#maybe it's because I think football is boring anyway but I really don't get the 'journalistic value' argument

[haeva]

Am I the only one who still remembers the 6500 dead workers in the Qatar?

[dreamermonica]

jersey no. 10s + would love me if i was a worm ?

—gender neutral reader, established relationships, fluff, some crack, just silly banters with them, lots of teasing from reader, and kaiser ig on his part🪰

RIN side-eyes you. it's in the middle of a horror movie marathon when you ask him that question, effectively pulling him out of his focus on the show as he attempts to process your strange inquiry.

it's obvious from the way that he doesn't immediately call your question dumb or stupid that he's already used to these type of conversations. a perk of being surrounded by weirdos perhaps? anyway, it still doesn't refrain him from raising a brow at the abruptness of your out-of-the-blue query.

within a short moment of contemplation, he blinks away from your expectant expression back to the screen. you visibly deflate at his nonchalance.

“no.” bluntly does he say. you blink.

“so you don't love me for me?”

“i simply don't see myself loving a worm. it doesn't matter if it's you or not.”

he deliberately ignores the piercing and offended stare on the side of his face.

“so unfair! i would love you if you were a worm!” you whine as you shake his arm.

“doubt it.” he leans back further onto the couch to eye you again from his periphery, momentarily pausing the movie to apprehend your whining. “if i were ever to become a worm, I'd kill myself. i can't become the world's best striker with no limbs.”

“still thinking about football 'till now? jackass.” you playfully pout before turning back to the screen again. he quietly resumes the movie with a thoughtful nod. as a jumpscare comes up and you huddle to his side in surprise, you think the discussion is dropped entirely until he speaks up once more.

“there's that and,”

he suddenly leans close to your ear, arm skillfully placed on the backrest of the couch to wrap you in, your eyes widening when you feel his breath fanning on the side of your face.

it's barely above a whisper when he says it,

“—the fact i wouldn't be able to spend nights like these with you.”

...huh?

oh my. you must've been hearing things—because the next thing you know is that a pillow is roughly thrown onto your face.

SAE resolves the weird question with a playful pinch to your cheeks. he deals with enough dumbassery (shidou) already to even think of entertaining your question, but god, your squished face and cheeks look really adorable right now, so he'll humor you for a bit.

“ow, ow, ow...”

“maybe. maybe not.” his stare remains blank and bored as your face scrunches in pain with the faint stinging on your cheek. upon seeing your discomfort, he immediately drops his hands, stuffing them in his pockets, “depends if we're both worms or not.”

humming as you soothingly rub your cheeks mindlessly, you stick out a tongue at him. “how about only me as a worm with my face on it?”

he glowers at the thought, “creepy. don't push it.”

“then me as a normal worm...?”

“i'd feed you to shidou. he'd treat you well.”

you sigh depressingly at the thought of swimming in that soccer demon's stomach acid. “no getting through you, huh. would it kill you to be sappy for once...?”

“if we were both worms, then yes, i'd love you. happy now?”

“hooray!”

he deliberately pushes your face away from his line of sight, scowling as you try to kiss him with your lips exaggeratedly puckered much to his dismay, “who the hell cheers like that? weirdo.”

“your weirdo.”

you send him a wink, a half-assed attempt at rizzing him up and yet he thought he’d explode right then and there. his expression stays indifferent though. no way he’s exposing himself like that.

“yeah. only mine.” the taste of victory is sweet on his tongue as he watches you turn red at his words.

KAISER...oh, kaiser.

in his case, it's the other way around.

you are the one getting pestered to answer his strange question instead. courtesy of his greed for your attention. gotta thank the heavens above when you decide to entertain his antics instead of strangling him.

“what brought this question forth?” you stare at him in boredom, sinking into the comfy confines of the couch he's leaning over at to smile at you dopily. you resist the urge to kiss his face right then and there.

“nothing~ just trying to see if you're only after my body or not.”

“...but i'm not into worms—”

“it's me! as a worm! the handsome and prodigal michael kaiser!” he pushes, feigning hurt as he dramatically places a hand to his chest. “why are you doubting me? i can't believe my darling out of all people would do this to me.”

you hum for a while as your gaze moves up to the ceiling, paying no mind whatsoever to the sob story he's fabricating to garner your sympathy as well. you press a finger to your lips curiously, “would the worm version of you keep your toned body and beautiful golden hair?”

“uh...good question—wait, you are after my body!”

“yes. is that a problem?” you can't help the smug look that crosses your face upon seeing kaiser's offended reaction, to which immediately turns into a scowl as he leans closer towards your face.

“what,” your hand raises to graze against his cheek, trailing down to his neck as you caress his iconic blue rose tattoo. “can't take a little joke, mihya?”

he stiffens at your touch, eyes widening for a moment, before he ultimately resigns himself to a heavy sigh of defeat, maneuvering his hand to grasp your wandering fingers over his collarbone, stopping your advances as he pouts playfully.

“this is why i like my side chicks better.”

“hah? repeat that again you little—”

“can't take a little joke, mein liebling?”

taken aback, you glare at him. he winks back.

forcibly given a taste of your own medicine, you huff outwardly and opt to push his stupidly handsome face away from your sight before it angers you any further. a sense of clarity already being gained when he is no longer is in your peripherals.

“go talk to them if they're so much better than me then.”

“oh, cmon.”

this was collecting dust for months in my drafts take it as u may , i might be more active soon✧⁠◝⁠(⁠⁰⁠▿⁠⁰⁠)⁠◜⁠✧

[xe-n4]

love in learning

feat. oliver, nagi & sae note: i wrote this ages ago (reupload) contains: i don't remember & i'm not rereading it total: 1,303

—OLIVER

He knew he shouldn’t. But it was right there. The blue notebook you’ve been scribbling in for the last few weeks. It seemed like you were researching something because you had your laptop with you. But you never let Oliver know the contents of it, slamming both the book and laptop shut whenever you saw him. 

He was curious. 

Oliver’s fingers danced around the notebook. He debated with himself. Open it or leave it alone. He may never know what’s inside that book. But you would tell when you were ready, right? 

So he opened it. 

Oliver flicked through the pages, eyes scanning the words. He didn’t understand what he was looking at until he saw the word ‘centre-back’. A grin crept onto his face when he noticed the little doodle of himself next to it. 

You filled the pages with information about football and his favourite players. His heart swelled with joy as he continued to peruse through it. The rules, the positions and their purposes. He couldn’t believe it. 

“Hey, Oli, have you seen—” 

You cut yourself off upon seeing your boyfriend with your notebook. Wave after wave of embarrassment hit you with no mercy, not allowing you time to breathe. Heat spread from your chest to your neck and your hands balled into fists at your sides. 

Oliver stared—you stared as well. The silence was killing you, but the smirk that played on his lips made it worse. You wanted the floor to swallow you whole. Maybe living underground wouldn’t be so bad. 

“Care to explain?” he teased as he gestured to the book. 

You shook your head. 

“No? Okay then, let’s read from it, shall we?” His eyes glinted as he flipped to the next page. “If the score is equal—” 

Something went off in you and you went over to cover his mouth, snatching the book away. Oliver moved your hand off of his face and laughed at your pouting face. 

He wrapped his arms around your torso and leaned in. “Aw, my baby’s so cute,” he spoke as if he was talking to a child. 

“Shut up, old man.” You buried your face in his neck to run away from his teasing. 

“Are you embarrassed?” Oliver leaned back and his hands caressed your chin. His grip was firm but gentle and the feeling brought you a sense of familiarity. But it couldn’t get rid of how humiliated you felt. 

“Y/n, thank you,” Oliver said with a smile. Not one to tease you with, but a genuine smile from a place of happiness. 

Confusion plastered itself all over your features. “What... did I do?” 

“The book.” Your eyes widened, and he hurried to clear the air. “Thank you for trying to understand me and the sport I love. You didn’t have to, going to the games is enough.” 

“The games are kinda boring when you don’t know what’s happening,” you mumbled. 

“Maybe. But thank you anyway.” Oliver planted a kiss on your forehead.

—NAGI

Nagi was lying on his stomach with his phone in hand. He was watching video compilations of traps and other defensive moves. Normally, you’d have no interest in it. Football was Nagi’s thing. But you felt different about it today. 

Once you crawled onto the bed next to him, you rested your head on his shoulder. “Hey, Sei?” He hummed. “What’s a trap?” 

He answered without looking away from the screen. “It’s a move to keep control of the ball.” 

“Cool.” 

This was going nowhere. 

You didn’t know how to ask him, but he also didn’t seem interested. Maybe I’ll try later. You moved off the bed to leave when a hand gripped your wrist tightly. Nagi pulled you back effortlessly. You landed on his chest and he kept you there, putting one arm encompassing you. His other hand still held his phone and resumed the video. 

“Where’re you going?” he mumbled. Nagi didn’t really want an answer. “Stay.” 

“I thought you were busy—”   

“I can multitask.” Nagi nuzzled into you. “What d’you wanna know?” 

“Um... I guess I didn’t really think this through,” you chuckled nervously and Nagi pinched your side in response. 

“So unprepared,” he jokingly scolded. 

Nagi clicked through his phone before setting it in front of you. The video began with the camera scanning through the crowd. People of all different backgrounds cheering from the sidelines with flags, banners and some even had face paint on them. 

