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#so maybe that is the 2021 goal
splater-things · 8 months
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This Ranboo reband is reminding me of the fact that I used to pull up Ranboo's stream everyday back in 2021 to just gain channel points and nothing else. I just had their stream muted while I went to do anything else because I wanted to get to 100k channel points on someone's twitch channel and since Ranboo used to stream everyday for hours on end back then I chose them. Sometimes I would watch the stream if what they were doing interested me or I'd just popped in to see whats going on, but other then that nothing else.
Also when I reached my goal I considered going for 200k but then soon decided "fuck that" and now I've only watched a few Ranboo streams here or there afterwards.
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dallonwrites · 1 year
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reading my old life cycle of massive stars writing and then reading my old revelations, revelations. whichever one i work on in march will be a battle of the hyperfixations
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nomaishuttle · 8 months
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ok took a GET SCARED break time to go back 2 physics the library closes in an hour and a half..
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magentagalaxies · 1 year
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7, 14?
7. Favorite actor of the year?
Scott Thompson, of course (tho also special shoutout to the whole cast of Other Girls!!)
14. Favorite book you read this year?
ok technically this isn't a book but i just had to read the play The Baltimore Waltz for a college class and it was very good 10/10 recommend (it's a whimsical satire of the AIDS crisis written by a playwright whose brother died of AIDS as a tribute to him and oh my god i wish i'd known about it sooner so i could've written my final paper on it bc i wanna talk about it nowww)
end of the year ask game
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zackcollins · 2 years
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Something about Muzz having the GWG just feels good and right.
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douwatahima · 4 months
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sorry to invoke james somerton again but i just watched his "apology" video and the way he addresses the criticism to his utena video has been scratching at my brain. for this who don't want to watch (which is so so fair), here's what he says:
"we ended up making a lot of videos we didn't want to make because people were asking for them and so there were a lot of videos we made that we didn't want to make and i think those videos are very clear on which ones those were. one of them never got officially released, it was released to patrons. some patrons have shared it to other people before all the videos went private and a lot of people hate the analysis nick and i did on it and so maybe it's good that that never got properly released because maybe it would have hurt people and i don't want that."
so, not directly saying he's talking about the utena video…but he's talking about the utena video lol. the thing that really gets me is like…look. full disclosure. i used to be subscribed to james somerton long before this whole thing blew up. i wasn't necessarily a big fan of his video style, but he talked about a lot of media i enjoy and i liked his analysis (that wasn't really his, but i didn't know that at the time) so i followed him.
the thing about him was he was always asking his followers for shows he should do videos on, especially anime, and then not long after making those posts he would post videos of "things to come" including like…every anime people suggested. not all of these shows ended getting videos made, but the point is james really set himself up as the queer anime video essayist; constantly promising videos about every show people told him they wanted.
and a lot of people loved that about him! a lot of the big names talking about anime on youtube are people doing season by season breakdowns or people talking about big shonen titles, and here was someone consistently pushing out long form analyses on less talked about shows! great! but to find out that not only was a lot of what he said plagiarized, but also that a lot videos were just shat out to appeal to his audience without any care or passion? just to get more views and more money on patreon? that's literally crazy when you're talking about something usually as involved as video essays.
on top of that i'm about 95% certain him doing an utena essay was a patreon tier goal (hence why that video was released there first). he literally heard queer anime fans asking him en masse for a video about one of the best queer anime of all time, decided to set it as a patreon goal, and then literally boxed himself into doing a video on an anime he didn't care about because he promised it to the people who payed him to be the "queer anime guy".
and the thing is he 100% didn't need to do that. he didn't need to "make a lot of videos he didn't want to make because people were asking for them". i follow a ton of video essayists who get requests for videos all the time! that doesn't mean they have to, or even should, make them if they're not passionate about the topic! video essays, when actually done well and with integrity, are hard work. that's why most good video essayists take a lot of time between videos! to think that this guy just took every possible suggestion, dangled them like carrots in front of his audience, that made a bunch of passionless, mediocre videos to solidify his station as the queer video essayist to watch is just…upsetting and disheartening tbh.
anyway if you want some actually good analysis of revolutionary girl utena, my favourites are "is revolutionary girl utena still relevant?" and "why revolutionary girl utena still slaps" by stushi, and "the shadow play gays" podcast (note: this podcast is run on the same feed as another podcast called "bitter jurors". you may have to scroll back a bit to find "shadow play gays", it started in 2021 if that helps, but i promise you it's worth it).
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simmer-emsie · 1 year
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Not So Berry Challenge 3
Couldn’t get enough of the original Not So Berry Legacy Challenge? Already played through Not So Berry Challenge 2? Wishing you could play a challenge with content from 2021 onward? If you’ve been daydreaming about an updated Not So Berry Challenge (2023), look no further!
Welcome to the Not So Berry Legacy Challenge 3, a ten generation rags-to-riches legacy challenge with colour-themed heirs. Note: This challenge requires basically every pack except My First Pet Stuff and Journey to Batuu (…y’all know why).
Thank you to @lilsimsie​ and @alwaysimming​ for the inspiration (and the rules!).
Basic rules:
Each heir must represent the colour of the generation (like hair, makeup, clothing), but brightly-coloured skin isn’t necessary.
The colours of the spouses don’t matter as they aren’t part of the challenge. Unless otherwise stated you can do whatever you please with them.
Cheats can be used, but not excessively.
You may live wherever you please unless something is specified in the rules of a generation.
Every generation is supposed to complete both the career and aspiration of the heir unless explicitly stated otherwise.
Keep the lifespan on Normal.
Generation One: Soil
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Well, you’re on your own now and you haven’t got much to your name except a plot of land and a couple of chickens. That’s alright though; animals tend to understand you better than Sims, anyway. Living off the land is difficult work but you’re determined to cultivate a respectable farm with livestock, fruit trees, and even some oversized produce!
Traits: Animal Enthusiast, Socially Awkward, Music Lover
Aspiration: Country Caretaker
Career: None
Rules:
Complete the Country Caretaker aspiration.
Start on an empty lot in Henford-on-Bagley with 500 Simoleons. Hard mode: Start as a teen.
Max the cross-stitch and gardening skills.
Play using the Living Off the Land lot challenge.
Befriend Patchy the Straw Man.
Complete 5 requests for your neighbours.
Generation Two: Sprout
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Your best buddy growing up was a farm animal, and now you want to give back to the creatures that meant so much to you. As a veterinarian, you meet a lot of people and make a lot of friends. You spend your free time volunteering and training the animals you bring home with you.
Traits: Cat Lover, Dog Lover, Outgoing
Aspiration: Slumber Party Animal (Child), Friend of the Animals
Career: Veterinarian
Rules:
Complete the Friend of the Animals aspiration.
Max the veterinarian and pet training skills.
Befriend one of your parent’s farm animals as a Child.
Adopt at least one cat and one dog.
Volunteer on weekends.
Generation 3: Blossom
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So, your parent was really into animals. And maybe that was a little bit too internalized in you… because now you can’t stop thinking about embracing your primal side and becoming a Werewolf. You still need to pay the bills though, so you work as a Green Technician to protect your territory’s ecosystem. On the weekends, you and your pack go bowling.
Traits: Lactose Intolerant, Insider, Loyal
Aspiration: Werewolf Initiate, Emissary of the Collective OR Wildfang Renegade
Career: Civil Designer, Green Technician branch
Rules:
Complete 2 Werewolf aspirations.
Max the bowling and logic skills.
Become a Werewolf.
Find and marry your Fated Mate.
Go bowling every weekend.
Generation Four: Mist
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Uhh… you okay? You were kind of raised by… literal Werewolves. The experience was kind of traumatic, and now you’re trying to live a normal life. You eat grilled cheese as a coping mechanism and as a teen, you start a side hustle so you can move out on your own ASAP. You go to university and get a completely normal job in the city. You struggle to trust someone enough to fall in love, especially after the whole… “Fated Mates” thing your parents had going on. You just really, really want something normal.
Traits: Overachiever, Paranoid, Perfectionist
Aspiration: Goal Oriented (Teen), Grilled Cheese
Career: Any side hustle or part-time job (Teen), Education
Rules:
Complete the Grilled Cheese aspiration.
Max the cooking, baking, and flower arranging skills.
If your Sim is given the option to graduate early, take it.
Get a degree.
After university, move to the city (San Myshuno, Del Sol Valley, or San Sequoia) and get a bonsai tree.
Marry someone with a secret (for example, is an Alien or a Criminal).
Generation Five: Lava
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Things were kind of weird growing up, and now you’re healing from your childhood. If therapy was a thing, you’d so be there. But since it’s not, you dedicate yourself to journaling, wellness, and less socially-acceptable coping mechanisms. 
Traits: Erratic, High Maintenance, Party Animal
Aspiration: Drama Llama (Teen), Villainous Valentine (Adult), Inner Peace (Elder) 
Career: Culinary, Mixologist branch
Rules:
Complete the Villainous Valentine aspiration.
Max the mixology, wellness, and writing skills.
Have a negative relationship with your parents.
Have an affair with a celebrity.
Have a child with a married Sim.
Write a tell-all memoir book as an elder.
Generation Six: Ash
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You had a fractured family life growing up, but one thing your parents told you about was your ancestor who started a magnificent farm. You want to start anew, just like they did. But, well, you’re kind of a city kid… so you only grow avocados. Also, you’re totally in-tune with the paranormal and commune with ghosts for work.
Traits: Bookworm, Childish, Unflirty
Aspiration: Playtime Captain (Child), Soulmate
Career: Freelancer, Paranormal Investigator branch
Rules:
Complete the Soulmate aspiration.
Max the medium and gardening skills.
Live in an apartment and grow avocados on the balcony.
Marry a Sim that you’ve brought back from the dead.
Generation Seven: River
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If there were an award for weirdest upbringing, you’d probably get it. Seriously… one of your parents came back from the dead to have you! The fun doesn’t stop there though. You’re determined to keep having cool experiences and write about them for your whole life.
Traits: Bro, Good, Jealous
Aspiration: Mind and Body (Child), StrangerVille Mystery
Career: Drama Club (Child/Teen), Writer
Rules:
Complete the StrangerVille aspiration.
