy family further into a hole, finding it hard to get out of bed. The best therapy – both physically and mentally – was started and Micah tried to get back to his life as little as he could.

His therapist suggested picking up a hobby and piano seemed to be the only thing that stuck. Now all of his time is dedicated to mastering the skill and trying to grow from there. 

Though he doesn’t state it, Micah is resentful of both his sister and being a Kennedy. He loves his family, truly and dearly, he doesn’t understand how she could put either of them into the situation and why this was the one thing that his family name couldn’t solve. He had tried to make a name on his own and it was thrown back into his face.

updated information ( TW pregnancy, TW NICU , TW depression , TW suicidal thoughts ): after his accident, Micah spent weeks trying to get around feeling like he didn't belong. imposter syndrome overtook him as he felt as though he didn't fit into the Kennedy mold, was selfish for how he had originally broken up with Melrose Levington, selfish for hurting Archie Sinclair, the whole nine yards. It wasn't until he had a breakdown to his mother, Jordana Kennedy, who helped him get into a therapist and into programs -- which worked for a little while. That was until he found out that Melrose was pregnant and after a paternity test it was found that he was the father of her unborn child. After a rather easy pregnancy, their daughter was born suddenly months early and little miss Juniper Levington-Kennedy has been in the NICU fighting for her life.

[imisssparkling1989]

Taylor Swift - The Era's Tour - Tampa Day 2

Picture it- cotton candy colored sunset skies, with 60,000+ best friends singing the bridge to cruel summer together. What a night to remember! My mom, aka my best friend since 1989, was my plus one and we had such a great time and made so many memories. We've had a few really hard years, between losing her sister (my aunt) and my grandparents it's just been so empty in our lives. My mom was the oldest of four siblings and grew up fast. She's worked all her life, and raised my brother and I all on her own. My brother and I spent most of our childhood being raised by my aunt and grandparent's while my mom was working long hours. My grandparents went through various types of cancers and ultimately passed from cancer. My aunts passing was unexpected due to a surgery complication. At times, it feels like my mom, brother and I had to grow up so quickly. During the start of the pandemic in 2020, my grandmother decided to stop Chemo and asked us to let her pass at home peacefully with us by her side. At this point, I had already lost my aunt and grandfather and was really struggling in all aspects of my life. I was stuck in a lifeless corporate America job for 10 years and felt like I had no time to enjoy the "now" or the people I love. My grandmother's last words to me were "I wish I could have seen you find your person. I wish I could have seen you get married." I never felt she had an old school mentality and just wanted me to get married. In fact, she was the complete opposite. She didn't want me to be stuck working for "The Man" and that I was deserving of love and a life worth living. Shortly after my grandmother passed away, @taylorswift released her #Folklore and #Evermore albums. My mom surprised me with the vinyl for Folklore and I was so so excited to listen to it. I setup my room for a total folklore vibe, two pups in hand, and as always my iced oat milk latte in a candle lit room. Dropped the needle onto the vinyl and for the very first time in forever I felt human again. @taylorswift #Folklore album gave me the space to dream, feel, and gave me hope. I don't know how else to describe what I felt that night into words. I guess, the only way I can describe what it felt like was when you're in the ocean... it's not night time but it's kind of dark out... and a wave crashes on you... and you're under the water nervous but you finally reach the surface and gasp for air and realize it's okay, it's not that bad, you're going to be okay...and you swim back to the shore and just sit on the beach looking back at the monster that almost got you, but didn't. You're okay now. You're going to make it. That's what listening to @taylorswift #Folklore album felt like. Soon after, #Evermore was released and it honestly just sent me to the edge listening to #Marjorie lol. I was so thankful @taylorswift wrote that song and was vulnerable enough as an artist and as a person to share a song that was written for her grandmother. I've noticed grief is really hard to talk about. People have opinions on how you should grieve. It's such a personal journey... and I have honestly been struggling with my grief since June 1, 2020 after losing my grandmother. So fast forward to two weeks ago, after already experiencing #TheErasTour with my mom in April, I decided to quit my corporate America job (after 10 years!). I have no job lined up, but something changed me that night at the concert. Taylor's music, her fans, her writing/lyrics, her view on making the world better, giving back to so many, and all her positive energy she injects into this world gave me so much hope that night. I want a better life. I need a better life. And really.... this is a long winded open thank you letter to @taylorswift @taylornation . As a fellow 1989 baby, thank you for giving me a reason to create a new tumblr (it's been a minute lol) and pour my feelings and heart out to strangers again... it's been a long time coming...

