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asendingtothestarsasone · 3 months

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Gentle Sin

Summary: A flat mate wanted listing sends you on a journey that leads you into the arms of the sweet but protective Jake.

Pairings: Jake Kiszka x Female Reader

Word count: 2.1k

Warnings: 18+ MINORS DNI

Oral (female receiving), Uprotected Sex, Assault, Dirty talk, Biting, Hair pulling, Mentions of Alcohol

*This is my first fanfic/smut. Thank-you so much for reading and let me know if you want a part two*

When I saw the listing, I thought it could not be more perfect.

Two musicians were in search of a flat mate for their spacious 3-bedroom house, featuring a generous bedroom, bath, and even a hot tub on a large balcony—all for just $250 a week. Being someone dedicated to learning guitar and nurturing my singer-songwriter aspirations within the confines of my bedroom, this opportunity felt like a gateway to fully immerse myself in Nashville's vibrant music scene.

Knocking on the door, I was met by a captivating sight—a man with long, wavy brown hair, a striking face adorned with big doe brown eyes, and an enchanting smile. As he extended his hand for a shake, I could not help but feel the warmth of his soft yet calloused fingertips.

"Hello, I'm Y/N. I'm here for the room viewing."

"Yes, of course. Nice to meet you. I am Jake. Come inside, and I'll show you around."

As Jake guided me through each room, his sweet demeanor captivated me. The house had a unique decoration style, blending modern and '70s aesthetics, with framed posters on the walls and electric guitars displayed proudly. Finally, we reached a white room at the end of the hallway, featuring a large bed with beautiful linens and a fur throw.

"So, this would be your room if you decide to take it. It's filled with sunlight, and there's this lovely old desk for you to use."

"That would be perfect for my music writing. It's a beautiful spot."

"Oh, you're into music too?"

"I wish I were a musician. I do it in my bedroom, but I dream of playing in front of people. I've been learning guitar as well."

"That's great. I play guitar in a band with my brothers. I could teach you some things if you're interested."

"Wow, yes, that would be amazing. I will definitely take the room now.

"Perfect. I'll message you all the details in the next few days, and once you're settled in, we can have a jam session."

"Sounds perfect. See you soon."

"See you soon, Y/N."

As I carried my last box into the new place, a sense of satisfaction washed over me. Seated on my bed, I thought, 'This is going to be good for me. Change is a good thing.' After a challenging previous relationship, being on my own to focus on my dreams felt like the right step.

Over the next few days, I unpacked and transformed my room into a cozy haven. Yet, I had not interacted much with my new flat mates, who were both away on road trips playing gigs.

The following day, a knock on the door revealed a tall man with short black hair, an eyebrow piercing, and deep blue eyes—Nick.

"Sorry, I couldn't find my key. You must be Y/N."

"Yes, I am. I just moved in a few weeks ago."

"Hi, I'm Nick. Are you from Nashville?"

"No, I'm from a small town in Michigan called Milford. What about you?"

A voice chimed in from behind, and I turned to see Jake entering.

"Wait, you're from Milford?"

"Yeah, I grew up there."

"No way, I grew up in Frankenmuth with my brothers. That's where we started our band in our parents' garage."

Nick laughed, "And you never really made it out of there, did you?"

"Hahaha. Good to see you as always, Nick."

Jake suggested, "So, you guys hungry? I was thinking we could go out for some dinner, maybe a drink or two, or three."

"Hell yeah," Nick exclaimed.

"I'm down," I replied.

As our nights out continued, the dynamics between us became more apparent. One evening, after dinner and a couple of drinks, Jake opened up about his musical journey. He shared the challenges of balancing artistic integrity with the demands of the industry. It became evident that he was not only a talented musician but also someone deeply passionate about the craft.

Meanwhile, Nick's charisma was undeniable. Over drinks, he revealed that he was the lead singer of a rock band that had gained local recognition. He spoke animatedly about the thrill of performing in front of a roaring crowd, but there was an underlying competitiveness in his tone, especially when Jake's accomplishments were brought up.

In the following days, as Nick's band went on tour, Jake and I spent more time together in the house. Our shared love for music created a natural connection, and Jake became not just a roommate but a mentor. He patiently guided me through chord progressions, song structures, and the art of storytelling through music. It was during these moments that a deeper bond formed, one that transcended the shared space we inhabited.

Late nights turned into early mornings filled with laughter, music, and meaningful conversations. Jake's stories of his own musical journey, the ups, the downs, and the lessons learned, resonated with my own aspirations. It was in these moments that I realized our connection was evolving into something more profound.