The camera then showed the players walking on the field in their flashy uniforms, and the crowd cheered and screamed even louder. The bright lights above the stadium made the grass look lighter than it was. 

“Sei, what’s this?” 

“Football game,” he replied. “I’ll talk you through it.”  

“I like that you want to know more. It made me feel something inside. I liked it.” 

You laughed at his simplistic way of describing his emotions, then he shushed you when the game started. Nagi pointed to each of the players when he talked about their positions. He explained the moves they did and why someone got a yellow card. 

His soft voice brought you comfort, which made it easier to concentrate on the sport, though you barely understood it. 

After the game ended, Nagi stared at you expectantly, silently asking for your opinion. “It was fun.” was your only response. 

It was. Maybe your judgement before was biased, but now you had a better understanding of why your boyfriend loved it so much. 

—SAE

“I thought you didn’t like football,” Sae said with a straight face, looking up from his laptop 

“Well... I thought it would be fun if you taught me some stuff,” you replied, rubbing the back of your neck. His stare made your heart race and your ears sting. Not in a good way. 

“What’s the point if you don’t care about it,” he grumbled as he went back to what he was doing. A very obvious tell that he didn’t want the conversation to continue. 

You sat down in the chair next to him and interlocked your pinkies. “I care about you though.” 

Sae’s eyes flicked from your joined hands to your face a few times before he sighed. A small smile made its way onto his face. He properly intertwined your hands and leaned down to kiss them.  

“Get changed, we’re going out.” was the only instruction he gave. Though he implied that wearing anything fancy would be a terrible idea. 

And he was right. 

Sae took you to the nearest football centre and rented out a small field. Goals stood tall and mighty on each side, and white lines ran across the grass. The sun was still beaming down, and you wished that you’d just kept it to yourself. 

“Is this really necessary?” you whined before walking onto the grass. 

Your boyfriend was ahead, holding a ball against his hip. “This is the only way you’ll learn, Y/n.” 

“Or is it the only way you can teach?” you mocked under your breath as you followed behind him. 

And with your horrible luck, he heard every word. Sae turned around once he got to the centre and set down the ball. “Four laps.” 

“Huh?” 

“What’d you mean ‘huh’?” He settled his hands on his hips with a—fake—frown. “Fine then. Five laps. Hurry!” 

During that ‘warm up’, you gained a stitch in your side and sweat soaked through your clothes. After that Sae, showed you how to dribble and tackle. The first time you successfully stole the ball from him made his heart full as he watched you celebrate, then collapse, demanding a break. 

“Dumbass.” He booped your nose before shoving a water bottle into your face. Wordlessly you took it and started chugging its content as if you’ve never had a drink of it before. Sae grinned. “Dumbass.” 

m.list | like & reblog

[bookshelf-dust]

god, this place is such a shit hole.

billy hargrove x gn!reader

word count: 1,857

warnings: swearing, smoking/tobacco usage (don't smoke it will kill you, but let's pretend it won't for a bit), fluffy fluff

a/n: hi!! i originally wrote this with a female reader in mind, but i didn't actually end up writing any description of the reader, other than that they have hair long enough to tie up :) i decided to maybe upload some of my favorite stories from my wattpad here occasionally, so i hope you like this!! i think it's pretty damn cute. <333

————

You found yourself at a most infatuating Hawkins High football game. Infatuating in that you could not fathom why anyone gave a shit about the sport.

But still, you showed, because your friends had wanted to go. Wanted to sit in the student section, cheering on the players they wanted to go out with.

And you felt like you needed some traditional high school bullshit, having not given a shit much as of late, and so you agreed to join them.

But as you stood there, on top of the bleachers, ratty-ass flannel fluttering in the wind, you were bored out of your mind. It was cold tonight, and all the screaming was giving you headache. You'd learned from your experience as a freshman to never buy anything from the canteen, so there was nothing you could do about your being hungry.

Your 'friends' were too enveloped in guessing dick sizes to notice you anymore anyways, and you decided that it was time to give it up. They weren't really your friends, anyways. Not exactly. Just people you talked to at school. They didn't know you very well, you didn't really want them to, and vice versa.

You hopped up the stairs and strolled out to the parking lot, walking to your car, gently situating yourself on its hood. You dug around in your pockets for the pack of Marlboros you'd been harboring in there and pulled one out, tucking it behind your ear before getting out your lighter.

Out of the corner of your eye, you caught a glint of a familiar blue. A blue you happened to like very much.

In the spot next to yours, was that sexy ass blue Camaro. The very same one belonging to Billy Hargrove. The Billy Hargrove you'd seen around, but never really talked to. More so admiring said sexy ass car whenever you could. Him on occasion.

You turned back to retrieving your lighter, noticing a figure coming your direction, assuming it was someone else ditching the game. You cupped your left hand around the cigarette, lighting it with the other, whilst hearing increasingly close footsteps on the gravel beneath you.

"You mind?" A voice asked.

Looking up, you made eye contact with Billy Hargrove. The one you'd just been thinking about. He had a cigarette of his own is his hand, and you picked up on the fact that he was asking you for a light.

"Nope," you responded, and igniting the flame with your thumb, he stepped closer to you, cigarette between his lips, successfully catching the end in the flame.

"Thanks," he said around his cigarette. "'M Billy, by the way." He held out his hand to you, and you shook it, noticing how both of his covered yours for a few seconds. You knew his name, but thought it was oddly sweet of him to introduce himself.

"No problem.” You told him your name.

He moved to settle himself against the Camaro, taking a long drag, looking out in the direction of the overly bright stadium lights and the source of screaming. "God, this place is such a shit hole."

That drew a laugh from you, and he looked over, smirking and running his tongue along his front teeth. "I take it you don't like it here?" You set your cigarette between your lips, pulling the scrunchie from your wrist and tying your hair up at the base of your neck, sick of the wind tossing it.

Billy laughed. "Wouldn't say that, no."

"I imagine it's quite the downgrade from California," you started, "but I don't like the beach, so..." You trailed off, noticing the breathy laugh he let out.

"You don't like the beach?"

You shook your head at him. "I don't like hot weather. Or being surrounded by hundreds of assholes. Those things usually accompany the beach."

"Bet the assholes are still around when it's plenty hot enough in Hawkins, though," he argued. "At least there's water at the beach."

"Fair point. Think maybe I'd like it in the fall or the winter. Ocean's probably happier then, what without all the tourists."

"It is nice in the winter. Used to go walk up and down the beach when I needed to get away from home. Usually no one around that time of year. This is the first one I don't get to do that," he told you, stomping out the butt of his cigarette on the gravel.

"You miss it?" He almost looked sad, like he was remembering and longing for something.

"Fuck yeah, I do. Wish I could afford to go back, even just for a little bit." You didn't know what to say to that, but understood, since life wasn't cheap, and you weren't rich, so you just smiled at him instead.

"'M sorry you don't like it here," you told him, hopping down to stomp out your own. "But I think it has its perks. At least I've started to feel that way, getting older. Lucky you showed up in fall, when it's prettiest."

He looked at you then, and his eyes softened.

No one had ever spoken to Billy Hargrove like this. Especially not since he got to Indiana. It was like he was this specialty item, from some far away place, and everyone wanted a piece. No one had stopped to have an actual fucking conversation with him.

"'S okay. And I can't argue with that. Trees aren't as pretty back home." You both stood there, in comfortable silence for a few minutes, listening to far off cheering, the buzzing of the scoreboard. You kicked a rock across the parking lot, debating on what you were going to do next.

"I take it you don't like football?" He asked, copying your question from earlier.

"Not even a little bit," you laughed. "My friends wanted to come, and I thought I should have at least a few stereotypical high school situations under my belt, so here I am. You?"

He shrugged. "Not really. I was just bored. Didn't want to be at home." You nodded in understanding.

Really, Billy didn't want to deal with his dad's shit tonight, so he thought claiming to go to a school function would be good enough.

He looked at you then, something mischievous forming in his eyes. "You wanna get out of here or something? You hungry?"

"Yeah, actually. Where you wanna go?" You questioned.

"Wherever you want."

————

Billy followed you to Benny's, which had been kept open by his family ever since he passed. They had good ass milkshakes, and you had only gotten progressively more hungry.

You led him inside to a booth in the corner, plopping down and looking at menu, even though you knew what you wanted. "You ever been here before?" You asked him.

He shook his head.

"Anything you'd recommend?" Billy inquired, shrugging his jacket off and setting it on the booth beside him. He grinned at you when he caught you looking at his arms and his chest, since his shirt was left unbuttoned pretty low.

"They have good milkshakes. And everything else is pretty good, food wise. I've never had anything I didn't like. Guess it depends on how hungry you are."

"Pretty damn hungry," he told you, making you laugh.

Eventually, a waitress came out and took your orders. You both ended up getting burgers and fries, but you also got a chocolate milkshake.

You talked throughout your meal, and you felt like you could sit and talk with him for hours. You couldn't remember the last time it felt like someone actually cared about what you had to say.

At one point, Billy looked at you funny, slowly realizing that you had a shirt on with a worn and familiar logo on it.

"Did I spill or something?" You joked.

Billy realized it was a Metallica shirt. And the logo was the very same one matching the Kill 'Em All poster in his room. He hadn't come across anyone with similar music taste to him since being in Hawkins, the preppy shitheads being the only ones having latched themselves onto him.

