#also yes tony hawk is a skateboarder I KNOW

[multicolour-ink]

Shrine quests be like:

"Yo Link, go up to the sky and then shield surf down a ring course Tony Hawk style because us Zonai were totally rad snowboarders!"

#this game man #the developers had too much fun woth some quests #also yes tony hawk is a skateboarder I KNOW #the legend of zelda #zelda tears of the kingdom #tears of the kingdom #zelda totk #tloz totk #totk #shrine quest #zonai #totk zonai

[innytoes]

Slow dancing in the kitchen instead of doing the dishes after a holiday party for Rulie please?

Sunset Curve had a Reputation for being those kind of rowdy, break-hotel-rooms rock stars of yore. Reggie figured it mostly had to do with vibes, the way they dressed, and the fact that Bobby never turned on the lights to go to the bathroom at night and then tripped over stuff and Reggie was just clumsy. (They always apologised and told the hotel to bill them for stuff they broke.)

There were always stories in the tabloids about the wild parties they threw at their house, but they were never true. Mostly because their security was very good and they always invited and/or bribed the neighbours with Willie's signature cupcakes.

So no paparazzi knew that besides the loud music, their parties were usually the opposite of a wild sex-drugs-rock-and-roll party. Not just because Luke and Bobby didn't really do sex, or that Reggie didn't like drugs (or even certain triggering alcohols) in the house. It was just way more fun to throw a ‘lame’ themed party and go all out than it was to throw a ‘normal’ party.

There had been the giant paint-covered twister party. That time they'd rented a bounce-house obstacle court and several other inflatable monstrosities. They'd had to stop hosting Scrabble nights, because Alex was way too cutthroat and they were starting to lose friends over it (who knew the guys from Demon Breath were such sore losers?).

For their New Year’s party that year, they'd decided to go all out. A giant Settlers of Catan board game night, with themed snacks, mocktails, and an Emcee slash referee (Willie's Uncle Caleb, who could make anything sound dramatic).

They'd invited all their favourite industry friends. Dirty Candi was there (Carrie was the second reason they'd had to stop Scrabble night), and some of Willie's Skater buddies. The Puppet History people, after Reggie got to be on their pandemic season (the tiny cup proudly displayed next to their Grammy on the mantle). And of course, Double Trouble.

The media had tried to make his and Julie’s relationship a big deal, but they were just... too boring, Reggie guessed. Too in love, not enough drama, the best they could come up with was every six months or so there’d be speculating if Julie was maybe pregnant. They had totally trolled the media for weeks leading up to them adopting a puppy together, hinting at a new addition to the family, talking about godfathers in public (obviously Alex and Bobby, the only two people who could be trusted not to feed an entire Happy Meal to a dog).

The game night was over the top as always, with an hour break to count down and watch the fireworks. It ended in a showdown between Alex, Carrie, Ryan Bergara, and Tony Hawk. Carrie of course trounced everyone, and Caleb handed her the ridiculous trophy they’d had made for the occasion.

After everyone had been sent home, Caleb had been graciously thanked and paid (with Willie’s signature cupcakes, topped with some extra sparkly sprinkles), and most of the band had wandered off to their rooms, Reggie wandered around the living room, absentmindedly straightening up.

He always had trouble going to bed right after a party. He needed the quiet to come back to himself, to unwind, before he went to sleep, otherwise his dreams would be chaotic and exhausting. So he made sure all the Catan games were complete, pushed in chairs, snacked on leftovers as he either put them away or trashed them, and collected dishes.

He was just starting on the pile of dishes when two arms wrapped around his waist, a forehead pressing into his shoulder. “Come to bed,” Julie whined. He turned in her arms, smiling to see she’d already changed into her pajamas: an oversized Sunset Curve tour shirt and a pair of Reggie’s plaid boxers.

“In a minute,” he soothed, pressing a kiss to her forehead. Her nose crinkled a little as she smiled, and he almost relented right then and there. 

“You’re not seriously going to do all the dishes, right?” Julie asked, sliding her hands over his back, to his front, and snaking her arms around his neck. “You’re literally paying the cleaning service double to come tomorrow morning.”

“I just need to clear my head a little,” Reggie said, wrapping his arms around her waist. He started rocking her, swaying with her. Julie smiled a sleepy smile at him and started to hum. This was much better than doing the dishes, he had to admit.

They swayed through two songs together, Julie laying her cheek on Reggie’s shoulder as he buried his nose in her hair. He could feel her getting heavier in his arms, and when he pulled back a little, she moved with him. “Alright, moonbeam, let’s go to bed,” he said, crouching a bit to pick her up. She gave a little giggly whoop, and wrapped her arms tighter around his neck as he walked them to their bedroom.

He laid her down gently on the bed, quickly changing into his own pajamas, giving Ellie a kiss on her fuzzy little head, and crawling into bed with her. She immediately slung an arm and a leg over him, and he smiled. Julie was like the world’s cutest, warmest weighted blanket. But it worked. His brain was calm, his body wasn’t buzzing with nervous energy anymore. He fell asleep in Julie’s arms and dreamed of dancing on the moon.

#fanfic #julie and the phantoms #reggiexjulie #yes I did start this somewhere in december and forgot about it #I wrote a thing #shoutout to that post about Reggie being on puppet history that's canon now #tony hawk came to the party and didn't have his skateboard so nobody had any clue who he was he was just Willie's bud Tony #you know Caleb would be VIBING playing announcer/commentator/judge/emcee all night #also you know that when they hired the bouncehouses Luke and Reggie went around the neighbourhood knocking on doors #asking if the local kids wanted to help them test out the course before the Adult Party #Alex was like: I need a nap between the pre-party and the party jesus christ

[btwmah]

Tony Touya Hawk Pro-Skater (Bonus Bit)

"I don't think I'm supposed to be standing this way," Izuku mused while staring at his wobbling feet. The skateboard underneath him wiggled by centimeters as he maintained his balance. Touya hummed in thought, scrolling back through the online video he'd pulled up just that morning.

The redhead let the video play without audio for a minute as Izuku bit his lip, subtly trying to adjust without letting the skateboard slip out from underneath him. Again. At least his elbows weren't scraped up too badly.

He could balance on the edges of high-rise buildings and pull graceful maneuvers on his rocket skates, but he can't stand still on a skateboard? Unfair. Perhaps he was too used to moving his body forward and not sideways?

"Try moving your left foot closer to the end," Touya advised after careful consideration.

"Alriiiiight," Izuku slowly said as he shifted. The tiny wobbles lessened.

"Okay, good!" Touya encouraged. He'd done much better on standing and moving slowly on the skateboard than Izuku, having gone first in the attempt. They were both outside the apartment complex on the smooth concrete before the sidewalk, where they wouldn't risk bumping into anyone.

"Now, brace with your front foot and push off the ground with your back. And bring it up to the position you're in now so you coast."

Izuku poked his tongue out in concentration as he followed the other's instructions. Touya made this part effortless, for how slowly he had rolled away in the end. The green-haired boy decided not to overthink it and pushed off. The skateboard moved across the concrete, Izuku keeping his knees low for his center of balance.

"Hell yeah!" Touya cheered, just as Izuku had whooped in glee when the younger boy got it first try.

Izuku tried recalling how to stop. He put his back foot down once more, trusting his leg muscles to keep him from moving.

Except the board didn't fully stop, throwing off his balance and he ended up stumbling away from the skateboard.

"Okay, not bad. We have the movement down!" Izuku said happily. He'd need to probably focus more on starting and stopping, but it wasn't scary actually moving on the board. Touya grinned in response.

"We can do turning next?"

Izuku glanced behind him at the growing crowds of people just walking through the area, stopping at the cafe, or heading to the beach. Maybe they shouldn't have done this on a weekend.

"Maybe we can do that when we have more space to actually move."

Touya walked up to Izuku, snickering, and reached down to pick up the skateboard. "True. Knowing our luck, we'll knock over someone and cause a concussion."

"You mean get a concussion or give one?"

"Probably both."

Izuku snorted. "You have a point. Okay, do you want to keep practicing getting on and off?"

"We can," Touya said, pulling out his phone again. "But there's also something I wanna try. Do you know that really popular American skateboarder decades ago?"

Izuku shook his head.

"Tenko has one of his video games, I think, I don't think we've played it much. But this Tony Hawk dude also made a whole bunch of tutorials on how to do tricks."

Izuku leaned over to peer at Touya's phone and whistled in surprise at the sheer amount of videos. Though there were plenty of thumbnails of a guy on a skateboard in midair and just...no. Baby steps. He told Touya this with a mock-frown, earning another bout of laughter in response.

"I'm not suggesting we start using ramps or something, but look, here, there are some stationary tricks. I wanna try a kickflip. Watch, see what he does?"

And yes, okay, with the instructions and the older blonde man in the video patiently explaining everything, a kickflip seemed like something Touya could do, even as a first-timer.

"Sure, go for it!" Izuku encouraged.

Touya grinned in response and dropped the skateboard down, eager.

-.-.-.-.-

Needless to say, Touya's twisted ankle didn't take long to heal but the stung pride from his friends' and soulmate's laughter hurt worse. Izuku couldn't escape the teasing either since besides the scrapes he got catching himself when falling off the board, he'd gotten knicked by the pieces of glass from the broken window they shattered near the apartment when the skateboard went flying.

They immediately called in for repairs and avoided the ensuing commotion of witnesses.

They decided to work more on the basics, perhaps on a less busy day. But they'd be skateboard pros in no time.

For now, Touya and Izuku just curled up and cracked open Tenko's old copy of Tony Hawk Pro Skater 9.

#btwmah #btw(mah) #my fic #bonus bits #midoriya izuku #wasureta izuku #todoroki touya #wasureta touya #actually i don't remember if i gave him the wasureta name #he prob has it for paperwork #btwmah universe #reference from chapter 21 #no spoilers #kind of #sibling bonding

[ivanzplaid]

I might have said this before but every time I see Ethan Hawke he looks like a different person. Like I know these movies are literally ten years apart but like he looks so different in Sinister compared to him in the black phone. Like I genuinly thought I never saw him before when I watched the black phone then a few days later I figured out I had seen him before.