However, the peaceful harmony we were creating was disrupted when Nick returned from his tour. His demeanor had shifted – he was constantly drinking, and his once-charming confidence now bordered on arrogance. Nick's attempts to impress me became increasingly apparent, and his behavior towards Jake grew confrontational.

Tensions escalated one evening when Nick, fueled by alcohol and jealousy, made snide remarks about Jake's music, and questioned his dedication to the craft. The atmosphere in the house became tense, and it was clear that the friendly camaraderie we once shared was threatened by Nick's insecurities.

Amidst the growing discord, Jake and I found solace in our shared passion for music. We retreated to the balcony, away from the brewing storm inside. Under the starlit Nashville sky, Jake expressed his concern about the strained atmosphere and Nick's changing behavior. As we spoke, the undeniable connection between us became palpable, and the unspoken understanding deepened.

In the days that followed, Jake and I continued to immerse ourselves in music. He shared not only technical knowledge but also the emotional nuances that make a song resonate. Our collaboration on songwriting projects became a therapeutic outlet, a sanctuary away from the brewing tension within the house.

As the divide between Jake and Nick grew, it became clear that Nick's feelings for me were a driving force behind the conflict. The once vibrant energy of the house was now overshadowed by the growing animosity between the two musicians, leaving me caught in the middle of an unfolding drama that threatened to disrupt the harmony we had cultivated.

One night, as I stepped out of the shower and hastily threw on some clothes, I heard a commotion downstairs. Curious and concerned, I headed down the stairs, only to witness Nick and his friend barging through the door. His friend continued down the hall, while Nick stood there, demanding my attention.

"Come down here, Y/N, I need to talk to you," he insisted. As I descended the stairs, he began making inappropriate advances, emphasizing how beautiful I was and suggesting I deserved someone better.

Uncomfortable and distressed, I asked him to stop, but he ignored my pleas. In that unsettling moment, Jake intervened, stepping up behind me.

"Don't touch her, Nick," Jake warned. There was a silent exchange between them, a look that conveyed an unspoken rule. However, Nick's response was aggression, pushing Jake to the brink.

As Nick lashed out, hitting Jake, and causing blood to flow from his nose, panic set in. I screamed for Nick to stop, but it only fueled his anger. Desperation took over, and I found myself standing between them, pleading for peace.

In a fit of rage, Nick struck me and shoved me into the wall. Jake, driven by a protective instinct, retaliated, unleashing a torrent of punches on Nick until he crumpled to the ground. Frantically, I tried to pull Jake away, begging him to stop. Locking eyes with him, I implored, "Look at me, Jake. Please, stop."

Something in his gaze shifted, and he paused, realizing the extent of the chaos. He looked down at his bloodied hands and whispered, "Oh my God, what have I done?"

In the aftermath, Nick's friend emerged from the bathroom, appalled by the scene. He helped Nick up and ushered him out the door. Tears streaming down my face, Jake wiped them away and we clung to each other in silence, processing the whirlwind of emotions.

Finally finding words, Jake apologized sincerely, expressing disbelief that anyone would dare to harm me. We sat in quiet solidarity, grappling with the aftermath of the violent encounter. He eventually stood up, gently pulling me into his room.

We perched on the edge of the bed, and Jake began cleaning up the remnants of the blood. Once the task was complete, he sat next to me, wiping away the tears that still streamed down my face. As he tucked a strand of my hair behind my ear, I impulsively grabbed his chin and kissed him. The warmth of the kiss provided solace after the pain that had just unfolded.

He pulled away, a question in his eyes, "Are you sure you want to do that... now?"

I responded with conviction, "I have never been more sure of anything." He cupped the back of my neck, and we shared a powerful kiss that felt like a healing balm for the wounds we had both endured. It was almost overwhelming, a moment of profound connection in the chaos.

I kissed him back trying to match his fire but he pushed my back on the bed and soon he was on top if me kissing me with such intensity. He trailed kissed down my neck until I was moaning. Running his fingers through my hair I was overwhelmed with sensations. I could feel his cock getting hard against me which make me let out a moan. He pulled my shirt over my head “can I touch you?” “please” he cupped my breast and squeezed it running his fingers over my nipple while he bit into my neck.

I was starting to get wet, then he pulled off my skirt and ran his hand over my panties “is this, okay?” “Yes, please don't stop” he pulled my panties down and started laying a trail of kisses from neck down to my pussy. Then started running circles over my clit with his tongue so slow and delicately I was losing it.

I came hard and felt my wetness pooling. He brought two fingers up to my entrance and slowly put them inside me. The feeling of being filled up by his fingers with his tongue on my clit was too much and I came again.

He then brought his fingers up to his mouth and licked them clean. He came back up and kissed me so sweetly "can I fuck you" "please fuck me I want you so bad" and he pulled his boxers down and lined up with my opening. He kissed me on the lips so passionately and pushed his cock inside me. The feeling was too much.

