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swashbuckler5e · 5 months

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Cruella 2021

Cruella is a 2021 American crime comedy film produced by Walt Disney Pictures, Marc Platt Productions and Gunn Films and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. It is based on the character Cruella de Vil from Dodie Smith's 1956 novel The Hundred and One Dalmatians. The film was directed by Craig Gillespie and produced by Andrew Gunn, Mark Platt and Christine Burr, with a screenplay by Dana Fox and Tony McNamara, from a story by Alain Brosh McKenna, Kelly Marcel and Steve Geese. It is the third live-action adaptation of the 101 Dalmatians franchise, and serves as a reboot and an alternate origin story for the title character. Emma Stone stars as the title character, with Emma Thompson, Joel Fry, Paul Walter Hauser, Emily Beecham, Kirby Howell-Baptiste and Mark Strong in supporting roles. Set in London during the punk rock movement of the 1970s, the film revolves around Estella Miller, an aspiring fashion designer, as she explores the path that led her to become a notorious up-and-coming fashion designer known as Cruella de Vil.

#Cartoon Characters #Cartoon #Kim Cartoon #Cartoon Network #Cartoon Movies #Anime Characters #Disney Plus #Disney +#Disney+#Disney #Disney Store #Disney Movies #Disney World #Disney Characters #movies #hollywood #super bowl #cruella 2021

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getmykilop · 2 years

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Who won the super bowl last year 2021

Peacock, the Comcast-owned NBCUniversal streaming service, was launched last July and reached 33 million subscribers by the end of 2020. At the end of Q3 2020, it reported just under 18 million paid subscribers to CBS All Access and the Showtime OTT platform. The digital broadcast efforts from ViacomCBS lag behind its biggest rivals in the US. The network had sought to use the Super Bowl’s significant viewership to highlight the upcoming rebrand of its CBS All Access platform to Paramount+, but the streaming service’s coverage suffered technical difficulties throughout its Big Kickoff pre-match programme and into the game’s first quarter. That figure was higher than the local rating for his new hometown Tampa Bay, which scored a 52.3.īoth marks were eclipsed by Kansas City, however, which recorded a 59.9 rating on the night.ĬBS also had to deal with technical failures across its steaming platforms. Viewership in the city was higher than all but one of Brady’s Super Bowls as a Patriot, with a 57.6 rating. Locally, the most notable ratings came from the Boston market, where Brady formerly plied his trade for the New England Patriots. It was also the first NFL game in history to deliver more than one billion total streaming minutes. Whilst generally being down in viewership, Super Bowl LV was the most live-streamed NFL game ever, averaging 5.7 million digital viewers per minute, which is up 65 per cent on the 2020 edition. Fifth downs, drone cameras and celebrity owners… welcome to the world of Fan Controlled Football.Super Bowl viewership reached 100 million for the first time in 2010 and has hit that mark every year since with the exception of 2019 – the previous low mark for a domestic Super Bowl broadcast.įor the 2021 edition, the marquee quarterback matchup between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ Tom Brady and the Kansas City Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes was not enough to overcome a largely non-competitive game, which was won 31-9 by the Florida-based franchise. The 2021 Super Bowl drew 96.4 million total viewers across all platforms for US broadcaster CBS, the lowest domestic ratings for the National Football League (NFL) showpiece since 2007 and five per cent down on last year’s game. Viewers from Boston outnumber those in Tampa Bay as Kansas City tops local ratings charts.Despite technical issues CBS claims broadcast is most-streamed Super Bowl ever with 5.7m digital viewers per minute.

#Who won the super bowl last year 2021

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pinerzones · 2 years

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Last year super bowl 2021

#Last year super bowl 2021 series#

Viewer interest in the Super Bowl continues to be strong. Strong creative plays an important role in helping brands make the most of this super-sized opportunity. According to Kantar research, the 2021 Super Bowl ads delivered an average return on investment (ROI) of $4.60 per dollar spent, with ads for Mountain Dew, Verizon, T-Mobile, and General Motors achieving the best results. As a result, Super Bowl ads consistently deliver strong return on investment. Kantar's Sports MONITOR’s fan insight service found that the commercials were the third-most popular aspect of watching the big game, ahead of even the halftime show. The reported average 30 second average unit cost for this year’s game represents a 6% increase over the average price paid for a 30-second commercial in 2021, and a 10% increase from five years ago.īrands make this investment for good reason. With NBC, the exclusive broadcasting network of Super Bowl LVI, selling spots at a reported record high price of $6.5 million per 30 seconds of airtime, up from $5.5 million last year, revenue is forecasted to surpass last year’s total.

#Last year super bowl 2021 series#

Twice, the Chiefs were penalized for pass interference on the drive that was capped by a Brady to Antonio Brown 1-yard TD pass right before the break.Super Bowl LV generated $434.5 million of in-game ad revenue, higher than the World Series and NBA finals and second only to the Olympic Games according to an analysis by Kantar. KC was penalized early and often, with players on defense being nailed for holding. Instead, Brady hit Gronkowski with a TD pass and Tampa Bay was up by 11. The second one - encroachment - took a 40-yard field goal off the scoreboard that would have put the Bucs up by 7. The first one - defensive holding - wiped out an interception by cornerback Tyrann Mathieu. The Chiefs found themselves penalized often in the first half - a Super Bowl-record 95 yards in one half - but none hurt more than two on the TD drive that saw Tampa Bay take that 14-3 lead. Mahomes passed the Chiefs down the field into the red zone before the drive ended on a fourth down play that saw the KC quarterback running around to try to find an open receiver and somehow throwing a 30-yard pass while parallel to the ground that was deflected by a Tampa Bay defender.Įven the Chiefs' final drive ended with an interception in the end zone with 1:33 left. Perhaps no series or play summed up Mahomes' tough night more than one early in the fourth quarter as the Chiefs mounted what would turn out to be their last gasp at a rally. The Bucs played their safeties deep to keep KC's play-makers from making big plays and their rushing defense remained solid. Mahomes, who was under pressure much of the game and apparently hampered by a turf toe injury, did not reach100 yards passing until late in the third quarter. Unfortunately for long-suffering Tampa Bay fans, the virus curtailed attendance at the stadium to 22,000, including 7,500 vaccinated health-care workers. It was the Bucs' second Super Bowl victory, made sweeter by getting the win at Raymond James Stadium, the first team ever to play in the Super Bowl on its home field. More: Bucs in the Super Bowl gives Tampa Bay three teams playing for championships in five months Still on top: Tom Brady still takes seventh title as Buccaneers rip Chiefs in Super Bowl 55ĥ5 facts about the Super Bowl: From the name to the coin they flip With a 43-year-old quarterback leading a team that had not made the playoffs since 2007 to an upset victory against the defending champions.Īgeless Tom Brady passed for three touchdowns, the Tampa Bay defense shut down Patrick Mahomes and the prolific Kansas City offense and the Buccaneers defeated the Chiefs 31-9 Sunday night in Super Bowl LV. A season marked by the coronavirus pandemic and the NFL overcoming improbable odds to complete its schedule could only have ended one way.

#Last year super bowl 2021

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sportearly · 2 years

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Super Eagles News: NFF appoints new Super Eagles coach as Finidi takes huge role

This is the latest Super Eagles of Nigeria news as they get new head coach after much deliberation over who to appoint. On Sunday, the Nigeria Football Federation announced the appointment of a new Super Eagles coach. Jose Peseiro has been named Nigeria’s next coach, following weeks of speculation that he was the favourite for the Super Eagles’ head coaching post. The NFF announced the news in…

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bad268 · 3 months

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Mr. Irrelevant Becomes Relevant (Brock Purdy X Reader)

Fandom: RPF/NFL

Requested: Nope, in honor of the Super Bowl

Warnings: hurt/comfort, insecurities, one sex joke at the end if you squint

Pronouns: Second Person (You/your and one use of ma’am)

W.C. 1356

Summary: When the weight of the Super Bowl gets too much, the reader takes it upon themself to show Brock why he's there.

As always, my requests are OPEN

MASTERLIST // HITLIST

~~(^Pinterest)

The road to the Super Bowl was long and tiring, but it was finally here. After being knocked out of the playoffs last year from a dirty play that ended in Brock being taken out of the game, he was back and on a roll. This was the first Super Bowl you had a personal connection with since you started your job as a Field Team Coordinator in 2021 after graduating from Iowa State. Your job was to plan the stage and work with the chosen artist to structure how the Apple Halftime Show would go.

Maybe it was the fact that this was the first year you were doing it all on your own or maybe it was the fact that your boyfriend and his team were playing in the game, but you were beyond anxious and excited for everything.

You had to be in Las Vegas two weeks before the Super Bowl, so you left Brock in San Francisco right after the championship game (after storming the field and congratulating him of course). He had to stay back with the team, but he met you there the following week.