Also for a good 10 minutes I thought he was Tony Hawke the skateboard guy.

TONY HAWKE LMFAOO

i do that with celebrities all the time, if you say marilyn manson my mind goes to charles manson and i was so confused because i thought ppl were saying they loved charles music and i was like 'wtf..'😭 same last name celebs mess me up, but anyways yes!! ethan hawke has a great way of just making you wonder why he looks so familiar & changing for characters, its literally so cool and i love him sm🫶

#ethan hawke #the grabber #sinister #i heart my mutuals

[cyberfairyblog]

Blurb: Coop from Cyberchase

Who knew one of my f/os would come from an educational show? Voiced by the iconic Tony Hawk, Coop is a character who surprisingly don't have a lot of content in a cult classic like Cyberchase. Maybe a few bits if fanart and theories here and there but I want to spend a moment to talk about just how underrated he is.

Now in the early seasons there was a plot point about Slider's father interspersed. In other shows this would never be resolved but here they dedicated a two part episode about it!

His backstory was quite interesting: a former friend & work partner of Hacker's who refused to let him use a powerful creation to overrun Motherboard. In rage Hacker concocted a scheme to infect Cooper with some type of substance, inducing rapid aging in the poor man. And ashamed of his new form and unwillingness to put his loved ones in danger Coop left Radopolis without anyone's knowledge. Something like this could make Slider angry but he's not. He KNOWS his father wouldn't just up and leave just like that. So he waits for him and actively tries to search for him.

What I like about Coop was that he wasn't the "dumb skater" trope often present in media - he was an accomplished scientist. He doesn't brag about how smart he is or how good he is at skateboarding, he's very humble which makes him a great foil for the very vain Hacker. Coop sacrificed a huge chunk of his life to protect his son. And what I find admirable is he doesn't grow bitter about his circumstances. Anyone could be jaded in the same position but not him, he retains his kindness and good spirit.

A part of me wishes that he had kept his "old" form to show that yes there ARE real stakes&some things can't be reversed but you can learn to live with it. I'm also disappointed with the lack of episodes involving Coop after he was found. I get celeb voices are expensive but they could've gotten another VA to replicate Tony's voice. But there's always fanfiction~

#coop #coop cyberchase #cyberchase #pbs kids #f/o #underrated characters #educational cartoon #nostalgia #tony hawk

[spaghwetti]

Cherry was in that restaurant thing Joe has. He was dipping dry spaghettis in a glass of wine and then eating them and Joe made the face from that picture every time. Cherry had started doing this just to be annoying but now he liked it more than normal food.

"You know," said Joe, trying to drown out the wet crunching for even a moment, "using Carla is cheating. You can't just have a robonic skateboard that tells you angles or reminds you what an ollie is or says 'look out, there is a wall directly in front of you'." Joe was still bitter about the many times he had been caught out by a wall being directly in front of him.

"Wrong, because you are a gorilla," said Cherry, who was contractually obligated to use the insult at least once per fanfic and figured he might as well get it out of the way. "Carla's assistance is no more 'cheating' than being mentored by a superior skateboarder, or putting a copy of the Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 instruction manual under your pillow so the knowledge seeps into your brain overnight. Learning from the best isn't cheating."

"But Carla isn't 'the best'," protested Joe. "She's not a real person who had to learn all this stuff slowly and painfully from within a weak, fallible flesh-prison. She's an artificial intelligence!"

"Wrong again. Twice in thirty seconds. Still not even close to your record." Cherry performed an action that was fundamentally irrelevant to the narrative but served to break up his dialogue a bit. "Carla isn't an artificial intelligence."

"But you always call her an AI!"

"Yes, to throw people off the scent," said Cherry. "But it doesn't stand for Artificial Intelligence. It stands for Apparitions Imprisoned. Carla is full of the ghosts of dead skateboarders."

Joe's jaw dropped. "You're kidding."

"Not at all. Every time Adam hits someone in the face with his skateboard, killing them instantly, their ghost goes into Carla. There are millions of them in there at this point." Cherry took a sip of his wine, its rich crimson hue tainted by floating spaghetti bits. "It's like a kind of skater heaven, except that all of them are very much in constant pain. Offering me skateboarding assistance is their only reprieve."

Joe paused for a moment. He had never seen this side of Cherry before, the side that had a bunch of tortured ghosts trapped inside a skateboard. Sure, back in high school he'd had a haunted rollerskate, but that was just one ghost, and besides, they were young. This was on another level entirely.

A thought crossed his mind, and Joe broke his silence. "You're as bad as Adam. Or possibly worse than Adam. I haven't really decided on the specifics yet but the important thing is that a comparison to Adam is being made here so this is the bit where we get mad at each other about it."

Cherry fell silent, but the look on his face revealed his true emotions: angry but also betrayed and upset in a hot way. Adam had hit him in the face with a skateboard twice, once during the TV run and then a second time for the DVD version, but he hadn't died from it and gone inside a skateboard. Why had he been left behind? Was he not good enough? These were the thoughts that swirled around his head every moment of every day, except for when he was thinking of more interesting stuff, which was most of the time. Anyway he was sad so every bad thing he'd done was actually fine.

"I'm glad we could get that settled," said Joe, and now they were friends again and maybe more.

Cherry reached for another spaghetti. He crunched this one without dipping it, a clear signifier that he recognised the residual tension which still hung in the air. "The ghost thing was a lie," he said. "Ghosts aren't real. You can just download Carla on the app store."

"Really? Then how come every skater doesn't have one?"

"She costs £1.99."

"I'm not paying that when Candy Crush is free!" said Joe immediately, repulsed on an instinctual level.

"Exactly," smiled Cherry.

There was a moment of relative peace, broken only by the gentle clinking of dry pasta against wine glass. In the corner, Carla's subtle pink glow intensified for a moment. "The curses of the dead be upon ye," she said.

Joe glanced over. "What'd she say?"

"Nothing," said Cherry. "How much do I owe you for the spaghettis? Because I'm not paying it."

Later they fucked(?)

[hakasims]

Shitty Luca Movie Recap, Episode 5

The sooner I get this over with, the deeper my breaths will be, and the wider my smile. My friends, today we’re talking about

Slam aka Tutto per una ragazza

This film is about Samuele (who I’m gonna call Sam), a teenager whose entire personality starts and ends with loving skateboarding and idolizing Tony Hawk. Throughout the movie he reads his hero’s autobiography narrated by the man himself, and it’s incredibly annoying, especially because Tony Hawk’s California dude accent combined with the simplistic writing and shallow life lessons make him sound kinda dumb. Sam also has a giant poster of Tony Hawk that helps him time travel. Just go with it. I promise it won’t make sense in context, especially as a narrative device.

Another quirk of Sam’s life is his unusual upbringing. You see, his parents were 16 when they had him, and his grandma was 16 when she had his mom. And you’ll never guess what happens when Sam, who’s not yet 17 at the beginning of the movie, gets a girlfriend, Alice, and becomes sexually active. Speaking of which, skip this movie if you aren’t cool with watching teenagers have sex, including in real time as there’s a running joke about Sam climaxing too fast.

But yes, Sam gets Alice pregnant. You’d think at some point that family would have learned the importance of contraception instead of making jokes about being cursed. But listen, there’s a lot of shit here that I hate. I hate that no one suffers any consequences because Alice comes from a rich home, and Sam’s family is comfortably middle class, despite their history. I hate that Alice wants to keep the baby because she sees motherhood as one of those hobbies she used to start and immediately drop due to not being good at them instantly instead of working hard on improving. I hate that Sam’s decision to stick with her and become a 17-year-old father is seen as the only right and moral decision, even though pro-choice people pretty much agree that condemning a teenager to parenthood is bad, and the movie wastes its chance to have a rare talk about boys in this context. I hate that the film inexplicably parallels the teen pregnancy to Tony Hawk’s unexpected fatherhood at twenty-four and turns it into a movie about a quirky family where the age of the new parents is basically incidental.

I also hate that despite being moderately successful, Sam’s mom believes having a child ruined her life and dreams and constantly says that to his face - all the while remaining a cool mom. You know the type, right? Creative, messy, easily befriending younger people, listening to cool music and not worrying about being proper. I hate cool moms so much. A cool mom is just a manic pixie dream girl who never ended up finding her tortured artist. In Sam’s mom’s case, her ex is about as far from either tortured or an artist as one could get. And that finally brings us to Luca’s character: Sam’s father, Valerio.

Valerio is one of the shallowest characters Luca has ever played. He’s an egotistic man-child prone to aggression who has nothing of value to say or contribute... and yet he’s so much fun to watch. I guess when you aren’t attached to any of the characters, the sarcastic shithead whose attitude towards everything that’s going on kinda reflects yours becomes the only one you can relate to. And Valerio is absolutely a shithead. Want examples?

The first time we meet him is on the day of Sam’s 17th birthday. Like a true dad, Valerio is telling the story of the day his son was born; unlike any normal dad, he’s telling the story of how he missed his son’s birth because he’d forgotten to fill his moped’s tank and had to walk 10 km to the hospital. When Sam’s mom points out she’d been having a much worse day pushing the actual life out of her body, what do you think Valerio’s response is?

If you chose C, I promise you even more opportunities to have a laugh. For example, next scenario: Sam has done some stupid shit after learning Alice is pregnant, and his mother, who doesn’t know at this point, decides to have a family therapy session. She thinks Sam is acting up because of his parents’ separation.

See now why I love Valerio and why Valerio is basically me watching this movie? Here’s how this therapy session should actually have gone:

And then Valerio keeps spouting wisdom after he finds out Sam’s gotten his girlfriend pregnant and decided to stick with her:

But of course he’s supposed to be a terrible parent no one should listen to, so he says it while smoking a joint and after fully flashing his son in that bathrobe. I’m not joking. Also this:

O Valerio, why hath thou been written so badly?