He immediately filled me all the way up until I could not take anymore, and I moaned with pleasure. He started kissing my neck again and biting me while fucking me hard and deep “oh Y/N you feel so fucking good” he cupped my breasts and squeezed them while trusting into me.

Then he grabbed a handful of my hair and gave it a gentle pull and layed into me so hard it feel like heaven ”fuck I am going to come” “come for me baby” “come all over my cock” just like that I was putty in his hands I came hard digging my nails into him "good girl" fuck this man was magic.

I have never felt like this before he whispered in my ear “fuck you feel so good I'm going to come” “please come inside me” “you want me to fill you up baby?” “Yes, I'm begging you” he came so hard inside me I could feel his cock pulsating.

As he pulled out of me the warm liquid rushed out, he got a towel to clean me up and after I was all cleaned up, he pulled me into a cuddle and played with my hair just as I was falling asleep I heard him whisper “I want to keep you Y/N, forever”

#greta van fleet #jake kiszka #danny wagner #sam kiszka #josh kiszka #greta van fleet fic #gvf smut #gvf fanfiction #gvf fic #jake kiskza x reader #jake kiska fic #greta van fic #greta van smut #greta van fluff #gentle sin #x reader #y/n

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diana-fortyseven · 5 months

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Now that the days (in the Northern Hemisphere at least) are getting shorter and darker, why not enhance your fanfic reading experience with a fun challenge?

Generate your own Fanfic Reading Bingo Card and try to finish it over a timespan of your choice (e.g. during your next family gathering).

Details & instructions under the cut

Generate a new bingo card until you're (mostly) happy with the results. You can re-roll every single bingo field separately by clicking/tapping on it. When you have a card that fits your reading habits (or takes you out of your comfort zone, if you want to challenge yourself), take a screenshot of the card to keep it. Closing the page and reloading it will reset the card.

There are no fanfic-negative or bashing items in the lists. This bingo card is meant to be a positive experience and celebrate fanfiction and fanworks in general.

It's just a little practice piece I made for funsies mostly over the weekend, with some finishing touches earlier today. I will add more content over the next few days and weeks (and let's be realistic, probably months), but everything that's currently in there should already work as intended.

The bingo generator is responsive, which means it should work on desktop and mobile. The mobile layout isn't ideal yet, I'm trying my best to make it better (but I'd also still consider myself a newbie and I'm learning by doing).

The platform I'm using, Perchance, recently added AI options for their generators. This is a regrettable decision that I don't condone, and I'd like to emphasise that this generator is 100% handcrafted chaos.

Leaving the NSFW checkbox unchecked should remove all NSFW tags and tropes, but you could still come across content you find objectionable. Leaving the AO3 Tags checkbox unchecked removes all tags, but you could still come across tropes you find objectionable.

If you run into any issues or come across any bugs, please let me know. If you find something that should be in the NSFW category, but isn't, please also let me know. It's possible that I missed a few tags when I worked through the list. (But don't ask me to remove content you find objectionable.)

What do the checkboxes mean?

NSFW is basically what it says on the tin. If you tick this box, the NSFW tropes will be added to the mix. If you also ticked the AO3 Tags box, NSFW AO3 tags will be added.

AO3 Tags is also what it says on the tin. It's a list with roughly 1,000 AO3 tags. Around 250 of them are currently marked NSFW and can only be generated if you ticked both the NSFW box and the AO3 Tags box.

Stats & Meta currently only includes the lists "length" (contains wordcounts ranging from drabble to >500k) and "meta", which currently contains items like "a work with a song lyrics title" or "a work in a series". I will probably add other lists to that category at some point.

The already populated lists are:

challenge (various challenges and events like Yuletide, Whumptober)

creator (items like favourite author, anon creator)

discovery (various ways you could've found a fic)

fandom (ranging from tiny fandom to megafandom, also options like old fandom, inactive fandom, etc)

length (wordcounts from drabble to over 500k)

medium (items like podfic, fandom meta, fic with fanart)

meta (a fic's front-end and stats, also "citrus scale for rating" xD)

platform (where you read the fic)

reader (your relationship with the fic; is it your comfort fic, or your first fic in a fandom?)

style (chatfic, iambic pentameter, custom workskin, stuff like that)

trope (roughly 100 tropes)

tag (roughly 1,000 AO3 tags)

Lists that are currently planned, but empty:

canon (probably stuff like anime fandom, video game fandom, etc)

category (planned to add the AO3 categories and maybe Archive Warnings to this list)

content (might be scrapped, might be populated with some items moved over from other lists)

genre (what it says on the tin)

setting (where or when does the fic take place)

It's possible that I come up with more ideas for more lists at one point.

