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trulyhblue · 5 months

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Home Away From Home

Lauren Hemp x Aussie! Reader

Warnings: fluff, but awkward.

A/N — I know Caroline Weir scored the two goals in the Man City game that I talk about, but I've changed it a bit :)

Masterlist

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Growing up in Australia was among the greatest privileges you had as a child.

Even in the midst of your career — a job you've dreamed of since you were little — your home soil was indescribable; nothing could beat the familiarity of home.

When the 2023 World Cup was announced to take place in Australia, you were feeling the effects of homesickness after six long months in Europe. You were signed by Manchester City at Nineteen, playing a critical midfield position after being a regular sub for your old club back in Australia. Your parents were sceptical of you leaving so early to such a big club. In no way were you prepared to face the challenges of adulthood as a whole other country, on the opposite side of the Earth.

You had only been playing for the Matildas for a couple of months when you were first signed to City, and it wasn't until the following year when your fellow Aussie teammates Alanna, and eventually Hayley and Mary, that you had the comfort of home to nurture you during rough patches.

Your family was your biggest supporter. Growing up, they sacrificed everything to meet the needs of their football journey. Your parents would leave early from work early to take you to training and surrender endless personal endeavours so that you could prosper in your dreams of going pro. You were very grateful for all that they had done, and as a result, their sacrifices became your motivation to be the best you could possibly be. You lived and breathed football. Everything revolved around football.

But when you moved to City, you found yourself stuck in a trance by a certain English Blonde.

For the most part, you kept to yourself at training. You didn't want to cause any trouble, and it seemed that most of the girls knew each other from youth squads, prior teams, or roommates at National Camps. You struggled to find your place in the squad at first. Being a relatively young team, you had lots of girls around your age, willing to be your friend, but the absence of home and lack of connection to the United Kingdom combined to make your personality shrink under a dismissive persona.

When Alanna joined City, you offered your apartment to her, having come from North London beforehand. Over the next months, you found comfort in the familiar Aussie accent, finding solace in the sliver of home you felt so distant to.

You still remained shy at training, trying hard and pushing out of your comfort zone every time someone had a conversation with you. Alanna found it hard to believe how introverted you were, having seen your confidence shine at Matilda’s Camps, and the Manchester Girls couldn't believe their ears when Alanna told them about how you were at home.

When Hayley came, you were smiling more. It wasn't that you weren't happy at City before the Australian girls arrived. You were thriving. In the 2020/21 season, you were dubbed as Young Player of The Year and had four ‘Player Of The Match’ awards under your belt. You worked extremely hard to make the starting eleven regularly, and people would often compliment your subtle but impressionable skills on the field. You weren't fast, but you were technical. You thought of the play that hadn't happened yet, shaping the game with unexpected yet calculated crosses. For two years, you had the second most assists in the WSL, merely missing Beth Mead.

In all honesty, the effects of having the reminder of home did help to boost your performance not only on the pitch but behind the scenes as well.

You can remember tapping your hands against the rim of your cubby, your home kit baggy on your figure. It was a very important game today — the final of the FA Women’s League Cup — against reigning champions Chelsea. You were starting, and your family had flown over to watch.

Your nerves upon walking out were tremendous. This was your first time starting in a final in the WSL. You don't remember a time you felt your hands shake this much. Alanna and Hayley were preparing for the match on either side of you, their faces impassive when both teams lined up in the tunnel of Cherry Rose Records Stadium.

Your heart was thumping out of your chest, palms sweating as you took your spot on the field.

When the whistle blew, you tuned everything out.

A powerful shot from Sam Kerr left Chelsea in the lead halfway through the first half. You tried hard to maneuver your way through the likes of Charles and Ingle, passing to Georgia and Keira as you struggled to pass Chelsea’s defence. Lucy was given a yellow which heightened the tension reeling in the stands. You buried the apprehensive bile rising in your stomach when the halftime whistle blew, signalling everyone to rush back to the changing rooms.

You placed your head in your hands, taking slow, desperate sips of your water bottle as you listened to the pep talks from all the players. Gareth Taylor, your manager, was shouting encouragement from across the room, staring into each and every one of your eyes, assuring the team that they could make a comeback.

“I want you to want this.” He said, circling the room with so much fervour that the room felt warmer. “I want to see the determination in your eyes. I want to see it in the tackles, the plays, the kicks, everything. The opportunities you making are good, they just need more precision.”

It was almost the start of the second half when Gareth asked for you, leading you over to the other side of the changing rooms, towards the shorter figure of one of your teammates.

Lauren looked just as nervous as you, but you hoped that you his your nerves a little better than her. Her blonde hair was held up in a pony, and small wisps of baby hairs framed her face after being exempted from the wind. She was a year older than you but has been in Manchester since 2018. Other than the odd, unusual sentence or two, neither of you had properly interacted.

Lauren looked up at you, her beady eyes locking with yours as she licked her lips, exchanging glances with the floor and you, awaiting the purpose of the conversation.

“I want you two to work together this half.” Your Manager urged. Both you and Lauren looked at him in surprise. He must've caught on since he held his hands up. “I know we haven't practised much between the two of you, I know. But Y/N, your crosses over the head of Chelsea defenders will inevitably shape up some opportunities for Hempo. Lauren, you know what to do when something comes up. I believe that truly, alright? Do you understand?”

You were still mulling over Gareth’s words when the whistle blew for the second half, but you felt an uncertain pair of eyes look out for where you kicked the ball. The surveillance of the English forward did not irk you. In fact, it pushed you to do as you were told.

It was two minutes in when an opportunity arose. You were given the ball by Alanna, who had pelted it away after a scary interaction with her and Kerr.

Gareth’s words played in your head, taunting you as the blonde’s eyes watched your actions intently. You were hesitant to do as he said. This was the one game your parents were here to see. Never once had they been to Europe, having not had the money to be able to fund both your football and fancy holidays overseas. You wanted to make them proud. You didn't want to risk such an important opportunity for it to go out or concede and let your team down.

You found Georgia and kicked it by her. She followed it up the middle of the field, passing it to one of your forwards, hand up in celebration when it went past the Goalie.

But for some reason, you couldn't find it in you to celebrate. You refused to meet the eyes of Lauren, who was no doubt throwing you a disappointed glance. You could feel the betrayal radiating in violent waves. You ran back to your starting position without a peep, determined to shake the guilt with another chance. You needed to win this game. You’d do whatever it took to do so.

Another goal from Ellen White led your team one in front, but it gave no comfort whatsoever in a game like this. If anything, it put the stakes higher. You hated penalties, the feeling of dread and anxiety filling you everything you watched each player attempt to concede. Even more so, you hated taking penalties. The possibility of that happening was enough to motivate you even more.

Guro Reiten was subbed off for Lauren James. A fresh pair of legs was dangerous coming up to the seventieth minute.

Chelsea was drawing closer and closer to equalizing with your second goal, causing an uprise in the tension between both the teams and the people watching. You grew more angsty when one of their attempts hit the crossbar, but when it landed near Keira’s feet, being shot past to where you stood, you knew this was now or never.

You sprinted down the wing with Georgia by your side, but you were only focused on the blonde in front of you.

“Here! Here!” Georgia screamed, holding out her hand to signal to you that she was ready. You contemplated it. There had been many times when Georgia had done that, and you had crossed the ball to her, and she had easily swished it past the goalie. You never doubted Georgia for a second, and you definitely knew she would've been able to shoot from where she was — she was clearly onside. But the Chelsea defenders had studied your gameplay back to front, and the same old cross to Georgia was something they had trained for — something you had trained for.

Something clicked in your mind when you met Lauren’s eyes. Something ignited inside of you. She must've felt it too, because she didn't even reach her hand up to signal towards you.

You both just knew what was happening. And that it would work. It had to work.

Without much thought, you kicked the ball to your right, watching as Chelsea gaped in alarm at the unsuspected pass and turn to and from Lauren.

You held your breath, stationery at the sight of Lauren’s risky attempts. She found a steady pace along the sideline stepping past Jess Carter, keeping her back turned to the goal. She used the back of her heel to trick both Carter and Berger. She had scored. Manchester City were winning 3-1.

You were the first to scream, a massive smile on your face as you ran towards Lauren, who spun to find you amidst the swarm of Chelsea players.

The two of you ran into each other with so much force that you both toppled to the ground, rolling around as the rest of your team piled on top of you.

The girls were screaming, you could hear the distant cheers of people in the stands. You heard Lauren’s exhausted huffs as you shovelled your head into her neck. Neither of you said anything. You both just had the silent agreement that what you did was game-changing, and that the non-existent relationship between you was no longer.

Despite the desperate attempts from the London team, the final whistle blew with the score maintaining a healthy lead. Your legs gave out as soon as the game ended, tears threatening to spill from your eyes and onto your cheeks as the weight of the season lifted from your shoulders. You felt a pair of arms lift you up, turning you around. The hug was only recently familiar, but tangible nonetheless.

Lauren held her arms around your waist, leaving you to collapse your arms over her shoulders. You watched her chest rise and fall, however, so slowly, a few choked sobs rang out from the older girl.

“I thought you weren't ‘gonna pass to me.” She said. You don't remember her ever speaking to you directly, but the attention made you blush.

“You could've gotten a double if I did.” You uttered, pulling her out of the hug. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be.” She replied, her cheeks also dusted pink. “I'm just glad it was your assist.”

You wondered if she was trying to make you flustered because you noticed how fidgety she got when you eyed her nervously.

“I mean like— I like you— wait, no, well— I like your assist-”

“Same. I mean— I'm glad you scored from my assist. Like— okay wait that doesn't make sense.”