[icedfae]

(—) ★ spotted!! MICAH KENNEDY on the cover of this week’s most recent tabloid! many say that the 21 year old looks like HERO FIENNES TIFFIN, but i don’t really see it. while  the RETIRED ATHLETE/REALITY TV STAR/PIANIST is known for being AMBITIOUS my inside sources say that they have a tendency to be ALOOF i swear, every time i think of them, i hear the song LOSING MY RELIGION by R.E.M  { he/him, cismale}

that’s me in the corner

basics

Name: Micah Kennedy Age: Twenty-One DOB: April 1, 2002 Gender: Cismale Sexuality: Pansexual Occupation: Olympic Swimming Gold Medalist for 50m Freestyle - 2020 Olympic Games, Olympic Swimming Gold Medalist for 100m Freestyle - 2020 Olympic Games, Olympic Swimming Gold Medalist for 100m Butterfly - 2020 Olympic Games, Olympic Swimming Gold Medalist for 4x100m Medley - 2020 Olympic Games,  Olympic Swimming Gold Medalist for 4x100m Freestyle - 2020 Olympic Games

Reality TV Star - Current, Pianist - Current Parents: Jordana Kennedy, unknown father, Christian O’Malley (step-father) Siblings: Maiya Kennedy (twin, 21), Wednesday Kennedy (5) Swimming Career Claim: Caeleb Dressel (minus the Rio de Janeiro Games)

that’s me in the spotlight

biography

Growing up on camera would have thought to have made a bigger impact on Micah’s life than he let it. From a young age he was trained to have no qualms of the spotlight and made zero fuss when it came to his family’s hit reality tv show. To him, it was just another day at home.

At three years old, no one could keep him out of the ocean. His fascination with swimming and the water was unexplainable but it wasn’t long before he was enrolled in private swimming lessons.

At five years old he made the resolution to go to the Olympics and spent his entire life training to do so. It was amazing when he qualified for the 2020 Olympics at only 17 years old and even more of an accomplishment when he went on to win 5 gold medals, adding him to the list of only four other Americans to win that many in one Olympic Games. Also became the first male swimmer to win gold medals in the 50m freestyle, 100m freestyle and the 100m butterfly in the same games. 

TW: Car Accident In July of this last year, Micah was out with his sister at a party. She had gotten a bit out of control and Micah jumped into the car with her to stop her from driving away. She did so anyways and ended up crashing it. Micah ended up having to have surgery on his knee, which got completely twisted around during the accident, and his shoulder suffered a tear in his rotator cuff. The doctors had identified that the shoulder problem had been ongoing for a while, just escalated from the accident, but thus confirmed that he would need years of physical therapy to be able to walk normally again and couldn’t clear him to compete in swimming any longer -- ending the career he spent his entire life working towards.

This pushed the already recluse of the Kennedy family further into a hole, finding it hard to get out of bed. The best therapy -- both physically and mentally -- was started and Micah tried to get back to his life as little as he could.

His therapist suggested picking up a hobby and piano seemed to be the only thing that stuck. Now all of his time is dedicated to mastering the skill and trying to grow from there. 

Though he doesn’t state it, Micah is resentful of both his sister and being a Kennedy. He loves his family, truly and dearly, he doesn’t understand how she could put either of them into the situation and why this was the one thing that his family name couldn’t solve. He had tried to make a name on his own and it was thrown back into his face.

losing my religion

things to note

When he was younger, he was attached to Jordana’s hip. He’s a complete momma’s boy and would do anything for his mother -- including putting up with having a camera in his face at all times.

Definitely has mastered the art of looking as impassive as ever. He is a bit standoffish, which is a mask he puts up to deal with people who are using him for his family’s fame or simply because he doesn’t like you. Dealer’s choice, really.

Deathly afraid of koalas. Don’t make him go on a tangent about it.