Max the writing and fitness skills.
Have a child with someone from StrangerVille.
Take your child on vacation at least once every life stage (infant, toddler, child, teen).
Chapter Eight: Ocean
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As the heir to a wealthy writer, you’re used to having things handed to you, like jobs and vacations. Now that you’re old enough to make a name for yourself, you want to build your Trendi empire as a Simfluencer. You pick Sulani as the perfect place to make your mark; beautiful weather and beachfront property mean all your followers will be so jealous of you. You love the water more than anyone you know, until one day you see someone a little too far out to sea to be natural… 
Traits: Child of the Islands, Child of the Ocean, Mean
Aspiration: Admired Icon (Teen), Party Animal
Career: Trendi (Teen), Simfluencer
Rules:
Complete the Party Animal aspiration.
Max the entrepreneur and media production skills.
Live in Sulani and become a mermaid.
Sell an outfit on Trendi for 9,999 Simoleons.
Get 1,000,000 followers.
Generation 9: Sand
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Your parent always encouraged you to do great things with your life… as long as what you want is to be an Interior Decorator. Your real passion is music and you practice whenever you can. You’ve always wanted to rebel against your parent, but never had it in you to actually do it.
Traits: Creative, Gloomy, Neat
Aspiration: Musical Genius
Career: Interior Decorator (Adult), Entertainment, Musician branch (Elder)
Rules:
Complete the Musical Genius aspiration.
Max the violin and guitar skills.
Have a Strict family dynamic with your parent (you may cheat for this).
Get a Fine Arts degree at university.
If your Sim experiences a midlife crisis, you must complete it.
Generation 10: Flame
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As a little kid, your biggest goal in life was to one day become the best parent ever. Your own parent was sad a lot and you acted out because of it, but you want your own kid to have a happier home. You want to provide everything for your children with your own two hands. You like building on the woodworking bench and brewing herbalism concoctions.
Traits: Family-Oriented, Loves Outdoors, Maker
Aspiration: Live Fast (Teen), Outdoor Enthusiast
Career: Culinary, Chef branch
Rules:
Complete the Outdoor Enthusiast aspiration.
Max the cooking, handiness, and herbalism skills.
Have at least three children, one of whom is adopted.
Go on family vacations to Granite Falls as much as possible.
Good luck and have fun!
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ingravinoveritas · 2 months
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So I just wanna ask u just does this look like a real happy healthy relationship and in love with each or just put on for show for the fans and why do I feel like she making it all about her again and reminded everyone who she with it feels micheal was forced in the pictures taking with her the red carpet photo she looked bored and annoyed cos michael not paying any attention he just look miserable but I bet if it was David standing there instead of anna his face would be beaming like the one Georgia posted of them 4 together micheal face is electric and see how he lean toward David that best friend goals and I just love seeing them together cos that when he at his most happiness place
Also I find it strange that Anna was left out in staged scene but David wife gerogia made appearance doesn't that strike u as odd and gerogia brought the plus one date a girl could have and it wasnt anna yet they call each other wife clearly not as close etc then David and Michael are it seems.
And did u notice in the scene with David and Tom hiddleson about the dog sitter initially could present as benign and then he and the dog get up to all kinds of hijinks and ultimately disrupt stuffy old Michael sheen boring life but for the better like why put that in the script maybe his life with anna is boring and only staying cos he feels he needs too for the young children what do u think of all this
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From @amata-haan along with a screenshot of the group photo:
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(Grouping all of these together since it seems we've got a bit to talk about here.)
So, the biggest point of discussion seems to be the group pic that Georgia posted, and I will put up a larger size of that for us to discuss:
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When I saw that Georgia had posted this in an Insta story, of course my first thought was "Finally a picture of Michael and David together!" I think that was what we were all hoping for all night, to where it was almost glaring that we hadn't gotten one when the event ended (until Georgia's post, that is).
The second thing that came to mind is what you alluded to @moriarty-sisters, about this being a near repeat of what we've seen a few times before (first at the NTAs in 2021, and then the group photo Georgia posted on Michael's birthday, that appears to have been taken after Michael went to see Macbeth):
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Every time, Georgia is on the right. Every time, she and Anna have the same tight smiles while Michael and David have huge grins on their faces. At this point, it feels intentional, because twice might be a coincidence, but three times is a plan. There are slight differences to the vibes in each picture--although Georgia looks like she knows a secret and Michael and David look like a very happy couple in every one of them--but last night's group pic was...something.
Which takes me to your comment @phantomstars24 about how Michael is holding AL. I was under the impression that he had his hand on her waist, but if he is touching her breast, I'm perplexed at that being her reaction. She looks stiff and like a deer caught in the headlights, and regardless of where Michael's hand is, it doesn't seem like that's a great way to look when your own boyfriend is touching you. Adding to the strange optics is the fact that Michael is actually leaning toward David in the picture and away from her. It looks like his arm/shoulder is pressing into David and there isn't a millimeter of space between them, yet he seems to be a mile away from Anna despite having an arm around her.
(And none of this is even touching on Georgia using the theme song from Friends in the Insta story for the group pic, which she had to know we would all notice...)
So yes, a lot of thoughts on the group pic, but overall delighted to see Michael and David looking so happy next to each other. Especially Michael, in stark contrast to how he looked in some of the other pictures.
Speaking of which...I briefly talked about Michael and AL at the BAFTAs yesterday here and here, so I will try not to repeat myself too much in this part of my answer. But what I think we are seeing is two things: Anna's fantasy of what she thinks her and Michael's relationship is, and the reality of what we saw at the BAFTAs.
I think in AL's mind, she and Michael were like Georgia and David. But if we are going to say that Georgia and David were very loving and sweet together on the red carpet yesterday--which they absolutely were, with the kiss they shared and David comforting Georgia when she was experiencing anxiety--then there is no way you can look at the pictures of Michael and Anna and see the same thing. Even without bringing GT/DT into it, there is a massive, marked difference between pictures of Michael with AL vs. pictures of him with literally anyone else (such as this pic with Hannah Waddingham).
Looking at Anna's pictures that she posted, every one of them seems to be about ownership, right down to the Insta story with the #mine hashtag (which again seems to be her copying Georgia, also on the night of an award ceremony). The vibe that I got was of a teenager who'd won a date with her favorite celebrity and took him to the prom. Ultimately, though, she looked out of place, and he looked uncomfortable with her, both of which are a remarkable feat after five years of a relationship.
The pictures also repeated themes we've seen before (AL has previously posted a picture of her kissing Michael's cheek where he looks equally withdrawn; the photo in the car on the way to the event is a copy of pictures Georgia has posted of her and David in the car on the way to events) and speak to that idea of pushing a certain narrative, despite neither one of them appearing to sell it very well.
To that end, and to your comments @lepqueen and @turquoisedata, I would agree with you that it looks like AL is trying to mark her territory. The problem is that Michael had more chemistry just talking with David in that opening BAFTAs sketch than he did with Anna the entire night, and she was frequently left looking like she had no idea what she was doing or why she was there. Another example of this is an Insta story she posted earlier today that again demonstrated her main interest in the relationship:
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What's particularly noteworthy is the follow up Insta story on the right, which I couldn't believe she actually posted. I think that if you are fine and happy with the narrative you've put out, you are not going to be bothered by or salty about a comment like that, and AL clearly was. And all of this then casts at least some doubt that the pictures she posted are really telling the whole story. Just a recap of what we do know about last night (and if I am forgetting anything, someone please let me know):
- Anna was the only principal member of the cast who was not in the Staged-themed opening sketch, despite being in all three seasons of the show. - Anna was not seated next to Michael during the in person part of the opening sketch, despite there being no reason the producers couldn't have put her next to him even as a seat filler. - Georgia brought her friend Daisy Aitkens as a +1 and sat with her instead of Anna, leaving us with the above picture of AL sitting alone and staring straight ahead while in the background of a Michael J. Fox picture (that she is acting like is a picture of her with him, instead of her photobombing a picture of MJF with his wife). - During the show, the camera repeatedly cut to Michael in the audience when there was no reason to do so, but did not show Anna on camera once.
So yes, I think that if last night at the BAFTAs was somehow AL's attempt to mark her territory/assert her place in the UK acting industry, it did not seem to go over well. I think David and Georgia's relationship and Michael and David's relationship emerged even stronger than before, and unfortunately AL and Michael's relationship did not and does not compare.
My apologies for rambling on, as I never intended for this to get so long. As I've said before, this is all just my opinion, and I know I could be completely wrong, so I'm glad as always to hear from my followers with your thoughts. Thanks for writing in! x
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marveltrumpshate · 6 months
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As we said in our closing message at the end of this year’s auction, we've become something bigger and better than we ever imagined we could be when our journey began in 2018. As we mark half a decade of Marvel Trumps Hate, we want to share a few milestones with you starting with this year's auction results, so if you're used to our auction results posts…well, this one will look a little different. 😉
This year, 152 "Marvel"-ous creators came forward to offer 264 auctions.
And this year, we raised…
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Back in 2018, our first auction total of $19,262.52 blew our minds—and this is over $16,700 more than that! 😮💖🎉
This was a quieter year than most (surely we're not the only ones suffering burnout because this has been A Year), so we're extremely grateful and proud of what we accomplished together. We broke records, some of which we were aiming for and some which we weren't. Of the ones we didn't expect, the record for the highest amount donated to a charity, which we smashed in 2021 ($6,349.98 to Planned Parenthood), was shattered with a whopping $8,039.99 going to Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders). We also had the biggest amount raised by a single auction this year: an unbelievable $2,101.67. All hail the power of pods!
And the biggest record of all that we set in 2023…
Drum roll, please…
With the help of 923 unique creators offering 2,217 auctions over the past five years, we raised a grand total of…
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WE RAISED OVER $200,000, EVERYONE! No, we can't believe our eyes either. We're floored to say the least although maybe we shouldn't have been surprised. Every year, you manage to surprise us and set records, and this year was no different. You came out of the gate running and somehow you blazed right past our expectations, continued to make us adjust our stretch goals as bids and donations came in, and hit a number we weren't sure we'd reach even as we began to hope for it.