“I get what you’re saying. That's what I meant.” Lauren muttered back, rubbing the back of her neck in embarrassment. “I wouldn't have wanted anyone else to assist me… in goals.”

“Yeah, same… in goals, yeah.”

Little did you know, your Aussie teammates Hayley and Alanna were standing next to Keira and Georgia, all overlooking the inept exchange between the two of you.

“God, you call that flirting.” Georgia laughed, the other three chuckling along. “Wouldn't want to see what their dates would look like.”

“Bloody painful, that's what.” Alanna sounded, taking a picture of the two of you.

“Wouldnt of expected anything different, to be honest. Both as awkward as each other.” Keira spoke.

And you were as awkward as each other, but that made for the perfect pair. A home away from home.

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#arsenal wfc #arsenal #caitlin foord #chelsea #beth mead #jessie fleming #chelsea women #katie mccabe #kyra cooney cross #lauren hemp x reader #lauren hemp #machester city #championsleague #esme morgan #alanna kennedy #keira walsh #sam kerr #georgia stanway #lucy bronze

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weirdmarioenemies · 25 days

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Name: Melon Bug (again)

Debut: Super Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Island

(I wanted to write some more about Melon Bug, and I liked the original post just fine, so this post will be a continuation since that one was so short!)

An isopod! Oh, joyous day! It may not look like one at all with that big ol’ nose, but when it’s rolled up, there is no mistaking it! Here’s a very fun fact: when an isopod curls into a ball, it’s called conglobation! Use that in your everyday lives.

Melon Bug technically isn’t an enemy, you know the drill, weird Mario friends, that usual thing. When curled up, Yoshi can lick them up and spit them out, defeating enemies they hit! Could this be the first instance of weaponized isopods?

The Player's Guide says "These feisty hoppers transform from bug to melon and back again." Feisty? They're only slightly more feisty than a real pill bug! And a real pill bug has a negative Feistiness Level. I don't think whoever wrote this has played the game, since Melon Bug is harmless! I also don't think they know about real pill bugs, because they clearly can't cogitate conglobation. A bug transforming into a melon? How unrealistic! What do they think this is, Trip World?

I think "Melon Bug" is a very good name. An incredible name, even! When Melon Bug curls up, it, obviously, resembles a melon, what with both being round with stripes. While real pill bugs don't really have "stripes", their tergites (armor plates) do give a "lined" appearance. If you ask me, Melon Bug could be a good name even for real terrestrial isopods!

What do YOU call pill bugs? I've always called them roly-polies, but they have so many wacky names. Woodlouse? Yeah sure, a bug that lives under wood, why not! Butchy-boy? I don't get it, but it's funny. Then there are all the names comparing them to pigs which I just do not get, but groundhogs also get compared to pigs in common names a lot, so maybe people just don't know pigs as well as they like to think. And THEN! England gave them a bunch of CHEESE-related names. What is happening over there? Are British people somehow making cheese from isopod secretions? Why would you call this creature a CHEESELOG? That's a straight up food! I kind of love this name for them for being so ridiculous! Anyway, my point with all this is that Melon Bug would be more actually fitting than the majority of the common names these have been given, but sometimes it is more fun to be unfitting!

Isn't it weird how Melon Bug's art doesn't quite look like the sprite? Such bulging eyes in the art, but little dots in-game... well, we now know the reason!

Remember Super Donkey, from the 2020 gigaleak? I feel like it's been far too forgotten for how interesting it is! Anyway, as I mentioned when talking about that game, Melon Bug was originally designed for it! It seems like the Yoshi's Island art was drawn before they decided to shrink its sclerae, and lighten its colors, but after they decided to give it little red shoes.

If you grew up calling roly-polies something else, or if you know fun names from other languages, I would love to hear them! And I hope you love and appreciate these creatures! They are so common and easy to observe, so rather than get jaded to their presence, celebrate them, and you will be able to find delight whenever you turn over a log!

#melon bug #yoshis island #super mario world 2: yoshis island #mario entities #weird mario all stars #mod chikako

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beautifulpersonpeach · 26 days

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Not gonna lie, this whole thing really sucks. I think I wrote a message awhile back about the very cool feminist angle of the Plus Global Auditions Invitation video, I'm an SNL Army and was new to watching kpop very closely and was so sold by that video. I thought - 'this company is really different.' Going public with a company f*cks a lot of things up, it happens all so often, and often it's the people and the ethos that gets messed up the most. It's frustrating to see this devolution. Because I was really excited by what MHJ was being given space to do at BH/Hybe. Though, as a fellow art school student, I am shaking my head and serious side-eyes at how she says things like 'I'm an artist, I don't know how to read contracts' (obviously I'm paraphrasing) - it's clear Hybe knows she's got the goods but she's not playing by their game anymore. The response and flood of crazy comments and hate at BTS is frustrating but expected, but just such a waste of time all the same. I've also never thought BH and then Hybe were super super smart and long-gaming everything (don't come for me Bangtan U fans) I think they were lucky and scrappy and skillful and making cool things happen moment to moment. Later on they got better at the strategic planning, sure. I don't know. They may need a good kick in the pants to remember that's what makes them great at what they do. But still, I hate the idea of MHJ being cooked even if she seems like a real pain in the tush to work with. Because technically, she's what got me to really buy-in to what BTS & BH were doing in the first place.

***

Yeah, it's a shitty situation.

To be fair, I think at the start, Bang PD was trying to do something different and 'forward-thinking' with HYBE. He sought out good talent going by the hires he did in 2019/2020, managing to onboard creatives like Min Heejin and Zico. Zico already incorporated his company to manage himself before Bang PD approached him, which is probably why he owns ~24.5% of KOZ - his sub-label in HYBE.

But with Min Heejin...

She had partnered with 250 - a popular DJ in Korea and NewJeans' main producer, since she left SM in 2018. He runs BANA (a creative collective) but she'd wanted her own label since the start.

Bang PD knew this, and wanted her for HYBE, so it's likely he made all sorts of promises to get her on board without awarding her a single share. Almost as soon as key creative decisions had to be made post-Global Plus audition, they both clashed, but HYBE as a company was less than 1 year old and it appears Bang PD and MHJ still had good relations... which was kinda easy since he still needed her creative output and wanted to see what she could do. So they let her make her own label: ADOR, and keep NewJeans even though according to Min Heejin, HYBE executives and Bang PD thought her concept and style of music for them would be impossible to sell to k-pop stans.

They expected NewJeans to fail or flounder. Instead, by 2023 NewJeans had become one of the top 5 most valuable k-pop IPs in Korea. If my guess is right, by that point she had no shares in ADOR, no agreement with HYBE's indefinite non-compete clause. She could walk anytime and I'm sure a lot of people wanted her.

Then HYBE approached Min Heejin with the shareholder contract to give her 20% of the company. It's a classic 'carrot and stick'. The carrot was easy to see. Apparently offered her the shares at a very low price, apparently Bang PD even lent her the money to buy it, for a valuation that HYBE considered more than generous, he was in her KakaoTalk chats buttering her up with those godawful emojis lmaooo. He was selling that shit hard. The stick in the contract was the poison pill which essentially tied her to HYBE for as long as they want her.

Perhaps she was aware of the pill and signed any way because at that point they still had good relations with Bang PD and HYBE in general. But according to her, Bang PD kept wanting more control over NewJeans the more successful the group became. Realizing she had to do something about the poison pill, she sought to negotiate, and as is typical in these sort of situations, you fight greed with more greed.

Asking to bump up the multiple on the options from 13x to 30x is frankly ridiculous. For a male CEO I can see it being considered... maybe, but for a woman? In Korea?

I'm sure when the other suits at HYBE heard that's what she was asking, at least one of them almost had a stroke. The logic is simple though: start crazy high and end.. just high. If HYBE was looking to exert more control over NewJeans (for example, every sub-label and group in HYBE changed to using 'bio-paper and ink' for their albums starting in 2023, to help HYBE meet their ESG targets. The only company that's not made the switch yet, is ADOR. Given how carefully MHJ controls branding and album design for NewJeans, I can see this minute detail being a massive thorn lol)... anyway, if HYBE was indeed looking to gain more control, the fact that they'd have to pay 30x if MHJ exercised her options on a whim, would serve as a very strong deterrent.

Given what I understand Korean corporate culture to be like, I doubt she had any friends in upper management to start, but with a demand like that, practically all of them would turn enemies in a heartbeat. It's the sheer audacity lmao. My guess is she would've eventually negotiated down, at least once she was assured real creative independence from Bang PD. But at some point, rather, quite predictably given this is corporate Korea, the need for control and the egos involved decided she had to be cut loose now and perhaps taught to not bite the hand that feeds her.

It's not a sentiment limited to the suits at HYBE. It's followed her since SM and the general public would hate it too, which is one reason I think it's only a matter of time before the narrative switches again to HYBE's favour. I promise you, most regular men in Korea would go red in the face, eyes bulging out their heads, drool and spit shooting out like projectiles, at the thought she would dare to demand such a thing. And in a way they'd be right. It's an insane amount of money for female creative in Korea, but I think given everything else, it also seems like a gamble she was taking as a means to an end. A simple negotiating tactic, given what she keeps highlighting as her main goal - unimpeded and full creative and managerial control.

Bang PD wants to build a 'forward-thinking' company comparable to Western conglomerate juggernauts like SONY and Warner Music, but I don't think these Korean men have the chops to do it right, just yet. I've had that impression of Bang PD for a few years now. He's been getting results, but they are inconsistent and he's got the biggest 'surety' in a sense with BTS, so he's been fine, and will continue to be fine for a few more years at least. But if they are messing up this spectacularly with their first female executive and one of their most valuable IPs, over... an options price negotiation?

And they want to pretend to be better than any other corp in Korea?

