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moregraceful · 1 hour

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no actually in the spirit of inclusion i'm gonna dig into this bc i'm rewatching that inning and i'm going fucking insane. people involved:

joey bart, catcher. drafted 1st round, 2OA for the giants in 2018. designated for assignment 3 days after opening day 2024 and traded to the pirates

patrick bailey, catcher. drafted 1st round, 13th overall for the giants in 2020. current starting catcher for the giants

joey bart was framed as the next buster posey (sf giants catcher, now retired, one of the best to ever do it, bedrock of the clubhouse, you can read about it on ao3, deeply and passionately beloved by giants fanbase e.g. at his retirement ceremony i almost had an anxiety attack because i missed him so much), however...there is no one like buster posey. there will never be a giant like buster posey. and what happened to buster posey is he retired very abruptly after the giants crashed and burned in the post-season in 2021 after having one of the, if not the best, season in sf giants history, and left the state. leaving the fanbase in shambles (not joking) and the giants, as a team and franchise, who had historically leaned on buster for stability and guidance in and out of the clubhouse, were suddenly without someone to orient them.

and joey bart...was not that man. not that person. the fanbase had high expectations. we needed a new buster. the front office had high expectations - 2nd overall! the team was shambolic under kapler, and joey bart never stuck the landing. he would make it to opening day and get sent down for underperforming, for fucking up calls, for failing to control his pitching staff. he would get called up for a couple of games, and then sent down again, and then get called up. he would do okay, then the giants would trade for another catcher, and he'd get sent down. in 2023, he was the starting catcher for all of a month and a half, before he got injured. he was sent down again. the giants called up patrick bailey.

patrick bailey was always really really good. he wasn't supposed to be buster posey, but he was good. he was always going to have a solid chance at making it to the majors. he ground it out through the minors for a couple years after being drafted, and got his first major league call up after joey bart got injured in 2023. and he was good. he was really good under pressure, kept a calm head. he was playing under kapler and the team was chaotic, but he kept carving out a space for himself as a solid, dependable catcher, deeper and deeper until he stuck the landing. all of a sudden, the giants were rocking with blake sabol (beloved) as a back-up, a rule-5 rookie who couldn't be sent down to the minors that season, and patrick bailey as a starter. joey bart made it up for only 4 more games that season. patrick bailey was indisputably the catcher for the giants. the one we needed. not a buster posey replacement, but someone who could work with the pitching staff under kaplerball circumstances, who control the infield and keep a steady head and hand.

this season, 2024, joey bart makes it to opening day. he is not the starting catcher. he is designated for assignment shortly after opening day, and traded to the pittsburgh pirates mid-april. i don't know how other giants fans feel about that -- i haven't been up to a game yet and haven't gotten any dirt from my giants friends. but i don't think san francisco mourned him too much. draft bust who was, in my humble opinion, set up to fail. i had no strong feelings about him, to be honest. he made some pretty stupid comments on twitter and could not play the game the way that the giants needed him to. but how much of the latter was how badly the fanbase and the front office wanted him to be buster posey absolutely fucking with his head the entire time? i don't know, i'm not joey bart. he's been having a good season in pittsburgh, resurging hot. a change of scenery seems to have done him good.

patrick bailey holds the pitching staff together. reliable. he's settled into his position as starter. you don't have to worry when patrick bailey's catching, not like we had to worry with joey bart. he's young (24 years old!) but he's solid.

today: pittsburgh pirates against san francisco. joey bart's first time back in the bay since that trade. there are thinkpieces about him, if we should have kept him. he says he's happy in pittsburgh. he doesn't play most of the game, and comes in the ninth inning as a replacement catcher. a nice little homecoming for the guy; back behind the plate at oracle park in front of 32,000 fans waiting for him to fuck up.

the giants and pirates have been at each other's throats all game and the score is 0-0. it's a fireworks night. the ballpark is packed. bottom of the ninth, the giants get two men (matt chapman and michael conforto, beloveds) on base at 2nd and 3rd before patrick bailey comes up to bat. patrick bailey hasn't gotten a hit on base at all this game. this is his fourth time at bat. he could end this all right now if he gets the guy on 3rd base home. giants fans are on their feet. there are no outs, there's room for mistakes, but no one wants that. just end it all. and we know by now that we can depend on patrick bailey.

patrick bailey hits a home run down right field. as soon as the ball leaves the bat, he knows how far it's going - you can see him pause at home plate to watch it leave the ballpark before he starts running the bases.

and you can see joey bart behind him, kneeling, lifting his mask off, watching the ball arc up and out of the ballpark.

the game ends 3-0 with that hit. giants win. pirates leave the field quietly. the giants hit the field to meet patrick bailey at home plate with arms open, yelling as he comes home.

hi hello sorry did patrick bailey just hit a three hr in front of joey bart catching to end a stalemate in the 9th inning after going 0-3 that whole game. no strong feelings about joey bart but i'm gonna scream about that narrative

#san francisco giants #baseball #this is not joey bart apologia to be clear #but my god...my god...

