#Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah

[chwedout]

my legs are divorcing

[blurbery]

💗 you’re my heart shaker - shaker! 💗

[idciminlove]

Take a Slice

Part Two - Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah

f!reader x Tashi Duncan x Art Donaldson x Patrick Zweig

Cinnamonacid on AO3

warnings- age gap, inaccurate tennis stuff, performance anxiety, etc.

You have an audience at the final match.

Song inspo: Yeah x10 - Challengers soundtrack

𝙽𝙲𝙰𝙰 𝚆𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚗'𝚜 𝚃𝚎𝚗𝚗𝚒𝚜 𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚖𝚙𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚜𝚑𝚒𝚙 𝙵𝚒𝚗𝚊𝚕𝚜

𝙵𝚒𝚗𝚊𝚕 𝙼𝚊𝚝𝚌𝚑

You took a deep breath, preparing to enter the court. This was it. The final match of the NCAA tournament and your chance to win it all.

Your opponent was a senior from Stanford who had won the championship last year. She had much more experience and talent. Everyone’s expecting her to win. For some reason, that made you a lot less nervous. All the pressure was on her, after all. And you’ve always liked being the underdog.

Your coach patted your back, murmuring words of encouragement to you. The next thing you knew, you were walking onto the court, hearing your name announced.

There were so many people there, it was overwhelming. You let your eyes fall to the crowd, plastering on a smile despite how your heart was racing, and your chest felt all tight, like you couldn’t breathe. Tashi was watching. She had to be.

You put your racket bag down, zipping it open and taking a deep breath. She won’t be watching you. She won’t be rooting for you. No one expects you to win this. They don’t matter.

There’s only two people you’re winning this match for. Your mother who worked constantly not only to get by, but to provide for you and scrape together enough to pay for your lessons. Who stood by you and did everything she could for you. While she wasn’t watching in the crowd, you knew she was watching on TV. You made sure to wave to the camera, making a little heart with your hands.

You sauntered onto the court, stretching your legs, and getting into position. You took a deep breath, feeling your trembling hands clench the racket.

Breathe..Just breathe. You reminded yourself, letting your eyes fall to the most important person there. Annalise. She’s your motivation, your will, your everything. You weren’t able to win doubles with her, so you at least owe her this much.

She smiled at you, giving you a thumbs up. You grinned back. I’ll win for you, sweet girl.

–

You were reminding Tashi of Patrick with how much you were grinning. You were practically beaming with every serve you returned, every point you scored, and every hit against the ball. It made sense. You had nothing to lose. No one expected you to get this far. Not after that injury or the low tier school you were playing for. All the pressure was on her. You knew that, and you were using it against her.

It was brilliant. Brilliant, beautiful, and bright, just like you. Just like the match that was being played out before her. It had been so long since Tashi had seen such fire and ambition in anyone. Not only were you pushing yourself, but you were pushing your opponent, making her compete and forcing her hand. You were showing her that she was no longer on top, that she had to fight tooth and nail if she wanted to win. And if you were going to go down, you’d go down swinging.

Tashi moved her head back and forth, her eyes following the ball. She watched as you sprinted, jumped and even slid on the court to keep the ball in, she listened to your pretty little grunts and groans, studying your hits. Your fronthand, your backhand, analyzing everything she could. She could feel her heart racing, adrenaline and dopamine rushing through her. She could see herself in you, and for a moment, just a moment, it felt like she was playing again.

–

𝙼𝚊𝚝𝚌𝚑 𝙿𝚘𝚒𝚗𝚝

Sweat trickled down your nose. You were soaked. Not only from the California heat, but from how hard you’ve pushed yourself. Your arms were aching, your fingers stung from how hard you gripped the racket, and your knees were skinned from the few times you slid to save the ball. But that didn’t matter. What mattered was that you were about to win. It had been close all game, with the both of you neck and neck in winning points and sets, but you had finally scored the match point, and it was your serve.

You ran your tongue over your teeth, bouncing the ball as you debated on where to hit it. You smiled at your opponent one last time, before you threw the ball in the air and raised your racket in the air, hitting the ball as hard as you could. You readied yourself, watching as the girl chased after the ball, before it changed direction and bounced past her.

You paused in shock, realizing that you had actually won. Then, for the first time in the tournament, you let yourself find her in the crowd. There she was, the one and only Tashi Duncan, sitting at the center of the row at the edge of her seat, her sunglasses slightly falling down her nose. You couldn’t help but smile.

The eye contact you two made only lasted for a moment, because the next thing you knew, your teammates had jumped over the stands and were now rushing over to you. Annaliese was the first, throwing her arms around you, the rest of them following suit.

Holy shit. You did it. You actually won.

–

Art agreed with Tashi. You were very talented. He also agreed with Patrick that you were a pretty thing, running around in that too tight tennis skirt, but there was something about being here that made him feel bad. Maybe it was because the last time he had watched a women’s tennis match here, it ended with Tashi on the ground, sobbing and clutching her knee. Maybe it was the guilt he felt.

