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#'cause by rights it must have been everywhere sports related
thetarttfuldickhead · 11 months
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Okay but like, Roy and Jamie weren’t exactly subtle about loathing each other, were they? They fought each other on the pitch and badmouthed each other on TV, none of that keep it quiet for the sake of the team shit for these extra boys, yeah? My point is, anyone who knows anything about English football knows that Roy Kent and Jamie Tartt used to hate each other, right?
So obviously, at some point, during some press conference or post game interview, someone needs to bring this fact up. Maybe it’s as early as after the 2x06 match, because Ted might well have insisted Roy and Jamie be the ones to front that, both because it was them that won that game and because he figures it’ll promote ~their bond~ or some such. Could be later too, after the headbutt/hug thing, or later still, once the pictures of Jamie and Roy’s early morning excursions start doing the rounds on social media.
Doesn’t matter much when, really, only that someone – maybe from the tabloids because they’re a vicious lot – would ask: “Roy, just weeks before you joined the Richmond coaching staff you said, and I quote, ‘Jamie Tartt is a muppet and I hope he dies of the incurable condition of being a little bitch’. Today you described him as the most important player on the field. What has changed?”
And maybe the room goes a bit quiet at that, oooh he fucking went there, and what the hell is going to happen now, but Jamie only cocks his head to the side, making a face but looking at Roy all amused like. “You said that about me? That hurts me feelings, Coach.”
And Roy rolls his eyes, exasperated but in too good a mood after the win to be really annoyed. “Yeah, well, as it turns out the condition was only mostly incurable, wasn’t it?”
And Jamie goes aaaw and the press goes um okay and it doesn’t really explain anything, only adds to the ever-evolving legend of what the fuck is up with Roy Kent and Jamie Tartt.
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mevelar · 1 year
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The Traveler
Chapter 3 – Mark of Mercy Dozens of armed units surrounded the flats with one notable individual who looked to have sustained numerous battle-related injuries. The metid’s face sported a metallic cowling that covered his left temple all the way down to his jaw. A dilating lens substituted what was once his left eye and his robotic right arm clutched hold of something that resembled an advanced rifle of some sort. Once Daegal was chaperoned along with the other tenants to the front lawn, the surly metid stepped forth then raised his weapon aloft. “Name’s Karg. Karg the Merciful. I’m’s the top warlord of this band of Opus Dalis. There be any Raka in this bunch?”
Opus Dalis? Crap! Daegal thought as he tried to avert his gaze from the brigand leader. “No one?” the warlord huffed as he leveled his weapon at a random tenant before firing. An altaran instantly burst into flames causing those around them to flee in terror. Karg snorted with delight upon witnessing the fear he had induced. Daegal froze in horror upon witnessing the disintegration of a fellow tenant. It was not so much the violence that rattled him as the type of firearm the act was committed with. He had never seen such a weapon before. However, he surmised that it must have been one of types that he was assigned to investigate. At least that was part of his original mission plan. He also knew that if he gave even the slightest hint that he was aware of the significance of such weapons, his own life would meet the same fate as that of the unlucky altaran.
Moments later, the antilleen skulked from around the corner, its mouth dripping with some type of dark purple residue. Daegal quickly deduced that it must have been the blood of some unfortunate victim. “You weren’t supposed to eat ‘em just yet, idiot!” Karg bellowed at the lizard. “Hun...gerrr…” Daegal heard it's faint reply through his translation device. The warlord pointed towards the smoldering pile of flesh. “Eat that, instead.” The lizard let out a roar of protest. “Burrrnt! Baad... taaassste...” Another blast issued from the rifle and, within the blink of an eye, another unfortunate soul erupted into a ball of flame. Karg’s weapon emitted a bluish glow along areas where it was joined together. Upon observing the firearm further, Daegal figured the blue glow functioned as some type of cooling operation. Whatever it was, he figured that it must draw immense amounts of energy whenever it was fired. “Now,” Karg screamed through the translation device. “One last time: who here is Raka? Come on. Point out your neighbors and you won’t get hurt.”
Almost immediately, tenants began ratting each other out. If for no other reason than to save their own hides. The warlord seemed to take even more pleasure in the terror as he ordered his troops to fire upon the hapless crowd.
In a desperate move, Daegal pointed towards the antilleen then shouted, “This guy threatened to eat me if I didn’t transfer credits to his personal account.” Upon hearing the false accusation, the bipedal lizard let out a fearsome roar before turning to face the human. “Liieess!”
“Sure you did. Just check the transaction logs,” Daegal pointed at the lizard. “You had your account open and ready for transfer. I’m sure you were more than willing to give your boss his fair cut too, right?”
“Why you filching, dickless reptile!” Karg growled as he leveled his rifle at the antilleen. “Set yer pad down, now! And pray you had it set to delivering me a seventy percent cut.” The lizard relented at first, but eventually complied as it pulled out its datapad then placed it in front of Karg's feet. When the warlord ordered one of his men to examine the pad, the antilleen seized its window of opportunity of escape by lunging at the unsuspecting henchman. The hapless goon’s skull was crushed by the reptile’s powerful jaws causing torrents of dark blood to gush everywhere . Before Karg had a chance to fire, the lizard released its headless victim then bounded off into the darkness. The warlord cursed then ordered four of his troops to follow the antilleen's trail. “You, boy, are one lucky farker,” the warlord snorted as he slung the weapon on his back. “What’s yer name?” Daegal had to thank of a lie, and quick. “Doug… Doug Henneforth.” “Aye, human,” Karg stepped towards the archeologist. “I never trusted that two-timing scaly egg-crapper from the start. Lucky for you, your boldness has earned you a reprieve from my wrath… at least for the time being.” “T… thank you,” Daegal stammered with fear as he tried to avoid staring into the warlord’s face. Karg beckoned for two of his goons to seize hold of the archeologist. “Oh. Be careful of givin’ me thanks, primate.”
The warlord pulled out a metal rod that emitted a high-energy charge at the end. His goons, then, forced the human down to his knees as Karg activated the device then shoved the tip into Daegal’s forehead. Electrical currents coursed through Daegal’s body causing him to blackout momentarily. When he finally came to, he massaged his forehead only to feel a strange texture embedded under his skin. “Wha… what did you do to me?” Karg snorted then knelt down to the human’s eye level. “Call it my mark of mercy. Whenever I ask for something, you will deliver it to me without question. Otherwise there will be no mercy next time. Do I make myself clear?” Daegal nodded. “Yes. Very clear.” “Now go about your useless life and enjoy it while you can. But know this: you are now my property so long as you draw breath.” Karg reached out with his metal hand then grabbed hold of Daegal’s throat. He looked into the human’s eyes as the gears from his mechanical lens whirred in an attempt to achieve a focus on the archeologist’s face. “When Opus Dalis calls, you will answer.”
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Hello again. First of all, i hope you are having a wonderful day/night! How do you think haikyuu boys would react to you burning yourself? Like, you were cooking for a special event but y/n is a horrible cook so you take out the pan from the oven and you forgot to put a mitten ( or something like that) and just reached for the hot af pan and burnt yourself. Not only did you burn your hand but you burnt the food too 🤣.
You can pick whichever haikyuu characters you'd like for this.
Hahaaaaaa I’m back 😀
Anyways
𝙶𝚁𝙰𝚈 𝙷𝙰𝙸𝚁 𝙶𝙰𝙽𝙶 𝚁𝙴𝙰𝙲𝚃𝙸𝙽𝙶 𝚃𝙾 𝚈𝙾𝚄 𝙱𝚄𝚁𝙽𝙸𝙽𝙶 𝚈𝙾𝚄𝚁𝚂𝙴𝙻𝙵
ғᴛ- ʙᴏᴋᴜᴛᴏ, sᴜɢᴀ, ᴀɴᴅ ᴏsᴀᴍᴜ
ʀᴇǫᴜᴇsᴛᴇᴅ by the bigbrained @g0th-k1tty
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So you and Bokuto decided that you would make the effort to actually cook dinner
And what did you decide to cook?
Fried Dumplings 🥟
Sounds simple enough
And it was!
At least until you got to the frying part...
“Bokuto please be careful” you reminded your boyfriend for the umph time of the night. You and Bokuto were working hard to cook dinner and you don’t know why but the thought of Bokuto near hot oil made your blood pressure increase. “Y/n it’s fine! Look it’s perfectly harmless!” And just like that, Bokuto dropped a dumpling into the pan full of HOT oil causing it to splatter everywhere. Although the event startled Bokuto he managed to get out of it unharmed, you on the other hand did not. Bokuto began to panic as he saw you grabbing your arm in pain, his panic increased when he realized he’s only over had to deal with sport related injuries. In his panic he came to the conclusion that the opposite of hot is cold! So that must be the thing to help! He quickly gave you ice in a bag as a makeshift ice pack. Luckily it was only a nasty first degree burn, but Bokuto was still pretty frazzled. “Bo, it’s ok,it’s really not that bad of a burn” you said looking at a sulking Bokuto. “I’m really sorry y/n, I should’ve been more careful and now your hurt because of me” he told you frowning. “Well it’s great that a have a great boyfriend to take care of me while I recover” you told him as a last ditch attempt to lift his spirits. It appeared to work because you saw that his hair lifted ever so slightly and a smile appeared on his face “Hey hey hey! I am pretty great aren’t I” he said pulling you in for a hug. You began to hug him back when you stared to smell burning...
“Bo”.
“Yeah y/n?”
“Did you ever turn the stove off?”
“...”
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You and suga really liked to bake together
Whether it be simple chocolate chip cookies
Or intricate fancy cakes
Today you both decided to make cupcakes!
And cupcakes from the box no less
What could go wrong 😀
A lot apparently....
Who would’ve thought that baking simple cupcakes would cause you to have a burned hand and crushed foot. It all started off great! You and your boyfriend Suga had been making cupcakes as a little treat for his team making it to nationals. You had even decided on boxed cupcakes since you were making a whole bunch! However, the problems only occurred when the oven was being used... “ y/n I think the cupcakes are done! Can you get them for me please!” Suga shouted from the other room. You got up and made your way to the kitchen, but the problem was...you couldn’t find the oven mits 🥲. Not wanting the cupcakes to burn you just grabbed a towel to grab them out of the oven with, but unbeknownst to you this particular towel was just a bit 🤏 to thin. So when you grabbed them out the pan immediately burned your hand causing you to drop the pan on your bare foot. You cried out in pain which caused a now panicked Suga to rush to the kitchen. He examined your injuries and decided it would be best to deal with your burnt hand first. He guided you to the sink and told you to run cold water over your burn while he got the bandages for your hand and foot. He opened the cabinet and saw two little oven mits right next to the first aid kit... “hey y/n?” Suga said “yeah Suga” you replied still running your hand under the water. “How’d you burn your hand again?”. “ I used a towel to grab the pan cause I couldn’t find the oven mits” you replied a little bitterly. “You mean these?” Suga said holding up the oven mits in question. “ARE YOU KIDDING ME!?!?”
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Cooking was a frequent activity done by you and osamu
Yknow with him being a chef and all
Cooking is inevitable
He would always want to try new recipes with you
And you would always be happy to help prepare them
So you would think with all this practice you’d be a pro at cooking by now right?
Wrong...
This was the third weekend in a row that osamu wanted to try a new recipe with you. Not that you we’re complaining though! You loved to help your boyfriend cook new dishes. The dish he wanted to make today was a type of stir fry. He had put you in charge of handling the stove while he cut up all the vegetables. Having done this many many many times you were feeling very confident with the job you were assigned! Everything went perfectly! The stir fry was done and you took the pan off of what you THOUGHT was a turned off stove and handed it to osamu so he could put it on plates. Deciding this was a good moment to take a well deserved brake, you got on your phone. Whilst you were scrolling through your phone you begun to lean on the stove.... A searing pain formed in your hand and that’s when you realized that you did not ever turn off the stove. You began to walk to the sink hoping that some cold water would smooth the pain. It was only when you hissed as the water hit your skin did osamu turn around. “Y/n? What happened?” He asked obviously concerned. “Oh, it’s nothing Samu! Just a little burn.” You said trying to ignore the pain. Osamu took a quick look at the burn before disappearing out of the kitchen. When he returned he had a first aid kit in hand. He pulled out a couple of ointments along with some cotton balls and a bandage. He began to treat your burn and you were quite shocked on how quickly the ointments soothed your burns. “We’ll look at you mr burn expert” you jokingly said as he wrapped up your hand. “Ah yes because with all the cooking I do I haven’t had my fair share of burns” he responded with a sarcastic tone. “Rude >:(“ you said lightly punching his arm “yeah yeah, be more careful next time” he said grabbing your hands and kissing the bandaged one.
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actlikeyoudidntdoit · 3 years
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ASSASSIN’S MODERN DAY PROFESSIONS
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ALTAÏR
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College Professor
-We all know that Altaïr has spent most of his life teaching, so what better job does he have than a college professor?
-He knows what he’s talking about, that much is certain, but sometimes he gets a little too lost in his lesson to realize that his students are scratching their heads. So it’s normal to have students staying after class, but they leave understanding every word of what he said.
-He’s not the fun teacher, but he’ll be able to teach you what you need and still remember it at the end of the day.
-He’s pretty lenient, and even with the obnoxious students who cause a scene, he calmly gets them to at least do their work.
-Other teachers always use him as a reference when it comes to the perfect teacher.
EZIO AUDITORE
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-I can see Ezio being a public speaker since he’s not all that scared of crowds and spends a lot of time giving advice, so I think he’d really enjoy being able to help a crowd of people whose lives are falling apart
-Ezio would be the single anchor in a sea of storms because he always seems to have an answer for everything. He’s a man whose words are turned into inspirational quotes that people hang on their walls.
-When he says that things will be okay, no one doubts him since they know that he lost his father and his brothers very early on and that it took years for Ezio to accept the loss the way he had. If he could soldier through it, why couldn’t they?
-He doesn’t involve himself in politics, finding them to be a waste of time and breath despite how many people ask for his input on the political status of the country he’s staying in.
-He speaks to a lot of people in private, letting them speak their minds and giving his advice if they want it. He’s a therapist without a license, and you always feel hopeful about life leaving his office.
Connor
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Construction or Sports
-This boy was designed for heavy work, and I’ve heard some good points in saying that not only would he be amazing at sports, but he’d also really enjoy it too.
-In my personal headcanon, I think he’d be a good construction worker as well. Not the high end kind that build skyscrapers or anything, but I can see him building simple houses for small communities, taking the lower jobs that can’t afford much help like the sweetheart he is. He definitely volunteers to make houses for the homeless.
-Since most of the homeless he helps don’t have much money, he makes sure to offer them baked goods because he’s definitely a baker.
Edward Kenway
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-As a young man, he joins the navy
-Once he’s on his own, he buys his own boat and treats it like royalty.
-He’s not a pirate himself, but he does let less legal people on board for a price. At the time, it was just an easy cash pay since people paid good money when they were desperate.
-When he’s older and gets a grip on some of the people he’s helping (like the REALLY bad criminals) he quickly lets it go.
-Yet after seeing some of the more decent people and the places they were running from, I can see him being a sort of smuggler, but instead of smuggling drugs or weapons, he sells medicines, canned foods, and clothes to the regions where they’re scarce or hard to pay for.
-When he’s older and found a fortune over time, he starts up his own official charity, hiring various sailers to sail supplies to more places than he himself could alone.
SHAY CORMAC
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-Okay, I have to say it. Shay would DEFINITELY be an FBI spy. Maybe I haven’t thought of it as heavily as I could, but he just strikes me as a man who could kill someone in plain sight and still not be seen.
-He already knows everything he can about infiltrating and getting vital information
-He knows exactly how to manipulate people to get what he wants.
-He’s like Macgyver but as an agent.
-He does things that make sleeping at night impossible, but he tells himself that every long night for him is another person somewhere else having a peaceful night, and peaceful nights means he’s doing his job. Right?
-Constantly questions his morals, but he can’t bring himself to stop, not knowing that he’d do if he stopped, because at least here he’s doing something. He’s contributing.