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moregraceful · 2 hours

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#OH I JUST GOOGLED WAS THAT JOEY BART'S FIRST TIME CATCHING ALL GAME #I WALKED IN FROM WALKING THE DOG HALFWAY THROUGH COMMENTARY SO I MISSED THAT #GIANTS R INSANE #giants lb

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moregraceful · 5 hours

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do me a solid and just reblog this saying what time it is where you are and what you’re thinking about in the tags.

#it is 6:42pm and i have just realized two things in the middle of texting sierra and ko:#1) the corkboard above my bed is not secure at all and will kill me if there's an earthquake so i need to secure it #2) the corkboard above my bed has slowly been morphing into a sharkuda mixed media wall installation #and so! since i had been planning on doing a sports mixed media mural with all my free shit once [redacted housing situation] resolves #i could just start now! with my corkboard! which will kill me if i don't secure it to the wall better!#going to be so so so brave and cut up my mark alt gameworn jersey but can i be honest with you. that was a dumb jersey purchase #i have not worn it one single time i do NOT know why i bought it #nick cicek's first old man crush you will always be famous (traded mid-season for a guy who re-signed with his old team in the offseason)#also thinking abt how i have been in my room all day due to [work thing] and i am going crazy #and i am hungry #oh and if i should post cardsy-moth to ao3. with severe edits #why are we all writing fic abt the cuda AFTER the season is over #why wasn't this team activating during the regular season!!#(bc we got no social content until mid-march and you were too depressed to rally) there is no explanation for this

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moregraceful · 7 hours

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Time Begins On Opening Day 2024: a season-long prompt meme for baseball rpf

Any league in the world, any team you love, any person in the 150+ year history of this sport - everyone’s welcome in this prompt meme. This year, the prompt meme covers the entire 2024 MLB season, from Opening Day on March 28 to Winter Meetings in December.

Fills must prominently include at least one baseball player who lived, breathed, and played in real life. Pairing prompts must include at least one real baseball player. General non-team/player prompts must involve baseball RPF in some way. Fandom and RPF crossovers are welcome, but all fills and prompts must prominently include at least one real life player.

🌞 Schedule 🌞 Prompts open: now!! Collection opens for posting: May 16 Soft Deadline #1: July 16 Soft Deadline #2: September 29 Final Deadline, collection closes for prompting and posting: Winter Meetings (December, TBD)

🌞 How this works 🌞 Prompting opens on Opening Day on March 28 and closes at Winter Meetings (exact date TBD.) The collection opens for posting on May 16. There are two soft deadlines for you to work for: July 16 (All-Star Break) and September 29 (end of the regular season). Shortly after these soft deadlines, your mod will post round up posts on tumblr. There is a hard deadline in December at Winter Meetings (final date TBD), at which point, the collection will close for posting and prompting.

#i'm like i did so much work today!! no i didn't #i did like two hours of work wrote a 1.5k fic about ethan cardwell being mothman and haven't done shit since then #i need to leave some more prompts on time begins. my goal for today!! like some really broad ones for people to bounce around with #i keep reminding myself that it's such a small fandom and i haven't done a lot of promo and it's a long timeline #so it will naturally be a little slow aha #well anyway. go leave prompts!!#time begins for ts

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moregraceful · 8 hours

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“tumblr mutual” beloved friend I would pick up at the airport if y’all visited my home city

#i will be be doing this in 41 days 😌#kasper szn SOON #<- KASPER SZN (D.C.'S VERSION)!!#oh i am so excited to see my friends again #becs TWICE in ONE YEAR i am BLESSED!!!!!!!!!#anyway just a note to say if any of you ever visit me #or actually if any mutuals are ever in the bay area full stop #and you're like i don't need a ride from the airport to kasper/my destination/a random farm stand in gilroy. i can take an uber #and you don't ask me for a ride #i will be so so so unhappy with you. picking up friends from the airport is like my number one hobby in life #worst day of my life when i couldn't pick up kb from the airport but i got to drive her to her destination so it was ok in the end #love to. drive my friends around.