"No, I just...like your shirt."

"Oh! Thank you. I wear it too much, I think, I'm starting to wear holes in the hem." He chuckled at you. "I'm assuming the look was because you like them too."

God, he felt like a kid in a candy store. He was genuinely excited to have something in common with you.

"Yeah. I have that poster in my room."

You smiled at him. "Yeah? I have one, but it's just a group picture." You sipped on your milkshake, both of you just looking at each other.

He knew right then and there that he wasn't going to let you slip through his fingers. You were special. He'd never felt this giddy around someone before.

Billy's eyes found your almost-drained-shake. "Damn, I wish I had gotten one of those."

"You want some?" You pushed the glass towards him a little.

"You sure?" He asked, blue eyes glinting in the fluorescent lights of the diner. You nodded at him. He took a sip, the green of the straw a strong contrast from the pink of his lips.

"That's really fuckin' good," he said, smile spreading across his face. A genuine one that reached his eyes, and made you smile too. He ran his thumb across his bottom lip, and you tracked the motion. He was gorgeous. There was no other way to describe it.

The waitress came by shortly after, collecting your dishes, and Billy stood to pay. "Hey, you don't have to," you started, gently grasping his sleeve as you rose from the booth.

"'S okay, I want to."

————

When the both of you made it outside, you stopped, standing in front of him as he leaned against your car. "Ah!" You exclaimed, sticking your finger up in the air, and opening your car door, leaning across to dig a napkin and pen out of the glove box.

He noticed how your tongue stuck out in concentration as you tore the napkin in two, and scribbled on one side. "Here!" You presented the flimsy paper to him, your number scrawled across it.

You handed him the pen. "Your turn." He smiled that oh so good smile again, folding the napkin and putting it carefully in his jacket before slipping you his.

Billy straightened, looking at you. "Thanks for tonight. I had a really good time." And meant it.

Billy leaned in, kissing your cheek, and you felt your face heat, which only made him happier.

"We could always come back. Get you your own milkshake. Maybe this weekend? Make a day of it? Unless you're busy!" You stopped yourself, worrying you'd been too forward or that he was actually busy.

He took your hand. "I don't think I could ever be too busy for you. And I'd like that very much. I'll call you, yeah?"

"Yeah." He let your hand slip from his, and you immediately missed the calloused feel of it.

"'Night," he called to you, slipping into the Camaro.

"Goodnight, Billy."

————

please let me know if you liked this! feedback is always appreciated!! comments and reblogs mean more than you know. <33

[toomuchracket]

how about matty convincing d word girlie going to a football match with her?? (Maybe she doesn’t really like football that much, or even at all, idk?)

HA yeah ok so you and matty go for a little long weekend up the north-east to visit some of his family, and newcastle are playing at home on the saturday and before you go tim phones to say he's got tickets for all of you - you included. matty giggles when he tells you this, because any time he talks about football or watches it in the house your eyes just glaze over out of disinterest, despite your best efforts to pay attention, and he knows you'll wince at the thought of actually going to a match; you do, but quickly plaster on a hesitant smile and say "ok", and matty's like "you'll go? really?", and you're like "... yes. it would make you really happy, wouldn't it?", and matty kisses your head and says "it would, darlin', it would mean a lot to me if you were there", and you're like "so it's settled. i will go to the football". and matty's like "can you say that again? i need to film it and send it to your dad so he'll believe me when i tell him" - you point at him like "don't fucking push it, matthew", and matty laughs and takes your face in his hands to kiss you like "sorry, baby. thank you for doing this. i love you. it'll be fun", to which you're like "i love you too, and that's the only reason i'm ACTUALLY doing it. and i guess seeing your family will be fun, at least, lol". but as the weekend gets closer, you do actually start to get excited, just because matty's so hyped about taking his girl to see his team lmao (he is such a boy). he's like "try on one of my football tops to see if it fits, and you can wear it to the game. that would be cute", and you're a bit 😐 about the idea; that is, until you pull one of the black and white tops over your underwear and step into the living room to show matty, and he reacts by... literally pulling one of the sofa cushions over his lap and breathing heavily. your jaw drops like "babe you did not just get hard at the sight of me in a newcastle united shirt lmaoooooooo. it's that easy? wow", and matty groans into his hands like "shut up how else am i meant to react? the most beautiful woman on the planet, my beloved girlfriend, in MY football top? this is teenage wet dream material, sweetheart" - you go over to kiss him and say "well, if we have sex now with me wearing it, will that make it better or worse?", and matty thinks for a second like "better. i'll get it out of my system" lol.

and he's right, actually - a week later, when you appear in his cousin's kitchen with the same shirt visible under your coat, all matty thinks of is how cute you look lmao (but he does smirk a little bit when everyone says how sweet you are for wearing it, considering you did some arguably non-sweet things to him in it before lol). the actual day itself is quite nice; you all go for food and a couple of drinks before the game, during which you literally just share really cringe anecdotes about matty with his dad and brother, and then matty takes 948482 pics of you outside st james' park (and makes one his lockscreen) before you go in. he hugs you tightly before the game starts like "this is really special to me, sweetheart, thank you for doing this", and you're like "it's chill i actually am having fun lol". he stays holding you through the start of the game, too, because it's chilly, but pulls back to look at you in bewilderment when you hum along to the local hero theme as the players come onto the pitch; you're like "what? i've seen the film. it's good. so is the tune", and matty kisses you quickly like "you never fail to amaze me, honestly". anyway, the first half of the game is... kinda boring? nobody scores, there's not a lot of action, and the most exciting thing is you nearly burning your tongue on a bovril at half-time lol. it picks up in the second half, though - you spend the first few goal attempts looking and smiling at matty getting really into it, because he's so cute and animated, but then the tables turn and you catch him grinning at you when you swear at a near miss from newcastle. when they finally do score, you both cheer, and matty gets so hyped that he picks you up - well, he tries to, in the limited space between rows of seats lol. you have to ask him to clarify ref decisions at bits (fuck if i know what constitutes a yellow card btw), which he RELISHES doing, explaining them and kissing your cheek when you're like "ok cool. i see". in the end, newcastle win, and when the home support stands go into joyous uproar you're a part of it, hugging matty and tim and all the rest of the family as if you were an avid fan lmao; matty also probably tries to fully make out with you in excitement and just general happiness that you're with him, which you indulge in briefly before being like "come on, we need to move now so the people behind us can get out lol". but you continue the making out in the smoking area of the pub you all pile into to celebrate the win, matty like "this has been one of my favourite days ever, sweetheart. i'm so grateful for you, and even more in love with you, honestly" - you're like "i love you! and i really have enjoyed myself. don't think i could do it every week, in fairness, but i had fun. thanks for bringing me, baby". and matty's like "anytime, darlin'. and feel free to borrow the top anytime, too. in fact, i'd encourage it" lol <3

[beansterpie]

ES21 japanese volumes part 2/??

< part 1 || part 3 >

Thanks for the warm reception on part 1! Honestly wasn't expecting anyone other than me and maybe a couple of friends to read, so it's nice to know that people enjoyed it! Also @blaka-smoko provided me with a link to scans of the VIS translation here-- it has up to volume 29 I believe for anyone interested (you'll have to make an account on the site to borrow the volumes though! but it's all free)

Now, to pick up where we left off--

Sena has just managed to escape the bullies, but they're in pursuit. He ends up running into a busy shopping street, where Hiruma, Sena's demonic upperclassman, happens to witness the following...

(First page -> Kuroki: "Alright! I caught...")

I love these pages sm, they're SO silly. This is the beginning of 'these kids might as well have superpowers', and I love that for them. And to be perfectly honest, I think the extra dramatic action scenes make for a really engaging sports manga, which is a genre where I tend get very bored of the whole, you know, Sports™ of it all. But ES21 always keeps me really engaged during the matches, and the super dynamic art is definitely one of the reasons.

Putting the rest under a cut!

I think I'm just gonna go ahead and post the next few pages because I love this bit lol

(Panel 3 -> Juumonji: "Shit-!" Kuroki: "I SAID MOVE!!!" Old Man: "That hurts you BRAT"

Panel 4 -> Hiruma: "That cut...." (note that the kanji here is 走り方 which is pronounced ha-shi-ri-ka-ta and means 'way of running' or 'running style', but the romaji says カット (ka-tto) which is just the English 'cut' as a loanword. I told you Hiruma does this a lot!))

Love how they somehow make Sena navigating a crowd really well into something so cool lol. But I love this entire segment.

(Panel 2 -> Togano: "Aaallright, now sto--"

Panel 4 -> Togano: "--p??"

Panel 5 -> Hiruma: "Whoa, a spin!"

Panel 6 -> The Bullies: *sounds of struggle and pain*)

(Panel 1 -> Sena: "Hiieeee-- (this is just a sound of anxiety he makes a lot) It's no good--!!"

Panel 2 -> Hiruma: "No, you can make it"

Panel 4 -> Hiruma: "With your legs, you can make it!"

Panel 6 -> Hiruma: "FLY!" (also means 'jump', but fly feels more apt))

TOUCHDOWN!!! (of getting on the train yayyy!)