Lol.

Anyhoo.

I sympathize a bit with how you feel, but as a Korean woman, I guess I'm numb to it. There's a reason I've never chosen to work in that country, there's a reason why the birth rate is nearing the negatives. It's really unfortunate, and I'm sorry you're seeing a prior expectation you had getting blown up this way. And this latest hatefest on BTS has been quite ugly and isn't near done yet. This whole situation is gross, and even more so when the motivations behind it are so... banal and backwards.

But these are undercurrents that are too simple and boring for the average stan. Burning the witch who is responsible for masterminding the demise of a virtuous group is far more exciting. And so that's how the story will go.

I just hope that by some miracle, NewJeans turns out okay and manages to thrive after this. Because in all of this mess, they will deal with the implications the most and for the longest time.

#newjeans #ador #min heejin #bang pd #hybe #kpop

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hoodharlow · 1 year

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Prologue: Let Me Make Your Night

AN: this part one of my enemies to lovers fic with Joe Burrow and a latina!OC. diclaimer i know NOTHING about football. i thought this white boy was cute and decided to write about him. and a huge thank you to @heavyhitterheaux and @nattinatalia for letting me bounce ideas off with them ilysm <333

Requested? No

Warnings: smut angsty ending

Word Count: 4.8k words

February 2022

Astrid looked at her dad’s text messages and rolled her eyes. Sometimes she’d forget how much of a die hard fan he was of the San Diego Chargers, not the LA Chargers. In his eyes they don’t exist and the Chargers stopped being a real team until the end of 2016. So the fact that she was at SoFi Stadium, where the team resides now, for the superbowl was sending her dad into a frenzy. She invited him to join her, technically his good friend Guy Fieri invited them, but her dad said no and to be safe.

“Astrid Romero, over here!” photographers yelled at her as she made her way to the box seats.

She smiled and waved before nudging her best friend to keep walking.

“Damn, you’re like famous, famous now.” Amira said in a teasing tone.

“Oh hush.” Astrid said, shyly.

Astrid Romero was an up and coming actress. She starred in the soon to be released drama ‘The Perfect Family’ for HBOMax alongside Mark Ruffalo, Kid Cudi, Noah Centineo, Eva Longoria, Benjamin Bratt and other known actors. It was her first big TV role. The tv show that got her really started was the three episode arc on FBI where she played the daughter of sicario that got kidnapped on her walk to campus and Maggie and OA had to find her so there wouldn’t be a terf war between the carteles. After that she had small roles here and there. Her first movie role was the year before when she starred in an action rom-com movie with Jacob Elordi and Aaron Taylor Johnson. A lot of people compared the movie to ‘This Means War’ but how it was better because it wasn’t as cheesy and predictable as the 2012 movie.

Acting wasn’t her original plan when she moved to LA. She originally planned to study biology at USC and become a doctor like her mom. After she finished her degree in 2020, she planned on taking a gap year before starting med school at USC. Because she needed a job to maintain herself in LA, she interned with her godfather at Food Network. Guy was friends with her dad and the family restaurant was featured on Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives a few years ago and since then her dad and Guy just clicked. He sometimes is a guest judge on Guy’s Grocery Games.

Astrid mainly worked with the camera crew. It wasn’t until one day she had to fill in for Hunter, Guy Fieri’s oldest son, for an episode of Guy’s Grocery Games. Since then it was like she was hit with the acting bug and she needed to be in front of the camera. Thanks to her connections to Guy, she was able to book auditions and see what’s out there.

When she booked the movie with Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Jacob Elordi, she was nervous to tell her mom. Mostly out of fear of disappointing her mom that she was briefly going to Seattle for the movie because they had a plan for her to become a doctor. Fortunately for her, her mom was supportive of her and whatever she wanted to do. Both of her parents were very supportive of her and her three older brothers.

Her two oldest were fraternal twins, Gael and Gabriel. They were four years older than Astrid and her other brother, Esteban, was two years older than her. The twins followed their parents' footsteps. Gael worked as a chef in Hillcrest and Gabriel was doing his residency at UCSD to become a doctor. Meanwhile Esteban played in a minor league baseball team in hopes he'd get scouted into a major league team.

“J said Drake was able to add us to his list so we can go whenever we want.” Amira said, checking her phone.

“Okay, I just have to say hi to Guy and get a picture with him so he can confirm to my dad that we were there with him.” Astrid said as they entered the large room.

She spotted the blonde dip-dyed man and made a beeline toward him, making sure Amira was behind her. She greeted him and his family and got her picture with him. Astrid sent her dad the picture and linked arms with Amira.

“Is that Martha Stewart?” Amira asked, nodding her head at the older woman.

“Yes, wanna say hi?” Astrid asked.

“I don’t know. I never met a convicted felon before.” she said, feigning fear.

“Ay por favor.” Astrid laughed.

She pulled Amira to where Martha was and waited a few seconds to greet her.

“Hi, I’m Astrid Romero, my dad is Enrique Romero. My friend, Amira, and I just wanted to say hi.” she told the older woman.

“Hi,” Martha greeted them with both a hug and an air kiss on each cheek. She glanced down to Astrid’s nails. “I love your nails. They’re perfect for spring.”

“Thank you, actually Amira did them for me.” she said. She brought her nails up so the woman could see them better. They were clear acrylic nails, nude at the base, and hand small flowers all over for a spring theme. Her gold rings made her nails stand out more.

Martha turned to Amira. “You’re so talented.”

“Oh, thank you.” she said shyly.

Astrid excused herself and answered a text from her dad and left Amira talking to Martha. Amira walked over to her with the biggest smile on her face.

“Bitch, I’m doing Martha’s nails.” she squealed as they made their way out of the room.

“Shut up!” Astrid whisper-yelled. “I’m so excited.”

Astrid knew her friend was talented. Amira and Astrid met in their first year at USC. They were assigned to the same dorm. She ran a small nail business in their door to have spending money since her parents only covered her tuition, boarding, and other necessary school expenses. Just like Astrid, Amira got her degree, but didn’t pursue a career with it. After graduation she enrolled into cosmetology school and got her nail technician license. She has a decent following and worked from her apartment until she had enough to open her own nail salon. She also sold press on kits. Amira sometimes traveled with Astrid so she could do her nails for press and for red carpet events. Which was how Amira met her boyfriend, Jack Harlow.

In September Astrid was invited to the Met Gala by Tommy Hilfiger, who did the costumes for the movie she did with Jacob and Aaron. She brought out Amira and she did her nails in the suite Tommy got for everyone he was dressing. Jack spent the whole night asking Astrid about Amira, until she texted her friend asking if she could give Jack her number because he was annoying her. She said yes obviously and they’ve been together for a few months. Astrid also got a lot of compliments on her nails and she was telling them that her best friend Amira did them. From there Amira gained a huge celebrity following.

The second they entered, Amira and Jack were attached to the hip. Astrid awkwardly sat next to Jack’s best friend, who fell asleep before the game even started. She decided to get up and venture out after getting bored of doing nothing. She tucked her pass inside so no one could snatch it if they walked past her and went to the room next door that was selling team gear and superbowl merch. She decided to get a jersey as a memento of her first superbowl. Knowing her father would drop dead if she bought a jersey from any of the LA teams, she decided to buy a Bengals jersey. She liked tigers and 1998, the year she was born, was the year of the tiger.

"Good choice." Someone behind her said.

Astrid turned back and was met with a tall figure, showing him the jersey. "You think so? I only picked this so my dad wouldn't disown me."

"Dang and here I thought you liked the team." The guy said, placing his hand on his chest.

"We'll see how the game ends." She joked.

"Astrid?" Jack called from the entrance. He angrily stomped toward her. "Your best friend was about to call a search party. You can't just fucking leave like that."

"You two were swapping spit. It's not like I left the stadium." She said, pushing hair behind her ear.

"Next time take your phone." He said, pulling her phone out of his pocket.

Astrid took her phone, feeling slightly embarrassed that Jack was scolding her like a child.

"Jack?" The guy said, making his presence known.

"Yeah–holy shit Joe, I didn't recognize you. What's up, man." Jack said, reaching forward to give the guy, who apparently is named Joe, a bro hug.

Astrid waited a few seconds for Jack to introduce her to his very cute and tall friend, but the two guys fell into conversation. She got in line and paid for her jersey while Jack caught up with his friend. She sent him a text and returned to where Amira was.

"Where the fuck were you?" Amira asked in a motherly tone.

"Next door, getting a jersey." She said, taking off her oversized jacket so she could put on the jersey.

"Who did you get?"

"Not sure, I just picked number nine." Astrid said, folding the jersey so it looks cropped. She gestured down to her outfit. "Cute?"

"Yes, it's giving WAG supporting her man at the superbowl." Amira nodded.

"You think I can be a WAG?" She asked.

"You could be the Vanessa Hudgens of the NFL. Like people would know you and wonder how an NFL player was able to bag you."

Astrid laughed at her response. While they waited for the game to start, poses ranging from corny prom poses to thirst trapping ones. Amira's boyfriend came back and the pair went back to overdoing the pda. To keep herself busy she decided to look up the player of the jersey she bought. She stared dumbfoundedly at her phone.

She bought Joe Burrow's jersey.

That was the guy from the line when she was picking a jersey and began chatting her up. Then she went on Google because she was fairly positive that Jack mentioned him in one of his songs, the name sounded familiar. She was right and copied the lyric onto her Instagram post, adding a few pictures that she took with Amira. While she was on Instagram, she looked him up and without thinking she followed him.

"I can't believe Astrid fucking Romero followed you." Ja'Maar told Joe as they got in the sprinter van with all the other players. After their loss, the team was going to a private party hosted by Kid Cudi.