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moregraceful · 8 hours

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I’m sending you this note in a kombucha bottle. Idk the logistics here maybe it’s printed onto the label like the nutrition information and the marketing. The note says Cole Caufield (littlest guy I could think of rn. Sorry if you meant like more figuratively little idk if he is figuratively a little guy or not. But I am soooo tired and he compels me) and sleep deprivation. Because I am also so so sleep deprived and Iike projecting. I’m sorry for your woes I hope you get freedom from things eventually. Oh I remember another little guy. Cardsy (what he look like that for??)and uh. 31? He seems like a creature. Sorry if this is incoherent I am . Sooooo sleepy.

I got three separate requests for Nick Suzuki and I assume Cole shows up in at least one if not all, so I decided to engage in a lil thought experiment with Cardsy and by thought experiment I mean I hurt my own feelings and this has a weird ending :(

thank you for your request also I hope you get some rest soon 💙💙

give me a lil guy to put in a situation!!

;;

It was sort of a joke around the team how Cardsy didn’t do housework or cook much. Anthony and Frischy had been talking about it in the team shower one time, a quick discussion of what to eat that night, and Ozzy and Robbie overheard, and it turned into a whole thing. Anthony honestly hadn’t wanted it to.

It wasn’t like Cardsy didn’t try to contribute around the house; he did. He made it halfway through loading the dishwasher, a quarter of the way through folding house laundry, a third of the way through vacuuming. Then he turned into a giant moth.

The first time it happened, Anthony nearly shit himself. It was just him and Cardsy at home, him with his stupid arm injury and Cardsy trying to help out. One minute Cardsy was loading the dishwasher and talking about golf, which Anthony had mostly tuned out; the next minute, there was a loud clatter as tupperware hit the floor and when Anthony looked over, there was an almost-Cardsy-sized moth hovering in the kitchen.

Anthony had screamed, Cardsy-moth had flown out of the room, and a few minutes later there was a thump and a “FUCK” from Frischy’s bedroom. Anthony rushed to find him, and Cardsy was on the floor, curled up and shivering, his clothes in shreds around him.

They got used to it after a while. It wasn’t Cardsy’s fault. He was a beautiful moth, all things considered. Huge and brown, hairy and soft to the touch. It was mostly the eye-sports on his wings that fucked Anthony up. Well, that and Cardy-moth’s red eyes. That fucked Anthony up too.

Frischy made one joke about Mothman once and Cardsy had turned in on himself, wincing and quiet, so they never made another joke about it, and kept the whole thing to themselves.

No one on the team knew. Cardsy had no problem loading the dishwasher around the guys. It was just when he was alone with Frischy and Anthony that he turned into a moth.

It didn’t last long. Maybe an hour at most. After Anthony got over himself, he would open his good arm to Cardsy-moth, usually fluttering above a pile of laundry or a broom on the floor and radiating unhappiness and shame, and he would let Cardsy-moth perch on his lap or sit on the couch next to him while Anthony patted his head and wings. So what if he couldn’t see the game on TV or had woken up from his nap. It wasn’t Cardsy’s fault.

It really wasn’t. They asked Cardsy about it once, after he was a moth for almost an hour one night and Frischy had had to order in because they’d burned their dinner while Cardsy had turned. Did he do it on purpose, or was it just a thing that happened randomly.

Cardsy, always confident and never without a smart comment or earnest answer, had said, “no, never on purpose. I’d never do it on purpose. Never.”

“Bud,” said Anthony, because Cardsy looked upset, “We don’t mind.”

“I would never do it on purpose,” said Cardsy. “I wouldn’t do it to you on purpose. I don’t—I wouldn’t.”

“Why does it happen?” Frischy asked.

Cardsy shoved some rice in his mouth and mumbled something about a curse, and safety, and comfort. Anthony hadn’t understood it at the time, but as the season progressed he started to get it: when Cardsy felt at home, when he felt safe and comfortable, when he felt like he was a productive member of the household, he’d get that yanked away from him.

Cardsy came at it sideways, once, when the three of them were ripshit drunk on Scotty’s balcony on New Years Eve. “It’s like if I think even for a moment I can be loved,” he said. “You know, when—it’s like if I think someone can love me—” and then he took the bottle of Fireball out of Anthony’s hands and drank until he was choking. Frischy and Anthony had to escort him to the bathroom so he could throw up in the toilet and not off the side of Scott’s balcony into the neighbor below’s container plants and he never said a word about it again.

Frischy came into Anthony’s bedroom one night, late in the season, and crawled into Anthony’s bed. He did that sometimes, when he had something important to talk to Anthony about that he didn’t want Cardsy to hear. They hooked up sometimes so Cardsy didn’t bother them when he saw Frischy got into Anthony’s room, but whenever Frischy snuck into Anthony’s room past 12am, it was because something was bothering him.