He’d never admit it but he’s afraid to get in cars after the accident and is often seen being driven as little as possible before walking to ‘help out with his knee’

Right now always has a cane with him to assist him in walking but he’s hoping to be rid of it sooner rather than later.

Depressive boy, doesn’t know what to do with his life or fix it so he started hyper fixating on the next big thing in his life.

[firstfiveinterview]

Five Insights for Business Journeys and Success

''The next Bill Gates will not build an operating system. The next Larry Page or Sergey Brin won’t make a search engine. If you are copying these guys, you aren’t learning from them." - Peter Thiel co-founder of PayPal

Last week, we interviewed five local businesses, each with a unique story filled with challenges, setbacks, and successes. These entrepreneurs opened up about their journeys, sharing the lessons they've learned and the strategies that have helped them grow. In this blog, we’ll explore their experiences and the insights they offer on navigating today’s competitive business landscape.

Twind Drops Refilling Station

Mabini Burgos Street (0953 265 6554)

The station provides filtered, mineral, and alkaline alternatives among its selection of pure water. In addition, they satisfy the demands of both consumers and companies by providing convenient and eco-friendly water delivery services. The station offers a variety of pure water options, including filtered, mineral, and alkaline options. Furthermore, they fulfill the needs of businesses and customers by offering practical water supply services. The owner of this water refill station is Dapne Belle Maape. The COVID-19 pandemic prevented them from opening their refilling station, even though they opened in 2019. Consequently, on August 8, 2022, they reopened and have been providing services to the community ever since. At first, they struggle because of a shortage of water supplies and difficult staff members who, for example, don't give the cashier the correct amount of money. Because of the employers' integrity, they rehired every employee, and as a result, they are currently expanding quickly and now have a water source from the water district.

Shek Coffee Shop

This coffee business was founded by James Cabaneros, who is always holding meetings. The shop opened on May 14, 2024, on Del Pilar Street in Cagayan de Oro City. We only had the opportunity to interview the barista, who was also the first employee of the coffee shop. The coffee shop was built because the owner planned to run a travel agency and use the coffee shop to meet with clients. The barista mentioned that their biggest customer is students and individuals who work with computers frequently go to their coffee shop because of the free wifi and nice setting for studying and working, and the coffee is great, especially the Spanish coffee.

Healthy Basket CDO

Rica Patricia, a resident of Agora, Cagayan de Oro City, started this shop. This shop opened in 2020 as an online store on their Facebook page, but as their business grew, in 2024 they opened a pop-up location in a mall. Their major products are Baguio strawberries and strawberries covered in chocolate and marshmallow. Their biggest customers are the elderly and students, who receive senior and student discounts. They also provide a discount to anyone who follows their Facebook page; it's essentially free advertising.

Avocalicious

The name Avocalicious is derived from the words "avocado and delicious," highlighting the company's core product, avocado. Jimmy Inshong and his husband's cousin opened this shop on June 1, 2022. They established the firm to sell homemade ice cream and avocados with an expected budget of $100,000. They sell fresh avocado fruit shakes rather than processed ones such as powder. We interviewed their employee, who is a relative; she claimed that their main customers are the elderly and middle-aged and that students rarely purchase their products. The business ambiance is truly all about avocados because of the greenery of the site; they are located in malls and intend to spread around the city.

Horikohi Cafe

Horikori Cafe is owned by Jennifer and Benedict, however it is a family business, therefore their son runs it and their siblings work as baristas. Their initial location is on Laguindingan and opened in May 2022; they have two pop-up branches here in CDO, one of which we had the opportunity to interview; this business opened in the mall in 2023 as a result of an invitation to a pop-up event at SM Downtown. They stated that the majority of the customers are students from USTP and other universities. Both owners are present at the coffee shop, however they allowed us to interview their son. While we were interviewing, the mother recorded a video of us encouraging their son to its business.