-That and maybe I might or might not want to see Shay in a suit 🤷‍♀️
AVELINE
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-Actress. And a damn good one. She’s one of the kind of people who get paid millions each job and gives most of her cash on people who really need it. Not only that, she’s a fan favorite everywhere.
-She takes extra jobs in smaller businesses barely staying afloat, and public morality boosts has nothing to do with it. In fact, she keeps her fame life out of everything, choosing to see it just as another job.
-I can see her sharing similarities of Zendaya or Zoe Zaldana
ARNO DORIAN
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-High school teacher or actor, I can’t decide.
-Because let’s be honest, this guys brain is more wrinkled than a raisin. He knows his stuff.
-He’s good at simplifying what he’s saying, and that happens to be a very useful trait when it comes to teaching.
-If he was a teacher, he’d be a damn good one, that’s for sure. No one will fail his class because he’s so good at explaining things, and he’d be the one who actually cares for his students.
-When it comes to acting... just admit that Arno’s a theater boy through and through. If you need proof, he’s the only one with a crazy amount of fancy robes and colors. FOR GODS SAKE HE OWNS A THEATER! So on modern day, I could totally see him as an actor as well.
-He’d be the Ewan Mcgregor of the modern day, because everyone recognizes him from SOMEWHERE because he’s really tested his acting ability on multiple various roles. Well read, charming, and level headed, he’d totally rock being an actor. He’s good friends with Aveline, and when they both have time in their busy schedules, they stop by for coffee and fill each other in on their life.
JACOB
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-Boxing
-I saw the photoshops of Jacob in boxer life, and I have not been the same because oh my god that is amazing.
-but absolutely he’d be a boxer. He’s the shortest guy in the entire match, but he doesn’t need a stool to knock you on your ass before you can laugh about it.
-His opponents are lucky shattering bones is against the rules because he knows how to make someone wish their dad wore a condom.
-A lot of people think that his rounds must be rigged, and his sister had to physically hold him back every time Jacob threatened to give him a close up of how ‘rigged’ his fights were.
-Jacobs a powder keg, so it doesn’t take much to make him explode, and a lot of the less respectful people he has to fight picks particularly sore spots to do just that.
-He might be pissed, but his punch isn’t the only thing that stings. He knows exactly what words to use, and when they’ve gone too far, he doesn’t hold back.
-Might have a temper, but he has a good heart despite it all. He visits schools and completely turns his personality around with kids. He signs autographs, takes pictures, and makes sure that every one of them have a fun day because he knows that there’s some kids in this school that don’t have those kinds of days. He pays the school for field days each time, making sure they all get out. They bring out the scooters, parachutes, capture the flag, and ‘wrestling’ matches for the kids who want to face him. He loses every time. He never has a bigger smile on his face than when he has children fans walk up to him.
EVIE
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-She is totally a lawyer and you can’t change my mind.
-Logic and Facts are her strongest weapons, and so far she has yet to lose a debate.
-Every other lawyer knows that seeing Evie walk into court is an instant death sentence, because like her brother, her words are sharp as a knife and her mind is even sharper.
-If they didn’t look identical, no one would believe that she would be related with Jacob the hot headed boxer, because she was level as water and was near impossible to make angry, but god help the poor sod that presses her.
-Her clients almost always get the best case scenario with Evie by their side by how good she is.
-Also like her brother, children are her weak spot, and her hard composure melts whenever she needs to speak to a child in the witness post, making sure that the child feel comfortable unlike the others that drill the kid with questions when they’re too skittish to answer. She takes her time and gets the kid feeling safe, and gently asks their side.
-Evie might not do it as a profession, but Evie has beaten Jacob in the boxing ring in the gym. She knows damn well how to handle herself, knowing she’d need it since she’d be fighting corrupt politicians or gang members who have too often tried attempts at her life. Every time she emerged unscathed, using the attempt at even more evidence against them and insuring a spot in jail. No one dared try attacking her again after that.
BAYEK
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-I’m thinking police officer or motivational speaker for trauma.
-Either way, he’s a guardian who takes care of the people he’s in charge of. He knows words well, and having been down the dark path himself, he knows exactly what people experience and what they want to hear.
-Be the change you want to see in the world, and that’s exactly what he’s doing.
-He’d be a well respected officer, and he’s not afraid of telling off a comrade if someone is wrongfully accused. He’s not very popular in the police station, but as long as he’s doing his job, he’s satisfied.
-He’s saved several people over the course in his life, and his word is well honored since he’s on no ones side. He sees things as what they are and doesn’t twist events he disagreed with to his point of view. Even if it hurts him personally, he doesn’t lie.
-He’s divorced, but they’re still best friends with each other and visit when they can.
AYA (ran out of gifs. Sorry)
-She is hands down a self defense teacher for women
-She sells hidden self defense tools for less than ten dollars, always sure to keep constantly supply of them since many have confessed that they’ve saved them from dangerous situations.
-Like her former husband, she’s a protector and makes sure she provides her students with the best.
-She teaches children what to do if they ever get grabbed, and she’s had many parents in years thanking her when that information ended up saving their child’s life.
ALEXIOS
-Hands down he is a stunt double
- Preferably Arno’s since he relies more on flexibility than brute strength. Then there’s the fact that they look similar enough in features
-He does the moves that would probably be safer if they were just CGI, but he hates those computers with a passion, preferring to do the real thing instead of giving out something fake. He’s broken more bones than he can count, and the companies he works with always have a medic on standby when something goes wrong.
-They tried convincing him that they only needed him for a few spots, but after realizing that he wanted this (and him assuring them that he doesn’t bother with suing), they let him do his thing. The results are fruitful since the most nitpicky movie fans are absolutely thrilled when there’s a particular move done right.
-He teaches Arno a good few things about how to do action scenes, and they’re definitely good friends.
KASSANDRA
-Roller Derby
-She lives for throwing people and smacking them without being judged for it, so the Derby’s her safe spot.
-Everyone on the opposing team is terrified of her, always scared when they see her devilish smile, knowing that they’re about to get their asses handed to them. Like her brother, she’s an adrenaline junky, and when she’s not doing the derby, she’s going off into car races in a water trench. She’s surprisingly very good with cars too, knowing the inside and out of a car like the back of her hand.
-She loves it when men try to catcall her. It gives her a perfect opportunity to punch them in the face.
-She loves the races themselves because no one expects it. Sometimes she pretends to act like a beginner and absolutely slaughter them, giving them a nice wink before driving out with her cash.
-Only has a soft spot for the girl who visits her on weekends. She’s practically her older sister, and there will be hell to pay if her favorite kid gets hurt in any way.
EIVOR
-BACA(Bikers Against Child Abuse)
-The moment I saw this, I instantly thought about them.
-they would absolutely be a part of this
-Looking all badass in leather while turning into a softie for children? That’s Eivors entire character right there.
-Eivors not afraid to get physical with an abuser. They’d beat the abuser to a pulp and right after take the child out for ice cream.
-No one messes with Eivor, knowing that their lenience was stretched only for children. Anyone else tried to pressure her? Your teeth would be shattered and they’d wear the bits for a necklace.
-Children are much more brave around them because they’re tougher than their parent and on their side, so they’re not afraid to give them to the police
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kaitycole · 3 years
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Love Two: the hard love
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Summary: Miya Atsumu is an adventure and a half which is exciting for you after a mundane high school relationship. But what price has to be paid in order for you to be in his world?
Parings: Atsumu x Reader
Word Count: 7187 (my apologies)
Warnings: Angst. Toxic relationship tropes. Toxic behaviors. Slight physical violence (towards the end - it’s a wrist grab and a slap). Adult language.
Rating: 16+
A/N: This series is based on an article that talks about how in live, most of us experience three types of love. I’ll link the article in the series master post for anyone who wants to read it!
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Golden yellow hair.
Chocolate brown eyes.
Burnt cinnamon cologne.
These images burn into your mind as tears sting your dry eyes. You swallow hard, trying to get the lump in your throat to dislodge but it only reminds you of how dry your throat is, how sore it is from screaming. Your head lays heavy on your pillow, a dull ache wraps around your head and you aren’t sure if it’s from the alcohol or the crying you’ve done over the last three days.
You two had a fight, another fight, the same old fight. You screamed, he brushed it off, leaving in a rush and slamming the door while you slid down the doorframe, sobbing. You thought that you’d be used to this, the constant up and downs that came with loving Miya Atsumu, the rollercoaster of emotions that came with the cycle of being together, breaking up and then getting back together. You’d been doing it for three years now, on and off again, but never being off for long before he dragged you back into his arms, not that you ever refused.
Your head hangs to the side as you slowly push yourself off the floor, your body too tired after fighting to climb into your bed the night before. For a moment you consider crawling down the hall before your pride takes over as you stand up, legs stiff but wobbly at the same time as your feet drag you to the couch in the living room. You aren’t sure what time it is, your eyes slowly adjusting to the large amount of sunlight coming into the apartment, the apartment he surprised you with and you had loved, now it felt like a prison.
Your phone starts buzzing and when you look, there’s several notifications from your two best friends Kaneko Yua and Higashi Naoki. You shuffle to the kitchen, grabbing a cup as you perch your phone between your shoulder and cheek, filling you cup with tap water.
“Y/N! Where are you?” Yua’s voice is too loud for the linger ache in your head, you jerk the phone from your ear to turn the volume down.
You chug down the ice-cold water that does nothing to remove the dryness from your mouth or throat, it’s as if it’s been coated in a thick layer of cotton. “Apartment.”
She’s silent for a minute, you can hear her mumbling to someone next to her. There’s a muffled sound coming from her end before a new voice comes through the line, fresh tears prick your eyes when you recognize it’s Naoki.
“We’re coming over, don’t leave.”
*                      * Three years ago
Your high school days had been filled with volleyball matches, practices, tournaments and while you have no ill feelings towards the sport or the boy who brought it into your life, you just hoped university would broaden your horizons.
Yet here you stood at a MSBY Fan Greet, your younger brother all but vibrating with excitement as he waited to get his overprice photograph signed by his favorite team. You previously made plans to hang-out with Yua over the spring break, but since your parents both couldn’t take him, your brother guilted you with the  “but I miss hanging out with you” card and puppy dog eyes.
“For you.” His accent coats his words, passing you small folded piece of paper before your brother makes his way down the line to the next player for an autograph, tugging at your pants for you to follow his lead.
** “Wanna get something from the vending machine before the next class?” Yua asks. Kaneko Yua became your friend when you both started university last year, the two of you quickly became the best of friends even though the only interests you share is in your shared Art History major.
“I’m done for the day.” You tilt your head, smiling right before you stick your tongue out at her.
She throws her head back, groaning as you continue to walk, “how’d you get such a good schedule.”
“Told you to take those early morning classes.” You wink before running into her as she suddenly stops. “Yua-ch—”
Golden yellow hair and a cocky smile catch your attention as he leans against a flash sports car in the library parking lot. Yua looks at you, her eyes wide, you had mentioned that you got his number a few weeks ago to her, but that nothing but short conversation came from the exchange which only lasted a few days.
“Y/N!” He calls out to you, obnoxiously waving one arm up in the air to catch your attention, it does, along with the rest of the student body that’s outside.
He starts walking over to you and Yua, pulling off his sunglasses you see that dark chocolate eyes that captured your (e/c) ones just weeks ago. Your heart is thumping against your chest as he quickly closes that gap that has been between you, a short arm’s distance away from him. You can smell his cologne, it’s a strong smell, something similar to burnt cinnamon being carried by the wind the circles around you.
Yua looks at you for answers but you couldn’t give her any if you even tried. You find yourself swallowed whole by his dark eyes, feeling like you’re about to sink. “M-Miya-san?”
“Atsumu.” He smirks, “sorry for just showing up. I was in the neighborhood and thought we could go get something to eat. You aren’t busy, are you?”
“No, she’s not.” Yua nudges your arm, bringing you back to reality, “she’s actually all finished for the day.”
“What do you say? Will you come with me?” He reaches out his hand and you almost immediately take it and maybe you should’ve been more cautious, after all this wasn’t like it was in high school.
** The first few months with Atsumu are blissful, perfect and you start to wonder if this is what you were missing back with Ushijima. Every day with Atsumu is an adventure, you never know what to expect which is a sharp contrast to that same day everyday feeling you had back in high school. He keeps you on your toes and you love it, you eat it up, spending all your free time with him and it shows when you get back a test with a failing mark.
“Budding romances aren’t the most important thing in life, Y/N.” Your professor speaks low when he places the paper on the desk, he doesn’t have to tell you how he feels about it, disappointment drips from his words.
Atsumu didn’t offer much help on the subject either, simply shrugging at it and telling you that there’s always the next test. “Let’s go out.” “I really should study, ‘Tsumu.” You tilt your head back to look up at him, he’s sitting on the couch behind you.
He says your name, dragging out each syllable, “it’s the last night I can. I have an away game that I leave for on Friday.”
“You didn’t tell me that.” “Must have forgot.” He looks down at his phone, “coming or not?”
You know that you shouldn’t have gone, that studying is more important, but him leaving meant that you’d be apart for the first time and he had that lopsided pout on his face, so you agree. Grabbing your jacket and following him out the door as he drapes an arm around you, “I can always count on you.”
*                      * Two years and four months ago
“I’m gonna kill him!” Yua shouts as she walks into your dorm room. She practically ran from her part-time job in the library to your dorm when you called her, unable to talk from crying so loudly. While she took the elevator up to your room, she managed to see the text explaining the cause of your distress and is fuming.
“You’ll…go…to jail.” You finally manage to spit out, the sobs and hiccups breaking up your words as you wipe your running nose on your sweatshirt sleeve. Usually Yua would scold you, telling you just how disgusting that it, but tonight she just sits next to you, letting you lean on her shoulder.
She gently rubs your arm as she wraps an arm around you, pulling you closer to her side, “maybe I’ll key that fancy car of his.”
“I think it’s his brother’s.”
“Deflate his balls!”
“Yua!”
“Volleyballs, get your head out of the gutter.” She smiles when you let out a small laugh. She leans her head down on yours and you are thankful that you’re close enough for the silence to be comfortable, for certain things to be left unsaid.
*                      * Two years and two months ago
The next few weeks seem to drag by, each day seemingly longer than the last. Yua has all but moved into your dorm, refusing to leave your side for more than the duration of classes. With her there, you realize even more that your phone hasn’t gone off, there’s no surge of messages coming through from a certain setter. Things take a bit of a turn when you hear a nearby conversation, two girls gushing about some famous model getting into a relationship to a volleyball player.
But it’s that said volleyball player’s name that anchors your feet to the ground, that name that echoes in your ears while your lungs struggle to take in the air you want to force into them.
Miya Atsumu
Yua essentially banned the use of his name or anything related to him into your life and for better or worse you’ve both manage to uphold it, especially seeing how with his newest brand deal, his face is everywhere just like Michael Jordan’s was in the U.S. during the 90’s. Somehow, you manage to avoid it, until now when your body seems to act on its own and you’re sudden reading several headlines confirming the match.
*                      * Two years ago
“Are you sure you’ll be okay alone?” Yua looks at you, worry etched on her expression, “I don’t have to go to this guest speaking event.”
“Yua, you’ve been talking about this for weeks, you’re going.”
“Promise to call if you need me to come back? I’m only going to Tokyo, so I can get back within three hours.”
“Yes, yes, I promise.” You make a “shoo” gesture with your hand, walking towards her as she picks up her back to leave. You pull her into a quick hug, reassuring her that everything will be fine for one weekend.
** You let out a dramatic sigh, towel drying your hair as you walk out of the bathroom and towards your bed.
8PM on a Friday and I’m getting ready for bed, lame.
You’re slipping on a pair of fuzzy socks when the music you’ve been playing gets interrupted by a phone call. Within much thought, assuming it’s Yua, you answer, only to stop in your tracks when a familiar and husky voice calls your name.
“Y/N!” Each syllable of your name is drawn out with a slight lag, a telltale sign that he’s intoxicated.
If Yua was there, she would tell you to just hang up and block the number, that you had been doing better lately and should just let someone else deal with it, but Yua isn’t there and you feel that it must mean something if you had been the one he called.  Drunken words are sober thoughts, right?