It was hard the week leading up to the Super Bowl. You knew he was having doubts and overanalyzing every game he had ever played, and you wanted to comfort him. You really did! However, he had training during the mornings, and you had to be at the stadium by noon to run through the halftime show every night, so you had to settle for the brief morning interactions.

A short “You’ve got this” or “I believe in you” in passing became the short-term norm. It was not much, but it got what you needed to say out there. It seemed like it did not really help with Brock’s nerves, unfortunately.

That’s why you were happy to find out that Kyle Shanahan made Saturday a rest day, so you called in and told your right hands that you would be available remotely. If it was an emergency and they really needed you, you would go in, but there were not any pressing matters. Everything with the halftime show had already been settled, and there were no more preparations you could physically do. Just a few emails and short meetings that could be done through the hotel WiFi.

Waking up that morning, you were surprised to not find Brock still in bed, but you should have guessed that. You climbed out of bed and made your way out of the bedroom to the lounge, stopping in the doorway. To your not surprise, Brock was sitting on one of the armchairs rewatching games with headphones on. He was just wearing a pair of sweatpants as he immersed himself in the film, not noticing you walk up behind him.

You stood behind the chair before running your hands across his shoulders as you wrapped your arms around them and leaned down, hiding your face in his neck. He did not turn his attention away from the screen but moved one of his arms up to hold your forearm as he continued watching, dropping his head a couple of times to kiss your knuckles. You placed small kisses on his neck and shoulders as you waited for the quarter to end and for his attention to be on you.

It did not take long since there were only a couple of minutes left, so when the quarter did end, he paused the recording and set the laptop on the coffee table. You walked around the chair and gently pulled Brock to stand with you. You wrapped your arms around his middle as he wrapped his around your shoulders and swayed you two back and forth. You ran your hands up and down his back, feeling the tense muscles before you pulled back to look up at him.

“You’re tense,” You whispered. “Stop psyching yourself out before the game even starts. That’s not gonna do you any good, babe.��

“I can’t really help it,” He chuckled under his breath. “Patrick Maholmes has done this before and he’s one of the best quarterbacks.”

“And how do you think he became one of the best?” You retorted sarcastically. “Oh yeah! Winning Super Bowls. Isn’t it crazy that you also happen to be in a Super Bowl right now, and you could win it? You did not get here through luck, Brock. You have a strong team behind you, and you’re a pretty good shot. It’s not some fluke that got you here. It was your hard work and dedication that got you in the Super Bowl. Don’t downgrade yourself like that.”

“You make that sound like a win already,” He laughed again as he left a kiss on your forehead. “We’ve still got a game to play.”

“Yeah, but it doesn’t sound like you’re mentally ready to face the Chiefs, Brock,” You sighed as you stopped swaying with him. You moved your hands to hold his face and make him look at you. “You’re never going to win if you’re already thinking like you’ve lost. Let me put it this way. Did Patrick get in the Super Bowl his first full year in the NFL?”

“No, he didn’t,” Brock admitted with a small smile.

“That’s right,” You praised. “And when he did get in the Super Bowl for the first time, did he come off of a UCL injury which also happened during his 8th game and the NFC Championship Game no less?”

“No, he didn’t,” Brock chuckled as his smile got bigger. “I think I get the point now.”

“I don’t think you do,” You joked with him. “I need you to understand your worth and your potential. This is your first full year, and you are playing against some of the best in the league. I need you to start thinking like a champ 'cause we’re doomed if you start thinking like you’ve lost it, and it hasn’t even started.”

“We’re doomed?” He asked in mock offense, “I think we’re forgetting who has the best offense in the league!”

“That’s the attitude I’m looking for, babe!” You cheered with him. You laughed as Brock jokingly walked around the room as if hyping himself up for the game that was scheduled for tomorrow. “Show them that this is where Mr. Irrelevant becomes relevant, and what better way to do that than to beat the reigning Super Bowl champs.”

Brock’s mood seemed to lift drastically the more he thought about showing the world that he could lead his team to a Super Bowl championship in just his first full year. He chuckled at the thought before walking up to you, lifting you, and spinning you around. When he finally set you back down, he pulled you into a messy kiss, clearly still running from the slight adrenaline. You chuckled against his lips as you returned the energy to the kiss and ran your fingers through his hair.

After a few minutes, he pulled away so you could both catch your breaths. You started chuckling lightly causing him to look at you questioninly. You loved one of your hands from his hair to hold his chin.

“We’re going to have a chill day, no film, no training. Just self-care and relaxation, just you and me,” You whispered, pulling him into one last kiss. “And don’t take offense to this, but you are going to go shave before you give me a burn. Then we’ll go get some breakfast.”

“I thought you said I would look good with a beard,” He chuckled, running his hand over the light stubble he had. “Though you said I would look hot.”

“That’s something we can experiment with during the off-season, champ, but right now, it’s irritating,” You laughed with him before patting his chest as you pushed away from him, “I’m also willing to bet we will do a lot more than kissing today, so go shave now.”