Credits:

Twind Drops Refilling Station

Shek Coffee Shop

Horikohi Cafe

Healthy Basket CDO

Avocalicious

[unknwnxquantity]

I’ve expressed that I love my family. I really do. I miss them a lot. I miss my mom. For some reason it hurts me more to be away from her. Maybe bc she’s the only person I lived with for my entire 25 years of living up til I moved out. I get more emotional when I think of her. I text my family everyday of course. The distance made me appreciate them more. But something about my mom makes the tears come out whenever I think of her in depth. Like when I hear Banda music out in public, tears start coming down my face almost immediately. Or old bad bunny. Karol G. I miss her cooking. I miss her being like “yo biatch what are we doing today🤪”. I miss her kissing our cats (it would’ve been 6 but Finn passed years back :( then 5 but now it’s down to 4.. Bria past away recently, my mom spent like 20k to try and save her life but it was too late). I miss her kissing Gray all over (our Russian blue cat someone gave to her years ago who ended up having cancer and she spent well over 10k on vet bills and will forever have to give him steroids) and saying “WE KISS THE CANCER AWAY!!!” She has a special connection to gray bc in the first few weeks? First week? we got him, he became very ill, literally limp. On the verge of death. The previous owners didn’t even tell us he was sick. And the vets would say to put him down, that he wouldn’t last past the weekend. So we hoped and prayed (we’re not even Christian). We manifested for his health to get better. I tried cleansing him with clear quartz throughout his little body a few times. I left a clear quartz next to where he’d sleep those first few weeks. Then my mom got sick out of nowhere and had to go to the hospital. It was scary. There were purple dots on her tongue. Along with other stuff like something with her blood level was low. They both became scaringly sick for a few days. Me and my sister would hear that viral tiktok song from 2020 “death bed” a lot and used to like the song, but started getting scared of it. We haven’t listened to it since (well apparently she has but rarely). But then magically they both started getting better at the same time. He doesn’t have cancer anymore and she’s better now *knock on wood*. My mom views gray as a guardian angel. Even tho he’s a literal menace to society and I’d be scared to live in a world where he is a real life man lol, I think he’s her guardian too.

I feel this deep connection to my mom. It’s second to my sister if I had to rank —it’s a little too early to feel a deep connection w my brother. He’s going thru his teenage phase and we fought a lot but we’ve come a really long way… I do feel we were enemies in a past life😭 he challenges me in ways that really shake me to my core. One of the things he shows me is my own immaturity and a shadow side to me I don’t like that I have to heal. I can’t wait til he’s older, I feel then our connection will be better and more open— My mom sleeps on herself. She’s very in tune with her senses, supernatural stuff, her intuition and inner voice. Premonitions. I relate it to her big 3 (libra sun cap moon— second hardest moon placement to have next to Scorpio and this bitch is always working lol— and Pisces rising. Scorpio mercury and Venus too I’ve done a lot of connections in terms of my family’s synastry. It’s so cute literally all of us share multiple fixed signs whether it be Scorpio Taurus Leo or Aquarius in all our big 6s, or cancer. My dad’s big 3 is literally all fixed signs too—Leo sun rising and Taurus moon— that just blew my mind… maybe that’s y everyone used to compare me to him…..MY SIBLINGS ME AND MY PARENTS HAVE EXACTLY ONE TAURUS PLACEMENT EACH IN OUR BIG 6??? We all have water Venus’ too except my dad. My mind is blown. It’s so cool to have that connection validated through astrology)…. She’s seen some dark energies throughout her life. Very dark. Whether that be human or literal evil spirits. I love when she tells me her supernatural stories. Me and my sister close ourselves off to the supernatural though. It’s better to keep the door closed than to try and find the good, bc where’s there’s good, there’s evil. My mom didn’t have that choice tho, it was brought upon her from an early age. Don’t even get me started on my grandma (Cap sun, don’t know her whole birth chart) who’s a literal witch lol and her family was into some bad stuff energetically. Apparently my grandmas parents ran some kind of temple where they’d practice stuff. The practice that starts with a b (do Spaniards even practice that? I guess so— my mom told me they got into this when they were in PR lol). I don’t wanna put that energy out online. I can only imagine the generational curses accrued bc of this side of the family. My grandma’s siblings were horrible to each other. Shes like my dad in the way she’s a real life narcissist. No tiktok armchair psychology diagnosis. None of that. But legit reasons and abusive harmful delusional behaviors and patterns that a neuronormative person doesn’t operate like to that degree. The triangulation, the deep manipulation, manic spam rants filled with hateful and vengeful words. It’s scary and heavy to hear what my mom has gone through with my grandma and my dad. And what she continues to go through with them. They are one and the same.