But don’t worry, he isn’t a creep. He just doesn’t see Sam as his son. I mean, he knows Sam is his son, but he treats him like his bro. It’s almost like someone who became a father at 16 has no idea what acting like a parent means.

Here’s another example: after the birth of his child, Sam takes both him and his dad out to hang and play video games in some sort of bar/club/arcade/whatever the hell. Valerio notices some women looking at them. What do you think he says to Sam?

If you chose A or B, what’s it like being an optimist? And no, I’m not fucking with you with that last one.

Valerio is hella fun to watch because of how unself-conscious he is, and if you let go of the hope that this movie will ever become good or not infuriating, you’ll be able to enjoy Valerio’s sarcasm and his cynical outlook on this stupid, stupid plot. Valerio may not be the hero anyone wants or needs, but he’s the hero this movie deserves, and if you decided to watch it, you deserve him, too.

Which shitty movie with a shithead Luca should I do next?

#luca marinelli #slam #slam - tutto per una ragazza #sh*tty luca movie recap #slmr #long post

[pigspeetsandhooflikefeets]

(Eddie Anon) Good point, Cookie does also struggle with a lot of modern stuff, but I wouldn't say on the level Nate and Guy do. Besides, he'll probably ask Helen or Schmitty about something if he doesn't know it (since they STILL come into that office after 26 years)

Guy: they put WHAT in the Olympics!?

Helen: yes, skateboarding and surfing are Olympic sports now

Guy: this is so much to take in. does Tony Hawk know?

Helen: Tony Hawk is still very much relevant

Guy: oh thank God. I love that guy! he should make a video game about skateboarding. I know I'd play it.

Helen: oh and um. I've seen your moodboard of favourite "currently living" sports legends and. uh.

Guy, tearing up: NO! DON'T TELL ME! I'M NOT LISTENING!

Helen: sorry you had to learn this way. Nate's going through the same emotions as you.

Nate, opening the door: ABBA MADE NEW MUSIC?

Guy and Helen:

Helen: trust me, he was devastated about something this morning

#so much has changed in the world of sports. we need YDKJ Sports Two #''a lot has changed in TV and Movies too'' yeah but we don't need a sequel for that #the Tony Hawk joke is that Pro Skater came out in '99. a year after Guy left #jacketybox mumbles #🧍anon #anonymous

[cuthian]

Universal Language

“Vic,” Benji frowned, “These guys are a big deal, okay? They managed to get a record deal at seventeen and they’ve been openly LGBT the entire time, and when their old record label dumped them and tried to poach their rhythm guitarist, they found a new lead singer and reinvented themselves.” Benji glanced back towards the stage before he added, “They’re living every teen musician’s dream.”

—Love Victor & Julie and the Phantoms crossover

... I have no idea what this is.

Please blame the JatP discord server, I have absolutely no clue where this came from 😅 This is unbeta'd, and I hope no one is horribly out of character, but if they are... oh well ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Enjoy!

Love Annaelle

Universal Language

“Music is the universal language of humankind.” —Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Victor smiled lightly as Benji bounced up and down beside him, fidgeting with his bracelet as he eyed the stage hard, like if he visualized them hard enough, the opening band for the Battle of the Bands would just appear out of thin air. “Relax,” Victor told him, tentatively reaching out to slot their hands together—he’d only been out for a little while and they’d only been officially dating for a little over a month and Victor wasn’t quite used to being allowed to hold Benji’s hand in public.

“Vic,” Benji frowned, “These guys are a big deal, okay? They managed to get a record deal at seventeen and they’ve been openly LGBT the entire time, and when their old record label dumped them and tried to poach their rhythm guitarist, they found a new lead singer and reinvented themselves.” Benji glanced back towards the stage before he added, “They’re living every teen musician’s dream.”

Victor chuckled and squeezed his fingers around his boyfriend’s. “I know, Benj, you’ve told me—”

“Us,” Lake interrupted as she popped up beside them, Felix not far behind her, “You’ve told us this all before—it’s all you’ve been able to talk about since they announced they’d be hosting the Battle of the Bands this year.” Lake laced her arm with Felix’s and smiled up at Victor and Benji. “Their manager agreed to let me take a few pictures and ask them a couple of questions for Creek Secrets later too.”

“Really?” Benji very nearly squeaked and Victor’s chest went warm and tight with affection, because he remembered not so long ago, thinking that Benji was so incredibly effortlessly cool—and he was—but he was also a massive dork and Victor adored him.

“Yes, really,” Lake grinned. “If you’re good, I’ll even introduce you.”

Victor laughed when Benji made a tiny noise of excitement. “I wonder if they’re going to perform their old songs or their new songs,” he wondered aloud, eyes straying back towards the stage. “For smaller venues they’ve been known to use Sunset Curve songs rather than Julie and the Phantoms ones, but—”

“Whatever songs they use,” Victor grinned, tugging Benji closer, “I’m sure you’ll love it anyway.”

Benji hummed in agreement, and though he seemed a little distracted still, he still set his hands on Victor’s waist and pulled him close, tilting his head up to press a chaste kiss to the corner of Victor’s lips.

Victor felt his cheeks flush and he had to stop himself from glancing over his shoulder to check no one was watching them because he knew people were probably still watching—coming out and subsequently starting to date Benji (officially) only a month after he and Mia had broken up had fueled the Creekwood gossip mill for days, and at first, people had even tried to come into Brasstown just to sneak pictures of him and Benji doing something as mundane as working together.

Of course, back then, Victor had just been relieved that he and Benji were working together again at all.

“So,” he said quietly when Benji pulled back, sliding his hands down Benji’s back until they rested on his boyfriend’s waist, “Go ahead. Talk about the band, I know you want to.”

Benji grinned up at him, biting down on his lower lip before he said, “Their bassist can play… a truly absurd amount of instruments, apparently, and he loves country music.” He wrinkled his nose and added, “I saw an interview with him and the lead singer once, and they mentioned that he’s always slipping country songs into everyone’s notebooks and pockets—it’s a running gag at this point.”

He glanced at the stage again and bounced on his toes, “Also, no one knows which of the band members are dating. Like,” he clarified when Victor frowned in confusion, “There’s pictures all over the internet of literally every single one of them on dates with each other, and they’re super affectionate on stage and in interviews, and I’m pretty sure I heard they all live together as well.”

“Huh,” Victor frowned. “I guess that’s pretty rare, right? Them being able to keep their private lives somewhat secret?” He couldn’t imagine having to live like that, with a spotlight constantly on him—although he guessed that he did in a way. Being openly gay, even in a fairly liberal town and a very supportive school, kind of felt like living under a spotlight too.

Benji shrugged. “Yeah. I mean, everyone kind of knows that the lead singer and the drummer used to date, but that’s just because they were dating when they signed their original label. I don’t think they’re still dating, I’m pretty sure the drummer’s dating this international skateboarding champion now.”

Victor nodded slowly. “Like Tony Hawk?”

Benji laughed. “Yeah, just like that, but you know—younger. I think he’s just a couple of years older than we are. Closer to Bram and Simon’s age. Super hot too.”

“Really?” Victor chortled. “Should I be worried here?”

Benji laughed, spinning around and wrapping his arms around Victor’s neck. “Oh no,” he grinned. “No, Vic, don’t worry. I’ve only got eyes for one tall, handsome brunet.”

“Okay, good,” Victor leaned in to press a short, hard kiss to Benji’s lips, relishing in the fact that he could.

“Hey you two,” someone crowed from behind them, “Stop being so damn cute, you’ll rot my teeth.” Victor pouted as Benji pulled away and stepped back, waving at Mia and Andrew as they approached them and Lake and Felix. Victor managed an awkward little smile Mia—things weren’t exactly back to normal between them, and Victor and Benji had held off on making their relationship official for over a month to give Mia some time to adjust, some time to deal with the mess Victor had made of their relationship.

He’d apologized, of course, had apologized until he was blue in the face and had given her whatever she needed to process everything. She’d forgiven him, had forgiven them, but things were still a little awkward between them, even though she was dating Andrew now and claimed to be over Victor.

Andrew had been surprisingly supportive when Victor came out, had had his back with the rest of the basketball team, had stood up for him when people tried to be shits in the hallways or in the cafeteria, and had made the whole experience of coming out and being open about his relationship with Benji ten times more bearable, especially in the light of his parents’ utter refusal to discuss his sexuality at all.

Victor had to admit the other guy probably wasn’t so bad at all.

“Fine, fine,” Benji replied playfully, leaning in to hug Mia briefly. “But only because you asked so nicely.”

That had been the most surprising thing about this whole thing. Mia and Benji had bonded, were actual legit friends now, had more inside jokes than Victor and Felix did, and liked to joke about how much of an idiot Victor was on a daily basis. Victor didn’t mind, really, although he wasn’t sure how to feel about his ex-girlfriend and his boyfriend getting on this well.

“You excited for the show?” Mia asked Benji, grinning up at him brightly.

“Yeah,” Benji nodded eagerly, going off on another hilariously detailed rant about the band and the songs that they were most likely going to play, and Victor couldn’t help but smile, because Benji’s enthusiasm for the band and his own impending performance was infectious and he was so damn adorable.

“What’s up everybody?!”

Victor turned to the stage, finding it finally occupied by a tall, gorgeous dark-skinned young woman with thin, long box braids swept up into a playful ponytail. “Oooh, I love her outfit,” he heard Lake whisper audibly, and Mia’s affirmative mumble. Benji, on the other hand, was back to bouncing up and down on his toes excitedly, his fingers tight on Victor’s wrist.

“You guys are in for a treat,” the young woman grinned broadly. “Tonight, you’ll be getting a taste of the original Sunset Curve to open the Battle of the Bands! Our lead singer Julie is unfortunately down with a horrible cold and can’t sing, so we brought in an old fan favorite for a small reunion performance!”

