#i couldn't take it during rep and that was just about whether or not you deserved to be a FAN because of an album concept

[whiskeyswifty]

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[anystalker707]

Him with an s/o who works out (Zoro / Sanji / Ace)

Pairings: Roronoa Zoro x [gender neutral] Reader Vinsmoke Sanji x [gender neutral] Reader Portgas D. Ace x [gender neutral] Reader Summary: Headcanons for how he acts about you working out cuz you wanna be strong too !! Tags: Zoro is a cool gym bro / Squeezing Zoro's tit / Sanji is a simp ! / Sanji knows nothing but he's excited / Ace is lazy af / Take care of Ace / Really tiny bits of suggestive content, nothing clear or relevant

A/N: as a gym rat, i couldn't help but write this

MASTERLIST

࿐ Roronoa Zoro

• Working out with Zoro goes two ways, basically with it shifting between who's going to lead the session since you two like to train together, but not always have the same routine—it can be both entertaining or torturing

• With Zoro, he’ll focus more on training his upper body despite not neglecting leg day (thankfully), so expect calloused hands plus barely being able to use your arms right after you finish working out—Zoro uses it as an excuse for not fucking showering, but you’re not letting that happen, not under your watch

• Being weak from tiredness also has Sanji offering to feed you since you can’t overload yourself, but he will stop as soon as Zoro says he either leaves or feeds him as well, so Sanji doesn’t risk

• Probably a lot of mobility exercises as well, and it has both of you quietly counting in unison as you stretch/practice in sync, which once had Chopper hypnotized in the corner as he watched the two of you count together to ten before changing positions and repeating it

• He will always be adding more weight because he knows you can handle it and, in the back of his mind, he doesn’t want to feel guilty if something happens to you because he couldn’t help you become strong enough. So, even if he’s really careful about you, he’ll always be sneaking on an extra plate if you don’t pay attention

• “Zoro, I saw what you did...” “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” “Zoro...” “You’re going crazy.”

• Very good spotter. Has fast reflexes, hence if the bar threatens to slip during benching, he’ll hold it straight away, but not without complaining about you being more careful (you’ll either start bickering or you’ll send him a glare that’ll make him shut up immediately

• Will want you to sit on his back so he can do push ups, and it’s amazing how he does it as if you weren’t there. Simple thing, but very bonding, honestly

“I’m not gonna handle it! Not yet!” You furrowed your eyebrows, watching upside down-Zoro raise an eyebrow at you as he held some plates in hand that, by your math, would result in more weight added to the bar than you’d asked for.

“Yes, you are!” Zoro nodded with a hum. “Your performance is perfect already and you can go up to 12 reps, that means you’re ready for more weight.”

You narrowed your eyes at him. “That’s not— Just... no.”

Zoro rolled his eyes with a sigh and stepped back. “Okay, fine, fine.”

Shaking your head, you pretended not to notice the soft clinking of the plates that he did add to the bar. Yes, he was right, but you felt like waiting a little longer until you could actually progress, but it wouldn’t hurt to try, even more with him spotting. The new weight was evident when you raised the bar off the rack after a couple of minutes determining whether your hands were in symmetric positions or not, and he carefully let you hold it by yourself. Nonetheless, you could manage to finish 8 reps

“Atta (girl/boy)!” He grinned while helping you rerack the bar. You shot him a look, which he of course pretended not to notice.

The second series wasn’t as fine since your muscles were already complaining by the end. Maybe it still left you enough energy for one more. Or not. By the middle of the third series, the weight had your muscles locked for a couple of seconds before you pushed the bar, and Zoro’s hands immediately showed up besides yours, only hovering over the metal.

“C’mon, only four to go! Four, three...”

A hiss escaped your lips at how your muscles threatened to give up, though only losing balance considerably because Zoro’s desperation startled you and dispersed your focus. “Zoro!” You groaned, lifting the bar to rerack it so you could sit up and glare at him. “I already told you I’m not dropping the bar just because I took a little longer to lift it!”

“Better safe than sorry, dumbass!” He clicked his tongue, crossing his arms—stubborn asshole.

“‘Wouldn’t be so difficult if someone hadn’t racked some extra pounds.” Your eyes narrowed at him, able to catch on how he widened his eyes and tensed his shoulders despite trying to hide it. “I’m going to add 100 extra pounds to your leg press tomorrow and we’re doing ten extra minutes of cardio!” His mouth opened and closed a couple of times as he tried to argue, only to fall silent with a big pout at the way you looked at him, despite still scowling.

• As much as you may not like it as well, you usually have cardio days when you’re the responsible one for the day

• “We don’t need cardio. It won’t make you stronger.” “You literally need it a lot, Zoro. We are always running around. Remember back in Skypiea when Enel—” “...Okay, okay, I understand.”

• You’ll be just as rigorous with him when it comes to spotting or checking his performance

• A few squeezes on his ass can help him when he’s struggling a little too much with his squats, even if he complains a little and insists that his face is red because of working out and not because you’re groping him

• “...(Y/n).” “Mind to muscle connection is important, I’m touching the muscle to show you what you’re working.” “You’re straight up just groping my tit.” “Shut the fuck up?? I’m just doing my job??”

• He does like it tho—he’ll feel like something is missing and complain that you aren’t paying proper attention to him when you’re not following every movement of his and touching him the whole time

• Bonus for slapping his ass in the “good job, bro” way in the end of the sessions

• “My quads hurt.” “Mine don’t.” “You didn’t train hard enough, that’s why.” "Shut up, Marimo!”

• “My ass hurts, but not in the way I want it to.” “...I can... um, change that?” Zoro says matter-of-factly.

• Careful with what your sparring sessions can turn into. It can be either very good or very bad.

• Also, challenges as in “can you bench/deadlift/pushup each other?” and sometimes he’ll carry you by having you sit on his shoulder and— fuck, what a man, really

“Last one, Zoro! Go low!” You cheered once he took a pause a few seconds longer than usual, extra carefully following his squat while you stood right behind him with your hands hovering under the bar, right next to his hands. “C’mon, strong boy!” He went down, but wouldn’t come up; grumbling escaped through his gritted teeth, something among the lines of ‘if it were so easy...’, but you didn’t even bother catching on to all of it. “I said c’mon!” Your hands met his ass with strength enough to have him standing up real fast.

“(Y/n)!” Zoro shouted, messily dropping the bar as fast as he could to turn back and glare at you; it wasn’t that effective, not like he wished, with that red flustered face.

.𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟.

