#youre telling me that if i want to go thru the gym challenge i have to resign myself to being on NATIONAL TELEVISION. FUCK NO

[the-knife-consumer]

Like I love how the gym challenge was an actual televised sports event in galar but realistically I'd hate every minute of that shit

[pleckthaniel]

PSA

On the pending Missouri trans healthcare ban, every post I’ve seen so far tells people to get HRT now. The thing about that is -

Accessing HRT through informed consent before the deadline will not save you.

I’m no legal expert and even if I were, this emergency order is so new and so poorly worded that actual lawyers are having trouble parsing what this means for trans Missourians. What I do know is that the clear intent of AG Bailey is to prevent as many trans Missourians from accessing care as he possibly can, and he’s going to die on that hill.

In order to be grandfathered in with the standards laid out by this emergency order, we have to have been on HRT for 3+ years and pass a multitude of extremely restrictive screenings for depression, anxiety, autism, and “social contagion” (yep, those are the actual words they used! hell world!). This means that if you started HRT after April 27, 2020, you will not qualify.

Word on the street is that different clinics are saying different things about who will be able to continue HRT and for how long, so it is possible that your doctors will fight for you if you start HRT now! Moreover, the ACLU and Lambda are already planning to challenge this order as soon is at goes into effect, and most likely, it will end up being paused. So there is still a lot of hope, I just don’t want people to think that there’s any easy loopholes in this order. If you are a trans Missouri resident you’re pretty fucked and there’s no way around that.

Obviously, the best thing to do now is to get out if you can. If that’s not possible, though, you can take steps to protect yourself apart from accessing hormones while you still can:

-Talk to your doctor about accessing a “vacation dose” for after April 27. This is the most important step because it means you will not be relying on a possible challenge to the order for hormones in the short term.

-Look into a legal gender marker change, which will make it much more difficult to legally block your access to gender-affirming hormones. If you live in St Louis or the surrounding area, you may qualify with just HRT, but if you live elsewhere, you will be required to have had gender-affirming surgery.

-If you can’t afford a GM change, some local activist groups offer microgrants to cover the associated fees. Message me and I can help connect you with them.

-If you’re looking for specific legal assistance, again, message me. I’m acquainted with local activists who personally know many of the trans-friendly lawyers in MO and are willing to refer anyone who needs it.

-If you’re transfem, I strongly recommend taking control of your own transition. Don’t have personal experience with this but IIRC you can get E in bulk for relatively cheap thru the gray market. Look at r/TransDIY on reddit for more info

-If you’re transmasc, I definitely DO NOT recommend making friends with cis male gym bros. Testosterone is a SUPER DANGEROUS federally controlled black market substance and the fact that it’s often easily accessible at local fitness centers is a SUPER BAD thing that NO ONE should take advantage of

-For the love of God, try to stay safe and sane. I love you so much, we’re going to get through this.

[a-bit-too-much-of-a-pokemon-fan]

Oops, forgot to post my early review of Violet

I found this just chilling in the drafts of my main blog, so I'm gonna post my initial review of Pokémon Violet here, then follow up on it with thoughts now that I'm on my seventh playthrough (sixth Nuzlocke, third Hardcore Nuzlocke).

When I was in the midst of catching Pokémon and progressing the story of Violet, it hit me that I was having some of the most fun I’ve ever had playing Pokémon. The fact that the game runs so abysmally is all the more tragic because other than that, I’m tempted to say this is one of the best games in the franchise. I grew up on Platinum, and White/White 2 are my overall favorites, but Violet is creeping real close. Performance aside, I think the biggest weakness is one that most open world games suffer from—a fragmented story. It’s eerily similar to Breath of the Wild in that sense. The story that’s there is really good, but the world design leads to a loose execution. Compared to Skyward Sword and Pokémon Gen 5, which are suffocatingly linear but deliver a tightly executed story that hits all the right beats at all the right points.

That’s the crazy thing about Violet, too. The story isn’t just good because of the characterizations and themes. The dialogue is just straight up good. It feels like you’re talking to real people and not video game npcs, or at least the most like it we’ve gotten in Pokémon. The localization was clearly done by people who are young and/or in touch. There are so many little gems. A gym leader who is a streamer and tells her audience to smash the subscribe button? The earnest but out of touch school headmaster asking you what “cheugy” means? It’s so good.

I’m surprised with how well the three-prong story fits and comes all together in the end. The gym challenge in your standard Pokémon romp and is fun but honestly the least interesting of the three. Arven and Team Star’s stories are genuinely well-written and touching. They both start kind of weird and forced, but they grew on me really fast.

Alright, and the music is fucking fantastic. Pokémon has always had great music. That’s probably the coldest take in this post. But there are some serious hits in this score. The East Province themes, Team Star themes, and very spoiler-heavy, late-game songs are so, so good. They made a great choice bringing Toby Fox in for more tracks.

In terms of the game design though, I’m a huge fan. Terastylizing is probably the most interesting battle gimmick since double battles introduced in Gen 3. The regional Pokédex is a nice balance of mons from every generation and sits at a very respectable number of 400 Pokémon. I just caught myself a whole living dex up thru Gen 6, so for this playthrough I chose to only use new (Gen 8 and 9) Pokémon. Still, I came into it knowing I wanted to catch every mon I can. I was struck by just how much encounter variety there is. On a second playthrough where I allow mons from Gen 7 and earlier, I can see myself using a completely different team.

Ah, my team. My companions for this adventures were as follows: Zaza the Meowscarada, Li’l Buddy the Pawmot, Blaze the Ceruledge, False Knees the Corviknight, Honey Bun the Dachsbun, Connie the Frosmoth, and the late substitution for False Knees to cover my crippling weakness to fire-types: Norm the Veluza. I can and will go in depth into this team and what I love about it, but suffice it to say that Weed Cat was a great starter.

I do think I’ll need a second playthrough a while down the road before I can say if I love this game, but it’s easily one of my favorites in the series. Again, that’s why it’s poor performance sucks so much. I really, really like Violet, but it can be miserable to play sometimes. I know it can be so much better then it is. So let’s get to the elephant in the room.

Gamefreak needs to slow down. From what I saw of Sword and Shield (I skipped these ones), there are points where you can tell corners had to be cut. The problem became obvious with Legends Arceus. I love the gameplay, music, art direction, and all the little experiments the designers took, but holy Arceus above, the game looks like ass. If the devs were given more time, it could have looked so much better. And now we’re here with Scarlet and Violet. The art direction is strong but it’s obvious in one look that the devs were rushed. The only parts of the game that don’t consistently drop frames are the Tera raid battles. I’m sure there are countless people listing every performance issue, so I’ll stop there.

The devs need more time to put out their best work, and the Gamefreak and Pokémon Company execs know that. But. Their main audience is children. As a former child myself, I know that children have no taste or sense of quality. Unless the game is literally unplayable and crashes every other minute, kids will not notice the myriad performance issues. So they will continue to ask their parents to buy them the games, and the games will continue being purchased. The share of Pokémon fans who are A) adults, and B) concerned with the state of the games and franchise, is tiny compared to the primary audience. So unless the next game is so rushed that it actually sells as terribly as it runs, things will never change.