I had lots of fun making it, and I hope that you'll have fun with it. If you're using it, let me know when you got a bingo! :D

If you have fannish accounts on there (or don't mind inflicting fandom on your regular followers), you can also share the Fanfic Reading Bingo on Twitter, Mastodon, and Bluesky! :D

#Fandom #Fanfiction #Fic Reading Bingo #D47 Codes #this was born out of a caffeine induced frenzy #I basically stayed awake for three days until I was happy with the code haha #(I'm still so in love with my custom button... <3)

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brawn-gp · 10 months

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TENNIS: A BEGINNERS GUIDE

for @seblrina and anyone who wants to know a bit about tennis, especially now that Roland Garros finals are happening !

1. THE BASICS

The male tennis association is called ATP, and the women's counterpart is called WTA. Tennis players can play singles and/or doubles.

The most important and prestigious tournaments are called Grand Slams, which award the most points, the most money and attract the most attention. Each year there are 4 Grand Slams: the Australian Open (hardcourt), The French Open or Roland Garros (clay), Wimbledon (grass) and the US Open (harcourt).

Then, the order of importance goes like this: 1000 tournaments → 500 tournaments → 250 tournaments (first tier) → Challengers 175, 125, 100, 75 & 50 in men, 125 in women (second tier) → men's Futures and women's ITFs (third tier).

Other important tournaments are the Davis Cup (men) and the Billie Jean King Cup (women), considered the "World Cups of Tennis". All the countries are divided into different categories, the most important being the World Group, which will crown the winning country or world champion each year. Last year, Switzerland won the Billie Jean King Cup and Canada the Davis Cup. Each country usually has 5 players, playing 1 doubles match and the rest being singles. The Davis Cup has 3 stages divided into the year: the World Group Playoffs, then the Group Stage and finally the Knockout Stage. The Billie Jean King Cup has a Qualifying and a Finals Stage, also divided into two parts of the year.

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2. COURTS AND LINES

There are 3 types of tennis courts: clay (mostly played in Europe and South America) which is the slowest court, with higher bounce and usually longer points, hard court (mostly played in North America and Asia) which is faster than clay with consistent bounces and quick plays, and grass (mostly played in England and some other European countries) which is the fastest court but harder to maintain. Usually these tournaments are bundled together, so for example you'll see people speak of "European clay season".

Now the lines of each court. It's important to point out that if the ball touches even a centimeter of the line, that ball is in. The widest lines are exclusively used for doubles, while the second lines are used for singles (as shown in the figure). The other relevant lines are the service boxes. When the player serves, the ball must bounce inside the opposite and diagonal side of the service box, alternating between the left and right sides with each point.

(excuse my lines, i made this with no ruler shdf)

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3. THE GAME

A coin toss decides which player serves and who receives. The player that serves must start on one side of the court, aiming for the service box of the opposite diagonal side, as explained before. This is called the first serve. If the ball doesn't pass the net or bounces outside of the service box, that's called a foul and the player has only one other chance, called the second serve. Players typically go full force in the first serve, aiming for the ace (ball that cannot be returned), while being more cautious in the second serve. If the player makes a foul in the second serve, that's called a double fault, meaning they lose the point. If the ball touches the net and bounces on the service box, that serve is played again. This is called a let, which can happen in the first or second serve and there are no limitations on how many times it can be replayed (as long as the balls keep bouncing in the service box)

Point: each play gives a point to the winner, with the sequence being: 0 - 15 - 30 - 40 - game.

Game: The first player who makes the four points, wins the game. Unless the rival player also gets to 40, making it a 40-40 point game, which means in order to win, one of the players must make 2 consecutive points, passing from Advantage (Ad.) to the game win.

Set: Each set is won when either player gets to 6 games with at least 2 set differences with their rival. This means the set is won when the result is 6-4, 6-3, 6-2, 6-1 or 6-0. An additional game is played if one player has won 6 games and the opponent 5. If the final result ends up being 7-5, then the first player wins, and if it ends up being 6-6, the players must play a tie-break. The tie-break is won when a player gets to at least 7 points with a difference of 2.

Match: Typically the match is won through a best-of-three system, except for men's matches in the Grand Slams, which are won through a best-of-five system. This means the matches are more physically and emotionally demanding, and they are usually a lot longer than regular 3-set matches.

Some terminology that's relevant to know:

0 in English is called love. I don't know why but it is. So if you see someone call "fifteen-love", that means 15-0.

A "drop shot" is when a player hits a ball over the net, and it lands in the opponent's court so short over the net that the opponent has difficulties getting there before the ball bounces twice.