࿐ Vinsmoke Sanji

• Waking up early in the morning along with Sanji so you can work out !! He’ll be happy to prepare you a breakfast that’ll give you all the energy you need to start your day the right way

• Can and will come to watch you train at the crow’s nest if he has time, just the biggest simp that’ll have nosebleeds every five seconds and observe you as if you were some sort of deity

• At first complained on ‘why do you have to train with stupid Marimo’, but got pretty pleased when he saw you are able to kick Zoro’s ass during a sparring match, so from now on he is all giddy and proud of it, no matter what you say

• Will prepare your meals to make sure they have all the protein you need and remind you to eat before and after working out <3 taking care of the love of his life gives him so much serotonin

• Something. There’s something about watching you lift weights that has Sanji all flustered and melting and simping real hard. Knowing his s/o is strong—strong enough to carry him, even—has him all mushy and soft. Sometimes he’ll be lying down on the ground for a little too long so you can lift him and he can act like he’s the best person in the world for having you carrying him like that

• Also when you throw him over your shoulder. He’ll scream

• He’d also be very proud his s/o is able to defend themself <3 you can give him a punch in the face anytime and he’d just thank you. kick him, too. please. you wouldn’t have the courage to, tho. maybe just slap his ass sometimes to keep him humble and happy because he needs it

• Don’t. Don’t ask him to spot you or check your performance.

• “Was my performance okay?” “Uhhh, yeah....” (Sanji just stared at your ass or your chest the whole time </3 better ask Zoro next time

• If you wanna break him, ask him to feel the muscle you’re working during chest or thigh series

• Do ask him to help you stretch, by the way. Sanji will be very happy to push your back so you can touch your feet. Not to mention that he will join you on stretching sometimes !! Also will train with you on leg day now and then

• After arm day, though, when your arms are too weak to even take a proper shower, count on him for help. Will do everything he is able to in order to help you. Sometimes he will let you struggle if you complain too much then come back with the worst cynical expression you’ve ever seen. Little fucker

• If you have long hair, he will come back to find you with messy hair after a shower. First time it happened, he asked what happened and put himself into helping as soon as you explained your arms felt way too tired to brush your hair—he’ll do it himself, all happy to be taking care of his s/o

• When you’re in good form, do pamper him by helping him lift the big boxes of food for the ship’s storage, though. You’re strong, yes, and he may not want you to waste your energy with stuff he can do, but that doesn’t mean he won’t be swooning or following you with heart eyes and clasped hands if he sees you helping him around like this

• Lots of compliments in general <3

• “You’re doing so great, l’amour de ma vie! Simply perfect! You look just like a powerful deity!”

• Expect massages at night if you’re hurting

“Hey, Sanji, pretty boy,” you breathed as you poked your head into the kitchen, still with sweat coating your skin despite the towel around your neck. “Are you free?”

“I’m always free for you, mon amour!” He crossed his arms with a smirk.

You rolled your eyes a little—you knew he would be answering ‘in a second, mon amour!’ instead if he were otherwise busy, no way he’d let any little bit of food go to waste. “Okay, well, can you come up to the crow’s nest real quick? Zoro is using all the weights again.” Sometimes it wasn’t true, you just liked having him there while you trained. Sanji would complain about it, cursing ‘stupid Marimo’, but he was actually happy it granted him more time with you.

Back in the crow’s nest with Sanji, you went over to where you left your water and other stuff, where you wouldn’t bother Zoro, and cleaned the sweat away as best as you could before lowering to the ground. You did a few experimental push ups then glanced back at Sanji; he sat on your back with crossed legs. In the first times, he would shift around a little until he found a comfortable position, something that didn’t even happen anymore.

Of course Sanji had one of his silly little recipe books with him, busying himself with reading it while you used him as the perfect weight for your push ups. He would be muttering under his breath as he read, sometimes in French, and you couldn’t make out every word under the sound of you and Zoro counting out of sync, but you still loved hearing it. Sometimes, someone would go up to the crows nest looking for any of you three, and Sanji would always make sure to be noticed.

.𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟.

࿐ Portgas D. Ace

• Either works out with you religiously or is very lazy to do it. Like, will drag you or be the one being dragged, also won’t care about a lot about following a diet and lets you plan your workout

• If Ace isn’t working out with you, he’ll be there to keep company and cheer for you, wipe the sweat away from your forehead or grab you some more water. Very sweet, he loves seeing you taking care of yourself and growing stronger, be sure he is very proud <3

• Ace certainly needs your help most of the time because his performance would probably not be the best, so he’d often hear “straighten your back,” “go slower,” “are you even counting?” “what fucking exercise is that, where did you learn that shit? I don’t want you injured!”

• Probably will do it wrong on purpose sometimes because he likes the attention. Just a silly little boy who likes having you holding his arms while you guide him through the sitting shoulder press. Literally the meme ‘kicking my feet in the air because they wished me a good day at the gym <3’

• He is flexible. Just by the way he crouches down, you can notice he has a lot of mobility, which sometimes leaves you jealous of how well and deep he can squat with a heavy bar on his back for someone who cares so little about it—Ace works out mostly so he will not fall out of shape because he mainly gets stronger from his offensive close-range combat. Either way, he is not entirely flexible, but will complain a lot about stretching

• Actually doesn’t need to train cardio, and you know better than to insist

• Sometimes, Ace is too anxious and shifty, so you’ll just ask him to come train with you because it always manages to knock him off right away when you’re finished, also helping him release the stress

• You’re the one taking care of him after you two workout because he’ll probably just pass out, sleep at the same moment he finishes the last exercise or even at the moment your eyes drive away from him

• “Ace, you still got two series of benching. ...Ace? Are you even awake?”

• Sometimes he’ll be like “I’ll work out everyday this week with you, don’t worry,” then actually do it only ONE single day and never again that week. He’ll show up in the middle of your workout sessions eating something, and immediately pause when you notice his presence, starting to walk backwards quietly—even Marco tried to convince him to get more compromised with it at least to keep you company, but just give up. Some weeks, it’s easier to find Ace passed out, snoring with his face in a plate of food rather than at least lifting a dumbbell

“Six... Seven...” You huff out each number whenever your body comes up just to go down again for another pushup; the edges of a heavy plate dig into your back to make your exercise count for something.

While still muttering the numbers, you hear footsteps approaching. It’s Ace, of course. He’s about to come closer with a sandwich stuffed half into his mouth, walking as if he didn’t make promises he wouldn’t keep. At the moment his eyes meet yours, he stops and his mood falls, sweat-dropping whilst he starts to walk backwards without the cheerfulness he had when approaching.

Later, Ace sits beside you when you’re sitting in the kitchen, waiting for your snack after having just taken a shower. “I’m sorry, my love!” He whines with a hug, pouting dramatically.

You roll your eyes. “Yeah, sure,” you tease because it’s so fucking funny when he’s overreacting over minimal irrelevant things like this.

.𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟.