So,,, yeah. I give it a 6/10. Fix the performance and I’d give it a 9.5/10. Good game. They gave me a weed cat.

~~~~~~

Alright, that was the review I wrote on December 31st, six days after I got the game. I had just finished my vanilla playthrough of the game. I'm even more conflicted on the score now than I was before. I think I'll itemize it then revisit the overall score.

Music: Easy 10/10. Banger after banger here. Battle themes, boss themes, town themes, area themes, oh man. Almost everything is great. There are some tracks I aren't the biggest fan of, namely the West Province theme and variants. But the sheer quantity of songs I like, and the phenomenal use of adaptive music makes up for it.

Story: 8/10. Easily the strongest story of the series in terms of writing quality and dialogue. I don't have much more to say than what I wrote in December. It loses points on having that weaker execution than Black and White, and if I'm being honest, it still doesn't compare to the better-written non-Pokémon games I've played. Halo 4 or Undertale, anyone?

Trainer/Boss Battles: 7/10. Where are the healing items? Where are the switch-ins? Random trainer battles aren't always easy, granted. The trainers with black dialogue boxes (the strongest trainer of each area) are no joke, especially in Nuzlockes. Boss battles though. Thematically, always reserving their ace for last then Terastallizing works very well. It makes the battles much more predictable. I can definitely feel the lack of healing items, which reduces the amount of strategizing needed. I also dock points for removing set mode. That was legitimately the only form of a difficulty option in this game and they turned it into another input and a time loss every time you KO an opponent's Pokémon. It's especially frustrating when I return to Violet after playing earlier games that have the option. Overall enjoyable though.

Wild Pokémon Battles: 10/10. Phenomenal. Perfect, even. Continuing the mapping of Pokéballs to the X button instead of needing to go into the bag is perfect. Makes catching smoother. Pokéball animations are much faster. Roaming encounters are such a welcome change from random encounters. The only problem with them is that they complicate Nuzlockes, but that's really not the designers' fault.

Accessibility: 1/10. Abysmal. Disclaimer that I almost never use any accessibility options in games because I don't need them. But there's no options for disabling or toning down animations. No button remapping. No color blindness options. No text options beside changing the speed. Forgive me if I forgot some. Again, I don't use them so I don't usually think consciously about it. Besides, GameFreak forgot all of them. I give one point because falling of cliffs is made harder by a buffer, and you can warp back up if you do fall. Nintendo-published games need to have more accessibility options and I can't believe they keep getting away with their absence of options.

Presentation: 4/10. Oh, this is rough. Character and Pokémon models are fantastic, manmade structures are great, but almost everything natural looks terrible. I don't see any anti-aliasing. It's terribly optimized. Performance issues abound. And what's with the pace of battles? The higher ups needed to let the devs and QA teams cook. Damn.

Overall: ... 8/10. In some ways, ScarVio knocks it out of the park. In others, it falls flat on its face. But the most important part to me personally is whether the game is fun. And I stand by my previous take. It's some of the most fun I've had in Pokémon game. If my seven playthroughs (four complete, two Nuzlocke wipes, one in progress) are any indication, I like this game quite a lot.

[readinginthereadyroom]

let’s talk about 9-1-1 buddie headcanons:

- eddie gets rid of his truck. christopher is getting older and wants more independence so he gets something with better clearance. and I’ve decided that something is a dodge durango. eddie is actually really into it. can’t stop talking about the fold down seats and towing capabilities. buck teases him and calls it his soccer mom van. then immediately starts researching CP-friendly soccer leagues for chris.

- buck strikes me as a podcast kinda guy. I feel like a lot of his random facts probably start with information learned via podcast and then researched separately on google or wikipedia. 

- luddite eddie my beloved. but not like luddite luddite. eddie’s a millennial so I see him as okay with all the 20th century technology he grew up with and just not all the newfangled smart home/internet gaming stuff. 

- abuela gives eddie an old turntable and a box of records and he falls in love with it. likes to play spanish love songs while cleaning on the weekends.

- eddie breaks up with ana. he does it quietly and cordially a couple weeks after the sniper incident.

- buck and taylor date for a little while but never really take off. and it’s super important that it’s buck who makes the decision to break up. they both have very busy lives and different priorities. and taylor acknowledges she probably shouldn’t have kissed him in the first place. she just hated to see buck so broken and wanted to comfort him. they decide they are better as friends.

- bosko and eddie friendship rights! eddie actually apologizes to her and they become gym buddies. lena stops going to the junkyard fights and finds an MMA gym that she’ll take eddie to. during the pandemic they somehow find themselves doing socially distanced tai-chi in the park. they keep it up once the gyms reopen.

- side note: lena does in fact get a cat. he’s a huge floofy maine coon named sarge who absolutely adores eddie. rubs his head all over him and immediately worms his way into his lap when eddie visits. he hisses at buck tho and lena finds it endlessly hilarious.

- demisexual eddie! I like the idea of lena no-nonsense asking eddie if he’s ace one day and eddie just having an internal panic attack but not being able to figure out why. karen gently brings it up few months later and he’s just deny deny deny. then he overhears david telling michael that he gives off ace vibes and that’s the last straw. so eddie pulls a full buck and starts researching just to prove everyone wrong. except it’s like a lightbulb clicks on and yeah. maybe there’s something to this.

- eddie and karen have a book club every other week. usually novellas or a short story collection. queer theory and literary fiction. the occasional poetry book. at some point they invite david to join them. they also have a not-so-secret romance novel exchange because they are big saps.

- eddie is also a sucker for a really good cup of black coffee. has a favorite hole-in-the-wall cafe where he buys beans in bulk. buck calls it his diesel fuel drink and grimaces at the taste. he prefers simple oatmilk latte from the place near the station. and yet buck always seems to know what days eddie will be running late and rushing to work and has a cup from said hole-in-the-wall coffee waiting. despite it not being on buck’s route. 

- christopher loves buck’s loft. buck keeps a stash of toys and coloring books in his coffee table trunk for when he visits. chris sees the stairs as a fun challenge and will often ask to go up and sit on buck’s bed to watch the city. or sit on the patio while buck bbq’s dinner for the three of them. he thinks it’s the coolest house ever.

- buck actually rides his bike. it’s not just for show. especially after the pandemic hit. he likes to go out in the mornings. drives to a nearby trail on his days off and enjoys the scenery while the sun comes up. sometimes eddie and chris meet him there after his ride and they have a breakfast picnic.

- the diaz-buckley-han’s share one netflix account. it’s technically buck’s in that he pays for it, but when maddie moved to LA he set her up with her own profile. then logged into his account at eddie’s one day and never logged out. renamed the profile buck & eddie after he setup a kid’s profile specifically for chris. then after learning about maddie and chim’s not-dating buff-fridays, buck put both their names on her profile as a prank. and then it just stayed that way. jee-yun even has a profile despite being a literal infant that doesn’t watch tv. maddie cried when she saw it.

- buck takes the legal guardianship thing very seriously. he’s already really involved in essentially co-parenting chris but he starts getting really nervous about asking invasive questions about chris’ medical history. so eddie sits him down with chris and the three of them talk about it. eddie very specifically asks chris if he’s okay with sharing that kind of info with buck. because even tho christopher’s a kid eddie always wants him to have a say in his own health decisions. then he has a more in-depth convo with just buck about insurance and bills and doctor’s visits. makes sure buck has access to all of it. 

- chris played secret matchmaker. went to his old friend santa claus and asked if buck would stay forever. santa came thru, as always.

- also carla knows. buck starts spending more nights at the diaz house and one morning she lets herself in and sees buck coming out of eddie’s room in just a pair of sweatpants. she gives him a coy eyebrow raise and buck blushes. then she just laughs, pats his cheek affectionately, and says your secret’s safe with me buckaroo. when a bleary-eyed eddie wanders out a half hour later she pushes a cup of coffee into his hands, waits a few moments, looks eddie dead in the eyes, and points at buck. I see you took my advice. eddie chokes on his coffee.

- speaking of carla she is family. she and her husband are regular guests at the 118 get-togethers, holidays at the firehouse, and family meals. she occasionally takes on other clients, but she’s mostly exclusive to the diazes these days. esp as christopher gets older and wants more independence. she’s been around since he was 7 and he’s comfortable with her. she stays his home heath care aide until she retires. then she personally vets a new one. because not just anyone will do for her boy. they throw her a huge retirement party.

- gonna jump into the future because christopher absolutely names his daughter carla shannon buckley-diaz. there isn’t a dry eye in the house.

- and I don’t actually see chris calling buck pops or anything. he’s just his buck. tho I can see eddie asking christopher if he wants to hyphenate his last name when buck officially adopts him. buck’s his hero so chris is 100% onboard. 

- buck and eddie don’t have more kids. eddie never wanted more and buck is surrounded by the ever-expanding horde of firefam kids. they love their little trio.

- also eddie is hilariously terrible with other kids. he just. doesn’t know how to talk to them. he’s literally the best father ever with christopher, but any other kid and he’s all awkward hello small human. it’s also the reason the team sends buck to handle kid rescues. he knows how to speak to kids and they light up around his sunshine energy. but then there are certain kids who just glom onto eddie. usually the quiet ones. they find something about his calm dad presence very soothing so they just cling to him until buck can coax them around. 

- I do not see the buckley-diazes getting a pet. buck and eddie work long shifts and it’s not fair to put that kind of extra responsibility on carla when her job is to care for chris. however, as chris gets older he does get a mobility service dog to help with counterbalance. she’s a golden retriever named stella and she’s a very good girl. 

- buck proposes by accident. they’re at the park with christopher and marriage just sorta comes up during one of his infodumps. eddie is eating his sandwich, nodding along, and just casually says of course I want to marry you. buck stops talking. christopher giggles. eddie panics. but when he looks at buck he’s all puppy-eyed and hopeful. you do? eddie nods. chris chimes in with a stage whispered ask properly buck and say yes dad. so they do.

[nikomedes]

(i am sending you writing asks) can i get a uhhhhh... number #1, #13, #19, and a #23 please thank you

[drive thru speaker crackle] ask machine broke

jk thank u luke!!! i am sorry this is so fucking long

1. Tell us about your current project(s) – what’s it about, how’s progress, what do you love most about it?

so adhd is a disorder where--

im joking but uh. off the top of my head:

fallout 3 mlw/charon fic that i just. have put way too much time into mostly as a challenge to myself to understand the ship (13k+ words)

disco elysium time loop fic which is so close to done. its short and sweet. CAN I CROSS THE FINISH LINE? no (4k words)

pokemon swsh trainer/hop fanfic about their friendship during the gym challenge as reflected on by hop as they prepare to part ways for college. another "haha im playing this game this might be a fun challenge" that got so goddamn out of hand (8k words)

murderbot fanfic ive posted about before where ART tries to hold hands. its also short, mostly written, and something i SHOULD finish. but will i? (i keep saying "no" but i mean "hopefully") (3k words)

original story closing the book on a character i played in a dark fantasy intrigue ttrpg. hey! this game ended 4 months ago! why is this still not done (12k+ words)

a visual novel? a whole goddamn visual novel about h3x, another ttrpg character? this game has officially been ended prematurely due to gm burnout so realistically i will prob never finish this. but also, i kind of want to just to teach myself how to make a visual novel? OOPS? (??? words bc figuring that out would require booting three different programs. but it's at least 15k+)

my locked tomb western au fanfic that i started for the 2021 tltbb and then basically dropped due to mixed reception and getting burned out on that fandom. another project i will probably never finished but with the new book coming out who tf knows (22k+ words)

an outlined lesbian southern horror novel about a woman being seduced by a haunted house. this project is so exciting but. please scroll up. when am i gonna start it. and DON'T say nanowrimo i'll cry (2300 words)

worldbuilding for a beam saber ttrpg game i want to run very badly but realistically won't run for 3 years. but yknow. its not like ive got anything else to write (2k words)

worldbuilding im behind on for a magical realism 1930s monster of the week ttrpg game im running this fall. i literally need to get this to the players by the end of this week ideally lmfao (??? words bc its spread out over 3 documents and a google slides presentation)

more. there's more. im just going to stop now but i need u to know there's more

13. Do you share your writing online? (Drop a link!) Do you have projects you’ve kept just for yourself?

much to the chagrin of anyone who wants me to, you know. make a living writing, publish again, "do something with my talent," i almost exclusively write WAY TOO LONG stories about the tabletop roleplaying games i'm in on my wordpress. i also write approximately one fanfiction every two years, mostly for wildly different fandoms, here on my ao3.

i would honestly say about 40% of the writing i do is just for me? (unless we want to talk about the nonexistent traffic to that wordpress blog or how often my fellow players have to go "alex i simply do not have the time to read 20k words about the blorbo you created for our game," in which case it could be argued that 90% of my writing is only consumed by me slkdjlfjg) i think it's super important to write for yourself and not attach your enjoyment of writing to engagement/web traffic. the internet will make u insane about that

19. Is there something you always find yourself repeating in your writing? (favourite verb, something you describe ‘too often’, trope you can’t get enough of?)

oh man this character has a complex relationship w their mom

characters talking "flatly" or delivering something deadpan

"trudged" (insert paul bettany's monologue about trudging from a knight's tale here)

"the moral of the story is, it's not about building something that outlives you, it's about enjoying the life you're living with the people you love" character arc (i stole this arc from my life)

having characters do fucked up and evil things to coffee bc i can't stand the taste of it

23. What’s the story idea you’ve had in your head for the longest?

i'm restraining myself only to what i've already listed above. the visual novel is the oldest, bc i love my terrible son and i do actually really want to learn how to write and program VNs

[muwur]

snapchat headcanons

✧ hc’s ✧ for using snapchat w ur boi toi ft. the pretty setter squad

❧ gn reader

✎ 3.1k words

a/n: kinda a combo of how they use sc and the kinds of snaps they send you! along w wat u send them, and uh... dating stuf n shenanigans? texting/snapping habits? my fantasies? IDEK ANYMORE EOFHEFJ

this was born from the recesses of my mind , which desired nothing mor than snapchats from suga , us sending cute selfies , others bein dumb n chaotic , no context videos , n him snapping me photos of some mangoes on sale he said he’ll buy for me DXX it’s too late for me now

doing research on hq bois and surfing thru sc features (im just now realizing theres quite a bit?? im hoping i address most of them at some point lolol) instead of real life tings aHHhhhHAHA

requests: open! will be working on a suga one i got, dw, requester!

sugawara

✧ sends good morning and good night snaps

✧ so he’s rlly good at keeping streaks, probs has the longest ones (one of them being y’alls streak)

✧ posts tidbits of volleyball practice on his story every once in a while

✧ snaps you pics of his sleeping teammates when they’re coming back to school after a long day of matches , adding a single ‘❤️’ as a caption

✧ he will also create colorful masterpieces on all of them

✧ gives daichi a santa beard, tanaka a squiggly stache (i imagine it to look like spongebob n patrick’s seaweed ones now that were mEN), n kageyama sum angry brows,,, wait he already has them lolol u good der kags

✧ posts a picture of you when you’re hanging out, captioning it: “🥰“

✧ has conversations with you purely via snaps

✧ ranges from casual chats and checking up on u to crackwhoring ( ** indicates the photo, while the “” quotes indicate the caption, all snaps are italicized, otherwise its regular dialogue)

✧ suga: *peace sign* “hey sweetheart, how r u?”

✧ you: *pics of homework* “ahh, drowning in school ;-; i cant wait for this week to be over fghjkl”

✧ suga: *close up with :o on his face* “let’s study together tmrw!”

✧ or

✧ suga: *complete darkness* “its 3 am n i cant sleep”

✧ you: *the top half of your head, laying on a pillow* “ ;( aw babe. do u want me to send something to help u sleep?”

✧ suga: *still in darkness* “y u still up?? go sleep. n 🥺 yes pls”

✧ you: *snaps pics of feet* “that’ll be 50 bucks, pay up” 

✧ suga: *darkness remains* “can we make a trade instead? i promise to make it worth ;)”

✧ ok now u BOTH cant sleep (im sry my crackheading be acting up around 2am eeryday, i stan a mischievous suga--)

✧ video chats (in the darkness lol) instead until you both pass out (im not in luv u r 😭)

✧ super down to take filtered selfies w you

✧ does all the silly ones with you (things like ’angry face’ or the frog one)

✧ but also rlly digs lookin cute with you using some heart crowns, y’all an aesthetic (n crakhead) duo fosho

✧ def subscribes to life hacks and tries them out himself, has a 50% success rate

kageyama

✧ doesn’t rlly use snapchat too much

✧ but when he does

✧ will either send you a picture to indicate he’s at volleyball practice (wow wat a sexi lookin gym floor)

✧ or some random picture of whatever he’s doing at the moment (*drinking milk*)

✧ this is mostly in order to save streaks

✧ he’s so bad at streaks

✧ “why does it matter?? what’s the point of sending just black screens or whatever’s in front of you at the moment??”

✧ can’t keep a consistent streak for more than 3 days and also doesn’t care (until hinata challenges him to see who can have the longer one)

✧ when you send him videos of him playing, he really focuses on them to try to improve his technique. asks you to send those vids to him (assuming u saved them, which u did)

✧ but when you look over his shoulder when he’s watching a video and give him some compliment (“i recorded at the perfect moment! that was a really good set, kageyama!”), he gets a bit flustered

✧ gets even more flustered but pretty happy whenever you post videos on your story showing karasuno winning some points with captions like:

✧ “footage of the legendary quick >.>” or “karasuno crows flyin high!” or “these bois make my heart 😭 im so proud”

✧ you WILL catch him off guard in photos, using filters that surrounds his head w/ emojis like 🥺💖🥰💘

✧ you also put these on your story (to his dismay)

✧ ppl comment on these mor than anything else (n for those who dont rlly kno kageyama, theyre kinda surprised to him like this)

✧ hinata snickers “hey kageyama you look pretty good here--”

✧ takes some selfies with you, mostly cuz you want them

✧ saves them after u send them over (n secretly cherishes them)

✧ occasionally watches his subscriptions, they’ll usually involve sports, mostly volleyball (who woulda guessed)

✧ you use his bitmoji to test out random facial expressions you would never see him wear

✧ you: “can you smile and wink like this? act like you’re the obnoxious charming guy in a shojo.”