“Yes, ma’am,” He jokingly saluted as he took off toward the bathroom with a smile. Without a doubt, he was ready to show them that Mr. Irrelevant is relevant.

~~~~~

#brock purdy x reader #brock purdy #49ers #san francisco 49ers #brock x reader #nfl fan fic #nfl imagine #nfl #nfl football #nfl playoffs #super bowl lviii #national football league #bad268 #ship268 #thing268

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welcome-to-green-hills · 3 months

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What We Know, What To Expect, & Moving Forward!

Hey Y’All!

By the time this post is made, we’ll be–roughly–eleven months away from the release date of Sonic the Hedgehog 3(2024). As of now, we don’t have a whole lot of information concerning the Knuckles Series on Paramount + and when it will release. The same can be said for the third Sonic movie. Last time I made an updated post was back in January of 2023. Since then, we’ve gained some new information. I’ve combed through everything that’s been posted since 2021 to compile into a large master post! When leaks and other news resurface, I’ll update this post monthly to share via reblog.

Release dates:

It’s safe to say that the third Sonic movie is on track to release on December 20th, 2024 in the United States. Global release dates for Sonic the Hedgehog 3 have yet to be released.

The SAG-AFTRA strike in 2023 has not interfered with the movie’s production. Though not yet confirmed, we can infer that the strike has pushed the Knuckles Series back by a few months. The original release date for the series was meant to release “sometime in 2023” (Otterson, 2023). It is unclear when the Knuckles Series will stream on Paramount +. However, Screen Rant’s interview with Tika Sumpter implies that a release date for the series will be shared on Super Bowl Sunday (Screen Rant, 2024). Super Bowl Sunday is on February 11th, 2024.

Returning Actors/New Actors:

The following are actors that will be returning to SONIC MOVIE 3:

Ben Schwartz will reprise his role as “Sonic”

Colleen O'Shaughnessey will reprise her role as “Tails”

Idris Elba will reprise his role as “Knuckles”

James Marsden is expected to reprise his role as “Tom”

Tika Sumpter will reprise her role as “Maddie”

Lee Majdoub will reprise his role as “Agent Stone.”

As of now, a voice actor for “Shadow” has not been announced. A “Big Name Actor” has been chosen to voice “Shadow” since 2022 (Klamath Comicon, 2022). The popular rumor is that Hayden Christensen (Anakin Skywalker) will be Shadow’s VA (Physical Media President, 2024). This has not been confirmed as of yet. There is no indication that previous voice actors from other Sonic games will appear to voice Shadow the Hedgehog.

It’s unclear at this moment in time if Jim Carrey will reprise his role as “Dr. Robotnik.” The agreement is that if Jim Carrey is committed to his retirement, then the character will be retired completely. Dr. Robotnik will not be recast (Klamath Comicon, 2022). In late 2022, after announcing his retirement, Jim Carrey appeared in an interview with GMA saying that he would make an exception for Sonic 3 if he liked the script due to loving the Sonic series (GMA, 2022).

Other characters–Rachel, Randall, JoJo, Wade, “Crazy” Carl, and characters from the Knuckles Series–have yet to be announced.

The following are actors that will be starring/returning in KNUCKLES SERIES:

Idris Elba will reprise his role as “Knuckles”

Adam Pally will reprise his role as “Wade Whipple”

Tika Sumpter will reprise her role as “Maddie”

It is unclear who the newcomers to the Knuckles Series will be playing. The actor list can be found HERE.

**NOTE: At this moment in time, it is unclear whether or not we will gain new characters in the third Sonic film. Fans hope for Rouge, Amy Rose, Gerald Robotnik, and Maria Robotnik to appear in these continuations. Writers Pat Casey and Josh Miller are aware of there being more female Sonic characters and a need for Sonic characters in general (Movie-Robotnik-Positivity, 2022). Also note that characters are meant to take reference from GAME CANON only; characters from comic books, mobile games, and other spinoff titles will NOT appear in the SCU franchise.**

Flexibility & Mandates:

Yes, this is a separate subject. I have received questions about this in the past and continue to today. In 2021, Pat Casey shared that mandates are not a thing when writing the films; they are provided lenient suggestions and have asked for source game material from SEGA in the past (Movie-Robotnik-Positivity, 2022). These suggestions are NOT the same as the IDW comics. If the writers are not sure of something about Sonic lore, they contact SEGA. Canon for movies is meant to draw in from the game-verse instead of comic books and spin off titles due to familiarity.

“Everyone recognizes Sonic as a video game icon rather than a TV show or a comic strip.”

New lore can be created–I.E. chaos emeralds being entities within the Master Emerald rather than viewed as separate items–as long as it follows elements of games, and made easy for fans and newcomers to follow (Movie-Robotnik-Positivity, 2022).

The movies are NOT canon to the video games, but take heavy inspiration from them. They exist within their own canon universe.

Ian Flynn has NO involvement with the movies whatsoever.

Tyson Hesse is the producer for the Knuckles Series, the movies, and a creative consultant.

Pat Casey and Josh Miller have asked for game-material ONLY for Shadow's characterization, they do not plan to use the comic books or previous TV shows for writing Shadow (Legacy, 2022).

Story and Plot:

SONIC MOVIE 3–It is unclear at this moment in time what the plot is for the third Sonic film. What we can infer is that Sonic 3 will take “heavy inspiration” from both Sonic Adventure 2 and Shadow’s solo game for plot (Klamath Comicon, 2022). This does NOT mean that it’s going to be an exact replica of these games. The third film is meant to tie-in with the Knuckles Series. Whatever is shared in the miniseries will be carried over to the movie’s plot (Lang, 2022). The plot synopsis shared in late 2022 with AmyRose, Big the Cat, and Metal Sonic was DEBUNKED by @tailschannel. The synopsis for Sonic 3 released in November of 2023 was DEBUNKED.

Drafting and planning for Sonic 3 began late 2021 (Movie-Robotnik-Positivity, 2022). Storyboard planning for Sonic 3 began late 2022 (Welcome-to-Green-Hills, 2022). A finalized script for Sonic the Hedgehog 3 was finished weeks before the SAG-AFTRA strike (Pat Casey, 2023). Filming for Sonic 3 began in August 2023 and continues currently (Welcome-to-Green-Hills, 2023). The budget for Sonic the Hedgehog 3 is massive (Legacy, 2022).

In 2022, Pat Casey states that Sonic will have trouble trying to reach out to our beloved anti-hero. In the same interview, Pat Casey also stated that the tone of the third film is meant to be a bit darker. Understand that a story’s tone doesn’t always have to reflect a film’s rating, meaning that the story can be dark and still fit within the requirements of a PG or a PG-13 film. Pat Casey also shared with Screen Rant to be prepared to cry with their wild story (Bythrow, 2022).

What we can expect from the movie is a scene at a ski lodge, a GUN car and motorcycle chase scene on a bridge in a Tokyo-like city, scenes at a research facility/storage unit, scenes at Green Hills, and a scene in space.

KNUCKLES SERIES–The Knuckles series is a limited series debuting only on Paramount +. The story follows Knuckles as he teaches deputy Wade Whipple the ways of the Echidna Warrior and goes on an adventure of self-discovery (Otterson, 2022). The limited series is six episodes in total that are roughly an hour long (Welcome-to-Green-Hills, 2024). So far, leaks online have shown that Knuckles, Maddie, Wade, Wade’s extended family, and a female villain will be the main characters for the series. We can expect scenes to take place in Reno, a bowling alley, a diner, and parts of Green Hills, Montana. Lore and stories that take place in the Knuckles Series will continue over to the third Sonic film.

Music Selection:

The demand for Sonic music in the third film and the spinoff series has been at an all-time high. At Klamath Community College’s Comicon event, Pat Casey and Josh Miller have shared their hopes for Crush 40 to appear in the film, specifically the song “Live and Learn (2001).” An interview with Pat Casey in mid-to-late 2022 stated that SEGA’s copyright laws for their music are tricky to include into the films (Movie-Robotnik-Positivity, 2022). He and Jeff Fowler (director) hope to find a loophole in the copyright.

Leaks Online:

Storyboards– On January 11th, 2024, Twitter user @/cartoonupdates released 462 storyboard pages of the Knuckles Series and 443 storyboard pages of Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (Welcome-to-Green-Hills, 2024). These were taken down less than 24 hours after publication. Storyboard leaks for the Knuckles Series depicted a scene between Knuckles and Wade fighting the Black Arms, as well as a person in a mechanical suit. This scene is in front of a bowling alley with witnesses watching and Wade saying, “the flames of disaster.” Storyboard leaks for the third Sonic Movie depicted Super Shadow and Dr. Robotnik in a space station traveling back in time. Super Shadow spins the space station back in time to where Dr. Robotnik is able to see a fight between Super Sonic and Shadow, Agent Stone nursing him to health, and Dr. Robotnik firing a hand laser.

Reddit– At this moment in time, there have been no plot-related leaks regarding the third Sonic movie in Reddit chatrooms. We can expect NDA special screenings around mid-to-late summer, or early fall.

Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, & Instagram–Leaked set photos of Sonic 3 have surfaced during the SAG-AFTRA strike. These scenes show stand-in models of Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles residing in a campsite near a snowy lodge. One leaked scene featured a motorcycle chase scene with police cars and an explosion on a bridge in London, England. Jeff Fowler shared a stand-in model of Shadow’s shoes in a warehouse-like setting.

Rating:

At this moment in time, both Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (2024) and the Knuckles Series do not have a strong rating. However, speculation is that Sonic 3 will push for a HARD PG due to the Slovakian rating/certificate system released earlier this year (Welcome-to-Green-Hills, 2024). Official ratings/certificates for both of the series are expected to release closer to their aimed launch dates. These ratings/certificates are usually given four weeks before released to the public.