"Oh that," he shrugged it off.

In truth, Joe was over the moon. He didn't get a chance to get her name before she left the stand, but Jack said her name and he kept it on the back burner so he could look her up after the game. To his surprise, when he opened his notifications and saw people commenting his @ on her post where she used the line from Jack's song. He was even more surprised to see that she followed him. Obviously he followed her back and liked her post.

He was going to invite her to the after party but he felt like it was too forward since they only had a two minute conversation. However he found a loophole and invited Jack, telling him he could bring some friends, but to let him know who he was bringing to add them to his VIP section. He was relieved to see her name among the small group Jack was bringing.

When Joe and the rest of the team arrived at the club, it was in full swing. The dance floor was filled with people dancing and the bar was full. The VIP section Joe had was in the balcony overlooking the whole club. The club provided the team with unlimited bottle service and full access to the private bar in the balcony so they didn't go down where the non VIP guests were.

Joe looked through the bottles and excused himself to go to the bar. A bartender approached him and took his order. They handed him his drink and went to tend to other people, walking up to the bar.

"Is this seat taken?" Someone asked.

He looked up and saw it was Astrid, shaking his head. "It is."

Her face dropped. "Oh, I’m sorry."

"No, I meant that it is taken now that you're here." Joe corrected himself.

"Oh, okay." She giggled.

She took a seat as a bartender asked her what she wanted to drink. She leaned forward, allowing for Joe to take her in. She wore a short sparkly dress. There was a slit down her thigh, but it was fastened by two large, gold safety pins. It was loose-fitting but it knew where to hug her body. The club lights bounced off her dress, making her tan skin glow and the few tattoos she had shine. All in all, she looked beautiful.

"I'm sorry about the game." She said, crossing her leg.

Joe shrugged. "We'll get them next time.

"I know but as a new fan, I was a little sad my new team lost." Astrid pouted.

"I promise you next time we make it to the super bowl, we'll win just for you." He said.

"I'm holding you to it." She said, making him laugh.

Astrid and Joe fell into conversation. They were mainly focused on Joe and the teams he played in college. Joe was a bit hesitant about talking about himself because he was used to other people only pretending and not paying any attention to what he said. It was refreshing to talk to Astrid. She was a good listener and knew the right questions to ask him. He was able to relax with her and have a normal conversation with her.

'What a Feeling' by One Direction began playing and Astrid perked up.

"Do you wanna dance?" She asked Joe.

"Sure." He nodded. She could ask him to rob a bank and he would.

She placed a hundred dollar bill to cover their drinks under their drinks and reached for his hand. She led him to the dance floor. They stood off to the side, so they wouldn’t draw attention to themselves.

Joe was unsure where to place his hands so he kept them at his sides. Astrid brought his hands to her hips while she wrapped her arms around him. They slowly danced, swaying from side to side. For a change of pace the DJ played 'Bouncin' by Tinashe. This time Astrid turned around and pressed her back against Joe. Luckily this time around, he knew what he was doing. He gently pushed her down and kept his hand on her back as he rolled his hips into her ass.

The DJ was all over the place after the sing ended. They played a bunch of songs from reggaeton to line dancing. After an hour, or what felt like an hour, of dancing, Astrid and Joe made their way back to the VIP section. They ordered some water and sat back on the stools.

Joe's stomach growled loud enough that Astrid was able to hear it. He gave her a sheepish look.

"Sorry, I haven’t eaten since this morning." He said.

"I know this twenty-four hour taco shop. For being in LA they have decent Mexican food. Plus it's super low-key if you wanna go." She suggested.

"I would kill for a burrito right now."

"Lucky for you, you won’t have to." Astrid teased. "I’m going to tell my friends that I’m leaving. Do you want to meet here in five?"

"Sounds like a plan." Joe nodded.

They went their separate ways. Joe went to where his teammates were and told them he was heading out. While he waited for Astrid he ordered an UberLux. Jeff was showing up in five minutes in a Range Rover.

"All set." Astrid said when she came back.

She went down to the dance floor and told Amira and Jack she was leaving with Joe. Amira reminded her to share her location and if her plans changed to let her know.

"Let's go." He said.

There were paps posted and got a few pictures of Joe and Astris, but thanks to security, they weren't followed. Astrid wore a huge oversized jacket that she used to shield her face from the cameras. She also hid behind Joe's tall frame. They reached their designated Uber, Astrid placed her jacket over her so she wouldn't be photographed as paps took pictures of the car. Once they were a few streets out, she pulled her jacket off and fixed her hair.

The drive was pretty quiet. The Uber driver kept to himself, making small talk here and there. In less than half an hour the driver pulled up to the taco shop. The pair thanked him and made their way towards the door. Joe held the door open for them and let Astrid in first.

“Hasta que se aparece.” a cook from back told Astrid when they got in line.

“Tenía unas entrevistas en Nueva York.” She replied back to him. Astrid turned back to Joe. “Are you ready to order or do you need a minute?”

“Uh,” Joe lost his train of thought watching a server carry a plate of rolled tacos with all the toppings to a table. “What’s that?”

“Rolled tacos. You can pick from chicken, beef or potato. They come with lettuce, guac, sour cream and cheese.” Astrid explained.

“I think I’ll get some chicken ones.” He said. He looked up to the menu and read the drinks section. “And a Mexican coke.”

“Noted.” she said.

When it was their turn to order, Astrid ordered for them. She ordered five carne asada tacos and a horchata for herself. Joe was ready to pay, but she stopped him since he paid for the Uber. She got their drinks and lead Joe towards the back where there weren’t any windows, in case anyone walked by and recognized him. There was a group of tipsy young women sharing a tray of carne asada fries, laughing among themselves over some party they went to. They looked over to Joe and Astrid as if they were trying to figure out where they saw them, but they went back to their food.

A server came by with Joe and Astrid’s food a few minutes later.

“Do you want salsa?” Astrid asked him.

“I’m good.” He said, sipping his drink.

Astrid got up and went to get some for her tacos. She put some habanero salsa and salsa verde in the small containers and grabbed a few slices of radishes and limes. She was going to sit opposite of him but decided to sit next to him.

Joe was waiting patiently for her to come back so he could eat. He reached for a rolled taco from the pile and took a big bite. He groaned.

“This is so fucking good.” he said before taking another bite. “They don't have food like this back home.”

“They don’t have rolled tacos in Minnesota?” Asrtid asked him.

“Why would I know what they have in Minnesota?” Joe asked her.

“Isn’t that where you play?”

“No, Cincinnati is in Ohio.” He shook his head.

Astrid burst into a fit of giggles. “Oh that’s embarrassing.”

“You’re such a fake fan.” he teased her.

“At least the states were next to each other.” she said.

“Minnesota and Ohio aren’t next to each other.” he laughed.

“In my defense, the only states I’ve been to outside of California were New York, Washington,and Florida.”

“Maybe you can come catch a game in Ohio.” he said nonchalantly before eating another rolled taco.

“Hm, maybe, but Minnesota is looking pretty cool too.” she sipped her drink.

They ate in comfortable silence. When they finished, they sat there talking about anything and everything. The more Joe talked to her the more was interested in getting to know her. He studied her face, eyeing her lips while she drank her horchata.

“Is there something on my face?” Astrid asked him, reaching for a napkin from the dispenser.

“No,” Joe shook his head.

“Oh you were staring and I assume–”

“I wanted to kiss you.” he said shyly.

“Oh don’t let me stop you.” she said a little too excitedly, making him snort.

Joe cupped her face and he slowly leaned into her, capturing her lips. The kiss was slow like a test in the waters. Lust quickly took over as their kiss intensified. He held her in place with his other arm as his lips dominated her. She was practically on his lap now. Astrid whimpered into his mouth when Joe deepened the kiss. They pulled away, breathless.

“Wanna know a fun fact about this place?” Astrid asked him.

“Hm,” he mumbled in response, kissing down her neck.

“It’s a five minute walk from my place.”

What was supposed to be a five minute walk turned into a fifteen minute walk because they had to take five minute breaks with each step. Joe pressed Astrid into her door next to the car gate and leaned in to kiss her, but she curved him. She gently nudged him off, so she could press the code to unlock the gate to her condo.

Once inside her place, Astrid gently pushed Joe against the door. She dropped to her knees.

“May I have a taste?” She asked sweetly as she took off her jacket.

“I’m not gonna last, it’s been months since I had some.” He confessed.

“That’s fine.” she smiled.

She skillfully undid his belt and popped the buttons of his jeans. She slid her hand into his boxers and pulled out his cock. It was much bigger than she planned for, but she was committed to making him come in her mouth. She reached for her liga and tied her hair into a low bun. She pulled down the top part of her dress, revealing her chest to him.

She stroked him a few times. She pulled away and sat on her knees, still stroking him. Her eyes never left Joe’s as she leaned forward and took him in her mouth. Joe closed his eyes, enjoying her mouth on him. She quietly moaned, slipping him further into her mouth. She pulled away until she only had his tip. She swirled her tongue around his tip and slid down his length once more.

Eventually Joe opened his eyes. He was able to see Astrid play with herself through a full length mirror she had facing the door. He slowly bucked his hips to meet her mouth. She took him back in her mouth, bobbing her head, just as he came. He cursed a few times then moaned out Astrid’s name, as she swallowed every drop of his release.

“You’re unbelievable.” He said, reaching down to help her up.

“Yeah?” she asked him.

“Mhm.” he nodded, pulling her back into a kiss.

Without breaking their kiss, Astrid guided him down the hallway to her living room. Joe bent down and picked her up by the back of her thighs, carrying her a large beige couch. He gently pushed her down on the couch as he shedded off his clothes, only staying in his boxer-briefs. She laid on her back while he hovered over her. He gave her hips a gentle squeeze before he slid his hands up to her breasts. His thumbs delicately ran over her pert nipples as she melted into his hands. Joe helped her out of her dress and panties and tossed them to the growing pile of clothes.