I feel sad for her. I mourn for my mom. She didn’t experience life bc she got pregnant with my sister in her late teens. Then me. Then my brother (Aries sun aqua moon cancer? Or Scorpio rising). She was in this narcissistic abusive relationship with my dad for 20 years. It took years off her life and health. I asked her her favorite song of all time in sept 2022 while i working in the city— I just had the random urge to ask her and my dad their fav song lol— and she said it was Endless Love by Diana Ross and Lionel Richie. She said it was always her favorite song growing up and how she would fantasize that song playing at her future wedding. That never happened. My heart breaks for that. I wish I could give her the love she deserves but that’s not my place… and like… that’s my mom. lol. You get what I mean. She also loves dolphin by Prince like my dad. Like my family. She loves her evil eye bracelets/charms, and one of the many she’s gifted me lol is of a dolphin evil eye keychain. I always think of her when I look at it.

Shes such a mess tho. Shes like my grandma. A hoarder. Doesn’t know how to let go either. Buys “just in case” and never uses. Buys in bulk and things expire. The house was always such a mess. Both their fucking places. It’s like literal tornadoes hit and everything’s everywhere. That’s not a place to live. It fucked with my mental so much. I can only imagine hers. She has adhd too. But hers is a whole other level. And it’s only gotten worse.

She wasn’t always the best mom. She was very cold and distant (cap moon mf). Especially with me. She had postpartum with me bad. We actually almost died together when they were delivering me😭😭 had a priest come in and everything. She’s also been in accidents with me while I was in her belly that could’ve resulted in my death. Or hers. It’s like something was fighting to not have me here. Or maybe I’m putting too much importance on my existence🤣 (no bc I asked after this entry and apparently there was a woman my dad was cheating on my mom w who was into witchcraft and another woman in her workplace that had it out for my mom for snitching on her doing something the woman wasn’t supposed to be doing… wow). It wasn’t til covid where she started becoming softer. She’s getting older. Things and regrets are starting to hit her and my dad; a tale as old as time. Now she sends us tiktoks, the ones that are apologizing for being a “bad” mother, or the corny ones “where in every lifetime I’ll always love you…. I may have not been the best but I will always try for you” type of tiktoks. She sends them a lot now actually. It’s cute. It’s nice to see her acknowledgements and her trying to break generational traumas. Her mom could never though. I think that’s why she’s trying harder with us now.

She still disappoints me in some ways. Like my dad. I feel I have to be the one on top of them to give me the love and attention I want from them. I hate one sidedness (not like I’ve said this mad times before). But maybe it’s not just that. Maybe it’s just not being able to access certain sides and emotions I can access easily. I feel the only person who reciprocates my depth and understands/appreciates things the exact same way I can who’s in my life, is my sister. We are the same person just opposite sides of the same coin. I don’t use that term lightly either. When I make observations/statements like that. Or what I say in general. I don’t say things lightly just to say them. But yeah I take things with my parents with a grain of salt at the end of the day. I have to recognize that people cannot reach where I’m at on a soul level at times and that’s okay. I can still love them the same. Just different expectations. Less expectations. Expectations set you up for failure. You have to let people and things be. There’s no wrong or right way of being (unless you’re hurting ppl with your existence, then that’s a problem). Not everyone has to be on this big spiritual journey just bc you are. I just tell myself sometimes that this is a part of their souls journeys and maybe in the next life or lives after that, maybe they’ll get to where they “need to be”.

Okay maybe that’s enough about my mom. Theres more I could say but I’ll leave as is. Lol I love her, she’s my bestie. As I write this, I think to myself… she’ll probably never know this entry of her exists. Lol anyways I get to be with all of them in a few weeks to go to a Nicki concert (my brother loves Nicki, we all do now bc of him AND YES SHES PROBLEMATIC PLEASE LEAVE ME ALONE). I’m excited for that. We are in the front of the front bitch! Like making eye contact front. I’m also supposed to go see my old hs guidance counselor while I’m out there (technically she wasn’t but I wish she was) and I’m so excited to see her. I lovedddd her. We bonded when I was in hs over our curly hair and she’s so quiet but super nice and open-ended and minded. Now she’s my brothers guidance counselor. She looks out for him. Me and her email from time to time. And ofc when I told my mom ask her what her birthday was…. She’s a freaking Gemini 🤣 she was giving cancer (she does have cancer placements, including cancer Venus💁‍♀️). I love my cancers/cancer placements too. She’s into numerology tho and the importance of birth dates. She told my mom to tell me about this book she had in her office, called “the secret language of birthdays”. I still haven’t checked it out but I have to soon. I’m gonna ask her in person for her birth chart bc I always felt drawn to her.