But why was he guilty? He didn’t know. It could be because he wasn’t as enthusiastic to be here, after swearing off tennis years ago, and no matter how intriguing or tempting you may be, he refused to let himself get drawn in. Or it could be how he had given up all his morals and previous views on marriage and family to finally accept the truth. Was this another truth he was refusing to accept? That he wanted this young woman he hardly knew?

No. He couldn’t. He shouldn’t. But as you scored that final point, he looked over at the two sitting beside him, and he knew he was fucked. Tashi was on the edge of her seat, digging her nails into the arms of her chair, lips parted, chest heaving, a hungry look in her eyes, and Patrick was slumped back, thighs spread, undoubtedly hard.

Art felt his heart racing, a tent growing in his pants as well. Fuck.

–

It wasn’t until half the stands were cleared and you were escorted away that Tashi moved, getting to her feet and grabbing her bag. Art straightened up, gazing over at her. “Where are you going?”

“To get her number.”

[jazeswhbhaven]

ALSO

@blkkizzat kali baeeeee our man has a new cardddddddd

(using this gif cause their reactions are perfect and I love this movie series lol)

[anextravagantliar]

okay, the hot take tonight is Cole, and sorry, my two dads - are actually BOTH projecting on Cole. Cole is actually stable and fine as he is, but it is the neurosis below that ekes. so there is no right answer - there is the answer of what varric thinks and the answer of what Solas thinks, but not Cole

[welcome-to-green-hills]

I know what that spoiler your glad they didn’t show is 😈

I mean… DERP!🤩

[fiddleabout]

i have always said i love var obviously

[afterlife-2004]

[doa-rose]

Horse Land “Scarlet tries heroin” episode

[anais-mirliaz]

frolicking with mama :)

[hug-your-face]

via @swatercolour here on Tumblr and also on [insta]

EDIT: I do not interpret "just managing" as "just suffering, just enduring, curling into a fetal position and waiting for it to be over." Managing is an active process.

So I'm using this post as a platform to make the reminder that "the power of the people is greater than the people in power," and we all are cordially invited to:

Take good care of ourselves. Mental, physical, emotional health. Hydrate. Move if we can, get outside if we can.

Keep up a routine. Remember quarantine and we all had to find a routine? This is the same.

Be intentional in our news consumption. Let's not stick our heads in the sand but let's not doomscroll either. Get an RSS aggregator. Subscribe to WTF Just Happened Today, Yoour Local Epidemiologist, Fix The News (for some inspiring hopeful news!). We'll check our feeds a few times a week, but no more than once a day.

Connect with friends and loved ones. Remind ourselves that while SOME people are horrible, for the most part people are awesome... if complicated. Share our fears but also our hopes. Eat together.

Now that we're keeping healthy, safe, sane, and hopeful... now we also fight. Quietly if we prefer, loudly if we prefer. But sustainably. I hate that I had to live through three rounds of this nonsense where a few people use half of us as tools to fuck over ALL of us, but here we are again. So let us take just one moment every week or so to...

Use 5calls to keep blowing up our reps phones. Tell them to either break ranks with the Orange Administration, or to stand up louder than just matching outfits and signs. Or to THANK them for standing up.

Use Vote411 to find elections before the midterms. A lot of villages, cities, townships etc have local elections that will affect where we live... and more importantly, the people in office there will affect things upwards too.

Use Ballotpedia to know exactly what's on our ballots ahead of time.

Protest, because it actually works.

Use Vote.org to make a plan to vote in the midterms. Make a plan that is immune to voter suppression tactics. Get our documents in order. Reach out to our friends to go to the polls as a group. Plan to livestream our visit, up until the point we have to turn our cameras off.

Make and share memes that promote hope, organizing, solidarity, and/or resistance.

Get involved with an action network like Indivisible, MoveOn, or Working Families Party.

Go to a local town hall meeting. Speak up.

Heck, start our own local activism networks, letter campaigns, call campaigns, or fundraisers with Action Network.

And we will remember our self-care. We will remind ourselves and each other that they want us scattered, focus is how we resist.

It IS coming back. Things ARE going to get worse. The world has become a place where a very few people are pulling levers and pushing buttons that are actively destroying much of what is good about living in a society where people care for each other.

Many others are in shock, sputtering "but can they do that?" MANY many others are waiting for someone to come save us.

But there are those who are actively, loudly, opposing.

And there are more people speaking up, acting up, every day. More people saying it's time to get scrappy. It's time to get into some good trouble. The shock is wearing off.

Yes, it's gonna get worse before it gets better (the long-term damage of the acts of the past momentum of all the damage that has been done will take that long to be felt -- but it WILL get better.

If WE will it.

[lovely-v]

It’s crazy and fucked up that being yourself is actually the solution.