Continuation(s):

There are no existing plans or confirmation that there will be a fourth installment of SCU currently. Clarity on whether or not Paramount will approve a fourth Sonic movie can be expected closer to, or after, Sonic 3’s release date. Rule of thumb is that if fans are interested in the series, then Jeff Fowler and Pat Casey will continue to make Sonic-related content (Movie-Robotnik-Positivity, 2022).

On January 16th, 2024, Hollywood Handle announced a potential “Shadow the Hedgehog” title (Hollywood Handle, 2024). It is unclear at the moment if it’s a limited series on Paramount +, or if it’s a movie. It’s also unclear if this rumor is true.

Reliable Sources:

In a world full of technology and misinformation, it is very hard to tell whether or not someone is a trustworthy source. This is understandable. The following are blogs and resources that can be used as a guide (I might miss some, sorry if I do):

TUMBLR

TailsChannel

Movie-Robotnik-Positivity

SonicStation

Aawesomepenguin

SonicMovieUpdates

Kitsuoi

If you want to include myself to the list, then cheers!

TWITTER

TailsChannel

SonicMovieUpdates

DiscussingFilm

The Hollywood Handle (50/50)

DanielRPK (50/50)

o_Azul35

Cybrid01

Contrieorb4

Movie-Robotnik-Positivity

SonicMovie (The original Twitter account with a golden checkmark and a Paramount logo on it)

If you want to include myself to the list, then cheers!

Any staff members of SCU

INSTAGRAM

TailsChannel

Cybrid01

Paramount

Any staff members of SCU

MAGAZINES/NEWS ARTICLES

TailsChannel

Variety Magazine

ScreenRant (Please be careful reading subtitles. Sometimes they don’t like to clarify whether or not it’s an opinion article or not unless a subtitle is given).

The Gamer

DiscussingFilm.net

SonicStadium.org

For the love of god almighty, do NOT use Giant Freaking Robot as a source. They are notorious for spreading misinformation.

REDDIT (Disclaimer):

Reddit is notorious for leaking NDA special screenings, photos, as well as having members of the SCU crew make throw-away accounts to post teasers. “Leaks” of any kind can be found in either “#SonicMovie3” or “#SonicMovie” chat rooms with a spoiler warning.

Reddit posters that usually make these leaks get to see special screenings of films in mid-production. Understand that these advanced screenings are given to people on invite; they are asked to watch a film that’s in mid-production and critique it for improvement. If leaks are shared about their advanced screening, they can’t always go into full detail due to violation of their NDAs. On the rare occasion that they do share details of the screening, the posts are taken down by both Paramount and by Reddit Staff within 24 hours.

It is also common for there to be two screenings of the same movie with minor tweaks. I.E., in 2019, two versions of the first movie were available for test screening within a week’s time. One test screener’s filming experience featured a “campfire scene” and Longclaw going to earth with Sonic. Another test screener’s filming experience was the same, but featured a Dr. Robotnik and Agent Stone fight scene with General Walters. These were scrapped later on and found in the first movie’s “deleted scenes” feature.

The best advice that I can give for checking the authenticity of a post is to look for consistency, as well as HOW test screeners describe their experience. It’s easy to tell the difference between sharing a feeling and telling a fabricated story for likes.

Moving Forward:

Both Tika Sumpter and Pat Casey have shared that any members of SCU CANNOT share anything related to Sonic 3 or the Knuckles Series. They are under a strict NDA contract that could remove them from the projects entirely if discussed publicly. Questions online, private interviews, and so forth cannot be shared unless Paramount gives them permission to. If you ask them a question on Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr, or any other social media platform regarding the movies, they will ignore it. This isn’t them being rude, it’s them honoring a NDA contract.

Expect radio silence for extended periods of time. The third Sonic film is meant to be a major improvement from the last two films. Paramount has been cracking down on leaks and anonymous tippers online for the past two months. There will be times where we receive a flood of information about the films, other times there will be nothing. This is completely normal, I promise.

If Sonic the Hedgehog 3 and the Knuckles Series are the end of SCU, know that I’ve had an incredible time enjoying the hype and moments with y’all. What an amazing journey we’ve been on! Thank you! And know that as long as there’s a talking blue hedgehog around, I’ll be here. Until then, let’s enjoy this adventure together!

#sonic movie #sonic movie 3 #knuckles series #sonic cinematic universe #sonic movie 3 spoilers #sonicmovie3spoilers #knuckles series spoilers #sonic the hedgehog movie 3 #sonic the hedgehog movie 2024 #knucklesseriesspoilers

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hockey-fics · 8 months

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A Love Worth Changing For ~ Nico Hischier

Summary: Your commitment to yourself to stay out of a relationship becomes harder to keep when you meet someone who just might be worth breaking your promises for.

Word count: ~8,900

Warnings: Drinking (quite a bit), implied/vaguely mentioned smut, throwing up, toxic behaviours.

A/N: I kind of hate how this turned out, to be honest. It's not super well edited because I didn't want to read through it yet another time.

You didn’t want to be in a relationship. It was a promise you made to yourself. You wouldn’t get into a relationship until you were done with school. You had high expectations for yourself in your years at university. You wanted to do well, that was a given. Staying out of a relationship would only leave you with more time to study. But you also wanted these years to explore who you were as a person, casually date, figure out what you wanted in a partner and what kind of partner you wanted to be.

It wasn’t hard, at least not for the first few years. Until you decided to go to grad school and decided to keep your commitment to not having any romantic commitment. And then came your second hurdle, when you met Nico.

October 2021

Standing at the kitchen counter you fill a bowl with a bag of chips that you know will go mostly untouched in favour of drinks, but it was the thought that mattered, right? Your phone vibrates on the counter and your eyes fall to your bright screen. A text from Jack. Unlocking your phone you read the message, asking if he could bring a couple friends. Sighing to yourself you reply that it was fine, though you were a little nervous about who Jack was going to be bringing to a party you were already worried might be getting too large.

Before long your apartment is full of people, half of which you didn’t know, tagging along with the half that you did. You’re in the kitchen mixing yourself an unnecessarily strong drink of tequila and orange juice when you feel someone tap you on the shoulder. Turning around your eyes focus on Jack.

“Hey,” you greet, pulling him into a quick, friendly hug. Jack. You met him when you both arrived in New Jersey, him to play for the Devils and you to start your undergrad degree. It was an instant connection, but not the kind your friends had speculated. You understood that he was attractive, you knew that almost everyone seemed to fall for him. But your connection with him felt more like a brother than anything more. “How was your game?”

“It was good…It would be really cool if you would like watch a game once in awhile,” Jack jokes.

“I was busy,” you whine, taking a large sip of your drink.

“Busy with what?”

“Preparing this place to sustain the damage of another party,” you inform him. “And pre-gaming.”

“I see how it is, rather get drunk than come see me play.”

Rolling your eyes you lean back against the counter. “Honestly, yeah,” you joke. Your eyes travel over Jack’s shoulder, to the man standing behind him, hands shoved in his pockets, glancing around uncertainly. “Hi,” you call to him, catching his attention. “I’m Y/N.”

“Hey, uh, I’m Nico,” he tells you, shuffling his way between Jack and some other guy you had yet to meet. “Is this your place?”

“Yeah,” you tell him, hearing a shattering of glass from the other side of the kitchen. “Unfortunately,” you add with a breath of laughter. “I should go deal with that, I’ll talk to you later, Nico,” you tell him, placing your hand on his arm as you slip by him in the direction of the shattering sound.

After helping clean up the mess of broken glass and spilled beer you head back into the kitchen, needing another drink. You find Jack and Nico nearly exactly where you had left them, discussing something with an intensity that piques your interest.

“Am I missing something?” you ask Jack, pouring yourself another drink.

“He thinks you’re hot,” Jack states boldly.

You’re caught off guard by how easily he offers the information, especially when you see Nico elbow him in the side, clearly not wanting him to have said that. “Oh?” you say, turning to face Nico, a playful smile on your lips.

“I, uh,” Nico begins, eyes falling to the ground. “Yeah,” he finally mutters.

Giggling you take a sip of your drink, stepping a little closer to him. “Well, I think you’re pretty hot as well,” you tell him, hoping it would ease some of the awkward tension that had fallen on the conversation.

“This is gross,” Jack mutters, gulping back half of his beer in one go.

“You’re the one who brought it up, dumbass,” you remind him, spinning to lean against the counter beside Nico. “Tell me more about yourself,” you say to Nico.

“What do you want to know?”

Shrugging you glance down to his empty hands. “Do you not drink?”

“I offered to drive him home,” Nico tells you, nodding towards Jack.

“Drive Jack home?” you mutter, eyebrows furrowed. “Jack never goes home after he gets drunk here.”

“Oh, I, uh, didn’t know you two were-,” Nico stammers, shaking his head as he glances over to Jack with an incredulous look.

“That’s not what I meant,” you exclaim with wide eyes. “He sleeps on the couch.”

“Oh,” Nico chuckles.

“So, does that mean you’re going to have a drink?”

Nico shrugs, looking over at Jack, who was already on his third beer. “I still need to drive myself home.”

“I’m sure we can find you somewhere to sleep,” you tell him.

And find him somewhere to sleep was exactly what you did, in your bed right next to you.