[leavingsunsets]

alsgakdgaksh sorry I know you just answered my request but, but, but what about dcst characters reacting to a reader who has a problem with daydreaming (maladaptive daydreaming)

basically they get so lost in their mind that they start acting out or quoting(? their thoughts, from the outside it just kinda looks like they're talking to themselves but they've got a whole movie in their mind 😭 (i legitimately subconsciously tripped myself because i imagined a character falling to the floor)

take care and don't rush <333

whooo this was a doozy. had to do a little research for this one, so i get to give yall some good rep or atleast make it feel a little more accurate tehee. anyways with this population sampling liberty ive decided to get 5 characters, 4 guys and 1 girl. enjoy 😋.

"𝔇𝔞𝔶𝔡𝔯𝔢𝔞𝔪𝔢𝔯?"

[𝖣𝖢𝖲𝖳 𝖼𝗁𝖺𝗋𝖺𝖼𝗍𝖾𝗋𝗌 𝗐/ 𝖺 𝗆𝖺𝗅𝖺𝖽𝖺𝗉𝗍𝗂𝗏𝖾 𝖽𝖺𝗒𝖽𝗋𝖾𝖺𝗆𝖾𝗋.]

𝙎𝙚𝙣𝙠𝙪 𝙄𝙨𝙝𝙞𝙜𝙖𝙢𝙞

Might be a little confused at first. Like, especially if it's at random times. Maybe he's busy tinkering with something, and you're in the same room. You do or say something and he automatically goes "huh?" because he thinks you're talking to him and you go "huh."

It takes some adjusting for him, but he learns much faster than the others. Though it's kinda funny during the beginning stages because whenever you said something aloud he'd pause whatever he was doing to stare at you blankly, and if you didn't look his way after a few seconds he'd take it as you weren't talking to him and resume his business.

He's a curious bugger tho so he obviously glances over at you sometimes to see what you were doing, whether you were both alone or not.

Seeing as your attention is a little harder to grab, he's got a custom habit of either patting or holding your shoulder. Like "yo [name]," and a little shoulder tap.

But with this development, it seems you've also learned to do the same. Now that he's used to you talking to yourself, to show that you're speaking to him, you have to either tap him or say his name.

Overall, pretty chill about it, even talks to you a lot just to pull you out sometimes.

𝙏𝙖𝙞𝙟𝙪 𝙊𝙠𝙞

Our sweet, underrated, heart of gold who I couldn't find nice aesthetic manga banners for (sorry for the jumpscare). Bet you didn't expect to see him on the list, huh?

Just a little longer in terms of adjusting. Like Senku, is a little confused and goes "?" when you do things randomly. Sometimes, you are interrupted because whenever he is in vicinity he's just bombarding you with questions.

"Hi! What are you doing?" "Were you talking to me?" "What's that mean?" "Were you saying something?" "What is that gesture?"

You either give him a very detailed description about the scenario in your head or just BS it.

"I was communicating with the trees." "Wow! Really? You can do that?" Accepts whatever choice you pick anyway. He will listen intently and he will take it literally. An open chance to tell him whatever you want and he would not suspect you at all. He is very intrigued at this new type of acorns called "Deez" that you found in the forest. Apparently it's part of the "Ligma" family of trees? Wow!

Easily snaps you out of your daydreams because his voice is just loud enough to do so.

You get to enthuse with him sometimes, and he will happily listen.

𝙏𝙨𝙪𝙠𝙖𝙨𝙖 𝙎𝙝𝙞𝙨𝙝𝙞𝙤

Also a little underrated, I swear.

Problem with Tsukasa is that he's a little nonverbal so when you do or say something, he just stares at you. Hulk of a man watches in confusion as you play out a whole soap opera or something.

But hey, what is Tsukasa if not a kind and gracious man?

Tries to understand you, and is a good listener if you ever need a guy to ramble to about this. And hey, gives him more insight on your mind in general.

Keeps a slightly closer eye on you, or is just more aware of your predicament in general.

This Tarzan would genuinely be gentle about it like he'd check up on you and stuff. Talk to you, or even sit down with you, maybe a little chitchat.

I imagine you as a duo would be him sipping nice tea and enjoying the garden meanwhile you accidentally drop your cookie in the milk so you borrow his teaspoon just to scoop it out and he lets you. Very weird analogy but he is just kind??

An enigma, overall doesn't change his usual equitable treatment towards you.

𝙆𝙤𝙝𝙖𝙠𝙪

I already had a vision of her reaction to this. Like, as an inquisitive type, she'd most likely ask you questions all about it as soon as she notices it. More answers lead to more questions. Forgive her, she's only curious.

Similar to Tsukasa, she wants to be aware and informed. Wants to know about what you're thinking about sometimes. "Hmmm..." and just watches you from the branches.

Of course, watchful, and vigilant. Observer type. If ever you're too out of it to notice something potentially harmful coming your way (or vice versa), she'd be there to tug you back to reality.

She's most likely less patient than Tsukasa, not the type for a sit down kind of conversation, but would still let you ramble while you both pick apples or smthn.

Overall a nice gal who wouldn't mind it at all.

I feel like she's the complete opposite of a daydreamer, so it's hard for her to understand what it's like. Still, she tries to be considerate and talks with you whenever she can as a way to learn about it.

[scaradooche]

The real ghostbusters trust!!!

Prologue||Masterlist|| actual children + zhongli

Y/n: You are in your senior year of highschool. Ever since the second semester of freshman year you had gotten a bad rep for no reason at all. You have had beef with Gianna Garcia ( a random oc i made just to make the plot more dramaish 😭) ever since 8th grade. You also have beef with Childe because in the beginning of freshman year when you had a crush on him you had overheard in the middle of fifth period that he had killed you in kiss (fuck), marry, kill and that had pissed you off but to be fair in Childe's point of view you were just a random girl who sat behind him compared to the other two girls who he knew that were put in the game one being Gianna which just fueled more hatred towards her. You are a very petty person and can sometimes take things too seriously. You have known your friend group since preschool but you were especially close to Albedo. You and Albedo have had a closer bond because he was the first person you decided to talk to when you started preschool hence he was your first friend though you did meet the others later on through preschool. You and Albedo both love Buzzfeed Unsolved: Supernatural which is why you call yourself Shane since you didn't really believe in ghosts and Albedo called himself Ryan since he was a believer. Another thing about your friend group is how you named your group chat The real ghostbusters trust since you all have fascination for the paranormal whether all of you believe it or not. The group is divided into non-believers (You, Xiao, and Aether) and believers. (Albedo, Hu Tao, and Lumine)

Albedo: Albedo is a senior in highschool as well. He's been your friend since preschool and is your number one supporter and always will be. You see him as your brother. Albedo is really smart and really good at chemistry and math. He's the kid that parents always compare their child to and ask "Why can't you be like Albedo?" Even though Albedo is smart and a good student overall he still gets labeled as a delinquent because of you and if we're being honest all your friends get labeled as that because of you and honestly they couldn't give two shits.