“Oh my God,” Benji whispered. “Bobby’s here!”

Victor frowned in confusion, because he was pretty sure he’d heard Benji mention the name before, but then Benji had been talking about Sunset Curve and Julie and the Phantoms non-stop for the past three weeks and Victor had tried to keep up, tried to keep them all straight in his head, but much as he enjoyed their music, keeping up with the band members was more than a little confusing.

“Give it up for Sunset Curve!” The young woman cheered, and the crowd roared excitedly back at her as the band members filed onto the stage. Victor clapped, grinning at the way Benji was screaming in excitement beside him, the way Mia and Lake were both jumping up and down and Felix was clapping so hard his hands had to be hurting.

He returned his attention to the stage, to the band members that were taking up their places by the instruments and he realized another reason Benji was probably so enthralled by this band—they were all undeniably and stupidly attractive.

“Nothing to worry about, huh?” He asked playfully, nudging Benji in the side.

His boyfriend grinned back at him unrepentantly and winked. “Not a damn thing,” he chuckled, leaning up to press a kiss to Victor’s cheek. “But you gotta admit the eye candy is a great bonus.”

Victor just shook his head and laughed, just as the band’s lead singer bounced up to his microphone and greeted the crowd excitedly. “Hi everyone, I’m Luke, just for tonight, we’re Sunset Curve, and this is Now or Never.” The other band members began playing almost before he finished talking, the music loud and lively, stirring up the crowd of people.

As soon as the lead singer—Luke, Victor reminded himself—started singing, Benji sang along, as did a fair few other people in the crowd, and Victor saw why these guys had landed a record deal at seventeen. They sounded even better live than they did in their recorded songs, and Victor found himself bobbing his head to the beat, impressed by the way the band played together, the way they moved together, like a unit, like they knew exactly where everyone was going to be—

His breath caught a little when the bassist skipped across the stage to Luke and Luke moved naturally so they could share the mic between them, both of them pressed so close together there was hardly any space between them at all—they were a hair’s breadth from kissing and somehow Victor didn’t think either of them would mind if the mic, the only thing separating their lips, would disappear altogether.

“I get it,” he shouted at Benji. “Why they can’t figure out who’s dating who. They look like they’re a second away from jumping each other.”

Benji laughed and nodded. “Yeah, that’s part of it.”

The bassist skipped back to his own microphone with a massive grin for the chorus before jumping up onto the little platform with the drummer, who grinned at him with a bright, fond little grin before he jumped back off and they launched into the final chorus, and Benji started singing along again, ecstaticly shouting the lyrics back at the band.

As soon as the last note rang out, the crowd burst into raucous applause and Victor found himself cheering along with the others because he got the hype now. These guys were amazing and they were really entertaining to watch too.

“Thank you,” Luke shouted into the microphone, fingers still curled around the neck of his guitar, grinning wildly. “We’re Sunset Curve!”

“Tell your friends!” The bassist quipped with a cheeky smile, causing a smatter of laughter amongst those gathered there, even as the rest of the band laughed and rolled their eyes as they set their instruments down—or, in the drummer’s case, jumped down from his little platform to join the others.

“Right,” Luke said cheerfully, “I wanna thank Bobby here,” he dragged the tall, darkhaired young man closer with an impish grin, “for coming out of retirement at the ripe old age of twenty-one to join us tonight because Julie couldn’t make it.” Everyone cheered, and Victor clapped too, even as the singer continued, “And we want to welcome you to this edition of Battle of the Bands!”

The crowd cheered again, and Luke beamed. “We’ve got five really great bands lined up for you,” the bassist continued, and the drummer nodded beside him, smiling lightly as he looked out at the crowd, taking a clipboard from the dark-skinned woman who’d announced them.

“First up, there’s—” he glanced down at the clipboard and frowned, glancing towards Luke incredulously. “Dude, did you write this?”

Luke glanced over with a pout. “No.”

Victor glanced towards Benji, but he didn’t seem to understand the dynamic anymore than Victor did. Before either of them could comment though, the drummer snorted a laugh and said, “Can’t blame me for asking, man, when stuff is weirdly illegible, it’s usually you.”

Victor laughed at that, before the drummer said, “Anyway, first up is the Sticky Beaks!”

Benji gasped as the crowd applauded, swallowed thickly and turned to Victor with a nervous little smile. “Wish me luck,” he breathed, and Victor tried to smile encouragingly, leaning down to press a swift kiss to Benji’s lips, smiling against his boyfriend’s lips when Benji’s hands came up to clutch at the back of his neck for a long moment before he leaned back.

“You got this,” he told Benji, grinning back before his boyfriend bounced up to the stage with the rest of the band—minus Derek, who had quit the band after his and Benji’s break up.

“So,” Felix said as they watched Benji take the microphone from Luke, “You know what he’s playing?”

The other three pressed closer too, eager to hear Victor’s answer. “Some country song,” he replied, watching the band set up as the guys from Sunset Curve stood at the edge of the stage, chatting quietly amongst themselves. “I think he mentioned he chose it because it was uh—” he gestured towards the bassist, who was now tucked under the blond drummer’s arm.

“Reggie,” Mia supplied.

“Right,” Victor nodded. “Reggie’s favorite. He mentioned it in an interview or something.”

“Hah,” Andrew snorted. “Who knew your boyfriend was such a fanboy, Salazar?” Victor shook his head with a smile, because that was indeed quite the revelation—if not a very delightful one.

“It’s cute,” Mia said, smiling lightly as Benji began strumming the guitar, taking up his place at the microphone as the others set up next to and behind him. Victor remembered the first time he’d watched Benji play at one of these, when he’d still been desperately trying to convince himself he could be into Mia romantically, when Benji had sung ‘Call Me Maybe’.

He wondered if this time would be just as mesmerizing.

“Hi everyone,” Benji exclaimed happily. “We’re the Sticky Beaks, and since we aren’t allowed to do original songs this time, we prepared an old favorite of ours. Enjoy.”

When Benji started playing and singing, Victor noticed the darkhaired bassist—Reggie—perk up immediately, slapping excitedly at the drummer’s arm and tugging on Luke’s hand with an eager grin. Victor couldn’t help but grin, because not only did Benji and the band sound amazing, but it looked like his intention of getting Sunset Curve’s attention by using Reggie’s favorite song was working.

“I just need you to know,” Benji sang, eyes fastening on Victor, and Victor’s breath caught in his lungs for a second as his heartbeat sped up. “I love you more than a California sunset, more than a beer when you ain’t twenty-one yet—”

Victor remembered to breathe when Felix elbowed him in the side, smirking at him and wiggling his eyebrows playfully when Victor managed to look away from his boyfriend.

Victor blushed, biting down on his lip as he looked back toward Benji, who winked at him as he sang, “Yeah, I love you more than the feeling when the bass hits the hook, when the guy gets the guy at the end of the book—but, baby, this might be the last time I get to lay you down, 'cause I can't love you more than my hometown.”

Victor shuddered when Benji drew out the final note, and he was the first to burst into loud, raucous cheering when the music died down, and he noticed with some satisfaction that the Sunset Curve guys all looked really impressed too—Reggie was practically vibrating in excitement, held in place only by his bandmates hands on him.

“How about that?” Luke cheered as he strutted back onto stage, clapping Benji on the shoulder jovially. “That’s a tough act to follow,” he said as Benji very nearly floated off the stage, throwing his arms around Victor as soon as he was within reach.

Victor stopped paying attention to the next band almost immediately, focusing instead on his jubilant boyfriend. “Having you in the crowd is like a good luck charm,” Benji laughed, leaning in to press a more passionate, deeper kiss than they usually shared in public to his lips. “You have to always come to performances from now on,” Benji decreed as soon as they’d parted.

“Sure,” Victor chuckled. “If you can convince Sarah to give us time off on the same nights.”

Benji wrinkled his nose. “As long as I never have to go shopping with her again, I’ll do whatever it takes to convince her to let us have time off at the same time.”

Before Victor could say anything to that, the rest of their friends pounced on them and the rest of Benji’s band, congratulating them on a good performance and teasing Benji for his choice in songs. The band joined in teasing Benji mercilessly, bringing up the time Benji had asked them to learn ‘Call Me Maybe’ in less than a week—both Victor and Benji blushed hard at that—and Mia pointing out with a smirk that even she had thought there might be more to the way they looked at each other until Derek popped up.

“Dude!”

They spun around to find the Sunset Curve bassist—Reggie, Victor reminded himself—standing behind them with an absurdly excited expression, practically bouncing in place.

“Uh,” Benji said slowly, and Reggie grinned. “I can’t believe you played that—it was so good, where did you hear it first? Like, lots of people ignore country music as a whole at these things but you managed the sound so well I’d almost believe you were Wallen himself, but you know—” he waved a hand at Benji and Victor’s entwined hands. “—younger and gayer.”

“Uh,” Victor said, this time.

“Reg, baby,” the drummer strolled up behind him casually and slung an arm around the bassist. “Are you scaring the baby gays again?”

“No, ‘lex,” Reggie pouted up at the blond. “I was being nice.”

“He—he was,” Benji managed, although he still looked a little like he was about to faint. “He said he liked the song we played, he was just—asking us about it.”

The drummer nodded, keeping his arm around Reggie’s shoulders, and said, “That really was a great performance—we don’t get a lot of country at these. I think Reggie nearly expired with excitement when he recognized the song.”

He jostled the bassist playfully and Victor was fascinated by the interaction, because earlier he’d been convinced that Reggie had something going on with Luke, the lead singer—that chemistry when they’d shared a microphone was insane. Now, though, seeing him with the drummer, seeing that casual affection between them that he’d only seen with couples who’d been together forever, like Bram and Simon, he wasn’t so sure anymore.

He abruptly understood why no one knew which of these boys were dating.