It’s been an incredible journey, with the mod chat pinging at all hours with excited gifs, effusive heart emojis, and inarticulate keyboard smashes as we expressed our love for the wonderful people in our fandom. It’s been very hard not blurting out the milestones as we reached them when we desperately wanted to share these amazing results with you all.
Creators, we couldn't have started this auction without you. We loved seeing so many veteran creators sign up again and were pleasantly surprised by how many new faces showed up to the party.
Bidders, as crazy as it sounds, most donations were small ones including a lot of those crazily high winning bids—so many of them were the result of people pooling their five dollars together! This has been consistently the case since MTH began. It just goes to show how much of an impact you can have when you’re part of something bigger than yourself. Each donation has a ripple effect, and enough ripples can cause a wave. You matter, and you can make a difference.
We also owe our success to our amazing signal boosters. There can’t be an auction without any participants, so to every fandom community Tumblr that agreed to reblog our posts, every Discord server mod who let us post announcements, and every person who shared our posts and encouraged their fandom friends to sign up and/or bid, thank you so much! Together, we reached hundreds of fantastic creators and bidders from all corners of the Marvel fandom, many of whom we didn't know and some who were hearing about us for the first time.
We’re so touched by the massive number of people who donated above and beyond their pledged amount, creators who took on multiple auctions and offered multiple winner slots, and bidders who accepted their second-place wins with such eagerness! We also had people make donations in the spirit of MTH even though they didn’t win an auction, which was beyond generous.
In addition to the astounding amount of money we were able to raise for charity, MTH was successful in other ways. We strove to be as inclusive as possible, determined to make this event a fandom-wide effort. Considering that the auctions covered over 381 unique platonic and romantic relationships and character-centric options (if we include "all ships/gen"-inclusive relationships, this number is even higher) across 36 universes within the Marvel multiverse, we can safely say that we accomplished our goal.
This spirit of inclusion also applies to our auctions and charities. Every one of 264 auctions was bid on, and every one of our 30 supported charities received donations. We’re in awe of your commitment to supporting all our creators and charities and thrilled that you spread all the love around, bidders!
Here’s our breakdown of the donations (to enlarge the image, click here and hover to see the donation amount per charity).
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We’ve also listed the amount raised per charity on our 2023 auction results page.
From the bottom of our hearts, we thank you for helping us turn our sixth Marvel Trumps Hate auction and the celebration of half a decade of MTH into such a fantastic experience. We cherish every single message of love and support that we received and continue to receive on our Discord server and through DMs, Tumblr messages, emails, tweets, etc. THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH! We wouldn't be half as good at this—we couldn't have done any of this—if we weren't doing it with you. And that's the truth. ❤️
To remember or learn why we created this auction in the first place, please check out our 2018 "thank you" post to all of our creators, bidders, signal boosters, and supporters.
If you'd like to stay updated on all of the 2023 Marvel Trumps Hate fills, follow us and/or check out the "mth 2023" tag on our Tumblr. You’ll also be able to find works posted on AO3 in our Marvel Trumps Hate 2023 collection and links to fills in our Discord server, which you can join to brainstorm prompts, chat about fills, and find out about other fandom events.
Thank you once again to everyone who volunteered their services, time, money, and platforms to spread the word. These are tough times we live in, and it's easy to believe that there's only so much you can do as an individual. But as Tony and Natasha realized throughout their years as Avengers, we become something more than ourselves when we're part of a team.
We may come from different walks of life and hail from different parts of the world. We may be part of different fandoms within the Marvel multiverse. Many of us don't cross paths except this one time of the year. But despite our differences, we share a common goal and because of our differences, we're capable of making the impossible possible. And the only way to do that is, as Steve and Tony learned over their years of knowing each other, together.
And with that, MTH 2023 has officially come to a close. We're so beyond grateful to you all and can’t wait to see all of your fanworks over the coming year! But first, we’re going to follow baby Groot and take a moment to relax.
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Lots of love and gratitude, Your 2023 MTH mods
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wosowrites · 9 months
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In the End (Jessie Fleming x Reader)
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warnings: mental breakdown
prompt: in which canada wins the world cup causing the reader to break down and jessie, her ex girlfriend, to comfort her.
a/n: had to get this one out before canadas game for my girl @woso-scotland
No one believed in Canada other than the canadian fans. English fans wanted england to win but knew Germany, Sweden and USA had a good chance as well. Canada was never on the list of possible victors in the mind of football fans. And yet, they shocked the world.
Germany versus Canada. World Cup final. August 20th. You were shitting yourself. Lena sat beside you, whispering words of encouragement. It was your second World Cup, but France 2019 hadn’t met your expectations. You wanted glory, and now it was in your reach. To be honest, you were scared about the football aspect, but you were terrified of the opponent. After a 0-0 draw to Nigeria, Canada had become positively deadly. But Jessie Fleming was the actual issue. You played for Arsenal, she for Chelsea, and after a game in 2021 you had started talking and eventually dating. But you couldn’t say no to a transfer offer to your childhood club, Wolfsburg when it came. You didn’t handle the situation well, basically ghosting your girlfriend and then telling her in a short text that you couldn’t be with her. It was unfair, but emotions were never your thing and they weren’t hers either so your younger self thought it would be fine.
It wasn’t. And you knew that when you got to Germany and realized how in love you were with her. Too late though. You thought it had been too late. But the second you walked out of the tunnel to roaring germans and canadians, you knew it wasn’t. Your eyes locked with your ex-girlfriends and you could basically see her pupils widen. She still loved you too. Your heart swelled with joy and you smiled at her slightly. She smiled back gently, her freckles brighter than ever due to the tan she had gained from the australian sun.
"Don’t look at the opponent like that, y/n," Popp scowled at you, grabbing your jersey and dragging you far far away from the Canadian side.
The game started off slower than a World Cup should have. Canada had most of the possession, passing confidently and trying to send balls through. But every time Ashley Lawrence, Kadeisha Buchanan or anyone else from the red side tried to send a ball up, your midfield would block it but not well enough so the ball would be sent back to Canada who would resume their passing.
Lena had the first shot of the game but it was an easy save for Kailen Sheridan. From then on, it was all Canada in the attack. The german box was crowded and any shot could happen any time. However, Jessie went down just outside the 18, holding her head after a collision with Lina Magull. You want to help her up as she was close to you but you felt Alexandra’s eyes burn into your skull so you looked away and placed yourself in the wall for the free kick.
It deflected off your head, pretty painfully you might add, but then out of nowhere, a whistle was blown and the referee signaled a VAR check.
Now a lot of people say Canada only win games through penalties, but during team talks, Martina had brought up that she thought that to be untrue. You can’t get penalties without attacking the opponents box. And Canada did that skillfully, and when they couldn’t finish, they drew fouls. It was a strategy and their strength. You thought you were going to throw up. Had it been you? Had you maybe cost your team the first goal.
It hadn’t been you. It had been Klara. She had pushed Jayde Rivière in the back to move her away from your keeper before the ball was kicked. And then the referee was pointing at the spot. Your ex girlfriend was standing in front of the ball, and she scored without a fail. Bottom left, no chance for Ann Katrin.
Canadian voices filled the stadium in the 44' minute. You couldn’t have been more angry and more happy for half time to come.
Martina was positive. Demanding, harsh, but positive. And her positivity was what drove you to score in the 56th.
A corner kick resulted in your continuous movement around the box. You went back and forth, in and out, anything to be a bother to the Canadian defenders. And that you were. In a rare Kadeisha Buchanan slip up, she had lost you as her mark. The corner went short to Lena who fired it into the box but Buchanan cleared it… right to you. One touch was all it took. You leaned over the ball and hammered it as hard as you could. The ball glides over the grass and slammed into the back of the net. You screamed so loudly your head went light. Running with your arms wide, you yelled, and cheered, and punched the air. Lena picked you up in her arms and held you high in front of the German fans. Alexandra kissed your head, your teammates screamed words of love at you.
But the Canadians weren’t done.
From then on, there was no break. Through substitutions came new legs but almost no shots were taken. It was as though a big game of keep away was hapenning between the two boxes. And then something so unexpected happened that you almost looked at the ref to see if it was aloud. Quinn scored. They got the ball from a clumsy pass from the German defence and shot the ball so hard you were almost scared for Ann Katrins safety.
The stadium erupted, Quinn looked almost scared of themselves.
But then you scored again, securing the golden boot. You didn’t care about that though. You wanted the big money. The big WC. A free kick taken by Lena Oberdorf in the 94th minute hit the cross bar and then went off your head and into the net, seeming almost accidental.
Extra time. You were exhausted.
But Canada ended it with a strike from Jordyn Huitema within the 18.
When the final whistle blew… well you wanted to die. You fell to your knees and let your head hit the turf. You stayed like that in child’s pose, plugging your ears to try and block out the Canadian celebrations for almost the minutes. Staff tapped your back, Martina tried to comfort you and tell you how proud she was of your goals but you just wanted to sob and never stop sobbing. So that’s what you did.
You sat up and sobbed to yourself. Head in your hands, heart in the most horrible pain it had ever been in, and mind full of doubts about what this meant for your future. Your body shaked so hard, harder than anyone else on the pitch. You sobbed louder, shook harder and felt worse than anyone else on that field. Maybe it was because you had felt the taste of glory and it had been taken away so suddenly, or maybe it was the fact that despite your goals you couldn’t secure the cup for your team, but whatever it was, it led you back to Jessie.
As soon as Jessie had congratulated and been congratulated by everyone, she looked to find you. The bright number 7 on your back was facing the Canadian side and she could see how hard you were crying. She basically ran to you, quickly kneeling beside you and cupping your face in her hands. This meant a lot. Jessie Fleming was not one for PDA.
Having her freckles so close to you once again almost made you feel okay, but then there was the fact that you couldn’t breathe. "Hey, it’s okay, it’s okay. You played so well, you were so good," she whispered to you, trying her best to help you close out the sound of the crowd. "I- I can’t breathe," you said, taking huge gulps of air. Jessie sat beside you and let your head rest on her shoulder. She brushed her fingers through your baby hairs, kissed your head and whispered words to you. Ten minutes later, however the ache still there, the shaking wasn’t. "I need to get back to my team," she whispered, looking over her shoulders at the screaming and crying Canadians. "Yeah, me too," you said.