His drunken voice and repeated plea of your name is enough to melt you, enough to make you throw all rational thought out the window, quickly throwing on a hoodie, rushing to the address he barely slurred out.
Fortunately, the restaurant he is at isn’t too far from your dorm, however it is embarrassing when you walk in and could hear him across the room, shouting for you.
“Atsumu.”
He quickly turns to you, that sloppy grin of his piercing you in the heart as he stumbles over to throw his arms around you. The scent of alcohol hits you before he does, leaving you to wonder just how much he’s had as you stagger backwards a bit before steadying the both of you. You just barely get the both of you to a cab, his constant swaying challenging you until you’re able to shove him in the vehicle, hesitating when asked where they were taking you. You didn’t know where he was staying these days, you still weren’t sure what he was doing in Kyoko, so you settle for the only address you know to go.
** “Are you serious?” Yua shouts, all but pulling out her hair.
Three weeks. That’s how long Atsumu had been back in your life and how long your best friend had been in the dark about it. You wanted to tell her about the night Atsumu called drunk, but felt it was best to do it in person since it was such a touchy subject, but when she got back, she was still so excited about the speaker and to tell you about it, you lost your nerve.
Then as the days continued to go by, you kept coming up with a reason not to tell her. What you weren’t expecting was her for to just show up out of the blue or for a fresh out of the shower Atsumu to answer the door. You felt confrontation coming and that was something you weren’t a huge fan of.
“I know it looks bad, but I can explain.”
Yua shakes her head, her lips in a straight line, foot tapping on the tile flooring. “This is why you’ve been cutting classes and missing assignments.”
“I don’t see how this is your business at all.” Atsumu glances over at Yua, an amused smirk on his lips, “jealousy doesn’t suit you, sweetheart.”
Yua turns abruptly on her heel, storming out of the dorm room and when you grab her arm, there’s tears in her eyes when she turns to face you.
“He’s changed, Yua.” There’s such a hopeful look on your face, an expression that screams that you actually believe him.
She drags her arm across her eyes, wiping away the tears, “why can’t you see he’s not good for you!”
*                      * 1 year and 10 months ago
The shuffling of your peers is lost on you, motionlessly staying in your seat as all of those around you practically bolt out after the 55 minutes long public speaking class. Your eyes are trained on the board in front of you but the notebook on your desk is unopened, your pen still capped.
It takes a few moments for you to notice the weight of the hand on your shoulder and the back and forth motion it's pushing you in. Shaking your head, you snap out of whatever daze you’ve been in and look over to see Naoki with a concerned expression on his face.
“Do you need to see the nurse?”
You shake your head, “oh, no. I was just thinking.”
He raises an eyebrow at the quick smile you throw his way before he sighs, giving into your excuse, even after only knowing each other a few months, Naoki knew when to just let things go.
“Good morn—You aren’t Yua.” You stopped your greeting when you noticed the shuffling at the chair next to you wasn’t Yua but someone you’d never seen before.
“Oh no, sorry. I’m Higashi Naoki, I just transferred here.” He gave you a big bright smile, extending his hand out.
“Uh, oh, hello.” You felt embarrassment creep up the back of your neck as you awkwardly shook his hand. Luckily your phone vibrated, allowing you to focus your attention to something else other than the rather attractive brunette sitting next to you.
You read the words on the screen, somewhat understood the meaning of them but your mind kept going back to the warm orange brown eyes that looked at you with such kindness. They reminded you of the way you felt back in high school, the way that Ushijima made sure you always felt: safe.
To your surprise, Yua had already met Naoki, they shared the glass before this one and Yua was actually excited that you two had ended up meeting. After that, the three of you were fast friends, almost as if you had all been friends for years rather than just several weeks. But not everyone was excited for your new friendship and he had no problem being very vocal about it.
Atsumu wasn’t keen on the friendship when he randomly showed up to the campus one day, seeing the two of you sitting outside, laughing. You had to run after him, he took off without letting you even introduce Naoki, trying to tell him that he was just a friend, but Atsumu seemed to already have his mind made up on what was what.
A week later, after not hearing from Atsumu you got a message from him telling you that he needed to dedicate himself more to his team, his career and being in a relationship with you just wasn’t it.
“You can copy my notes during lunch, Y/N.”
“Thanks, Nao-chan!” You smile up at him while shoving your things into your backpack. He clears his throat, blush spreading across his cheeks as he turns away from you.
** Professor A: Missing Assignments
Professor B: Make-up Test Notice
Professor C: Mandatory Advisor Meeting
XMail: Unread Messages (12)
You feel a pit in your stomach, not wanting to read the emails, already knowing the disappointed messages they held. You hadn’t been your best self lately especially when it came to your studies and had several unfinished assignments and 0’s in the gradebook. It wasn’t like this was the first time you and Atsumu had been broken up but for some reason, each time felt worse than the previous time.
Leaning back, you let out a deep sigh as you glance around at the boxes that liter the room. After you and Atsumu broke up the most recent time, Yua managed to convince you to move into her off-campus apartment. At first you didn’t like the idea, not wanting to be a burden to her or cause anyone to think anything of her with you living with her, but she wouldn’t heard anything but yes. She told you that she had the space (her parents insisted on getting her a two bedroom even though it was just her) and it was easier for her to keep an eye on you.
There are still some things that are in boxes, mostly things from Atsumu that you didn’t want to toss out, but didn’t think should be on display either. Plus, with all the catching up you had to do, there wasn’t much time for anything else especially with the schedule that Yua had made for you. The two of you shared most classes, so she had all the notes and study guides you needed and to be honest, it helped keep your mind off a certain MSBY setter.
BZZT!
Nao-chan: I’m heading up, let me in! (1:42PM)
A smile spreads across your face, pushing yourself from the desk and quickly slipping out of your room and towards the door. By the time you open it, you see him walking up the hallway and he flashes you his signature smile when his eyes meet yours.
“Nao-chan!” You crash into him, wrapping him into a hug, one that he returns effortlessly.
“What have I done to get such a warm welcome?”
“I can’t just miss you?” You tilt your head when you look up at him, stepping away from him to look him in the eye. You hold back a laugh when you see his face turn red, turning his face away from you before mumbling something along the lines of “yeah, no, that’s fine.”
You bring back two cups of juice (Yua refused to let soda into the apartment) and notice that Naoki seems to be nervous, wringing his hands together and looking down at the ground which is different that he usually acts.
“Nao-chan, what’s wrong?”
“Oh, uhm, well I wanted to ask you something.” He makes eye contact with you and you nod for him to continue, “I bought these and thought we could go together.”
He pulls something out of the inside pocket of his jacket, passing it to you and for a second your blood runs cold, eyes scanning over the item picking up the word ‘volleyball’. By the warmth suddenly on your arm, you could tell that Naoki sensed your discomfort.
“Forget it, it was a dumb idea.”
“No! It’s not, it’s just…uhm…”
“I just thought that it might be a good way to get out of the apartment and it’s an Adlers’ game so maybe you’d seen your friend.”
You scrunch your brows together before looking back at the tickets. It was for a game between the Schweiden Adlers and Tachibana Red Falcons, a smile spread across your face, a mix of excitement to see Ushijima play again (his play style is still one of your favorites) but also that Naoki remembered these little facts about you.
“I’d love to go. I’ll call Ushijima and tell him we’ll be there!” You give him a quick hug, rushing to your room to get your phone, leaving a smiling Naoki behind.
** Naoki smiles watching you all but vibrate as you wait in line to go into the gym. The game had been all you talked about for the last two weeks, eager to get out of the apartment for anything other than classes or your on-campus job. You spent most of your free time telling Naoki just how amazing Ushijima is on the court and how he had already asked to meet Naoki, who seemed a bit nervous when you mentioned that.
“I didn’t know you liked watching volleyball, Nao-chan. Did you play in school?”
“Oh, uh no. The person I’m interested in likes it, so I thought I’d learn more about it.” He hands over the tickets, the two of you being ushered into to the building. His shoulder brushes yours due to the large amount of people all in the crowed hallway.
“I didn’t know you had your eye on someone! I’ll teach you all I know about volleyball so you can impress them!” You beam a huge smile at Naoki before your attention is pulled to the other side of the hallway. “Nao-chan! Let’s get t-shirts!”
He follows you as you drag him towards a table set up with shirts to memorialize the game. You intended to get matching ones, but due to size differences, you had a settle with a white shirt for you and a black on for Naoki. After you reluctantly let him pay, the two of you make your way to the gym, Ushijima had seats held for the two of you.
Once the whistle blew, you were back in your element, a huge smile on your face watching Ushijima command the court just like he had been for as long as you could remember. For the first time in years, you feel light and free, happier than you can remember being. Ushijima catches your eye at some point during the second set and you eagerly wave to him, giving him that same toothy grin you did as kids.
** “Toshi!” You barely give him time to turn around, running straight into him as you throw your arms around him, both Toshi and Naoki chuckle at the fact you managed to knock Toshi off balance for a few seconds.
“Y/N.” He pulls you into his broad chest and if you hadn’t known him for years, you wouldn’t believe that this tall and muscular man was the same boy who ran around with a watering can that was almost as big as him. “I’m glad you came today, it’s been a while.”
“Since high school.” You bite your lower lip and notice that Toshi squeezes your arm, a gesture he’d do to comfort you. He gives you a reassuring wink, letting you know that there’s no hard feelings about the past before he looks over at Naoki, “are you going to introduce me to your boyfriend?”
“Oh no! No, no, no.” You stumble over your words, frantically waving your hands around.
“I’m Higashi Naoki, nice to meet you.”
“Nao-chan is just a friend.”
Linking your arm with his, you look back at him and see his smile drop for a split second before it reappears while shaking hands with Ushijima but that quickly leaves your mind when you see a familiar poof of orange hair. But before you can take the time to figure out who he is, you hear an accent that you don’t think you’ll ever be able to forget.
“Just friends, huh?”
Your eyes widen in horror, immediately turning and seeing the familiar sight of golden yellow hair walking away from you.
“Y/N—” Naoki reaches out to grab your arm, but you’ve already started running after Atsumu, calling out his name as you rushed to catch up to him, weaving through the crowded hallways.
“Tsumu!” You finally grab ahold of his wrist, trying to pull him back but instead he just yanks you forward as he tries to get his arm away from you.
“Don’t call me that.” His tone is icy with an expression that matches, “why are you even here?”
“I came to see Tos—Ushijima.”
“I mean why are you here talking to me, you are clearly on a date with what’s his face.”
“Nao-chan? We’re just friends, it was just to get out of the apartment and have fun.” Your voice is trembling, bottom lip quivering listening to the harsh tone of his voice.
He scoffs, rolling his eyes, “you were all over him, just stop lying.”
“No! I wasn’t.” The tears you’ve been trying to hold back now slip down your cheeks, you couldn’t figure out why he was acting like this especially when you were broken up.
“I never thought you’d end up like all those other girls, just another pig wanting to date me for status.”
Your heart is pounding loudly in your ears that you don’t hear whatever else he mumbled before turning and walking away, your arm weakly reaches out to him before your knees hit the vinyl flooring. After several moments pass, you feel someone pull you up and wrap their arms around you, the familiar scent of men’s body wash washes over you.
“Thank you.” You choke out, the comforting embrace causing more tears to fall.
“Best friends forever, right?”
*                      * 1 year and 3 months ago
“Are people looking at me?”
“Huh?” Yua raises an eyebrow as she looks over at you.
“There’s a psychology term for that feeling, it’s called spotlight effect.” Naoki says, trying to reassure you that no one’s looking.
“No, I think she’s right.” Yua stretches an arm out in front of him, causing him to stop walking before you drop your backpack on the ground, shocked.
Atsumu is standing on campus, wearing a suit, carrying a stupidly large bouquet of flowers, going around asking where you are, all but shouting your name to the sky. Part of you wants to disappear, of course he’d choose to stand in the middle of campus, catching everyone’s attention.
You trip slightly over your bag, marching towards him, barely hearing Naoki calling after you before Atsumu’s attention snaps to you, his eyes locking in on yours.
“Y/N!” Gleefully, he scurries towards you, handing the bouquet to you, it’s heavier than you thought it’d be.
“Atsumu, what are you doing?”
“I want, no, I need to talk to you.” He drops down to his knees and you can hear the increase of hushed tones, you glance back to see a very confused Yua and Naoki wears a horrified expression. “I’d like to try again, please.”
“Atsumu…”
“I’m not leaving until you talk to me.”
“Okay, okay, just…please get up. People are staring.” You try to hide your face behind the flowers, the pure embarrassment causing your face to burn.
He pushes himself off the ground, grabbing your hand as he pulls you towards the faculty parking lot. It doesn’t feel like you are in your own body, your legs moving to keep up with him before he stops.
Once again, he drops down to his knees, grabbing your hands with his, pleading with you to listen to him, to believe that he really means it when he tells you that he’s changed, asking you for just one more shot. For most of his speech, you look at the top of his head, seeing that the golden yellow is being overtaken by his natural dark brown roots, your fingers twitch, wanting to run through his hair. It’s when you finally lock eyes with him that you see the tears that line them, a single one slipping down his cheek from the corner of his right eye.
“I shouldn’t have come.” He wipes his eyes, sniffling a bit. He squeezes your hands before he stands up, letting you go. “I’m sorry for doing this you.”
There’s no way to explain it, but he seems different and suddenly you want to see this new him, to be the one that gets to be part of this new and mature Atsumu. Throwing all your sense out the window, pushing the rational and logical voices of Yua and Naoki to the back of your head, you wrap your arms around him, pressing your face into his back and you can feel his heart pounding in his chest.
“Don’t go.”
*                      * 9 months ago
“Y/N! Door!”
Still in the process of buttoning your shirt, you poke your head out of your room, “I’m almost done, can you get it, please?”
Yua and Naoki share a look, when you had told them you decided to get back with Atsumu they weren’t shy about telling you how they were against it, that as your friend they hated seeing you so hurt, but they also told you that they weren’t just going to leave you either. It had been an unspoken rule that when it came to all things Atsumu (including opening the door) that they didn’t want to be part of it, for you to keep that part of your life away, unless he did something to hurt you.
Naoki reluctantly gets up, you can tell by the way he sluggishly walks his way towards the door. Dipping back into your room, you finish getting ready, grabbing your phone and sweater before pulling the door shut behind you.
You hear the door slam shut and look to see an irritated Naoki, “where’s Tsumu?” Naoki goes to speak, but you don’t give him a chance, instead just rush out of the apartment.
“Tsumu! Tsumu!” You shout out to him, barely catching his attention as he presses the button for the elevator. “Where are you going?”
He clenches his fist; the gesture catches your eye. “Home. I didn’t sign up to be humiliated tonight.” He looks at you, a type of rage in his eyes that you’ve never seen before and you aren’t sure what could’ve happened to make him so upset. Since he showed up on campus, begging for another chance eh always made sure to be open about his feelings.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. You have to tell me, Tsumu.”
“I just don’t like him being in your apartment.”
The elevator dings, doors opening and just as he goes to step into it, you pull back on his arm, pleading with him to stay, tears filling your eyes. He jerks his arm from your grip, not that you were holding on that tightly, and he steps into the elevator.
You aren’t sure why your relationship is like this, why it has so many ups and downs, why it hurts this much. You aren’t sure why being with Atsumu is so hard, why it feels like all you see is his back while he walks away from you, leaving you broken each time. In high school, you hated the almost boring way each day with Ushijima felt, but in this moment, you’d give anything for that because at least back then you felt safe and knew where you stood.
*                      * 5 months ago
For the last four months, Atsumu spoiled you rotten with daily gifts and elaborate dates. You received a flower a day, it was the flower of your birth month, boxes of your favorite candies, along with cards that had some romantic quote in them.
For dates, he takes you to the best restaurants, buys out move theatres, flies you to various parts of Japan to not only watch his games, but to show you around. When you’re together, he actually listens to you, takes his time to finally get to ask you about your upbringing, family, and where you see yourself in five years. He shows you how he’s remembered things you don’t like and even the things that you do and for the first time in the two plus years you’ve known him, it feels like things are starting to even out, that all the turmoil might just be over.