The umpire is the person who sits on the tall chair at the side of the court and calls the score, as well as revising points. The other people in the court are the ball kids (or ball person) who retrieves balls, and the line judges, that help the umpire to see if the ball falls inside or outside the line.

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4. POINTS AND RANKING SYSTEM

This is by far the most complicated part of tennis, but I'm of the belief you don't actually need to know every rule to appreciate the sport. Basically, each tournament awards points for every round you win, including some of the quali rounds. Here's a chart of points awarded for each round.

— ATP:

— WTA:

For the men, the rankings are based on the total points they obtain in these next tournaments:

— The 4 Grand Slam tournaments — The 8 mandatory ATP Masters 1000 tournaments. — The best 7 results from the other tournaments.

For the women, the rankings are based on the total points they obtain in these tournaments:

— The 4 Grand Slam tournaments. — 4 mandatory WTA 1000 tournaments. — The best 8 results from the other tournaments.

Now this is where the tricky part starts. The one thing you need to know is that if you do well in one tournament, the next year you need to do equally good to not lose points. For example, if a player wins Roland Garros (and gets 2000 points), and the next year they only get to the finals losing it (which gets you 1200/1300 points), you would lose 800/700 points, which is why some players lose a lot of places in a few bad months (if they did well the previous year).

This video can explain this part far better than I could, really recommend watching this to understand this part.

The rankings get updated every Monday (ATP / WTA), but you can see the provisional rankings here: ATP / WTA. I use the provisional rankings a lot, to figure out where they would move if they win or lose a match.

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5. FAMOUS PLAYERS AND LEGENDS

On behalf of men's tennis, I think most people have heard of The Big Three: Roger Federer🇨🇭, Rafael Nadal🇪🇸 and Novak Djokovic🇷🇸. These are the legends of tennis, those who have dominated the sport for the last two decades, and a time that is (sadly) on its last legs. Roger retired last year, and without Rafa in most of this year’s clay season (especially RG), everything appears to be changing. Novak is still playing at a high level though. Special mention to feminist icon Andy Murray🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿, who was once considered as one of the Big Four, but due to injuries he wasn't able to achieve quite the level of the other 3. To see how insane the stats are, only 13 Grand Slams were won by a player other than the 4 of them between 2003 and 2022, meaning they won 66/79 of the Grand Slams (that is not considering Novak's win in the Australian Open this year, or any other slam he may win this year).

On the women's side, the most prominent figure of this millennium is definitely the one, the only, Serena Williams🇺🇸. She won 23 Grand Slams in singles and another 14 Grand Slams in doubles (with an amazing record of 14/14 wins), all with her sister Venus Williams🇺🇸, also considered one of the best tennis players of the Open Era. Both sisters have also won 4 gold medals at the Olympics, one each in singles and three in doubles (all won together) the most of any tennis players. Other women worth mentioning are: Steffi Graf🇩🇪 (22 Grand Slams singles and 107 titles in the 80s and 90s, pictured), Martina Navratilova🇨🇿🇺🇸 (lesbian icon, 18 Grand Slams singles and 167 titles in the 70s and 80s), Margaret Court🇦🇺 (24 singles titles in Grand Slams in the 60s and 70s), amongst other players.

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6. CURRENT PLAYERS AND FUTURE PROSPECTS

As of this week's rankings (June 4th), very young players seem to be dominating the sport. Iga Świątek🇵🇱, (22y) and Carlos Alcaraz🇪🇸, (20y) are the WTA and ATP World Number 1 respectively. Iga has won 13 singles titles, including the 2020 and 2023 French Open, and the US Open in 2022. Carlos has won 10 titles, including the US Open in 2022.

Other WTA names to watch out for are: Elena Rybakina🇰🇿 (23y, 5 singles titles including 2022 Wimbledon winner), Aryna Sabalenka🇧🇾 (25y, 13 singles titles including the 2023 Australian Open), Coco Gauff🇺🇸 (19y, 8 singles titles), and many more.

Other ATP names to watch out for are: Casper Ruud🇳🇴 (24y, 10 singles titles including 2 Grand Slams finals**), Stefanos Tsitsipas🇬🇷 (24y, 9 singles titles including two Grand Slam finals), Holger Rune🇩🇰 (20y, 4 singles titles), Andrey Rublev🇷🇺 (25y, 13 singles titles), Taylor Fritz🇺🇸 (25y, 5 singles titles), Jannik Sinner🇮🇹 (21y, 7 singles titles), Félix Auger-Aliassime🇨🇦 (22y, 4 singles titles), and many more as well.

*For this part I only added top 10s with 25 years or less, but there are a bunch of consolidated and fantastic players that have more years and who are definitely worth watching (and some of my personal favorites!). Also, tennis is ever-changing, and this list might be outdated in three months, so it's always good to keep track of who's gaining and losing positions in the rankings.