✧ will actually attempt, but it looks so bad that you die inside and he never wants to try again cuz of ur laughing outburst (you: “😭😭 bb im sorry i couldnt help it”)

oikawa

✧ literally sends you anything and everything

✧ morning bathroom selfie to show off how good his hair came out that day, saying:

✧ “he has risen”

✧ or “i woke up like this”

✧ and my favorite, “you’re lucky you get this content for frEE”

✧ selfies with iwa, who just looks annoyed and exasperated at the camera

✧ sends you pics of his lunch and snacks (“bet u wish u had milk bread too”)

✧ always packs extra milk bread so he could convince you to stay at his practice after school--

✧ FILTERSS

✧ I CANNOT STRESS THIS ENUF

✧ will either use the filters that make him kayooottt (cute)

✧ loves the ones named ‘hearts,’ ‘soft,’ ‘peach,’ ‘butterfly cheeks,’ vsco filters LOL, etc

✧ uses ‘big mouth’ when he feelin a bit sASSY; also loves to use this one when he rants, it channels his inner valley girl

✧ sometimes he’ll be snacking or drinking something while he does so (“hey guys today im gonna eat these milk buns from my favorite bakery and this bomb orange juice and complain about this little kid who talked smack to me earlier and almost made me cry--”)

✧ takes cute selfies with you, is an aesthetic selfie king, puts them on his story to show off he’s hangin with you

✧ but on your story you only post the ones he looks bad in LOL

✧ has separate stories for his every need, some r private (and lucky you, ur included in all of them)

✧ titles them ‘mean things iwa said to me today,’ ‘ranting hotbox + mukbangs,’ ‘a day in the life of oikawa,’ ‘volleyball 🏐,’ ‘unpopular opinions,’ etc. 

✧ fitting room photoshoots lol

✧ “y/n, what do you think of this??” “and this?” “oOH WHAT ABOUT THIS??”

✧ ends up calling you through video chat so you can live critique his choices

✧ “oikawa, please no, i can’t be seen with you in public if you wear those--”

✧ also changes his bitmoji’s outfits from time to time, hopes you’ll notice, but you don’t LOL (oikawa: ;((((((( )

kenma

✧ uses sc usually just to reply to messages ppl send him

✧ indifferent about streaks, but keeps a few with ppl he’s closer to

✧ mindlessly plays the snapchat games with you, finds some of them kinda cute

✧ you both made his bitmoji for him, dressing his up in the orange cat suit

✧ you also helped make kuroo’s and put his in the black cat suit to match--

✧ snaps you every time he gets a new game, starts playing it, and once he finishes

✧ started to post some gameplays and reviews on his sc story (might as well add them to sc since he was already on other social platforms), and ended up amassing a large following

✧ follows the tech and gaming stories on sc

✧ as well as the ones with cute animals--

✧ open to selfies with you, usually wears a calm expression and holds up a peace sign

✧ even occasionally sticks his tongue out

✧ his story is occasionally heavily bombarded with candids of him w/ pretty sc filters, all taken by you

✧ but of all the filters, you love using the clout glasses on him

✧ especially when he’s just minding his own business

✧ “kenma, in his tru habitat” when hes cocooned in a blanket

✧ “kenma, on his way to steal yo manz” while on his way to the bathroom

✧ “kenma, next iron chef. watch out gordon” as he’s cooking instant ramen

✧ “kenma” n das it

✧ but he thinks it meme-y so he lets you do whatever you want, kinda digs it

✧ you end up dedicating your snap story to memes of kenma and the nekoma volleyball team. ppl are in it for the shits n giggles n hot bois

✧ you later discover someone else did the same thing with their volleyball team filled with hot bois from shiratorizawa, and you befriend tendou and share funni internet tings

akaashi

✧ 99% of his photos include either you or bokuto or both

✧ bokuto spams akaashi’s story and contact list with selfies and videos of himself using weird filters, often gets you to join him

✧ has several streaks, but will send something with more substance than a black screen or his bedroom window

✧ will usually involve smthng that just happened to him or smthing he saw, like:

✧ “a kind older lady offered me some apples in return for helping her”

-or:

✧ “how do i break the news to bokuto that the yaikniku place he’s been wanting to go to for the past week ,,, is closed today”

✧ o n let’s not leave out:

✧ “is it possible to conjure a ghost using a wooden spatula, ketchup, and a chalk drawn hexagram? bokuto’s been paranoid ever since he tried last night and i dont know what to tell him. seriously, help”

✧ looks through stories occasionally, comments whenever bokuto makes questionable decisions

✧ also comments on whatever you’ve posted. his words range from “you’re cute” to “why,” depending on the content

✧ ppl know when y’all are hanging out cuz he’ll post smthing to indicate he’s with you, usually it’s some candid and you’re not paying attention

✧ appreciation posts for you as well! esp if you got him something, like onigiri or his fav, Nanohana no Karashiae , for lunch! (akaashi: *snaps a pic of his food* “thank you y/n for feeding me”)

✧ prefers video calling over texting/snapping whenever possible tho

✧ occasionally reminisces thru his sc memories

✧ enjoys the flashback feature and will send them to you and bokuto (cuz they’re about y’all anyway lolol)

✧ also has secretly saved a bunch of selfies of himself, consists of him trying out a lot of the filters (he feelin himself)

✧ you, one day, looking thru his phone and discovering them: “akaashi, you’re so pretty wtf”

✧ akaashi: “...”

koganegawa

✧ sends you selfies of him before practice

✧ during breaks

✧ and after practice, usually makes a comment about how it went for him that day like:

✧  “i hit a decent toss today and futakuchi actually complimented me!”

✧ that, or:

✧ “i got yelled at 17 times today 😢😩”

✧ has quite a few streaks, his longest ones being with you and hinata

✧ def uses filters

✧ tries out every funny one he finds and sends you videos

✧ “look y/n im an aaaaAALlliiEEENnnNNN oo oo hoo hhhooOOh”

✧ “now im a chicky nuggy!!” (chicken nugget)

✧ also enjoys the doodle feature

✧ but he uses the filter with the clout glasses unironically--

✧ usually when smth good happens to him and he feels happy and/or cool about it

✧ “just beat the boss in this game on my 69th try B)”

✧ “kogane, that’s--”

✧ plays sc games with you and thinks bitmojis r cool

✧ kinda sad he cant find a hair option that matches him tho lolol rip

✧ you: “you hair’s just,,, unique,,,”

✧ subscribed to anything sports and fitness, as well as pop culture so he can stay in the loop

✧ also watches everyone else’s stories, pointing out whenever he sees smthing cool and/or interesting

✧ “woahh, karasuno’s at nationals right now! i wish we could’ve won, but next year for sure!!”

✧ you encourage him at all his games, hyping him up irl and online

✧ “koganegawa: best setter 😍!!”

✧ luckily you didnt record the parts he completely messed up LOL

semi

✧ before going out with you, snaps you a pic of his casual outfit like:

✧ semi: “does this look ok”

✧ you: “babe you look great, tendou was just messing with you”

✧ will make unwanted appearances on tendou’s snap and complains to you about them

✧ “i didnt consent to being part of his meme page” and

✧ “okay, but he didn’t only have to share all the moments i messed up--”

✧ also indifferent about streaks but will do them

✧ sometimes sends snaps/streaks indicating he’s practicing his music

✧ when you see these you usually ask him to send you vids or if you can come over n watch

✧ initially is a bit shy about it but he loves what he does and you and knows you’re genuinely interested and supportive so he agrees

✧ secretly rlly enjoys having you as his personal audience

✧ lowkey into asmr, like the soap cutting shit as well as chewing crunchy things

✧ also watches food porn and clips of mukbangs, then can’t resist going on youtube and watching the whole thing

✧  “y/n, can we try this, it looks so good--”

✧ will also often watch oikawa’s stories, especially his ‘ranting hotbox + mukbangs,’ and makes comments about him being an idiot

✧  “this kid he’s talking about is a savage”

✧ but admits they’re quite entertaining

✧ just looks serious in all the selfies you take with him

✧ you: “can you look like you’re enjoying yourself?”

✧ semi: “i look cooler like this tho”

✧ sc memories filled with shenanigans from you and the volleyball team, doodles, and mirror selfies with him experimenting diff looks (you: “tendou, you got him way too concerned about this”)

✧ also enjoys showing off he’s with you, taking a short video of you when you hang out

✧ you: “semi, i look bad right now”

✧ semi: “but you can never look bad”

✧ you: “🥺 bb”

✧ viewers: “aw”

✧ shiratorizawa: “can he be this nice with us LOL”

shirabu

✧ his main mode of communication with you is mostly through the regular messaging app, so he doesn’t use sc too much

✧ also doesn’t care for streaks and is bad at keeping them

✧ will answer to you or his senpais rather soon tho

✧ but lets all his other notifications pile up a bit before finally going thru them

✧ goes through the snaps he receives really fast, spending like 2 seconds each to look at them cuz aint nobody got time for dat

✧ doesn’t even rlly open goshiki’s LOL

✧ you have fun using filters on him and taking videos while he’s just doing his own thing peacefully like studying

✧ it takes him a second to notice and when he finally looks up, he just gives you an exasperated look

✧ cue you cracking up with laughter bc the filter finally shows up on his face

✧ his eyes and mouth are now on mike wazowski

✧ that, or his face becomes so disturbingly moRPhed like an alien

✧ caption: “ken-chan, my future medical man 😍”

✧ “y/n, please, this is like the 7th time in the last 20 minutes--”

✧ finally convinced him to take a study break and hang out with you

✧ which usually consists of snacking and light banter while you lay your head on his lap

✧ and scrolling through snapchat stories and showing him what everyone else is up to and cool things you’re subscribed to

✧ “loooook, dr. miami’s doing another butt job! is this the line of work you’re studying so hard for?”

✧ “no, it’s really not”

✧ is actually very soft with you and likes having the photos and vids for memories

atsumu

✧ sends you snaps where his brother looks bad, captioning it:

✧ “this is evidence that im the hotter twin”

✧ likewise, osamu sends you snaps where atsumu looks even worse

✧ like, the mans passed out, looking rekt and open mouthed, drool seeping into his pillow

✧ osamu: “u still have time to break up with him”

✧ also lucky for you, atsumu also loves to take unflattering photos of you and send them to you randomly at like 2 am

✧ you: “nani tf when did you even take this??”

✧ usually posts a snap while he’s out somewhere like at a match, the gym, outside on a run, a party, or just hanging out with you or his frens

✧ however, makes sure you look good if you show up on his story cuz he wants to show you off

✧ doesn’t really care for streaks, but has a lott

✧ but also has a tON of unopened snaps

✧ is the type to send just a black screen n call it a day, or maybe spice it up by sending a pic of the sexi gym floor (a comeback) w his shoe in the corner

✧ will, however, consistently respond to you and kinda looks forward to ur snaps (secretly hopes you show ur face)

✧ but when you dont:

*in class*

✧ atsumu: *a smirk on his face* “your content’s kinda dry today” 

✧ you: *your sexi desk* “my nudez ain’t free, i demand compensation”

✧ atsumu: *grasped his chin in thought, but angled the cam up bc he needa hide his phone in class lolol* “what if i... take you out on a romantic excursion”

✧ you: * your face but with ‘sausage’ filter* “🥵🥵🥵🥵 yessir, what u want”

✧ rlly only wants to have pics of your face wat a closeted sOFTIE

✧ likes to have content on his flashbacks

✧ usually has other social media sources to keep up to date with things

✧ actually rlly digs using sc filters, mostly ones that’ll make him look like a queen

✧ captions a selfie of you two like: “me >>>>>>> y/n”

✧ but nearly everyone who comments on it is like: “i think you flipped the sign, bro 🤥”

✧ judges ppl who are into soap cutting asmr (you will never hear the end of it if you also like it)

a/n: sc kinda dying for me, my use went from suga to an atsumu to like nearly nonexistent LOL

also o gawd i already have ideas here n there for a pt 2 so stay tuned fjxnwfesd hope it takes me less long cuz this one took me fkin foreva LOL

idk y i made semi like mukbangs but i feel like he’d be rlly into them--

[mooifyourecows]

hi moo! it’s been a minuet since you’ve moved but i was just wondering how everything is going? i hope you’re enjoying your new home :)

that being said- i just moved across the country & have been struggling with isolation and anxiety whenever I leave my house. got any advice for dealing with a huge move? tbh you’ve already helped me a lot just by being a comforting online presence! thank u, love u mooooo

Everything is going pretty well over here! I'm really enjoying the new place 🥰

First off, congrats on your big move! Moving across the country can be a super scary and stressful thing but it's also very freeing and gives you the opportunity to expand your mind 🧠🌈

I know that when I was moving, I was terrified. I am not great with change, and the loss of familiarity was something that I was worried about. Not being familiar with the streets and the stores and which exit I should take if I want to get here or there... that stuff was really scary for me.

Isolation and social anxiety have become real problems for a lot of people over the past two years and I'm sorry that you're struggling with them too! Just remember that millions of people are probably feeling exactly the way you do right now! With Covid and quarantine and literally all the other Bad Stuff going on in the world today, you're totally justified in how you're feeling, so don't feel embarrassed or ashamed or alone.

Everyone is different and so I'm not sure if any advice I give you will be very helpful but I'll try anyway!

So, for me, who has suffered from social anxiety for their whole life, it's all about the baby steps, baby.

Do NOT force yourself to do anything big! Start small! If you want to start training yourself to go out and about again, then begin with something easy! One morning, get up and go do something very tiny. Like go get coffee! or some breakfast! Even if it's just the drive-thru, it's still a step up from staying home.

Practice with small things for a little bit until they don't feel so scary anymore. Then try something a little more challenging. Go to a thrift store and wander around looking at the weird tchotchkes. You don't have to buy anything or talk to anybody, but just spend a little bit of time in unfamiliar places, starting with nice, comfortable, quiet locations where you are in control of how long you are there and who you come into contact with.

Once you start getting used to these things, you can start doing things that are a little more challenging! Things like going to the DMV or getting a haircut or seeing a movie at the theater.

Don't try to just jump into something big from the start, okay? If you do that and things don't go super well, it might just make your anxiety worse.

I feel like people always forget that the brain needs exercise. And you gotta do some muscle training from time to time. Ask any gym rat and they'll tell you that you gotta work your way up to the heavy lifting. Start by doing the exercise without any weight so you get used to the motion, and then slowly start adding weight. You can test your limit, find out what you can handle right now, and then practice that weight. It'll be slow at first, and it'll feel like you're not making any progress. But eventually, that weight will begin to feel almost TOO easy. It won't be challenging enough. Your muscles won't strain to lift it. So you add a little more. Then you practice that until it's easy, add more, rinse, repeat, next thing you know, you look like Dwayne The Rock Johnson and you're basically a PRO at liftin.

Except in this case it's your brain that gets ripped

Celebrate little victories! Every time you do something scary that you TOTALLY don't want to do... reward yourself! You deserve it! Get you some ice cream or something that you want like a new videogame or a cute stuffed animal or some fake flowers to staple to the wall or a new book or somethin like that! And be really nice to yourself and actually say out loud, "That was scary but I was very brave and cool and sexy about it"

Cut yourself some slack! You not only just experienced a big life change, but you are also still in the middle of a pretty wild and dangerous world pandemic and overall nightmare. Everyone deserves to take it slow to get back into the swing of things. I mean, the pandemic isn't even over, despite how everyone is acting lately 😑 If you spend more time in your home than normal, then that's totally understandable and you don't need to defend that choice. Like, hey, I wish everybody had anxiety about leaving their home because the pandemic would have ended last August if so.

It also helps to remember that your encounters with random people in stores or on the street is SO fleeting. Think about the last time you went somewhere, like a grocery store or other place where there were a bunch of strangers milling about. Now try to recall the people you saw. What they were wearing. What their hair looked like. What they said to the cashier when you were waiting in line behind them.

Betcha can't think of much, can you? That's because nobody is overly concerned about what's going on with random strangers they pass by in the soup aisle. If you're not remembering them, judging all their weird habits or sense of style, then nobody is remembering or judging you. And even if they are... that's their business and there's no point worrying about other people's business when you got your own, right?

Though if I were to make a guess... if people are remembering you from the two seconds you shared twenty feet of space in the grocery store, it's because they were thinking, "Wow that person is so cute and cool and amazing"

I know that just saying this is super easy but actually doing it is really difficult and terrifying. Be kind to yourself. You deserve some patience and care 🥰 Don't ever punish yourself for not being able to do something. Make sure you're taking care of your mind and your body. Take long bubble baths or do a skincare routine or get all clean and snuggled up in a blanket on the couch to watch your favorite show.

Reach out to family or friends! Even if you can't see them face to face, you can send them some texts. Physical isolation is one thing but mentally and emotionally isolating yourself even from online friends can really put a strain on your mental health. So please be sure to not just drop off the face of the world! Check in with others and let them know how you're feeling! Just speaking your worries out loud actually takes a lot of weight off of your shoulders. I vocalize almost all my emotions these days and it's been kinda therapeutic.

Be kind to your body and your mind. Shit is HARD right now and there's nothing to be ashamed about, I promise. Remember that any progress, even tiny itty bitty little baby steps, is still PROGRESS and that's GREAT and AMAZING and you should be REWARDED. But not making progress doesn't mean punishment. It just means you're on pause and will continue moving forward when you are good and ready 🥰

Stay safe and healthy and keep in mind that people are so much kinder than the internet and all its Karen videos make them seem.

Love you Babe, keep on keepin' on, I'm rooting for you! 🖤🌈

[beecherdrysdale]

Yes I love our friendship !! Also shoutout to my playlist for playing like a G6 to get me in the mood to write this lol. #teamcanadaplayingthissong.

Lmao our ship name is ligid or not? hehe. Yes thank you Jamie Drysdale for existing, we like you vv much.

Aw I’m sorry about your joint problems that really sucks. Even if they don’t bother you a lot. Actually the resistance training helped me, all of that just made my hips jacked lol . So I’m happy that it doesn’t bother me that much!

Yayy I’ll come visit! You can take me to all the fun places . Oo please come back with me, driving in Canada out of city is just wildlife and road hehe. It’s all straight and a bit curvy especially if you are driving to B.C. Honestly it would be so fun , you can sit upfront with me. You can have the aux. The music would be great. I think we would need to make frequent stops lol because everyone is tall and needs to stretch and walk around lol. I think at some point they would be asking “are we there yet” constantly hehe. We would chirp each other, eat a bunch of snacks, sing along to music, and just be joking around a lot lol. Idk it’s just my imagination!. Who would you want to be in the same car as you? Let’s say we rent out a 7 seater.

I think I’ll jump onto quinner next, let him have a fitness challenge for a bit hehe. Coach Brigid is gonna be working you guys. I actually have heard about the core concept! It helped me a lot! You’re gonna be a great coach. I will wear that shirt and it will have you and Dylan playing chicken lol. Ooo we should make shirts that has a team pic on it + us #memories.