** “Do you like it?” His accent drips from his words, you’ve noticed the accent gets thicker when he’s either nervous or excited.
You glance around the empty apartment, a bit confused as why you’re standing in the middle of it. You thought that Yua apartment was big, considering it had two bedrooms, but this seems to be even bigger than hers. The large windows allow an abundance of natural light and you really do like that.
“It’s a really nice apartment.” You smile as he walks over to you, pulling you into his toned chest, his chin on your forehead.
“I’m glad, it’s yours.”
You pull back, shock written all over your expression, too many thoughts racing through your mind for you to form a sentence. Atsumu did a lot of crazy things, did a lot of spur of the moment things, but this, this really did top them all. “What?”
He shrugs, digging in his pocket before placing a key in your hand, he looks a bit scared to you. “It’s just…my lease was up and I know it’s a bit further from campus than Yua’s, but I was thinking you’d like to live here…with me.”
Without any hesitation, you throw your arms around Atsumu, repeatedly saying “yes” as you awkwardly bounced up and down. When you pull back, he cups your face in his hands, bringing you closer for a kiss.
You can’t stop smiling, eagerly nodding your head as Atsumu talks about furniture and getting your things boxed to be moved, not really hearing anything because all you can think of is that things are finally going to work out between the two of you and that’s why your heart is thumping against your chest.
*                      * 3 months ago
Two months.
8 weeks.
60.8 days.
That’s how long your relationship of bliss lasted, how long you saw the caring and loving version of Atsumu, the side of him that stole your heart even after months and years of back and forth, ups and down, on and off.
You hate it because things were going so well, everything was perfect, even better than how great things had been with Ushijima back in high school. What you hate even more is the fact that while you had been packing up your things, you said some not so nice things to Yua, telling her that she was wrong about him, that this time things were going to work out. You had all but bragged and even hit below the belt with saying she was just jealous that she didn’t have someone that loved her the way Atsumu loves you.
Nine times out of ten you’re alone in this apartment, your music on the highest volume isn’t loud enough to fill the silence that creeps through the rooms and wraps around you and when the silence gets to you, you’re forced to think about things you’d rather not. Like how right Yua had been, how Naoki was only looking out for you, how every time you got back together with Atsumu, it just seemed to hurt worse than the time before.
During that one time of ten that Atsumu is home, the two of you just fight, you fight about everything really; your classes, his games, your friends, his friends and now that you’re all but isolated from your friends, it just makes things worse. You’ve always hated comparing the two, Ushijima to Atsumu, knowing both relationships are/were different, but recently, you’ve wondered if repeating the same day over and over, if that almost suffocating comfort, you wonder if that would be easier to live with now when looked at next to the way your current relationship has been.
*                      * Atsumu flips his phone face down, muting it after it had begun to ring, turning his attention back to the movie the two of you were watching.
You scoff, pushing yourself off his side to lean against the other side of the sofa.
“Don’t start.”
“Start what? I was just getting more comfortable.”
“Cut the shit. You always do this.”
You roll your eyes, already irritated. “Did you want me to leave the room so you could call her back?”
“This is exactly what I’m talking about.” He pushes himself off the couch, shaking his head as he storms into the kitchen.
You reach across the couch, swiping his phone from the armrest, trying to get into it, but no surprise he’s once against changed the passcode. You’re fuming at this point, shoving yourself off the couch before you start to walk to your room. You were done, have been done with all of this.
His hand tightly wraps around your wrist and jerks you backwards towards him. He starts yelling, demanding that you give him back his phone and the anger in you takes over and you throw it across the room. You start to scream about how you’re done, you’re tired and don’t deserve to feel this miserable. He yells back telling you that he’s giving you things anyone would be thankful to have and you smack him with your free hand.
He freezes, dropping your wrist as he runs his fingers through his hair, the expression on his face is something you’ve never seen and without another word, he storms out of the apartment.
You didn’t see him for three weeks, if it hadn’t been for his teammates Hinata and Bokuto stopping by, you wouldn’t have known that he’s okay and has been staying with them. When he does come back, he has a long-winded apology and a large bouquet of flowers. He falls to his knees in the door way, telling you that he’s sorry, that he can’t believe his actions and that he swears that he’ll do better.
*                      * Present Day
When you open the door, Yua throws her arms around you, pulling you into a comforting embrace and you feel yourself start to sob again. She holds you up as your knees get weak, letting the exhaustion take over you as you inhale her familiar perfume.
Naoki slightly pushes by the two of you, angrily making his way through the apartment, brows scrunched into a scowl. You watch as he flings open every door, stomping through each room before he walks back to you, rage radiating off of him. “Where the fuck is he?”
You’re startled, panicking you look up at Yua who wraps her arm around your neck and pulls you back into her, your face pressing just below the top of her shoulder.
“Obviously not here, so chill out.”
She ushers you over to the couch, Naoki handing you the throw blanket to wrap around yourself as you finally catch your breath. You lean your head on the back of the couch, it just adds pressure to your headache, but you’re having a hard time opening up to your friends.
“How’d you know something was wrong?” You slowly lift your head up, looking between the two of them, your face turning red when you hear that you called Naoki repeatedly around 2AM, leaving incoherent voicemails where they only picked up on the words: fight, Atsumu and leave.
“I really think you should move back in with me.” Yua speaks with caution, knowing how sensitive the topic is.
You just nod, defeatedly. You’re more upset about failing to maintain the relationship than you are that the relationship is over. Part of you wants to know why you put yourself through so much to prove you could stay with him, was it because you didn’t want your previous break-up to mean nothing? That if you could make this one work then you weren’t an awful person for ending things with Ushijima for an almost comical reason?
“Just pack what you have to have and we’ll replace whatever you don’t bring and need, okay?” Naoki gives you a small smile before Yua stands up telling you that she’ll grab your things from the bathroom and Naoki can get the things throughout the living room.
Roughly half an hour later, you have most of the things you brought, minus any gifts that Atsumu gave you, but you can’t seem to step through the threshold. Yua and Naoki are standing in the hallway waiting, but you’re afraid to make the step because all of a sudden it symbolizing a bigger commitment that you intended. Once you step out of the apartment, once you shut the door and drop the key in the box, you’re officially shutting the Miya Atsumu chapter of your life and that shakes you to the core.
“Y/N, you’re going to be okay. We’re right here. I’m right here.” Naoki reaches out his hand and you decide to take that leap, grabbing on to his hand like a lifeline. Your knees are wobbly as you place one foot into the hallway, straddling the threshold. “C’mon, just one more step. I got you.”
You squeeze your eyes shut, frantically taking that last step before throwing your arms around Naoki, repeatedly saying “I did it!” He puts his hand on the back of your head, pressing you into him, telling you that he’s proud of you.
You take one last look into the apartment that for some reason now fills small, it feels different, like you no longer belong there and while you’re still terrified of letting go of the rope that ties you and Atsumu together, there’s something exhilarating about starting over. Your eyes are closed as you pull the door shut and when you turn and open them, you see proud smiles on both Yua and Naoki’s faces and you couldn’t help but be excited for this next chapter.
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argumentl · 3 years
Text
The Freedom of Expression, radio version - Ep 48, Sep 2016 - Judge posts pictures of himself in his underpants on Twitter, Olympic marathon runner Neko Hiroshi, PM Abe as Mario at 2016 Olympic closing ceremony.
Kaoru starts by saying August is now over, which means summer is over too. Joe says he hasn't done any summery activities at all this year, apart from attending music festivals, and watching fireworks from his roof top once. Kaoru says that compared to him, thats pretty good.
The first topic they discuss starts with the headline, 'Strict warning for judge in white briefs, pictured everywhere on social media'. Joe expands on the story, explaining that this relates to Tokyo High Court judge Okaguchi Kiichi, who had uploaded pictures to his own personal Twitter of his naked upper body, and pictures of himself wearing only a pair of white briefs. He has recieved a strict warning from the High Court to desist such posting. Okaguchi is also know for posting about varied issues such as news from the judiciary, the protection of the rights of minorities, opposition to hate-speech, and ridiculing the special treatment afforded to civil servants (which he himself enjoys). He has gained quite a few fans over the white briefs incident.
Joe says there have been two types of reaction to the news. One is that the warning is warranted - The high court needs to be a trustworthy institution, and doesn't need association with things like this, which could potentially damage that trustworthy image. Conversely, the other reaction is that knowing the personality of the judge at a trial makes the trial more reliable. Other voices have been raised in a similar tone asking, 'Don't judges have freedom of expression too?'. Joe says that if you check the Constitution in reagrds to judges' freedom of expresion, they are forbidden from making political statements, but do not really face any other restrictions. It is questionable whether Okaguchi's tweets are in conflict with this. Okaguchi made the following remark on Twitter about this case: 'Information about judges is covered in a secret veil in this country. As a developed nation, can't we do better? Isn't is strange that there is no way to find out anything about the judge who will decide your trial?'. Joe asks Kaoru what he thinks about this.
Kaoru can understand both sides to an extent. Okaguchi is comitting no crime, but at the same time he can understand those who say that people involved in a trial want to see the judge as a person who thinks seriously about him/herself. This issue is quite complex.
Joe worries about bans on this kind of activity. He says that a lot of the criticism towards Okaguchi raises the point that judges ought to be neutral and fair in their conduct. But Joe thinks its very difficult to define what 'neutral' and 'fair' actually are. For example, is a 10% tax on everyone 'fair', or is it fairer to tax the very wealthy 20%, and the very poor 5%? 'Fair' is an ambiguous concept, therefore he is worried about a judge being restricted in this regard.
Kaoru agrees, but admits that the photos of Okaguchi in a pair of small underpants make him feel a bit gross. However, he also says that Okaguchi may be very well aware that his posts have the potential to cause him a disadvantage, but the fact that he still does it may help push society in a new direction, which is a good thing. Kaoru acknowledges and questions the existence of the 'veil of secrecy' surrounding judges as people. He is not sure whether we really need to see them in their underpants though 😂
Next, Tasai joins them for the Tokyo Sports corner. Tasai comments that its the first show they've recorded since the live special. For the live special, Kaoru had brought 'Okakimaki/おかき巻き' from his hometown as a snack for everyone. This a little known regional snack made in Nishinomiya, Hyōgo prefecture, and consists of persimmon wrapped in sweet senbei. Kaoru says that even most people in his hometown probably don't know of it, but the store that sells it is actually a well-known Japanese sweets store in the area (*Possibly Kankōdō/観光堂*).
Tasai's first topic is about the Olympics, as Dobashi has just finished up there - firstly, in relation to marathon runner/comedian Neko Hiroshi, who had changed his nationality to Cambodian in order to compete in the Olympic marathon. He had finished the marathon 37mins slower than the top time, and it had seemed like a pretty tough race, but his fellow celebs back in Japan thought it was the ultimate joke just seeing him compete. There was no need to even make any extra jokes about it. Kaoru and Joe are not sure about this, but think its pretty impressive that he did compete and finish, considering the pressure he must have been under. Neko's common gag/catchphrase is 'Nya~', but he apparently changed it to 'Mya~' when he finished the race, this being the Cambodian word for 'meow'. They wonder whether people in Cambodia actually know he is also a comedian in Japan.
Tasai's second Olympics topic is about the closing ceremony for the 2016 Olympics, in particular about Prime Minister Abe appearing dressed as Mario for the handover at the end, plus the film that accompanied this. There have been both positive and negative reactions to this. Kaoru says he watched this part of the ceremony, and he liked the film, but thought the overall performance was a bit odd. Abe didn't have as much of a punch as you'd expect from Mario. Tasai asks what Joe thinks of it. Joe admits he is not a fan of Abe or his politics, so he can't really say. He is at least happy that security in Rio had stablised enough for this to take place. Whether you like it or not, the ending did have an impact. He also admits that when he saw the newspaper the following day, he initially had no idea what Abe was doing, being completely unaware of the gaming world as he is.
Kaoru says he is looking forward to hearing some juicy stories from Dobashi when he gets back (the Olympic condoms too, adds Tasai).
To finish, Kaoru plugs Dir's tours. He says he met with staff and members the previous day to discuss the setlist for the DSS tour.
 Songs - Dir en grey/Utafumi, Converge/Dark Horse, Dir en grey/Decayed Crow.
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slowly-writing · 4 years
Text
Normal’s Boring
Natasha Romanoff x Daughter!Reader
Word Count:  2561
Part 2: Life Saver
a/n: This got really long, my bad. I hope you all enjoy it
Being a teenager living in the Avengers compound was a little weird. You constantly had Shield agents running in and out and there was always the fear of an attack. Maybe that was just the collective PTSD of your family, but they made sure you were always prepared. You learned how to fight and protect yourself at a young age, your mom was the Black Widow after all. The fact that you could take care of yourself didn’t change the fact that you essentially had half a dozen overprotective parents. They would all jump to protect you at the first sign of trouble. Having that many people living in one place made sure your life was never boring, that’s for sure.
“Hey, Uncle Tony!” You call as you walk into the compound after school.
“Hey, kid. How was school today?” Tony asks with a smile.
“Fine,” you say with a shrug, “schools boring, I could learn way more here.”
“C’mon, y/n. You need a well rounded education. You have to know more than just how to fight,” Tony argues.
“You guys could teach me! You and Uncle Bruce know way more about math and science than any of my teachers could ever dream of. Uncle Steve lived through all the stuff I’m learning in history right now! Did you know I learned about you guys last week? Do you know how embarrassing it is to have your mom be the topic of class? Everyone made fun of me for days! I stick out like a sore thumb!”
“I’m sorry kid, but that’s part of the experience. You gotta be around people your age sometimes.”
“Wanda’s practically my age! She’s only a few years older than me! She’d go to school with me if you all made her go,” you try and Tony shakes his head.
“This is a conversation you need to have with your mom,” he says, “I’m not getting in the middle of that fight.”
“Where is Mom, anyway?” You ask and Tony avoids eye contact.
“Last second mission, she should be back in a few days,” he explains with a sigh. Everyone knows how upset you get everytime she leaves. Not only is it frustrating that she disappears, you’re worried. You’ve lost track of all the times various members of your family have come back with injuries, some worse than others.
“Any idea where?” You ask and he shakes his head.
“That’s classified, kid. But I’m sure it’s fine. If it was big they wouldn’t have sent her in alone,” he says trying to calm you down.
“She’s alone?!” you yell and he winces.
“Okay, obviously shouldn’t have told you that. She’ll be okay, y/n. She’s the best there is. She always comes back. I promise it’ll be okay,” he says and you nod before silently leaving to go to your room.
This was the worst part of being an Avenger’s kid. Your mom disappeared constantly. You would never blame her for it, of course, she was saving lives. If it wasn’t for her missions she never would’ve adopted you
You were three years old living in Budapest with your family at the time. Hydra had popped up again and your town was caught in the cross hairs. It was chaos, people were down everywhere and buildings were on fire. You don’t remember very much, just being really scared and then suddenly Natasha and Clint were there. Natasha had taken you in her arms and gotten you to safety. You immediately felt safer in her arms. She brought you home with her, and the rest was history.
While her missions were important you couldn’t help but wish you could spend more time together. Growing up you were constantly thrown from Avenger to Avenger. Whoever was available to take care of you became the stand in parent for that week.
You shake your head softly and sit down behind your desk to start on homework.
~~~~
The next morning you were in a bad mood. Everyone was trying to help you out, but nobody quite knew your routine as well as your mom, you just wanted her to come home. Steve woke you up at 4am and you were halfway through getting ready before you realized you were going to be two hours early. You switched gears and got to train with him for a few hours though, which was fun. After a few hours you shower and start getting your stuff ready to go.
Clint had been trying to clean up yesterday and apparently moved your backpack to some mysterious location. You spent the better part of an hour searching the entire compound for it before you find it in Wanda’s room.
“I thought it was hers! You’re both teenagers. It’s hard to tell what belongs to who!” Clint argues and you roll your eyes.
“She doesn’t even go to school, Uncle Clint! Which is completely unfair by the way,” you say pointing at Wanda.
“That’s what you earn when you’re an Avenger,” she smirks and you glare.