One of his hands made its way back to her hips and lazily ran his finger tips around her core, sending her goosebumps all over. With the other, he balanced himself so he wouldn’t squish her.

Astrid gasped feeling his ring and middle finger inside of her. Joe pressed his thumb to her clit and sped up his fingers. She whined and placed her head on his shoulder.

“Eyes on me, Astrid.” He said.

She moaned as his fingers fucked into her at a deliciously slow pace. As if her hips had a mind of their own, they followed Joe’s fingers. In a matter of minutes she was close.

“Joe…” she gasped

“I know, Astrid.” He pressed his thumb against her clit and increased his pace.

“Sh–Joe!” She climaxed.

Joe’s fingers were still in her. He pushed himself up, hovering over her. He deftly rubbed her clit with his thumb as he made his way down her body. His mouth went straight to her breasts. He gently nipped under them, kissing her tattoos while his free hand was on her nipples, twisting and rubbing them. His tongue traced her pert peaks, egging her on.

Astrid whined loudly. She was so overwhelmed, desperate for some sort of relief. Joe chuckled. He pushed himself off her. Pulling her in a sitting position, he knelt down in front of her. He pushed her legs apart and smirked.

“Taste for taste?”

Astrid had no idea how they ended up in her bed or what round they were on, but she wasn’t complaining. She never been so thoroughly fucked. The most the guys she’s been with do is maybe give her an orgasm and if she’s lucky they eat her out before they fall asleep on her. It’s a complete 180 with Joe. Granted he allegedly hadn’t had some in months, but still he had lot of stamina.

“Oh, fuck, just like that Joe.” She moaned out as he thrusted his into her.

Astrid was riding him with her back to him. Her legs tucked under Joe’s thighs. She leaned forward and gripped the comforter in front of her for balance as she bounced on his cock. She felt him sit up and press his chest on her back. One his hands wandered down to her clit, slowly drawing figure eights with his thumb while the other played with her nipples.

“Fuck,” she managed to murmur before her climax took over. She repeated his name as she slowed her movements.

“You got one more?” Joe asked.

“Yes.” she nodded.

“That’s what I like to hear.” he grinned.

Joe pulled his length out of her and positioned her so that only her ass was in the air for him, so she wouldn't be on all fours. He knew she was exhausted from all those previous rounds. He knelt in front of her and aligned himself to her entrance, slowly pushing himself in her once more. His hands gripped her waist as he slowly rocked into her. As the minutes passed, his thrusts got rougher, and Astrid couldn’t hold back. She begged Joe to keep fucking her at that irritatingly slow and rough pace she loved. He leaned over, his chest against her back.

“Fuck.” Joe moaned out.

His lips kissed all over her neck as he continued to fuck Astrid. She rocked back against him, meeting his thrusts.

“That’s it, take me so good, Astrid.” He groaned in her ear. Joe shifted his hips as he thrusted into her. The new angle hit her in that spot that made her beg for him.

“Please, fuck—”

She pushed back rougher to meet his thrusts. He gripped her hips with one hand while the other went back down to her clit. Joe worked his fingers roughly as he pushed his hips into Astrid. He buried his face in her neck, kissing her sweet spot. Her quiet praises filled the room, egging him on. She quietly whimpered his name, lazily meeting his thrusts before her orgasm took over. Joe’s orgasm followed soon after. He cried her name and pushed himself deep inside Astrid, spilling every last drop in her.

He plopped next to her, careful not to squish her. He brushed her hair off her face.

“Was it good?” he asked her nervously.

“More than good.” she nodded sleepily.

They laid in silence, trying to catch their breaths. Eventually Astrid got up to use the bathroom and clean herself up. She washed her face removing the make up and Joe’s release from when he came on her face a few rounds ago. She exited the bathroom and found it empty. She figured that Joe went to get his clothes in the living room. But she heard a car pull outside her place. She pushed the curtains to the side to get a view and saw Joe get in the car.

Never in a million years did she expect him to leave so abruptly. Obviously it was one time thing and nothing was going to come out of their hook up. But she deserved at least a goodbye.

#joe burrow #joe burrow fan fic #joe burrow smut #joe burrow oneshot #joe burrow imagine #behind the scenes

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writingonleaves · 7 months

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and what if i really thought some miracle would see us through?

universe: nico hischier (though he doesn't appear in this part) x clementine sandoval x hughes brothers

warnings: cancer, grief, sadness, spoilers to first part (linked below), not proofread

title: "ronan" by taylor swift

word count: 1k

author's note: uhhh surprise?? reached 50 followers today (which, by the way, thank you SO much you're all so wonderful) and had a burst of inspiration and wanted to get out of my writer's block. tried something a bit different and put my journalism degree to use. if you haven't read the first edition of this au yet, please do!! hope you enjoy and lmk what you think!

Hockey Fights Cancer: Hughes Brothers Edition

From The Athletic

L - R: Miguel Sandoval with baby Quinn Hughes, 1999, Miguel with Clementine Sandoval, Jack Hughes and Luke Hughes, 2005, Jack Hughes with his mother Ellen Weinberg-Hughes and Maeve Sandoval, 2019, Clementine, Quinn, Jack and Luke, 2020. All photos courtesy of Clementine Sandoval

*****

Family values have always been ingrained in the Hughes family.

With Quinn, Jack and Luke drafted in the top 10 during their respective draft years, they’ve always acknowledged that it takes a village to get where they are. Talent is the obvious driver, but it’s also about the support to elevate that talent.

But it hasn't necessarily always been family with the Hughes surname that has influenced them. According to Jack, there’s another surname that “should be added onto the back of my jersey.”

The Sandovals consist of Maeve Sandoval nee Brennan, Miguel Sandoval and Clementine Sandoval. Miguel died in 2015 from pancreatic cancer, and he is who all Hughes brothers are playing for as teams across the league celebrates Hockey Fights Cancer nights starting this week.

“Growing up three streets over from the Sandovals in Toronto was such a prominent childhood memory,” Quinn said. “Every memory I have from that time has them in it.”

Ellen Weinberg-Hughes, the Hughes brothers’ mother, and Maeve played collegiate soccer together at the University of New Hampshire. Maeve met Miguel at UNH, Ellen met Jim Hughes post-grad and the four of them became a unit.

“I still remember meeting Maeve when she was a junior and I was a freshman,” Ellen says. “So outgoing and so skilled. She may have been the first upperclassman to make me feel really welcome.”

Though both couples would have lives that took them to separate places — Ellen and Jim to Florida and New Hampshire and Maeve and Miguel to Massachusetts — they would eventually all meet back in Toronto.

Clementine was the first child born in 1997, followed by Quinn two years later, then Jack and then Luke. As the only girl in the mix, she naturally fell into the older sister role.

“I always forget that I don’t technically have any siblings,” Clementine said. “But these days, whenever people ask, I just say I have three younger brothers. Because it’s true.”

Clementine is currently a second-year resident at New York University Langone Health, focusing on a combined emergency room and pediatric residency. After spending her undergrad and medical school years in California, when she was notified of her placement in March 2023, Jack and Luke immediately asked her to move in with them in Hoboken.

“It was a no brainer,” Jack said. “After being in different states for so long, it felt like it was meant to be. Who gets the chance to live with one of their best friends?”

When Miguel was going through treatment, Clementine had just finished her junior year of high school. Quinn was 15, Jack was 13 and Luke was 11. He died days after Quinn verbally committed to the University of Michigan.

“I was young, but I still remember how positive Miguel was when he must’ve been in so much pain,” Luke said. “He always had a smile on his face and made it to every game of ours he could. I got a hattrick in the last game of mine he came to. I’ll never forget that.”

Miguel couldn’t skate for his life, according to Jim. But that didn’t matter. If he wasn’t at his daughter’s soccer games, he was going to the rink to watch the boys.

“Miguel was known to be vocal in the stands,” Jim said. “Any bad call and he was immediately on his feet. I know he’s upstairs watching every Canucks and Devils game as passionate as ever.”

Last season, Jack and Luke revealed to Amanda Smith, the New Jersey Devils Team Reporter the reason why they chose 43 and 86. April 3 was Miguel’s birthday, and Miguel always said that Jack’s “bright and bold” personality was as loud as both of his brothers combined.

“I often think about how [Miguel] never got to see us play in the NHL or for our country,” Quinn said. “Which is so unfair in so many ways, because he always believed in us and was such a loud cheerleader. There are days when I just get sad and I wish he was still here, but then I give Maeve or Clem a call and then it’s usually okay.”

Jack said that Clementine has always been the bright spot amongst the emptiness left by Miguel’s death.

“It puts things into perspective, the way Clee has lived her life beautifully and the way she thinks so positively,” Jack said. “I’ve always seen her as an older sister, but she’s also just one of the best people in the world. Miguel’s energy lives through her.”

“Having Clemmy in our life has been such a blessing,” Luke added. “She’s taught me so much and always looked out for me. I know the three of us try our best to look after her as well.”

Luke still remembers one specific moment during his draft — Clementine and Maeve made it to all three boys’ big days. The morning of, Clementine pulled him aside and gave him an envelope. Immediately, Luke knew what was inside. Quinn and Jack had gotten theirs during their drafts.

A letter addressed to Luke from Miguel. Written two months before he died.

“Dad gave those letters to me to give to them and was very specific about his instructions,” Clementine added. “‘Honey, pull them aside on their draft day, and just give it to them without any context. Only for their own eyes to read.’ I remember being like, how do you know they’re gonna get drafted? And he was like, ‘I just know.’”