When you wake up the next morning your arm is slung over Nico’s chest, your head on his shoulder. Slowly you pull your body away from him, tugging the sheets up over your naked body as you reach for your phone on the nightstand. 9:35 AM.

“Morning,” Nico mumbles tiredly.

“Morning,” you reply, glancing down at him with a soft smile. “How are you feeling?”

“Alright,” Nico shrugs. “Tired.”

“Me too,” you laugh. “Do you want some coffee or something?”

“If you’re going to make some for yourself I’ll have some.”

Climbing out of bed you pull some clothes on, shuffling out of your room to take in the damage from the night before. The kitchen counters are littered with cans and bottles, sticky with spilled drinks. Sighing to yourself you grab a bag, beginning the long process of post-party clean up. Nico is at your side a second later, tossing cans into the bag you were holding.

“You don’t need to clean up, it’s okay,” you assure him, not wanting him to feel obligated to help clean your apartment after a party you decided to throw.

“I don’t mind,” Nico shrugs. “I’m sure some of it is my mess.”

His justification makes you giggle, knowing that he had been one of the only people the night before to ask you where you wanted him to put his empty cans. You finish clearing off the counter together, wiping it down before making a pot of coffee. While it was brewing you stand at the counter, Nico in front of you, his hands on your hips as he looks down at you.

“So do you think I can get your number?” Nico asks.

Running your hands up his arms you rest them on his shoulders, smiling playfully up at him. “Yeah, I think maybe I could give you my number.”

Leaning down Nico presses his lips to yours again, gently and slowly, tugging your hips closer to his body.

“Get a room.”

Pulling back from Nico you look across the kitchen to where Jack was now standing. “You know this is my apartment, right?” you joke, pulling your arms back from Nico. “Do you want some coffee?”

“Sure,” Jack mumbles, leaning tiredly into the counter. “Do you have that girl’s number?”

“Who?” you ask, pressing your palms into the counter, hopping up onto it.

“You know, the one I was talking to.”

“Do you even remember her name?”

“Yeah,” Jack mutters dismissively.

“What is it then?”

“Do you have her number or not?” Jack exclaims, rubbing his fingers over his temples.

“Yes,” you tell him with a sigh. “I’m not giving you her number if you can’t even remember her name.”

Jack lets out a loud groan, shaking his head. “Fine, whatever,” he grumbles.

Nico glances up at you with a look that told you he agreed with your decision. “You remember my name, right?” you joke.

Nico chuckles, leaning up to press his lips to your again. “Of course,” he tells you.

After the coffee is done brewing you pour a few mugs, adding some cream to your coffee. Heading into the living room you curl up on the couch, leaning into Nico when he sits down beside you. The three of you sit in the living room, talking about the night before while finishing your coffee.

Shortly after finishing his coffee Jack decides to get an Uber home, leaving you and Nico alone again. You spend the majority of the day cuddled up with Nico on the couch, watching movie after movie as the hangover slowly begins to leave your body.

“When are you free for me to take you on a date?” Nico asks after the end of yet another movie.

Sitting up you pull your body away from Nico, turning to look over at him. “Nico, I do like you but I feel like I should tell you that I’m not really looking for anything serious right now.”

“Does that mean I don’t get to see you again?”

“No, that’s not what I mean,” you giggle, shaking your head. “I just wanted you to know that.”

“Okay,” Nico says with a shrug. “How about Wednesday night?”

“Wednesday night sounds good to me,” you reply, leaning over and kissing him gently.

Wednesday night comes around quickly and your date goes incredibly well. As does the next date, and all the ones after that. It wasn’t long till you were spending almost all your spare time together.

There was a connection you had with Nico that was undeniable. But you were holding onto your promise to yourself that you weren’t going to get into a relationship.

December 2021

You’re finally packing clothes for your trip home, having just finished your exams a few days earlier. Going home for the holidays was always one of the highlights of your year, when you could finally relax without worrying about assignments or classes or exams. Folding a few sweaters you set them into the suitcase on your bed, a sudden knock on your door startling you.

Heading through your apartment you hesitantly pull the door open, relaxing when you see Nico standing in front of you. “What are you doing here?”

“I wanted to see you before you left,” Nico explains, stepping inside. “And I wanted to bring you this.”

Your eyes fall to the wrapped box in his hand. “A Christmas present?”

“Yeah,” Nico chuckles, setting it into your hands.

“Why?” you whisper, looking up into his eyes. “You didn’t have to get me anything, we’re not-.”

“We’re not together, I know,” Nico interrupts, having heard the line from you over and over again at various times throughout the last few months. Not together, just friends with benefits...who also happened to be going on frequent dates.

Sighing you set the present down onto the table by the door, reaching over to take his hands. “Well, thank you,” you whisper, leaning up and pressing your lips to his. “But you really didn’t have to.”

“You’re welcome,” Nico says, pulling you into a hug. “When do you have to be at the airport?”

“Tomorrow morning at eight.”

“I can drive you…if you want,” Nico offers.

Pulling back you smile up at him, fingers running down his arms. “That would be great, thank you. Do you have plans tonight?”

“No.”

“Do you want to stay here tonight?”

A smirk forms on Nico’s lips, his hands finding their way to your hips. “Yes.”

Giggling you lean up, kissing him again. This time you don’t pull back immediately, your arms finding their way over his shoulders. His tongue brushes against yours and you push yourself closer to him, fingers curling into the fabric of his sweater.

“Let’s go to my room,” you mumble against his lips before taking his hand and pulling him through your apartment to your bedroom.

“Do you need to finish packing?” Nico asks, his eyes falling to the suitcase on your bed, piles of clothes laying around your room.

“It can wait,” you assure him, setting your suitcase onto the ground. You’re on the bed a second later, letting Nico pull your clothes off. Hands grasping at each other, both knowing that you’d have to go a few weeks without getting to see each other, without getting to touch each other.

Nico makes you finish more times than you ever had in one night, till you’re a shaky, flushed mess. Maybe it was because you would be apart from each other for awhile, maybe he was trying to leave a lasting impression, keep you from wanting to be with anyone else. Whatever the reason, you were more than okay with it.

“I should probably finish packing,” you whisper, head laying on Nico’s shoulder, fingers grazing over his chest.

“Do you need help or anything?” Nico offers.

“No, there’s not that much left to do,” you tell him as you pull some clothes back on.

Nico spends the rest of the evening keeping you company while you finish packing and doing last minute preparation around your apartment. By the time you get to bed that night you know that neither of you was going to end up with an adequate amount of sleep that night. But you didn’t mind if it meant spending more time with Nico.

June 2022

You were prepared to spend the summer away from Nico. You didn’t want to, that much you needed to admit. But you weren’t his girlfriend, he wasn’t your boyfriend. There was no reason for any variation to Nico’s normal summer plans.

So you had said goodbye to him the night before he flew back to Switzerland to spend time with his friends and family. You managed to hold back your emotions till he left and you couldn’t hold the tears back any longer.

You kept yourself busy, picking up extra shifts when you could to keep your mind off of missing him. You knew it wasn’t normal, to have these feelings for someone who you were refusing to be more than just friends with benefits with.

Of course the two of you continued talking, text messages being exchanged when the time difference would allow for it. But it wasn’t until he called you one evening that you were really reminded that whatever was going on between you two was a lot more than what you were willing to say out loud.

“Hey,” you greet as you answer the phone, sitting in your living room, watching re-runs of your favourite TV show.

“Hi,” Nico replies, his voice was quiet but you could hear a slight slur in his words. “What are you doing?”

“Uh, not a lot, watching TV,” you tell him, sitting up straighter on the couch, eyes narrowing as you stare at the other end of the couch. “What are-,” you can’t even finish asking what he was doing before he cuts you off.

“With who?” Nico asks and there’s something in his tone that makes you feel like it’s more of an accusation than a genuine question.

“Nobody…why?”

“You’re watching TV by yourself on a Friday night?”

“Well it’s 6PM here,” you remind him. “But yes, I’m watching TV alone, why?”

“Right,” Nico mutters. “I miss you.”

“Are you drunk?”

“No,” Nico replies quickly. “Yes,” he admits just as quickly, without you even needing to question him on it. “We went out for drinks, I had too many.”

“Well did you at least have fun?” you ask, holding back a laugh.

“Yeah…I wish you were here though.”

Your silent for a little too long, wracking your brain for what to say. ‘Me too’ didn’t feel right, even if it was the truth. “You’ll be back in a couple months,” you finally whisper.

“I don’t want to wait that long,” Nico mumbles. “I want you to come here.”

Laughing softly you roll your eyes to yourself, leaning back into the couch.

“I’m not joking,” Nico states, clearly taking offence to your laughter.

“I can’t,” you tell him, nervously fiddling with a loose thread on your shorts.

“Why not? I’ll buy you a flight, you can stay with me or I can get you a hotel or whatever, it doesn't matter.”

“That’s not the problem, Nico,” you tell him, though if you were seriously considering his suggestion it probably would have been a problem.

“Then what is?”

“We-,” you begin, pausing to take a deep breath. “We’re not together…I’m not your girlfriend, Nico. I’m not going to fly halfway across the world and meet your friends and family when we’re not even together,” you explain.

The silence that follows is so long that you begin to wonder if he was even still there. But you sit in the silence, with each second growing more and more uncomfortable.