“I’ve been here longer, I should be an Avenger by now,” you grumble, jumping on one foot trying to find your shoe.
“Here, y/n. I made you lunch,” Bruce says with a smile, handing you a paper bag.
“Thanks Uncle Bruce!” You say, pausing when you look in the bag. “Hey what kind of sandwich is this?”
“Peanut butter and jelly, why?” He asks and you grimmance as the entire room seems to stop.
“I can’t eat this.”
“Why not?” Bruce furrows his brow as Tony walks over.
“Peanut allergy, man. Are you trying to kill the kid?” Tony yells handing you a few bucks to buy lunch at school.
“Here, Wanda,” you call tossing her the bag. “A genuine school lunch, welcome to the real world.”
“Nobody tell Nat about the peanuts, she’ll flip!” Clint cuts in and you nod.
“Come on, y/n, you’re gonna miss the bus!” Steve calls and you glance at the clock.
“Uh, yeah that ship has sailed.”
“What? How? I woke you up three hours ago!” He yells and you raise your hands in surrender.
“Yell at Uncle Clint! He’s the one who hid my backpack!” you argue.
“Well why’d you leave it in the living room?”
“I’m in high school! That’s what high schoolers do! I guess I’ll just stay home today,” you try and you’re met with four simultanious eye rolls.
“Yeah right, your mom will kill us if we don’t get you to school,” Bruce says and you frown.
“Okay enough. Here, take a car,” Tony says tossing you a set of keys.
“Am I missing the part where somebody taught me to drive?” you ask looking at the keys in your hands.
“You’re seventeen! You don’t know how to drive?” Tony asks and you look around the room.
“Do you see the chaos that sprung from you guys trying to get me ready for school? Do you really think mom would’ve trusted any of you to teach me how to operate heavy machinery?”
“Why didn’t she teach you?” Bruce asks and you smile sadly.
“Do you see her here right now? She’s too busy,” you shrug and Tony sighs.
“Okay, come on. I’ll drive you,” he says leading you to the garage.
xxxxx
You sigh as you pull up to school. The expensive sports car doesn’t really help you blend in.
“Have a good day, kiddo” Tony calls after you as you head inside and you force a smile.
“Thanks, Uncle Tony.”
You can hear the whispers as you walk through the halls.
“How does she know Tony Stark?” a Sophomore whispers.
“That’s Black Widow’s kid! She, like, lives with the Avengers or something,” some Junior girl responds and you shove your hands in your pockets and hurry to class.
“Before we start today, I thought it’d be fun to discuss some more recent history. We’ll be discussing the battle of New York ,” your history teacher states and you sigh, trying to sink deeper into your seat, “Miss Romanoff, why don’t you give us a rundown of what you know.”
“An Asgardian brought an alien army down on New York. The Avengers fought him off,” you stated plainly. The teachers always called you out when it came to anything Avengers related, you hated the attention it brought.
“You must know more than that,” your teacher encouraged.
“Well yeah, my Mom and my Uncles kicked ass, but isn’t telling the class that your job?” you ask and your teacher glares.
“That’s very disrespectful Miss Romanoff. Do I need to call your Mother?”
“Like you’d have the courage to talk to her” You say with a huff, “you’d neve have get ahold of her anyway,” you grumble under your breath.
“Miss Romanoff! This is your last chance, would you like detention?” you know you’re right but you sigh.
“No, sir. I apologize.”
“Okay then, anyone else?”
“Sure made a hell of a mess in the city. It took the city months to rebuild,” a kid named Chad says and you glare.
“Let’s see you fight off an alien army! See how well you do!” You yell, slamming your hand on your desk. You can feel your face getting red.
“I’d at least-”
“Enough!” your teacher cuts you both off. “Battles always cause a mess. Look at any war in American history. Moving on, back to our discussion of World War Two”
“Your family fought in that one too. Maybe you’re the common denominator, Roamanoff,” Chad whispers from behind you and you clench your jaw, your teacher not hearing Chad’s comments.
xxxxx
“You sure are quiet without the teacher here to protect you, huh?” Chad says pushing you into the lockers, “where are your precious Avengers now?”
He punches you and goes to push you again. Your mom made you promise not to start fights when she started training you, but since he threw the first punch you have him on his back before he realizes what’s happening. He looks shocked and you roll your eyes, “I was raised by superheroes dipshit. Now run along and I won’t tell anyone how fast I had you pinned.”
He gets up rubbing the back of his head, he must’ve hit it when he fell. Your not too worried, it’s not like he can get any dumber. He looks at you over his shoulder as he practically runs down the hall. You straighten out your jacket and walk towards your next class.
xxxxxx
“Hey Uncle Steve? Can you help me with this?” you ask, walking into the living room.
“Sure, y/n. What’s your question?”
“I need to know what year Captain America started fighting during World War Two,” you say rolling your eyes.
“I’m part of your history homework?” he asks with a smirk and you nod.
“It’s kind of weird having to answer questions about my uncle for my homework.”
“I know kid, but hey, you have all the answers right here,” he teases and you smile.
“Helping my kid cheat, Rogers?” you hear from behind you and you jump up.
“Mom! You’re home!” you yell crashing into her arms, “Are you okay? How was the mission?”
“Yeah, sweetheart. It was fine, I’m okay.” She says holding you tight, “now what’s this I hear about cheating?”
“It’s not cheating, Mom!” You argue, “the questions are about him! I’m just cutting out the middleman!”
“You’re learning about your Uncle Steve in school?” your mom asks, her brow furrowed, and you nod.
“I learn about all of you,” you tilt your head, “did you guys not realize that? We talked about the battle of New York today. Almost got me sent to the office,” you grumble, crossing your arms.
“What was that?” your Mom raises an eyebrow.
“My teacher wanted me to tell everyone about it! Just because you fought in it! I’m not the teacher! That’s not my job! It’s his! It’s not my fault my family got mixed up in every damn battle in the history of the world” you argue and your mom sighs.
“I’m sorry, y/n.”
“What, why?” you ask, confused at the change of tone.
“It can’t be easy, living the life you do. You should get to live a normal life. I should’ve thought of this before bringing you home,” she says, looking down and shaking her head.
“Are you… are you saying you wish you didn’t adopt me?” you asks softly, tears welling up in your eyes. “I know it’s hard having a kid, but you still get to do your job. You’re gone all the time anyway-”
“Hey y/n, no!” her head snaps up and she takes your hands, “adopting you was the best thing I’ve ever done. Don’t think for a second that I regret bringing you home. Honey, does it upset you that I’m gone so much?” she questions and you look at the ground.
“Kinda,” you shrug, “I miss you a lot and everything’s a mess without you. Uncle Steve woke me up too early because he didn’t know what time I got up and I missed the bus and I couldn’t drive myself because I never learned how and Uncle Bruce tried to give me peanuts and I wasn’t supposed to tell you that. Please don’t be mad-” you start spiralling and your mom cuts you off.
“Y/n, look at me. I’m not mad,” she says softly, wiping the tears you didn’t even realize had begun falling from your eyes.
“I just get really scared everytime you leave. What if you don’t come back?” you whisper and she shakes her head.
“Love, I will always come back. I promise.”
“But you can’t promise that!” You yell, “people don’t always come back! My birth parents died on one of your missions. I can’t lose you too.”
“Okay, it’s okay,” she pulls you into her arms and you hold on tight. “How about this, I can cut back. I can’t promise I’ll never go on missions, but I can make sure I’m home more. I can teach you how to drive, and I can help you with your homework. I’ll make sure Bruce never touches your food again and I’ll make sure you can have a normal life.’
“Normal’s boring,” you cut in softly, “if I had a normal life I wouldn’t have been able to knock Chad on his ass when he punched me.”
“He what now?” Your mom pulls back with a glare and you’re suddenly very scared for Chad’s life. Your mom is an assassin after all.
“He was making fun of you guys and we got in a fight. But he only got one hit in! You told me not to start a fight and I didn’t! I waited until he did.”
Your mom shakes her head and pulls you into her arms again.
“I’m glad your home,” you bury your face in her shoulder, “I really missed you.”
“I missed you too, love. What about a movie night, just me and you?”
“Yeah!” you look up, seeing Steve has already disappeared and your mom leads you over to the couch.
You cuddle close to her as the movie starts, the safest place in the world to you is still in her arms. Sure, you may not have a normal life, but normal is overrated anyway.
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Note
Hey!! 👋🏽😄 I know you said in your last rant about SK8 and Reki and Renga that you were one of those people that always looks up and learns from others, but after your last Langa edit, I just wanted to remind you how immensely talented you are. I might have not seen your first attempts at editing, but I know how it looks like when you're barely starting something, and I'm sure everyone is proud of the progress you've made and many people looks up to you as the level of skill they want to achieve. You're doing amazing! 💖💖💖
Hi, my love!!!!!! ASDFSDFGHG that’s soooo sweet, thank you so much for saying this, it really means the world to me <3 Oh, haha I’ve deleted most of my old videos so it wouldn’t hurt anyone’s eyes lmao T_T I’m still a bit nervous each time I’m uploading my vids to the day to be honest, even with so many subs rn, but at first I really didn’t have any supporters at all and my god I sucked at this, but I guess the love for my fav ships was stronger apparently haha. So I always get silly happy at each nice comment and feedback, so thank you seriously. 
I really love love love vidding, Idk why but when smth comes out the way I wanted it’s a super addictive feeling for some reason, but many times I just looked at the final result and just threw it in the trash and started over and my god how many times SonyVegas crushed and didn’t autosave the project. I’m like Suga now, I’m pressing the save button each 2 minutes, cause don’t want to lose anything xD Being someone’s inspiration is truly an honor to me, I’ve got some messages that hit me too hard. Still feels weird bc I’m like “but do you know that I can’t even use photoshop tho, how do u like me now then?” lol.
I’m always drawn to talented characters, bc they amaze me, esp the humble ones. Like those who hate Haru or Lanaga just buffle me honestly. I understand that they’re pretty and talented and everything, but they’re also the sweetest and loveliest human beings, so like...??? And I adore those who don’t whine and get what they want. I just can’t help it. I’m a strong believer in the fact that "you can do anything if you put your mind to it”. So far it worked in real life so suck it lol.
People are also saying like Langa doesn’t deserve to win this and Haru doesn’t deserve to be in Olympics, like Langa didn’t snowboard since he was 2 and Haru wasn’t swimming every day since he was born. I’m like.. and you need to check in the mirror if your face is a shade of green. BTW I’ve also been in a professional sports for quite a long time since I was a little kid, ballroom dancing and adored it back then, and I did not get jealous at ppl who were talented than me, I was watching the tapes actually with a popcorn. And oh god those large competition events when you sit there for days and give it all, but then you’re like 296 out of 1000. Why was I proud instead of being sad? Idk xD It was fun.
So thanks for liking the vid, cause I even regretted uploading it a bit yesterday. Sadly everyone already knows that we lost this fandom to the middle schoolers being extra, so they do not care for anything each episode except for this ship, so that’s what I got for posting a just Langa vid:
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And etc. and that just made me sad, cause I do not like such fandoms, like it’s not even related to the video, that I’ve been making... with love.  Also thanks for the "sama” title, I’m flattered, but editor only wants to vid matchablossom for now, so like there’s no need for any warnings. I’ve been in such horrendoes fandoms, that I’m immune to this. I also in fact didn’t know some keep ruining Langa’s page and saying that he steals Reki’s screen time... cause he’s aparently the only main character...? ...lmao? I didn’t even know Langa can be hated tbh. I wasn’t really ready for all the drama that followed me making a vid about him.
I’ve already deleted some comments, cause I’m like what this even has to do with the vid about Langa? No, I am not obliged to make a vid about Reki, too. What if I post a matchablossom vid, everyone will only start commenting “do renga”, cause fuck your efforts? I’m like... I hate such fanbases, seriously. I do not even know where this is going, but their fans are already pissing me off. I’m still trying hard for this to not affect my point of view about the ship, cause it’d be kinda unfair to them, but its getting harder each week istg.
And I maybe can’t take requests, but I love when some try to get me addicted on their ship with passion and great arguments. It happened to me with some nice ppl. But def not with agression and stupidity haha.
Cause apparently its one of the fandoms where you can’t NOT care for the main ship, even if you accept it for the only possible Langa ship (cause he doesn’t give a shit for anyone else, so like what’s the point), but it doesn’t do anything for you. I’m like... thanks for threatening. This will make me on board ASAP. Like it’s not the epitomy of love to me... I’m sorry? LMAO 
Some anon even sent me a “you’re dense” (literally thats it) ask after that Reki ask. I was tempted to write smth like “oh I’m sorry, this is the most epic love story of my life and his character is the most complex in the world and he’s the best friend and the most inspiring human being that ever hit my screen. can I become undense now? xD”. But you know I do not know if they’d realise the sarcasm and my pride sadly never allowed me to sell my life values for a bunch of 12 years olds to love me lol
My sister always laughs and jokingly says “but you’d probably get much more subs if you made a vid about this or that, but at what price that would be lmao”. Cause yeah, I never could make myself vid smth I do not like, cause I love vidding and do not want it to be associated with things I do not like, plus it’ll most likely turn out ugly, if I do not care. My mom says that she can feel love I put in my shipping vids that’s why she loves them. I really don’t think she’s wrong. But that also kinda makes me an idiot technically, cause I’m not into many of the popular ships, and some popular animes I just find really basic. 
Also I’m like 100% sure it ain’t happening, but even if they miraculously suck each other’s dicks while sitting on a skate board, I can still have the rights not to care at the end. Like did I sign some form where I’m obliged to love each and everyone canon gay ship even if it’s not what I like? Like gay is not the type of love in relationships. You can only care about his ass like Lan Zhan for example or you can only care about your ass. Like that’s different types of relationships, and whatever you like you like. So get all the way of people’s backs, please.
Also do ppl know that you do not need to be blind to the bad sides of the characters in your ships? Or you just gonna be like “I suddenly can’t see” for forever.
So really thanks for such wonderful message and liking the video and for the boosts when I need them and not being an ass to me if I’m not being obsessed with smth, when you like it. (like I think we have different ship in bnha, right? but we’re still doing great tho, thanks for being an angel <3)
I still didn’t expect this becoming a Voltron 2.0. situation tho. We in our twenties see everything differently, I guess. I do get extra about “their love is everywhere”, but I do not get extra by anonymously attacking ppl, threatening creators and yelling “queeerbating psychotic blind assholes if these two aint fucking by the end of the season I’m shaving my head and jumping out of the window and shoot the director. you do not ship it HARD? YOU DUMB FUCK. THAT’S THE BEST LOVE STORY IN THE WORLD”. Like damn, take your blinders off and see the world, kid. Firstly, it’s definitely not, secondly, ppl see love differently in general and at each age too.
Ah, also you must kill Adam, cause he’s a pedo apparently. Like he ain’t even a threat to your ship, unless you’re blind, but they’re still at it, like they do not know that this kind of age difference is literally nothing for an anime? And that there are canon ships with a huger age difference left and right, too. It’s like its their first time approaching an anime or smth. Like in anime world character can literally kill 1000 ppl with his bare hands and bathe in their blood and we can still stan them, depends on their story, ok? Also Langa couldn’t care less for his advances, so like separate Adam from your ship pls. Like, fuck off, if someone is interested in his character. Yeah, he’s a weirdo for reasons, but anime kind of weird do not apply to real life. Stop acting like you’re some purist, when later you’re gonna ship smth else and it suddenly will not apply. Also rules do not apply to animes, everyone knows they do not apply. These are not western cartoons, my god. And 24 years old flirting with 16 year old is defiinitely not the weirdest shit anyone has ever seen in the anime. Chinese BL has characters who were 14 and 30 when they met and happily married. Also FICTION is not life. Literally no one cares. If you’re scared for your saint eyes, do not watch animes, you’re gonna have a heart-attack from what you can see there. Also we’ve seen gayer bromances in animes, who are just bromances, so pls do not shoot anyone if it’s not canon.