All three of them still have their respective letters. Ellen and Jim have theirs as well — Maeve gave them theirs on Quinn’s draft day. Letters were a Miguel staple, according to Clementine. She herself got one when she graduated college and probably will get one when she gets married.

“I can’t imagine the amount of courage and strength that took him,” Quinn said. “Knowing that he wasn’t going to be there for such big moments and writing something anyways. I carry mine with me on every road trip.”

Next week, when the Devils host their Hockey Fights Cancer Night during their home game against the Canucks, the Hughes brothers will be playing for Miguel. Clementine, Ellen and Jim will be in the stands while Maeve — an elementary school teacher — will be watching from Boston.

“We’ll for sure be thinking of him that night, but whenever we step onto the ice, 43 or 86 on our back, we always think of him,” Jack said. “I hope we’re making him proud.”

#k writes #hockey fanfiction #hockey fanfic #devils #canucks #quinn hughes #jack hughes #luke hughes #hockey au #hockey blurb #nhl fic #nhl blurb #nhl #the blue au

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absolutebl · 1 year

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BL Streaming - Which Service is Worth Your Money?

I’m bored and I have a little extra time this morning so it’s time for ABL to play with the spreadsheet of doom.

Occasionally I get the question:

If I were to subscribe to only one platform for BL which should I pick?

This post is dated May 2023.

First things first. I am going to be (somewhat) objective about this and not judge on quality of content. Because if KinnPorsche is all you love in life, obvs you need iQIYI, but if you are a HIStory franchise stan, than it’s all about Viki. Those are your life choices, I’m just here to play numbers games, okay?

Secondly, some shows air on multiple platforms, particularly Viki & Gaga, but sometimes it’s Gaga & YouTube, occasionally it’s even iQIYI + others. This has only started happening in the last few years. Bed Friend was on 3 different platforms (GaGa, iQIYI, YT) - even though it was originally announced for Viki! I honestly don’t know how to track this, so I tend to log the spreadsheet with my preferred watching platform for that language, this will throw the numbers off for those platforms.

Since I join everything my platform preference choice is based on:

the quality of the subs/captions

the quality of the user experience

My subs experience tends to be:

YT = best for Thai

Viki = best for Korean and sometimes Japanese, okay for Thai

Gaga = best for Chinese and sometimes Japanese but very weak Thai subs

My user interface preference is:

YT, Viki, Gaga in that order then everyone else with iQIYI at the bottom. This is because I watch on mobile devices.

ASplay, WeTV, former Line, Amarin TV, Netflix and the other smaller suppliers (and apps) will all be grouped together for this assessment. Since they have so few offerings, by default I would not recommend subbing those platforms unless you are a hard stan of all BL with disposable income.

Super bad BLs that I watched back in the day on grey sites or YT (pre 2020 crack down) because there were no other options and I am a completest are still listed as grey. I would never suggest anyone watch these shows anyway, so I don’t care if they have now shown up on legitimate sites. If they are somewhere, it’s likely Gaga. Which means Gaga’s percentage of the market share is probably UNDER reported by my numbers.

Movies and cinema-only releases that never got international distribution fall into the “grey” category. If I got it off an indie subber, since that too is technically illegal, it falls into the grey category as well.

Final note: This is from a USA based IP, I don’t use a VPN, so platforms assessments are from that perspective.

Spring 2023, current state of the spreadsheet. AKA

Our BL Data Set

Total # of BLs = 564

# of BLs ongoing (so finished runtime is best guess) = 18

Just Answer the Damn Question

Round Number of Actual BLs - % of market share

YouTube = 218 - 38.6%

Gaga = 148 - 26.2%

Viki = 77 - 13.7%

Grey = 53 - 9.4%

BLs I’ve never been able to find on any platform (including grey): 36 - 6.4%

iQIYI = 14 - 2.5%

Other platforms = 12 - 2.2%

Margin of error: +- 1% (look I’m just not driven to be that accurate here)

Subscription Platforms Breakdown - % of market share

Eliminating YouTube, Grey, and missing BLs. Viki is included because I do not know which of theirs are behind the paywall and which are not.

Total subscribe-only BLs: 257

Gaga = 59%

Viki = 30%

iQIYI = 6%

Sml sites/apps = 5%

(rounded)

Okay but how about actual runtime?

Gaga = 360 hrs - 44%

Viki = 311 hrs - 38%

iQIYI = 98 hrs - 12%

Sml sites = 50 hrs - 6%

Anyway you cut it... on pure BL standards...

GAGAOOLALA WINS

Other consideration? In most places Gaga is ALSO the cheapest per month option.

Final Thoughts

YouTube (America’s Alphabet)

YT has the most pieces of content and longest overall runtime because of all the Thai stuff. ALSO bootlegs show up there, especially the early Chinese and Japanese stuff. They will often get taken down and you have to hunt for it again. YT takedowns come in waves, every 6 months or so.

However, GMMTV, some Star Hunter, some Studio Wabi Sabi, all the Vietnamese & Pinoy stuff (until now), and a few choice bits of Strongberry are YT content.

YT’s app is the best UX of a poor set (for me), but the web based YT at Premium level doesn’t work with Firefox. I use YT for work A LOT, so the fee for Premium ($13.99) and lack of ads + downloads (travel) is worth it for me, but I think it probubly isn’t if you’re on a budget.

GaGaOOLaLa (Taiwan’s Portico Media)

Of the pay to play platforms, GaGa dominates with the most BLs by all metrics. If you’re intersted in darker BL, GL and other queer content, very high heat, the history of the genre, or Japanese stuff - most of that is on GaGa. Also all of Strongberry and some of the newer queerer series (like My Ride).

At $6.99 a month it’s ALSO one of the cheapest options.

Gaga is based out of Taiwan, the only Asian country with marriage equality (as of 2022) AND it specializes in exclusively queer content so they need our support. If you can afford them, you should support them. GaGa is the only platform that will always have more BL, guaranteed (so long as Taiwan is autonomous). Ironically, you can follow their YT channel for previews and teasers to their latest series, short content, and acquisitions.

Their app isn’t great, but their web-based interface is fine. That said: there’s no categories (way to organize), and the way they roll out new episodes is unintuitive. Their mobile app ALWAYS pauses not mater what you actually want it to do and the lack of the quick skip ahead is frustrating.

Viki (Japan’s Rakutan)

Viki specializes in longer series, mostly Thai, Taiwanese, and a few of the Chinese bromances. It also now has a lot of KBLs. But in general only more recent stuff (2018 is as far back as they go).

At $4.99-$11.99 depending, it’s low to average cost. I’m not sure which one (if any) you actually need for BL. Most of my favorite new shows tend to air on Viki, and I like Rakutan as a parent company, so I don’t mind supporting them.

They happen to have 5 of my top ten BLs, which is A LOT (since I hand out 10/10 so rarely). So for me they host the objective best BL content.

They have the second best app (after YT, it’s kinda a combo of YT + Netflix) but the lack of a speed-up option is frustrating for many. Also the desktop version is super buggy. But they DO have categories you can name and control, which I love.

Other Platforms

iQIYI - is Mainland China based (hello Baidu, you ugly fucker), so the platform getting/pimping BL for an international audience only is… how do I put this?… oh yeah: shitty. I will often rename it Icky, for this reason. It clearly wants to break the market, but… do we want it in the market at all? How long will they host BLs? When will they be shut down and censored? I would say it’s only worth it if you really also like Chinese dramas. And even so, Viki also has A LOT of those. Unfortunately for us, Wabi Sabi seems to have cut a distribution deal with Icky. And, of course, there is the KinnPorsche situation (so ironic that Icky hosts the highest heat). The interface is a nightmare. They have the WORST app, even when you pay, it serves ads, some of which alpha crash the platform.

Netflix - here in the states it almost never has new BL content. Sometimes some old stuff. They tested the waters with SOTUS and Love Sick. I have a feeling they aren’t particularly intersted in this market. So if BL is what you watch, don’t bother. At last check they still had Gameboys and Your Name Engraved Herein and Wish You.

WeTV - acts like LineTV used to, has Manner of Death and We Best Love and a few of the more obscure Thai pulps. But probably not worth it for anyone but a completest.

Grey - Unknown or No Distributor

Indie subbers: there’s some BLs that you can watch by supporting indie subbers who supply private links to their personal versions. This is not legal, but it is a slightly nicer way to get stuff you can’t find anywhere else. I’ve done this for some Thai and Japanese stuff.

I find the leads for these sources here on Tumblr. If someone is giffing and talking about a show and I don’t know how they are getting hold of it, I simply ask.

DramaCool (USA) & Dailymotion (France) & Bilibili (China) and others - AKA the grey space. You SHOULD feel guilty using these sites, you’re stealing, but it’s where many of us go for BL we can’t find anywhere else (in defiance of what few morals we have left). These are BLs that originally sold to very odd platforms or never got international distribution. Unfortunately, some of my favorites are in this category like Great Men Academy or Seven Days. It’s a nightmare. The ads are terrible and the virus/bug risk is high. They get taken down all the time. Or the leads are faked. I use an old computer to access and suggest you take all necessary precautions yourself.

P’ABL SOAP BOX TIME

Look I work tangential to the entertainment industry, so if you thought I wasn’t going to learn you a little on this subject, you got another think coming.

HERE’S THE THING:

You watch a show on one of the grey platforms, ESPECIALLY if it actually has distribution on Gaga or Viki - you better review that shit. You spread the word and advocate for that content here, on MDL, on social media, with fan art, I don’t care. You steal it, you find a way to pay back in your time and/or creativity.