Okay enough about me!!! I’m getting paranoid lol.

[newstfionline]

Sunday, February 25, 2024

At the Florida Man Games, tank-topped teams compete at evading police and wrestling over beer (AP) They rose up by the dozens from across Florida, caricatured competitors in tank tops and cutoff shorts, for a showdown that treats evading police and wrestling over beer like Olympic sports. Promoted as “the most insane athletic showdown on Earth,” the Florida Man Games poke fun at the state’s reputation for bizarre stories that involve brawling, drinking, gunfire, reptile wrangling and other antics carrying a risk of time in jail or intensive care. Several thousand people paid real money to come cheer a dozen teams at the debut event set for Saturday in St. Augustine, with contests and sideshows inspired by real events from America’s most surreal state. Events involve contenders wrestling sumo-style while holding pitchers of beer, or running from actual sheriff’s deputies while jumping fences and avoiding obstacles. Some signed up to duel with pool noodles over a mud-filled pool, while others faced a scramble to grab cash flying in simulated hurricane winds.

The next generation of influencers are here. And they’re less than 10 years old. (NBC News) Koti and Haven Garza have half a mouthful of baby teeth and can hardly pronounce the word “influencer.” But the 7-year-old twins are already sharing their skin care routines and fit checks to 4.8 million followers on TikTok. “Get ready with me to go out to dinner,” Haven Garza says to the camera in a TikTok video that has amassed 2.6 million views. The “Garza Crew” first went viral on TikTok in 2020. In about a week, the family’s first-ever video had racked up more than 100,000 views, and the then-toddlers were on their way to internet fame. The sibling duo are part of a new wave of Gen Alpha influencers—creators born between 2010 and 2024—who are building followings online for videos posted on their parent-run accounts.

Colombia will send deep-water expedition to explore 300-year-old shipwreck thought to hold treasure (AP) Colombia’s government announced plans Friday for a deep-water expedition to explore the mythical galleon San José, sunk in the 18th century in the country’s northern Caribbean and believed to contain cargo valued at billions of dollars. The first phase of the scientific research into the deep waters around the shipwreck will collect information to determine which pieces are suitable and possible to extract. The wreckage is 600 meters (almost 2,000 feet) deep in the sea. Colombia located the galleon in 2015 but it has since been mired in legal and diplomatic disputes, and its exact location is a state secret. The ship is believed to hold 11 million gold and silver coins, emeralds and other precious cargo from Spanish-controlled colonies, which could be worth billions of dollars if ever recovered.

WWII-era bomb safely detonated at sea after one of the largest peacetime evacuations in UK history (AP) A World War II-era bomb whose discovery prompted one of the largest peacetime evacuations in British history has been detonated at sea, the Ministry of Defense said on Saturday. The 500-kilogram (1,100-pound) explosive was discovered Tuesday in the backyard of a home in Plymouth, a port city on the southwestern coast of Britain. More than 10,000 residents were evacuated to ensure their safety as a military convoy transported the unexploded bomb through a densely populated residential area to a ferry slipway, from which it was taken out to sea. Plymouth, home to major naval bases for centuries, was one of the most heavily bombed cities in Britain during World War II.

Huge apartment block fire in Spain kills nine people (Guardian) Spanish police have said the final death toll from a devastating fire that tore through a 14-storey block of flats in the eastern city of Valencia is nine, with one person thought to have died now considered missing and all others accounted for. Experts said the block was covered with highly flammable cladding, possibly—along with high winds—accounting for the rapid spread of the fire, which broke out on the fourth floor at 5.30pm on Thursday and engulfed the building within 30 minutes. In dramatic scenes broadcast live on TV on Thursday night, firefighters used a crane to lift a father and his daughter from a balcony where they were trapped, and a man was seen jumping several floors on to an inflatable mat to escape the flames. About 100 soldiers from Spain’s military emergency unit and 40 firefighting vehicles were deployed to the scene, where crews used drones to search the building for bodies and survivors once the flames’ initial ferocity had subsided.