She gave you a small nod and then said "we should talk. Later, tomorrow or in a week if you want. Whenever your ready," she said. You nodded absent mindedly and walked away.
Receiving the golden boot was an award you knew you would appreciate later on, but you accepted it like a zombie in a trance. Everything felt blurry and you faked a small smile for the camera before hurrying off stage. Kailen got the golden glove, Sophia Smith the young player of the tournament and you all took a picture together. Then, the trophy lift.
You sat down on the turf, under the players bench with your head in Lena’s arms. She cried and you cried as you watched the red, white and gold confetti litter the field. "In four years, Lena. I promise you," you cried to her.
A week later
You hadn’t realized how freeing it was not to be in World Cup mode anymore. You could breathe, sleep, and eat without asking yourself how it would impact your game. In your last day in Australia before going back home to your family in Germany, you set up a meeting with Jessie at this small café.
Jessie arrived a couple minutes after you. She looked perfect, but she looked as though it was her first day in a while of being sober. "First day sober for a week, huh?" you asked her when she sat down. "That obvious?" she smiled. "Yeah. But you still look perfect," you let slip.
Jessie blushed and looked down at her lap. "You deserved that cup. Convert to Canadianisme," she teased. "And how does that work. Do I just marry a Canadian or…" you smiled. "Your flirty today," she smiled. "Yeah I’ve been drunk for different reasons," you laughed.
"Drinking your pain isn’t good y/n," she grounded you. "And drinking your joy is?"
"Fair point I guess," she said. "You must feel on top of the world. Cause you are," you said to her after a beat.
"I actually dont. I feel stupid for not fighting for you," she whispered. "Don’t. Please don’t feel like that. I left without any warning. It was so unfair of me," you said to her, leaning closer to her. "World Cup, Olympic Gold, FA cups, League Titles, they’re all nice but they would be nicer if I could win them while calling you my girlfriend," Jessie said, looking at you with the kind of eyes only a psychopath would say no too. "Are you saying you forgive me for packing my bags and leaving you in the dust…?" you asked, not comprehensive of her words. "Because if this is some runner up pity party I don’t want it," you said. "It’s not a pity party. Listen you’ve lost a lot this year and I realized that the one thing I can change is for you not to have lost me," the freckled girl said.
You didn’t care who was watching, you stood up and kneeled next to her. You were a fair bit taller than her so being kneeled next to her didn’t make the biggest difference in height when she was sitting. You grabbed her face gently and lowered it and kissed her. Right in the middle of the café, right in front of everyone, right in the face of all the people who thought you were trash.
Because trash doesn’t bag Jessie Fleming.
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fannyyann · 22 days
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Tkachuk tells NHL.com how change in approach lifted game for Panthers
Forward no longer playing it safe, becomes ultimate clutch player in Florida
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – There was a time in Matthew Tkachuk’s life when he played it safe. It’s hard to remember now, hard to get that image out of your head, the one where he is crushing opponents and taking over Stanley Cup Playoff games and literally walking off the ice after scoring a game-winning goal in the fourth overtime of Game 1 of the 2023 Eastern Conference Final. 
It’s hard to remember there was a before. 
But there was.
Once upon a time, like most mortals, Tkachuk didn’t want to make a mistake. He didn’t want to be blamed. He didn’t want to err, to let down his teammates, the fans, himself. It was a time when he wasn’t quite as confident, wasn’t quite as assured -- if that can be believed -- when he didn’t know that, for him, safe was the riskiest play of all. 
“I think maybe earlier in my career, being a young player, not wanting to be the guy that made the mistake, [I] maybe played a little bit safe in the high-pressure situations,” Tkachuk said. “Just trying to play it smart and, honestly, safe’s a perfect word for it. 
“And then a couple years ago, I was like, why not make the play when nobody else wants to try to attempt it because they’re too nervous [about] what bad’s gonna happen? And I’ve seemed to go the other way, in the extreme other way, and that’s seemed to work the last few years.”
Tkachuk pinpoints it exactly, to 2021-22, his final season with the Calgary Flames, before the trade, before he landed in South Florida and became a genre-crossing star, before he helped propel the Panthers to the Stanley Cup Final last season. 
“I was like, ‘Why not?’” Tkachuk said. “Why wouldn’t you want to be the guy that can make that right play at the last minute of the game or whatever? … I’m like, I’m capable, I feel like I’m a good enough player where I can be confident in myself no matter what the situation is. And that’s just kind of kept going.”
The Panthers and Tkachuk will need it to keep going, as they head to the playoffs having hit a tough skid of late. The Panthers, who are set to face the Boston Bruins at TD Garden on Saturday (3:30 p.m. ET; ABC, ESPN+, SN, TVAS), are 3-6-1 in their past 10 games, including a 6-0 win against the Ottawa Senators on Thursday. 
They are second in the Atlantic Division, four points behind the Bruins, having clinched a playoff spot on March 28, a far cry from last season when the Panthers clinched with a single game remaining on their schedule. They then fell behind 3-1 in the best-of-7 first-round series against the Bruins. That was when they -- and Tkachuk -- came roaring back to force a Game 7. To win that Game 7. 
“I knew what he could bring on a stage like that, but I don’t think the whole rest of the world knew what he could do,” brother and Senators captain Brady Tkachuk said. “So for him to show what he was all about is pretty cool. And I think he’s got another level to his game.”
Paul Maurice thinks he knows why. 
The Panthers coach has seen a handful of players in his career who are elite, who might even rise to the level of potential Hockey Hall of Fame players. And when he’s viewing them, he notes something, something that seems to be common to all of them.
“I watch them and they have a higher expectation of the result,” Maurice said. “And the analogy I used [was] when that guy goes in and buys a suit, he expects it to fit right and it’s going to look good. He has an expectation of the result. 
“With Matthew, it seems to me, it’s tied, there’s four minutes [left], he’s excited about that situation because he has a really high expectation that something good’s going to happen because over the course of his life, that’s exactly what’s happened. It wasn’t a lottery. It’s just he’s gone out and made it happen, so he wants to and believes it can. 
“I never sensed any arrogance on him. I truly have not. It’s not like, hey, give me the puck, I’m the shooter. He just thinks when he hits the ice, it could happen, and his life has told him that it could happen. So why wouldn’t you enjoy the hell out of that?”
Oh, and he is. 
Not only has South Florida been a revelation for Tkachuk, so too has the team, which has entered into the top echelon of the NHL. He has figured out himself and his game, not only that he can -- and will -- come up big in the biggest of moments, but that he can also adjust to fit what the team requires, mold his game to the situation. 
Asked if he is a chameleon, he readily agrees. 
Especially in the playoffs. 
“I look at those types of playoff games differently,” Tkachuk said. “Like some people if they’re not producing, they’re not doing too much to help their team, whereas one of the good things that I’m able to do is recognize what my team needs out of me on that particular night or that particular shift. 
“There are some nights when offense comes second and all I’m trying to do is run around, be physical, try to forecheck and try to gain my team momentum like that. Even if teams are keying in on me or really focusing on me, there’s ways to make an impact.”
No one can argue with that. The Bruins still bear the scars -- some literal, some figurative -- of what Tkachuk did to them in the playoffs last spring. 
In the final four games of the first-round series, Tkachuk had eight points (four goals, four assists) to help them win the best-of-7 series. 
Boston forward Trent Frederic, who traces his understanding of Tkachuk back to basement games as kids in St. Louis, said that he thinks that, likely, had Tkachuk not been on the Panthers, the Bruins would have advanced. 
But he was. They didn’t. And now it’s not hard to believe that many teams are uninterested in seeing the Panthers on the opposing bench in the playoffs, in seeing Tkachuk on the opposing bench. 
Before a cracked sternum forced him to miss the fifth and final game of the last season’s Cup Final, Tkachuk had 24 points (11 goals, 13 assists), including four game-winning goals, in 20 playoff games. 
“So the playoffs, I think the one quote, he’s a [expletive] gamer, that’s how I feel about him in the playoffs last year. And I know it’s profane, but it’s also very specific words, it’s exactly the way I feel about him,” Maurice said. “Sometimes the words just fit. Sometimes they’re casual and you swear too much. Sometimes I do. But that is how I -- a [expletive] gamer. He comes up with the biggest plays time and time again. And his energy level to be able to play at that level, that was specific to the hockey. 
“This year, I’ve gotten to watch what an incredible leader he is.”
He sees it on the bench, in the exhortation of his teammates, in his calming of them, in his barking at them. He sees it when he brought a friend and his two kids into the dressing room after a game in Detroit, when Tkachuk paused in his postgame showering routine to sign a jersey, to take a picture, to get Carter Verhaeghe out of the shower to sign the other jersey. 
“I don’t even blame players who don’t sign,” Maurice said. “But he doesn’t have to do that, and he does that consistently. … It’s not fake. It’s not showy. I think he understands the responsibility that he has and he takes care of it.”
There are so many responsibilities heaped on Tkachuk now. 
He is a leader on the ice and off it. He is the second-leading scorer, with 83 points (24 goals, 59 assists), the top chirper and certainly the most talked about player on the Panthers. And he is ready, once again, to receive that pressure. He is ready for the playoffs. He is ready for the eyes and the lights and all that comes with it.
“I enjoy it,” Tkachuk said. “I think that the high intense games and the rivalry games and the, just like the intense part of the games that some guys might not feel too confident or comfortable, I seem to thrive in them and I love those moments.”
There will be no shortage of those moments in the waning days of the season, in the start of the playoffs, as the Panthers attempt to replicate their Cinderella run to the Final last season -- without the Cinderella part. 
Because much like the Panthers, who have been at or near the top of the NHL all season, there will be no surprises when it comes to Tkachuk. He is known, now. Known for stealing games, for coming up big in the biggest moments, for never, ever playing it safe. 
And when the pressure comes, as it will, he will be right there. 
“Knowing him, that’s going to make him go to another level,” Brady Tkachuk said. “And I think for him, he’s going to love, not the spotlight, but the opportunity that comes from that and what he’s going to be able to do with that. He gets better when the pressure is higher.”