“You know how like,” he said, after he settled into the pillow beside Anthony, one arm under his head, “like – like, Cardsy is cursed. Like he can never feel safe and loved. Do you think we could break it? Do you think anyone could?”

Anthony stared at the ceiling, tracing the lines of the room in the dark. He loved Cardsy in a simple way, an uncomplicated way. Maybe he could complicate it if he wasn’t fighting for his career, but right now all he had space for was loving Cardsy gently. Not like he wouldn’t get on his knees if Cardsy showed even the slightest interest in having Anthony’s mouth on any part of him, but Anthony was working on the assumption that he’d end up with a mouth full of moth fur. Cardsy never asked for anything from him, except for clean clothes when he came out of it, and, once, a hug when he’d been Cardsy-moth for almost an hour and ended up on the floor, trying not to cry.

“I don’t know,” he said. “I don’t know how to try.”

Towards the end of the season, Cardsy went on a tear that got a lot of notice from the big club. Frischy racked up some good numbers. Anthony was in and out of the line up, his arm fucking him up, or a healthy scratch when there were guys on try outs who might be a sure thing when Anthony wasn’t.

Anthony figured he wasn’t staying in San Jose after this season. He hadn’t proved himself. And he was old at 26, and San Jose had been a last shot after college from him, and he wasn’t the best player, and the injury set him back, and, and, and—

Before their last home games, Cardsy sat on the other end of the couch from him as the three of them watched the Sharks fuck it up for Cooley again. Frischy was on the floor, rolling out a sore muscle.

“Do you think about next year?” Cardsy asked. “Like, has Jwill said anything to you?”

Anthony made a face. Cardsy and Frischy kept asking and he hadn’t wanted to give them a straight answer, but with four games left in the season, he didn’t have much left to hide. “Jwill’s undecided,” he said. “But I think this is it for me.”

“Man, fuck that noise,” said Frischy with a loud groan, but Cardsy launched himself across the couch and tackled Anthony. Anthony grappled with him, trying to get him off, but Cardsy had more muscle than him, had grown into himself over the season in beautiful, strong ways, and Anthony gave up after a while, letting Cardsy kneel above him with legs on either side of Anthony’s hips, and his hands wrapped around Anthony’s wrists pressed against Anthony’s chest.

“Done with San Jose or done with hockey?” he demanded.

Anthony made another face and flexed his fingers instead of answering. He didn’t want to say it out loud, or it would be real.

“Vinny,” pleaded Cardsy. “Anthony.”

“Maybe both,” said Anthony, turning his head away so he didn’t have to look at Cardsy.

Cardsy sighed above him. It was a soft, animal sigh.

Like, what do you say when you’re giving up the dream. It had been a good ride for Anthony, but he didn’t have much left in him. Fight, grit, sure, but he was tired, too, and kept getting injured, and there was only so much he was willing to give up in his future for a couple more years just trying to stick the landing in the AHL.

Cardsy leaned down and kissed him very gently. He let go of Anthony’s wrists as he did.

Anthony pulled at his hips until Ethan laid down on him. They kissed for—minutes, Anthony didn’t know. A while. Unhurried. Gentle. No heat. No promise of more to come. An ending, not a beginning. He could hear Frischy get up and leave the room after a bit, laughing as he did and telling them he took pictures. Anthony didn’t care. He kissed Ethan until they were both languid and sleepy with it.

Ethan’s eyes were red when he finally pulled away. Red like they got when he became a moth. But he was still all-man other than that, human and warm.

Anthony wrapped his arms around Ethan’s waist and didn’t say anything about it. Ethan blinked, shook his head, and his eyes went back to blue.

“Attaboy,” said Anthony. He felt something like grief. “That’s my man.”

Ethan smiled at him, human.

#i love anthony vincent bc it's like who is that man. i can just do whatever with his characterization. idk this man and i watched almost #every home game this season. like who is he. nobody knows. a man of mystery #anyway sorry if you're allergic to sad endings i truly dk how to write a cuda tumblrfic this year without making it horrifically sad #i got another cardsy request i will make it as horny and chaotic joy as possible to make up for this lol #unfortunate birdcage fanfictions

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moregraceful · 13 hours

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#i know a couple who named their kids after skyrim characters lmfao

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moregraceful · 13 hours

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I hail from ao3, and I wanted to say that I meant to watch the bedard/wembanyama video after reading your fic, but I forgot until you reminded me in your reply to a comment I left on your fic.

And boy howdy is their height difference way bigger than I thought. Like I looks up their heights when reading the fic but seeing the video of them next to each other… Wow. Connor looks like a small child in his chair next to Wemby with his legs hanging above the ground.