I just love this whole segment-- how good the art is, how intense and dynamic and fun they managed to make a simple chase scene, how it works so well with the football visuals that Hiruma is laying over Sena's movements in his mind, Hiruma's weird omniscient presence cementing itself into the narrative lol. Properly introducing the One Thing™ that Sena is crazy good at to the audience, and that is running (usually away from something lmao).

(Panel 2 -> Juumonji: "GUHO!?" (sound of surprised pain)

Panel 3 -> Hiruma: "Toooouchdooooown! Ya-ha--!")

I love him your honor.

ANYWAY onto the next day!

(Panel 1 & 2 -> Kurita: "Oh that's right! Yesterday, a new member joined the club!" Hiruma: "Ooohhh, I actually found someone too."

Panel 3 -> Hiruma: "Truly a golden-legged Running Back. He was so full of spirit that he approached me directly, saying that he wanted to join."

Panel 4 -> Kurita: "Wow-- amazing! Good job finding him, Hiruma!"

Panel 5 -> Hiruma: "He should be here already"

Panel 6 -> Hiruma: "K, now fill out the application form~" Kurita: "S-SENA-KUN!!?")

The audacity of Hiruma casually and blatantly lying that Sena joined of his own volition lol. He just lies because it's fun, why not? 😂 Also, when Hiruma says 'running back', it just says "RB" with furigana that says ランニングバック, which is 'running back' as a loan word lol.

(2nd pic -> Kurita: "Whoa number 21! The eyeshield is so cool!" Hiruma: "If we don't hide his face like this during matches, it'll start an all-out-war among the other sports teams.")

Lol I love how shrimpy Sena is <3 In the fan-scans, the idea that the other sports clubs would try to get at Sena wasn't really mentioned until the Cupids match, so I figured I'd include it. Also Hiruma looks SO NORMAL in the first couple of chapters lol, he just increasingly gets more spiky and demonic as the story progresses, and I love that for him, but seeing little babyfaced Hiruma is fun too.

(Panel 1 -> Sena: "But I'm the manager~~!!" Hiruma: "Then, player-and-manager. do both"

Panel 2 -> the posters say: "Stay away from him -- Or the mosaic comes off")

Mosaic meaning the blurred out bits, obv. I feel like there's certain lines from Hiruma where the translation doens't quite capture the like... cavalier command with implicit threat he has in Japanese lol.

Also I get this slight vibe from his Japanese dialogue that Hiruma is like, funny lol. There's more of a deliberate sense of set up and pay off when he talks, which I get a kick out of.

Finally, end of chapter one 😂 the fuck is brevity?

Bit of an aside, but something I never noticed before about this pic of Sena's room is that he seems to collect figures of some kind? And he has a lot of games (or possibly anime) in the tv cabinet. I know in the pilot chapter (which I might post about separately sometime), Sena was characterized as A Gamer™, but that seems to have largely been abandoned in the actual series. It's fun to see the lingering remnants of that aspect of Past-Sena lol.

Moving on to chapter 2!

(Mamori: "The American Football Club!?")

(Panel 1 -> Mamori: "But American Football is... You shouldn't pick something so dangerous!")

Regarding panel 2, there isn't a mistranslation really, but I wanted to point out-- because it's fucking hilarious-- that Mamori uses four separate words that all essentially mean weak and feeble to describe Sena 😭 She's like "--because Sena is (physically) weak, insubstantial, fragile, and The Weakest™!"

Sena: "Y, you don't have to go that far...."

She really didn't 😔 how's a bitch supposed to come back from that...

Then of course Sena reassures her that he's just the shumu/manager (whatever), and won't actually be playing in matches, which she is very relieved to hear.

(Mamori: "Huh? But then why are you here so early in the morning?

Sena: "A meeting about club management!!")

Oh Sena :')

Cut to:

(Hiruma: "Come now, it's morning practice!!!"

Sena: "ALL LIES~~!!")

Soon, soon Sena, you will learn. But man look at the unbridled joy on our demon spawn captain's face <3 we love a chaotic gremlin.

Just wanted to gush a little about how much I love Murata's establishing shots, especially this one. Gives such an excellent vibe of early morning at a school before most students are present-- plus over the course of the series you end up getting such a good sense of the overall layout of the school!

(Panel 1 -> Kurita: "Well-- you know how we haven't had three people since the formation of the club? I was just so happy that I had to wake up early"

Panel 2 -> Kurita: "I was so amped up that I've been at it since 2am!" Hiruma: "An idiot, there's an idiot here.")

All told basically the same as the fan-scans, but I think the Japanese version slyly implies the existence of Musashi a little better. I always wonder with these things just how much of the back stories were hashed out-- like was Musashi's design already established? When we see him for the first time later (unbeknownst to us) did the creators already know That Guy was Musashi? Questions, questions...

(Panel 1 -> Sena: "That was close! I was about to join in on practice without realizing!" Hiruma: "Right, guess we should go through everything once, starting with the ladder."

Panel 2 -> Hiruma: "Since we've got newbies present and all." Sena: "Hiiieeeee!" (he's like a small dog, he whimpers when he's scared)

Panel 3 -> Kurita: "Ah wait. Actually my neck kind of hurts. I think I might call it quits after doing a 40 yard dash or something."

Panel 4 -> Hiruma: "40 yard dash, huh? It's been a while. Alright, let's measure our times.")

K-Kurita.... your head looks like it's gonna pop off.....

(Panel 2 -> Hiruma: "Time?"

Panel 3 -> "Kurita Ryokan: 40 yard run: 6.5 seconds"

Panel 5 -> Hiruma: "This fucking fatty!! What morning practice, you've gotten slower than before!!" Kurita: "I can't help it, I'm already tired--!!")

@blaka-smoko mentioned this in their reblog on the last post, but Hiruma preludes all his nicknames with 糞 (ku-so) which means like, shitty, but the furigana says ファッキン which is just "fucking" as a loan word lol. So all his nicknames canonically and literally start with the English word "fucking". Fucking chibi, Fucking monkey, Fucking manager, etc, etc. The official VIS version changed this to 'damn', which is nothing but a damn shame lol. Let Hiruma say fuck!! He's literally already saying it!!

(Panel 1 -> Hiruma: "Alright, watch how it's done!" Sena: "!? So fast!!"

Panel 4 -> "Hiruma Yoichi: 40 yard run: 5.1 seconds"

Panel 5 -> Hiruma: "Ya-ha-! That's my best time!!" Sena & Kurita: "Whoa--!!")

He's so fucking spiky!! And I love how expressive their physical movements are, like Hiruma's little twist in the last panel is so fun.

The first three panels are basically accurate, (though in panel two, Hiruma is like "What's that? You want to run so bad you can barely contain it?" which made me chuckle) but panels 4 & 5 are different.

(Panel 4 -> Kurita: "But, isn't it weird? If he's that fast (and he uses 爆速 (ba-ku-so-ku) which means like, explosive speed) I think he would have been famous in middle school."

Panel 5 -> Hiruma: "Hmm... now that you mention it.... Well, we'll know for sure once we measure his time.")

I like that Kurita points out something to Hiruma that he didn't consider! These early chapters gives a bit more of a feel of Hiruma and Kurita's friendship imo, before there's more characters that the story needs to focus on, and the two of them solidly enter the Senpai™ realm among their teammates.

Of course, then Sena runs and gets 5.0 seconds, which is already fastest on their little team! But Hiruma isn't satisfied with that....

The fan-scans are aaaalmost right? But confused. It makes it sound like Hiruma is quoting something Sena said/wrote down in the past (that he somehow aquired as Hiruma is wont to do), and then the line in panel 3 just doesn't make sense. In Japanese, it comes across more as like, Hiruma looks up some records of Sena on his laptop, and the rest is him putting together an analysis based off of that.

(Panel 1 -> Hiruma: "In Kobayakawa Sena's middle school physical endurance records-- he came first only in Repetitive Sideways Hopping."

Panel 2 -> Hiruma: "Must be due to the explosive power that you built through your gopher-ing... which is how you have that rocket-start. But you immediately lose speed, which is why you never make any records in a footrace.

Panel 3 -> Hiruma: "So all we have to do is make sure you don't lose speed."

Panel 5 -> Hiruma: "CERBERUS!!!")

BEST BOY BEST BOY BEST BOY!!!

This is basically correct, so I used the scans for visual clarity because taking good pics of a double page spread is hard :')

anyway RUN BOY RUN!! Also love Hiruma's little fist pump in the last panel. Murata being awesome with gestures as usual.

(Panel 1 -> Hiruma: "This is beyond high school records! It's the top speed in the NFL! Nobody can stop this!"

Panel 2 -> "The Golden Legs!!")

I don't know if it's true that 4.2 sec is the NFL record (at least at the time) or not, and frankly I don't care. Within the context of this series, 4.2 secs is the speed of light, and Sena's got it!

I've always liked that Sena's got this glass canon thing going on-- OP in terms of speed only, extremely weak in every other regard. It's funny and unexpected in a shounen protagonist, and it makes for a very satifying arc, even if there aren't any surprises. I actually in part got into B.N.H.A . waaay back in 2014 because Deku reminded me of Sena (well, I got into it because I'd read the artist's previous manga and was curious, but Deku reminding me of Sena is what made me stay (well, until I left again a couple years later lol)). Point is, I'm very fond of Sena, I think he's fun!