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babydollmarauders · 1 year
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MEDIA MANAGEMENT — JACK HUGHES (PART TWELVE)
notes: i’m finally caught up on this series! just in time for the last regular season game!
previous: eleven
next: thirteen
y/ndevils00
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liked by jackhughes, lhughes_06, and 72,810 others
y/ndevils00 if you’re allergic to sappiness, you may wanna keep scrolling tonight!
first of all, i’m so proud of ALL my boys tonight! all 5 of our goal scorers, the assisters, and the ones who just played their asses off tonight!
now is where it gets sappy!
my jacky: you broke a 22 year old franchise points record tonight. YOU did that. i always knew you would do it, and i’m so grateful that i was there to see it happen. you’re my (real) best friend, my love, my heart, the father to my cat, and the best hockey player i’ve ever seen (sorry boys). the talent that you possess is constantly leaving me awestruck, and i can’t wait to see what you achieve in the future. i can’t imagine the past 3 years without you, and i hope i never have to live a future without you either. i am so unbelievably proud of you. congratulations, my sweet boy. lil satan and i love you to pluto! <3
my lukey: my little (not so little) brother for the past 3 years. for some context, i met luke when he came to a devils game literally the same month i started working for the team. jack introduced me to him and lukey and i hit it off. i ended up sitting with him at the game, we exchanged numbers, and i adopted him as my own little brother very quickly. when luke was chosen in the 2021 draft, i cried tears of joy; but those tears were nothing compared to the ones i shed tonight. my baby brother made his nhl debut tonight and i couldn’t be happier for him. i look forward to seeing you absolutely kick ass and show everyone in this league how incredibly talented you are. congratulations on your debut, smush! i love you! <3
p.s. rasmus dahlin, i am in your walls. stay away from my boyfriend.
tagged jackhughes and lhughes_06
user did she just call luke “smush”?! that’s so cute, i need the reason asap
y/ndevils00 no real story behind it! we just smush/squish each others cheeks a lot! also, we watched finding nemo for our first facetime movie night and he took up calling me “squishy” like dory called the jellyfish.
john.marino97 they really do do it often. i’ve counted 12 times in the past 2 days
jackhughes i love you to pluto, sweet girl. thank you for being by my side to celebrate this achievement. i’m so thankful that i get to spend life with you ❤️
y/ndevils00 you’re so obsessed with me
jackhughes PARTS of you, for sure
y/ndevils00 you perv! there are innocent eyes present! @/lhughes_06
jackhughes i meant your heart!
lhughes_06 we have thin walls, i know you’re lying.
lhughes_06 @/y/ndevils00 also, why would you tag me?!
lhughes_06 thank you squishy! this was really sweet but can you stop crying now?
y/ndevils00 you didn’t say you love me, so no
lhughes_06 i love you!
y/ndevils00 well now it just seems forced. i hope you can sleep through my wails and tears
john.marino97 congrats hughesy! so happy for you! and congrats little hughesy! you did great!
jackhughes thanks bro!
lhughes_06 thanks man!
y/ndevils00 @/jackhughes @/lhughes_06 yeah, you guys are so siblings
john.marino97 @/y/ndevils00 did you think they weren’t?
y/ndevils00 idk i was just kinda hoping that maybe ellen actually switched jack at birth and he’s not actually their son but i’m their daughter
jackhughes @/y/ndevils00 that’s the oddest way to say you love my family. you’re such a little nutcase, i love you
lhughes_06 @/y/ndevils00 you weren’t even born in florida like jack…
y/ndevils00 @/lhughes_06 you’re a brat
dawson1417 LFG BRO! SO PROUD OF YOU HUGHESY!
jackhughes THANK YOU BRO! APPRECIATE IT!
dawson1417 congrats luke!! smashed it tonight, dude!
lhughes_06 thanks dude! looking forward to playing more games with you!
trevorzegras HOLY SHIT CONGRATS BRO’S! KILLING IT! can’t wait to play against you @/lhughes_06
y/ndevils00 no.
jackhughes thanks bro! hope your game goes well!
y/ndevils00 @/jackhughes no.
lhughes_06 thanks z! excited to kick your ass next season 🔥
y/ndevils00 @/lhughes_06 yes.
y/ndevils00 @/trevorzegras is officially banned from my comments until he apologizes to me. any more comments about or from him will be deleted.
trevorzegras what did i do now?
y/ndevils00 @/trevorzegras it’s more what you WON’T do.
trevorzegras is this seriously because i won’t dress up as ken to see the barbie movie with you?
y/ndevils00 @/trevorzegras blocking you. deleting your number. lasering off our matching tattoo.
user63 they have matching tattoos?!
y/ndevils00 @/user63 not anymore.
lhughes_06 @/user63 yeah it’s the moon and saturn
user84 am i the only one who thought she and trevor just genuinely didn’t get along?
y/ndevils00 @/user84 i feel like a lot of people think that, so i’m only gonna say this once so he can’t use it against me: trevor is actually one of my closest friends! i love him very much and i THOUGHT he loved me. if you scroll back to the summer on my account you’ll actually find loads of posts with him! we just have a funny way of showing our love but i’m actually very grateful to have a friend like him 🖤
trevorzegras 📸
y/ndevils00 @/trevorzegras i take it all back. i hate you, troll doll.
trevorzegras did you just insult my hair?! TAKE IT BACK!
_quinnhughes @/trevorzegras she literally called you a “brainless bimbo” and “the human equivalent of cat zoomies” the other day on the group call and your HAIR is where you cross the line?
_quinnhughes so proud of the both of you 💙 congrats guys
lhughes_06 thank you quinner ❤️ love ya bro
jackhughes thanks quinny! love ya ❤️
y/ndevils00 my baby boys <3
jamie.drysdale i wanna know what was running through your mind when jack looked straight at you when you took the arrival picture
jackhughes she yelled “shit! fuck! abort mission!” and dove behind the equipment boxes
lhughes_06 she scared the actual photographer and almost made them break their camera
user37 why does luke look like he has no emotions in the third slide?
y/ndevils00 it’s the hughes dead eye stare! they can all do it VERY well because they’re all emotionally dead inside <3
nicohischier proud of you guys! excited to play with you more @/lhughes_06 and can’t wait to see if you’ll break your own record next season @/jackhughes
jackhughes thanks cap!
lhughes_06 thank you cap!
y/ndevils00 he will!
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matan4il · 3 months
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Daily update post:
There was an attempted terror attack today in Samaria, which was thwarted, the 16 years old terrorist tried to stab people, but he was neutralized before he managed to hurt anyone.
In Haifa, however, another terrorist was more successful. He managed to run over a 20 years old man with his car, seriously injuring him. Then the terrorist got out of the vehicle, wielding an axe, and started chasing down civilians who were at the scene, but thankfully there were was a soldier nearby, who neutralized him before any further damage was caused. A reporter mentioned the exact location inside the city where the attack happened, pointing out that it's a very crowded area, right by a hospital (it happens to be the one where my grandmother was hospitalized a few years ago, when a foreign worker ran her over and fled the scene, and I spent a week there with her, so I knew exactly what the reporter was talking about), so the odds of accidentally shooting a civilian while trying to stop the terrorist was high, yet the soldier managed to react quickly, effectively and accurately, and in this case, with no collateral damage. He's a hero. Here's a pic of the car used in this attack:
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I got to hear an interview with Dr. Oren Tamari, an Israeli doctor who looked after an old Gazan woman, who was found tied to her bed. She was asked what happened, and according to her reply, two days prior, terrorists (there's no way of knowing whether they were members of Hamas or Palestinian Islamic Jihad) tied her there, maybe intending for that to be a way of luring soldiers into a trap, when they'd fight with terrorists, and unknowingly kill her as well. Dr. Tamari was asked whether he had come across anything similar in Gaza, and he confirmed that it's not the first such usage of civilians by terrorists that he had encountered.
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Germany, Japan, France, Romania and Austria have also announced that they're suspending their financial aid to UNRWA, and the EU said it is reviewing the matter, following the news that there's evidence some of this UN agency's employees have been involved in the Hamas massacre. In the case of one employee, he and a first degree relative were implicated in the kidnapping of an Israeli woman, while several others were killed during the Oct 7 massacre on Israeli soil, leaving no doubt of their complicity.
In reaction to the claim that the employees who participated in Hamas' massacre were "just a few bad apples," on top of the repeatedly proven wide scale complicity of UNRWA in encouraging antisemitism and terrorism, Israel is also pointing out that there is a structural connection between UNRWA and Hamas beyond the 12 employees that the UN had to concede participated in Hamas' atrocities. It was pointed out that about 10% of UNRWA's Gaza staff has ties to terrorists (23% of male staffers have ties specifically to Hamas), and 49% have close relatives who hold official positions in terrorist organizations, especially Hamas. In the past, Hamas has even directed the resignation and of a non-Palestinian director of UNRWA for his "crime" of not disputing that the IDF's strikes in Gaza in May 2021 were 'very precise' (meaning, not indiscriminate bombing). The participation in Hamas' massacre of UNRWA employees is just the inevitable end result of this symbiotic relationship between this UN agency, and Gaza's terrorist dictators.
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Ironically, Arab countries which hardly donate to UNRWA felt completely free to attack the western countries that did, and decided to suspend this financial support until they know their money isn't going to terrorists. Shame really is dead.
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For that matter, we can talk about the fact that in southern Lebanon, UN employees don't do anything about Hezbollah terrorist activity, even when Hezbollah fires at Israeli civilians from between two UN posts, and despite the UN's stated goal is to make sure this terrorist organization is not so much as present in this area, in accordance with UN resolution 1701. And we can also talk about the UN's complicity in crimes against civilians, like UN involvement in corruption in Russia, UN employees raping local women in Haiti (it's believed most women raped by a UN employee did not report the crime committed against them) and UN employees involved in sexual exploitation and abuse in Congo. The idea that the UN is an impartial, super-human force for good in this world is... just not true. It has been called out on its complicity in crimes before, it NEEDS to be called out for its systematic complicity in crimes against humanity, that Hamas and other Palestinian terrorists committed.
In not unrelated news, it only took almost 4 months, but the UN Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict, Pramila Patten (center in the pic below), has arrived in Israel with a team that will look into Hamas' sexual crimes on Oct 7. They're expected to work here for about a week.