[teaboot]

Yeah Mr. Darcy’s proposal was a complete turd and a half but you gotta understand. You got your life together. A good career, stable income, retirement plan, all that shit together. And you meet this girl. And she’s everything. Clever, outspoken, funny, calls you on your bullshit. Grade A cutie, right? And she doesn’t go out of her way to spend time with you but she’s nice, and sometimes you catch her looking your way in a way that makes you think you might have a shot.

But her family. Holy shit.

First off, it’s p much ALL women, and mostly UNMARRIED women, which at this time means of something happens to her dad then you’re financially responsible for like. Four grown ass adults, potentially forever

Because mom in law is DEFINITELY gonna need someone to take care of her when dad in law kicks it, and they have like. NO money. So already you’re accepting that if all goes well, you’re gonna be one random old bag’s retirement home. That’s expensive and exhausting, yeah? Imagine asking someone on a first date knowing that if they say yes and things go good her high-strung chihuahua mother is gonna move in with you. IMAGINE.

And girly’s other sisters. Well, one is a sweetheart, yeah, so she probably won’t be an issue, but that still leaves three more, and two of those ones are INSUFFERABLE. Never went to school, dumb as rocks, spend cash like it’s toilet paper

And while one of the two is young still and might grow out of it the OTHER one is actively torpedo’ing her entire family’s reputation by wandering off with random dudes and chasing ass. She’s never gonna work, she can’t build connections, she’s a fucking sinkhole, and she’s being led on by the same goddamn con man ass leeching tit who’s been bleeding you dry while telling anyone who’ll listen that your family is full of ratty thieving bastards.

And if he dumps her after a week- WHICH YOU KNOW HIS BITCH ASS IS GONNA- you’ve got a SECOND UNMARRIABLE GROWN ASS ADULT TO PROVIDE FOR. And you KNOW she’s gonna be a tantrum-throwing little shit about it, and it’s not like you can lock her in the basement or something, you’re gonna have to bring her fucking. Everywhere. And give her an allowance and shit while she contributes zero, because again, she NEVER GOT EDUCATED AND HAS NO MARKETABLE SKILLS. She’s not even good to TALK to. FUCK

And you’re looking at this girl’s father like “please for the love of fuck get your spawn under control, marry them off, get them working on their résumé, learning to sew or be nursemaids or manage staff or SOMETHING, yall got no money and one foot in the grave” and that old man just laughs like “haha yeah, what can you do. lol”

So you’re looking to the mom and finally it’s making sense how she got that twitch in her eye and as MUCH as she is you’re starting to realize she’s the SMART one, desperately throwing her armloads of girls at random men like they’re a bunch of fucking lifeboats bobbing around a sinking ship, like yes Jesus Christ sweetly that life boat IS old and ugly and kind of boring but for FUCKS SAKE PICK ONE

And you look back at this girl who is ALSO REFUSING THE LIFE BOATS BY THE WAY and god damn it she’s still the most radiant thing you’ve ever seen so fine, fuck it, Christ alive, you’ll do it. You’ll shoot your shot. She’s everything you’ve ever wanted in anybody abut it’s not even just about that anymore, it’s about being her best fucking shot at a future, and even if she doesn’t like you all that much she’s still gonna say yes and that might break your heart a bit knowing it’s about the money but who knows, maybe it will at least be civil, or companionable, and even if she doesn’t LOVE you at least you’ll know she’s well and cared for

And so you’ll do it. You’ll take on the neurotic stress mess mother in law, the absent father, the broke ass wingnut no brain no money no future airhead sisters, the bad mannered relatives and the embarrassing behaviour and the impending future of sharing your entire shit with a clown parade of freeloaders, you’ll risk it all and accept the absolute certainty of financial ruin and emotional exhaustion for the rest of your whole ass life and you’ll make your own family deal with it too, you’ll do it, you’ll fucking DO IT, you stupid lovesick motherfucker

And so you go to this chick like “look. Your whole family’s a shitshow. You’ve got fucking nothing and you’re gonna die on the street. But for some reason- and I don’t get it either- I’ve fallen in love with you, and I wish I didn’t, but I did, so I’m telling you that whether you like me or not, I’ll give you everything. I’ll give you everything even if it’s the dumbest shit I ever done. Fuck my stupid Baka ass, I’ll marry you.”

And she looks at you- having heard or considered absolutely none of your months-long internal debate and monologue- and goes “The fuck did you just say about my family, you son of a bitch?”

And the shock of that is enough to jolt you back into a reality where you are able to actually hear and process what just came out of your damn mouth And yeah

Yeah, I think I kinda get it

[scribefindegil]

Everyone is so weird about people who cry easily. Fellas, is it evil and manipulative to *checks notes* have an involuntary stress response?

[drizzledrawings]

I love when platonic love and romantic love is so blurred that it doesn’t even matter anymore. All that matters is the devotion that’s there, the unwavering devotion