I get it if you’re poor, but don’t be a goddamn scab. Find a way to reward content creators with non-monetary support. If you had the time to watch the thing you stole, you have time to pay it forward in some substantial way. Do this even if you didn’t steal it but got it for free. Do this if you read fanfic. Do this with articles, blogs, books. Do this with podcasts.

It isn’t hard to be a decent human and support creators. Don’t you dare just TAKE. If you’re that kind of person stop reading this blog immediately. I don’t want anything to do with you and you don’t deserve my words or my spreadsheet of Doom.

/rant

MORE ON THIS TOPIC WITH FOLLOW UP QUESTIONS

Original post on this subject that I adapted for this post.

(source)

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maxinesophiawolff · 11 months

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"Your Name is Grendel and You Know How This Ends"

This is the first twine game I ever made, back in 2020. It's a bit of a technical proof of concept.

In it, you play as Grendel, just before Beowulf kills you.

"They have already torn your arm from your shoulder. You are bleeding from the stump, dark crimson staining the stone beneath you.

#interactive fiction #twine #itch.io #choose your own adventure #grendel #beowulf

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goingrampant · 5 months

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There's an increasingly common plot device or framework that I'm seeing applied where a basic antisemitic narrative is retold with the evil Jew figures replaced with Nazis in an effort to make it no longer antisemitic while still telling the same basic narrative. For a concrete label, let's call it... Protocols of the Elders of Nazism. The Illuminati exists; there is a secret society threatening children with bloodletting, but it’s the Nazis this time, so it's no longer antisemitic (?). With enough care, this can be executed well, but it may be substantially flawed and wind up supporting real world antisemitism with what reads as a dog whistle or first layer of Nazi propaganda to make new recruits accept basic premises of Nazi ideology before hitting them with the hard stuff. This latter condition may be due to bad writing or literal Nazi propaganda and the lack of clarity is part of the problem.

There are a few instances where this is done reasonably well (YMMV), to make an antifascist point from a place of respect toward Jews and Jewish culture. Roald Dahl was very antisemitic, and his The Witches book reproduces the blood libel narrative, as does the 1990 film adaptation, but the 2020 film attempts to spin this around to code the witches as Nazis with a smattering of German (I believe I read somewhere that Anne Hathaway deliberately played her witch character as a Nazi). Guillermo del Toro's The Strain draws heavily from Dracula and Nosferatu, both frequently labeled as antisemitic, and spins the narrative to have the vampire bad guys intertwined with the Nazis while heroic Jews oppose them. Hunters does similarly, with a Nakam-like rogue group of heroic Jews (eh... *handwavy gesture*) opposing a secret conspiracy of Nazis.

And then there is worse execution, with the framework often appearing as leftist populism while also ferreting in ideas in common with rightist populism/actual Nazism. The Boys comics drip with allusions to antisemitic conspiracy theories as part of its populist message but technically has a Nazi bad guy and villainous American fascism, which makes me consider the comics to read like an antifascist work made by an ex-Nazi the day after he decided he was antifa. The Boys TV show (which has a significant Jewish presence in the production) is better but still suffers this problem with its depiction of an evil pharmaceutical company exhibiting traits in common with antisemitic conspiracy theories, just now with a Nazi origin associated with a revamped version of the comics' Nazi bad guy as well as the American fascism element. Associated terf ideas bring Abigail Shrier's antisemitic conspiracy theory to mind, as well.

Hogwarts Legacy dresses its goblin antagonists up like Nazis, has a line of combat dialog be "I was only following orders!", and depicts them as racist against humans... while also an allusion to anti-SJW Nazi propaganda characterizing feminist game critics as a Jewish conspiracy. The goblins drip with antisemitic imagery but are supposed to be Nazis. With one of the main developers' active advocacy for Gamergate and fixation on Anita Sarkeesian, who I believe was demonized through the main goblin antagonist in allusion to neo-Nazi antisemitic memes ("Anita Jewkeesian"), I think it's reasonable to characterize the game as Nazi propaganda. It's worth note that journalist Robert Evans suggests in The War on Everyone, his audiobook chronicling the development of American neo-Nazism, that Gamergate could have been created by Internet-savy neo-Nazis to spread propaganda.

Most recently, Wonka--also an adaptation of a Roald Dahl work--depicts an evil money-grubbing cartel with characters alluding to Hitler in name and appearance... and seemingly alludes to terf Abigail Shrier's antisemitic conspiracy theory with this evil cartel drugging a woman's daughter to give her a mustache. A chocolate that makes you get clever ideas, made of the essences of lightning and sunshine, is also concerning. ("The lightning and the sun" is a phrase from Nazi occultism representing Hitler as a heroic god figure opposing spiritual chaos, and you can find references to it as dog whistles in various places. Joe Rogan seems to have been indoctrinated in this ideology and similarly dropped references to it. It's possible someone involved in the production of Wonka stuck in lightning and sun references to dog whistle?)

This trope should not be seen as an instant fix for narratives grounded in antisemitism and may indeed carry ideas serving to induct people into coming to accept antisemitic conspiracy theories and associated problems. My takeaway is that depictions of Nazis should be handled with great care. It's not simply acceptable to stick them into any old evil archetype and call it a day. When resurrecting antisemitic narratives, care must be taken to insure the antisemitism itself doesn't propagate, whether or not Nazis are in it as bad guys.

#antisemitism #tw nazis #tropes #transphobia

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graveyardcuddles · 1 month

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Not hating but I really don't understand why some need NEED Astarion's original "corrupt magistrate" backstory to be canon so badly. I keep seeing posts trying to argue it's still canon based on interviews from all the way back in 2020 when the game was still in early access and the art book and it's like...okay but none of that is actually in the game. There are TONS of things in the official art book that never made it into the game. Lots of things about the game and story changed from 2020 - final release. Astarion's "corrupt" backstory isn't even alluded to in EA so technically it's not even cut content. It just was never in the game. You can headcanon whatever you want, obviously. But if Astarion was doing something as over-the-top evil as knowingly trafficking people to Cazador Larian would have made that revelation clear in the story. But Larian clearly cut that content with purpose.

If I had to hazard to guess I would say Astarion's original EA backstory involving trafficking victims directly to Cazador was probably changed and reworked into Astarion being compelled to kidnap the Gur children for Cazador. Which brings me to Astarion's evilness. I see some people complain that the changes made to Astarion's backstory ruined the only evil male companion by "toning down" his evilness. And while I can see why they would find his original backstory compelling for that reason, I'm a bit confused as to why these people don't consider current Astarion to be an evil companion. I absolutely love and adore him to pieces, but Astarion in the current game can still be plenty evil. Even before he learns about the ritual he approves of tons of evil actions and actively wants to control the cult of the Absolute to take over the world lol.

He may have been compelled to take the Gur children against his will but his reaction when you confront him about it is super telling: he immediately goes into self-defensive mode and his first instict is to throw them under the bus and sacrifice them to ascend. And unless you pass the speech check to talk him out of it, he WILL DO IT. Astarion still gets plenty of chances to be the evil male companion you want him to be in the current version of the game.

If anything it's more shocking to see him be so dismissive and callous towards the Gur children as the Astarion we've come to know and love rather than some abstract past version of Astarion that we've never known and that he barely remembers himself. But seeing him actually contemplate sacrificing all those people rather than just being told he sent some innocent people to their deaths 200 years ago is chilling, especially playing through the game first time and not knowing if you'll be able to persuade him out of it or not. I love that we CAN talk him out of it. And to me, that does show he's not pure evil or irredeemable. But the potential for evil is absolutely there.

#bg3 #astarion #astarion meta

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wilbursoot-updates · 1 year

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Lovejoy is in this article!

In Focus: Lovejoy Plays Second Ever New York Show At Mercury Lounge

Lovejoy made a stop on Wednesday on December 7th at the Mercury Lounge in New York City. Selling out every one of their shows within minutes of announcing their US tour, the upbeat indie-rock band put on an amazing performance, full of jumping, head-banging, and enthusiastic crowd interaction. The UK-based band played various songs from their first EP Are You Alright, and their latest release, Pebble Brain.

Lovejoy, consisting of lead singer Will Gold—better known by his Youtube name, Wilbur Soot—guitarist Joe Goldsmith, bassist Ash Kabosu, and drummer Mark Boardman, played their second ever show in New York this past week. The band formed in 2020 when Wilbur Soot, with his already large fanbase of 6.35 million followers on Youtube and Twitch for video game streaming, uploaded his comedic yet catchy song, “Your New Boyfriend.” The song pushed Soot to pursue music on a more serious level. Already friends with guitarist Joe, Soot met bassist Ash Kabosu at a burger shop and drummer Mark Boardman through the freelance company Fiverr. After Soot and Goldsmith’s first day of recording music with their newly found instrumentalists, the four decided to form their band.

Lovejoy first entered the stage by pushing through the crowd, generating screams of excitement from the crazed fans, many of whom brought their parents with them to the packed venue. Given that Lovejoy had only four scheduled tour dates in the US, many dedicated followers traveled hours from far away states like Connecticut, Pennsylvania, and even Florida to see their favorite band play.

A teenager from the crowd handed guitarist Joe Goldsmith a black-and-white striped beanie, which he wore during the entire show. Prior to playing their song “Model Buses,” the crowd collectively booed Boris Johnson and sang along to lyrics like “We can barely see your hair receding..” and “Sound as good with slurred speech as I do when I’m sober…” After facing some technical difficulties during their performance of “Concrete,” the band replayed the song with the whole crowd screaming the lyrics and jumping eagerly to the beat. Before their encore, the band members pretended to leave the stage and re-enter from behind the curtains, prompting the crowd to scream in excitement once again. Lovejoy is continuing their US tour with two last shows in California on December 9th and December 11th.