Oof I wanted to squeeze in one more pic but I'm at the limit already lol. But chapter 2 ends with excitement all around-- and Hiruma says that they'll be winning the Spring Tournament. (Sena imagines himself as the manager and boy, after all that you still think you're just gonna be the manager? 😭)

Of course this is when Hiruma informs them that the first match is tomorrow lol. A team with 3 players. Good luck!

That's all for part 2-- hope y'all enjoy my ramblings!

[canirove]

The Princess & the Football Player | Chapter 3

Author's note: Yes, the Charles on this chapter is Leclerc 😅 But think of him as his version from an alternative universe where he isn’t a F1 driver, just very posh 😁

Previous chapter | Next chapter

Masterlist

"Look at you. You look gorgeous, darling."

"Thank you, mum.”

"And you are wearing red, Charles favourite colour."

"Oh, please, don't start" I complain.

"Don't start what?"

"Trying to convince me to date him again. It isn't happening."

"Why not?"

"Have you forgotten that he cheated on me? Several times? That he was constantly partying and doing God knows what?"

"He doesn't do that anymore, his mother told me. He has reformed and wants to settle down, focus on his job and start a family."

"Good for him. But it won't be happening with me."

"What won't be happening with you?" my dad asks.

"Nothing. Should we go? We can't be late" I say, starting to walk towards the door.

"Do I want to ask?" I hear him whisper.

"It's nothing, just her stubbornness" my mum replies.

━━━━━━❃━━━━━━      

"Eleanor!"

"Roberta" I say, hugging her. "Look at you, this dress is amazing!"

"It is, isn't it?" she replies, doing a twirl.

"Valentino?"

"Yep. Gotta support my country's fashion. And speaking of my country... The duke is here."

"Damiano?"

"The very same."

Duke Damiano, or the guy I had a very steamy summer fling last year, one that made it to all the newspapers and gossip sites.

"Are you going to talk to him?" Roberta asks.

"I shouldn't, my parents would kill me. The only man I'm allowed to talk to tonight is Charles" I say, rolling my eyes.

"I've heard he wants to settle down and find a wife."

"Yeah, that's what my parents also said. But he can keep looking, because I'm not her."

"You aren't who?" someone with an Italian accent says behind me.

"Charles' future wife" I reply. "It's good to see you again, Damiano."

"You too, princess" he says, kissing my hand. "Why are your parents still wanting you to marry that... boy?"

"Who knows" I shrug. "I didn't know you were coming today."

"It was a last minute thing. My mother insisted that I should come because the Spanish princess is also here."

"Parents" I chuckle.

"Indeed."

"Why don't we get ourselves something to drink, uh? It will help us deal with all this" Roberta says, looking around. 

I haven't had time to take a second sip of my drink, when I see him coming towards us. Charles. 

We've known each other since we were kids, my family always spending the summer at his family's huge house in Monaco. And since I can remember, they've told us we are destined to be together. I guess that's one of the reasons why we started dating a few years ago, because everyone kept saying it was meant to be. That, and because like Sophie said, he's stupidly handsome. I think I have never seen a more perfect face. 

"Evening, ladies. Duke" he says.

"Evening, Charles" Damiano replies. "I better go find that Spanish princess. It was a pleasure seeing you again, Eleanor" he says, kissing my hand again while giving me his most mischievous smile.

"Was that really necessary?" Charles scoffs.

"I don't know what you are talking about" I say, taking another sip of my drink. But I know pretty well that Damiano did that to piss him off. They never got along, and what happened last summer didn't help.

"Anyway, would you like to dance?"

"Nope."

"Ok... Then’t let’s talk."

"We are already talking.”

"Woke up with the wrong foot today?" he chuckles.

"I don't know. Maybe" I shrug.

"What about you, Roberta? You look very pretty today."

"Thank you" she says, using the same bored tone I used. 

"Fine, message received. You don't want to talk to me" Charles sighs. But as he is about to leave, my dad shows up.

"Charles, hello" he says, giving him a pat on the back. One that almost sends him flying across the room.

"Your majesty."

"How are you? How are the businesses going?"

"Good, good."

"That's great. Has Ellie told you about Canada?"

"Canada?" Charles asks.

"She's going there to support our boys at the World Cup."

"Oh, football. I'm not the biggest fan" he chuckles.

"France is one of the favourites" I say.

"I am not French" he replies. People have always mistakenly called him French despite being from Monaco, and it bothers him so much.

"Once you are there, do you think you could give Marcus Rashford my number?" Roberta says.

"What?" I chuckle. "Aren't you coming too?"

"I am. But they may not allow me to meet the players, and he seems so nice and lovely with everything he does to help people... And I also find him very hot."

"Fit. He's fit, right?" 

"Dad, what did we say about that word?" 

"Oh, yes, sorry” he laughs. “The one Eleanor finds handsome and attractive is Declan Rice, tho."

"I what?" I say, almost choking with my own words.

"You thought I didn't notice the way you were looking at him, uh?" he laughs again. "Eleanor, I'm your father."

"Who is this person with food as his surname?" Charles asks.

"No one" I say, my cheeks definitely the same colour as my dress.

"Oh, there is Alfred. Gonna go say hello. Bye" my dad says, acting as if nothing had just happened.

"Do you fancy that guy?"

"I don't fancy anyone, Charles. My dad was just being stupid. As usual."

"Yeah, sure" he says, giving me a suspicious look. "Anyway, since I'm not very welcomed here, I'm gonna see if I can find some of my actual friends. Ladies" he says with a little bow before disappearing among the crowd.

"Who is this Declan and why haven't you told me about him?" Roberta asks me.

"He's... He's one of the national team players I met the other day. One who is super handsome, and nice, and like my dad would say, fit. Very fit. And I... I have a huge crush on him."

"But is it a crush like when you fancy a famous person, or is it like a crush crush?"

"It is a crush crush. We flirted a bit, and I felt butterflies on my stomach every time he smiled at me. And we touched once, just barely, but... Dear God, Roberta. I can't remember the last time I felt something like that. Or if I've ever felt it, to be honest."

"Eleanor..."

"I know, I know. I'm fucked" I sigh. And in just a week, I'll be flying across the pond to support him and his teammates, definitely having to see him and spend time with him. What could go wrong?

[omeletcat]

ALRIGHT IT TOOK ME A BIT TO GET MY HEAD STRAIGHT BUT I THINK I'VE FOUND A WAY TO FIX COMBAT IN MY GAME, MAKE IT MORE FUN, MAKE IT MORE ENGAGING, ANDDD MAKE IT MORE UNIQUE!!!! these are the 2 main characters in my game currently named sun and moon (caus i don't have good names yet) they play a big role in the story and until now i have only really been seeing sun as a bonus option for like extra damage in battle, BUT NOW I FOUND A PERFECT SOLUTION at the beginning of the game you start out alone as moon, with 2 main attacks and a dash, attack 1 is a floating hand you can slap and punch people with, the hand follows your mouse and can be used to pick stuff up and solve puzzles. attack 2 will be a bullet or a slash attack that shoots a slash in the air at the mouse. both of these attacks will have "variants" different changes based on certain environmental things like the distance of the mouse from the player when you use the attack, maybe even the movement of the mouse like drawing a circle before attacking. using these different variant sof the same attack will make boring fights less stale and way more engaging!!!! ALSO i got this insane idea: "combo's" what if i make it so using different attacks at the same time will make different effects? that will add even more creativity and intrigue into the game!! this whole revelation came from looking some more into magica 2 and smash, it made me realize the reasons why a single set of moves doesn't get very old very fast in those games, because there aer insane amounts of combo's and ways to use the attacks, that way it doesn't get stale!!!! moon (and sun) will of course get more attacks i already have 1 in mind but i already feel like i am spoiling so much on this blog lol. BUT THATS HTE MAIN PLAN BUT ALSO: SUN, before, i only thought of her as a supporting character, someone you can click on to use for an ultimate battle like (this is gonna be an insanely specific reference) this one inazuma eleven game (a football game imagine fifa but with more anime in it), if you shoot a ball when you are in a certain area and have certain requirements filled you can do a teamup attack that is extra strong. i though tof something like that, BUT THATS SO BORINGGGG, i don't want to make my secondairy character and one of my MAIN CHARACTERS A SECONDARY ACTION!!!! SOOO I LOOKED BACK AGAIN AT THOSE INAZUMA GAMES AND FOUND ANOTHER THING, IN THE FIFA GAMES AND IN INAZUMA YOU CAN SWICH CHARACTERS!!! you see waht i'm getting at??? you will be able to switch from Moon to sun to get a whole different attack pattern and options. sun will be more close combatty and have less distance then moon. soo when you're soulbar( kinda like a mana bar, every spell you cast/attack you use takes off a little bit of that meter, and it slowly fills itself up) is empty you can switch to sun and be forced to go close distance (a percentage of the mana is shared tho just to make it a real threat, or not idk? either i will make it so that mana is smth annoying you have to look after, or it will just be a meter saying " hey you haven't used this other character in a bit! go do that while your main attacks fill up again" but i'l figure that out some other time ANYWAY sun's moveset will look something like this a dash just like moon but instead of some kind of energy surge, sun blasts herself forward with fire or an explosion or smth. the first is a basic punch that blasts an explosion/fire in front of the punch for extra distance but only a little bit, just enough so its reachable, i imagine if you dash and then do this attack, it will make an extra big punch and blast the enemy away. the secondary attack will be a longer distance continuous fireblast that chips away your soulbar slowly, the dahs version may be a big long ass laser beam ish fireblast?