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It seems Nancy Pelosi is being attacked for urging the FBI to investigate whether Russia has links to protests in the US pushing for a ceasefire in Gaza. What these attacks seem to ignore is that her comments appear to follow the publishing of a US state department report on Soviet antisemitism, which is responsible for cultivating anti-Zionism as an anti-westeren tool, and that antisemitism and protest funding are tools currently employed by the Kremlin.
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This is 21 years old Dor Reeder.
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He moved to kibbutz Be'eri in order to take care of a kid with special needs there, while his parents live in the neighboring community of kibbutz Sa'ad. His father, Tzvi, is a Red Magen David paramedic, who on Oct 7 had a feeling that the rocket attack they started experiencing that morning was abnormally intense. Tzvi notified the emergency squad of kibbutz Sa'ad that they should be alert. Thankfully, they were and together with one tank, they managed to protect their community. Kibbutz Sa'ad was attacked by terrorists, but suffered no massacre. Tzvi continued in his work, evacuating the wounded under fire. Dorit, his wife, is a nurse, and was a part of opening an emergency field hospital in kibbutz Sa'ad. Some of the injured from the Nova music festival were brought for treatment at this hospital. While Dor lived in kibbutz Be'eri, he also found love there, a 19 years old girl named Tchelet. They were hiding together during the Hamas massacre, but were eventually found. While Tzvi managed to help save his own kibbutz, Dor and Tchelet were murdered by terrorists. It took 9 days of uncertainty for the news to be confirmed. May their memory be a blessing. Tzvi asked for everyone to be strong, raise Israel's flag, and hold our head up high.
(for all of my updates and ask replies regarding Israel, click here)
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peppertaemint · 9 months
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Let's talk about Taemin and Key of SHINee wearing the Scottish fashion house Charles Jeffrey Loverboy, an openly queer unisex brand. There’s a lot of talk about whether idols know who they are wearing and, when relevant, do they understand the meaning of what they are wearing. We know there are clear examples of artists not understanding what they’re wearing. Indeed, 23-year-old, non-English-speaking Taemin admitted in 2021 that he had no idea the fly of his pants read “Open Here” during View era. Yet, a lot has changed this 2015/16. Taemin’s English is quite proficient. And what about Key, who has studied English since he was a child? I think we can consider understanding the words and understanding the context or broader meaning behind words or, as the case may be, symbols, which can be universal.
Taemin in the Advice album photobook, 2021.
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The Charles Jeffrey Loverboy brand is no ordinary brand. It’s a spunky, fun and edgy unisex brand with genuine British flavour. From London Fashion Week's write up:
"Looking back to look forward, the collections re-render historical references as intrinsically modern while paying respect to an ancestral line-up of costumiers, performance artists and queer icons. Jeffrey’s nightlife-influenced thirst for experimentation, and belief in the validity of mistakes, result in a colourful tension between control and chaos.
"LOVERBOY’s roots are fixed in London’s queer nightlife scene, having been born in 2014 as both a fashion label and a cult club night. The LOVERBOY parties, first staged while Jeffrey was studying for his Masters in fashion design at Central St Martins in London, were attended by the city’s up-and-coming artists, performers, musicians, drag queens and poets, many of whom became Jeffrey’s future muses and creative collaborators."
Live performance of Advice, 2021.
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The tartan in these looks is known as the loverboy tartan. In the current collection, they have an “odorable” loverboy tartan raincoat with giant floppy bunny ears. I’m too lazy to link it, but do look it up and peruse the punk-meets-whimsy items on the website.
Taemin’s stylist for Advice was Kim Wook. You can read an interview with Kim Wook in translation here. Wook talks about he and Taemin wanting to do something impactful before Taemin entered the military, and they settled on working with silhouettes that are usually seen on female dancers. I could do a whole post on Taemin’s styling for Advice (maybe I will!), but to connect things back to the brand at hand, the flamboyantly unisex Loverboy brand seems to be at home with the goal of Advice’s styling. Advice was Taemin’s way of saying “I will go my own way and trust myself over others,” and I don’t think the androgynous or even gender-fluid looks he presented are a coincidence; Wook’s interview shows that it isn’t. These looks feel like a push forward for Taemin, and he’s been clear in saying Advice was a breakaway from his past. Act I and Act II were leading to this moment.
Taemin has been wearing Charles Jeffery Loverboy upon in return in 2023. I think the most significant choice is the non-binary shirt he wore a fan meeting during Hard era. The t-shirt is a jab at conservatives’ obsession with the love lives and indeed, bathroom usage, of LGBT+, saying, “They’re happy and satisfied. Are you?” There is a also a good-sized, unmistakable non-binary symbol on the shirt. I hadn’t seen this symbol before but it was still easy for me to comprehend. As an artist who is increasingly wearing gender-fluid outfits, it is likely a conscious choice to wear a shirt that supports non-binary rights.
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Now, we can’t forget fashion-forward, English king Key in all of this. Key has always had a love and fascination with fashion; we saw in One Fine Day his interaction with a local London fashion brands. He’s a man who knows his fashion houses, so it seems unlikely he wouldn’t know about the Loverboy brand or its ethos as a unisex brand.
Key primarily wore Charles Jeffrey Loverboy accessories for his Gasoline promotions in 2022. The adorable hat with ears is statement wrapped in cuteness, that speaks to the camp motif present in both Key’s body of work and the Loverboy label’s. It’s cute, but not too cute. It’s loud but soft, and the Loverboy stamp is there for all to see. I think that Key embodies what LSF wrote about the Lovery label as “a colourful tension between control and chaos.” Key is never afraid to experiment, and he can go from creating iconic androgynous silhouettes reminiscent of ancient gods and Beyoncé to the retro-camp shown below that almost looks like it could be at home in a Ghostbusters film. Almost.
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There are contexts where, like the above, it is more than reasonable to assume that the artists understand what they are wearing and that the choices made are conscious and in some cases made with the goal of the comeback in mind. And there are situations where it’s possible or even confirmed by the artist that they didn’t know what they were wearing or what it meant. I think it can become an obsession for some to want the styling to be conveying a secret code. With the case of Charles Jeffrey Loverboy, there’s no code and it’s not secret. It’s simply known and recognised by those who know, which is enough.
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hachibani · 2 months
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i'd never seen a dog tear up
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I don't think i ever wrote about it here but Bianca died on march 5th of 2021, she got diagnosed cancer in 2020 just before lockdown and major pandemic events and unfortunately every treatment I could get her in such times were not enough or too late and the moment her metastasis became unresponsive to pain medicine i decided to let her go
i know i didn't talk about her a lot here since twitter became my main site of activity for years but i remember when she had her accident back in 2016 i posted about her here too, i got a lot of support and commissions to pay for her treatment and thankfully i got support as well when i opened comms there to pay for her chemo and surgeries, and for that i will always be thankful. I don't know why but I kind of had thought if I ever post about Bianca again here in this little old blog it'd be about her beating her cancer, something happy
i really regret the fact i didn't post more about her when she was alive and once she died my depression got so bad i was either unavailable or tried to ignore the pain by focusing on personal work... to this day it still hurts to think of everything that i could or should have done even if there's no way i cannot go back in time
losing bianca after almost 13 years of being together and more than half of my life at the time with her was more traumatic than i'd like to admit, so i try to rationalize little things like not being able to replace her picture even after so long, the most i've done is sell her stroller and i still kind of regret that haha;; but neither of her brothers fit in and at some point it became too much of a reminder of her illness and last days it felt like i had to, but just that one
(even thinking she was part of my life for 1/2+ of it and that that fraction will become smaller as time passes feels so wrong it might make me cry again)
i didn't get to draw her as much as i wished either, i thought i could never capture her cuteness (i still struggle) but since i drew her again on her first death anniversary i thought "i could somewhat get her to look cute" and i try to draw her looking like this from then on https://twitter.com/hachibani/status/1500315555215126536
because of her i started drawing pets more often, my goal for this year was to draw her at least once a month but... i didn't draw her at all in february, i think i'd like to make up and draw her again this month if my free time allows it, i never thought i'd get to complete a comic (albeit short) about these feelings i've had, i have still, i don't know for how long i'll have
doing personal art like this has never been easy but i somehow feel less heavy now, maybe it's bc of the wall of text i'm leaving haha
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One of Your Kind (Ch. 5)
Ch. 1 | Ch. 2 | Ch. 3 | Ch. 4 | Ch. 5 | Ch. 6 | Ch. 7 | Ch. 8 | Ch. 9 | Ch. 10
Word count: 5.2K
Summary: Jenna is getting very flirty with you and you notice that on several occasions, only you try to ignore everything until your friends decided to set something up…
Warnings: maybe a little bit of angst? Otherwise nothing really
Pairing: Jenna Ortega X Fem!Reader
———
November 2021
A couple weeks passed since your fight with Tim, but you didn’t want to see it like that. You wanted to see it as two weeks passed since you opened up with Jenna, since she slept in your bed as you both cuddled, that’s how you wanted to see it. Jenna had made it her personal goal to make you feel better, to make you trust people again and to just… be happy. She wanted to see you happy, she wanted to spend time with you. It started off small: at the start she would come in your trailer or you would go in hers, you’d play games or talk about anything or even watch movies together, actively avoiding horror movies as she knew you didn’t like them, you were more into fantasy and sci-fi and she took a liking to those genres too, and it often happened that you’d fall asleep in her bed, snuggled up to her. Even if she was the one in your trailer, you both snuggled up to each other and you’d always fall asleep first.
You never knew that Jenna purposely stayed awake longer to just watch you sleep and play with your hair, sometimes even tracing your skin with her fingers - she was glad you always slept soundly. You looked so relaxed whenever she was around and she noticed that, your face muscles were always tense at work, unlike how they are when you’re around her. You looked peaceful around her and she loved that. She loved how you felt safe whenever you were in her proximity. But you were too innocent, too innocent to realize that she was looking at you differently, too innocent to realized that maybe - just maybe - Jenna had feelings for you. However, you were still, just best friends.