#lovejoy #wilbur soot #ash kabosu #mark boardman #joe goldsmith #december shows

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astroturf-enthusiast · 10 months

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Here's the Ninjago timeline as I personally think of it;

- The Pilots and first 2 seasons take up roughly 1.5 years (Lloyd's 2020 if you will) mostly to give a semi-realistic measure of training requirements

- Rebooted (s3) starts a year later due to the insane technical development and that they've been teachers for a bit

- ToE (s4) starts 8 months later given they all left to grieve Zane and Jay has an entire game show thats got returning contestents

- Possesion (s5) i think is about 3 months after season 4. Shadow of Ronan takes place during this span so it fits that he stole about 2.5 years from them. Tbh I think that museum visit was the first or second mission Lloyd went on after leaving to grieve Garmadon

- Skybound (S6) technically doesn't matter ayoo!! But I think its another 4 months after S5

- DotD is 7 months after Posession, to make space for Skybound and potential post-skybound happenings

- Hands of Time (S7) is like a week after DotD at most- they're literally cleaning up after it. I also think it takes about a week to play out

From here on out there's a wrinkle in the timeline so things may be soft rebooted or altered

- Sons of Garmadon and Hunted (S8/9) start I think 6-8 months later because the Ninja deserve more time to have been on their own without a mentor- and Ninjago city gets some major changes (royalty?) And Lloyd gets on Testosterone and it goes on i think for 3 months

- March of the Oni (S10) is a few weeks after Hunted ends and only lasts like a few days

- Forbidden Spinjitzu (S11) canonically a few months after MotO so I'm going to say 3-4 since that's reasonable for them to slack off before Wu gets pissy about it. I also think these two parts are actually a rather long time frame- not only because of the 70ish years of Ice Emperor rule- but between searching for Aspheera and beating her, then grieving again and traveling realms and THEN they're there for a long while? All in all I'm going to say start to finish its like 3 months

- Prime Empire (S12) about a month after returning from the Never Realm- they've healed wounds, Kai re-masters fire, and Zane has erased 3 Terabytes of SSD data- all is well

- Master of the Mountain (S13) I think is roughly 2 months after S12 because again there's no real basis for why there's time between but I can't imagine one week your Kirito from SAO and only like a week later your in the Elven lands-

- The Island/Seabound (S14) i think this one is a few weeks after MotM because it starts off as a rather "small scale" job about busting a smuggler and thats what I figure they do in the months between big seasons. It just so happens that expands into a much larger plot.

- Crystalized (S15) 1 full year exactly after Seabound ends. Can't elaborate because this ones actually canon

- Dragons Rising I think the merge is about half a year or so after Crystalized and the jump from Merge to current story I think is 3 years but my girlfriend says 5 years so we'll see if either get confirmed or elaborated on

If you think they're about 18 in the pilots, that'll make them around 23 at Crystalized and between 26/28 during Dragons Rising

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authoralexharvey · 5 days

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INTERVIEW WITH A WRITEBLR — @daisywords

Who You Are:

Daisy || She/her

I'm a fantasy enjoyer about to graduate from university with a degree in editing. In addition to writing, I like to draw/paint and play the piano. Also interested in linguistics and bookbinding

What You Write:

What genres do you write in? What age ranges do you write for?

Fantasy and Sci-Fi. Young and New Adult, Adult.

What genre would you write in for the rest of your life, if you could? What about that genre appeals to you?

I love specfic in general, fantasy in particular (but the line between fantasy and scifi is blurrier than one might think). I particularly like the potential of alternate worlds to set up situations and character dynamics that simply couldn't exist in a historical or contemporary novel

What genre/s will you not write unless you HAVE to? What about that genre turns you off?

I don't read or write smut/erotica but other than that everything else is potentially on the table. I couldn't see myself doing straight historical fiction, either, honestly, just because I probably wouldn't be able to resist adding some specfic elements and/or unanchoring it from time (Fantasy is freedom to me, whereas historical accuracy is something extra to adhere to.)

Who is your target audience? Do you think anyone outside of that would get anything out of your works?

You mean other than myself?? Ok but actually it's pretty broadly just people who like fantasy. I have one wip that's technically YA just based on the age of the characters, but it could definitely be enjoyed by adults. My other wip is adult/NA but could also definitely be enjoyed by teenagers.

What kind of themes do you tend to focus on? What kinds of tropes? What about them appeals to you?

hmmm….something about the juxtaposition of violence and tenderness? Guilt/responsibility and free will/predestination a la the Chosen One trope. Memory loss trope (so juicy)

What themes or tropes can you not stand? What about them turn you off?

I personally am not a fan of immortal love interests. sorry everyone.

What are you currently working on? How long have you been working on it?

My current main wip is called Deep and Dark, Beautiful and Bright. I started it in November 2020. I also have a back burner project called Fear Me, which has been ship-of-Theseus-ing since I was like 10 lol. And I'm working on two short stories that are being more trouble than they're worth

How long have you been writing? What do you think first drew you to it?

I've been making up stories since I knew what stories were. Mostly started out playing elaborate pretend games with my sister. In second grade my best friend suggested we "write a book" together since our teacher would give out blank spiral-bound paper packets. (I think she was mostly interested in my illustration abilities tbh) Anyway we created a series centered around a character named Natalie (who was basically a ripoff of Ramona/Junie B. Jones.) But anyway I think around then is when I actually became interested in writing books as an outlet for making up stories. I didn't actually do a ton of writing as a kid, but I always collected story ideas and had a ton of ocs that I would draw in my secret sketchbook.

Where do you get your inspiration from? Is that how you got your inspiration for your current project? If not, where did the inspiration come from?

Honestly I get inspiration from everywhere. My brain is a very productive idea factory (but not a productive draft finisher, sadly). Other media (for example taking one specific concept or plot point form a move and running in the opposite direction with it), dreams, songs, historical events, offhand comments from friends, etc. Sometimes justt out of nowhere I swear.

Have you published anything? Do you want to?

Not yet and yes eventually

What part of the publishing process most appeals to you? What part least appeals to you?

I want my projects to have a final form and I want other people to read them. I don't want anyone I know irl (or anyone else for that matter) to psychoanalyze me about them. I'm not looking forward to anything to do with marketing, writing to market, tight deadlines, adhering to standardized formats/lengths, etc. but so it goes…

What part of the writing process most appeals to you? What part is least appealing?

I love coming up with ideas and characters and scenes. I love rambling in my notes doc. I love drafting in the rare moments when I actually do it. I really struggle with getting all the pieces of my plot to fit together. I like editing (I'm literally an editor). I cannot do project management to save my life.

Do you have a writing process? Do you have an ideal setup? Do you write in pure chaos? Talk about your process a bit.

Right now what's working fro me is to have three distinct documents. One goes strictly in order. Another is to put all of the scenes I want to write that don't fit into that order yet. The third one is for me to yell about it all (notes). When I'm lucky, scenes form the chaos doc (scene bank) eventually find their way into the order doc.

Your Thoughts on Writeblr:

How long have you been a writeblr? What inspired you to join the community?

I joined tumblr predominantly for the writeblr community in 2018 (don't remember the specifics but I remember seeing writing posts on pinterest and was like hm well might as well go directly to the source)

Shout out some of your favorite writeblrs. How did you find them and what made you want to follow them?

in no particular order and not an exclusive list: @aohendo @mecharose @scarvenartist @woodhousejay @baroquesse @tracle0 @klywrites @garthcelyn @incandescent-creativity @zmwrites @ashen-crest @ambiguouspuzuma @ettawritesnstudies @megarywrites @magic-is-something-we-create @pinespittinink @isherwoodj just a few of the many excellent people here

What is your favorite part about writeblr?

I just love the community aspect of interacting with other writers, or even just seeing what everyone's working on and how it's going. Even if someone's wip isn't my exact cup of tea I still like seeing posts about their work and people encouraging each other.

What do you think writeblr could improve on? How do you think we can go about doing so?

A lot of people say that interaction is dead etc. but I don't really think that's true. I think focusing less on reblogs and more on comments/asks as a form of interaction would strengthen the feeling of community. Not everyone is obligated to reblog everything and comments and asks can be more personal anyway. I like knowing other people are seeing what I put out there, and I especially love getting comments on my work, but that doesn't mean I need everyone to share it. I'd rather have 5 followers that interact with me than 1000 who don't. Quality over quantity, you know?

How do you contribute to the writeblr community? Do you think you could be doing more?

Of course everyone could always be doing more. I like to read other's snippets when I'm in the headspace for it, but sometimes I'm just here to mindlessly scroll and that's okay too. If I read something and I think it's cool or interesting or well-written or anything I try to either leave a reply or reblog with something in the tags. If I can't think of anything to say just quoting a line that I liked will suffice (I like when people do that to me). I do want to try sending more asks to people—I try to always send one when I see someone's reblogged an ask game, but I think everyone would appreciate some out-of-the-blue asks as well :)

What kinds of posts do you most like to interact with?

All kinds but I am most likely to interact with shorter posts about peoples' process or something about their characters. @klywrites will post about tiny interactions between her characters and I literally love them just from seeing tiny scenes on my dash every so often. I really like to read longer snippets and short stories too (there's some amazing writers here y'all) but I'm more likely to scroll past those if I can't spare the focus. Also I love seeing art! even from people who don't consider themselves artists like aww you drew your little guy and I love them now

What kind of posts do you most like to make?

idk I end up just vagueposting about my process most of the time. I love to infodump about my characters/worldbuilding but I don't do it too often. I also like to post about writing things in general, but I don't consider myself an expert or anything so I'm not putting out a ton of advice—just what works for me

#iwaw #writeblr event #writeblr #writeblr celebration #writing community

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