Unpredictable Strongman? Two Years Into War, Putin Embraces the Image. (NYT) After President Biden called President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia a “crazy S.O.B.” this week, the Kremlin was quick to issue a stern condemnation. But the image of an unpredictable strongman ready to escalate his conflict with the West is one that Mr. Putin has fully embraced after two years of full-scale war. At home, the Kremlin is maintaining the mystery over the circumstances of the death last week of Aleksei A. Navalny, preventing the opposition leader’s family from reclaiming his body. In Ukraine, Mr. Putin is pressing his army to maintain its brutal offensive, boasting on television that he stayed up all night as the city of Avdiivka fell to Russian forces. And in outer space, American officials warn, Russia may be planning to place a nuclear weapon into orbit, aboard a satellite, which would violate one of the last arms control treaties. In power since 1999, Mr. Putin, 71, is set to extend his rule to 2030 in Russia’s rubber-stamp elections next month. As the vote nears, he is feeding his conception of himself as a history-making leader carrying on the legacy of past rulers who were willing to sacrifice untold numbers of lives to build a stronger Russian state.

Land mines return to Europe as front-line states fear Russian invasion (Washington Post) With former president Donald Trump encouraging Russia to attack NATO territory and U.S. support for Ukraine flagging, some of the nations that border Russia are looking for ways to harden their defenses, considering land mines and other technologies from ancient wars in a bid to blunt a Kremlin attack. Two years after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, countries such as the Baltic states and Finland warn that a threat to their own territory may be just over the horizon, with some intelligence agencies saying the Kremlin could make such an attempt within a decade. Now they are taking lessons from their enemy’s robust defense lines in Ukraine, noting that Russia’s system of minefields, concertina wire and trenches made it all but impossible for Kyiv’s forces to advance last summer. European states are still clamoring for F-35 fighter jets and space-age weapons, but the renewed interest and investment in century-old tactics is the latest example of how Russia’s war in Ukraine is upending long-held assumptions about how to defend NATO territory, with a revived focus on stopping tanks and mobile artillery.

Many in Myanmar consider fleeing to Thailand to escape conscription into an army they despise (AP) Thwel, a 25-year-old schoolteacher, saw very few options left to her after Myanmar’s military announced it is implementing conscription to fill its ranks. “As a person living in this country, I only have two options: to go abroad illegally or die here,” Thwel told The Associated Press by phone while traveling to a border area to try crossing into Thailand with a small group of like-minded people. Some observers believe a mass exodus of young talent is taking place and could become a social problem, with their exit heightening the instability that followed the military takeover that now amounts to a civil war. According to the Thai Foreign Ministry, some 7,000 Myanmar nationals have applied for visas, Thailand’s Bangkok Post newspaper reported Thursday.

China says it aims to ‘contain’ foreign interference over Taiwan this year (Reuters) China aims to “contain” foreign interference over Taiwan and “resolutely combat” any efforts towards the island’s formal independence this year, which is the sensitive 75th anniversary of the founding of communist China, state media said on Friday. China views democratically ruled Taiwan as its own territory, ignoring the objections of the government in Taipei, and has ramped up political and military pressure to assert those claims. Taiwan last month elected current Vice President Lai Ching-te as its next president, a man Beijing has called a dangerous separatist. Lai, who takes office in May, has repeatedly offered talks with China but has been rebuffed. China’s official Xinhua news agency said the ruling Communist Party’s fourth-ranked leader, Wang Huning, held a two-day meeting on this year’s Taiwan-related work which ended on Friday. China “must resolutely combat the division of Taiwan independence, contain interference from external forces, firmly support the patriotic and reunification forces on the island, unite Taiwan compatriots, and maintain peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait”, Xinhua cited Wang as saying.