“I’m glad you liked it,” Benji managed, a little flustered and bashful like he usually got when people gave him compliments. “That’s—that’s why we picked it.”

“Oh,” Reggie looked at them with wide eyes. “Really? That’s so cool though, how’d you know we—”

“He’s a fan, Reg,” the drummer pointed out. “You’ve mentioned it’s your favorite song in like ten interviews in the last year alone.” Reggie’s cheeks flushed with a splotchy blush and he looked down for a second with a pout—Victor hadn’t even said anything and he still felt like he’d kicked a puppy—before the drummer grumbled and shook his head.

“It’s not a bad thing, Reg,” he said, but before Reggie could say anything, Luke the lead singer popped up beside them, grinning excitedly.

“Hey man,” he told them, “Don’t tell anyone yet, but you guys were definitely the best ones so far.”  

“Thanks,” Benji choked, and the band made similar appreciative noises behind them. “You guys are… so cool,” he then blurted, much to his own shock, it seemed. “I just—” he squeezed Victor’s hand hard, and Victor squeezed back just as tightly as Benji said, “Just—you guys coming out, being proud about who you were, especially you, Alex—” he gestured towards the drummer, “It helped. A lot.”

Reggie’s mouth had fallen open into a tiny ‘o’ and Alex’s expression looked complicated, but Victor got it too. The first time someone at school had cornered him and told him his coming out had made a difference for them, he’d been overwhelmed and shocked too.

“That’s—uh,” Alex stuttered, “I’m glad it made a difference.”

“Told you,” Luke grinned, patting Alex on the shoulder. “Making out on stage after our manager told us to pray the gay away is still the best thing we ever did.”

Victor snorted an ugly laugh at that, and when everyone turned to look at him, he winced, “Sorry, it’s not funny, it’s just—that’s exactly what my grandparents suggested I do when I told them I was gay and that I had a boyfriend. They even sent the priest to our house.”

Alex shook his head and Luke pouted. “My parents disowned me,” Alex said quietly, honestly. “Reggie’s tried to beat him up—Luke’s mom was the only one that accepted us.”

“Yeah, ‘cause she’s awesome,” Luke snorted, and then nudged Reggie before turning to Benji. “Wanna show us the chords to that song? I bet anything Reg’s been dying to ask you that since he first heard you play it.” Before Victor knew it, his boyfriend was whisked away, back to the instruments, chattering excitedly with Luke and Reggie, leaving him standing awkwardly with Alex, who was shaking his head fondly as he watched his bandmates.

“So, uh,” Victor tried, feeling desperately awkward and completely out of his depth but also deeply curious, “how’d you figure out you were gay?”

Alex blinked at him in surprise before chuckling and shaking his head. “You’ve seen my bandmates, right? I’ve known them since I was eight. Hard not to notice.” He deadpanned, gesturing towards Luke and Reggie. Victor glanced towards them too and flushed, eyes catching on Luke’s impressive biceps in that stupid shirt with the sleeves cut off, and the curve of Reggie’s lips.

“Yeah,” he agreed faintly, “Yeah, okay, that’s fair.”

Alex laughed, running his fingers through his blond hair. “They’re idiots,” he said, but he sounded fond as he said it, and Victor watched curiously as Alex glanced back towards Reggie and Luke, who were watching Benji attentive as he played something on his guitar and then mimicked it.

The smile on Alex’s face went soft and fond, and Victor vaguely wondered if he looked like that when he looked at Benji, wondered if Alex was looking at Luke or at Reggie and wondered about the skateboarding champion Benji had mentioned.

Whatever else, he was glad his own love life was—now—not nearly as complicated as Alex’s seemed to be.

“Does it get easier?” He asked quietly, so quietly that for a second he was sure—and glad—that Alex hadn’t heard him at all.

“Sometimes,” Alex replied suddenly, and Victor nearly jumped when the drummer patted his shoulder lightly. “Sometimes it’s easier—and then others it’s just as terrifying as the first time you have to say it out loud.” He bit his lip and shook his head lightly. “All I can really tell you to do is to find your people. Once you got those in your corner… I’m telling you, the world feels a lot less scary when you’ve got good people in your corner.”

He gestured towards Reggie, who was still talking animatedly with Benji, and Luke, who had apparently gotten bored and was bothering their fourth band member, hanging off his shoulder and chatting in his ear. “They’re idiots, but they’re my idiots. Find a couple of your own and there’s nothing you can’t do.”

Victor glanced over his shoulder at his friends, who were actually dancing to whatever band was on stage now, watched Felix try to spin Lake into an unneccessarily complicated spin and nearly trip all over himself while doing so and watched Mia and Andrew laugh at them before they switched partners and tried again—with mixed results—and found himself smiling.

“I think I already have,” he admitted.

When he looked back, Alex was smiling at him, patting his shoulder again. “Good on you, kid.”

“Alex!” Reggie was bouncing back towards them, dragging Benji behind him with a slightly manic grin. “Alex, tell him I’m not allowed to drive the truck, he won’t believe me when I tell him you hide the keys.”

Alex shook his head and gave Reggie an exasperated look before he turned back to Victor. “So much work, these idiots, no matter how much we love them.” He ignored Reggie’s indignant squawk and pulled him close, planting a kiss on Reggie’s lips before he shoved him back. “I hide the keys from you because the last three times we let you drive, you almost crashed the car because you got distracted by a cute dog, a cloud shaped like a hot dog and cows in a field. Not neccessarily in that order.”

Reggie pouted. “Cows are cool.”

Alex rolled his eyes again, yanked Reggie closer for another quick, hard kiss before he pushed him back, and said, “You’re so lucky you play bass.”

Benji chuckled and patted Reggie on the shoulder comfortingly before he sidled up next to Victor again. “It’s okay, man, Victor won’t let me drive anywhere either.”  Victor rolled his eyes, because they’d had this conversation several times, and he was glad they could joke about it now, could laugh about it now that Benji had his license back, but he did remember the days that the subject had rendered his boyfriend sullen and withdrawn for days at a time.

“Last time you drove, you drove straight through a Wendy’s,” he deadpanned.

Benji pouted. “That was one time.”

Reggie huffed and grabbed Benji’s hand, dragging him back towards where Luke and Bobby were still talking. “Come on, Benji, let’s go somewhere we’re actually appreciated.”

Victor laughed a little as Reggie dragged Benji off, watching as the darkhaired bassist jumped into Luke’s arms as soon as he was within reach, planting a long kiss on Luke’s lips before slinging an arm around the shorter man’s shoulders and starting to talk with large, exaggerated gestures, making the three others laugh almost instantly.

Felix popped up beside him and immediately started talking a mile a minute, excited and enthusiastic and entirely unaware that Victor only caught about every four words of his long speech—it had something to do with food and a double date, but that was all he managed to glean from Felix’s speech before the other boy turned to Alex.

His eyes widened before he held out a hand and said, “Dude, you were so cool up there, with the whole—” he mimed beating the drums and Alex snorted a laugh as Felix continued, “And like, you were singing too, that’s some prime multitasking, man, I don’t think I could do it, I’d probably forget to drum half the time or forget the words I’m supposed to sing—”

Alex was staring at Felix with an expression that bordered between awed and mildly horrified, which was a pretty standard reaction after a first exposure to Felix’s… big personality, and Victor was a little impressed by how well Alex seemed to handle the abrupt changes in topics before his gaze drifted over to Reggie, who was still talking to Luke, Benji and Bobby and it suddenly clicked.

He glanced towards Alex and found Alex staring back at him with wide, horrified eyes, and Victor didn’t need to know him very well to know they were thinking the exact same thing.

“We can never let them meet,” Alex said decisively, as soon as Felix abandoned them to go dance with Lake again.

“Nope,” Victor shook his head. “The universe would implode.”

“It probably would, Christ,” Alex laughed, shaking his head. “It’s fine. I’ll go manage my village idiot—I’ll send your boyfriend back to you to help you handle yours.”

Victor huffed a laugh. “Thanks, man.”

Alex patted him on the shoulder one more time and added, “It was nice meeting you, Victor.” He walked off before Victor could reply, but Victor smiled anyway.

Benji turned to smile at him when Alex joined the group, slotting between Reggie and Luke like he belonged there—which he probably did—and Victor smiled back, his chest going all warm and tight again before he turned and went to join his friends.

Benji would probably be caught up with the band for a while, and Victor came to have fun.

He took Mia’s hand when she reached out and let her guide him into a simple spin before he settled into rhythm with the rest of the group, grinning wildly at his friends—his people—as they danced.

Things were going to be fine.

End Notes:

The song Benji sings is ‘More than my hometown’ by Morgan Wallen

Some HC’s that didn’t make it into the fic:

* Luke, Alex and Reggie have been dating since before they managed to get a record deal, but they figured it’d be easier to keep their romantic life private if they kept fans guessing.

* this was then helped when Alex met Willie and fell head over heels in love with him too. He’s cool with Alex’s relationship with Luke and Reggie.

*Luke and Julie dated for a while too, but they split up because they kept clashing over the stupidest things — they work better platonically. Julie and Flynn are now dating.

* Their original record label was run by a bunch of homophobic assholes that tried to convince Bobby, the band’s token straight, to sell out his friends. Instead he told them and they figured something out

* Bobby retired because he was done with showbizz and the other three met Julie and reinvented themselves before getting signed to a new label.

#love victor #Julie and the phantoms #jatp fanfic #venji #peterpatter #alexreggie #alexlukereggie #willex #Luke patterson #Alex mercer #reggie peters #victor salazar #benji campbell #my writing #Lisa writes

[mitsuhasnolifebutwatchesanime]

I’m usually never disappointed in anything I’ve seen from studio bones because I know the teams that work on their shows work extremely hard to do what they can. This anime has a lot of History to it too, the director of free and banana fish? Gorgeous animation and designs? Hilarity? A banger of an OP AND ED? Honestly Sk8 the Infinity was just a Good Time.