“I love you.”

“Nico,” you whisper, eyes welling with tears. You weren’t even sure where your emotions were coming from, but they were beyond overwhelming. “You don’t…you don’t mean that. You’re drunk-.”

“I do,” Nico insists, knowing where you were about to go with your sentence. Maybe he wasn’t as drunk as you thought, but you didn’t want to truly admit that.

“Can we talk tomorrow?”

“Yeah,” Nico mumbles.

“Get some sleep, okay?”

“Okay,” Nico whispers. “Have a good night.”

The two of you did talk the next day. But at no point did either of you bring up the night before. Maybe he didn’t remember it. Maybe he no longer wanted to discuss it now that his mind was no longer clouded by alcohol. Either way you were pretty sure it was the best outcome for both you and him.

October 2022

“I like this one,” you say, pointing out a small pumpkin sitting on the edge of a pallet in the pumpkin patch.

“It’s so small,” Nico comments, chuckling as he stands next to you, staring down at the little pumpkin.

Shrugging you lean down, picking it up. “It’s cute.”

“Like you,” Nico says with a smirk, already anticipating your response.

Rolling your eyes you jokingly take a step away from him. “Gross.”

Reaching over Nico takes your hand, tugging you back towards him. “I know you like it.”

Shaking your head you let go of his hand, running it up his arm to wrap around his shoulders. Pushing yourself onto your tip toes you press your lips to his. “I do,” you admit, stepping back from him. “Now pick your pumpkin so we can go home and carve them.”

After Nico picks out and pays for the pumpkins you head back to your apartment, stopping on your way there to pick up dinner and a couple bottles of wine.

“Do you want the shiraz or the zinfandel?” you call to Nico, pulling a couple glasses of wine out from the cupboard.

Glancing over your shoulder you watch Nico set the pumpkins down on the table, a smile on his face. “You know that I don’t know the difference.”

Giggling you open the drawer in the kitchen, rifling through it for your wine opener. “I want to try the zinfandel,” you tell him, jumping as you feel his hands on your hips, tugging your back into his chest.

“Sounds great to me,” Nico whispers, leaning down and kissing your neck gently.

With a quiet, pleasure filled sigh you let yourself melt into him, the warmth of his body radiating into you. “Thanks for doing this with me.”

“Doing what?” Nico asks, letting you turn around in his arms to face him.

“This whole pumpkin thing, I know it’s kind of stupid as adults,” you explain.

Nico shakes his head, wrapping his arms around you, pulling you into his arms. “It’s not stupid and you don’t need to thank me, I wanted to do this,” Nico assures you.

“I l-,” you begin, stopping yourself short as you realize what you were about to say. I love you. Swallowing heavily you pull yourself back from him, quickly turning around, fumbling with the wine opener.

“What were you going to say?”

Shaking your head you twist the screw into the cork, fingers shaking nervously. “Nothing, it doesn’t matter.”

“It does,” Nico insists, reaching over and placing his hand on your lower back, trying to get your attention again. “Just talk to me.”

“I said it doesn’t matter,” you snap, struggling to wiggle the cork out of the bottle. As the cork pops out of the top of the bottle the sudden change in force sends the bottle slipping across the counter, red wine sloshing out all over the counter as the bottle clatters onto the counter. “Fuck,” you mutter, eyes welling with tears as you reach for the bottle, quickly standing it back up.

As you reach for the towel hanging on the handle of the oven Nico catches your hands, pulling you to face him. “Slow down,” he says gently. “What’s going on?”

The tears that had welled up in your eyes were slipping down your cheeks now, your hands stilled by Nico’s hands stopping you from wiping them away. “I love you,” you exclaim. “Is that what you want to hear?”

Nico is quiet for a few seconds before wrapping his arms around you, rubbing your back gently. “I only want to hear it if you mean it.”

You don’t answer him. You knew you should answer him. But you couldn’t. You couldn’t bring yourself to say it again, you could barely say it once. “I need to clean up the wine,” you whisper, wiggling out of Nico’s arms.

“You should use the paper towel, you’ll stain that one,” Nico tells you, gesturing to the towel you had originally reached for.

“Right,” you whisper, nodding slowly as you stare up at him. You didn’t know what you had expected out of him after that, but it sure wasn’t cleaning tips. After cleaning up the wine from the counter you excuse yourself to the bathroom, looking at yourself in the mirror. Wiping away the remnant of your tears you take a few deep breaths, eventually managing to calm yourself enough to venture back to the kitchen.

When you step into the room your eyes find Nico at the table, two glasses of wine and the pumpkins in front of him. “What-?”

“You don’t want to carve them anymore?” Nico asks.

“I-,” you begin, walking through the room to sit down at the table with him. “Yeah, I do.”

For awhile the two of you sit in relative silence, the energy in the room feeling tense. But by the time your glass of wine was empty the tension had dissipated.

You knew you loved him. You knew you meant it when you said it. You knew it before but something in that evening only made you love him even more. He didn’t push you. He didn’t make you feel bad. He was there for you, with you, in whatever way you wanted in that moment.

November 2022

“Jack, I don’t feel good,” you whisper, glancing around the packed night club.

Jack turns his attention away from the group of your friends that he was in the midst of a conversation with. His eyes land on you, nodding slowly as he reaches out, placing his hand on your side to steady your swaying body. “Come on,” he mumbles, guiding you through the building and into one of the single stall bathrooms.

You’re only in the bathroom for a second before you’re hovering over the toilet, the plethora of drinks you had consumed that night coming right back up.

“I’m going to get you some water,” Jack tells you, turning to open the door. “Stay here, okay?”

Nodding you flush the toilet, standing up and placing your hands on the edge of the counter, a steady surface to steady your not so steady self against. You turn the lock on the door, leaning into the counter again, taking deep breath to try to keep

Jack returns a few moments later with a glass of water which you gratefully take. After downing half the glass you feel your eyes fill with tears, drunk mind racing with emotions. “Does he hate me?” you mutter, looking over at Jack.

“What?” Jack asks, eyebrows furrowed.

“Nico,” you whisper. “Does he hate me? He asked me to take things further again yesterday and I said no.”

“I don’t know, I haven’t talked to him in a few days,” Jack tells you. “Why are you doing this?”

“Doing what?”

“Refusing to be his girlfriend and now you’re crying about him.”

Your eyes fall to the ground, trying to find some sort of valid explanation for him. “I don’t want to be in a relationship right now,” you finally whisper.

“Why? You’re obviously into him,” Jack retorts quickly.

“Because, I’m supposed to figure out who I am in university, Jack. I’m supposed to have crazy, fun experiences with new people and I’m not supposed to find the person I’m going to be with for the rest of my life right now and-.”

“He’s not asking you to marry him,” Jack interrupts. “Why are you worried about spending the rest of your life with him right now?”

“Because I don’t want to get my heart broken, I don’t want to get hurt,” you mutter.

“You’re crying about him in a bathroom,” Jack exclaims, shaking his head. “You’re already hurt.”

“No,” you whisper, sniffling softly, tears rolling down your cheeks again. You didn’t want to admit Jack was right, you didn’t want to admit that everything you had done in the last year to keep Nico at a distance had been for nothing. “I want to go home.”

“You can come back to my place,” Jack offers with a sigh, clearly not wanting his night to be over but also not about to leave you alone.

“I’ll just get an Uber,” you tell him, pulling your phone from your pocket.

“I’m not letting you Uber home alone right now.”

You knew it was coming from a place of concern, but you really didn’t want to be the one to wreck his plans for the night. Whatever those plans were. “Fine,” you mutter. “But I don’t want to force you to go home.”

“Well all your friends are here and they’re also drunk so what do you want me to do?”

“I don’t know,” you whine, tipping your head back to look at the ceiling. The tiles are spinning in your mind and your head feels heavy, but you manage to lift it again before the spinning brings on another round of nausea. Your eyes land on Jack, watching him typing something quickly into his phone. You manage to restrain your drunken nosiness from asking who he was talking to, staying silent.

“Nico is going to pick you up,” Jack tells you a few minutes later, making your heart race.

“No,” you exclaim, shaking your head. You couldn’t let him see you like this.

“He’s already on his way,” Jack tells you definitively. “Come on, I’ll walk outside with you and wait for him.”

“Jack,” you whine, following him out of the bathroom anyway. “This is mean.”

“I offered to take you home,” Jack snaps, clearly annoyed with you for making any attempts to help much harder than necessary.

Sighing you follow him outside, the cold night air feeling refreshing to your nightclub-induced clammy skin. “I’m scared, Jack,” you whisper, standing next to him on the sidewalk.

“Why?”

“He hates me-.”

“He’s picking you up drunk at two in the morning, he doesn’t hate you.”

“Yes, he does,” you repeat. “He hates me but he’s nice a good guy and he’s just coming to pick me up because he’s not a shitty person and I-.”

“Shut up,” Jack groans. “Yeah, he’s a nice guy or whatever but he’s not nice enough to get out of bed and come here to take care of you if he doesn’t still like you.”

Just as Jack finished his sentence a familiar car pulls up along the side of the road. Quickly Jack yanks the passenger’s side door open. “Good luck,” he tells Nico as he guides you into the car.

“You okay?” Nico asks as you pull your seatbelt on, refusing to look across the car at him.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” you mutter, eyes focusing out the side window, small raindrops beginning to splatter onto the clear glass. “You didn’t have to do this.”

“Of course I did,” Nico states and you can tell he’s glancing at you when he says it. “Doesn’t mean I didn’t want to either though,” he clarifies.