**As I'm making this post, Casper also reached another Grand Slam final, making it 3 out of the last 5 Grand Slams. Let's see how he does in this one.

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7. HOW TO PICK YOUR PLAYERS

Personally, I think the best three ways to pick your players are: by watching matches, by mutuals' transferred brainworms and by social media.

By watching matches you'll see what type of player you like. For example, there are players that do well on one court but not so well on others. Or the type of game they play varies; some prefer pure speed and hard hitters, while others prefer more "elegant" shots like drop shots and slices.

And by social media I'm talking specifically about YouTube videos. Thankfully the ATP tour channel is an expert on making silly little videos of different players, usually in their Head-to-head (H2H) videos. Here's the playlist of videos that consumed my life for a week (although you can also search for tennis H2H and they will appear). Here you can see their different personalities and how they act outside of the court, which in my opinion, is important to find the players you click with.

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7. WHERE TO WATCH

I personally watch the matches in Star+ but I think it's only for latam. If you want to pay, you can buy a Tennis TV subscription, that will allow you to watch the matches live, as well as replays and highlights. However, if you don't want to pay to watch the matches live, I recommend this site (with caution).

Challengers you can see for free in the ATP site here.

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8. A YEAR IN TENNIS: THE CALENDAR

To see the calendars of each year, here are the sites: ATP // WTA. For 2023 these are (in my opinion) the most important tournaments, as well as the seasons:

— January: Oceania (hardcourt). [Big tournaments: Australian Open].

— February: South America (clay) / Middle East, some Europe and North America (hard). [Big tournaments: Davis Cup qualifiers, WTA: Dubai 1000].

— March: USA (hard). [Big tournaments: Indian Wells and Miami 1000].

— April: Europe (clay). [Big tournaments: Monte-Carlo and Madrid 1000, Billie Jean King Cup qualifiers].

— May: Europe (clay). [Big tournaments: Rome 1000 and Roland Garros]

— June: Europe (grass).

— July: Various. [Big tournaments: Wimbledon]

— August: North America (hard). [Big tournaments: Canada and Cincinnati 1000, US Open].

— September: Asia (hard). [Big tournaments: Guadalajara 1000, Davis Cup (finals group stage) and Laver Cup (Europe vs the world)].

— October: Asia and Europe (hard). [Big tournaments: Beijing, Shanghai and Paris 1000, WTA Elite Trophy].

— November: Various. [Big tournaments: ATP Finals, and Davis Cup/Billie Jean King Cup finals].

***Hopefully I added every important tournament.

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And that's pretty much it! There are a thousand and one more things that are important in tennis, but as with every sport, it's easy to pick up once you start watching. Any questions, please feel free to ask <3 (or if you need a cheeky stream). Obligatory sorry for my English bit, and hopefully this helps to understand this sport a bit better!

#tennis #beginners guide #.mine #this took me so long but i was able to have it decent before the finals heh

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lovebugs-and-snakecharmers · 7 months

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LBSC Minific Challenge October 2023

Welcome to the LBSC Minific Challenge! This challenge will begin October 1, 2023, but we're posting the information now so that if you want to start thinking (or writing) now, you can.

Write a Lukanette minific of 50, 100, 250 words, or do a piece of Lukanette art work (we’re thinking in the spirit of inktober, but whatever feels appropriate to you), and tag us in your finished work. We’ll reblog it on the LBSC blog and you can add AO3 works to our AO3 minific collection.

We’ve collected a few prompt lists from around the internet you can use, but feel free to make or choose your own, or mix and match as you choose!

Fictober 2023 Prompts

Angstober 2023 Prompts

Flufftober 2023 Prompts (1)

Flufftober 2023 Prompts (2)

Dystober 2023 Prompts

As always, you can do as few or as many as you like, in whatever order you like, and here’s a little reminder of our attitude towards rules (tldr; do what inspires you, even if it breaks the rules)

You can join our LBSC Events discord server for encouragement and ideas (but this is totally optional in both directions - you don’t have to join to participate in the challenge, and you don’t have to participate in the challenge to join the server; you can join just for lukanette socializing, news on lbsc events, and general cheerleading), and if you have any questions you can leave a message in our ask box!

NSFW prompt fills are permitted as long as all characters are of age and it is appropriately tagged.

#lbsc minific challenge #event: october 2023 minific challenge

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watchmego · 1 year

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I passed 200! 250 here I come!