Our story follows Reki, a high schooler in Okinawa who is OBSESSED with skateboarding, and the new Canadian transfer student, Langa, becoming friends because of skating. Reki takes Langa to the underground skateboard scene S, where Langa, after being taken away from snowboarding in Canada, is introduced to skating in such a way, it makes him want to keep going and get better.

S is also filled with lots of interesting side characters, like Joe, Cherry, Shadow, and yes, even Adam. These people looked at skateboarding and were like “but what if it was like WWE?” Anyway…

While it’s not the strongest in the story department (looking at you failed political subplot!), in the character, animation, and comedy department? Just, great marks all around. Sk8 is RIDICULOUS with some of the nonsense it pulls, but it pulls it in a way that makes sense in context, and never lets you rest from it. The scenes outside of S are also just really fun, funny and wholesome. I just love the character interactions and chemistry.

Am I mad that certain things didn’t happen? Eh, not really honestly. It did the best it could in it’s very limited 12 episode run-time, but honestly, if this went longer than 12 episodes? It might’ve gotten into some trouble. Sometimes, short, sweet, and open ended is good. Would I say no to more Sk8? No???? Except season two and onward of Free just....(this I think is more a fault with the writer than the director. I’m mad with ALL of the character development they ruined in Free season two, I’m sorry). I think Sk8 would greatly benefit from a movie or some OVAs that aren’t recap, but I think it’s charm might be lost if they put more weight into a more serious plot. In general, I think a lot of the problems with the story were when they leaned too heavily on serious plot. The misunderstanding/jealousy subplot was okay, but it dragged on for sooooo many episodes.

Another thing I don’t think enough people talk about is I LOVE the setting for this anime. Very few anime get set outside of Tokyo, and Okinawa is such a melting pot of culture! It makes for a great background, very colorful and enjoyable. It reminds me a lot of tsuritama (which hey, if you want another wholesome sports anime with "friendship", watch it) even though I'm pretty sure it was set in Enoshima which is an island neeeeaarr….Shikoku? Not in the Okinawa region. Plus all of it’s love given to the actual theme of the show, skating. As someone who used to play the Tony Hawk N64 game a LOT as a kid (but the only time I “skateboarded” I ran over my thumb with my full body weight ouchie!), it just felt fun seeing the way S was set up and all the cool ass moves people pulled.

And I think the two main things people have been arguing about a lot was the whole iS ReNgA cAnOn?! And SEND ADAM TO JAIL-- I like that they queercoded a lot and left it up to interpretation. I’m sure they had studio and network heads breathing down their necks to not be explicit, but there is nary a heterosexual explanation for anything. And ya I wanted to see Adam in handcuffs in not the sexy way. I’m not like 100% mad what they did, but like, it sorta made the entire political subplot wasted. A twist I didn’t like was the whole “haha, you THOUGHT she got the warrant to arrest him but she DIDN’T bc the politics in this city are corrupt af” ya, just, probably could have been cut out, but also this is a sports anime where grown adults put on costumes to do ridiculous anime skating illegally, I wasn’t expecting an award winning masterpiece.

I already mentioned it, but I really do like the quality of the animation here. I think it’s definitely what sets Bones apart from many other studios, and in general, probably what saved Sk8 from feeling generic. The animation is dynamic, the colors pop, and the settings are gorgeous and detailed. It just makes me happy to see so much care and details put into it. Just the flipping physics of skateboarding alone are cool to see be explained and animated. Does it pull some sports and BS of humanly impossible feats? Yeah, but they look flipping awesome, combined with everything else, I think it just makes it a good time. Also DAMN I LOVED that compilation in I think episode 2? Of Reki just showing Langa many videos and magazines about skating. It just added another layer of realism to it.

Overall tho, I’m gonna rewatch this one A COUPLE times. It was just a good time, and I will gladly watch more if it comes out, but in the meantime, I can entertain myself with this for a while.

#sk8 #sk8 the infinity #anime #anime review #mitsu review #sports anime #studio bones

[lanchang]

xie lian could be tony hawk but could tony hawk be xie lian?

you know what. im gonna say yes. of all the celebrities i can think of (not many) i think tony hawk has the right energy of just kinda chilling living life except then actually if he needs to show off he can do it no sweat also all those stories about tony hawk not being recognized even when hes literally told someone his name do give me xie lian energy its like adjacent to the bad luck thing anyway lets all manifest live action behind the scenes photos on skateboards please there has to be at least person that would be enough

#actually if either fxmq actor was photographed on a skateboard the crossover joecherry fandom would rise back up so fast #ask

[ovvnwords]

* finn cole, non binary + they/he | you know howard sellier, right? they’re twenty two and they’ve lived in irving for, like, six months? well, their spotify wrapped says they listened to useless by i know leopard like, a million times this year, which makes sense ’cause they’ve got that whole  blatantly ignoring someone calling your name, the same 4 outfits on rotation, being that person and waiting for someone to tie their shoe while others keep moving thing going on. i just checked and their birthday is november 1st, so they’re a scorpio, which is unsurprising, all things considered. 

hello it’s mackenzie with howard ( HOODIE ) .... this is long ( tw for ABANDONMENT, CRIMINAL ACTIVITY, SHOOTING / INJURY, ADDICTION, OVERDOSE, DEATH ) . won’t lie i’m tired and i originally played them in a different group so i had to rework things if they don’t make full sense i’m sorry i’m sleepy and also lazy so the ending sucks anyways . will add conenctions to my post asap. bye

it never bothered them, either, but it did set them apart from the rest of the kids in their classes in a way that most obvious to themself ( and made them more self conscious before they even know what that feeling was ) . sometimes there’d be backhanded comments or just straight up rude questions, but they’d never truly cared. them and their uncle had more of a father-child bond anyways, and they were treated as such by those who didn’t know the actual dynamic. 

this is the one piece of his birth father that hoodie has, and they still doesn’t know who it is to this day. there’s not really much of a want to find out, because their mother obviously didn’t want them to go to the father for a reason, so.

 growing up it was pretty lonely ; yucca valley only has about 20k residents, but it is located in the mojave desert , which means hot and spacious. there is such a distinction between this area and las vegas, which is only 2 hours away.  

uncle nick is a ranger on the mojave national preserve , who mostly was someone that just acting as security. for hoodie, this meant during their younger years, there was a lot of roaming around the preserve and trying to find some of the abandoned mines, lol.

the relationship between uncle and nephew is a strong one during this point of life ; howard isn’t older than 10 when a showdown between criminals and the rangers happens. crime is a big thing in the desert and nick had done his best to keep hoodie away from it all, keep the kid sheltered as much as possible.

CRIMINAL ACTIVITY ? TW // it happens on an overnight shift and hoodie is with their neighbor. due to the large article of land the preserve is on and the vast amount of cars that pass through every year , it makes for a perfect spot to do various crimes ; there was a group of individuals who decided it’d be a good idea to dump unsolicited and illegal substances onto the property, including a soon-to-be abandoned car to hide other criminal activities that happened in other areas. las vegas is only two hours away, and it’s a commonly used spot to dump illegal drugs and other things. 

GUN / SHOOTING TW // this group, however, didn’t like that they’d got caught ; they were stupid and left their tail lights on by one of the roads, and it’s suspicious to be out that late at night, doing some shady looking shit. naturally? the rangers approached, and were attacked ; uncle nick was shot, just once, in the abdomen. he lived, but things were different.

ADDICTION TW // he lived, but nick changed after - it’s no secret as to why, that would scar just about anyone not just physically. nick became addicted to the pills prescribed to manage the pain after the injury, and hoodie didn’t know what to do. they were still just a kid. this was the only adult in their life who seemingly gave a shit about them, who is just distancing himself further and further away. it hurts. 

during this time, hoodie began to spend a lot of time with the other neighborhood kids. wasn’t exactly popular, but they didn’t care - and they taught them to skateboard, and how to be their standard of cool.

the more his uncle became distant, the more hoodie sought for refuge somewhere else. this place would be their neighbors house. the thatcher family was one that became like their second family, hoodie knowing full well that this is the kind of life he was supposed to be living

DEATH + OVERDOSE TW // when howard was 20, came home from work to find uncle nick passed out on the couch, blue in the face. they were alone in the world ---- and turned to the thatcher family, who took them in. natural as could be.

the move to irving came a few months after that ------ the thatcher child ( wc ! ) wanted a fresh start, and pulled hoodie alongside them. 

OTHER INFORMATION ....

only answers to hoodie — call them howard and they will quite literally ignore you. howie is ok, depending on who you are. if u call hemt howard and they doesn’t throw up a fist you’re special <3

got the nickname in elementary school - even during the hottest days of the year,  wear THE signature black hoodie. we get it you’re emo. it kind of stuck, and is a lot better than howard.

also will never introduce themself as howard unless it’s like a teacher or something DKCKLSDCKLSD 

treats the hoodies like a security blanket ;  feels safest under a hoodie that’s too big.

frankly  not very comfortable with themself, in just about every aspect

probably skates around town and does tricks. no i know nothing about skateboarding but it’s still happening so i’ll play tony hawk ig

aCTUALLY played tony hawk pro skater on that shitty playstation 2 from a goodwill? yeah and so did i

also dresses like a cartoon character ; hoodie x5 in the same color, same shoes, same looking pants. pack it up greg heffley

 loves the cat more than anything ; charlie has one eye and a short stumpy lil tail. king.

 found charlie on the side of the road one day coming back from work and yes they  is a softie sometimes, so they picked up the lil kitty and brought him home. they’ve been friends ever since and it’s also cats > people

YES is a cat person

probably listens to the chainsmokers. i hate. also stans ariana grande in secret

loves comics ( dc only bc i’m a dc bitch )

has a very problematic touch aversion. like. will allow it if it’s them touching someone else first, but anything else? they’ll flip out internally, not externally

a listener, not a talker. didn’t talk to anyone for a week just after their uncle’s death what they had to. probably won’t talk to you unless you talk to them first or if they really like you