"I'm sorry," you whisper, finally glancing over at him. "I'm sorry for making this so hard, I'm sorry I can't be who you want me to be right now, I like you so much Nico but I just can't be with you right now."

"It's okay," Nico tells you, his own voice greatly contrasting your unsteady, high-pitched tone. "I'm not going to push anything, if you want me around I'll be here. I'll wait for you."

January 2023

New Year's Eve. It was the one holiday that you seemed to never have a single tradition for. You had spent your New Year's Eve in a new location every year, from your bedroom to house parties to bars. This year though it was going to spent at a nightclub. A nightclub with as many friends as you could possibly wrangle into spending their night’s in a sweaty, loud, sticky nightclub downtown…including Nico.

You had gotten to Jack’s place just after eight, having spent the better part of three hours getting ready with your best friends at your apartment. You had to admit though, the time paid off, your outfit giving you an almost dangerous amount of confidence.

“Where’s Nico?” you ask Jack, watching him pour another round of shots.

You watch Jack’s lips curl into a teasing smirk, glancing at you for a second before returning to his bartending role. “Very interested in him for not being with him.”

“Shut up,” you mutter, taking a sip of your vodka soda. “I’m just curious, it doesn’t mean anything.”

“Here,” Jack states, handing you a shot glass, filled to the brim with tequila. As you reach to take the shot glass he pulls it away, holding it out of your reach. “You have to promise that you’re not going to end up puking and crying about him tonight.”

“Fuck off,” you mutter, reaching over and taking the shot glass from his hand, quickly dumping it into your mouth. You force the liquid down your throat with a wince, shuddering as you set the empty glass down onto the counter.

“If I hear you say you’re not feeling good I will be finding someone else to take care of you.”

“I’ve never been that drunk in my life before, Jack. Stop acting like it happens frequently,” you whine.

Jack chuckles, opening another beer. “You’re still that embarrassed about it, hey?”

“It was embarrassing,” you exclaim, glancing around the apartment, your interest piquing as your eyes sweep by the front door. Looking back you see Nico, struggling to yank his jacket off while holding a case of beer in one hand. “I’ll be right back,” you mutter to Jack, hurrying over to the door. “Need some help?” you ask Nico, taking the beer from his hand to let him take his jacket off.

“Thanks,” he says with a chuckle, balancing his coat on a stack over a hook on the wall. He turns his attention back you, his eyes gazing up and down your body. “You look hot,” he comments.

You can’t help but giggle at his comment, your cheeks reddening. “Well it took me long enough to get ready so I’m glad I got something out of it.” Turning around you head towards the kitchen with Nico’s beer.

Nico has his hands on your hips, stopping you in your tracks a moment later. “You can get anything you want looking like that,” Nico whispers.

Your breath catches in your throat, your back hitting Nico’s chest as you come to a stop. “It’s nine, Nico. We’ve got at least three more hours to go.”

“And?” Nico mumbles.

Giggling you lean back into him, tipping your head back to look up at him. “And if you keep this up I won’t be able to make it till midnight without trying to get you back to my place.”

Nico chuckles, his hand slipping around to your ass as he moves to walk towards the kitchen. Your cheeks warm even further at the contact, watching him take the beer from you, unloading a few of them into Jack’s fridge.

By the time you get to the club that night you’re a little more than tipsy, knowing you wouldn’t need to spend much money at the bar that night. The night had started with a lot of flirting between you and Nico, but once you arrived at the club you found yourself swept away with a few of your other friends.

Before you knew it you were standing in a group with just a couple of your friends and quite a few men you had never met before. There’s a man standing next to you who had his hands on you more than was accidental. A hand on your back as he squeezed by to order another drink, fingers brushing against yours, body pressing to yours while he leaned in to try to hear something someone said. You didn’t dislike it, you knew he was flirting with you and part of you was enthralled by that, by the attention. But every time it happened your mind would find its way back to Nico.

“Let’s get you another drink,” Peter, who you had just discovered the name of, says.

Your eyes glance down at your empty drink before letting him guide you to the bar with his hand on your waist. You order your drink and Peter pulls out his wallet. The two of you make small talk while you sip on your new drink. He was attractive, you had to admit that. But that’s about where it stopped. There was nothing about his personality that enticed you, but selfishly you did like the attention.

But you’re not able to see where things would go with him because the next thing you know Nico is pushing his way through the crowd to be at your side.

“What are you doing?” Nico asks you, not even acknowledging the man you were talking to.

Shrugging your shoulders your eyes flick back and forth from Nico to Peter and back to Nico. “What do you mean?”

Nico shakes his head with a cold chuckle, reaching down and taking your hand. “Come on, you’re done here.”

“Nico,” you whisper, eyes drilling into his. “What are you doing?”

“Don’t,” Nico mutters, shaking his head. “You know what I’m talking about, let’s go.”

“I’m not going anywhere,” you state definitively, staring into his eyes as you match his intensity.

“What’s going on?” Peter interjects, catching both you and Nico’s attention.

“I think you should go,” Nico tells him before you have a chance to get a single word in.

“Why?” Peter asks with a cold chuckle. “She clearly isn’t interested in you, why would I go anywhere?”

You don’t even process what’s happening till Peter is stumbling backwards, hand on his jaw where Nico’s fist had just met with it. Thankfully a bouncer pulls Peter back before he can retaliate, Nico frozen in place, just as stunned by his actions as everyone else in that club.

You weren’t happy with Nico’s actions but you turn towards him anyway, grasping his arms a second later. “What the hell?” you exclaim, frantic eyes searching his for any type of answer.

Before Nico has a chance to say anything a bouncer is at his side, nodding towards the door. “You gotta go.”

“I-,” Nico begins before turning in the direction of the door, knowing he wasn’t going to argue his way out of this one.

You watch the bouncer guiding Nico towards the door, realizing you weren’t also being kicked out. You didn’t need to go. You could stay, you could keep drinking, celebrate New Years in this club. But the further and further Nico got with the bouncer the more uneasy you felt. So you let your legs carry you through the club and out the front door, into the freezing night air with Nico.

“Nico,” you call as you watch him walking away from the club, clearly with no real destination in mind.

“What?” Nico snaps, turning back around to look at you. “What do you want?”

“You’re really mad at me right now?” you yell, crossing your arms over your chest, trying to keep yourself warm.

“Yes,” Nico exclaims. “Are you serious right now?”

“I’m not your girlfriend, Nico.”

Nico shakes his head, laughing coldly. “I guess not,” Nico yells. “But whatever, it doesn’t matter anymore, I’m fucking done with this, I’m done with you.”

“Nico,” you mumble, walking closer to him, hoping something, anything you would say could convince him that it wasn’t that serious. “Please don’t say that.”

“No, I’m over this, I’m not going to keep fighting for you if you don’t give a fuck about me.”

“I do care about you,” you yell back at him, your voice hoarse and shaky. “I care about you so much, Nico, you don’t even know.”

“If you cared about me you wouldn’t be trying to fuck other guys right in front of me.”

“I-,” you begin, realizing you didn’t even know what your justification was about to be. Because, to be honest, you didn’t have one. “I’m sorry,” you finally croak.

“Just go back inside, I don’t fucking care,” Nico mutters, slurred words finally giving away his drunken state.

“I do,” you yell, walking closer to him. “I don’t want to go back inside, Nico. I don’t want to leave you…I do care.”

“Why?” Nico snaps, staring down at you intently now that you were standing just a foot in front of him.

“Because I love you,” you exclaim, the words leaving your mouth before you even had a chance to process them.

“Then don’t try to fuck other people,” Nico mutters, sliding his jacket off his arms now that you were close enough for him to realize you were shaking, gently placing it over your shoulders.

“I’m sorry,” you whisper again, tears welling in your eyes. You slip your arms into his jacket, tugging it tight around your body. “Please, I can’t lose you. I don’t want to be with him, I don’t want to be with anyone else. I want you.”

Nico steps back, taking a deep breath as he looks around the night sky for a minute. “Okay,” Nico mutters and you’re sure it’s more to himself than to you. “Do you want to go back in?”

“I’m not leaving you,” you tell him.

“It’s New Years, go be with your friends, I’m the one who fucked up.”

“No, you didn’t,” you whisper. “I mean, I don’t think you should have punched him but I’m not letting you take all the blame for this...Do you want to come over to my place?”

“Okay…sure, yeah, if that’s what you want to do,” Nico says, reaching over and pulling you into him, rubbing his hand along your arm, trying to warm you up.

So the two of you head back to your apartment, spending the rest of New Year's Eve together, just the two of you and a bottle of champagne.

It wasn’t the New Year's Eve you were expecting. It wasn’t necessarily the New Year's Eve you wanted, but maybe it was the New Year's Eve you needed. The wake up call that you had gone far beyond just friends with benefits. Even if you weren’t ready to accept it.

February 2023

Things had changed after the New Year's Eve incident. Neither of you had verbally talked about what had changed but you both knew it had. It was the second time you told him you loved him. The second time neither of you acknowledged it after it happened. I don’t want to be with anyone else. Your words had continued echoing in your mind and you knew you should deal with those thoughts, those feelings.

But you didn’t.