As Gaza War Grinds On, Israel Prepares for a Prolonged Conflict (NYT) As the war in Gaza rages on, the situation in the battered enclave is one of devastation and despair. More than 29,000 people have been killed, according to Gaza health officials, the majority in a relentless Israeli bombing campaign. Neighborhoods have been flattened, families wiped out, children orphaned, and an estimated 1.7 million people displaced. While global scrutiny grows over Israel’s conduct in the war, the Israeli military, by its assessment, has delivered a major blow to the capabilities of Hamas, killing commanders, destroying tunnels and confiscating weapons. But Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s goal of destroying Hamas remains elusive, according to current and former Israeli security officials. An Israeli military intelligence official, who spoke on condition of anonymity under military protocol, said that Israel was engaged in a comprehensive mission to unravel Hamas’s military capabilities. “Is it possible this mission will be left for my children?” he said. “The answer is yes.”

U.N. experts urge embargo on Israel for arms that would be used in Gaza (Washington Post) More than two dozen U.N. rights experts on Friday urged countries to halt the export to Israel of arms that would be used in Gaza, saying such transfers of weapons and ammunition could violate international humanitarian law. In a statement, the experts—who are part of the “special procedures” of the Human Rights Council, a body of independent experts in the U.N. system—said the need for an “arms embargo on Israel is heightened by the International Court of Justice’s [preliminary] ruling on 26 January 2024 that there is a plausible risk of genocide in Gaza and the continuing serious harm to civilians since then.” Francesca Albanese, U.N. special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories and one of the signatories to the statement, said on social media that sending weapons to Israel that may be used in Gaza “may amount to complicity in atrocity crimes.”

[iffoundreturntosea]

January 14, Day 14

Day 14 2015

Four ponies & a giraffe in a tent

#picofthday #project365 #day14 #mlp #toys #lifewithatoddler

Day 14 2016

Beautiful day 4 in Jamaica!

#beautiful #blue #january #beach #jamaica #water #evening #sunset #clouds #sky #sand #heaven #familyfun #picoftheday #project365 #day14

This day started out really difficult because a man snuck onto the resort beach and harassed me to the point that I had a panic attack when I finally got to an area I was safe. All I wanted to do was to get early morning pictures of the sunrise at the beach and some guy made it a nightmare. Thankfully, the day got better and I celebrated no-kids-thursday with my siblings! Then we all ended up at the water park to end the day.

Day 14 2017

Dining lights

#lights #wattanight #circles #circleoflife #january #picoftheday #project365 #day14

Day 14 2018

#bananas #banana #yellow #fruit #peeled #bunchofbananas #keyhole #cutout #differentview #january #picoftheday #project365 #day14 #2weeksdown #50weekstogo

I apparently was desperate for a subject this day! ha

Day 14 2019

Leo would not be happy if I tried to dress him up so it had to be Fluffy!

#stuffedanimal #hyena #fierce #masked #super #cantdressmycat #itsformyownsafety #dressup #dressupyourpetday #january #nationalday #nationaldaycalendar #picoftheday #project365 #day14

Day 14 2020

Thank you for a tea-rrific evening @laylandmuseum

Carrie's Brew-tea-ful Lemongrass Hibiscus Green tea!

#laylandmuseum #teablending #tea #create #taste #spice #floral #greentea #lemongrass #hibiscus #purple #violet #color #roygbiv #rainbow #january #january14 #2020 #picoftheday #project365 #day14

I am terrible at creating tea flavors because this stuff was just awful!! hahaha BUT the night was super fun with my friends!

Day 14 2021

A few things got me through this rough day. This orange was one of them.

#orange #smile #octopus #reef #clickmyheelsthreetimes #smileyface #lessstressmorefun #whateverthehelliwant #january #january14 #2021 #picoftheday #project365 #day14

Day 14 2022

If only I had scales

#david #scales #fins #sopretty #color #january #january14 #2022 #picoftheday #project365 #day14

David was such a beautiful betta!

Day 14 2023

Leo was blessed with a cat tree by a giving woman from the buy nothing group here.

#blessed #givewhenyoucan #leo #kitty #cat #cattree #furbaby #january #january14 #2023 #picoftheday #project365 #day14

My sweet baby boy took some time getting used the cat tree but he liked to sit up top and judge me. hahaha

Day 14 2024

A gentle, yellow sunrise

#yellow #dailytheme #sunrise #beach #ocean #morning #beautiful #january #january14 #2024 #picoftheday #project365 #day14

Two weeks down only 50 more to go!