Xiao: He's a senior as well. He's a very quiet kid and likes to keep to himself but that doesn't mean that he doesn't like hanging out with the group. He doesn't show it but he loves everyone in the friend group unconditionally. Him and Hu tao are also siblings but they do have a older brother named Zhongli who is a senior but is older than the both of them.

Hu Tao: Hu Tao is a very energetic girl who is also a senior. Hu Tao can't really take things seriously and is always trying to be up in school drama. At times though she can be serious and when that happens it's honestly terrifying it's like she's a whole new person. A way of coping for her is humor which is why at most serious times she can't help but crack a joke.

Aether: Aether is also a senior who has a twin sister named Lumine. Aether is the main reason why you're friends with Lumine since in preschool he introduced you to her and had asked you and Albedo if Lumine could also play with you guys which of course you had said yes to at the time. Aether had been friends with Childe during freshman year and the first semester of sophomore year until he stopped being friends with him because of you. He knew that you had a crush on Childe for the longest time and also knew how that one time where he had acted like a dick to you. When he had found out what Childe had said he immediately cut him off and stopped being friends with him. Even though Aether cut him off Childe still follows Aethers socials including his private twitter account which Aether forgot to take him off.

Lumine: Lumine is in her senior year. She can be quiet at times but loud at other times. Which is why she considers herself a ambivert. For some odd reason Lumine had dated Ayato in sophomore year and his sister Ayaka after they broke up. (also Ayaka and Lumina aren't dating anymore they broke up but they're still friends) Lumine is a spiritual person who believes in the paranormal which is the complete opposite of Aether.

A/N: OKAY YALL I AM DONE FOR TONIGHT I TOLD MYSELF ONCE IM FINISHED WITH THIS I CAN CONTINUE TOMORROW VERY SORRY THAT THE FACTS GOT VERY SLOPPY AND LAZY AFTER Y/N VERY VERY SORRY BUT ANYWAYS GOODNIGHT YALL AND SORRY FOR NOT UPLOADING ANYTHING THAT HAD TO DO ABOUT THE SMAUS FOR LIKE A MONTH AND YALL JUST HAD TO DEAL WITH MY BS

@kyon-cherri

[thechaseofspades]

3 characters that inspire you?

Did that thing again where I turned a fun little ask into a whole essay. Whoops haha.

1. Libby Stein-Torres

I love "Mazel Tov, Libby!" so much. Everything about it was great, but it really felt like a coming out party for the Libster. How anxious she was when the party started going against her plans, especially at the Hora scene. Her moment with Molly at the end where she admits all she wanted to do was spend time with her best friend. The freaking turtle races!!! Such a great episode.

Libby gors through the "first friend" arc as I call it. We all know how it goes. Shy character meets somebody and becomes friends but they don't really know how to be friends with somebody yet so they have to figure it out as they go but it all works out because they're perfect for each other and 100% supportive of one another. And now she's in the title sequence too! Go Libby!

(Honorable mentions for this category: Webby Vanderquack and Casey Goldberg-Calderon, who both also went through the "first friend" arc and I just couldn't go without mentioning them. Libby gets the edge because Mazel Tov was so good)

2. Luz Noceda

I think I made a post about how sometimes I don't understand the blatant messaging of media until I see an hour long video essay about it. That was in reference to Luz. I had the pleasure of finding a lengthy video taking about her as ADHD/neurodivergent rep and had that in mind watching S3 and wow yeah it's definitely there.

In many ways, I'm not like Luz. We have different diagnoses and different traits. So obviously it's not 1:1. But in my time watching The Owl House, I've had my own (unrelated) journey about learning to accept myself and embrace who I am. Seeing it all culminate for Luz these past six months made me feel really good. Too good to describe because I wouldn't be able to do it justice.

3. Huey Duck

Oh hey what's this how'd my favorite show end up on this list that's crazy.

I talked about this during Huey hours earlier this week but I'll repeat it here. I really appreciated how Ducktales handled Huey's autistic traits for the most part. Astro-B.O.Y.D.! being the obvious example, but I want to focus on examples like the Terra-firmians episode or Timephoon!, times where Huey was "wrong". Sure, his reliance on order and structure and his strict adherence to the JWG led him to inaccurate conclusions, but he was never *wrong* for doing it that way. The lesson was never "stop being who you are and doing what you're doing".

Compare that to the seemingly countless examples where Huey bailed the family out of a situation because of his knowledge in certain subjects or recalling rules from the guidebook. With a success rate like that, it's great that the show let him flex that strength whenever it could.

The lesson of this whole thing seems to just be to never stop being who you are. Even though sometimes it might set you apart and make you different, or might be difficult to navigate, or might send you in the wrong direction on occasion, it's still worth it to be true to yourself and do what you love. Do what works. Do what makes you you.

That's the lesson I've learned in the past few years. And maybe it's not a coincidence that I learned that lesson at the same time that I watched these shows. Whether I noticed it or not, I might have been inspired by them more than I think.

Thanks for the ask!

[matan4il]

There were many other things to be bothered by in the episode were geyn died but the thing that bothered me most despite it being so small was the flowers the team sent. I don't know why but that is what has bugged me the most even since I watched it.

Hi Nonnie!

I'm so sorry it took me a moment to reply. As I mentioned in my post about TK and Jewish rep, when I watched the ep where Gwyn died, I wondered who wrote it and whether they had any Jewish background and knowledge. The ep had just enough accurate and inaccurate stuff to leave me unsure. When I got your ask, I decided I had to check up on that before I answered. It took me a while to do so, I hope you understand and am grateful for your patience!

Needless to say, I agree with you. The thing with the flowers could have been brushed off as... the team members don't know anything about Jewish tradition and assume sending flowers is universal. But this was put in there during the same scene in which Paul confidently makes the inaccurate statement that Jewish funerals happen within less than 24 hours from someone passing away. As I pointed out in the post linked above, we bury as soon as possible, usually within 24 hours, but it's not as rigid as Paul makes it sound.

Yet, he's not corrected by any and the whole plot happens as if his assertion is true, so he comes across as the voice of authority on this. By extension, when that whole conversation about the flowers happens and he's a part of it, that makes it seem accurate as well.

IDGI at all. Maybe the point was to show TK's friends caring about him, but I'm utterly baffled by why they couldn't show that by using an actual Jewish tradition. And more than that, I don't understand why they thought it was okay to reinforce the idea that mainstream American/Christian traditions are universal, and can be easily and readily applied to everyone without taking a moment to check what IS the tradition in that person's religion/culture.