Lol, we do like to spell things differently. Hehe yes, me + Ryan would be crazyyyyy and we would probably act like we are going to crash into you guys. You know you love us :)) okkkk i am still imagining his chin on your shoulder🥺 it makes my heart melt. Yess I want it to get spicyyyyyy. Or if it were reversed you could hold him around the waist, im just gonna say it- he has a great bod.(nice job dyl)

Ikkk quinton and devon would dominate in the hair department and give us Dutch braids or any other hairstyle- I’m not sure what you would want?. Wow your hair is long, it’s probably so pretty!! I have thick hair and a lot of it so it’s annoying to brush lol. Aww Dylan and Jamie playing w your hair ����

Yes option 2 is great :) yes him helping you in would be so cute! Lol I would probably just jump in. But I would love them to help me hehe. Yesss let’s go buy matching frames! I want that in my room:)

Hmmm what colours do you have? Also what colour do u want your Holloway hoodie? Haha yes I was like who’s Lexi? That sucks that it’s cold in your school. And it sucks that you can’t wear any sweats or hoodies.

It would be so fun to dance w everyone! But we would slay the dance floor. I’m a crazy dancer so get ready to get dizzyyyyy. Yes you, Jamie and Dylan having cute moments is a must!. Awww maybe I could convince him but he might step on my feet lol. Idk I just love that feeling of slow dancing with somebody. Yk, being close, they’re arms around your waist etc.

Lol yea, a bonfire on the beach is something I really want to do! I still don’t believe you have a bad voice! Idk I have a deeper voice than girls I know so it doesn’t sound really good when I sing. I’m good just letting the guys sing and dyl playing the guitar . Aww I wanna cuddle on the beach, but yes falling asleep on the beach and then waking up would be the funniest thing. Just everybody looking around and seeing who they fell asleep on hehe. I see u sleeping on dyl or maybe even Jamie?. Some good insta photos will be taken, so we can flex even more :)

Ok you and Dylan are partners again if you want. I think I’ll go w Ryan just cuz he’s competitive as well and we would be a good match against you guys. Yes you’ll reassure us again! We’d help them get over their fears- it’s what friends are for!. Zip lining is so fun, have you ever gonna on a double zip line with someone - like when you’re facing each other?.

I have come to the conclusion that I’m in between both, like you with Jamie and Dylan🥺 I’ll see at the end lol!

Also escape rooms- thoughts how that would be?

haha my gym teacher played like a g6 during gym one day and i was just like team canada where you at? and then my team won, so that song’s good luck now. ok so we have 2 options for our ship name lmao: ligid or brexi. which one do you like better? and yes jamie we love you, if you see this feel free to hmu

hehe yes we can tour chicago together. tbh there’s not all that much, but we could go to navy pier and the maggie daley park. and then drive thru canada together! just open road with no one else where you can go way above the speed limit is the best for road trips tbh. yes i get aux! idk if people would like my music tho lol it’s kind of all over the place. like a lot of the 2000′s stuff like like a g6, but then also a lot of rap and a lot of country. hehe yes lots of stops to stretch our legs and get more food lol. and definitely there would be a lot of singing, chirping, and asking are we there yet lmao. ok if we have a 7 seater, definitely the two of us, dyl, jamie, quinner, braden, and then maybe quinton for our 7th person?

hehe yes give quinner that fitness challenge lol. yes ik engaging your core helps sm but no one ever believes me when i tell them. but the thing is if you don’t your torso will sink which makes it harder to swim. hehe i’ll make everyone great at swimming. ooooh yes team dylan + brigid shirts and team canada + lexi + brigid shirts 

hehe yes i can definitely see you guys pretending you were gonna crash into us. but we love you guys anyways lol. yes the chin on the shoulder seems like the softest thing 🥺 but then also if his hands were on my waist and it starts to get spicy and maybe they start to drift just a bit lower 😏 oooh yes if i could hold him around the waist, yes he does have a vv nice bod. i mean have you seen his wakeboarding pic on his insta?

yesss i love dutch braids, quinton or devon please put them in my hair for me. oooh you have thick hair, that’s so lucky. thick hair is so pretty! and yes i would love it if they play with my hair, idk why but it’s just so soothing to me when people do 😍

hehe you just jumping into the raft and we almost flip, i could see that happening. unless of course they help you in, in which case we’re safe from flipping lol. but that would be such a cute pic to put in my room with our matching frames

i have a lot of different blue/turquoise ones and about half of them are tie-dye (i also have a grey one, but i refuse to part with it sorry) for the holloway hoodie, maybe red? i don’t have a lot of red. or grey bc i love my gray hoodies lmao i just realized i spelled grey two different ways in the same sentence

haha same i’m a pretty crazy dancer too, so we can be dizzy together lol. hehe jack stepping on your feet bc he’s tipsy and he’s never really slowdanced before, i could see it. it would be so cute lol. and yes slowdancing gives me 🦋🦋 in my stomach

actually same i have a kind of deep voice for a girl, so i don’t like my singing voice. like it’s ok but definitely not good. but it would be so cute to cuddle on the beach and just end up falling asleep together. or just imagine you’re sitting by the bonfire but you get cold so one of them gives you their flannel and then pulls you closer to keep you warm 🥺🥺 

hehe get ready for me and dylan to dominate again. i love any kind of ropes/obstacle course so i’ve done a ton of them. but yeah we would definitely have to reassure some of the guys. no i haven’t been on a double zipline but it sounds super fun

oooh an escape room would be super fun! i did one once and it was so chaotic but somehow our team was the first one out of our room even tho we had the hardest one. but i definitely feel like some of the guys would be super into and super good at it, some of them would be trying but would just be super confused, and some of them would just be wandering around watching the chaos unfold lol. who do you think would be which?

also yes you with quinner or braden 🥺

[greyfongschemmenti]

Hesitate 8|15

FryeArcana

Chapter 8

Republic City Is At War

Summary:

The aftermath after that evening at the park. How will you and the chief continue on at work. will it interfere and how will you handle the chaos of the Equalists during the pro-bending match.

Avatar Korra and task force bust down on underground equalist gym last night.

You read the article in the newspaper while you drink some tea during dinner at a diner nearby your apartment. You put the newspaper down and pay for your meal before heading to the station for a late shift. You and Lin haven’t spoken to each other since that time at the park. You figured it be best to just give her space, you’re not going to be the one to bring your private matters into the workplace.

You sit at your desk finishing up some reports then check on the holding cell ��Hey Lee, how’s it going down here?” you look over at the somewhat young officer.

“nothing much, just a few drunkies, but hey you hear what’s on the radio?” he turns up the volume on his radio and you can hear the voice of Tarrlok and Korra as well as a few reporters.

“Amon is hiding in the shadows like a coward. Amon, I challenge you to a deal…just the two of us, midnight. If you’re man enough to face me.”

Lee let’s out a low whistle “damn, a challenge, you think Amon will take her bait?” he looks up at you. You’re standing there in disbelief as if you were trying to decide whether Korra was brave to take Amon on or incredibly stupid to do so. “Honestly, I don’t know….Avatar Korra is just trying to get in the good graces of the public so who is she really trying to prove. The citizens of Republic City or herself? So will Amon show up, yeah I think so. Amon doesn’t seem like the person who can be scared off, but I don’t think a fight will happen.”

“well who knows, maybe there might be a report of the challenge afterwards. Wanna make a bet?” Lee smirked as he leaned back in his chair

“I just said no one is going to fight, that’s my guess.” You smile as you lean against the wall

“ahh you’re no fun” he groaned

You laugh then kick yourself off the wall and walk away waving Lee off as you head back to your desk. “Is Korra really that stupid to take on a real danger like Amon by herself?” you mutter under your breath as you walk up the stairs and head towards your desk.

*

Even though you were in the late night shift. All officers were to report for mandatory spar training. You get paired up with officer Long, he promises to take it easy on you and you just scoff at him and start to spar. You catch a glimpse of Lin at the corner of the room looking at everyone’s progress as she holds a clipboard. She looks at everyone but you, you’re distracted that you don’t notice that Long has sent a piece of metal to you and you get knocked to the ground.

“ah shit, sorry y/n.” Long runs over and helps you up. You take his hand and get back up on your feet.

“this is what occurs when you’re distracted and not focused on your opponent, officers. One second is all it takes for a perp to overtake you.” Lin calls out to the whole room while she walks up towards you and Long. Her arms crossed behind her back as she gives the both of you a stern look.  You don’t look at her and have your back facing her and you can’t help but get upset.

“good job using that opening to attack, Long.” Lin walks away, you look over your shoulder and get mad.

“Switch partners” Lin barks out. Everyone walks and grabs different partners; you were going to partnered up with Lee before Pak stops you and said that Chief partnered him with you. You scoff and roll your eyes but shrug it off.

This time the task was to try to break free from a grasp, without using the need bending, just pure physical power. You look over at Pak, he is easily the strongest guy on the force, there’s no way you’ll be able to take this guy down. You look over at Lin and wonder what her deal is, before you look back at Pak and get into position.

*

“again”

You hit the mat hard time and time again on your back and silently groan. You’re getting tired of this training, no matter how hard you try Pak is just too strong for you to break from his grasp.

There is a time for a short water break, and you get a chance to rinse your mouth and drink.

You watch over and notice Lin, by herself and take the opportunity to walk over to her and talk.

“what’s your problem Lin” you whisper to her.

“officer y/n, do I need to remind you that I am your Chief” she talks but has her attention at her clipboard.

“well “Chief”, I wasn’t sure if who I’m seeing is really Chief Beifong or Lin.” you angrily mutter at her.

“what is that supposed to mean, officer?” she quickly interjects as she writes down some notes on her paper still not giving you any attention.

“come on, you know better than I do that, you put me against Pak. For some personal vendetta.”

“Let me stop you right there. I partnered you with Officer Pak, because you don’t know who your offender will be. You need to experience all types of people. Pak is no exception” Lin shrugged you off not really giving you a care. “now if you really think you can’t handle the way I do things in my force, there’s the door” she finally looks up at you and gives you a stern look.

You look at her eyes and don’t stand down, giving her the same look of intensity back before you give her a nod and walk back to the mat.

“alright, positions and do that task again” Lin barked out as she watched everyone work on their stances.

You and Pak get in position, you’re crouched down with Pak having his arm around you in a headlock. You have all this anger and rage from your conversation with Lin. All this pent up rage, you bring your arm behind you and grab Pak’s collar and the helm of his armor and with all your strength you’re able to swing him over your shoulder and slam him to the ground.

Your power caused his body to indent into the ground and you can hear Pak groaning in pain. Everyone stops what they’re doing and are surprised of the scene. You breathe deeply and stand up running your hand thru your hair. “sorry, Pak” you walk by him as you grab your bag and start walking out the room not before giving Lin a look as you head to the showers.

“alright, training is over. Hit the showers” Lin barks out “someone help that poor boy to the infirmary” two officers run over and pick Pak up and start walking him out the training room and take him to see a healer while the rest of the officers go and hit the men’s shower room.

Even though you were the first one in the shower, most of the other women have finished and left. Leaving you by yourself to collect your thoughts. That is you thought you were by yourself.

You turn the water off and wrap a towel around you and start getting dressed. Right when you put your tank on you notice someone in the corner of your eye and look over and see Lin looking at you.

“yea, Chief?” you look back at your stuff

“you did quite some damage to Pak”

“well, the task was to take down your opponent by whatever means necessary without bending, right” you spat out.

“without killing them”

“Pak’s fine, just got a bruised back” you shrug off as you pack up your bag closing it then swing it on your back. You look up at Lin “so you want to tell me what that was about?”

“what do you mean, officer?” Lin looks at you, not changing her tone. She’s giving you the same Chief persona.

You groan, getting tired of the bullshit, “come on, quit the garbage, Lin. You and I both know that whole training session wasn’t anything work related. You consciously or even subconsciously did all that to hurt me or get some sort of control.” You walk towards her getting angry again and stand in front of her.

“nothing happened” Lin stated

“exactly, nothing happened! Yet, your actions are saying otherwise.” Your voice raises in frustration, but you stop yourself, take a deep breath then take a step back. “look I don’t like talking about my personal life at work, and quite frankly I’m pretty sure there are some guys trying to hear in on the conversation.” You look at her, your eyes slowly soften when you really look at her. Her eyes tired as if she hasn’t slept well, but she keeps quiet and rolls her eyes.

“I better have reports at my desk by the time I leave this room” Lin barked out and you can hear feet shuffling as they run away from the door. “idiots” she growled. There is short silence between the two of you before you speak again.

“I can keep things separate; my question is can you? Or will our professional relationship hindered?” you stand up straight and offer her a hand. Lin look at you, down at your hand, then turns around and heads for the door

“just don’t break any more of my officers” Lin groans as she opens the door. Though she didn’t take your hand you could feel like the Lin you know was still there and smile softly before walking out and getting back to work.

*

It’s been a couple days since that talk at the shower and it seemed to go back to whatever normal you had with Lin. You got partnered with her trying to find some sort of control over the triads when you get interrupted by an officer busting in her office.

“Amon is on the radio!”  You and Lin exchange a look and Lin turns on her radio just enough to listen to his message. “…I hoped you enjoyed last night’s pro-bending match, because it will be the last. It’s time for this city to stop worshipping bending athletes as if they were heroes. I am calling on the council to shut down the bending arena and cancel the finals or else…there will be severe consequences.” The radio statics and the transmission is over.

“that guy’s got some nerve” you mutter “you think the council will listen?” you look over at Lin.

“I don’t know but we can’t let the city give in to fear” Lin sneered as she gets up and walks out of her office, you look around and decide to follow her. “wait, where you are going Chief?” you jog up after her.  “Council meeting” Lin gets in the car, sitting in the passenger seat and you jump in, start the car and speed off to City Hall.

*

“stay in the car, I’ll go talk to the council” Lin gets out and starts running up the stairs and goes inside the building. You look around and frown, after a couple of minutes you get bored. I mean no one is going to ticket the Chief’s car. You get out and run up the steps and go inside wondering if you’ll be able to catch some of what’s going on. You stand right by the door not saying anything hoping not to get any attention from the council.

“if you keep the arena open, my metalbenders and I will provide extra security during the championship match. There’s no better force to deal with the chi-blockers. Our armor is impervious to their attacks.” Lin states to the council, her arms behind her back.

Tarrlok gives her an eyeing look and there is a sly smile on his face. “are you saying that you will personally take responsibility for the safety of the spectators in the arena?” it seems like only you and Tenzin noticed the tone in Tarrlok’s voice as he asked that question, Tenzin shifts his body over at Tarrlok and you eye him with suspicion.

“I guarantee it” Lin says confidently

“it is hard to argue with Chief Beifong’s track record. If she is confident her elite officers can protect the arena, then she has my support. I am changing my vote—who else is with me?” slowly one by one each member on the council raises their hand except for Tenzin.

“the arena stays open. Good luck in the finals. And good luck to you, Chief Beifong.” Tarrlok looks over at the Fire Ferrets and Chief Beifong. Tenzin looks over in defeat while the Fire Ferrets exchange cheers. Tenzin walk over to Lin and he quietly exchanges some words to her. Lin looks back over her shoulder at him before noticing you standing in the back of the room.

She groans as she walks over to you “I thought I told you to wait in the car” she sneered before you could say anything “I have to exchange some words with councilman Tenzin.” She said annoyingly and walks out of the room and goes to meet with him.

As the Fire Ferrets walk out the room Mako meets your eyes and calls out to you. “oh hey, y/n! what are you doing here?” you glance at everyone before answering to Mako “I came here with Chief Beifong, what about you?”

“oh we came here to stop the council from ending the pro-bending match.” Mako looks sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck.

“yeah, I caught a bit of the meeting. Do you really think letting the match go on is the best for the city?” you look over at Korra, crossing your arms on your chest.

“We can’t let Amon win by scaring us. We’ll be giving him what he wants. Fear.” Korra looks at you with a slight annoyance in her voice.

“hey, I get it. I agree to not give in to fear, but you’re about to put thousands of innocent lives at stake just so you three can play a game. Are you ready to take that chance?” you rebutted getting annoyed at Korra but you look over at Mako and Bolin who have been just staring between the two of you. You look over at the two bothers and raise a soft hand to them “no offence, I’m a fan of the team”.

“Always nice to meet a fan” Bolin awkwardly smiles and gives you a wave. Korra rolls her eyes

“Chief Beifong is on my side and she seems confident enough to think so. At least she has faith in her force” Korra crosses her arms and sneers at you.

“I have faith on the force!” you raise your voice your cheeks reddening “I just think this is all an unnecessary risk to take. Even if it is for the Avatar” you sneer back and Korra huffs and walks away. You rub your face then notice the boys are still there and inhale deeply “just be careful out there alright? I’ll handle the security; you guys try to pull a win” you bring yourself to give them a soft smile and they shake your hand. Mako introduces you to Bolin “nice to meet you Bolin”

“likewise” Bolin smiles and energetically takes your hand. “do you really think keeping the match open is a bad idea?” Bolin looks over at you as you three head outside the building.

“Spirits, I hope not.” You mutter as you look down.

“well, we got a match to prepare for” Mako calls for Bolin and they wave goodbye to you as you wait by the car. You get in then notice Lin walk out the building and gets in the car. You start it and without saying anything and head to the arena to start the security sweep. “I know you and I have different opinions on tonight, if you think this is a good idea. Then I’ll follow whatever order you command, Chief.”

“it’s not like you have a choice” Lin looks at you and you smile “that’s true”

“alright well let’s start securing the perimeter. I don’t want any dark corners”

“you got it, chief”

*

The officers all search the area making sure there is nothing wired or hiding in any nook and cranny. You’re walking around the arena while the officers work on the stands. You glance up and see Lin with Tenzin, you wonder what they are talking about, but you focus back on your sweep. You catch Lin glance over at you as you walk by but don’t acknowledge it since Tenzin is right beside her.