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So basically I was kinda pissed yersterday, cause fuck them for ruining the tag, but after chatting with my hommies and your ask, I’m okay again, I just have to avoid this fandom and stick to a tight community xD. I just got used to my nice fandoms and forgot for a bit about the precautions you need to take if you’re in one of those. You know. Who make a circus out of lgbt, instead of supporting it, and make other ppl hate being in fandoms.
P.S. sorry for this partially unrelated rant, your messages really always make my heart bloom, so thanks for supporting me, and I know you’re proud of my progress, too <3 and this makes me happy. LY
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femuscleblog · 3 years
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Hater Comments - MeWe Thoughts (September 28, 2021)
It seems people tend to call things "woke" when ever they see something they don't like. The culture war has really ruined some people's minds. The world we live in is a place in which people make their own realities. The comedic part is when hecklers think that they are being clever. The come troll does not have a the wit for that. The comment comes from a user by the name Kori Doc in response to the article "My Daughter Thinks Boys Are Stronger Than Girls." ( https://femuscleblog.wordpress.com/2021/09/28/dr-rachna-khanna-singh-my-daughter-thinks-boys-are-stronger-than-girls/). This is a new milestone, because this is the first hater comment being featured from MeWe. There are probably more, but I have not checked the comments as frequently. ( https://mewe.com/group/5c6d4474dc4c782c4b03012f)
The claim by Doc was :
"Well They are. Nice “woke” article. Thanks for the laugh."
There was nothing woke about the article written. The only point that most realize is that boys are not stronger than girls. The changes in physical fitness capacity only happen with puberty. If getting girls involved in physical activity and sports is "woke" than people really do have a mental problem. The level of insecurity a man has to be threatened or triggered by this fact must be immense. The average man is stronger than the average woman. That does not mean women cannot get strong. When puberty starts, boys produce more testosterone, which changes body composition. The strength spurt occurs between stages of the growth spurt. This significantly increases muscular mass. As one can see below, boys and girls do not exhibit large amounts of sexual size dimorphism. The difference becomes more pronounced in adulthood.
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There is no denial there are physical and physiological differences among males and females. This does not mean girls and women cannot be skilled athletes. Obviously, Kori Doc did not read the entire text, because it actually did criticize the power feminist argument related to sex differences.
Who cares? And your consensus is a article written by a feminist? Look at real studies. This point is entirely mute.
Then why start posting on the article? Some people just get so triggered they want to project. What is stated is not a mute point at all; it's biological fact. The main focus was not feminism in relation to the text. The point was a mother concerned that her daughter was seeing herself as weak. She is not at the age in which boys are bigger yet and already feeling less physically capable. That stops many young girls from playing sports. Thankfully, that has changed, but backward ideas still remain.
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The data collected shows that girls still play less sports than boys. That has nothing to do with biology. Factors such as access and funding are factors. The weaker sex stereotype and the frailty myth still are present in the sports world and is seen in schools. Attacks on Title IX have come from the right, but have not been successful. Kori Doc has a gender bias, seeing a feminist conspiracy everywhere. If he can't handle girls playing sports, then adult women must cause him to crawl under a rock.
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asfddf · 3 years
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nike air max thea atomic pink
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shishinoya · 4 years
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Stop Fighting || y.m
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☾ ⋆*・゚:⋆*・゚:⠀ *⋆.*:・゚ .: ⋆*・゚: .⋆
— REQUEST || “Yaku fic yaku fic yaku fic where he has a gf who is kuroo’s sister and it’s funny bc Kuroo and him didn’t get along in the beginning but reader was always in the middle of it with Kai just watching the lil quarrels go down and she would try to stop them from fighting from time to time and eventually her and yaku fell for each other and Kuroo is just like “that little runt!!” LOLOL okay yeah thx!! Also ily bby💕💕” —  @kal-emm​
— PAIRING || Yaku Morisuke X Fem!Reader
— TYPE || Headcanon
— WARNING || Just a bunch of fluff
— WORD COUNT || NA
— AUTHOR’S NOTE || dude we need more yaku fics!! i will make a petition :)) he so mom and pure aicbiancb this concept is so cute and i never thought about it. i’m excited to get started :)) hope u enjoy <3
☾ ⋆*・゚:⋆*・゚:⠀ *⋆.*:・゚ .: ⋆*・゚: .⋆
》 You and Kuroo were stuck together like glue. You loved your brother, so much that you followed him everywhere. You did this when you were little and you continued the habit all the way till high school. 
》 He was the butter to your toast, the left sock to your right, the Hinata to Kageyama. Inseparable.
》 That is until he started to devote his time more to volleyball.
》 Yes, he played a lot before, forcing Kenma to join him when you couldn’t bump the ball properly. But his addiction passion evolved, even more, when he got into high school.
》 You wouldn’t lie that you got jealous. Like how dare he spend more time into the sport than pay attention to his wonderful, beautiful, amazing little sister. Selfish.
》 You didn’t understand his love until you got into your first year of high school while he was in his last. It would be your first time actually seeing your brother play. Sure, you loved him and supported him (even if you hated him for putting you second), you never really had the time to make it to his games.
》 But boy was he good! You knew some of the terminology and the different plays he did, but actually seeing it live was a different experience. 
》 You attention was directed to a smaller and cuter male who wore a different jersey than the rest. He was diving for the ball and making sure it wasn’t touching the ground. For the amount of times he fell to the ground trying to save the ball must have hurt. Dedication!
》 You never seen the guy but every time he saved the ball, it made you smile. Whoops! Guess you fell for him already. But who can blame you.
》 Nekoma won and you were on your way to congratulate your brother and maybe take more peeks at the cute guy :O. 
》 But the change in atmosphere, damn. t e n s i o n. 
》 It was your bed head brother and the cute dude staring each other down. You just stared at them until Kenma caught your eye.
》 “Kennie! <3″ Kenma might not show his affection for Kuroo but he sure does with you. You and Hinata are the only ones who can make him smile. UwU.
》 “What’s with them?” You pointed at the two feral males.
》 “They’ve always been like that.” Whao, tall dude. “I’m Kai Nobuyuki. Nice to meet you.”
》 “I’m Kuroo Y/N”
》 “Kuroo???” An... Elf? A Russian elf :flush:. “You’re related to the captain?”
》 “aHA! Captain? How can he be the captain?” Your laughing caused your brother to look over.
》 “Y/nnnnnnn!” He rushed over and engulfed you in a hug.
》 “DisgUSTinG! You’re all sweaty! BegonE!”
》 “Can I not hug my wittle sister?” :gag:
》 After you broke out of the headlock the embrace, Kuroo introduced you to the team and you quickly learned the names of everyone, including Yaku. You also were informed from Kai that your brother and Yaku did not have a good relationship.
》 This is why you brother has no friends. sigh
》 Of course your habit of following your brother stuck with you because you were familiar with his teammates and his small group of friends. 
》 It was always you and Kai who tried to break off the fights between Kuroo and Yaku before they strangled each other
》 “We’re going for barbecue, what do you guys want?”
》 “Meat!”
》 “Fish!”
》 “Fish? What are you? An old man?.”
》 “What did you say, shorty?”
》 “Call me short one more time and I swear I will break your knee caps.”
》 “Why don’t we get sushi instead?”
》 “If you two don’t shuT UP, I will personally duck tape your mouths shut so you don’t get either!”
》 Unlike Kai, who tried to solve everything with peace and was really passive with everything, you took a different route.
》 Dominance >:)
》 It worked most of the time and they listened to you, but sometimes you couldn’t be bothered with dealing with their squabbles. Sometimes you sat with Kenma and watched him play games. He was more peaceful.
》 You noticed Yaku a lot more than you would admit.
》 You kept note of how he would slightly furrow his brows when he was concentrating or the way he always tapped his pencil twice before he started writing.
》 Even the simple things he did made your heart slightly flutter. He would hold the door for you always. It was something out of being polite but you still cherished the action.
》 You loved how dedicated he was to his position in volleyball and how well he manages his time. You also enjoyed his smart insults towards your brother only because they made you laugh.
》 The only person who can make fun of Kuroo more than you is Yaku.
》 You two are the bully Kuroo duo.
》 You didn’t want to admit it, but you fell for the libero. And you fell hard.
》 Of course Kuroo didn’t know. He would persecute you if he found out. But you told Yaku anyway. 
》 Your confession was quick and nonchalant. Maybe because you didn’t want to make it such a big deal, just in case if he rejected you. It was just the two of you studying and doing homework when you said it out of the blue.
》 There would be a long pause while he just stared at you.
》 You liked him?
》 It wasn’t everyday that your crush had the same feelings for you. pogg
》 He told you while being all cute and blushy uwu that he felt the same way, and for a while now.
》 And boom. A couple.
》 A secret couple, duh.
》 But both Kenma and Kai knew. Kenma is a sneaky boy and he knows a lot form his constant observing. And Kai is... Kai. He can just tell.
》 It was hard to keep it a secret from Kuroo though because; although he’s a dumb dork, he catches onto things quickly.
》 You often had to pretend you were calling one of your girl friends because he would fume if it was a guy you were talking to, let alone his rival >:(.
》 He’ll find out sooner or later, but he stayed oblivious for longer than you thought. Maybe you overestimated your brother.
》 But when he does, he will confront you and be either angry that Yaku is dating you or teary-eyed that you didn’t tell him.
》 bUT IT’S YAKU
》 OUT OF EVERYONE YOU CHOSE HIM
》 sad
》 Well all Kuroo cares about is that you are happy and safe, so even if he is really reluctant, he accepts your relationship.
》 But he does barge into your room when he knows you are calling Yaku and will just be like:
》 “I KNOW YOU LIKE GIRLS WITH SHORT HAIR BUT YOU BETTER ACCEPT Y/N FOR EVERYTHING THAT SHE IS, WHETHER SHE HAS SHORT OR LONG OR EVEN NO HAIR. GOT IT, YOU LITTLE RUNT?”
》 You had to smack him a bit for calling your boyfriend a little runt.
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analogical-virgil · 4 years
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“I’ll always be here” with Deceit saying it to whoever you like?
I’m so sorry this is so late. I had an angsty idea and I got carried away. That and I had some horrible writers block for a while.Human AuWord Count: 1230
“Dee, slow down. Please?” Patton was sitting in the passenger seat of his boyfriend’s newly purchased sports car. He was clinging to the seat, thanking whatever higher power that it wasn’t raining.
Dee laughed but slowed down, if only just a tad. “We’ll be fine." He responded as they sped around another curve.
They both knew that they were going way too fast for the winding back road they were currently driving down. One worried about the possibilities, and the other enjoyed the speed.
"I would just feel better if you slowed down some." He stated nervously, chewing on his lip, tensing every time they either cut a curve to hard or straightened a section of close curves.
"Nothing is going to happen." Dee said reassuringly and tossed the other male a soft smile.
"Those are some famous last words." He muttered under his breath, closing his eyes at the exact wrong moment.
When Patton opened them again, he had no idea what had happened. He lay propped up against something metal and cold, and there were flashing lights everywhere. He blinked a few times and went to move but a sharp pain shot through him. He gasped, which only caused him to hurt more. 
In seconds there was a figure in front of him, warm hands on his shoulders steadying him. "You're awake. Good. Can you tell me your name and your relation to the other male that was in the car with you?"
“M-my name is P-Patton and D-dee is my boyfriend.” Patton whispered, hand clinging to his ribs.
“Okay. My name is Thomas.” The other male stated. “You two were in a bad wreck. There must have been something in the road and he swerved to avoid it, but with excessive speed he lost control and slammed into a tree, driver side taking most if not all of the impact. We have already rushed him to the emergency room. You have a few bruised ribs and minor cuts. I can get someone to take you to the ER if you want so you can see your boyfriend.”
Patton instantly nodded. “Yes. I would love that.”
Thomas nodded in response. "Okay. Let me grab someone to help get you standing." With that he was gone, returning a few moments later with another male. “This is Roman. He’s going to help me get you up and then he is going to take you to the hospital, alright?” Thomas said as he gestured to the officer next to him.
Patton looked at Roman for a second before nodding slightly. “Yea. That’s fine.”
“Alright. Ro, grab his other hand and elbow. We’ll pull to get him standing on three.” Thomas said as he gently took one of Patton’s hands, and placed his other hand on his elbow. Roman did the same on Patton’s other side and nodded to Thomas.”Alright. Are you ready?” He asked Patton.
“Ready as I’ll ever be.” Patton answered and took a deep breath. He couldn’t help but notice the twitch of Roman’s lips at the Disney refinance.
“Okay. One. Two. Three.” As soon as Thomas said three, both him and Roman pulled Patton up to his feet.
Patton flinched at the slight pain, but once he was standing he was fine.
"Are you okay? Need anything before you leave?" Thomas questioned, hovering close by just in case Patton fell.
"I'm fine. Can I have a bottle of water, though?" Patton asked after a moment.
"Of course. I'll grab that and meet you at Roman's patrol car." And without waiting for a response Thomas was gone again.
"This way." Roman stated as he slowly led Patton to his car and helped him to sit down.
After Roman was seated in the driver's seat, Thomas suddenly appeared with a water bottle and a scrap piece of paper. “Here you go, Patton.” He said handing both to him. “Water and this is my number. I want you to keep me updated on Dee. He… He looked pretty rough when we loaded him up in the other ambulance.”
Patton took both nodding. “Sure. I’ll message you once I see him and know something kiddo.”
Thomas smiled at him. “Thank you. I’ll let you two go. I will talk to you later.”
“Bye.” Patton said just before shutting his door.
Roman started the car and started towards the hospital where the other EMTs took Dee. They were quiet for the entire ride. Once they pulled up at the door to the ER, Roman spoke. “Do you need any help getting in?”
Patton shook his head. “No thanks kiddo. I’ll be okay. You did more than enough just bringing me here.”
Roman hesitantly nodded. “Okay. Just be careful.”
“I will.” Patton said before opening the door and slowly getting out. He somehow managed to get to the reception desk. Once there, he asked about where Dee was.The lady there guided him to where they had Dee, letting Patton know that they currently had him on some strong painkillers so he might be a bit loopy if he's awake. She opened the door, and he couldn’t help the gasp that escaped him.
Dee was laying still in the hospital bed. His eyes were closed. Well his right eye was. Patton couldn't see the left side of Dee's face for the bandages that covered that side of his face. The only thing that let him know that his boyfriend was even alive was the steady beep of the heart monitor.
Patton could feel tears slip down his face as he walked over and sat on the right side of the bed. He gently took the others hand in his own, rubbing his thumb gently over the dark bruising on his knuckles and the back of his hand.
It felt like hours later when Dee groaned moving slightly slowly opening his visible eye. “W-what.. W-where am I?”
Patton gasped moving closer to Dee’s face slightly. "Oh thank goodness that you are awake! I was so worried about you! You’re in the hospital. Do you remember anything?”
Dee raised a hand to rub at the side of his head. “I remember driving, you telling me to slow down. I came around a curve and there was something in the road. I don’t know what it was but I swerved to avoid it. Then… Nothing besides waking up now.”
Patton took both of Dee’s hands in his own. “From what the EMTs told me you wrecked the car, and that the driver side took most, if not all of the impact. I was so scared I was going to lose you.”
“You won't." Dee stated, moving a hand to Patton's chest, right over his heart. "I'll always be here."
Patton shook his head with his eyes watering. "Don't talk like that."
Dee smiled at him. “It’s true though, sunshine. No matter what happens I’ll be here.” He said tapping his chest.
“I know, Kaa. I know. I just don’t want to lose you yet. We’ve only started our life together, and I can’t lose you just yet. I don’t want to lose you until we’re old and barely remember these early days.” Patton said softly, placing his hand over Dee’s. 
Dee smiled slightly. “I know, Sunflower. I know. I don’t want to lose you until then either.”
“So lesson learned?”
“Lesson learned.”
“Good.”
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hillh2lasalle · 3 years
Text
Haleigh Hill’s Blog: Marketing Insights
youtube
https://www.highsnobiety.com/p/nike-you-cant-be-stopped-ad/
YOU CAN’T BE STOPPED. NIKE CAMPAIGN 
Nike has had many advertisements and ad campaigns over the years. I expected Nike’s 2021 campaign to be good but not this good. In this campaign Nike used a technique that used some of Swoosh’s  most elite athletes. Serena Williams, Lebron James, Naomi Osaka, and Kevin Durant are just some of the top athletes used. 