Since we’re talking about upsetting things in that ep, I have to add another one to the pile. I assume they used the "must bury within 24 hours!" inaccurate statement to inject urgency into the whole "must catch the flight in time even if Carlos is left behind, so he and TK could have an emotional reunion hug after the emergency landing” thing. It was annoying that they acted like the funeral wouldn’t have been postponed for TK, and even more annoying that they completely pretended like there’s no such thing as the shiva’a, which TK still could have made it to even after the funeral (again, something I mentioned in more detail in that post). But then I got talking to the lovely @tkactually because she contacted me to get some Jewish perspective for a fic she's writing, and in answering her, it hit me that while if we look at it with a focus on TK, it’s sad if he misses his mom’s funeral (and saying the Kaddish for her) and he doesn’t sit shiva’a for her, it’s actually kinda devastating to think about it with a focus on Gwyn. Her parents have probably already passed away, there’s no indication she has siblings, and Jonah’s too young. That means the only one who could sit shiva’a for her is TK. If he doesn’t go to NYC, if he doesn’t sit shiva’a for her, that means no one does. How heart-breaking is that?

Okay, so I had a look at who wrote the ep. It’s someone who’s been a writing assistant for years, with a long record of working on the set of Ryan Murphy productions, but this is his only writer credit. His name is Matt Solik. I tried to find out if he’s Jewish and didn’t get anywhere. Two other people were involved. One’s a staff writer, from what I understand that’s someone who contributes to the creative process, though they don’t write the ep themselves. This was someone named Jamie Kessler, again I got nowhere trying to look up Jamie’s background. The other’s the story editor, who from what I know is the person outlining the story for the ep, what’s supposed to happen in it, but again not someone who writes it. In this case, this was John Owen Lowe. I looked him up and discovered that his dad, Rob Lowe, is actually married to a Jewish woman and has said that both his sons are Jewish through her. Rob also mentioned in one interview once consulting his wife’s rabbi. How Jewish are his sons? A bit, a lot, it’s their mother’s thing and their less connected? IDK, but it’s more than I expected. Which made me wonder, since it turns out John’s background is so very similar to TK... I wrote here why I tended to assume that they decided to turn TK Jewish somewhere between seasons 1 and 2, maybe wanting to tap into TK’s actor being Jewish himself. But now I wonder if maybe they cast a Jewish man in this role because they always meant to make TK Jewish in a manner similar to John’s? Reflecting Rob’s own marriage and joint parenthood with a Jewish woman? After all, they do tend to have these parallels between the LS characters and their actors, and there’s a clear personal streak to John’s middle name being used to name Rob’s character.

But that means there was at least one Jewish person involved on some level with shaping this ep. As @geekgirl101 and I were discussing in that post in the second link, this is why it matters that we have Jews in the writing room who are committed and care deeply about their Jewish identity. Ones who really think about how to give us good Jewish rep instead of... “good” Jewish rep. And this is why we need to have a conversation about what constitutes actual good Jewish rep. It’s not gonna happen without a lot of thought put into it. Because there’s been such a lack of it for so long, that if we don’t sit down, examine what we’ve had so far, what we still don’t have, and what are the implications of what’s put into the script, things are not gonna magically get better.

Thank you so much for this ask, Nonnie! I hope my reply was worth the wait, and I apologize again in either case. Wishing you a great day! xoxox

(If you're looking for my ask replies, here is my ask tag! xoxox)

[twobuckhowie]

Guns Don't Kill People, Stupid Politicians Kill People

With more than 20 People Shot last night at an Alabama birthday party, with only four deaths, and Two Deaths, with four injured in Louisville, I thought this Post from February 26th, 2016 would help explain on how I feel about Gun Control. And don't tell me about the bullshit lies where "Guns don't kill people, people kill people."

This is playing right into the Republican's hand where they get richer and they have the poor killing each other over scraps so they can claim during election time that "We need more white supremacy type of cops to protect our streets so we can let them run wild and kill innocent civilians too! For a safer America!" Yes, it's my opinion. Yet here are some facts.

Anonymously Anonymous

Take A Test To Own A Gun

White supremacists and militias have infiltrated police ...

******* And when you thought people couldn't get any more ignorant, here comes the "Iowa Lawmakers, (Who) Approve Bill That Would Let Kids Have Handguns." By Kim Bellware for The Huffington Post.

I thought Texas had a bunch of Jackasses for Lawmakers, "Texas 'open carry' law passes, allowing guns in holsters on the street." The Guardian.

"Texas lawmakers approved carrying handguns openly on the streets of the nation’s second most populous state on Friday, sending the bill to the Republican governor, Greg Abbott, who is expected to sign it and reverse a ban dating to the post-civil war era."

I'm sure all the republican people living in Iowa were so upset by Texas beating them out on the "Open Carry Law," that the only thing they could think of to do, to be ahead of them in ignorance was to, "Give Guns To Children."

"Children of all ages in Iowa would be able to lay down their toy guns and pick up the real thing under a bill that passed the state House of Representatives. Statehouse Republicans, including the bill's sponsor, Rep. Jake Highfill, said the the legislation was an issue of parents' rights designed to correct "an injustice in Iowa code” that now forbids children 14 and younger from handling pistols. Allowing people to learn at a young age the respect that a gun commands is one of the most important things you can do,” Highfill told The Washington Post on Wednesday. The alternative, he said, is “turning 18 with no experience.”

If we only had a system in place that could teach someone how to handle a gun? I know that setting up Classes at a Firing Range with specially Professionally Trained Marksman to teach people, Under Age, how to handle a firearms would start a whole new industry. And who would train the Professionals Trainers? But we already have these moronic Laws in place with kids killing kids.

Couldn't the Law have specified, before a youth was allowed to have a pistol, even under parental supervision, they would have to have these Classes With A Professional and then be Certified before they got a gun?

If you ask me, most parents don't even know how to handle a gun. I knew a few grownups who carried guns and they didn't have a clue on the safety issues.

Some of them are in jail now and the other is dead from a self inflicted wound.

Stupid people think you can carry a gun in their belt instead of a holster.

I wouldn't want their children carrying guns around if they were taught by their parents who thought it was cool just to carry one!

If you are thinking of getting a gun, check these websites out and maybe we will have one less accidental shootings.

National Handgun Safety Course

or

Education & Training

This is,

Raised In A Family That Respected Guns - And If Anyone - In Our Family - Older Than I - Saw That I Was Playing With Or Disrespecting A Gun - They Had The Right To Whip My Ass - Then Tell My Dad So He Could Whip My Ass Too

Jim Hauenstein

And

“The fascination of shooting as a sport depends almost wholly on whether you are at the right or wrong end of the gun.” - P.G -

That is my story and I am sticking to it!