#drawing journey #drawabox #250 box challenge

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bidoofenergy · 6 months

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november writing challenge

the goal is 250 words a day

brainstorming/editing/outlining is not a skip day

focus is on Fic In A Box fic, lddf-verse 4

will be tagging #bidoof writing challenge (block if you don't wanna see everyday)

#happy nanowrimo im sure gonna wri this mo #bidoof writing challenge #anyway s/o to quara for the inspo salute #writing

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pigfromchino · 3 months

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as much as i complain about this exercise i am forced to admit that my ability to visualize space is actually improving :(

#250 boxes #read ahead a bit for the first time and learned that after this i have a 350 CYLINDER challenge coming up #killing biting maiming #drawabox #190/250

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mariacallous · 6 months

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Five months ago, software engineer Shikhar Sachdev adopted a peculiar hobby. While his friends met for drinks or played FIFA 23 to unwind after work, he would come home, boot up his laptop, and spend hours filling out job applications, for sport.

Sachdev is content with his job at a San Francisco fintech company, but he writes a career blog in his spare time and had noticed a recurring sentiment: Job hunting these days is the worst. Friends described returning home from an exhausting day of work they hated, applying for new positions, and quickly growing discouraged by clunky application software and a low response rate. Research suggests the frustration is widespread: 92 percent of candidates abandon online job applications before completing them, according to the recruitment platform Appcast.

“You might hate your boss. But if you think that searching for jobs is worse, you're never going to change,” Sachdev says. “I wanted to try to put some data behind the claim that job hunting sucks.”

Sachdev set himself the challenge of applying to 500 software engineering jobs to observe exactly what made the endeavor more or less frustrating. Halfway through, however, he hit a snag. “I wanted to chop my head off,” Sachdev says. He scaled back his target to a still brain-melting 250 jobs across a range of industries and company sizes, chosen largely at random—companies he’d seen on billboards, for instance, or friends’ employers.

Sachdev timed each application from start to finish and for consistency always applied directly through a company’s career page—he ended up spending about 11 hours total filling applications. Since he wasn’t looking for a new position, he always stopped short of clicking “Submit” on a completed application, except for a few choice roles that piqued his interest. (He landed three interviews, but didn’t pursue the jobs.) He aimed to make each application serviceable, but wasn't as thorough as a truly ambitious or desperate job seeker would be, so he figures the times he logged are underestimates.

Sachdev found it took an average of 2 minutes and 42 seconds to fill out a job application—but that doesn’t include time spent identifying suitable roles, and the time could vary widely from job to job. The longest took more than 10 minutes, the shortest less than 20 seconds. Much of this variation sprang from the particularities of applicant tracking software.

Applying to work at a company that used Workday, for instance, took 128 percent longer than average for similarly sized companies in the same industry. Workday spokesperson Nina Oestlien called customer service a “core value” at the company and says that application timing is determined by how customers configure their applications. (Disclosure: WIRED owner Condé Nast uses Workday. Also, we’re hiring!)

Starting Over

Sachdev’s job hunting obsession was born partly from rejection. Originally from Geneva, Switzerland, he graduated from UC Berkeley in 2019 with a degree in environmental economics and philosophy. Most of his friends lived in the Bay Area, and career opportunities in the region abounded, so he resolved to stay.

As Sachdev’s senior year wound down, he began furiously applying for local jobs. But his heart sank each time he reached the portion of an application that asked if he needed visa sponsorship. Since he lacked US citizenship, he needed an employer to sponsor him, likely with a specialty H-1B worker visa. “When I would click the H-1B box, my application would go straight into the garbage,” he says. “I was getting rejections four minutes after I applied.”

But Sachdev has the tenacity to power through the uttermost tedium for months on end. And he discovered what looked like a loophole. Foreigners who earn STEM degrees from certain US institutions can work in the country for up to three years without a visa under a federal program called Optional Practical Training. “Who stays at their first job for more than three years?” he rationalized. So when the visa sponsorship question popped up in an application for a product manager role at a major tech company he wanted to work for, he clicked “no.”

After he landed an interview, Sachdev spent 40 hours scouring job sites for tips, cramming his notebook full of hypothetical questions and their responses, compiling a presentation the company required—and totally neglecting his coursework. Half a dozen interviews later, he got the job. His heart soared, but not for long. When he explained his immigration status to the recruiter, she rescinded the offer. Sachdev started over, eventually landing a job with a startup willing to sponsor his H-1B visa, and decided to parlay his experience into a career blog offering help to other hapless job questers.

Job hunters have long complained about the process, but it developed fresh annoyances after moving online starting in the mid-’90s, says Chris Russell, managing director of the recruitment consultancy RecTech Media. Online job boards like Monster and CareerBuilder flooded companies with candidates, giving rise to applicant tracking systems built to help recruiters manage the deluge.