The ad above speaks directly to the viewer, telling them that their mindset is the key to achieving your goals. Giving the circumstances with the COVID-19 pandemic Nike wanted to try and give people a better, healthier  and more positive 2021. 
As I watched the 2021 campaign I wondered to myself “how much of impact does Nike really have on our country?” 
Well, in 2018 Nike made a campaign that included start football player Colin Kaepernick. 
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https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/03/sports/kaepernick-nike.html
Colin Kaepernick’s Nike campaign keeps NFL anthem Kneeling in the spotlight. In this campaign he inspired  a player protest movement with Nike’s Just Do It campaign. He showed his activism against racism and social injustices through one of the countries most powerful sports leagues. 
The picture ad is very powerful and uplifting and brings so much awareness to large problem. The up close and personal picture of Kaepernick shows his eyes and how serious he is about the movement. The picture is in black white to give that since of emotion and an old time feeling. The picture being in black and white also shows that this situation racial and social injustice is also black and white. 
I like how Nike did this whole campaign because it reaches such a broad audience. After this campaign Nike was able to generate $6 billion since the ad was published to the internet through social media and television commercials. 
youtube
https://news.nike.com/featured_video/dream-crazier
In my opinion this is one of the best campaigns Nike has ever done. They did a Dream Crazier commercial where the voiceover was done by pro-champion tennis athlete, Serena Williams. This commercial was all about women empowerment and females who haven broken down barriers. This ad was a celebration of women sports and inspired many generations of athletes to chase after their dreams. 
youtube
https://news.nike.com/featured_video/lebron-james-just-do-it-film
Lebron James used his platform and also did an advertisement where he too inspired individuals to be the best they can be. Because James has such a huge fanbase he is able to use his large platform to inspire young kids and adults to do the right thing and make something with their lives. 
TRUTH: https://www.thetruth.com/
“This isn't an About Us. IT'S AN ABOUT YOU.”
“Because ultimately, we exist to give you the facts and tools to make change. From exposing Big Tobacco’s lies and manipulation, to battling the Vaping and Opioid epidemics, we stand with you to fight against addiction and forces that fuel it.”
Truth is a national campaign that is targeted to eliminate teen smoking in the United States. Truth is America’s largest non-profit organization that is dedicated to a future where tobacco and nicotine addictions are a thing of the past. Their top mission is to achieve a culture where young people reject smoking, vaping, and nicotine. 
Truth Initiative: 
youtube
Truth partnered with Black community members and activist to launch a campaign; Read Between the Lines. This campaign comes at a time when African Americans have higher death rates from tobacco- related causes compared to other racial and ethnic groups. I find it very surprising that over 39,000 die from tobacco related products. Nearly 90% of Black smokers use menthol cigarets, meaning they are harder to quit. This decade uses very aggressive marketing tactics; these include placing more advertising in predominantly black neighborhoods and in places that are popular with Black audiences. Towards the end of 2019, research showed that 17.7% of students in high schools and about 9% of African American students in middle school currently used e-cigarettes. Interestingly, people who have ever used electronic cigarettes are 7 times more likely to test positive for COVID19. They believe that if they expose the truth between tobacco then it will bring awareness to the communities in hope of reducing nicotine and tobacco usage in black communities. 
https://truthinitiative.org/press/press-release/young-black-voices-expose-predatory-tobacco-industry-tactics-new-truth
THINK WITH GOOGLE: Insights. Ideas. and Inspirations
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With the current pandemic going on Google Company has been boosting the market with the ease and convenience of their website. Personally, I find it crazy, yet interesting, yet at the same time kind of creepy that Google can know exactly where you are and what you are doing at all times. This is mostly because we have our smartphones everywhere we go. Google is able to find many trends and even “read your thoughts” to make advertisements pop up on your computer screens or smartphones and even on advertisements on our favorite streaming networks. 
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As shown in the picture above, People’s routines, needs, and priorities are changing almost daily. And marketers are feeling the effects as their plans are being thrown out the window. Switching to an unscripted marketing model calls for more insight into the shifting consumer mindset.
Living Off Schedule: 
Consumers are now experiencing fluid dayparts. Play is blending into work and weeks are spilling into weekends. Without a structured schedule, people are searching for and engaging with content differently.
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People are trying to find new ways of filling their time and fighting off boredom.
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 In order for Google to move forward they must consider the audience, stay on top of relevant trends, and embrace novelty. Even though new trends are arising not everyone has the same experiences due to the differences in geography. It is crazy how things happen. According to Google, if you make a list of trends and insights and they will eventually evolve in the months ahead. 
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argumentl · 3 years
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The Freedom of Expression Ep 8 - About Sawajiri Erika's early comeback. (*Treatment of drug addicts*)
K: Hi, This is Dir en grey's Kaoru. Joe san, Tasai san, once again.
J, T: Please. Thank you very much.
Kami: Me too.
J: Oh, kami too, right?
K: Unlike on the radio show, he's always around now, isnt he? There were times when he wasn't around before.
J: I think he descended to us about once a month on the radio show.
T: *laughs*
K: In that show, he just flitted in sometimes, and that was it.
J: Yes, yes, yes.
K: Now he's everywhere.
J: He's a regular commentator now.
K: *laughs*
T: This time we have some news from Tokyo Sports.
J: Ah! From the celebrity world
T: Lets start.... Do you know the Japanese comedy duo 'Nihon Elekitel Rengo', famous for the 'Dameyo, damedame' sketch?
J: I didn't, but I learned about them from Tokyo Sports.
T: What about you, Kaoru?
K: I know them.
T: They are a female duo, but one of them, Nakano san, got married to an older man working at the same agency, but it was a marriage with zero prior social interaction.
J: What does that mean? They got married on the same day they met?
T: Well, she was approched by the man, Matsuo Atom san, but she continuously turned him down. Then she suddenly decided last year to marry him. So, its kinda being debated online whether it is or it isn't *1. I really want to ask them.
J: Ahh, surely it is.
K: You can't say it isn't.
J: You can't.. But if you think its isn't...what isn't?!
T: People who think that it isn't, say that because they've never dated, they don't know each other well, and they might divorce quickly.
K: Oh, thats about afterwards.
T: Some concern was raised about that.
J: But I dated my wife for twenty years before marriage, and ended up getting divorced after two years. So just because you've been together for a while, it doesn't mean you won't get divorced.
T: Ahh, I see.
J: This type of thing can't be helped.
K: But thats normal, dating for a long time, getting married, and then ending up separating. It happens to a lot of people, right?
J: Yes.
T: But this Nakano san says, they've never held hands, they don't know each other's address, they don't live together..
J: But they got married?
T: Yes
K: The possibility of them separating seems high, but...
J: Right?
T: Yeah
K:..but, they can do what they want.
J: Yes, i think so. It sounds weird, but this also works as publicity.
T: Yeah
J: Almost like a risky stunt. Personally, I think its possible. But if one of them had the idea, and the other agreed to it, isnt it something to be thankful for?
T: Yeah, but apparently thier boss was really worried about it, he said they should have told him first. He booked a hotel suit room and shoved the two of them in there, but apparently nothing ended up happening.
J: Nothing happened?! People hearing this will want to know if they love each other.
Kami: I want to meet thier boss.
J: Oh, that? *laughs* A suite room is expensive right?
Kami: Yeh, I want to stay in a suite room.
*everyone laughs*
K: What would you do if you did stay in one?
Kami: If I did? Hmm, use the internet.
*laughing*
J: You can do that anyway! What about something more extravagant?
K: Like ordering room service or something.
Kami: I would order room service.
K: What would you order?
J: What would you eat, Kami?
Kami: Ramen
*laughing*
J: I don't think there are many people who would order ramen in a suite room.
K: It might actually be good though. Eating that kind of common food in that kind of place.
J: Eating something...
K: and just looking at the internet.
J: Just looking at the internet *laughs*
K: Its luxurious, right?
J: Exactly. Isn't it wasting the suite though?
T: Okay, lets look at another story. Its this story, it caused quite a stir. Sawajiri Erika...she was found to be in possession of drugs and had her first court appearance at the end of January. The entertainment world is in uproar concerning her early comeback, should she, shouldn't she?
Kami: She should.
J: I think so too.
T: Why? I'll ask you first, Joe.
J: Well, this is her first crime, so she probably won't get a prison sentence. I think it will be a suspended sentence. So, the idea behind a suspended sentence is to give you preparation time to get back to your normal life. Its important get back to your original life as much as possible.
T: I see
J: So, with a suspended sentence she will lose all of her tv sponsers and stuff, but its important for her to gain a platform back, for example, online or such. Now, if we talk about the situation in America, drug addicts are seen as ill people, not criminals, so they embark on a process of revovery, in order to quickly return to regular life. There's a feeling of, 'you're ill, so lets get you better'. Its felt that the worst thing to do, is to be alone with it. Leaving people in these situations is seen as bad. Getting people re-immersed in the community, and returned to normality as much as possible through social interaction, is how America deals with this. As to why America does this, its mainly cost, it costs money to treat people. They want to get people back out into the world quickly. Unlike the idea of severe punishments in Japan, America generally thinks in that way. My own view is very similar to that... We'll have to wait for the verdict. If she gets prison, theres nothing to be done, but if she gets a suspended sentence, she should try to return to her normal life as much as possible. On the other hand, once you've used drugs, you must be able to continue in a clean state, so you must also have the support around you to be able to stay clean.
T: I see, I see.
J: I think thats important.
T: Kami, what are your thoughts?
Kami: The same as Joe. There were no victims.
J: Yes, thats right. No one else was hurt by this.
T: An opposing opinion might be that, as a tv star, she might have a bad influence on young people. What would you say to that?
J: In that case,..well, i don't watch tv much, so I don't really know, but there are loads of scenes of people injecting stuff on talk shows or such, aren't there? Thats got to be more of a bad influence. I think people need to consider that more. Just because she appears on tv, it doesn't mean people are gonna start doing drugs.
K: Yeh, she isn't gonna do drugs on screen.
J: Yeah, rather, those scenes of syringes and stuff..
K: Yeh, the stuff on talk shows is more of a bad influence.
J: I think so.
T: So, in connection with this, what do you think about stopping the screening of movies etc which the person has starred in, which tends to happen at lot in the entertainment world..Joe san?
J: I can only describe it as nonsense. In the music world, it would be the withdrawal of records..., there is no meaning to it. Its totally separate from what they are expressing. As for music, no one ever talks about The Beatles' or The Rolling Stones' drug use. Thats a totally different issue...In relation to drugs, I think eradicating them is important, so for example, we could have a portion of that artist's sales being donated to organisations like DARC  (Drug Addiction Rehabilitation Center) in Japan, for example, which would be a good way to use them. I can't see any merit in just withdrawing thier works. If an artist returns to thier life, but is unable to be musically active, well, Tashio san is a good example of this *2, the places they can exist disappear gradually, and they become isolated. This is really sad. There's a possibility that leaving people in that isolated state can have a further negative influence, so there is no point in limiting the places people can work, or withdrawing thier works. I think Japan's management of this issue is problematic. In America, they don't arrest people for using drugs, they arrest the buyers and such, and thats what makes the news. But in Japan, you can see who's using drugs just by checking your phone. In particluar, famous people who use drugs are made into targets, to scare people, and to show how much your life will be ruined if you use drugs. It seems like its a kind of boosting of the zero tolerance policy which the Ministry of Health and Welfare introduced in the 1990s. It seems like that to me anyway.
Kami: Couldn't they make some kind of isolated place available, where its ok to do drugs?
T: Thats new.
J: Another novel idea from Kami.
K: Well, but yeah.
Kami: Because people who like drugs, will just like them.
J: I think so.
Kami: Yeh, so if you do that...because there are people who feel happier after taking medicine right?
J, T: Yeh.
Kami: Couldn't those type of people go to some place and be allowed to do it?
K: Without any crime occurring, right?
J: Right
T: Yeh, thats it.
Kami: No crime.
J: Well, i don't know if this is the appropriate way to express this, but in the case of drug dependence, its clear that the number one drug which causes mental and physical dependence is alcohol, rather than 'drugs'. You won't get arrested for alchol dependence, and the reason for that is because alcohol is legal. But incidents or fatal accidents cause by alcohol are ceaseless. There are a few incidents annually where someone murders after using drugs but, for example, as for people at the station falling onto to train lines, sixty percent of those are drunk, and many more people are killed by drunk drivers than drug addicts.
K: Well, its because there are many more people who drink alcohol.
J: Yes, the proportion is bigger. So if you consider these incidents in this way, they are certainly happening. In relation to drugs, there isn't really any logical explanation for them being illegal, but they are still strictly controled. Its a bit strange, but in America...well, it might be strange to always talk only about America, but the ban on cannabis, or medical cannabis has been lifted in America. In Japan, we have a situation where we can't even discuss such a thing, so I feel like it may be a bit of Galapagos syndrome....What do you think, Tasai san, about (Sawajiri's return)?
T: Well, she won't be able to eat, if she can't do tv work. From the viewers perspective, as long as its done appropriately..
K: Don't you need sponsers for tv though? So its not something she can really decide herself. But..on the stage or theater, if there are people who want to see her, I don't think it should be a problem.
T: Yeah
K: If there are people who say they don't want to see her on the airwaves, well, they are going to say that.
J: What do you think about her comeback, Kaoru?
K: Its completey fine to do it. Well, I mean she was doing a bad thing, but she has to carry on living. She could also find a different job, thats fine too.  As for returning to the entertainment world, well, i dont really know, but she should return to some kind of work as soon as she can.
J: Yes, thats it...It might be difficult in the entertainment world.
T: Right..Especially with sponsers.
Kami: Isn't that ok though?
K: Yeah, they'll use who they want.
Kami: Its only whether the sponser will use her or not, right? On tv?
J: On tv, yes.
Kami: If they have a reason to use her, they will.
J: But as Kaoru said, she might have more freedom on the stage or something. There must be something that only she can do, so it seems at waste to just kill off her talent.
Kami: If she herself decides to lay low for a while and self reflect on what she did, thats ok too. No one needs to tell her to. Now, i mention it, its the same with alcohol. If you drink too much and end up being late, you can self reflect and show remorse. If it was me i would deduct it from thier salary though.
J: *laughs* How fresh.
Kami: Its just a problem of whether or not they self reflect on it.
T: I see
K: Well, it depends on the circumstances of the person.
Kami: Yeh, in the end. Of course, drugs, but alcohol and cigarettes etc are all bad too, right? I really want to emphasise that. But at the same time, there are people who like them, who will use them anyway. As a result they will be punished by the law, and that will be enough. I think that should be a salary deduction, and then be finished with it. But your boss or someone might be mad at you *3
T: I see
J: Its like, I've had a deduction, so forget about it already.
T: So, that was Tokyo Sports' news.
J: Ahh, Oh! I wanted to ask you, who is it? Celebrity 'X', who is about to be arrested?
K: *laughs*
T: We'll put the news out to the whole world, so..
J: You'll find this if you search for Tokyo sports news, 'X'.
T: Oh, i can't tell you.
J: You can't? Damn
K: Kami might know.
J: He might.
K: But he's only a god for us three.
J:Yeh
K: Maybe he doesn't know.
J: He's not a worldly god.
Kami: I know who it is.
J: Oh, you know?
Kami: I know.
J: Kami, who is it?
T: Joe, don't ask that!
J, K: *laugh*
T: It'll be announced to the world...my account will be banned.
K: We need people to subscribe, right.
J: Yes yes yes yes.
K: Thank you very much, see you next time. Thank you.
J, T: Thank you
*1 It is or it isn't/they are or they aren't, or that type of thing.
*2 No idea who this is.
*3 Not 100% about what he means here.