You were indeed happier thanks to her but you had no doubts about that. You had been trying to reach out to her for a year and now that you spent the majority of your time with her, you were happy. You were slowly feeling better and starting to open up to people again, though only Jenna knew your actual experiences, only she knew how you truly felt and she was glad she did, because she was there whenever you had those small break downs, she was there when you were scared to lose your job. Slowly but surely you started hanging out with everyone else again. They had questions but you dodged them thanks to Jenna’s help, she always wanted to protect you and you couldn’t be more grateful to have met her and even though you were quiet at first, soon enough you were really good friends with them: you were back at laughing, back at joking. You were the girl you used to be when you first met Jenna and you barely knew any english.
Once again, it was thanks to Jenna’s help that you went back at work. You talked with Tim and you both apologized to each other and as a director under his teachings you were becoming as precise and as meticulous as he was, which is why most of the times he gave you the job of combing Jenna’s bangs. He was so obsessed with it, he needed each strand of hair to be in a particular place and he trusted you to just know what was gonna work for the episode and this morning that’s exactly what you were doing. As Jenna was sitting in a chair after getting her hair braided you were trying to find the right position to comb her bangs. If you knelt down she was too up high, if you stood up she was too low, if you bent down your back hurt… however you were trying to do your best.
“Wouldn’t it be best if you sat on my legs? I can see you’re having a hard time” Jenna said, and you gulped nervously as you tried to hide it with a giggle. “Nah don’t worry I can still work with this” you said and she scoffed. “Oh come on! We’ve known each other long enough. Plus you’ll get a better view and a more comfortable angle to work from” you eventually gave in and sat on her legs straddling her, you were nervous and she sensed that, but why were you nervous? You were doing your job, and she was your friend. Right?. Jenna’s hands found their place on your thigh which only incremented your nervousness, a pink shade appeared on your cheeks but she ignored it. Ha! She made you nervous. she could basically hear your fast heartbeat and As much as she enjoyed that, she also needed to calm you down and she did so by moving her head repeatedly and messing up your work, causing you to laugh at the faces she made as you definitely did calm down “stop it! Come in I need to get this done” you laughed and she did too, but she continued on moving her head from side to side, making it impossible for you to get the job done but you didn’t care, you were having fun.
That was until you noticed it was getting late and Jenna soon needed to be on set. Without thinking of it you very gently grabbed her chin, making her stop her movements as she looked at you and you did the same, her eyes moving from your eyes to your lip and for a brief second you did the same. Silence filled the room for a while, your hand stil having a hold of her chin as you looked at each other, slowly leaning closer to her until the door was opened and Emma stormed in. You quickly stood up and off of her as Jenna removed her hands from your thighs only to place them in her own lap. “Hey Jen you need to-“ Emma stopped talking when she saw you get off of Jenna, having briefly seen that you were sitting in her lap. “Did I interrupt something?” Your reply came quicker than expected “no not at all” you said laughing nervously. “Hmmm. Okay. Jen you’re needed on set” Emma said before leaving the room and you sighed of relief before turning back to Jenna, none of you saying anything for a while as you went back to work on her bangs, this time standing up. Only after a couple minutes you noticed Jenna smiling slightly at you.
“Why are you smiling?” You asked her and she slightly shook her head as to not ruin your work. “Nothing, you just look cute, all focused on me” you blushed brighter than earlier, this time trying to hide the smile. Oh god, was she flirting? Yes, she was flirting and you were falling straight into her trap. “Come on let’s get you on set” you said, avoiding her attempt at flirting but Jenna smiled anyway, she was the reason you were nervous, - a happy kind of nervous indeed - and she was going to take advantage of it. Of course Tim was more than happy with the way you combed her bangs, if only he knew how long it took you to make it this right.
You and Jenna never talked about what would have happened if Emma hadn’t come in the room and you were still acting the same way with each other, she was as flirty as ever, but you’d often take it as a joke. You didn’t think she liked you, maybe she didn’t and you were there deluding yourself of what could be if she did like you, would you a be a happy couple? Would she want to make it public? And would she hurt you? This is what you were mostly scared of. You were scared of betrayal, you were scared of being abandoned again. Maybe this is also why you never replied to her attempts at flirting. However, Thanksgiving was soon, very soon. In Italy there’s no such thing and you had never celebrated it in America either so this would be very, very new for you. Everyone was making such a big deal out of it and you didn’t know why, it was just a lunch with a turkey in the middle of the table… right?
They were going to celebrate it on set too, and of course you were invited too. In some ways it reminded you of the huge Christmas dinner with the whole family everyone has in Italy. You missed your home country in some ways, but not because of your family. No, you hated them. However, when the day came you were all having lunch on set, you had a restaurant prepare you all the food and take it on set so you didn’t have to move to go to a restaurant and of course, you were late. The night before you had gone to bed late because you were watching a movie and you forgot to set your alarm so you had to prepare in less than five minutes and head to the lunch. When you arrived, everyone had already arrived “I’m sorry for being late” you said and caught your breath, you had ran there. “Over here!” You turned to where Jenna was calling you from. “I saved you a seat next to me”
It was a pretty normal lunch, you were sitting next to Jenna and you were both amongst the rest of the cast. You were the youngest amongst the recording crew so most of the free time you had you spent it with the cast. As much time as it took you, you enjoyed their presence and they enjoyed yours. Once again, or maybe we should say like always, Jenna was flirting with you. “Girls you would make a really cute couple, you know that right?” Emma said. You were really good friends with her too, so she could afford the confidence she had with you, but her comment made you blush. “W-What? No we’re just really good friends.” You said as you drank a sip of your water, trying not to choke at Emma’s next comment. “Yeah mhm. You’re always in each other’s trailers and you know what I always say about couples? “And they were roommates” which you are basically and I’m never wrong” you sunk in your chair after having almost chocked, and you failed to notice the blush that had settled on Jenna’s cheeks too.
It was a really nice lunch and you ate A LOT. But after the lunch, like all the time Jenna invited you to her trailer. Recently you’d help her revise her lines, so you thought that this is what you two were going to do today as well. “God my back hurts a lot” Jenna said, grunting slightly as she bent to put her purse down. “Is it because of the stunts?” You asked her, and she nodded, sitting on her bed “we told you to get a stunt double… you’re not used to all this, you should have expected to get back pains” you said, still standing awkwardly in her trailer as you heard her chuckle “you sound like my mom” that made you laugh and shake your head. “Do you need a back massage? I’m pretty good at that” Jenna looked at you with pleading eyes and you smiled, taking your jacket off having understood what she wanted “take off your shirt and lay down on hour stomach” you turned around as she did so, and when she said she was ready you walked over to her, climbing on the bed and straddling her lower back.
As soon as you started massaging her you felt how tense her muscles were, and you heard her grunt of pain first, which turned to relief. You started from her lower back where her ditches of venus were. “This feels amazing…” she nearly whispered, she had her eyes closed and a small smile on her face, her head resting on her arms. The more you went up the more she relaxed and you had to move her long hair out of the way. At some point though she reached her hand back to unhook her bra, and you could say you panicked. “W-what are you doing?” Jenna could feel you had gotten tense. “Relax… I just unhooked my bra. I’m just giving you some more space” she said, “I’m not stripping off, we’re not there… yet.” As she giggled after her own comment, you gulped nervously and resumed with your massages. To say you wanted to bend down and kiss her bare skin was an understatement, and you really refrained from doing so.
The rest of the massage you were both quiet, and only when you were finished did you notice that Jenna had fallen asleep. You smiled and gently climbed off of her, hooking her bra again very gently, as you looked at her. She had been filming a lot recently and she looked exhausted. The freckles on her nose and cheeks even more visible when she wasn’t wearing make up, and you moved a strand of hair behind her eat to give her a better look, god was she stunning. You hesitantly leaned in and placed a soft kiss on her forehead, only to see her smile slightly, making you smile as well. “Sleep well Jen” you whispered and pulled the covers on top of her before going back to your own trailer.
December 2021
Christmas was near and you couldn’t wait to spend it with your friends. These past years you didn’t like Christmas but this year you were really excited, you knew it was hugely celebrated in America and even if now you were in Romania and they didn’t celebrate it like you guys do, you had ordered a Christmas tree from Amazon as well as some Christmas decorations to put up in your trailer and around set. In Italy it’s a tradition to put up Christmas decorations on the 8th of December and you were going to do the same thing here and you couldn’t be happier. You woke up earlier than everyone else, so that when they woke up they would see what you did. Useless to say that the cast was very happy with what they saw, you could see all their jaws drop. However, the “grownups” weren’t as happy.
“You need to get this stuff off of everything” director of the cameras said, and you pouted “oh come on! It’s Christmas” you said and he only scoffed “make everything disappear within ten minutes” he insisted “but-“ “now, (Y/N). We need to start filming” you sighed “gee, the grinch has a better Christmas spirit than you” you said, and without looking at the cast you climbed on the ladder to start with the higher up things, only… the ladder wasn’t as stable as you thought and you lost your balance, taking a really bad fall as your head hit the ground, though luckily you didn’t pass out “(Y/N)!” You heard someone yell, and by the time you sat up you saw everyone around you look worried. Well at least you thought so. Your vision was blurred, you saw double and even your hearing was confused: everyone was speaking and asking you questions but you couldn’t make out what they were saying. “Guys I don’t- I don’t understand what you’re asking me” you said and rubbed your head where you hit it, you were loosing some blood but it wasn’t much.
“What happened?” You asked as you tried to stand up. “No no no don’t stand up” Jenna said but you couldn’t understand any of it. However she was late, because you had already stood up but you lost your balance again. Luckily people were around you and made you sit back down. “Guys I’m fine” you kept saying, their voices sounded all mixed together and you couldn’t make out their faces, but you were sure Jenna was there. “How many fingers do you see?” Jenna said, holding out two fingers. hers was the only voice you understood. “Uh five? I don’t know” you said as you held your head and grunted. The next thing you knew you were in an ambulance, being taken to the hospital with Jenna coming with you. The whole situation was all a distant memory and you barely remembered it had happened when you got back from your trance state. “Ouch that hurts-“ you said as you felt the pain in the back of your head, it was bandaged and you had a couple stitches.