#irvingintro

[bbysamu]

Okay I’m getting an 7.75” skateboard and it’s pretty :3 my little sister has a penny boarddd and yes it does make you an expert

Also taglist for the series there (and I need to actually start writing it looool because I’m expecting this be out by the time I hit around 1K followed maybe) soooo I actually need to start soon

what color is it?? also thank you for validating my expert-ness. I also know one skateboarder - Tony Hawks. Am I correct? Idk. Maybe it’s actually Tony Starks 😂 iron man is a legendary skateboarder and none of us knew 

I just added myself, I can’t wait. Take as much time as you need 

#ceci got mail #darling::empress

[homestuck-writing]

Do you have romantic mallek and reader hcs plz? Also do you think he could also be a sk8ter boi?

yes and also i think he skates with a victory royale t-shirt :) i’m not sure which quadrant you mean so i’m gonna write some matespritship ones, but if i got that wrong and you want me to do em for another one don’t hesitate to let me know!

mallek is really big on casually giving you physical affection and general PDA. it takes him a lukewarm minute to get himself situated so he understands your boundaries, but once he does it’s all over

you cool with him doing that cheesy stretch arm around shoulder thing? that’s like his favorite he does that all the time

you two, diemen, and a few other Mallek Friends are hanging out at his hive, chillin and talking, and he just stretches out to hold you without batting an eye or saying a word. it’s done casually but it means a lot to him

he’s a big cuddler and also a big spoon, he likes the intimacy of being close to you, especially while he’s playing fortnite (or maybe like... cod or smth he’s just a fan of 3rd person shooters)

as cool as it looks and feels to go from place to place in his limo, he thinks it looks cooler when he’s doing tricks on his skateboard on the way to the bank. if you’re down for it he’d love to teach you

he doesn’t wear a helmet but he’d hate to get you hurt so he will force one on you, even if it is from a sweep or so ago and isn’t the right fit for you

some of his favorite dates are when you two are alone in his hive watching a movie or playing a game

he owns troll tony hawk’s downhill jam for the troll wii and that’s by far his favorite to play with you

if you guys have been together long enough he’ll let himself be more vulnerable around you, and this is shown more in cuddles and letting you touch the piercings on his face (mainly the eyebrow ones because the nose piercing would be a little weird) and if you run his hands through his hair he will purr and it’s loud and deep and heart melting

#mallek adalov #hiveswap #homestuck #friendsim #hiveswap x reader #mod konyyl

[queensdivas]

Hidden Blade Chapter 5

I know. It’s been so long since we’ve done anything with Four! But damn I was bored and this was perfect timing to bring four back to life in all honesty! Also who can resist Ben? 

Okay so I bet some of you are wondering wheres the update for Gard? I’m waiting for a few artist to get some art work done! So exciting I know! Not Ben related but I thought it was important. 

Okay so here’s chapter 5! 

Enjoy! 

Next Chapter

Previous Chap 

Masterlist

For some reason Four wanted just the two of us to eat dinner on the rooftop? One put us up in a decent hotel that was a few blocks away from the penthouse and honestly a little quiet time before the mission is something I could use. 

“I bring sweet and sour pork, steamed shrimp dumplings, milk tea, and a shit ton of rice.” A weird mixture of dinner but still delicious. He rolled across the roof on his skateboard as I was studying the blueprints of the penthouse. 

“Oh and the lady was so nice she gave us pineapple bread.” He popped off his board as Four handed me the bag full of food. He squatted down to place the drinks in front of us as I began opening the bag. 

“Thanks for dinner. So why are we eating dinner just the two of us?” I asked him as I handed him the dumplings. 

“Cause I’ve been with them since this whole thing started. It’s nice to have a fresh face within the crowd.” Four handed me the chopsticks as I broke them apart. Glad to know I’m a fresh face amongst the other seven of them. 

Ya know. I know we're supposed to call each other by our numbers to keep our identities a secret from each other. But the whole world thought I was dead in the first place before my fake death. So me telling my name wouldn’t really mean anything. If One considers us a ghost, then I’m just the wind blowing around. 

I’d like to tell Four my name..just in case I do die. Someone should at least know my name before I die. But there’s no way he would spill the beans about him which is fair. This is his life and him jeopardizing by telling me his name wouldn’t be such a fantastic idea. 

We ate in silence as we watched the sun beginning to set over the Sea. The orange sky was painted as we looked at each other with our stuffed faces. Scooting closer to each other but not quite touching yet as we kept watching the sky. 

My eyes drifted over to his skateboard as it was sitting there staring at my soul. When I was kid a bunch of the other kids I lived with had skateboards and I always wanted to learn how to ride one. Obviously they said no because I was always the odd ball out. 

“How long have you been riding?” Asking him as he turned his head towards the board. 

“Since I was a kid. Wanna learn?” He asked as I quickly nodded. He grabbed the to go box of the pork as I took a sip of the milk tea. 

We got up as he took a bite of his pork. He got on top of his board to start riding around the rooftop as he was eating the pork. Okay showoff! Very funny. He circled around me as I shook my head at him. 

“Alright, Four very funny.” He stopped right in front of me to get off the board to place his pork down. 

“Now just keep your feet evenly placed on the board because riding is just balance.” I nodded to step on the board with my feet placed where I could see where he left his after the years of riding it. 

“Here. Give me your hands.” Giving him my hands as he began leading me on the board. We kept smiling at each other as he kept leading me around the rooftop. Who’d known that it was this easy to ride around on a skateboard. 

“Now just bend your knees a little.” Nodding as I bent my knees and he let go of my hands. 

“Wait no Four no.” I laughed as I began rolling by myself. My arms were a little shaky till I got the balance down. Oh my god this is fun! 

“See! Easy!” Four yelled as I gradually began to slow down. He walked back over to me as he began leading me again. 

“Now how long to learn all the cool tricks like Tony Hawk?” 

“About three years give or take.” Do I look like I have two or three years? 

“Jerusha.” I blurted out as we stopped moving. 

“You don’t have to tell me your name. Just wanted someone to tell you if I don’t make it tonight. Rather not be completely forgotten.” I’m not quite sure what I just did. I let go of his hands then off the board. 

“We should probably meet with the others before One tracks us down.” Tell Four as I gather up our leftovers and start walking towards the meet up. 

A small group consisting of me, Four, Seven, and One we’re crowded around the cranes that would lead us over to the big apartment, er whatever those buildings are. One says he’s calling it a snatch and grab, minus the snatch or something like that because I wasn’t paying too much attention. Mostly because Four and I were working on harnesses and other contraptions for being spider monkeys of the group. 

“Going to be honest with y’all. Haven’t really climbed anything that could possibly move me around like a fishing hook.” Seven told us I pulled out my much needed and preferred weapon to load that sucker up. My semi-auto, which is a synthetic 12 gage shotgun. I will be packing heat with this little gun, besides, little mini automatics aren’t my forte.

“Just don’t look down.” Four commented as I loaded my gun with the shells. 

“Great advice. What a genius you are!” I’m really trying to hold my sarcasm at this moment because I’m trying not to shit myself. I know this is like my fortieth mission. But it’s the first time I’ve worked with more than a second person. It’s a little uneasy because if one person doesn’t pull their string we’re all screwed!

Stay focused girl! Ah okay. Here we go. I put my shotgun back into my bag as I slung my bookbag back on. I put on my climbing gloves as he began spreading his gymnastic chalk on his hands. 

“So with all this do da stuff. We’re you an engineer before this?” Seven asked as I began checking my zipline contraption. 

“In a weird way, kind of..” I tightened one of the knobs a little more. If we’re going to be dangling like monkeys off the side of this dude's cage, I’d like to make sure my arm doesn’t slip and then fall to my death. 

“If that works, would you mind making me one?” Four asked me as he was cracking his knuckles. I mean I don’t even know if this is going to work, but if it does, sure. 

“Sure. It’ll take me a few days or so if that’s alright? Mind if I use some of your climbing chalk?” He nodded as he tossed over his ball of climbing powder. Rubbing my hands together as One approached us. 

“You afraid?” Is he doing one of those cliche movie things where one of the dudes acts all tought and the leader is like “fear is your best friend when doing stupid shit” kind of thing?

“Nope.” Yup. That’s one of the most cliche things ever oh my god. 

“Good luck.” One told him as he shook his head. 

“Saying good luck is bad luck.” I turned towards the crane to shake out my arms. 

“I take it back.” Oh my god I’m going to start climbing up if they don’t stop. 

“Taking it back is even worse luck.” Yup starting my climb. I began climbing up the crane as quickly as I could, because I know if I look down I’ll die. No I’m not afraid of heights, just things that move under me while I’m super high in the sky. 

“Go go go go go.” One got him to start climbing up the crane. 

“Yeah.” Four sighed as he was starting up to catch up with me. 

“Good luck you two!” One chuckled as Four was the first to start climbing. 

“Do you want me to die? Wanker.” He made it up to me as I watched the building that we were going to be jumping. 

We made it to the top of the crane as it began moving. I gripped his arm as it scared the shit out of me for a second. He looked at me for a moment as I pulled my hand away from him. Dear God that was a little weird.  

“Sorry. It kind of spooked me there for a second.” We began moving as quickly yet safely because One is moving this thing like a bat out of hell!

“Just take it slow and easy. We’re still moving across so just take it slow.” Four tried helped me calm down a little as I finally calmed down a little bit for the ride. Just fine!

“It’s a good ride One. A little scary up here, but.” Seven was the first to speak as we were gliding across the sky. 

“Nah this is fun. Don’t be a pussy seven.” Four told him as our crane was closing into the penthouse. 

“Yeah I got the gun, smartass. Remember that.” Four shook his head at Seven's little comment.

“Slow it down, One. Slow it down.” I told one as we made it over the penthouse. I climbed down to wrap my legs around the crane, then climbed down onto the roof. 