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I would love to hear from you

Thanks for reading

Be kind to everyone

I'll be seeing you

[187days]

Day One Hundred Four

One of the teachers in our career tech center abruptly resigned. I really don't know what happened, but his classroom was empty today and the rumors were flying. I couldn't ask anyone who'd actually know what's up, though, because they were too busy, I was too busy, or both.

I spent the majority of Block 1 drinking coffee and spending my department's money. Mainly, I was buying textbooks for the American Studies teachers, but I also took the opportunity to restock things like pencils, expo markers, whiteboard erasers, and so on. I also had a handful of parent emails to send, and had to notify the office that one of our state reps was coming in during flex block to speak to one of my APGOV students about taking on an internship.

The actual meeting between the rep and the student went super well, so that's awesome.

And APGOV was incredibly chill. I mean, it was challenging because students were doing FRQ practice, but chill because they weren't getting anxious about it- which tells me I'm doing something right- and instead were just chatting as they worked. They got on the subject of college and college athletics, at one point, and they asked me about my experience (which was very good). And they put down some good answers to the practice questions. A few didn't finish all three, but that's fine, they can take them home or wherever. I'll actually score them on Monday.

I think I had one of my best days yet in Global Studies. Students had read and annotated an article about violence in the DRC, South Sudan, and CAR. So the first thing I did today was ask them to tell me what they'd learned or ask me any questions they had. I do that all the time, but never with quite as strong results across all four sections. I particularly loved their questions because they were so good, and they had so many of them. Class is always going to be really cool when that happens.

I also had students do some research on the use of child soldiers in those conflict zones- which was good for citation practice, too- and one of them discovered that the song I'd been playing during the bell change (I always play music) was being performed by a former child soldier. She was like, "I see what you did there, Miss M!"

And I got to joke around with a couple of boys who are obsessed with the gritty. They asked me- after they were done with their work, not while they should've been working, so we're making progress!- whether or not I thought doing the gritty should be a professional sport. Then they asked if I'd watch. I scoffed and told them, "I'd obviously be competing."

That got me some points.

And, believe it or not, it wasn't the last time the gritty came up in my day. At practice- our last practice before States!- two of the captains decided to have a gritty race (points for style as well as speed) down the hall before the workout. The rest of the team was cheering, and made such a delightful racket that Mr. C came out of his classroom to see what was going on. Our antics made him laugh, and that's a win. Even more of a win, though, is how ready our team is to compete this weekend. A lot of my colleagues came by practice to wish them luck. They all know this group of athletes is special.

[illusory-torrent]

I feel like Vi (from Arcane) is what Yang should’ve been. Vi is allowed to have a love interest, while still caring about her other relationships. Powder (or Jinx) is still her highest priority no matter what, and she even gives Echo (her friend) higher priority when the situation demands it. She doesn’t forget all her other relationships the moment she gets a love interest. She and Caitlyn actually have great chemistry and doesn’t feel forced or cringy. My only complaint is that Caitlyn is the only woman (or feminine presenting person) in Vi’s life who isn’t family or an antagonist, so striking up a relationship would feed into the stereotype that lesbians and mspec people fall for everyone we met. Of course, that’s not to say I don’t ship them, or that they wouldn’t be good rep. I can’t wait for season 2!!

vi is like... yang, if the rwby writers actually cared about consistency and high-quality writing.

like you said, vi is allowed to have a love interest in caitlyn while also having other relationships that develop. i feel like caitvi throws all the arguments people have had over bumbleby's canon status out of the water.

folks said bumbleby couldn't happen because "the girls are in the middle of serious things and don't have time for personal relationships because they're fighting a war!!"

well, ignoring the fact that arkos and renora both happened in the middle of big battles, caitvi blows that out of the water by basically having them have romantic moments during all the shit that's going on.

runeterra, like remnant, doesn't have queerphobia or discrimination based on things like sexuality or gender. in an interview with one of the arcane writers, amanda overton, this was said:

and it makes sense. i love when fantasy realizes that homophobia simply does not need to exist in their made-up world!! there's no concept of "otherness" in the world of runeterra (regarding sexuality at least), and it's great to see that caitlyn is able to bring girls to her bedroom and her parents just... don't react to them being girls. it's nice. fantasy worlds do not need homophobia/queerphobia/etc.!

the thing is, neither runeterra nor remnant have queerphobia. but while caitvi basically start being a thing in like... the three days they've known each other, bumbleby is still in the "will they? won't they?" limbo. ren and nora still argue whether blake and yang are just friends or something more.

arcane shows that the argument that "it's too soon for blake and yang to get together" just doesn't hold water. over just the course of a few days, cait and vi were able to establish that they were at least attracted to each other. neither runeterra nor remnant have queerphobia, so what's with the fucking wait on making blake and yang official?

furthermore, how come vi is allowed to show blatant attraction to caitlyn in the "you're hot, cupcake" line but we can't get anything similar for yang and blake? like, just a reminder that rooster teeth is a fully independent studio with no networks or censors to go through regarding its LGBT+ characters, so we should expect nothing less than EXPLICIT confirmation for them regarding queer representation. RT has has no reason to make it vague or hide it!! literally zero!!

but anyways.

vi is just... such a great character. she's allowed to have a romance with caitlyn that takes the forefront of arcane (a big part of arcane's story is caitvi's romance, this is undeniable) but she is also allowed to have other important relationships in her life.

it feels like yang and blake are not afforded this opportunity, and that they've both been basically joined at the hip ever since volume 6.

arcane is rwby's atlas arc but better written, vi is a better yang, and caitlyn is a better weiss/blake. 

that's just my two cents on it anyway. watch arcane, folks.

[extorchic]

TOP 5 SK8 Episodes

So I got tagged by @akira-cr to make this list, it took some time but I think I've sorted out my mind, thank you for considering me 😊. Now here comes the list, sorry if it's supposd to be objective, but I'm gonna let my heart out over here (It's gonna be a long post and I'm not gonna cut it ):

NUMBER 5 - Episode 6 - Steamy Mystery Skating?! (A.K.A. The beach episode 🏊‍♂️)

Well this is supposed to be "breather" episode, and it's basically the one that sold the series to me. I like how fun and chill this episode is, although it does (further) foreshadow Reki's insecurity issues. The music is of course SUBLIME! "Seize the Moment" is probably my favorite insert song of all time! (it's been present in Reki's beefs as well, but here it really reflects the fun nature of his character and the show overall). And of coruse, FANSERVICE, not so much in how the boys were in swimsuits (though I gotta admit Reki does look good in them), but on the RENGA interactions!