You walk another round before walking over to Lin and Tenzin. “Councilman Tenzin, nice to see you. Chief, the area is clear. As well as outside of the arena and concession stands. Should we start letting the spectators in?” you speak in your most professional tone.

“Let them in but sweep everyone. We don’t want anything to slip in. I won’t allow anything, or anyone sneak through the cracks.” Lin orders you and you give her a salute before walking down the corridor Lin looks over her shoulder and watches you walk away then notices Tenzin looking at her.

“she’s new, saw her a couple of times at the gala then at today at the meeting.” Tenzin spoke out

“Came from Zaofu a month ago, she’s a good addition to the team, has proven herself valuable. Has a lot of experience with security.” Lin says abrasively as she puts her hand on her hip.  

“huh…Zaofu, so that means…” Tenzin slowly speaks until Lin cut’s him off “yes” she rolls her eyes when Tenzin tries to mention her sister.

“Right, well you and Officer y/n seem to be getting along nicely” Tenzin look straight as he looks over at the stands and watches the spectators starting to take their seats.

“Tenzin, let me focus on my job” Lin groans as she watches over her officers.

“come on Lin, we just said we would try to get along like old times.” Tenzin sighs as he looks at Lin

“We’re just colleagues.” Lin sneered

“Sure… I don’t see you looking at your officers like you do with her” Tenzin shrugs and raises an eyebrow.

“what are you talking about!” Lin stiffens and turns her head to him her eyes widening but tries to regain her composure. “quit your yapping or I’ll have you out. I told you we’re just colleagues. If you want to gossip. Gossip with your wife.” Lin barked out.

Tenzin sighs and stays quiet waiting for everyone to settle and the match to begin.

*

As the match starts off, you make your rounds inside and out of the arena. You come back to the stands and walk by as you can hear Tenzin’s shouting out “Oh, come on, refs! There was some funny business in that last play!” he smacks the back of his hand onto his other palm. You see Lin give him some words and he quickly changes his demeanor as if embarrassed and it causes you to laugh softly.

You hear the plays going on from the announcer and you start to realize the refs have been bribed to let the wolf-bats win. Soon you hear the announcer call a knockout “seems like the wolf-bats have won for the fourth year in a—hold on a second, folks! Scratch that. The ferrets are still alive!” you look over and see Korra and Mako barely hanging on at the edge of the ring. You watch intently on how they are going to get back on. Korra swings Mako onto the platform giving them the time to make it to round two.

Each round is getting intense with more illegal shots and plays that the refs are just not calling out for. You walk outside the stands and make sure everything is in order. Nothing catches your attention and you hear from the speakers that Korra wins the tiebreaker and gets a point for the Fire Ferrets. “well will you look at that” you mutter as you continue surveilling the area.

Round three gets even more intense as the wolf-bats get more aggressive with their shots. You walk down the corridor and see Lin and Tenzin then look up at the ring to see the wolf-bats have won the round in a knockout. You hear Tenzin screaming out nonsense about the refs not calling for the illegal headshots the wolf-bats did. It makes you laugh watching someone level-headed as Tenzin getting heated by a pro-bending match. You start walking down the steps towards them and notice something on the corner of your eye as you step down closer. You glance over at Tenzin and Lin. Tenzin has glanced over to where you just looked at. Then look back and see someone pulling something out of their popcorn container and make a run for it.

“Look out!” you yell out and push Lin out of the way, Lin falls forward, but you have your hand on her arm as you get blasted with electricity. Everything happened so fast. You scream out as you feel a million needles and an intense burning and piercing sensation going throughout your body. You hear Lin scream out too and you try your hardest to let go of her arm. She falls down knocked out by the hit, you get hit by the full shock but even the current she got caused some damage. Tenzin air punches the guy knocking him out before he gets hit from behind shocking him in his back and he gets knocked out. You and Tenzin are knocked out cold both on your back. Lin wakes up in a couple of moments, rubbing her eyes as she tries to gather what is going on. Pure chaos happening around as the spectators are running at the nearest entry to leave as the equalist make their attacks.

Lin moans out as she gets up then sees Tenzin “Tenzin!” she looks around and sees you still out cold. “y/n!” Lin hurries over and looks you over, she runs her hand up your arm then places her palm on the side of your neck, checking a pulse. It’s weak but constant. She breathes out in relief then looks over and sees Amon and his men starting to leave from the roof. She gets mad gritting her teeth, Lin looks back at you and gets up with Tenzin before a large explosion happens in the middle of the ring. That explosion seems to wake your spirits as you groan out, waking up. Lin looks over at you after covering her eyes from the blast and kneels down beside you as you start to lean up. You open your eyes and see the outline of Lin. “get him” you groan out. Lin nods, looks over and sees Korra blast from the water trying to go after Amon but doesn’t make it and Lin quickly runs off the stands and metalbends her cable and swings around the arena, grabbing Korra with her other cable and starts building momentum to launch Korra up to the roof.

You get up and started gaining control of your body, looking around assessing the damage. The fighting platform is destroyed, and the explosion caused the bottom corridors to cave in. I guess Amon and his men didn’t plan on letting the pro-benders leaving. You run over towards the ring and see Mako and Bolin in the bottom platform by the water and you metalbend your cables and go down.

“come on, hold on to me” you yell out at them they run over and grab a hold of your shoulders and you launch the three of you up to the stands. You look up at the roof and watch Lin and Korra fighting with some of the equalists. You try to escort the crowd and fight off the equalists that are still here in the arena.

You’re about to launch yourself up to the roof when an equalist comes by with their baton and electrocute you in the back. You groan out falling on your knees then grit your teeth and do a low spin kick knocking them off the edge and into the water. You hear screaming coming from the roof and look up to see Korra falling, the roof must’ve cracked under her feet. Lin launches herself from the roof to catch up to Korra and grabs her then swings them to the stands. Mako and Bolin rush over to Korra and hug her “I’m so glad you’re okay” Mako says to Korra “Me too” Bolin butted in. You and Tenzin walk up to Lin with Tenzin putting a hand on her shoulder. Lin looks over defeated and upset with herself “I can’t believe Amon did this. I played right into his hand”

“he played us all. Republic City is at war.” Tenzin speaks out and all of you look up at the roof. Wondering the future of the city. Only you look down and look over at Lin.

*

“you should get yourself checked out with a healer” Lin calls out as you get on your cycle.

“I’m fine. Don’t worry about me, Chief” you call out back at her, you look down thinking back at the events that occurred at the arena. Putting on your helmet and about to start your bike.

“why’d you step in front of me?” Lin asked, back to that soft Lin that you rarely get to see. It’s been the first time since that time at the park. 

you took your helmet off of you as you run your hand through your hair and sigh softly “is that really a question? I saw you in danger, saving you was instinct. Rather I get hit with the brunt of the hit than see you do.” You look down not really looking at her.

“plus, what kind of officer would I be if I let the chief get harmed” you smirked

“that was reckless and stupid but... thanks y/n, seriously get yourself checked out tomorrow. That’s an order from your chief” Lin looks over at you sternly, but you see her eyes are mostly from concern. You give her a comforting smile “okay, chief, if it’ll give you some rest. I’ll get myself checked out first thing in the morning.”  If putting yourself in the line of fire was what needed for you to see that Lin still cared about you, you would do it again.

[hookedontaronfics]

Teasing the Bowstrings - Prompt fic

Title: Teasing the Bowstrings Pairing: Taron x reader Rating: T Warnings: Some light cursing, some very brief allusions to sex [but no actual smut - at least not yet...] A/N: This fluffy fic was generated off a prompt and I don’t think y’all will ever look at archery the same way again! I had a lot of fun writing it, and I hope you enjoy reading it too! x Prompt: Hi, what about a reader x taron one where the reader is his teacher for archery for the robin hood movie and they develop feelings for each other?

There you were, perched on your forearms and toes, every muscle in your body straining to keep you in that position as the sweat dripped from your face. You checked your stopwatch again - this had to be the slowest possible minute in the world. You sucked in your breath and held it, closing your eyes and relying on your mental toughness to stick it out as your muscles started shaking, before the little beep told you you could collapse to the mat in utter exhaustion. Five minutes. You had made it in the plank five whole minutes, a new personal best.

Friday morning burns truly were the best.

You finished your morning routine at the gym with some light stretching before hitting the showers, using the soap to massage your sore muscles as you went. Even though you were already fit, today’s training session had kicked your ass and you knew you were going to feel it for days.

Once you had finished rinsing off, you dressed quickly in a pair of sweatpants and a sports bra and tanktop, and checked your phone only to find six missed texts from Lars asking you for a massive favor.

<Yeah, what do you need Lars?> you asked, wondering if it would interfere with your afternoon plans.

<Something came up and I can’t make my 11 a.m. client. Would you mind? I can send over the agenda but it’s nothing you haven’t done before. I’d really rather not cancel if I don’t have to.>

<Yeah, sure, no prob. I’m already on this end of town. I’ll just swing by the training center.> You texted back, hurrying to your car and tossing your gym bag in the back. You had just enough time to grab a cold-pressed green juice from your favorite place on the way over. A surprise archery session wasn’t exactly out of the picture ever since you’d become Lars Andersen’s assistant. You were one of the top-ranked amateur competitive archers in the UK; it was a title you rather enjoyed wearing. Learning the art of trick archery, well, that had just become a fun hobby to add to your resume.

Your phone pinged with the client’s lesson agenda. You opened the text and scrolled through the document quickly as you waited in the drive-thru for your juice. Most of it seemed pretty elementary. Clearly you were working with someone who didn’t have much practice, if any at all. T. Egerton. Hmmm, you didn’t recognize the name right off hand, but this should be an easy session so you didn’t worry too much about it.

You made it across town to the training center with a few minutes to spare, and checked in at the front, handing over a list of equipment for check out. The entire obstacle room had been rented out, which surprised you. Why would Lars book that out for a private session with a newbie? you wondered as you hoisted the bag of bows and arrows and guards onto your shoulder, thanked the clerk and wandered off down the hall past the main training and target range areas, still clutching your green juice in your hand.

You pulled the door open and stepped inside, your eyes quickly assessing where each target was in practiced fashion. You didn’t even notice you did it; it had just simply been ingrained in you after years of training. You tsk’d slightly to yourself as the room was actually quite a mess; you went off to arrange a few targets how you wanted them, waiting on Lars’ client to show up. Soon enough the door opened and a bright-eyed man strode in, brimming with energy and apologizing profusely for being late. By one minute. Oh boy, this might be interesting, you thought as you went over to greet him.

“The name’s y/n, nice to meet you. I’m Lars’ assistant, on occasion. He couldn’t make it and asked me to take over your session for today,” you said, offering your hand.

“Taron,” he just grinned, taking your hand and giving it a firm shake. You looked him over; he was incredibly unassuming in a sweatshirt and jeans, a ballcap pulled low over his eyes.

“Just Taron?” you laughed at that, though you already knew his last name from the agenda sheet.

He just grinned back at you. “I figured you already knew who I was,” he said sheepishly and shoved his hands in his pockets, almost a bit nervously.

“Yeah sorry, I don’t,” you said with a shrug.

“I’ve been in a few films,” he chuckled. “All of this,” he said, gesturing around him, “is for a new film about Robin Hood, which I’m to be in. I play Rob,” he said with a grin you couldn’t deny was adorable.

“I mean, obviously. The great archer himself,” you laughed lightly. “I can see it.”

“I’m actually quite grateful for some anonymity. It’s not always easy when everyone seems to have an idea of who you are already,” he admitted, and you wondered why he was being so open with you.

“Well, I only judge people based on how well they shoot, so, shall we get started?” you ask, going to the bag of equipment and pulling out a bow. To Lars’ credit, he kept meticulous notes so you knew what Taron had already trained with and what he hadn’t. Warming him up was probably a good idea, so you started with the ten-pound bow and some simple target practice. He seemed comfortable enough with it, and you watched his form carefully, partly to issue corrections, and partly because you found him just so damn attractive. The way his biceps rippled as he handled the bow made you a bit weak in the knees. Not that you’d tell him that; you would always stay professional. That was your job, and besides, you were sure he had to have a girlfriend or something. Someone as sweet and polite as he was must have been snatched up quickly.

You shook those thoughts out of your mind as you moved Taron to a twenty-pound bow, walking around him as he held his formation for you, inspecting him at every angle. Thank God this is only going to be one session, you thought as you pushed his elbow up ever so slightly. You were already finding it hard to keep your hands to yourself, precisely because you had to adjust him constantly. He understood what he was supposed to do, but maintaining that form was another matter. Still, you could tell he was a quick study, and he often laughed at himself when he just totally failed to make the mark, which made your job just that much easier. You always hated working with guys who were egotistical and always blamed you when they couldn’t get their arrow straight, rather than their bad form they ignored you pointing out. Taron was coachable, and that made him fun to be around.

“Alright, well, you’ve proven that you can hit a target with some level of consistency, but can you do it while moving about?” you smirked at him, wondering if he’d be willing to bite at the challenge, and of course he was game.

“I’m probably going to fail massively, but I say we give it a try, yeah?” he chuckled.

“Just remember your fundamentals, you’ll be fine,” you grinned at him.

“Remember your fundamentals, she says. Fundamentals you’ve spent years perfecting,” he said. “Alright then, let’s get on with it.”

Cheeky bastard, you thought to yourself as you outlined some moving drills for him, ones you thought were rather easy but that seemed to throw him totally off because he wasn’t hitting a damn thing, and you could tell he was getting frustrated at himself.

“Why don’t we take a break for a moment,” you suggested, but he wasn’t interested in stopping.

“I’m going to get this, you’ll see,” he said, sweat already staining the collar of his sweatshirt as he made attempt after attempt and, admittedly, getting closer and closer to at least hitting the targets. Taron was determined, you’d give him that. He was quite out of breath when he finally stopped, pointing proudly at the arrow he’d managed to sink just outside of the bullseye. “See that right there?” he grinned, pretty proud of himself and making you giggle despite yourself.

“Alright, alright,” you laughed as you grabbed a water bottle for him, but as you went to hand it to him you noticed that his bowstring hand was completely torn up.

“Taron, shit. Let me see that,” you gasped, grabbing his hand and forgetting your professionalism for a moment as you inspected the torn skin.

“It’s alright,” he shrugged but you knew it had to be painful. You’d experienced much the same as a novice over the years.

“Yeah, well, the last thing you need is an infection so let’s get that cleaned up.” You made him sit and rest while you went to retrieve the first aid kit from the front desk, and he calmly let you doctor up his hand. He didn’t jerk away when you put the antiseptic on, nor when you ever-so-carefully clipped away the ruined skin. You could feel his eyes on you, watching you go about your task, and you had no idea what he was thinking behind that green-eyed gaze. Touching his hands made you feel a thrill you were trying desperately to ignore, though.

You wrapped some gauze around his fingers, making sure he wouldn’t lose any function with them, and taped it all up. “There, how does that feel?” you asked.

“Mmm, dare I say better,” he said, wriggling them at you. “And I’m quite sure you could do all of that better too,” he chuckled, waving vaguely at the course you’d set up for him.

You gave him a smirk before grabbing a recurve bow, rather than the longbow Taron had been training with. You slung the quiver around your shoulder but pulled four arrows into your hand at once, making Taron’s eyes go wide. You effortlessly leaped and spun and twirled through the course, hitting your targets every time, and barely breaking a sweat over it.

“Now you’re just showing off!” he laughed as you tossed your hair back over your shoulder.

“Oh no, Mr. Egerton, that wasn’t showing off at all,” you smirked, before rummaging in your bag for something that could be made into a makeshift blindfold. You set up a single target about 50 meters away, before pacing between two poles and marking the stride distance in your head. This was one of your favorite tricks Lars had taught you, and you were hoping it wouldn’t fail you now in front of Taron. You wrapped the blindfold around your eyes, took up your bow and notched an arrow, and then ran backwards, mentally marking the space where the target should be in that space. You drew the bowstring back in the middle of your leap, nudged the tip of the arrow down ever so slightly and let it fly, hearing the satisfying thwack as the tip hit the target and you landed on your feet and let your continued momentum backwards absorb the shock.

“Holy shit,” Taron gasped at that, making you giggle slightly.

“Now that was showing off,” you grinned, as you heard him walk over to you. Blindfolded like this made you rely on your other senses, and you analyzed his footfalls and stride and mentally calculated the picture in your head of where he was at that moment. It was something you’d practiced for years, hitting targets blind and learning how to shoot around corners and visualize where in any given space someone or something could be. He walked softly, you noticed, carrying himself upwards, and you could also tell that despite being sweaty he still had a marked sweetness to his scent.

Why was he so close? you thought the instant before he lifted the blindfold slowly off your eyes, his intense gaze staring straight into yours. “Can you show me how to do that?” he asked, a bit breathlessly even though he’d been sitting down. A small shiver made its way through your body as his fingers had brushed lightly over your face.

“To shoot double-blind?” you said, a bit startled to be standing so close to him. You could see the light stubble shadowing his jawline and the individual color specks in his eyes. “That takes years to perfect. And probably not necessary for your film either,” you added with a laugh.

“No, I don’t mean that,” he chuckled. “The way you barely look like you’re working when you pull the bow back. I look like I’m wrestling a steer when I do it!”

You snorted at that, because he wasn’t wrong. “Alright then, get in your position,” you said, cringing at how that sounded but Taron didn’t miss a beat, focused on the task at hand. He pulled the dummy arrow back and froze in place and you sighed at his white knuckles; typical rookie mistake.