“Overwatch is set. I got the target in his bed scratching his balls, reading some Chinese book. Is that a cookbook?” Oh I would love some squid right about now because that sounds delicious for a midnight snack.

I climbed around to the other side of the pool as I watched for the guards inside the penthouse. They were huddled around in the kitchen eating KFC? Wait a second! You’re in China with some of the best tasting street food and you decide to eat KFC? It’s not even real meat! The only thing that they have that’s good is their gravy!

“Zipline secure!” Right. Need to get started on destroying the windows. Shit they’re moving! Umm umm! I climbed up to the top of the roof roof to basically become the eyes in the sky in close range. For a few minutes till Four got the zipline set. They started coming out of the penthouse all over the outside pavilion thing. I dropped down to start crawling across the roof. Four ducked down behind the plants as he moved around the people he saw. The pool!

“Four to your right. They’re going towards the crane.” Saying over as he climbed down into the pool.

“Shit it’s cold.” He whispered through the com as he kneeled in the water at eye level. 

“Four you got enemies to your left, eye level. Better take a deep breath. I’m going in.” I was about to climb down but One jumped on the com. 

“No, don't Eight you’ll compromise the mission.” Ye have little faith in me. 

“Give me a little credit One. I don’t need to make noise to do my killings.” Taking my hunting knife out of its sleeve to start sliding down the wall. 

The closest guard that was near me stopped in front of the plants as I was about to stab him in the neck but he moved back into the house to sit back down with the other guards. Well shit if I can just slither over then this will be a cake walk. 

Worming around the place as one was directly over Four as he was waiting to come up for breath. Crap they’re too many and they keep running around the pool and crane! 

“Hang on Four I’m thinking.” Telling him as I kept watching everyone to see if I can get away with it. Even if I grab him and do it in the bushes he would be making a lot of noise. Look hiding a body is sort of loud and you have to do it right. 

“Seven shoot the pool.” I whispered. If he shoots a hole in the pool then we have an airway for Four to be able to breath! 

“Four moves right!” Seven told him as I backed out of the bushes to start going through my bag for the small glass breaking bombs. 

“Incoming round.” 

“You’re welcome. And y’all can refer to me as Mr. Seven from now on.” At that point you can call me Lady Eight. Oh could you imagine that? Instead of just numbers we added titles to our numbers! Dibs on Lady Eight instead of just eight. Oh my god that would be absolutely perfect! 

Four climbed out of the water as he crawled over to where I was in the bushes. He flung his bag off as I began handing him the small bombs and rope. He opened his fanny pack as he placed a few of the bombs in there. 

“Spiderman the walls and we’ll be set.” He whispered as I flung my bag back over my shoulder for us to start our bomb placing. 

He boosted me up towards the roof of the penthouse as I reached down to pull him up. Bear crawling across the roof as low as we could till we reached the southside of the penthouse. 

“Hot mask.” We were about to start unpacking but stopped as three began playing through our coms. 

“In a Darth Vader daughter kind of way. Maybe later we can...coochie coochie.” Four and I looked at each other trying not to laugh. 

“Woochie woochie coochie.” It’s becoming the laugh you have to keep quiet because bursting out in laughter would be horrible. 

“A little over the top guys.” One chimed into their little conversation. I handed him the rope as he began trying himself so he could dangle over a building that if the ropes cut we don’t hit the pavement! We’re burned alive! I’m thinking too hard about this. 

“You lost one of your seals! You’re on laughing gas you dumb motherfucker!” Tieing my rope around me as we looked at each other. Turning off our coms for a split second so we could have a private conversation. 

“Did those two have some very big sexual tension even before I showed up?” I asked as he nodded. 

“They hooked up in Vegas.” Telling him as I tried my rope around the pipe. We turned our coms back on as we could hear three laughing. 

“I am the danger!” We turned our heads towards each other in complete shock. Hearing that ring through my ears actually hurt my soul! 

“For the love of everything no more movie lines.” I told them through the com. 

“Or ever.” One added thankfully. 

“It’s a tv line, not a movie line!” Anything that has overpaid actors!

“Yes Miss Vader!” Darth Vader breathing began going through the com as we began lowering ourselves down on the large window glass. God it’s like listening to really bad porno intro Jesus! A loud bang happened from the com as Three was now obnoxiously laughing. 

“Okay we’ve got a problem. Three got hit with nitrous, and he’s stupider than usual.” 

“This is the funniest shit ever!” His laughing echoed through the com. 

Four and I scaled down to underneath the window as we began placing them at the base of the windows. Though the rope was holding us, we still kept a tight grip on the cement just in case it was going to snap. These bombs were suction cupped which were very easy to place as we began going in opposite directions. 

“He said there were sound wave bombs right?” Asking Four as he nodded. 

“Supposedly. Which makes me a little less anxious because this won’t blow up my arm.” Fair enough. Reaching up to place one on the window as I grunted pulling all my upper body strength to smack it on there. 

“How are you two doing over there? You look like elegant spider monkees!” Glad to know that us dangling a few stories off the ground brings him joy. 

“Thank you one for describing us as very capable mammals who are very intelligent.” Not quite sure if that did anything but calling me a monkey is considered a compliment. They’re geniuses! 

“You look like you’re having so much fun!” 

“Tell me one. Has anyone asked you dumb fucking questions when you’re dangling like a fish on a line?” Four asked as we kept pushing to place the bombs. 

“No need to climb angry you two.” It’s not that I’m angry! It’s the fact I’m trying to focus! 

“Mate, you’re really ruining my flow right now, you know that!” Four told him which made him chuckle. I smacked another one as I checked to see I only had one more. 

“Just get those high-intensity speakers placed.” Seven ordered as I shook my head. 

“Yes sir sergeant sir!” I moved up and placed the last speaker onto the window! All done finally! I climbed up the rope to untie myself from the pipe. 

“Hey have you ever uh...you ever been to an American movie theatre? Between 1983 and 2015?” What does this have to do with anything! 

“No.” I answered as I walked over to where Four was dangling to wait for him to get done. 

“No, I just pirate them on my phone.” What a dick move. 

“That’s an ass hole move. All right.” Four finished as I reached down to pull him up from dangling. I took off my bag to pull out my shotgun and was ready to go. 

“Get ready to pull that trigger.” 

“Till my finger hurts.” That image.. OH MY GOD THE FREAKIN’ SOUND EFFECT! OH MY GOD IT MADE ME DEAF WHENEVER WE WOULD WATCH SOMETHING ON DVD OR VHS! 

We climbed across the roof as he took one entrance as I was on the second one. The crescendo hit as the glass shattered all over the penthouse. Though One is a sarcastic dick, I will say that was a very genius move. 

“Hit it!” 

Let’s do this!

taglist

@bonafiderocketqueen​ @filmslutt​ @lazykittenstudent-deactivated20​ @radiob-l-a-hblah​ @itsmeaudrieee​ @intoanothermind​ @imjustboredso​ @4lendow-norris @wickedholland​ @takemetoneverlandbabe​ @raylan-c​ @johndeaconshands​ @myvanishingaddictions​

#four #four x reader #four/billy #four/billy x reader #6 underground #6 underground billy #ben hardy 6 underground #6 underground netflix #6 underground four #Ben Hardy #ben hardy x reader #ben hardy x female reader #ben hardy fan fic

[samtheflamingomain]

just got my unemployment, bought a skateboard

No, really. Hear me out.

I'm a line cook on shortened hours so I get a good amount of unemployment every month. Nothing extravagant, but enough to live on and, for me, to put away $100-200 in savings because I have very few expenses.

I spent less on fast food and alcohol last month than I was expecting. So I bought myself Tony Hawk Remastered. And beat it in like a week. 12 year old me would be in awe, having never passed the bare minimum scores as a kid.

Yes, I'm a 26 year old adult male that is overweight, but I used to be a gymnast. I can still hold my own on an ice rink. I'm actually a pretty good dancer.

It occurred to me while I was doing 540 Christ Airs on my PS4 that I sure would like to do that in real life. Obviously I'm not Tony Hawk so I doubt I'd ever manage to nail anything more than a shove-it, but I realized that it would make for good exercise.

I used to get plenty of exercise through the many sports I enjoyed as a kid. Then I grew up, aged out of ice skating and gymnastics. Whenever I would exercise post-middle school, it was running laps, doing reps at the gym, using a treadmill.

I've been beating myself up for nearly a year because I spent $300 on a treadmill that took 6 people an hour to get into my apartment because it was so heavy and awkward and I've used it less than 20 times.

Because I hate it! I hate running! I hate doing situps! I'm at a point weight-wise where literally any exercise will help. I don't need to focus on squats or burpees or situps because even just going outside and fucking around on a skateboard for a half hour will burn calories, and that's basically what I need right now.

I need a way to burn off calories without hating it. I used to ice skate a few times a week but rinks have been closed for a year, and I'm not in shape to do gymnastics (although gyms have largely also been closed).

So I summoned my inner 8th grader who bought a $15 skateboard without my parents knowing in 2009. I learned a few basics from a friend, but then broke the board. But I remember it being a lot of fun.

So as the title implies, I did indeed get paid today, and I have enough savings that I can make $200 purchases without much guilt. It's what it's there for. I have a $1500 safety net in case of a laptop or cat emergency, $1500 saved for my tattoo sleeve, and another $1500 on top of that.

I learned quickly through preliminary research what I was looking for in a board. It was pretty specific, so I was sure I'd have to drop a good $200 on a board. (You really don't want to start on something cheap or it'll be hard to really master the basics, so I went with mid-tier.) You can get a board on Amazon for $60, but I actually only went there for kneepads.

For my board I went to a specialty website that's local-ish, and found the perfect board for me with a beautiful deck for $120, $10 shipping, here in a week.

I just really need something fun that will get me out of my bed and maybe motivate me to git gud at skating, though that definitely isn't my priority. Ollie, shove-it, and maybe a grind, that'll satisfy me.

Stay Greater.

#skateboarding #skating #sam