These systems promised to save recruiters time by automatically ranking and filtering applicants based on keywords. From the perspective of applicants required to laboriously enter their information into the software, they felt like a new barrier. “These systems were built with the companies in mind,” says Russell. “They never really considered the user experience from the job seeker’s point of view.” A cottage industry sprang up of tools and résumé whisperers promising to help job seekers get past the automated scanners.

In recent years, new features like psychological assessments and “digital interviews,” in which applicants answer prepared questions into their webcams, only placed more barriers between candidates and human decisionmakers. Meanwhile, the fundamentals of hiring remain stuck in the past, says Scott Dobroski, a career trends expert at jobs platform Indeed. It takes three and a half months for most Indeed users to find a job, he says. “All the other parts of our lives have sped up. The hiring process has not caught up.”

Time Wasters

While job hunters have much to gripe about, from “ghost jobs” to the dreaded “résumé black hole,” Sachdev decided to focus his efforts on the initial application process. He identified three main factors that affected the time it took to apply: the size of a company, the industry it was part of, and the applicant tracking software it used.

Applicant tracking software was a major source of Sachdev’s frustration. The most common systems he encountered were Workday, Taleo, Greenhouse, Lever, and Phenom, which adds AI-powered features on top of systems like Workday. More established systems such as Workday and Taleo redirected him away from the careers page and made him create a separate account for each application, adding significant time and vexation. By the end of his 250 applications, he had 83 separate accounts.

Newer offerings such as Greenhouse and Lever spared him some of these frustrations. Applications through Lever, for instance, took 42 percent less time to complete than the average for similarly sized companies in the same industry.

Sachdev also spent many excruciating minutes retyping information he’d already uploaded on his résumé because software would misread it. Workday, for instance, would routinely populate the education field with “Munich Business School” even though Sachdev’s résumé clearly says he graduated from non-soundalike UC Berkeley. “Sometimes it's not even the time,” he says. “It's the mental fatigue of having to do it every single time.”

The longest application to fill out was for the US Postal Service, clocking in at 10 minutes and 12 seconds, while the shortest was that of hedge fund Renaissance Technologies, which requested only his name and résumé and consumed a mere 17 seconds. In general, Sachdev found that government applications took the longest—a trend that Indeed’s data backs up—followed by aerospace and consulting jobs. Younger industries such as online banks, AI firms, and crypto companies were amongst the least time-consuming. Legacy banks, for instance, took about four times longer to apply to than their newer online counterparts.

Sachdev also found applications to large companies more time-consuming than for smaller firms. In general, a doubling of company size added 5 percent to the average application time.

While the process was largely an exercise in repetition, Sachdev encountered a few creative takes on a musty old format. Plaid, a fintech company that provides APIs to connect software with bank accounts, invited applicants to apply via API. (Sachdev opted for the old-fashioned route, for consistency.) The gaming company Roblox let candidates apply in-game.

While hiring software has historically been stacked in employers’ favor, more job seekers are using their own forms of automation. Bots and tools like LazyApply use text-generation technology like that behind ChatGPT to automatically mass apply to jobs, to the likely chagrin of overwhelmed recruiters. When Sachdev posted his results on discussion site Hacker News, one commenter claimed to use bots to fill out job applications and ChatGPT to write cover letters and correspond with recruiters, fully taking over only at the interview stage. “Can you blame him?” Sachdev says. “Because the companies are doing it too. Their résumé parsers, their application tracking software, and their tools are also using AI. So it's almost as if the applicant now has this weapon they can use against the companies.”

An AI arms race that floods the job market with unserious applicants and insurmountable filtering tools is in nobody’s interest, however. Indeed’s Dobroski says some platforms, including his own, have begun rolling out a new approach that aims to save time on both sides, albeit also by leaning on algorithms. Instead of sending hundreds of résumés into the void and hoping for the best—“spray and pray” he calls it—candidates can list their skills, qualifications, and preferences and let AI suggest suitable jobs to apply for. “The matching really speeds up the hiring process, and it connects the candidate with employers that they otherwise may not even have considered,” he says.

Sachdev has his own ideas for what would make job applications more productive for both seekers and recruiters. First off, he advises applicants to save time and mental anguish by prioritizing employers that use simpler software like Lever and Greenhouse. For jobs he’s really serious about, he’ll try to make a human connection with the hiring manager on LinkedIn.

There’s a saying Sachdev likes, from computer science professor Randy Pausch: The brick walls are there for a reason. Facing and surmounting hurdles can help a person discover how much they want something. But if an employer erects too many barriers, “is an applicant really going to think, ‘That brick wall is there for a reason?’ Or is the applicant going to exit out of your website and go apply somewhere else?” Sachdev says. “I think it's the latter.”

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