“Loosen these,” you said, tapping on the fingers he had wrapped tightly around the bow grip itself. “You don’t need to hold onto the bow for dear life. It’s not going to go anywhere, I promise. You want your grip to be steady but flexible. It let’s the bow vibrate the way it should in your hand as the arrow leaves its rest. It will fly straighter and won’t fatigue your hand and arm as much either, and in the middle of a competition the last thing you want is a hand cramp.”

“That sounds terrible,” he agreed with a laugh, doing his best to adjust his grip on the bow.

“And as for your other hand, well, you just need to think about teasing the bowstring,” you said, getting an eyebrow raise at that.

“Teasing it?” he smirked at you, even with the notch of the arrow pressed against the side of his mouth as he sighted the target. You had to admit, the way he was standing made him look powerful and athletic and, well, kind of hot.

“Yeah, like a woman. I assume you’ve had practice?” you smirked back, making Taron lose his composure completely. He managed to drop his arrow and then his bow and you couldn’t tell whether he was laughing or crying or maybe both, but it took a solid ten minutes before he managed to gain control again.

“Never thought of archery that way,” he said, wiping his face lightly.

“Everything comes back to sex, don’t you know it?” you smirked at him, handing him back his bow. “This is your woman, treat her well,” you joked.

“Well, I haven’t got any others right now,” he said, running his hand gently over the wood. You had no idea why he’d volunteered this information, but even though it surprised you, you filed it away in your brain all the same.

You picked up your own bow and showed him exactly what you meant by teasing the bowstring - to keep your fingers light but also firm around the nock, giving the arrow a chance to move in the natural way it was meant to but without too much give; pulling back the string at once both carefully but also with authority. “And when you feel you’ve reached the point of no return, where the bowstring might give out if you pull it back any further, that’s when you let it go,” you said, moving your thumb ever so slightly to release the pressure, sighting the arrow’s path all the way down its shaft as it left the riser and made its flight across the room, only to sink squarely in the bullseye. “See? Simple,” you said, looking over at Taron to find his mouth hanging slightly open. “Oh, did I lose you?” you laughed.

“No, I get what you’re saying. I just … don’t think I’ll ever have the finesse you have. You’re quite stunning,” he said, his eyes sweeping over you and making you blush despite yourself.

“It just takes practice,” you said, brushing off the compliment because you weren’t sure how to take it. “Practice I’m sure you’ll be putting in with Lars.”

“Ahh well yes, but he’s not nearly as good-looking as you,” Taron said, a bit jokingly but also with a note of truth.

“Mmm well this can’t be denied. I at least have better hair than he does,” you teased back, trying to keep things light because they were very much in danger of going a different direction. The tension in the room was as ready to snap as a bowstring. “So, try it again,” you managed, nearly choking on your own words in your haste to distract both of you from that train of thought.

He got a determined look in his eye as he took his stance again, remembering to keep his grip loose, his elbow straight and you couldn’t see anything wrong with the way he was holding his arrow. “Widen your legs,” you said in a bit of a whisper, trying desperately hard to keep your professional composure. “And square your hips with your target,” you added, and you heard Taron suck in his breath sharply at that, but he did what you told him to do and then let go of his arrow, and even if it didn’t strike dead center he still managed to hit the bullseye and fairly squealed excitedly over it.

“Did you see that?!” he giggled, hugging you cutely and having zero awareness of personal space in his excitement. But a huge part of you also didn’t mind at all.

“That was great, Taron! Now we just have to get you to do that every time,” you said with a wink. Your session time was almost up, so you only showed him a couple more things, mostly working on getting him more consistent on controlling his aim, though he asked to watch you shoot four arrows in quick succession again and you were happy to oblige.

“Think I could do that too?” he asked cutely as he helped you collect the arrows scattered about the room and return them to the quivers and the equipment bag.

“I think you could do anything you put your mind to,” you replied, realizing you actually meant it just about his life in general. The smile he returned made your stomach flip slightly; he was probably the most adorable man you’d ever met.

He insisted on grabbing the equipment bag as you grabbed the bows, hooking them over your shoulder as you both exited the training room. You returned the equipment to the front desk and walked out with Taron, who was still hanging around you.

“So same time next Friday?” he asked with a wink as he trailed you over to your car.

“Well that’s up to Lars, I suppose. I’m just his assistant and he needed me to do this as a favor,” you replied.

“Well maybe I’ll make it a special request then, eh?” he asked, smirking at you lightly over the roof of your car. 

“Yeah, sure thing Taron,” you said though you couldn’t help being secretly thrilled by the prospect of training him again.

“I meant what I said, you know. You really were stunning in there. If I could only be half as bloody amazing as you…” he trailed off, his eyes searching yours for something.

“Thank you, I’ve worked on it for a long time,” you said, unable to just ignore the way he’d somehow gotten under your skin with his laugh and his dimples and his unassumingly kind nature.

“Yeah but there’s something else there, a sort of grace you just possess in how you carry yourself too. I just don’t know that I’ve ever met anyone like you,” he replied. Your breath caught in your chest slightly as you stared at him, a whirlwind of feelings bursting through you. “I’ve certainly never enjoyed getting my ass beat by a girl so much as I have today,” he joked, making you laugh too.

“I’ll, um, see you around, Taron, I’m sure,” you said, giving him a smile and mentally kicking yourself for not saying more.

“I look forward to it,” he just grinned back at you as you ducked into your car and took a deep, steadying breath. What the hell was wrong with you? you wondered as you turned your car on and watched Taron walk to his own car. You admired his ass before catching yourself and mentally chiding yourself. You never mixed business with pleasure; things always got far too complicated and you didn’t need the drama. Not only that, Lars had put a massive amount of responsibility in your hands and you weren’t about to let him down by being stupid with a client.

All of that being said, you did wonder if Taron really would request Lars to bring you in again, or if he’d forget about you the minute he and his car pulled away, honking lightly at you as he waved. You waved back, a smile on your face, before you finally put your car in gear as well. Either way, you were going to make sure to keep next Friday open.

Well loves, hope you enjoyed it! I COULD be convinced to write a second part to this if enough of you ask for it so leave me comments/asks!

[ilovemyteacher]

Nov tc challenge days 9-21

So, im sorry for being dead for soooooo long but i had exams and i was so stressed, but lm back!!

9) Have you ever had an argument with them? If so, what about?

I've never had an argument with him, we kinda agree in everything.

10) Are you attracted to them romantically? Or platonically?

Both? Both.

11) if they kissed you (and it wasnt illegal) what would you do?

Well, i would kiss him back and then i would cry out of happiness lmao

12) Do you think they know about your crush?

I dont think he knows, its the exact opposite tbh

13) What would be your ideal date with them?

Maybe a picnic? I just love the idea of being with him, alone, in the nature, maybe watching the sunset together while we talk about dumb stuff, telling jokes to each other and just being with him.

14) Do you have any inside jokes? If you feel comfortable sharing, what are they?

So everyday i give him one of his favorite candys, so everyday he asks me if i just want to get him fat or he would joke about me passing the school year just bc i give him candy Idk if it counts

15) How often do you see them?

5 days, all the week

16) Have you ever cried over your tc? If so, why?

So i think i overreacted but yes, yesterday was the first time and it was bc i was going thru some hard stuff so i was kind of sensitive and i didnt go one single day, so i didnt knew there was homework cuz i didnt have my cellphone (thats also why i been dead) so i asked him if i could bring it the next day, and he said "No, its your problem if you didnt ask" i was confused, he knew that i didnt have my cellphone so i told him the reason why i didnt knew about the hw and he still didnt care, i was sensitive already and him being like this made it worse. I went to my desk and just laid on my arms waiting for the class to end and when it was almost over he came over my desk just to tell me that it was my fault bc i didnt ask and i...just broke right there.

17) What did they do their degree in? Is it the subject they teach now?

I dont know what did he do his degree in but i know it isnt the subject he teaches

18) do they do any sport? If so, what?

He goes to the gym and omggggg

19) What do you think they do in their spare time?

Sleep, hes like a bear, he sleeps a loooooot

20) Do you have any photos with them? If so, how did you get them?

I have a lot of photos with him, i got them bc there was an event in our school and he wanted photos with me <33

21) do you plan staying in contact after you leave?

I have his number and all but idk maybe?

[millennial94meets-world]

A GENERATION: QUARANTINED.

Is it coming to you live if I’m just chilling in my apartment and taking my time blogging about the new way of life many generations are having to endure without a FaceTime selfie update? Maybe not. Who cares. 

You do. That’s why you’re reading this. Because for many of you, this is day 9 or 15 of quarantine depending on where you are in the country, and you are SO bored that you ended up in a rabbit hole that led you here. Welcome. I could use some more followers just like you could use something to do for the next ten minutes. 

For many millennials and introverts alike, nothing has changed. Nada. We are doing the same things we have been doing: avoiding human contact, jumping into rabbit holes out of boredom on social media platforms, eating take out from DoorDash, and binge watching our faves on popular platforms. So to the rest of the world...we send the warmest welcome. 

The difference? Now we are being asked to do it. 

It’s easier to stay home when you WANT to hide, but it’s a little different for some of us to stay home when you’re TOLD to hide, hence why many people are taking those cheap flights to anywhere without caution, putting bar nights on their social media stories without a care to rebel, and trying not to hit their heads against walls as they are stuck indoors with family they would otherwise optionally see occasionally. Praying for you. 

Anyways. While everyone is stuck indoors and sharing their hourly updates of how nothing has changed, or how they are continuing to innovate their new, and hopefully temporary, “norms”, I thought I could also share a few tips on how to stay positive (oh God, no, not for COVID-19), be productive working at home, still be productive if you are temporarily/indefinitely laid off, or have trouble getting through that to-do list you have been making for 5 years (don’t be ashamed, we all have one). 

Tip #1: Stay Positive. 

I know, I know. That looks more like: StAy pOsITivE, but hear me out. Wake up every morning and set one positive intention; whether it’s limiting your social media scrolling, getting a nice long yoga practice in, getting through a few chapters of a good book, turning the garage into a real gym (no, that treadmill being weighted down by your air-drying laundry does NOT count, Becky), getting a good handle on your [new] online classes, or checking up on your grandparents because #quarantinecheck . Keeping a good positive mental attitude is good for the longevity of this quarantine. This isn’t going to last forever, and it helps to make sure that even if the Corona virus doesn’t infect your immune system, that you don’t let it infect your mental health. It’s also going to help you achieve the rest of this list. 

Tip #2: Productively Working From Home.

Say good-bye to cubicles and awkward coffee breaks in the break room with that guy from IT that has a crush on you that you hardly know, and say hello to a much more hostile work environment depending on the adult and child population in your home. You’re about to find out just how much pressure you can take with that deadline. Breathe. I am not an expert on kids because I don’t have any, so I won’t pretend to be. If you’re looking on advice on how to wrangle those little devils, you’re in the wrong place, sis. For everyone else, get up like you would every morning, eh, maybe like an hour more of sleeping in, but get up, get dressed and put some concealer on or whatever. Make some coffee and find the dog/cat/rabbit/hamster leash you threw in the back of the coat closet because you and Fluffy are going for a productive brainstorming walk. Yep. You’re taking the dog, or the cat, or the rabbit, or the hamster (or whatever poor fluffy adorable creature that you never take for some productive exercise) to work from now until this sh*t is over. Make it a 10-15 minute walk (depending the type of pet) and set some productive work intentions. Make a list on your phone. When you come back, set up a creative desk area if you don’t already have one. I use one end of my dining room table by folding one of my favorite patterned scarves in half and laying down as a foundation for mental separation where the cats are NOT allowed to lay. Place some candles from your room or living room on your desk for some “office ambiance”, put up a standing picture frame if you like, notepad and pens, and maybe some cute paper weights? Whatever floats your boat. Start by checking your emails or whatever you would normally do to start the workday at the office, and just keep the ball rolling from there. Set a lunch break, and stay out of the kitchen until then (unless you, like, actually need to get a snack)! We all know what too many snacks lead to....(I’m not saying don’t eat what you want, by all means necessary, snack your PANTS OFF, but save them for after work because we are trying to get sh*t done, okay?)....anyways. If you start feeling overwhelmed by your to-do list, take a break and call your Nana or your mom or dad and chat to check in for like 15 minutes. Talk about your day with them, then get back to it. It helps to get some social interaction, especially because you would be getting that at work with your co-workers. Make sure that you set a solid time to end your “workday” and try to stick to it! You got this!

Tip #3:  Being Productive “Working From Home”.

This one is for everyone who has been told that their places of employment have been shutdown temporarily or indefinitely by the government or city officials due to risk of exposure. Set an alarm for the morning for like 9 am or 10:30 am, and get drink some water (we know you had more than a glass of wine last night, and quite frankly...same). Make some coffee or tea to-go, and strap the pup/kitty/bunny up for a walk! We are all going to get some Vitamin D and fresh air ladies and gents. While on your walk, set some daily intentions to do some school work, start a blog (hehe..), take care of any adult-responsibilities that you have been putting off because you just haven’t had time during the week to do it (your banks are still doing drive-thru extended services, so no excuses), make a chore list, make a plan of invading your local grocery store [during business hours] in hopes of finding [not hoarding] lost treasures like toilet paper, conference calling your project buddies from class so you can knock out that B+ even in quarantine because we all know the policy in the syllabus doesn’t even protect you from a worldwide quarantine, or you can take the time you need to take care of your unemployment status! You can still do so many things under these trying times. Start something new for your self or cross off some serious adulting moves. Take this time to meditate,  learn about the “joy” of meal-prepping (don’t do this one, it’s miserable), finish that weird painting you started with the girls during a poorly timed wine and paint night at your place (remember? There were snacks and more bottles than canvases and you guys got too drunk and a few brush strokes in you stopped and started to Instagram-stalk your exes and their current girlfriends?? Yeah. You remember), YouTube some yoga routines to start flowing for some MUCH needed positive stress-relief, clean the hell out of your kitchen AND closet (you know you need to donate the sh*t you don’t wear anymore. It’s just taking up space, Jen), or start doing some morning or evening runs with your dog. Take this quarantining time to start new and positive habits that you have been thinking about picking up lately but have been too busy to do so. YOU HAVE PLENTY OF TIME NOW. 

Here’s mine, I started a self-care regiment of taking super reds and greens when I get up in morning and go to bed at night, and I started getting up earlier to take my dog out to play fetch while I drink my morning coffee (I don’t run for sh*t, f**k that). Start with something small like I did. If I can do it, you can do it. 

Tip #4: Do Your “To-Dos”.

Seriously. Find that list. Make that list. Slap it on the dining room table and give it a good talking-to. Tell it about how you’re not taking anymore of its bullsh*t, and this ends this week. PROJECT YOUR FEELINGS. Then get to it. Maybe drink some coffee first? Idk. Whatever gets you going. Keep in mind a few things though:

1. It’s okay if you only do one thing today because you can take the rest of the week or the rest of the quarantine to finish it. Nobody is judging you, but you, sis (A good life mantra).

2. You are the boss of the list, not the other way around. Take charge, sis. 

3. You don’t even have to go in order from top to bottom. Maybe start with the easiest and most convenient things to do at home, and then work your way out. Or alternate between easy and more challenging if you want to make it more fun. The point is: go at your own pace, this isn’t a race. You know what they say about things that rhyme *insert enthusiastic smile and eyebrow raise here*.  

4. Do not, and I cannot stress this enough, do NOT judge yourself for how long any item has been on the list. What matters is today, and your motivation to take on these tasks. So pop some headphones in, and go get em’ tiger. 

Remember, 2020 is NOT cancelled. It’s just postponed for some self-healing. I hope this helps, and that everyone who reads it can find something that they will take away and put into motion in the weeks to come. Speaking of weeks to come, I am now out of wine, so I have to add a trip to the store to my to-do list lol.

 Happy Quarantining guys!!

[1wngdngl]

Pokemon Shield playthrough

I’ve been playing this game a lot since last night, and I still haven’t gotten on the train yet ;) I like to take games slowly to make sure I notice and experience everything along the way. It looks like the best way to share my game progress is through screenshots, so that’s what I’ll do. Cut for length and spoilers - I’ve been trying to avoid spoilers and leaks for the past couple weeks, so if you want to be able to experience the games fresh yourself, now might be a good time to click away. [This post covers up thru getting the Dynamax band]

I went ahead with the “standard” female character, but you can bet I’ll be customizing her as soon as I can. What’s with that knock-kneed stance, anyway? Pokemon trainers should stand strong and confident!

Chairman Rose greets us. Everyone online was guessing he’ll turn out to be evil or something. He certainly looks suspicious, doesn’t he?

And here comes the first surprise of the LP - a brand-new Pokemon, not even seen in trailers! (except for that fuzzy 1-frame image from a while back.) Its trunk looks kinda like a soup ladle. Maybe it’s a play on a teacup/teapot elephant? I wonder if it evolves...

Here’s Leon fighting an unknown trainer - maybe a Gym leader?

I really like the art style of the map - it’s so whimsical :)

The map also shows current weather for all locations. Look at all the different stuff going on in the Wild Area at the same time! I’ve been to the real England, and I don’t remember it having such extreme weather...

The map also has a few useful features, like displaying your next objective, and showing the facilities in a town (but only once you’ve been there yourself). The towns and such all have really interesting names that emulate that old English sound.

First thing I do when I gain control in a new Pokemon game? Change the battle style to “Set”. It seems more fair, plus it helps make the game just a bit more challenging.