and then not rly an attack? but a thing she can do, she can make her raccoon flip suck up stuff and make a temporary shield against attacks. so all the bullets gets sucked up in his cute mouth ALSO in non battle scenario's both moon and sun have their own skills they use to progressin puzzle's and exploring levels, moon can huse their hand to do puzzle stuff and pick stuff up easy, and sun can smash big blocks of stone to open new area's (and more but i can't say anything caus that would be boringgg) so a bit of a summary this is what i will add to make the game less boring -attack variants -attack combo's -2 main characters with different movesets -a switch option between the characters -ingame puzzle adn exploration functions different to the 2 charactrs

[lunar-years]

🕯️🍬🔪🌿 🍦 - for the writer ask game

🕯️ on a a scale from 1 to 10, how much do you enjoy editing? why is that?

uhhh... 4? It's my least favorite part of the writing process because 1) I write out of order and am also a proponent of the 'Write Now Edit Later' method so sometimes when it actually comes time to edit the draft is roughhhh and it is a PAIN to wad through. also 2) I am someone who needs to read through my work approx. 5000 times before I feel ready to post it which is. a very annoying way to be. (and then I always find at least 3 more errors as soon as I click Publish anyway, lol.)

🍬 post an unpopular opinion about a popular fandom character

Stranger Things: Steve Harrington's Dad is not abusive and Steve isn't chronically abandoned by him or whatever. They simply do not get along in a very normal father and teenage/young adult son kind of way where Steve thinks his Dad soooo doesn't understand him and is a corporate square bore and Steve's dad wants Steve to grow up a bit and take some responsibility. (Mind you, the only comments Steve makes about his dad in canon are like "oh no my dad made me get a job :(" or "oh no my dad is going to be pissed I threw a party with teenagers and beer when he was out of town :(" which are like...totally normal parent things?) I have NO idea why "Steve's Dad is at best neglectful and at worst physically and emotionally abusive" became "basically canon" for like 85% of this fandom but it drives me NUTS. I would just like it to be acknowledged as the headcanon it certifiably is, thank you.

Ted Lasso: Ted had the best possible ending for his character (in returning to Henry) and this was the natural culmination to the arc they'd been building for him for three seasons.

🔪 what's the weirdest topic you researched for a writing project?

uh, football ⚽️🤪

Jk jk lmao, I feel like I haven't written about anything that outlandish? Maybe that time I watched 15 minutes of Fast and Furious on Youtube so I could make it Jamie's favorite movie LOL.

Also, I currently have a tab open on how to help a recovering addict coming out of rehab (for Jamie father fic purposes) which isn't a *weird* topic by any means but would surely be alarming to my family members were they to open my laptop haha.

🌿 give some advice on writer's block and low creativity

switch stories!! Career Fic exists because I got bad writer's block on Jamie Father Fic. And now that I'm stumped on chapter 2 of Career Fic, I'm back to Jamie Father Fic! Also don't be afraid to write out of order. If I'm writing a fic because of one (1) fleshed out scene I have in my head meant to be the stories climax, I simply write that first. Don't force yourself to start at the beginning just because you think you ought to!

Also...if writing is a hobby for you, treat it as such and don't force yourself to write if you're not feeling it. Deadlines are arbitrary and your story will still be there tomorrow! and keep it fun (i like sitting down with a glass of wine or a pot of tea and a blanket to make it cozy as I write 🥰)

🍦 name three good things about a character you hate

uhhh idk what characters I hate apart from the characters I'm meant to hate LOL.

James Tartt Sr:

Gave us Jamie

Is the 1/2 of the Equation for why Jamie exists

the actor who plays him was really hot when he was younger (just like Jamie) 🤪

Writing Ask Game

[bumblyburg]

ted lasso finale thoughts

Need the richmond women's team spinoff NOW!!!!!!!!!!! And it better have LESBIANS i swear to god!!!!!!!

As always the strongest part of this ep was the team dynamics. Roy joining the diamond dogs. Isaac with the penalty kick!!!! The fucking dance sequence callback T^T theres no place like afc richmond <3 Them winning the match but losing the whole thing was a good balance of success vs realism. I didn't know enough about football to predict it beforehand LOL but that probably worked in my favor bc i genuinely didnt know whether they would win or lose. Rebecca and ted's friendship was heartwarming as always. I was living in fear that they'd become a couple even though i knew that wasn't what the writers were going for, so I probably need to rewatch to fully enjoy it.

Tedependent lost RIP. it would have made sense but at the same time im kinda glad they didn't, at least this season. trent was still very much a side character and i just don't think the story beats were there for tedtrent endgame. the story would have had to been constructed differently, or it would need another season. I also liked how the main focus was ted & rebecca's friendship rather than either of their romantic relationships. I love a good romance but its not what this story is about.

Thats part of the reason why the dutchman return felt cheap to me lol. Sorry rebecca im always rooting for you but i just wasn't feeling it. Another part of that is probably because Ted and Trent had a much stronger foundation and we still didn't get to see even their friendship develop as much as i would have liked. Maybe ive been spoiled by all the trent this season idk. but i was just hoping for a little more. After all, it's not lost on me that we only got one confirmed gay couple at the end (we don't even know anything about Michael!!! Ugh sorry Im a michael hater he's so boring.)

Speaking of boring, I simply do not care about ted's family. So him moving back was... not really compelling for me. like none of the kansas characters are fleshed out at all. i wish they had done something more interesting with them so i could actually get invested. There was something there with michelle dating their couples therapist, but it ended up falling flat imo. Also Michelle being a teacher is a total copout, I would have preferred if she had an unexpected job that revealed a new side to her. Give her a personality outside of being a wife/mother/caretaker please and thank you.

I did like how Royjamie was left openended!!! thats the ship i care most abt and i knew it wasnt going to *actually* happen so im satisfied with what we got. I am in the (im assuming) minority of royjamie enjoyers that is against roykeeleyjamie. This episode really hammered it in why roy and jamie are not good for keeley LOL, but the signs have been there all along. Keeley needs to be her own boss for a bit! Roy and jamie are just not at her maturity level (lovingly), and they've got some misogyny to work through.

(I need to think on it more, but I'm pretty sure that I liked the way this episode/season handled the Roy And Jamie Are Lowkey Sexist subplot. Like the whole fighting over a woman thing is soooo trite atp, and i still dont know how i feel about them physically fighting over her or whatever. but the story was realistic about how these asshole male footballers are going to have some weird views about women, while still shutting that down those views. like not even giving them the time of day. Keeley literally shoos them out without a word LMAO. So idk need to think about it more but at least keeley didnt end up with either of them).

Hey you know who DOES deserve each other.... and makes each other better people, as represented by their football training arc.... the student is the teacher and the teacher is the student etc etc…… Anyways royjamie is real TO ME!!! (And brett goldstein and phil dunster, number one royjamie warriors. phil dunster wrote royjamie smut I will never get over that)

Overall im sad to see ted lasso go. i think i need to sit with all 3 seasons a bit more before forming my full opinion, but s1 will always have my heart. Mostly because evil jamie and evil rebecca are so so fun to watch.

[theonethatcouldhavebeen]

hesitations

Hey there.

Since I am at a quite fragile, rebellious, emotional and melodramatic phase of my life, today, people around me can't be trusted so easily. I have strict parents and I possibly don't think that they would be very happy to know about my boring and confusing love life.

So here I am and i am going to write all about it.

If ya'll find me and my life interesting enough, please do visit my posts often.

I am 17 years old. And the reason that I am here sharing some unforgettable moments which occurred in my life instead of telling my friends is because of the most obvious and complicated thing of all. TRUST.

When I was 16 years old, and was in school, I had a crush on a boy for like 3 years. Or maybe 2. I didn't exactly know when I started to like him, but it warmed my heart when he used to send me good morning and good night texts every single day. It was during lockdown in 2020 when we started to bond. We used to chat all day long, in between classes and cover up for each other when one wasn't paying attention to the teacher.

But when we came to school physically like after a year or so, he walked right by me and i was dumbfounded. I couldn't believe he would do such a horrible thing to me. I tried talking to him for the rest of day but he kept cutting me off. I was really pissed off. I got home and saw his message saying that his friends would have started teasing us and it would have ruined our friendship. Anyways, we eventually came out of that awkward phase and entered 10th grade. Now the toxic friend comes in the picture. In my friend group, i Hadn't told anybody about my feelings for him because i wasn't sure enough. You know sometimes its just like a stupid attraction and goes away after a few weeks. Now, I wouldn't have imagined that these stupid feeling would stay in my heart for 2 damn years. I think my friends noticed the way I looked at him. They kinda shipped us, but i warned them not to overdo it due to his insecurity of losing close ones. There was this one friend who got a small crush on him and i was like VERY VERY jealous. I was so mad and sad at the same time that I stopped talking to him. this went on for nearly 2 months. This was because my FRIEND was brave enough to reveal that she has a crush on him and the next thing you know is everybody is shipping them. One day after games period, he sat beside me. I turned around, my back facing him. He called me 4 times and when I didn't listen he just twirled the chair around pulling it towards his. I was a little flustered and couldn't meet his eyes, since I was afraid of bawling out my eyes right in front of him. He urged me to look him in the eyes with a husky voice. As I lifted up my head and glanced at him, he was all sweaty from playing football and his face was completely red due the scorching summer heat. The scene made my heart skip a beat. I tried to sound unbothered and asked him, "What do you want?"