That hug gave me life! How Langa was worried 24/7 about Reki being injured, at the end when they skated together to escape from the Bantu! I gotta admit that I have some mixed feelings about the implications of Reki being attracted to the faceless girl (I mean, Bi rep is very important too), but I guess my shipping side was just as jelaous as Langa was supposed to be (according to the fans LOL).

NUMBER 4 - Episode 11 - King vs. Nobody (A.K.A. Reki rising! ✨🌺🌞⚙️)

Reki is, without a doubt, my favorite character. He doesn't need to win, he doesn't need to be super flashy while skating, he just needs to be himself. He's been through a lot, many people (including me) have felt tremendously related to him, and seeing him in this episode is just satisfying. With his issues behind, with a promise to skate with Langa after he wins and no longer fearful, Reki rematches against Adam; and the way he does is fantastic! Taking advantage of his creativity, observative skills and mechanical knowledge on skateboarding, he faces up against the main boss and manages to not only endure his violent ways (which were gruelling to see, TBH), but also SOUNDLY HUMILIATE HIM in front of the whole S Community!

Yes, Adam, the "God of S", in the ground covered in mud by a boy almost everyone dissmissed! It was really sunshine through rainfall! I must also add how much I liked to see his renewed relationship with Langa, how much they treasure their company after patching up. I want to elaborate on this in its own post but I personally see that their interactions from this point on are more, I don't know, tender, caring, still playful but not in an entirely comedic way. The way they see each other is also deeper, anyway, it's just what I see.

NUMBER 3 - A DRAW: Episode 8 - The Fated Tournament! and Episode 9 - We Were Special Back Then (A.K.A. The month in which I was in an emotional crisis because of anime sk8t3r b0is 🍎🐍😭🛹❄🍵🌸 )

This is the point in which I got into the show, and the fandom (Yeah, haven't been around for too long). At this point the show wasn't the same, and I realized it when I caught up. Though there were some cool skating scenes in these episodes, the events that caught my attention were outside the road (Yeah, this was no longer just a skateboard anime, it's a whole lot more). Though I had been mainly focusing on Reki and Langa, I really liked having more backstory related to Joe, Cherry, Adam and Tadashi. Seeing how Adam went through a terrible childhood, convoluted teeange years to culminate in an adult with too much power for his own good and a twisted sense of "love", along with some extremely serious psychological issues was very interesting.

I acknowldge him as a complex villain, but that DOES NOT justify what he did to Cherry. This only proves that just because we know his backstory, we don't have to sympathize with him (Adam's just such a terrible person). On the RENGA side, we see Reki avoiding Langa after their rift, and how this affected both. We have Langa's sadness increase scene after scene, as well as his passion for skating dwindling as progressively. Reki on the other hand, just falls deeper and deeper in his depression, but also being unable to stop thinking about Langa, and he ends up going to S to see the latter's match against Joe. It's hard to see whether there's envy, jelaousness, frustration, admiration, pining or fear of being left behind in his mind. It must have been hard for a 17 y/o.

Reki also defends Langa from people speaking behind his back and shouting his name during the race boosts Langa's performance tremendously. This culminates on Reki realizing that the thing he actually wanted was to skate alongside Langa, not on the side, not as support, but together, he just couldn't. There's also the scene which may or may not confirm that Langa's feelings for Reki are more than just friendship! (Felt represented, for reals).

NUMBER 2 - Episode 7 - We Don't Balance Out (A.K.A. This was supposed to be a fun show!😭⛈️💔️)

I wrote a lot about the episodes in the previous spot, but this is the one that flipped the tables, the game-changer, and the one that hit closer home. It is a sad episode, no races there, it's just here for us to see how the circumstances affect the characters. It was hard to see how Reki, who at this point had been nothing but supportive and proud of Langa, starts to see him flying farther from him. Is it jealousness? Dissatisfaction? Is it fear of loneliness? Adbandoment issues? Is it feeling inferior? Frustration? Not being able to improve? Admiration? Care?

And on top of that a broken promise. I just can't imagine how hard is it for a 17 y/o to deal with all of those conflicting issues in his head, as well as the toxic competitive environment on the "S Community". This just came to show that he wasn't just the excitable, goofy sidekick character, he goes deeper than that, and makes him relatable. We also see a deconstruction of the cool, aloof prodigious character in Langa, as he just can't comprehend what's going on with Reki, and he's hurt by it, but still needs to figure out his own ambitions and desries. This leads to the emotional conclusion of the episode (which in turn left me in the aforementioned 4-week-long emotional crisis, thank you)

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

Episode 12 - Our Infinity! - The race was cool, the Renga hug gave me life and everyone had a happy ending

Episode 5 - Passionate Dancing Night! - Despite the beef between Langa and Adam being cool, we start to see Reki worrying about Langa and opening up to him, further deepening their bond.

Episode 2 - Awesome for the First Time! - There's just something special about sharing something you're passionate about with someone else. Watching Reki teaching Langa the basics of skateboarding was heartwarming

NUMBER 1 - Episode 10 - DAP Not Needing Words

After 4 weeks waiting, the anticipation for this episode was gargantuan. Reki's depression was hitting its lowest point, bordering in self-harm, and hurting others as well. Langa continues to look for Reki after seeing him briefly at the hospital while visiting Shadow and we get to see this loving scene where he watches videos of Reki learining how to skate. After confronting Tadashi and realizing that he loves skating because it's fun, he returns home to find out that Langa had been waiting for him but left shortly before he arrived.

This leads to a heartful reunion, where words can't express their feelings, so they resort to do their thing, to skate, and that's where the feelings flow. This is when Langa tells Reki how he admires him tremendously and Reki understands that Langa'll be there by his side, and leaves his fears behind. With a mutual desire to skate together infinetely and a new dap, they rekindle their bond. People watched this show for different reasons, and though I like the skateboarding aspect because it looks cool, my interest leans more on the relationship aspect, and Reki and Langa's is so deep and intimate, and I liked seeing it grow from zero through different hardships (in other words, in all of the years I've been in a fandom, I had never shipped any other pair like these two, I needed to say that).