I’m a little sad that the old option to change menu/text box borders seems to be forever abandoned, though... >.>

My house. It’s a pretty decent-sized place. We have a pet Munchlax and a few Budew outside. My character practices her whistling.

My mom. Or “mum” as the game calls her. The dialog is noticeably slanted toward a more British dialect - I wonder how they handled the accent in other languages?

Speaking of my mom, she seems rather big compared to me, doesn’t she? Quite a bit taller. I’m guessing my character is around 12 - when I was that age, I was the same height as my mom and done growing. Maybe they think people won’t believe this character is the mom’s child if she’s too tall?

Also, my dream is to one day have a /dad/ in a Pokemon game. Seriously, why does every other house I visit have a husband and wife, and my character is always stuck being the only child of a single parent? What if in one of these games, my dad was the champion or the evil team leader - how fun would that be?

My bedroom. The pink clock on the wall reminds me of one from a previous Pokemon game - was it ORAS that had those round clocks on the wall that you could set?

My first step on my journey. Looks like my mom spends every minute gardening - I guess the Budew help her?

Ah yes, every Pokemon game needs a “power of science” guy :)

Here’s another surprise - how many Pokemon games give you a fishing rod right at the start?! Usually you have to track down three different fisherman to get the three versions of the fishing rod. I’m also happy to see that Pokeballs have their own pocket again :)

The handy map tells us where to go next, with even a little picture of our destination.

The champion of Galar, of course, has a huge house.

Wow, a Purrloin! I forgot that they stood on two legs. I like its little bed.

Also, Leon’s family decorate their house mainly in trophies.

I guess this is Hop’s room - I like his artwork. I know Leon has a Charizard - does he have these other two Pokemon too, and that’s why Hop has posters of them?

Leon’s room is mostly a shrine to hats.

Speaking of Leon, he really knows how to play to the crowd ;)

So, some people are wondering if /Leon/ will turn out to be evil in the story. I didn’t really get that vibe from him. He seems like a genuinely nice guy, but he does seem like he has some worries on his mind, like his cheer is sometimes forced?

Maybe he actually hates the limelight and gets uncomfortable with attention? Maybe he’s secretly terminally ill? Maybe there’s some massive threat about to attack the Galar region? He seems really concerned with making sure that Galar has lots of strong trainers. Maybe he knows something about the legendaries?

Alternately, some people were saying that maybe Leon isn’t actually a great champion, and his fights are rigged in his favor by the chairman. /If/ that were the case, I bet that Leon is actually unhappy with that situation and wants to make the tournament more fair.

Or maybe everything in the game is exactly as it seems ;)

Nothing important here, I just like this screenshot. I wonder if Fletchling are native to Galar too?

My first Pokemon! (in this game, at least...) I picked Sobble because he’s the most endearing.

My first battle! I like how the interface is laid out, and how detailed the background is beyond the fighters - you can even see Leon standing there.

My Pokemon's details. I don’t play competitively so I don’t know if it’s a particular “good” Sobble. It seems like this species is a fast special-attacker, so I’ll have to keep that in mind.

The Slumbering Weald (my spellchecker doesn’t even recognize that word :) ) It’s very spooky and seclusive - and it’s right next to the starter town too! You’d think if it was really that dangerous, people would put up more than a flimsy wooden gate to keep trespassers out...Hop, of course, is an idiot and runs right into it; and I, the spineless protagonist, have no option to say no. >.>

My first wild encounter! This starts the trend I noticed all during the opening hours of this game - most of the wild Pokemon are brand-new, totally-unrevealed species. Like this squirrel thing. (Although some people guessed we would get a new squirrel based on that shirt design). I wonder if it evolves?

This part was actually pretty scary, with the Pokemon (I can’t remember its name...) suddenly appearing out of the fog. The Pokemon acted almost like a hologram in battle though - my attacks couldn’t touch it.

What if the twist is that the legendary wolf Pokemon are just illusions, perhaps even man-made ones created to keep intruders from discovering some secret in the forest?

Anyway, we escape from the situation perfectly fine, because of course we do ;)

I noticed that this particular generation gives you quite of a bit of money at the start, but I guess that’s because you encounter the first boutique so early. There’s a fair number of affordable options too. Some of these Pokemon shirts I wish were /real/ shirts.

My new look :) Mostly I just ditched the dress for jeans. This looks like a comfortable outfit, although that knapsack is a bit unwieldy.

We visit the professor’s lab. She has a lot of books, plants, and a tea set. I wonder if she ever has problems with Polteageist?

The new Pokemon center design. I love that the move deleter/relearner and nickname functions are all in one place - I always hated flying around the map trying to remember where they were.

That Pokemon behind the counter is another totally new one. Could this be a Galarian Audino?

Using mystery gift, I was able to get this “Gigantamax” Meowth. However, due to my rule of only using Gen 8 Pokemon, it’s just gonna chill out in the box >.>

Leon is very generous with Pokeballs. Even the items you find on the ground are generous, often containing 2 or 3 “copies” of an item when you check it out. Is that a new thing for Pokemon?

Here I battle my first trainer that isn’t named Hop. He has that squirrel shirt and is a total pushover.

Just chilling by the professor’s house. It looks like maybe you can only fish in fishing spots (those darker circles on the water), but at least you get your fishing pole right away.

Also, I discovered that while I could not sit on beds or chairs inside, I am able to sit on this bench :)

The way the Pokemon mill about in the tall grass is very interesting. Some will try to avoid you, others like this Yamper will chase after you. It makes the routes feel a lot more populated.

I guess this is Sonia’s room. It’s very pink. I wonder if she even /wants/ to do Pokemon research, or if she’d rather be a fashion designer or something.

The in-game time of day doesn’t seem to match up with the Switch system clock, at least not from what I’ve seen so far. For example, suddenly it is sunset and I catch a falling star. (look how the reflection in the water changes :) )

I haven’t decided yet if I want to buy the Switch online service, but in the meantime I decided to at least pick my profile picture. The icons you can choose from actually reveal quite a lot about the trainer classes and gyms that are in the game. For the first time ever, we have a Dark-type gym! Their logo is a sideways version of Team Yell’s logo - does that mean that Team Yell or Marnie is the Dark gym leader?

I spent a while catching Pokemon around the professor’s house. I can’t tell if I got every possible species without looking online, but I did build up a good roster.

I found it really cool how many new, surprising Pokemon showed up this early in the game. There’s the fox one (which is a Dark type and reminds me of Zoroark), the turtle one (which has got to be a pre-evolution of Dreadnaw, probably the 1st of 3 stages), the bird one (based on the “Rook” in its name and the fact that it learns Dark-type moves early, I’m guessing it’s a pre-evolution of Corviknight), and the bug one (can’t wait to see what its final stage looks like).

I went through the party to find the best Pokemon that fit my self-imposed rules (only new, Gen 8 Pokemon, no overlap of types). I know that this means I won’t be able to use Galarian forms or Gigantamaxes of old Pokemon, but just because I’m not using them in my main playthrough doesn’t mean I can’t catch them :)

Next time: I step onto the train and leave my home behind.

[mycrazybeautifullifeblog]

𝙈𝙤𝙢𝙢𝙖 𝙛𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙙, I’m going to help you finish your Christmas shopping! ⁣ ⁣ No, not for your sister or your kids or best friend (although they would ♥️ this gift too!), but for YOU!!!⁣ ⁣ I know you have a list a mile long. Where are YOU on that list? I know you work so hard to create a great Christmas for everyone around you, but YOU deserve some love too♥️⁣ ⁣ Maybe you didn’t ask for anything this Christmas but have been wanting to get out of this 2020 funk, to do something fun, to feel confident in pictures or a bathing suit (or naked😉), to feel HAPPY again.⁣ ⁣ I want that for you!!!⁣ ⁣ I want that too!⁣ ⁣ Not only have I found all of that by following a simple system of workouts (30 min/day on average) and portion controlled nutrition (that doesn’t make me give up 🍷), but with kids at home and gyms closing, I rely on the convenience of my home workouts now more than ever.⁣ ⁣ And to erase any excuse of “lack of time/money/equipment”, 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐖𝐄𝐄𝐊𝐄𝐍𝐃 𝐎𝐍𝐋𝐘 (Today thru Monday) when you gift yourself an at-home fitness program, I’m personally gifting you a $𝟐𝟎 𝐀𝐌𝐀𝐙𝐎𝐍 𝐆𝐈𝐅𝐓 𝐂𝐀𝐑𝐃 so that you can wrap up some new dumbbells🏋🏻‍♀️, resistance loops, or some fly crop tops to show off those abs that about to pop😻⁣ ⁣ Simply drop a 🎁 below, send me a DM or boldly shouting “I’m IN🙋🏻‍♀️” and I’ll connect with you ASAP. Either way, this Christmas, I want you to feel so good about what’s to come, so EXCITED for this new challenge, that you tell yourself 𝐈 𝐃𝐄𝐒𝐄𝐑𝐕𝐄 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐒 and let’s do this thing together 👯‍♀️ (at Crocker Park) https://www.instagram.com/p/CIJtISbFxH_/?igshid=d52ds89iy866

[greatcanadianteddybear]

More about the GreatCanadianTeddyBear

BabyTeddyBear Always Supports FetLife.com, other AB/DL & BABY FURS web sites & Kink Community!

Updated Jan 10th , 2018. Happy Padded New Year's to everyone! Welcome to BabyTeddyBear's aka Teddy's profile thanks for stopping by. I’ve meet a lot of amazing AB/DLs, Biggs, Middles, Little’s, Mom’s, Daddy’s, Baby Furs & Pups over the many years and formed amazing long term friendships from all over the world thank you for this! If you have any questions please message me any time! Hope you enjoy my pics, profile and the event’s I’ve been a part of! Hope everyone has a Happy Padded day Eh! Teddy

-----///\\\-----Please ----///--\\\----Put This ----|||----|||----On Your ----|||----|||----Account If ----|||----|||----You Know ----\\\--///----Someone -----\\\///-----Who Died ------///\------Or Is Suffering -----///\\\-----From ----///--\\\----Cancer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L218XwnsUzs Mary Tyler Moore was a roll mode for Baby Teddy Bear! See the video of the opening theme song to her show. Remember (you’re going to make it after all)

-----------«::::::::» «:::A:::» «:::B:::» «:::D:::» «:::L:::» «::::::::»----------

Wanted to share this with everyone and thank you to everyone I have amazing friendships!  

Bubby-Boy:

Just wanted to stop by and tell you what a wonderful person you are and how valued you are in my life... Bubby is a much better person because of you! I hope and pray every day that you have a great day and week! Know that you are loved!

Daddy Cee and Bubby

Another local friend posted this on my profile wall thank you again:

I will be thinking about you and wishing you an awesome experience, cause that is what YOU give people...opportunities to be what they soooo want to be without fear. You have this admirable ability to help people in this community and your example is inspiring me to be Switzerland. ..the neutral party in Calgary...one without obligation or bias...maybe. ..if I try as hard as you have I can unite a community that should not be separated. I want that, because i am an outsider and i hate it. There is NO reason for people like us to hate. I have said it before...anyone that can accept diaper wearing adults can't be bad! There exists in this fetish the capacity to be better than societal norms. Physicality should never determine friendship _____________________________________________________________ **BULLYING/ BAD BEHAVIOR**:

Due to my past, I am extremely against bullying in all of its forms, and will not tolerate it.  I don't care if I have been friends with a person for 10 years or 10 days, I do not put up with anyone I know bullying others within any community. Please feel free to join the movement to end Bullying in all communities (Kinklepants) a good friend of mine has a campaign: (BULLYING IS BOGUS) show your support guys & girls by passing the word on and letting people know that we will not put up with this behavior within all communities & please know this behavior is not welcome in the AB/DL community! We are here to help each other and do positive things within the AB/DL community let’s work together to make an awesome SAFE AB/DL community where people can trust one another and have a blast in making friends & par-taking in local AB/DL events!

Please also know that it takes a lot to get me upset and if by any chance I have done something to upset you, please feel free to contact me and we can sort out the indifference out over coffee. I am on FetLife to make long term friends in the community, not enemies!

Something a good friend posted: When A Toxic / Bully person can no longer control you, they will try to control how others see you. The misinformation will feel it’s unfair. But stay above it, trusting that other people / friends will eventually see the truth like you did!  

This is so true guys!

I am who I am and those who don't like it are not worth my time or energy there is no one I’d rather be then myself because I am pretty awesome and I don't care who thinks otherwise because the only view that is important is how I view myself.

A quit from Oprah that inspires me within: What I know for sure is that speaking your truth is the most powerful tool we all have. --------------------------------------------------------------------- What dose AB & DL stand for: (Teddy version on those meanings)

AB stands for Adult Baby. A person over the age of 18 here in Alberta Canada may acting like a baby full time, part time or from time to time and under the age of 4 years old they my use a Diaper for just wet or pooping in, wear adult Baby like cloths, use a soother, use a adult baby bottle and may use other adult baby like stuff and have adult like baby future.  

A DL stands for Diaper Lover. A Diaper Lover may just like to wear a Diaper they may like to Pee and Poop in it and it may be sexually for them as well.

I hope this helps for all my amazing friends into Bondage, Flogging, Rope play & Spanking. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Goal’s for Teddy in 2018:

Teddy has simple goals I try not to set the bar to high I set realistic goals I also challenge myself in many areas (how can I do better) I do not want to be perfect but I like to do software upgrades each year on my life + having my best friend do an appraisal on you letting you know your weakness & strengths and where you can improve as a person is amazing to have happen. I’ve worked hard to improve many areas of my life I’m very proud of myself from 10 years ago to today how I have changed in so many positive ways!

Few 2018 goals work on:

My weight I plan to join a gym and work on this, budgeting another area I see work is needed, going out to more events to help the community grow in a positive way, making new friends with in the local community + painting more rooms in the townhouse & organize the office area. Those are just a few goals for 2018!     ---------------------------------------------------------------------        

Local Canadian Distributor for ABU Diapers in (Edmonton):

https://ca.abuniverse.com/

My best friend is the Canadian distributor for ABU Canadian I'm so proud of him for taking on this role so far his second year he is doing an outstanding job and he has also done some amazing art work for ABU again I’m very proud of my best friend keep it up! So all my Diaper friends in Canada please feel free to order your Diapers thru him and support a local Canadian AB/DL!

--------------------------------------------------------------------- **Conventions that Teddy attends throughout the year** Please also have a read of Teddy’s writings on CAPcon & TeddyCon.  

Fur Eh 2018 (Local Alberta Convention):

Teddy will be in Edmonton for Fur EH 2018 Thursday June 14 to Monday June 18th. I'm super excited about going to this Furry con a 3rd year in a row! Link to their web site: Http://www.fureh.ca/ Please have a look and hope to see you there! This con is close to a Hotel Takeover which is amazing to par take in nothing like it!         ________________________________________________________________

CAPcon (Chicago Age Players) Convention (Located in Chicago):

My pic was used on http://chicagoageplayers.tumblr.com/ to promote last (30) tickets for 2015 CAPcon. It was so much fun taking those pics and I felt very much honored that they used my pic!  

Each year I travel to Chicago to visit friends, Sightsee and go to CAPcon an Age Play Con / Diaper con. This Con has opened so many amazing doors for me awesome friendships! CAPcon is hosted in a private Hotel they keep the hotel location private so it's safe for everyone! At the con they have classes, Coloring area, Play area, Ball pit area, talent show and much much more! You can find the group / any info on here Fetlife: https://fetlife.com/groups/27245 & even more info on their web site: http://chicagoageplayers.com/. I would like to encourage all my friends in going to this con! I hope to see some of you at the 2018 CAPcon Hotel take over! This will be CAPcon first Hotel Takeover I’m excited to be a part of this!  

Chicago traveling dates for 2018 my 5th year going is: Wednesday March 22nd to the Monday March 27th ticket are on sale register: http://chicagoageplayers.com/ I go 2 days early to take my time to unwind get the lay of the hotel and get lots of sleep before the con! You get very little sleep during the con due to all the room parties & hanging out with friends as you only see them short time every year! Then after the con I love to sightseeing and visit AB/DL friends so I’m staying 1 day after the con is over to see Chicago! --------------------------------------------------------------------- **Teddy Con another amazing Age Play Convention in Allentown Pa.**

This fall I’m off to Teddy Con again my 3rd year going Tuesday Oct 09th 2018 to Tuesday Oct 16th. I'm excited about going to TeddyCon Hotel takeover Again that’s right they are taking over the Hotel Again! Being a part of this amazing con is magical! I see that 75% of my friends from CAPcon are going to Teddy Con Yayaya so it will be a blast for sure and I'm look forward to opening new doors meeting new AB/DLs for sure and volunteering! If you’re going I look forward to giving hugs / hanging out!

Link to their Fetlife page: https://fetlife.com/groups/75248 Link to their Fetlife event: https://fetlife.com/events/388602

I will also be doing the Annual (Great Canadian Pre Con AB/DL Room Party) I looking forward to this party! It will be: Wednesday Oct 10th roughly around 9PM to 1AM suit Room? I'll post room number once checked into hotel. Room party will be from 9pm to 1pm with music, finger foods, drinks & annual Great Canadian Game with awesome prizes: Canada Souvenirs, Diapers, Candy & T-shirts so on!     --------------------------------------------------------------------- **ALBERTA C.A.M.P. (Local Alberta Camp outing for AB/DL)**

The 13th year of the Alberta C.A.M.P. is coming in 2018 Friday July 20th to Sunday July 29th 2018 Group meal is on Saturday July 22st and July 29th. If you like more info on camp here's the link to the website: http://cadageplaymeetplay.ddns.net/ and fetlife group: https://fetlife.com/groups/141515. This camp is a great way to get out into the local Alberta Community and meet like minded AB/DLs, Biggs, Middles, Little’s, Moms, Daddy’s, Pups & Baby Furs. See yourself getting into little mode for 9 days in a private group camping site with little event’s planed each day + AB/DL prizes. I’m looking forward to seeing everyone! Registration will be opening soon please keep an eye on web site and I’ll be posting ads around Fetlife and other web site!             --------------------------------------------------------------------- **Little Scouts** First and only international Little Scouts group outside USA here in Calgary.

Teddy was horned when he was approached by other local kinksters to be an Officer of Little Scouts Troop #403 they said that they couldn’t think of anyone else more deserving for the job! This again has opened so many amazing doors / friendships for me! Teddy has helped in running events, Hosting events & setting up events I love it I’m being a positive role model within the community that I live in which is amazing feeling.

Link to Fetlife group: https://fetlife.com/groups/153690 Check that link for month events!     --------------------------------------------------------------------- **Local Munchies / events I go to and support:**