"I wanted to talk to you about something." He said.

"Go on." I replied still acting cool not noticing the stares my FRIEND gave me.

"What's with the long face huh? You don't laugh much either nowadays. I think there is a misunderstanding which I need to clear."

"And that is?"

"There is nothing going on with me and your FRIEND. You know the boys; they just start teasing me for fun. And the reason that I don't deny their teasing is because I know that nothing, I can say will stop them. They will just round up my words and start a dumb rumor."

"Okay. And why are you telling me this?"

There was a long pause. I could almost see my FRIEND staring at us smugly. He stuttered, "Uhm, Uh, you are my friend, and I think that was something you should now so that you don't get the wrong idea."

"Okay then. Noted." I smiled a little grateful for his consideration.

But I was still depressed that he indeed saw me only as a friend. It was just extremely tough to accept the truth and tears formed in my eyes.

"Why are there tears in your eyes?" he asked while chuckling.

"Oh you know, I got it from my mother. In any type of extreme emotion, tears tend to come. It's inconvenient. Every time I laugh I have to remove my glasses to wipe them. Haha." I said, still in a dull voice smiling a little.

"Whenever you explain this situation to anyone, you always laugh heartily while saying it. You aren't now. Who knows. That could be your actual tears." A voice said which didn't belong to my crush.

{Lets call my crush A and the other boy B for convenience.}

"I looked back and saw B staring at us while wiping off the sweat. There was a unknown tension in the air which I failed to understand and just smiled at what he said.

B was with me from the very beginning. I joined the school when I was in 2nd grade and since then B was always in my class. Our class was shuffled thrice. Still here we were. Together even after 9 years. He knew me quite well.

Nevertheless, currently I am in touch with A. I am studying for an entrance exam for med school. I stay in the coaching classes for like more than half of the day. I cut off contact from other fake friends. So, I only talk to A once in a while. In a friendly way of course.

I joined the classes early to get a head start for my preparation so I was shifted to the ADVANCED BATCH. That class was filled with ambitious, smart, focused people. It created a very serious and healthy atmosphere for studying.

We were like 8 girls and other 24 were boys. All of them we really very smart and born talented. It was hard for me to compete with them. Afterall I was an average student. Not some extraordinary child.

Now what I didn't expect was to create a liking towards the topper of our batch. It was a start of something new exciting but I knew how it was going to end. He was out of my league.

Tall, handsome, dark hairs, beautiful eyes, long hands and a gentle smile.

He belonged to the Muslim community, and I belonged to the Hindu community. I knew, that I should get rid of my feelings as soon as possible, because him and me were not gonna happen. However, my heart always acted otherwise.

I liked making people laugh so I used to crack a lot of jokes. He used to eavesdrop once in a while (as noticed by my friends and sometimes myself) and laughed at every one of my jokes of which he heard. It came as a shock because he was not one of those who would laugh that easily. He always had a serious aura. He used to mess around with his friends, but would never approach any girl.

At first, I was quite happy and proud of my sense of humor that I made such a cold boy laugh. But as time went by I found myself wanting to talk to him.

There were some moments of "eye contact" but I didn't think of anything since it could have been just a coincident glance at each other.

I still remember the first time I talked to him. I went to ask him a biology doubt and ended up mispronouncing a word 3 times. Whilst I struggled with the word, he just laughed at me. To be honest I am still embarrassed of this memory.

Many a times he would sit behind me during the self-study sessions. He wasn't the type of person who sat behind girls.

Once, he needed a particular book set (Book set 6). He asked some of his friends and none had that. When he approached me, I checked my bad and saw that exact book lying there. I believe it was fate. While going home I asked how much more time he needed the book since I needed to get home, he asked for 3 minutes.

A man who is punctual about his time. You must think I am weird, but as a medical aspirant that is really hot of him.

As he returned the book, he jokingly said, "At least write your name on the book. You never know the people around you nowadays." And with that gave a sweet smile and walked away.

I was too stunned to see him talking so casually to me for the first time and that smile. Oh god. Literally no words came out as I watched him go into the classroom (he was sitting outside the room for some time)

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Stay tuned for further story. I will write them as the events happen in my life. Thank you for staying till here. I would love if ya'll get interactive. In a non-toxic way of course.

However, if I catch someone detoxifying themselves here, I will make sure to dish one right back. Have a good day!

[mollymaehague]

✉: a text that WASN’T SENT

[unsent text]: hey

[unsent text]: so I know you're probably busy with training camp and all. I know you mentioned the time we've hungout was kind of your last hoorah before you started camp again, before you had to get focused. that you didn't usually do that crazy stuff and, well, as I said..neither do I but I don't have football as an excuse, I'm just boring lol.

[unsent text]: I guess I was just hoping we would still be hanging out maybe minus the crazy stuff? you've really brought me out of my shell and I enjoy getting to know you. I don't even usually admit my feelings like I did with you but.. I don't know, I guess I just wanted to take that chance with you even if I had to spell it out a few times since I'm clearly not good at admitting feelings. lol. I'm terrible at this, which I think I mentioned a few times before.

[unsent text]: oh gosh, I'm going on and on, aren't I? I suppose maybe you didn't feel the same way and that's okay. like I said, no pressure. you said you had to think about things because you didn't think you had a chance and maybe that should have been my sign that "he's just not that into you" if you had to think about it lol. anyway, I hoped we could still be friends at least but I get if it's awkward and weird now. I definitely made this awkward. I'm deffo not sending these texts lol.

[alsjeblieft-zeg]

484 of 2023

List 5 things that have happened in the last 7 days. (They can be anything at all, anything that’s happened involving you, or your family, friends, partner)

I had an appointment with the work doctor and she made me hopeful for a better tomorrow.

we sold some items online.

I did some groceries in a Polish shop.

I saw a fairly handsome tram driver today. WTF is wrong with me lol.

met some of my favourite workmates.

If you found out your ex had a new partner, would you be upset?

Why would I? Actually, I would be happy if he did. I really want nothing but his happiness.

How many friends do you have, whose name begins with G?

One. Used to be two lol.

Do you like anyone atm? What if you found out that someone else liked them too?

Too late, I've already claimed him as my husband.

Have you ever had sex in someone else’s bed/bedroom?

Does a hotel bed count?

Have you ever had sex on your bedroom floor? How about your living room floor?

No and no. Most of our bedroom space is occupied by our bed, and our living room has a tile floor.

Where is one place you’ve thought about having sex, that might be considered unusual?

I never think of having sex, unless in a pure 'ew' way.

Have you ever received a compliment about any of the clothes you’re wearing?

Yup, several times. Which is weird lol.

When you kiss someone, do you like to play with their hair?

Ew, kissing. I don't even like kissing.

Why did you hug the last person you hugged?

Because I can. Just told him I love him while doing so.

Do you ever find it difficult to put your thoughts/feelings into words?

All the time. My verbal expression is terrible.

Have you ever loved a song to begin with, but then you listened to it so many times that you ended up getting sick of it?

Yeah, quite a few times. Took me years to revisit it.

Time for some questions about you and your significant other/crush. What is something you like, that he/she doesn’t like?

Science. He finds it incredibly boring. Also, cinnamon. And going out.

What is something he/she likes, that you don’t like?

Video games, movies and seafood. Football. Steak.

Something you both like?

Having our personal space. Sitting next to each other while each of us does his own thing. Comfortable silence. British sitcoms. Fries.

Something you both dislike?

Chocolate lol. Drama queens. Romance.

Do you regret sleeping with anyone?

No, I don't. Why would I.

Did anyone comfort you the last time you cried? What was your reason for crying?

Too many questions like that lol, in every single survey. Too much is too much okay?

What if you had a baby with the last person you kissed?

Biologically impossible lol.

What’s the weirdest dream you can ever recall having?

I don't know, my dreams are always about trains, empty landscapes and cities, abandoned buildings and all, so pretty dark. Maybe the weirdest one was that I jumped off the train.

Is there anyone that likes you, other than the person you love/like/are with?

I have no idea. Even if someone does, no one told me about it lol.

Did you wake up in someone’s arms this morning?

Nope, my husband was at work already.

What was the last thing you spilled on yourself?

Coca Cola, and the worst thing was that I was wearing white that day.

How long have you had the shirt you’re wearing?

I'm not wearing any shirt.

Do you ever brush your hair before you go to bed?

My hair is too short lol.

Have you ever lied to the person you love/like?

Not consciously. There's no point anyway, he can read people really well.

Who is the 9th contact in your phone? Have you ever hugged/kissed that person?

Burger King, obviously lol. You kidding me right?

Has anyone ever told you that they needed you? Do you think they meant it?

Yeah;, I know he meant it.

If the last person you kissed told you they loved you, would you believe them?

Of course. He doesn't say such things often, though. He rather shows love through his actions.

How did you feel when you woke up today? What was the first thing you thought about?