Only a few seconds later you realized you were at the hospital, and Jenna was there. Wait, wasn’t Jenna supposed to be filming? “What happened?” You asked as you sat up, looking at Jenna. She looked extremely worried, leg moving up and down at a speed as she fiddled with her own fingers. She was still in her Wednesday clothes for set. “You fell and hit your head,” Jenna started. “You scared us, (Y/N). You couldn’t stand up straight, you didn’t understand what we were saying, your vision was confused, I was scared” well, you had no recognition of all of this, you blinked twice and Jenna looked at you with glossy eyes as if you were seriously injured “it’s alright Jen, I’m okay now” you tried to reassure her and she nodded “I know… you just scared me big time” you looked at her again “want a hug?” You said with a smile, opening your arms for her. She seemed hesitant at first, but before any tears could leave her eyes she moved in your arms and a shaky breath escaped her lips as you held her tight. “I’m okay”
You left the hospital that same afternoon as you were better, and as you got back to the trailers you remembered why you had took that fall. You were asked to take the Christmas decorations off, and because of that all your happiness for Christmas vanished. “Are you gonna come to Percy’s trailer to play some Uno?” Jenna asked you with a smile, which you gave in return, only a smaller one. “I think I’ll go back to my trailer. In italy we put up the Christmas tree today and I want to do it. Those idiots already ruined the Christmas atmosphere, I at least want to have a Christmas tree in my trailer, you know?” Jenna looked at you with a small smile and a look of admiration, maybe even love- no definitely not love but it was different than any other time. “Why are you looking at me like that?” You giggled “I know it’s childish but it’s important to me” you said and waited for an answer “no it’s not childish at all, I admire that,” there it was, admiration. “Tell you what, I’ll come help you later tonight, okay?” She said. The thought of that made you happy, and you smiled brightly “see you later then!”
You definitely had your hopes up because she did not show up. You had left a few Christmas decoration for her to put on the tree including the star that goes on top, but she didn’t come and she didn’t even send you a text warning you, and to say you were a little bit sad was enough, though you didn’t blame her, she was probably really tired… but at least you expected a text. You had fallen asleep on the couch waiting for her only for her to not show up. That day you didn’t talk to her the whole day even if she had tried multiple times to apologize. “(Y/N) I’m sorry okay?” She said for the thousand time, following you back to your trailer “will you listen to me!?” She said and you finally turned to look at her, leaving her speechless for a short moment. “I’m sorry. It was late, I was tired. I didn’t even know what time it was and when I noticed, I had to go to sleep because my alarm would have rang two hours later. You get that right?” You sighed and nodded, looking down “I do get that, I don’t blame you for that. It’s just that I was waiting for you, I had left you a few decorations to put up and you didn’t show up, you didn’t even send a text… I’m just sad, that’s it” you said and shrugged
She apologized again and you replied with “it’s okay, I put them up this morning so the it’s fully decorated now” You saw her nod after that, and then move her eyes to the ground. Now she felt guilty. It was only a week later when you found yourself in a very, very awkward situation with Jenna. Emma and the others had been confabulating something and you knew it, they were looking at you and you would give them confused glares, and you didn’t know that but they were looking at Jenna, too. Were they maybe trying to set you up on a date with her? “Hey (Y/N), can you come here real quick?” Emma called for you, and you were anxious of what was waiting for you. “STOP!” You stopped dead in your tracks. “Stay there, don’t move” she said and then proceeded to call Jenna too. “What’s the meaning of this?” You said, only for your voice to be cut off by Emma’s voice calling for Jenna, and she walked over to where you were and stopped next to you. “Perfect!” Emma said, almost jumping of excitement. “Now look up” you gave her a glare before looking up.
Mistletoe.
Oh no you thought, this is bad. This is way worst than what you had anticipated, this was worst than a set up date, you had expected anything but some mistletoe, now you had to straight up kiss her. “You can’t be serious right now” you brought a hand up to your face, perhaps to hide the blush that had made its way in your cheeks and neck, you didn’t dare to look at Jenna, but she was looking down shyly too, bangs covering her eyes as she tried to suppress her smile, until you had what you thought was a brilliant idea. You stepped away from under the mistletoe, just one step. “Well I’m not under the mistletoe now so we can’t…-“ you were quickly interrupted when Jenna grabbed your arm, to prevent you from moving any further away from her as she pulled you in close, arms linked around your waist as yours automatically found place on her shoulders “… kiss…” you whispered, now that both your faces were inches away from each other.
You could feel her hesitant hot breath against your own lips that were parted ever so slightly, her eyes moving very quickly from your right eye, your left one and then your lips, creating some sort of triangle shape. Now that you were this close you felt your breath falter, heart hammering against your chest and you were so scared that it was going to come out of it if you didn’t calm down, however how could you? How could you calm down when Jenna was looking at you with nothing but love in her eyes? Her arms tightened their grip around your waist to bring you closer to her and only then you thought, oh how ethereal she looks. She looks like an angel, a goddess and any kind of positive affirmation you could come up with. “J-Jen…” you whispered nervously, you were really tense in her arms but she wasted no time in taking care of that when she leaned in to place her soft lips on yours. The beating of your heart only increases as you finally relaxed and gave in to the almost foreign feeling, everything else became background noises, eyes closing and your hand hesitantly moved from Jenna’s shoulder to her neck and then cheek reciprocating the kiss that felt so intense, yet so soft, and both foreign and familiar at the same time. You have no idea how long she has been wanting to do this for, and she hummed against your lips at the realization that this was finally happening. You could feel her smile against your lips and at some point you even moved forward for more.
Though when you pulled back from each other, as you saw her smile you felt… you felt scared. Scared that whatever happened with your ex could happen again. Scared she was going to hurt you, abandon you, talk bullshit about you and you didn’t want that, you couldn’t have that. If it happened again you would fall back into that depression Jenna found you in when you met again here in Romania, and in that case she would be the one that got you both out and back in it. You wanted her, you really wanted her. That’s what your heart kept telling you but your head wanted otherwise. This time you decided to follow your head, even if you knew that this would probably be the worst decision of your life. “I’m sorry I- I have to go” you said and pulled away from her embrace as you used the back of your sleeve to wipe the single tear that had rolled down your cheek “(Y/N) wait-“ Jenna called but you completely ignored her and ran to your trailer.
You considered yourself lucky, because the next day everyone would be flying back home to spend Christmas with their families and you really, really didn’t want to talk with Jenna, you were too scared. However that day she sent you lots of texts and called you multiple times, but you never replied to any of them. You even closed your trailer windows so she couldn’t come look inside and you had locked your door, but that didn’t prevent Jenna to come try and talk to you, and that’s exactly what she did. “(Y/N) why are you ignoring my calls?” She called softly, she sounded worried, but you were too scared to face her right now. “Look I don’t know what happened after that kiss that made you want to run away but really, I’m sorry and I want to help, please let me help” she begged and for a short moment you felt a soft noise, Jenna had laid her head against the door “I don’t want it to ruin anything. If you want we can forget it ever happened, what do you think?” No, you didn’t want to forget it, you wanted to do it again but you couldn’t. Oh how you wanted to just hold her and kiss her… however you said nothing. “Please…” it sounded more like a cry coming from her and once again you didn’t reply, and soon enough you heard her sigh and then walk away.
That same night, Jenna came again at your door, and you recognized that it was her just from the knocks, three like usual. “I bought you some food, it’ll be out here in a bag if you want it… there are also some plane tickets inside… if you ever want to come spend it with me and my family, I don’t want you to be alone here for Christmas so if you’re coming just text me okay? I lo-“ she stopped mid sentence. Please don’t say it, please don’t say it… “I’ll miss you for these two weeks” you sighed of relief. You did want to hear those words coming from her but on the other hand you knew that if you heard them, you would fall at her knees.
You didn’t have to hear those words.
On December 30 at midnight you took your first flight that would take you to Los Angeles. You had calculated how much it would take you to get there and if the flights were on time you would arrive at her house at 7.30 pm of December 31. You didn’t text her, deciding to make this a surprise… you had given up, you ended up following your heart as always. This time it felt different, Jenna was different. You knew she was the one and you couldn’t lose her.
Your second flight was late and you were freaking out. You needed to get to LA, get a bouquet of roses and get to her house in less than two hours or you wouldn’t make it to her house before midnight stroke, so for the first time in your life you decided to use your “famous person” privilege and get a private Jet, which was faster and comfier and at 11.50 pm you were in front of her door, the beautiful bouquet in your arms. There was music in the house, you knew she wouldn’t hear the bell ring, so you called her on the phone. “(Y/N)? How are you?” She asked, and you avoided her question “I’m here, open the door” Jenna went quiet, confusion all over your her face and her relatives questioned what it was about. “What do you mean?” “The door, dumbass” you giggled “I’m in front of your house and it’s freezing, just let me in” within seconds Jenna hung up the call and rushed to the door to open it.
As soon as she saw you, she gave you a bright smile and a confused look, then she saw the flowers, which you handed to her. “What’s the meaning of… this?” She said, gesturing to the flowers. “I didn’t like how our last talk ended… but it was my fault” you were definitely nervous but for now Jenna decided not to question that. “I wanted to end the year on a good note… and start the new year in an even better one” you said and took a step closer to her, she didn’t know what to say, she was just glad you were here.. and she definitely wasn’t expecting what was going to come next, because you pulled her in from her waist, (roles reversed from the first time you kissed) and a couple seconds before midnight stroke, you pulled her in for another kiss. This time it felt even better than the first one you had shared. In some ways it felt desperate, it even felt relaxed and soft. As one hand of yours stayed on her waist, the other one went to cup her cheek, caressing it with your thumb as fireworks started exploding around you, both literally and figuratively. The new year had just started and people were celebrating it with their loved ones and for the first time, you were doing the same.
You smiled in the kiss and when you both pulled back - still being only inches away from each other - you continued cupping her cheek, looking at her with love and lust in your eyes as you saw the colors of the fireworks reflect on her skin, and she looked at you the same way you looked at her.
“Happy new year, (Y/N)”
“Happy new year Jen”
A/N: WOAH this was definitely a rollercoaster of emotions, this was definitely my longest chapter posted and It’s probably the best chapter I’ve written so far 😭😭
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