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for the series ‘fic I think about all the time but I’ll never be able write’, I’m honoured to present you:
Band of Brothers’s High School Football (and I mean soccer!) Team AU
featuring:
- the team’s name is Currahee Easy of Toccoa High School (I don’t make the rules... I mean yes I do, but you know...) and they’re basically shit at playing football/soccer - it’s not that they don’t have good individual players or don’t train hard enough, it’s that their coach, PE teacher Sobel, doesn’t know shit about tactics and theory and he’s just too much of a dick to admit it - so the team trains hard everyday under every weather condition, but they still suck in championship games - (it’s by then a well known thing in Toccoa High School) - except this year is senior year for a big chunk of the team and most of them really really want to win at least one game before parting ways and going to college - so some of them basically mutiny against Sobel and go beg Principal Sink for a new coach - (he’s easily convinced after he sees the disgraceful row of defeats the team managed to string in the past three years) (it’s disgusting) - he calls in his office the other PE teacher, Richard Winters (who’s in fact already the coach of the baseball team) and gives Winters the responsibility of coaching the football team as well - thing is: right until that moment Dick Winters knows nothing about football, but he’s not a bitch about it so he buys a lot of books and watches a lot of youtube videos and drags his best-friend-and-maybe-also-more Lewis Nixon (history teacher at Toccoa) to a bunch of games to study - he’s a good student because when he meets the team for the first time and they try some of the tactics out, they seem to work - (he goes with basic 4-4-2 formation but his full backs are fast and both his side midfielders can shift to the attack on the occasion) - so the championship starts and the boys are for once both physically and tactically ready (mentally not so much, but hey can you blame a rowdy team of 20 teenagers?)
- so the team is composed like this: - D. Hoobler as the keeper (2nd keeper: D. Webster, although everyone is secretly glad he never plays because last time he did he was reading books during the game when the ball was on the other side of the field... at least on the bench he can read as much as he wants and pretend to be too precious and literate to play sports) - “Buck” Compton and “Bull” Randleman as center backs (reserves: “Tab” Talbert and “Pat” Christenson) - “Babe” Heffron and Frank Perconte as full backs (reserves: “Popeye” Wynn and A. Blithe) - center midfielders: Joe Liebgott and Johnny Martin (reserve: D. Malarkey) - side midfielders: “Shifty” Powers and “Skip” Muck (reserve: A. Penkala) - forwards: Bill Guarnere and Joe Toye (reserves: “Chuck” Grant and P. O’Keefe) - coach: R. Winters; coach’s alcoholic husband: L. Nixon; 2nd coach: C. Lipton; manager: H. Welsh; assistant and medic: “Doc” Roe; referee: R. Speirs - (everyone is scared of the local referee as there are numerous rumors circulating about him, like the one that says he once stabbed a protesting player in the eye with the red card) - Toccoa also has a student radio broadcast and the designated sportcaster is George Luz, so he also follows the team in away games (and having him around helps with the team’s morale) - the first match is a draw, which is neither a good or a bad thing, but Winters is still kinda proud of the guys and buys ice cream for all of them and says inspirational things like “the best is yet to come” - the second match is a whole struggle against the defending champions of the previous year, which makes the opposite team’s players a bit too arrogant and which causes yellow cards to fly around - to the surprise of absolutely nobody Liebgott is the first to get a red card and gets sent out. To the surprise of everybody except his teammates, he’s double booked because he picks a fight not with the opposite team but with his own (specifically: Guarnere asking for more forward passes and Webster, still on the bench, for seemingly no reason at all). Luz announces that it’s probably the first time in the history of football that this happens (yay for a new embarrassing record for Currahee Easy!) - Easy loses in the last minutes after a struggle to maintain the 0 - 0 and Lipton has to intervene before the whole team riots against the referee (not Speirs this time) who also gives a penalty to the opposite team in recovery time. It ends 2 - 0 for the defenders and in the brawl that follows the three final whistles Heffron loses a shoe, Toye gets a bloody nose and Liebgott sneaks out from the locker room just to throw a few punches - they win the third match. The opposite team never shows up at Toccoa High School so it’s a forfeit win - (rumors say the opponents didn’t want to attend not because they were scared of Easy, but because they were scared of Speirs, the designated referee for the game) - after the sixth match they start to win for their own merits and everyone is ecstatic. The whole school gets involved (all thanks to Luz’s enthusiastic commentaries and sport-related news) and there’s suddenly an high attendance of audience at their games - some of them even gets fans, like some guy starting to admire Guarnere’s technique and some girl suddenly making banners for Christenson or even Webster (though that must be less for athletic merits and more for aesthetic reasons, much to all the other player’s displeasure)(and Liebgott’s absolute rage, though no one gets exactly why)(c’mon guys...) - they manage to end the championship at an average position in the chart and with enough points to access a row of head to head games - the last match of the season is one of those direct clashes and becomes very important not only because it’s the last match ever for the senior students, but also because winning would mean getting an access to summer play-off - everyone is super nervous - coach Winters makes another one of his nice motivational speeches which leaves almost everyone near-tears (even the tough ones)(and especially Lew, who still gets free access to the locker room despite not being directly involved with the team) - things turn bad real soon real fast because during the first half within minutes both Guarnere and Toye get a leg injury and need to be substituted by Grant and, to the whole team’s horror and desperation, sweet innocent O’Keefe - Doc Roe gets helped by Lip and Welsh to get Bill and Joe out of the pitch and most of all to placate their rage and frustration (my poor boys...) - despite the injuries and early substitutions, Shifty manages to score an outside the box stunning volley for the 1 - 0 that makes everyone in the audience literally freaks out - the opponents equalize right at the end of first half with a goal following a contested free kick right outside Easy’s penalty area - the second half ends on a draw despite the team’s best efforts in maintaining their shape and positions as well as their nerves (and everyone is extremely proud of them, but most of all surprised by Liebgott)(considering he’s not even being supervised by Martin, who had been substituted by Malark at some point) - after the first extra time Dick is already thinking about the penalties: to the sudden shock of everyone present at the game (and the delight of his hardcore fangirls), Hoob gets substituted with Webster - (all of Easy, as one man, think they’re doomed) - the penalties are a matter of even more nerves and sweat and tears, but the five kickers get chosen (Grant, Buck, Skip, Heffron and Shifty) and after that, everything is in their preferred foot (and in Web’s hands) - Web saves the first penalty and the whole school gasps in disbelief - (while Dick and Lip share a knowing smile on the bench) - Grant scores, Buck scores, Skip’s shot unfortunately gets saved and they’re back to equality - no one speaks (Luz included!), no one even blinks - Babe manages to score a stunning lob penalty that has the whole field freaking out again - (Bill from the bench points at him and screams: ‘That’s my boy!’ jumping on his uninjured leg) - Shifty scores with cynical precision (and Winters almost sobs out loud) - as Webster takes his position between the posts, silence falls again all around the pitch and tension is so thick it feels like it could be cut with a knife - right before the opponents fifth kicker positions the ball on the penalty spot, everyone takes a deep breath and holds it for seemingly endless minutes - Webster saves - everyone screams - chaos is everywhere - Lieb kisses Web on the mouth - someone cries - (probably Web’s fangirls) - (and also mama!Lip since he’s so proud of his boys) - after that everything is a blur of celebrations and tears and hugs and also other less celebrated kisses (but Babe gets one from Doc and Dick gets several ones from Lew and, to be fair, no one is really that surprised) - Luz loses his voice at some point and completely forgets being on air on the school’s radio as he runs down to the field to celebrate with the team (which results in long minutes of radio silence he’d be scolded for the next day)(and, for what is worth, he does not give a single fuck) - Easy chases coach Winters across the field and lift him in the air to celebrate, then they do the same for Lip and Welsh and (surprisingly?) Nixon - (Doc Roe refuses and hides behind Babe and Bill and everyone loves him too much to force him anyway) - more chaos ensues and rumors say the celebrations went on for weeks - (also some rumors say referee Speirs took part to the celebrations as 2nd coach Lipton’s date, but no one present ever confirmed or denied that) ...and that’s basically it. Sorry for any mistake: I typed this all in one go and my football terminology is strictly Italian-based (just as much as my football enthusiasm lol) so I may have got something wrong. Thanks a bunch to my sister @gaiayukari85 for having helped with the plot (as often happens when we create silly stories)
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#3yrsago Weapons of Math Destruction: invisible, ubiquitous algorithms are ruining millions of lives
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I've been writing about the work of Cathy "Mathbabe" O'Neil for years: she's a radical data-scientist with a Harvard PhD in mathematics, who coined the term "Weapons of Math Destruction" to describe the ways that sloppy statistical modeling is punishing millions of people every day, and in more and more cases, destroying lives. Today, O'Neil brings her argument to print, with a fantastic, plainspoken, call to arms called (what else?)  Weapons of Math Destruction.
Discussions about big data's role in our society tends to focus on algorithms, but the algorithms for handling giant data sets are all well understood and work well. The real issue isn't algorithms, it's models. Models are what you get when you feed data to an algorithm and ask it to make predictions. As O'Neil puts it, "Models are opinions embedded in mathematics."
Other critical data scientists, like Patrick Ball from the Human Rights Data Analysis Group have located their critique in the same place. As Patrick once explained to me, you can train an algorithm to predict someone's height from their weight, but if your whole training set comes from a grade three class, and anyone who's self-conscious about their weight is allowed to skip the exercise, your model will predict that most people are about four feet tall. The problem isn't the algorithm, it's the training data and the lack of correction when the model produces erroneous conclusions.
Like Ball, O'Neil is enthusiastic about the power of data-driven modelling to be a force for good in the world, and like Ball, she despairs at the way that sloppy statistical work can produce gigantic profits for a few companies at the expense of millions of people -- all with the veneer of mathematical objectivity.
O'Neil calls these harmful models "Weapons of Math Destruction," and not all fault models qualify. For a model to be a WMD, it must be opaque to its subjects, harmful to their interests, and grow exponentially to run at huge scale.
These WMDs are now everywhere. The sleazy for-profit educational system has figured out how to use models to identify desperate people and sucker them into signing up for expensive, useless "educations" that are paid for with punitive student loans, backed by the federal government. That's how the University of Phoenix can be so profitable, even after spending upwards of $1B/year on marketing. They've built a WMD that brings students in at a steady clip despite the fact that they spend $2,225/student in marketing and only $892/student on instruction. Meanwhile, the high-efficacy, low-cost community colleges are all but invisible in the glare and roar of the University of Phoenix's marketing blitzkreig.
One highly visible characteristic of WMDs is their lack of feedback and tuning. In sports, teams use detailed statistical models to predict which athletes they should bid on, and to deploy those athletes when squaring off against opposing teams. But after the predicted event has occurred, the teams update their models to account for their failings. If you pass on a basketball player who goes to glory for a rival team, you update your model to help you do better in the next draft.
Compare this with the WMDs used against us in everyday life. The largest employers in America use commercial services to run their incoming resumes against a model of a "successful" worker. These models hold your employment future in their hands. If one rejects you and you go on to do brilliant work somewhere else, that fact is never used to refine the model. Everyone loses: job-seekers are arbitrarily excluded from employment, and employers miss out on great hires. Only the WMD merchants in the middle make out like bandits.
It's worth asking how we got here. Many forms of WMD were deployed as an answer to institutional bias -- in criminal sentencing, in school grading, in university admissions, in hiring and lending. The models are supposed to be race- and gender-blind, blind to privilege and connections.
But all too often, the models are trained with the biased data. The picture of a future successful Ivy League student or loan repayer is painted using data-points from the admittedly biased history of the institutions. All the Harvard grads or dutiful mortgage payers are fed to the algorithm, which dutifully predicts that tomorrow's Harvard alums and prime loan recipients will look just like yesterday's -- but now the bias gets the credibility of seeming objectivity.
This training problem is well known in stats, but largely ignored by WMD dealers. Companies that run their own Big Data initiatives, by contrast, are much more careful about refining their models. Amazon carefully tracks those customers who abandon their shopping carts, or who stop shopping after a couple of purchases. Their interested in knowing everything they can about "recidivism" among shoppers, and they combine statistical modelling with anthropology -- seeking out and talking to their subjects -- to improve their system.
The contrast with automated sentencing software -- now widely used in the US judicial system, and spreading rapidly around the world -- could not be more stark. Like Amazon's data scientists, the companies that sell sentencing apps are trying to predict recidivism, and their predictions can send one person to prison for decades and let another go free.
These brokers are training their model on the corrupted data of the past. They look at the racialized sentencing outcomes of the past -- the outcomes that sent young black men to prison for years for minor crack possession, while letting rich white men walk away from cocaine possession charges -- and conclude that people from poor neighborhoods, whose family members and friends have had run-ins with the law, and "predict" that this person will reoffend, and recommend long sentences to keep them away from society.
Unlike Amazon, these companies aren't looking to see whether longer sentences cause recidivism (by causing emotional damage and social isolation) and how prison beatings, solitary confinement and prison rape are related to the phenomenon. If the prison system was run like Amazon -- that is, with a commitment to reducing reoffending, rather than enriching justice-system contractors and satisfying revenge-hungry bigots in the electorate -- it would probably look like a Nordic prison: humane, sparsely populated, and oriented toward rehabilitation, addiction treatment, job training, and psychological counselling.
WMDs have transformed education for teachers and students. In the 1980s, the Reagan administration seized on a report called A Nation at Risk, which claimed that the US was on the verge of collapse due to its falling SAT scores. This was the starter-pistol for an all-out assault on teachers and public education, which continues to this day.
The most visible expression of this is the "value added" assessment of teachers, which uses a battery of standardized tests to assess teachers' performance from year to year. The statistical basis for these assessments is laughable (statistics work on big numbers, not classes of 25 kids -- assessments can swing 90% from one year to the next, making them no better than random number generators). Teachers -- good teachers, committed teachers -- lose their jobs over these tests.
Students, meanwhile, are taken away from real learning in order to take more and more tests, and those tests -- which are supposed to measure "aptitude" and thus shouldn't be amenable to expensive preparatory services -- determine their whole futures.
The Nation at Risk report that started it all turned out to be bullshit, by the way -- grounded in another laughable statistical error. Sandia Labs later audited the findings from the report and found that the researchers had failed to account for the ballooning number of students who were taking the SATs, bringing down the average score.
In other words: SATs were falling because more American kids were confident enough to try to go to college: the educational system was working so well that young people who would never have taken an SAT were taking it, and the larger pool of test-takers was bringing the average score down.
WMDs turn the whole of human life into a game of Search Engine Optimization. With SEO, merchants hire companies who claim to have reverse-engineered Google's opaque model and whose advice will move your URL further  up in its ranking.
When you pay someone thousands of dollars to prep your kid for the SATs, or to improve your ranking with the "e-score" providers that determine your creditworthiness, jobworthiness, or mortgageworthiness, you're recreating SEO, but for everything. It's a grim picture of the future: WMD makers and SEO experts locked in an endless arms-race to tweak their models to game one another, and all the rest of us being subjected to automated caprice or paying ransom to escape it (for now). In that future, we're all the product, not the customer (much less the citizen).
O'Neil's work is so important because she believes in data science. Algorithms can and will be used to locate people in difficulty: teachers with hard challenges, people in financial distress, people who are struggling in their jobs, students who need educational attention. It's up to us whether we use that information to exclude and further victimize those people, or help them with additional resources
Credit bureaux, e-scorers, and other entities that model us create externalities in the form of false positives -- from no-fly lists to credit-score errors to job score errors that cost us our careers. These errors cost them nothing to make, and something to fix -- and they're incredibly expensive to us. Like all negative externalities, the cost of cleaning them up (rehabilitating your job, finding a new home, serving a longer prison sentence, etc) is much higher than the savings to the firms, but we bear the costs and they reap the savings.
It's E Pluribus Unum reversed: models make many out of one, pigeonholing each of us as members of groups about whom generalizations -- often punitive ones (such as variable pricing) can be made.
Modelling won't go away: as a tool for guiding caring and helpful remedial systems, models are amazing. As a tool for punishing and disenfranchising, they are a nightmare. The choice is ours to make. O'Neil's book is a vital crash-course in the specialized kind of statistical knowledge we all need to interrogate the systems around us and demand better.
 Weapons of Math Destruction [Cathy O'Neil/Crown]
https://boingboing.net/2016/09/06/weapons-of-math-destruction-i.html
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