(Stitch & Bitch Sunday Bust Munch):

Guys I want to tell you about an amazing munch that I go to every Sunday. As my work week winds down to the weekend I so look forward to the Stitch & Bitch Sunday Bust Munch that goes from 2pm tell around 5pm to 6pm this happen each Sunday at Dickens Pub. The people that go there are super awesome and supportive this has opened so many amazing friendships / doors for me! Some people color, draw or work on Leather work most people eat and talking about whatever! It’s a great way to open new friendships I encourage everyone to go once I’m sure you’ll you come back! Thank you to all my friends from the (Stitch & Bitch Sunday Bust Munch) you guys rocked my world! Big hugs! --------------------------------------------------------------------- C.L.I.T.O.R.I.S North Munch:

Another munch that I go to is C.L.I.T.O.R.I.S North Munch this has been awesome munch! This munch is every 2nd Wednesday of the month at Tipperary’s Pub on 16 ave and 19st starts at 7pm I look forward to seeing you there! Link to the event is https://fetlife.com/events/357053 there is all the info there if you need more info! --------------------------------------------------------------------- Kinky Karaoke: This event happens each month at a place called: CAPC (Calgary's Adult Playground Club) it's loads of fun! If you want more info about this event go to: Fetlife under events. --------------------------------------------------------------------- CCSPC another local place that holds event’s in the Calgary area https://fetlife.com/groups/145722 and web site http://ccspc.ca/ I encourage all my friends to check out their web site and Fetlife page it’s a great way to get out and partake in events ever weekend. ---------------------------------------------------------------------   **About Me:**

I'm currently in an open but loving relationship with Tobytigercub for 5 years +. I've known I was gay for well over 30 years and I've not only come to accept it as part of which I am, but also learned to embrace it. Being gay in today's society has had its' hardships, but I feel that these hardships have helped me to become a better person.  

Over the past year I’ve been going thru a software upgrade on my life! I’m working hard to lose weight, keeping myself on budget and few other goals and travelling! Last year we moved into a new town house this has been awesome thanks to my family, Vanilla and many AB/DL friends that have been there in helping us over the year! You guys rock and we don't know what we would have done without you guys!!! Town House has way more space and the renovations we did the whole upstairs looks awesome! With a biggie space I can host a lot more Diapered movie nights and slumber parties.  

My goal is simple I know not everyone is going to like each here in the community but I can open my door create a safe space for AB/DLs to come over enjoy them self. I know it’s not easy some AB/DLs still live at home and can't wear at home with family around so they are welcome to come here diaper up hang out have a great time and knowing they are not going to be judge or teased about whatever they are into and knowing they can trust us as we always respect their space and with party's I host! I always hope friends meet other friends and always have a great time with what every event my friends are partaking in is always a win win for us!! I know as Mister positive in the community & always going the extra mile where we can help and do + friends know they can come over and set on the coach and we will listen give a hugs or just be there for them!! I’ve helped a lot of locals out over the many many years even at 3am I’ve had friends over crying sometimes all they just need is a hug Coffee & a diaper!  

Doing positive things in the community for Strangers, friends and family is always A+! I.E. helping out with ab/dl / Furry events or just helping out a good friend. Doing positive things so feel awesome! We would like to challenge everyone to do the same it's a WIN WIN for you and in the end you'll feel awesome!    

I have friends all over the world we again we are always doing positive things within the Kink community local or somewhere in the world that's very important to us and my friends & family 100%!!! Here my group of locals friends we help each there out whether it's oops I ran out of diapers and can I brow some diapers tell I get some in or trade so I can try that new diaper. It's positive feel knowing I’m always willing to help out a friend or stranger! We also have a lot of new friendships that have started over the last year and it's been just awesome getting to know you guys!  Once again you guys make me feel like I've won the lotto each and every day thank you!

I value my friends in the highest degree, as they are what keep me strong when times get tough.  I have an excellent group of friends that are always there for me, whether the times are good or bad.  They mean the world to me and I will love them, defend them, and enjoy every bit of my time spent with them. I’m proud of each and everyone one of you and you know who you are!

Family is also very important to me.  Without my parents, two half brothers, and aunt/uncle, I don't know where I would be today.  Lots of hugs to them for always being there for me!  I enjoy hosting family dinners and spending time with them!  Over the past 3 years I've lost three very important people in my life: my grandmother, my grandfather, and my aunt.  These people have helped me to become the person that I am proud to be today, and they will always be remembered in my heart. Also I’m dealing with my dad as he has Stage #4 Cancer and is a Care place within a few months we are told he my go. One never knows exact date someone will die and no matter how I be pair for this it’s hard for me. We sold his car other day I cried broke down crazy how selling a car can do that. When his day comes I need all the hugs I can get! I go and visit with him every 2 days I want to send as much time as I can before he goes!      

Music is a big part of my life.  It creates memories and fun times, and can remind you of people or events from your past or present.  I actually have a song for each of my friends that make me think of them whenever I hear it. Music makes me happy! In the last 6 months I found this amazing online website called (Radio Tunes) it has over 81 Channels of free music to choose from! My favorite channel is 80s Dance, but I like to listen to anything.

There web site is: http://www.radiotunes.com    

**WHAT I’M LOOKING FOR:**

I'm not looking for another serious relationship, as I am happily in love with Tobytigercub.  What I "am" looking for is new friends, new experiences, and lots of fun.  I am open to a friend’s-with-benefits sort of scenario, but I would like to emphasize that Tobytigercub is my one and only boyfriend. --------------------------------------------------------------------- MY KINKS:  I love clean, wet, and messy diapers, as well as changing and being changed by other people.  I also enjoy bondage, sports gear (mostly Football and Hockey), water sports, spanking.  

Things I'm interested in trying are dressing up as a sissy, sensory deprivation and orgy. --------------------------------------------------------------------- WEB SITE I’M ON:

My Tumblr is: http://greatcanadianteddybear.tumblr.com/ ---------------------------------------------------------------------

Thanks for reading my profile look forward to hearing from you!  Hugs Teddy

[jm-ph-2-3]

The "Hustle Paradox" Part 1: Are we really working hard? or are we hard working? 

An essay by Morgan Adriano

               Disclaimer: This is just my current perspective on the "hustle culture" and it's influence on us both positive and negative. Please take this with a grain of salt. I do not consider myself as part of the "woke" people because this is just a piece about my current reflections, observations and perspective about the topic. I am not part of the so called minimalists, essentialists, nihilist, communists, stoicist, vegetarianist, crossfitits (oops) Or any -ist out there. I'm just speaking from what I recently accrued from the different perspectives (albeit meager in number) and experiences. This is not a piece in which to condemn, criticise and judge those who are in it and support the idea that we should never work hard. But rather this piece was made with the intention to take another view and challenge the message in which we have been oversaturated within culture and mass media and to promote a better mindset.  So learn what you can and apply what you must and throw what is unnecessary in the trash can. This may resonate with you and/or offend you at the same time. So................ just take a chill pill bro. Its just an opinion.                                                                                                                                       -Now you maybe thinking: "Why the title. I don't understand it. Working hard is good? right?" and so I thought. Well the title was made to look nice, coherent and "proper". But it really translates to: are we working hard for our own or our goal's sake or are we just portraying an image that make us seem like we are hard working?                                                               

Join me, as you the reader, and I both immerse ourselves in my sub-par writing skills filled with grammatical errors and sickening amount of pop-culture references and into my deep dark revealing thoughts on "HUSTLE"              

*Initiate X-files theme. Which I haven’t really watched and just heard it in different memes so... ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HQoRXhS7vlU                                                                        

We are constantly bombarded with messages (From celebrities, leaders, entrepreneurs, sports icons (Shout out to the Last Dance Documentary because that was sick), public figures etc.), podcasts, motivational youtube videos, music, movies, books and etc. on why must working hard constantly 24/7/365 (Inspired by the surfaces' song. LOL). We should wake up at 4am, sleep less because sleep is for the weak, no breaks because your opponent's winning when you take a break, slave yourself to your work, work in more and hang out less. We are so absorbed to the idea that we post stories about how hardworking we are by taking pictures of your work station or the book we just read or tweet that we working in the weekends #NoVacay #WorkHard #Hustle #GrindLife . And to be completely candid with you, I was that person that I am currently describing. So heavily invested with the idea of working hard than anybody else, sacrificing my sleep, nutrition, health and my well-being for that idea. Would flex the things I’m currently doing/working on or flex so hard about how hard I’m training that it eventually ripped my shorts in the gym (Yes, this actually happened and No, nobody was their to see it. But you know what Barney said: “Whatever you do in this life, it’s not legendary unless your friends are there to see it.” So I gotta post that *curse word* to git meh sum layks and let dem now that it happened). This is true from high school through college and through my first year working. Take it from a guy (Here comes the bragging and his big  fat obnoxious ego) who was able to get into provincial level competition in football and almost got into the country's amateur league (Having a jersey counts!!!>_<), studied in one of the prestigious schools in the country and graduated with latin honours. (And you may say to yourself: Wow what a pretentious arse.... HAHAHAHA.......... Aaaand you're right.) But if you stripped down everything, I just wanted to show everybody that I am  a "hardworker". I want them notice how hard I studied, worked, trained not for something but just for the sake for it. It was actually overcompensating for something. And I may say this cliche statement that: "No BrO, I dO iT FoR tHe lOvE Of ThE PrOCeSs nOt The AwArdS, ThE rEcoGnITioN anD thE mOnEy" (Imagine the spongebob meme please to make it more funny). I learned this the hard way and I'm still learning, to be honest. This "lie" that you (I) tell yourself (myself) can only help you go so far to the point you reach what I call the "wall" (I would like to reference the scene from Run Fat Boy Run where Simon Pegg's Character: Dennis hits this runner’s wall)(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6pttqFUviWs).                                                                                                                                                          -But this wall that I am describing is a different kind of wall. This may manifest by symptoms of pseudo burnout (I say pseudo because you are not really tired of what your doing something you love but you're tired of presenting your self as such frame/image). And yes this has been proven in the literature in a paper recently published this year (2020) by Dr. Nadir and colleagues from the Greendale Community College (Yes, this is obviously a joke: if you don’t get the reference. #sixseasonsandamovie and No, there is no published paper on said topic but I found one blog/rant and paper that “almost” discussed the topic hahaha!)

Blog/rant: https://dwighttowers.wordpress.com/2012/06/23/rant-burnout-and-pseudo-burnout/

Paper: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6587911/

             This wall can force you to either: Quit or Reframe.                          

1. Let's say you took the first one: You quit. You say: "Nah man this thing is not for me. I will go and show that I'm "hard working" at something else. You blame the field, you blame the system, you blame society. BECAUSE WE LIVE IN A SOCIETY (youtube.com/watch?v=UkhC0caZRNU)                                              

 2. Or you reframe: You reset your mind, allow yourself to become vulnerable, let your ego be destroyed, crushed, tortured, mutilated and be stripped down to its bare nakedness.(Sorry for the imagery: The ego is really a big pain in the butt. You can learn more thru the book: Ego Is The Enemy by Ryan Holiday which I highly recommend even though I haven't read HAHAHA! But it's in my "next reading list" so don't worry). You just let everything be stripped down to it's bare chassis and look what are the components that make you (What's the engine?, the tires?, the brakes? the interior?). What are you showing to the outside word? What are the driving motives? What kind of person are you? Who are you? (Please let me reference the most funniest scene in flim: Rush Hour 3 The You? Me? Him?) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OAVnOz7i-JA) Scary introspective stuff right? hahaha!                                                                                                                                                                                                  -But kidding aside, it really helps that you. Yes you! recognise it as early as now. Don't wait for anybody to calling it out for you (which rarely happens if they are with agreeable people or just really don't care about you) or worse, waiting for that wall to hit you right in the face. Don't be like me (WOW such "inspiration” )  "BEFORE". It all boils down what YOU really want in life and WHO you are living for. The praise of others? or just you? (Sheesh this sounds too guru-y)                                                                                                                                                                                 -With all this talk about how this "hustle" culture, you may think that I just hate the process or I am not committed to it or I am just ungrateful privileged brat who should keep his thoughts and ideas to himself and keep my head down and put skin in the game. So my rebuttal to that is: Okay boomer... LOL Kidding aside, I did think about that but you must understand that I WAS part of the culture of hustle. I craved to be in a library or a coffee shop with my laptop and study or researched away with a good cup of iced americano with a shot of mocha and  breve milk (Look at this entitled brat and his expensive coffee). I would run on 3-4 hours of sleep from staying up late "studying" (Actually have 3 youtube breaks- related to my field and 4-8 youtube breaks about cars, music reviews, overanalysing movies and productivity tips) (How Ironic). I would spend hours and hours doing “hard work”. But the question is was it effective? Was it helping me inch closer to my goals? We have long fetishised the idea of becoming busy just because other people are doing it or to show ourselves in a particular way.                                                                                                         -You see what I am aiming here is the issue of the heart.  What are the underlying motives of why you are doing these things. And this can be encapsulated simply by the most used cliche that I think most of you have heard in mainstream media , especially from Eric Thomas' motivational clips (Usually listened to this before work or a competition: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5XIGu3Kxg2I): HWAT IS YO WAAAI?                                     (Obviously read: Start With Why by Simon Sinek. Great book!).                                                                                                                                                      -To quote scripture from the gospel of Matthew 6:21 = "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.". This is such a crucial part of knowing yourself. I can't stress this enough for myself. Where it comes from, determines when it runs out. Whatever you put your priority in or in other words; where you put your heart in, thats what controls your joy. So whats controlling your joy?                                                                                                        -And to conclude: I myself, am not saying that working hard is inherently bad. Working hard allows us to get out of the ashes of debt, failure and pain. Working hard helped birth new inventions, innovations, great people, leaders, visionaries that inspire us to do the same. And this piece does not serve as a jail pass card to be lackadaisical slumps. And eventually you may have the audacity to blame me why you didn't get where you want or what you want in life. So please don't hahaha. 

We all have responsibilities in life. And it is something we must accept (Especially as I and probably most of you Gen Z'ers or post-millenials reading this essay enter *gulp "adulthood") [It's post-millennial or Gen Z not "millennial". C'mon cuh get yo facts straight]. We have a responsibility to our world, our nation, our society, our community, our friends, our family, ourselves. But also our future selves, family, friends, community, society, nation and world. If that doesn't give you perspective then I don't know what will. It is the matter of mindset. When you have a proper mindset plus the direction then hard work and ambition can be used as a tremendous tool for success. But if you allow your mindset to get out of whack and lose direction then hard work and ambition can consume you which will leave you stuck in a never ending race and feel unfulfilled with what you’re working on 

 -For a profound ending: Maybe this is why COVID-19 had to happen, (By the way, I am by no means downplaying the affect of this pandemic has in our lives and the lives of others. This is just a personal reflection so don't get triggered and "cancelledt" me) we have become so self-absorbed with things that don't even matter. The misguided things and narratives that we tell ourselves. Which leads us being irresponsible and unaware of the state and condition of our hearts. And hopefully, may this period may give us the opportunity to try again. To give it another go. Another crack at it.

 So before embarking on your 4 hour deep focus study/work/train/mastery session (With some "lofi hip hop radio - beats to relax/study to" blasting in the background and a aromatic cup of coffee), ask yourself?      Why?........tho.......                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Thank you again friend, for dedicating this short time of your "busy?" or "working?" day hahaha! to read this essay. I had fun writing (*Cough typing because my handwriting still sucks) this piece. Which is evident with the references hehe. Although there are some points I haven’t explored because this topic is pretty wide and controversial I bet so stay tuned for part 2 of this 2 part essay. I hope this piece resonates with you as it resonates with me and helps you become more aware and more mindful. However, if you disagree with all my sentiments, thats great! More power to you! We have to understand that everybody's circumstance is different. We live very different lives. We have very different backgrounds, ideas and experiences. We live in very different “seasons”! We learn different things in different time periods. This was maybe my time to learn this and maybe not the best time for you. Let us not fight but rather collaborate in this continuous pursuit of clarity and the navigation of this journey we are all partaking in. Please do message me if you want so we can talk and discuss more (not argue! HAHAHA) So that I may learn from you and your views as well. Cheers my friend!