Second, I love Wemby even though I know nothing about the nba, and I’m going to need to check out his tag later for fics. He is so nice and charismatic.

Oh I am so glad you watched the interview, it truly is a delight. I admit this was not my most well-researched fic, I think I watched that interview + all the H-E-B commercials with the Spurs (ty kitnita for telling us all about these) + read like one article on ESPN about how Wemby is their (ESPN's) beautiful son who has never done anything wrong...was not batting .1000 on a fic with a 2k limit while quitting my job and depressed lol. (And to be clear this is more research than I did for Connor Bedard 🫡). But he does seem like a sweet sweet boy. Basketball RPF writers are fighting a war I can't even begin to imagine but there are a handful of Wemby fics, none of which I have read but they might be good!

Basketball players always blow me away in terms of charisma and personality but I think that's bc I've been in the hrpf trenches for so long where every day I'm like clawing for a sign of life on my teams lmfao. I love it.

#i wish i watched more basketball but sadly i am a bit of a fairweather fan in that i saw what was happening with the dubs this year and #decided that was none of my business lol #PLEASE watch the h-e-b commercials tho theyre so funny #when if i was 17 ice cream cartons tall....and you were not as many ice cream cartons tall....and we fell in love #cage replies #anon

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moregraceful · 14 hours

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#so you're saying i have a chance......#aew #wrestling

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moregraceful · 14 hours

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April '24

#DONT talk to me #DONT look at me #DONT breathe near me #pittsburgh penguins #hockey for ts #folsom bryan rust

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moregraceful · 1 day

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i haven't submitted poetry for publication in years and i FORGOT the incomparable rush of hitting submit and then panicking that i might have spelled every single word of the title wrong, such "a" or "to"

#when i publish a sonnet redoublé about the avs winning the cup you can say you knew me when i was cringe rpf blogger #jk. i would never. i hate writing in iambic pentameter #pantoums and haikus 'til i die #although technically ''devon'' is an iamb--oh we are not going down this path for real #anon who just sent the ethan cardwell prompt i am so sorry for the mental image that i am about to put into humanity's narrative #fresno oilers.txt #FDFHDH localapparent i just saw your ask i'm about to do demonic things to that man

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moregraceful · 1 day

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Put That Guy in a SituationTM Ask Game/Prompt!

For when you want to put your favorite little guy (gender neutral) in a fanfic-type Situation. Send in a fandom, character(s), and/or relationship/ship as well as a number (or a few!) Feel free to use for fanfic, art, or whatever you choose!

Touch starved/cuddle curse

Time loop

Misunderstandings

Mind meld/telepathy/mind reading

Amnesia

Reverse amnesia (everyone else has no memory/recognition of your character)

Trapped in a room/closet/elevator

“Who did this to you?”

Sleep deprivation

Framed for a crime they didn’t commit

Hiding from pursuers

Turned invisible

Drunken/drugged/sleepy confessions

Role swap

Soulmates

Meeting past/future self

Tending to an injury/wound/illness

Possession/Mind control

De-aged

Personality swap

Fear poison/gas

Truth or dare/party games

Loss of powers/abilities/skills

Showing up injured at their friend/mentor’s house

Showing up injured at their enemy’s house

Group project/team effort

Demon summoning

Curse of obedience/can’t disobey a direct order (the “Ella Enchanted”)

Time jumping/time travel/fix-it

Only one bed

Cursed/turned into an animal

Body swap

Reincarnation

Love spell/curse/potion

Hatred spell/curse/potion

Avalanche/huddle for warmth

Secret relationship

Multiverse/meeting alternate version of self

Avoiding a conversation

Identity reveal/major secret revealed

Panic attacks

True love’s kiss/breaking a curse

Fake dating

Arranged marriage

Realization of feelings at the Worst Possible Moment

Confessions during an argument

Sickfic/caretaking

Enemy caretaker

Self-sacrificial

Meet cute

Meet ugly/awkward first meetings

Fake death/presumed dead

Wings/supernatural body features

Kidnapping

Mutual Pining (+ Oblivious)

Mutual platonic/familial yearning

Accidental hand-holding

Crying

Lying curse/forced to lie about something

Truth Serum/spell

#please send 🙇‍♂️🙇‍♂️#but specify a little guy please #just got out of a 2hr meeting that was like. did you do this? no. well did you do this? no. how about this? didn't. and--? no #so now i gotta DO SHIT. TODAY. TOMORROW. EVERY DAY. FOREVER. and i don't WANT TO #and in the middle of this. no kombucha #send me guys to put into situations to make up for. the agonies

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