So I guess it's time to tag some people:

@pico-sour, @sleebycryptid, @elizabethslee, @itsamole, @kaorucherry, @blueflame97, @trieizieme, @tardiskitten, @lady-pendragon-9

So, if you've read until this point, thank you very much (I know it's not supposed to, but this post is yet again a very long "I love Renga" one, but it's what my heart wanted me to write 😅). I'd love to see people other than the ones I tagged showing their lists 😃

[mommingwithlupus]

7 Reasons to Exercise at Home

I used to go to the gym and honestly I love the gym atmosphere, but nowadays it's not for me with my schedule and family life. I used to go with a friend and sometimes alone before I had my second child. My son was old enough to leave him home and the gym membership was only $25 per month. Not too bad and I had time after work to join in on classes and even extra cash to pay for a personal training group for another $120 per month. Well, once I had my second baby I no longer had all these luxuries. Not only did I now have to pay for the new cost of daycare and diapers, I also couldn't find the time to get to the gym. The few times I tried, the Kids Club would call me to come get my crying breastfed baby so I could nurse her. My workout would get interrupted because she was so attached to mom and I couldn't be gone for 20 mins without her having a meltdown. I decided to try a new routine and exercise at home. I'm so glad I did! Now that I have 3 kids, I can't see myself doing anything else. Exercising at home makes life so much easier for me and there are so many apps and streaming methods that can be used these days that anything I need is available somewhere.

Here are the reasons working out at home is the best option for me as a mommy of 3 and a lupus warrior:

Available Any Time- Whether you are an early riser and want to exercise before the kids wake up or you wait until the afternoon or evening to fit in your workout, your home is always there and so is whatever streaming method or app you like to use. I have tried so many times to wake up early, but I just can't seem to stay consistent with it so I exercise during my lunch break and/or as soon as I get off work.

Pause Button- Exercising with the kids around can be tough sometimes. One is calling for you to wipe her butt from the bathroom, the other is crying because she dropped a toy, and another is asking if he can go to his friends house. They all see your obviously busy, but kids will be kids. For the things that can't wait like diaper changes and toddler booboos, there is the magic pause button. Push pause, take a few minutes to do what you need to do, and come back. The workout won't go on without you and you won't miss a thing.

Judgement Free Zone- Going to the gym or taking a group class can be hectic and you may feel uncomfortable around others that may be more physically fit or advanced in the class. At home there is no judgement. You can go at your own pace and don't have to feel anxious about trying to keep up with others. As long as you stick with it you will get better and stronger every time! Don't feel discouraged if the trainer on the video does 25 reps and you only did 15. They can't see you and are just there to motivate you and keep you going. Write down your reps and push for more next time. Watch your progress and eventually you will be up there with the rest of them.

Several Options- There are so many apps and streaming options available. I love this because I can plan my workout based on my day and how I'm feeling physically. If I know I won't have time for a long workout because my son has a football game or we have dinner plans with friends, I can choose a workout that I can fit in during my lunch break or quickly after work. Or if I'm feeling drained and low energy I may want to do yoga or another light workout. Is the weather nice out and you don't want to stay indoors, there are plenty of apps for timing your run or incorporating some outdoor strength training. Here are some of the programs and apps that I recommend:

BeachBody On Demand- This is my personal favorite! There are so many choices. They offer high intensity workouts, strength training, pre and post-natal, dance, yoga, and more. If you don't like one, try another. Plus they also have nutrition guides and discounts on their Shakeology products.

5K Runner- This is similar to a couch to 5k app. If you have a goal to build your endurance, but haven't ran in who know how long this is a great app to help you get started. When I started using 5k Runner that first week of only running one minute at a time was brutal, but now it's a piece of cake. The app tracks your distance, maps your track, counts calories burned, and gives you little motivational shout outs during the run (you can turn that off if you're not into that).

You Tube- There are so many videos out there that can be streamed from the comfort of your home and You Tube is a free way to get access to fitness videos. Just search what you feel like doing that day and there's a video for it. I recommend looking into credentials of whoever the video is from though. You don't want to take fitness advice and workouts from someone that doesn't have the experience and knowledge that they should and could potentially cause your body more harm than good.

Map My Run- I'm a runner and love to join fun runs and 5k races when I can. This app helps me to track my time and maps the area I running in case I want to save the track for another run or share with my friends. The app will tell you when you have hit a mile and tell you your time and pace during the run making it easy to set goals and know how you should do next time. I love the motivation from seeing my other friends using the app and we cheer each other on when posting our run stats for the day.

Saves Money- Exercising at home means you don't have to spend the money on a gym membership, personal trainer, or the added childcare cost. Most apps and streaming methods are free. BeachBodyOnDemand is either $100 for a whole year or $10 per month. Much cheaper than a gym membership. Equipment is not always required and if there is a workout that you want to do that requires equipment, you usually have the option to purchase either from the video provider or anywhere they are sold. There are plenty of workouts that do not need any equipment and you still get amazing results.

Time Saver- The commute to the gym or class alone could be a reason you don't make it to the gym. You worked all day, then drive to the gym, change, exercise for 30 mins maybe an hour, change again, drive home and then do whatever else your night has in store. That's only if you don't also have to pick up the kids, drop them off at the kids center, and pick them up again. Exercising at home could cut off up to an hour of this time. You simply get home from work, get changed and pop on your video or app. When you are done, you're done. Already at home, can jump in the shower or get dinner started right away. You can do whatever you want with that extra time. My 4 year old is usually in daycare (before the quarantine-now shes home every day) until 6:30. I get off work at 4:30, can start exercising by 5:00, work out for 30 mins-1 hour depending on how I'm feeling, and then go pick her up or start dinner while my husband picks her up. I don't have the stress of running around. When I went to the gym, class didn't start until 5:30 so I had to rush from work to daycare, take her with me to the gym, then rush home after so we don't eat dinner at 10 pm.

Example to your loved ones- You are exercising at home. Your children see you, your spouse sees you, your friends may see you, the neighbors, anyone in the area close to you. Just doing this alone is motivation for them to live a fit life. My teenage son refuses to exercise with me, but he has started exercising at home on his own and has been motivated to be healthier. My 4 year old daughter will join in on workouts she noticing me doing that look fun like dancing and yoga. I tell her I'm exercising to be strong and healthy and now she goes around always talking about how she is strong and healthy because she exercised with mommy. It's a lifelong impression for the betterment of your children. They develop a healthy habit that will last with them in their future and go on to your grandchildren and theirs. Even if they don't want to jump in with you, you are still inspiring them to live a healthy and fit lifestyle just by them seeing you doing so and the benefits it has for you.

As a mom of 3 and also battling with lupus, exercising at home has been the very best thing for me. My schedule is managed better, it helps as a stress reliever, saves me time and money, and I can take better care of myself and my family. I feel great and have more energy. On days when I feel drained and fatigue is taking over, I can take a day of rest and my workout will still be there tomorrow waiting for me to press play. I won't miss a class and fall behind and I'm never running late. I stay motivated because my family sees my progress and how much it helps me and I cannot let them or myself down. I work on myself so I can be a better example and a better mom overall for my family. You can make your schedule any way that you would like. Start slow and build yourself up to where you want to be! It's all in the palm of your hands and in the comfort of your own home. You're already there, just jump up and get started!