Okay, but I don't remember what I was thinking about XD

Do you still tell your parents that you love them?

Yeah, why wouldn't I? Maybe not too often.

Have you ever said “I love you” to someone you weren’t going out with?

Yup, I say it to my friends all the time.

Random fact about the person you love/like?

His father was born in the UK.

Have your parents ever disapproved of anyone you had a relationship with?

No, they were just not too happy with the fact I like guys.

Anything else you would like to say, to finish?

Thanks, bye.

[mood2you]

Blog 13: A Dollar Early

I'm writing this a day early. I thought of a joke for my "finish a book everyday" challenge I started on the 15th. I have 8 books open right now, 3 or 4 of them I'm seriously edging. I read plenty of books, it doesn't really matter what I think of them. I know I talk about essays, but frankly every book is not that remarkable. What's up with "Angels Don't Knock!" do you really have to DIE to be a happy wife? EVEN if you don't settle for the boring rich guy? The publisher is explcitly religious but at least they're not Mormon. I might just not read all 4 of these, yet they have a little charm. The recap is seriously lazy, copy pastes sections from the previous book, which is good because I have books 1, 2, 4, and 6, out of seven or eight, but it doesn't matter maybe... I'm one of those "you have Roald Dahl on the shelf?" booktokers where I feel like things will subtly rot the brain. I got rid of that 1997 Millennium Meltdown book because it had more conspiracy theories than just the MM. Fearless by Fern Micheals also rubbed me the wrong way, and the twist at the end just made the characters feel underutilized.

I just finished Sarah Lotz Missing Person, I think I only have one more book by her to read. The White Road is still my favorite horror novel. If you were a Homestuck kid, you might love Missing Person!

I drew this week! I'm trying to get ready for Drawtober I suppose.

I also started another writing project so now I have something I can pit against that ghost hunter fantasy. The thing about the new project is its just a revival of something I started in highschool and I would love a peak at the old draft, but I never pried the harddrive out of my old laptop. And the track pad on this one is getting finnicky... It better straighten up. How old is "old" for a laptop?

So anyways, on Thursday I cleaned. On Friday I swung by the library and then followed signs to a yard sale (it was Friday/Saturday because they had football games to watch on Sunday) and met the people there and even got a phone number. That's because I found a piece of furniture I've been needing and it was so perfect I asked them to hold it so my mom could help me put it in her car. I have just a sedan. I also got a great bedside lamp to hopefully cut down on screentime, and a painting of my aunt's favorite painter for only $2. Of course it looks better in person. As well as about 12 pulp romances.

Then I went to the store where my mom was shopping to see if she wanted to get lunch. I tried to just surprise her by sneaking up on her but it turned out she was at the one 1 freeway exit away so I'd wasted like half an hour. Freaking parking lots! We got Mexican. On Sunday the neighbors came over and we put up Halloween decorations. Monday this week was much better than last week. On Tuesday I ran a poll to see whether to go to the library or the pool but made a little time for both! It's gonna be hot tomorrow but I might not have time for it. But, like, an hour is fine, sometimes. It's all about getting over the "peeling off a damp bathing suit after" thing.

[fierykitten2]

Starter trios ranked from my least favourite to my favourite

Sinnoh (I know it's the most popular, I don't understand you) - when unevolved, they're all either ugly, boring or both. The only saviour is Grotle and by that point I've probably boxed my starter, never to be seen again. Also I probably chose Piplup in the first place anyway

Kanto - It's the original and it's overrated. The middle evos are nice though

Unova - this used to be lower than Kanto but I've grown to like Oshawott purely because of Hisui

Johto and Hoenn are basically tied in sixth place. In Hoenn's case (starting with it because it's simpler) I like all of their unevolved forms but they're easily beaten when it comes to what I like. Saying something is "Hoenn-quality" generally means it's not my favourite but I still like it. As for Johto, Chikorita is Hoenn-quality and Cyndaquil mainly grew on me because of Hisui. I've never liked Totodile and never will (I feel like this has something to do with me seeing a Croconaw in a gym in GO and instantly deciding I didn't like it). It drags Johto down as a result

Into the top five and somehow I've already listed the five most popular starter trios (or at least the ones loved for existing before the format was changed in Gen 6). Anyway, number five is Galar - I'll admit, it is a bit of a disappointment but not because "they're just people in fursuits". Actuallu, it's because they're just a bit boring (I'm not selling the fact that I prefer them as a trio to Johto and Hoenn very well am I?). I think the reason I like them is because they have cool concepts that they pull off pretty well (seriously, try and convince me that Samurott is actually based off samurais and not just named after them for the funsies). I mean, rock band drummer gorilla, football rabbit and secret agent chameleon (that's actually really clever now I think about it)? Yes please! I don't understand why Rillaboom's drums aren't in it's official art but oh well

Alola - idk, they just don't feel like a proper trio in the same way the Hisui trio does

Hisui - I occasionally have "phases" where I get obsessed with this trio for a short amount of time. I actually had one earlier (it's not really a phase if it lasts an hour. Actually that was more half an hour). It's just cool thinking about them

Paldea - where it does well, it's better than Kalos. Fennekin < Spriggie, Chespin < Quaxly. The only thing that ruins it is the Fuecoco line, which is a shame because fire = best type and ghost = second best type (you'd think I would prefer fire cat to grass cat but okay). Also, second croc starter - maybe I could try giving it a second chance? Oops, too late, it's ugly. I think I wouldn't mind being called a furry honestly. Now that I think about it, I feel kinda sorry for Samurott, not because it has to associate with Skeledirge or because I can't see it's samurai theme outside the name but because its quadrupedal build means it can't pick up stuff and use it

Kalos - sure, I may prefer the Sprigatito and Quaxly lines to the Fennekin and Chespin lines (respectively) but that doesn't mean I prefer Paldea's trio. Unlike Paldea, I actually like my least favourite member of this trio. I'd say Froakie is Hoenn-quality. Also I remember during Gen 7, I had a Kalos starter phase so I still have nostalgia for that (can you have nostalgia for a phase?). And unlike with Hisui, it actually lasted a decent amount of time

[einprotagonist]

[⚠️TRIGGER WARNING] (It's probably for the best to skip reading this one)

Coward? Lazy? Afraid? Or just weak?

What am I? Why is it that I have no solution to the problems I am facing? Are there really any problems or am I just overthinking? Why am I unable to get out of these spirals of life? When will I be good enough to help those who are around me? My parents, my sister, my relatives & the needy in society.

Why are my efforts without returns? It's been so long that I left college with a degree in the hopes of earning well, how has all that gone down the drain? Where are those who would pay me in expected fashion? Is it really too much to expect? I make bare minimum for someone my age, effort and qualification.

Will there be care? Is there always a burden on head? Am I seeing the responsibilities the wrong way? Do they feel like a burden only because I am unable to take care of them? Who assigned them to me? I did, because I thought I was capable but now I'm failing to live up to it. Instead I'm just struggling to make the ends meet. Had my father not been just about sufficient for the family, I could not have provided for anyone - maybe not even myself.

Am I a coward to think of ending it all because it's not going the way I ever wanted? Does it ever go like that for anyone? Maybe for some it does but the others fight, live and win. Maybe I'm just too lazy and I want to give in but I'm too weak to leave anyone like this? Will they think about me? What will they think? Am I going to do anything like this? No, I don't think I can leave anyone with this to face.

I've been trying to sleep for last 120 minutes, eyes closed and lights off - nobody to disturb but my own mind keeps throwing scenes at me. Trying to make think all which I do not want to think about, which is pointless anyways. Does anyone care? Who should take out time from their lives for me and why even bother about someone like me ffs? What do I bring to anyone's life anyway.

I want to eat delicacies, I have materialistic wishes to fulfill - I am not close to doing that for myself. I do steal a little bit of life for myself once in a couple months by spending a thousand on myself. Is it wrong to be materialistic up to some extent? True happiness lies in spirituality, but is this something that people who earned enough and then gave it up for spirituality or those like me who couldn't live one way so went the spiritual way?

I want to feel loved, but what are my expectations? Are they too much that despite being with someone I still feel this need? Do they do less or am I just too greedy? Maybe I'm just wrong to even have an expectation from someone, they have their own life to figure out and they are working on it - all I'm doing is adding an extra load on them. Why should they take care of someone who does this to them - it's fair point. So I don't demand, but my naive mind/heart feels the need. But I know I am just too free in life and hence thinking like this.

Maybe I too should be doing something in my free time, something productive? Something fun? I preach and often convince people to live their moments - have fun when you want to because you're not going to be as efficient anyways. But tonight I'm just doing the opposite, I would generally put on a movie or watch a football match and go to sleep midway. It's not a toxic habit that bothers my daily sleep. It's just for nights like these. Tonight I thought I wouldn't need to watch and I'll just sleep, yet 3 hours have passed now.

I shouldn't have written all this, may put some in tension. But who reads my blog anyways until I push them the link myself, so maybe it's a safe place to pen down my chaos once or twice.

It's not even midlife and I feel the crisis, the crisis felt by a beginner in career and an adult in life. Maybe maturing early didn't do too well for me, did I not have fun or am I just getting melancholic for no reason? Did I even mature early or was I a delusional fucking cunt who was just boring people with his takes on life? Maybe people just didn't say it to my face out of pity.