Maybe you really wanted to keep your commitment to yourself, to not get into a relationship till you had graduated. Maybe you were scared to take that step. Maybe you were embarrassed to ask for that after pushing it away for so long.

So you fell back into the routine you had before. Frequent dates and spending most of your time together in between. It was different, yet the routines remained the same for months.

June 2023

“I need a date to the awards ceremony,” Nico says, referring to the NHL Awards that were approaching quickly.

“I don’t think you need a date,” you reply, looking up over the top of your phone to the other end of the couch, where Nico was sitting.

“Okay…I want a date for the awards,” Nico tells you, reframing his statement.

“Okay,” you mutter, accepting his rephrased sentence.

“Are you going to come with me?”

“No,” you mumble, sitting up straighter on the couch.

“Why not?”

Rolling your eyes you lock your phone, tossing it down next to you. “Nico, you know why. I’m not your girlfriend.”

“This is a big deal for me,” Nico exclaims, clearly already knowing you were going to put up a fight about this. “Just come with me as a friend then.”

“You don’t bring just a friend to that kind of event. I know that much,” you tell him.

Suddenly Nico is on his feet, pacing the length of your living room, making it halfway back before throwing his hands up in defeat. “You can’t just be there for me, support me, even once. I’m getting tired of this…whatever this is.”

“I’m sorry,” you tell him, his words hitting you hard. “I do, I do want to support, I promise.”

Just three days later you’re standing in a fitting room, pulling a dress onto your body. Stepping out of the room your eyes land on Nico, waiting for his reaction to this one. It was the fifth dress you had tried on, Nico telling you he liked all of them.

“I like it,” Nico says, his eyes roaming over your body.

Groaning loudly you turn towards the mirror, adjusting the dress slightly. “Why’d you even insist on coming if you’re not going to give me any input?”

“Because I’m buying it for you,” Nico tells you in a matter-of-fact tone.

“No, you’re not,” you tell him, though it would be pretty helpful for your grad student budget.

“I’m not arguing with you about this.”

“Me neither,” you reply, stepping back into the fitting room to try on another one.

Eventually you narrow it down enough that Nico finally gives his input, once he was simply picking between two dresses. At the till you try to pull your wallet out, Nico’s hand landing on your hands.

“I’m not letting you pay for it, Nico,” you whisper, trying to keep your disagreement out of ear shot of the sales attendant.

“Yes, you are. It doesn’t have to mean whatever you’re thinking, just let me buy the fucking dress,” Nico mutters, his voice carrying an unusually stern tone.

“Okay,” you whisper, eyes widening, stepping back as you watch Nico pull his wallet out and pay for the dress. He carries the bag for you, silence falling between you until you were outside, away from the sanctity of the boutique.

“What’s your problem?” you snap, standing next to Nico’s car, watching him set the bag down into the backseat.

“What?” Nico asks with a loud sigh, slamming the car door a little harder than necessary.

“I don’t know...you’re mad at me for not dating you and-.”

“I’m not mad at you for not dating me,” Nico interrupts. “I’m mad that we are dating and you refuse to admit it.”

“We’re not together,” you state definitively, arms crossed over your chest.

“Okay, whatever, then this is done,” Nico mutters, shaking his head. “Get in the car.”

“I want to go home,” you tell him, yanking the car door open.

“Well that’s where I’m taking you,” Nico grumbles, sliding into the driver’s seat of the car.

The drive back to your apartment is silent, your eyes focused directly ahead of you, the drive seeming longer than you had remembered. Nico pulls into the parking lot, turning the car around so that your side of the car was facing the door, something he had done since the first time he dropped you off at home. Opening the door you slip out, glancing back to find Nico handing you the bag with the dress.

“I don’t want the fucking dress, Nico. I’m not doing this anymore.”

He nods slowly, your words sinking in. “Well what am I going to do with it? Just take it.”

Sighing you reach over, taking the bag from him, knowing it would be easier than continuing to argue about it. “Alright, well,” you mutter, glancing around. “Goodbye…I guess.”

“Bye,” Nico replies, voice strained, eyes barely meeting yours.

You shut the door slowly, walk into your apartment even slower, knowing that if you really did leave it like that it was a big statement. A big statement you weren’t even sure you wanted to be making. But you keep going, till you’re up in your apartment and your eyes are filling with tears.

Your best friend Liv is at your apartment shortly after you tell her what had happened, with a couple bottles of wine and take-out.

“I just don’t get it,” Liv says, sitting on the couch with half a glass of red wine in her hand. “You like him, you two are always together, going on dates. Why won’t you just let him in? Make it official?”

Shrugging you swirl the wine around in your glass, swallowing heavily as another round of tears form in your eyes. “Because I said I wouldn’t, Liv. I promised myself, I would experience things, I would figure myself out before getting into a real relationship.”

“But you’re not doing that,” Liv points out. “You keep saying you don’t want anything serious but you’ve been, what, casually dating this guy for like a year and a half? When’s the last time you went on a date with anyone else?”

Shrugging you try to think back, try to remember the last time you actually even seriously entertained the idea of a date with another man. “I don’t know, last year, I guess.”

“When’s the last time you hooked up with anyone other than him?”

“Liv, I don’t know. It’s been awhile, I get it,” you exclaim, sighing loudly. “I’m scared.”

“Scared of what?” Liv asks, voice gentle and reassuring despite your outburst. “You’ve always been scared of getting hurt. But if you don’t let yourself be with someone you’re never going to even have the opportunity for what else could happen.”

“No,” you whisper, wiping away a few tears that had pooled under your eyes. “I’m scared that I pushed him away…for good this time.”

Liv reaches over, placing her hand on your leg. “You’ve been doing this for a year, I don’t think this has to be the last time…if you’re actually going to let him in this time. But if you’re not, if you’re still not ready, maybe it should be for good.”

Liv stays with you for most of the night, watching reality tv and finishing off the wine she had brought over. You didn’t talk much more about Nico, wanting to get your mind off of the situation for awhile, to let yourself calm down.

You contemplated reaching out to Nico. From hours after to days after. But you didn’t know what to say and he wasn’t saying anything either. So you didn’t say anything at all, till you were only a couple days away from the NHL Awards and all you could think about was Nico telling you that he wanted you to be there to support him.

Pulling your phone out you scroll through your contacts, finding the one you were looking for and pressing the call button.

“Hey, what’s up?”

“Hey, um, if I book a flight to Nashville and a hotel and everything can you bring me with you on Monday?”

“To the awards?”

“Yeah.”

“No. What the hell? You’ve been fucking with Nico’s feelings for so long and now you’re going to try to come with me instead?”

“No, that’s not what I mean, Jack,” you mumble, tears welling in your eyes. “I just…I want to be there for him, I can’t miss it, Jack, I can’t. I fucked up, I know I’ve been a shitty person to him and I don’t know how I can change that but I need to see him and I need him to know that I care and I don’t want to lose him and-.”

“Okay,” Jack exclaims, cutting you off. “Holy shit, yeah, okay, you can come. Are you okay?”

“I don’t know,” you admit, pulling your knees to your chest, staring across the living room at the dark TV, your reflection looking back at you. “I love him, Jack.”

“But you don’t want to be with him.”

“I do.”

“You need to tell him that then. I’ll text you later, okay?”

“Thank you, Jack.”

“Of course. But you really need to figure this out with him because I can’t handle being in the middle of you two fighting.”

“I will.”

You woke up extra early the morning of the awards. Not on purpose, you had an entire day to get ready. But you were too anxious to stay asleep. So you pulled yourself out of bed and tried to spread out the process of getting ready through the day so you wouldn’t have much time to ruminate on everything alone in the quiet hotel room.

Finally you’re heading down the elevator after what felt like the longest day of your life to meet Jack out front on the way to the arena.

“You look good,” Jack tells you as you pull your seatbelt on, adjusting your dress.

“Thanks,” you whisper, your mind so preoccupied with Nico that you were barely registering anything that was happening around you.

When you get to the venue your stomach is churning with so much anxiety you begin to worry you might throw up. “I don’t know what to say to him,” you admit as you walk next to him.

“Sorry might be a good start.”

“Yeah,” you whisper, more to yourself than to anyone else. You force a few deep breaths into your lungs as you follow Jack, till you’re standing just a few feet away from Nico. When your eyes meet you can visibly see the confusion flash across his face, eyes darting between you and Jack.

“What?” Nico begins, Jack stepping back as he says it.

“I’m not getting in the middle of this,” Jack says, hurrying off in the other direction to leave you alone with Nico.

“I’m sorry,” you say, voice shaky. “I’m so sorry, Nico. I shouldn’t have pushed you away so much. And maybe this is too little, too late, I don’t know, but I want to be here for you. You can tell me to go, I understand if you don’t want me here.”

“Of course I want you here,” Nico tells you, reaching over and taking your hand, tugging you closer. “I just can’t keep doing this. I want to be with you, I want this to be real and if not-.”

“I want that too,” you whisper, shaky fingers clutching at Nico’s arms.

“What? Why? Why now?” Nico asks, shaking his head in disbelief.

“Because I realized how stupid I’ve been. I was scared, I was holding onto this idea that I needed to figure something out before I let myself get into a relationship,” you tell him, trying so hard to come up with words that would explain everything, make everything okay. “I was waiting for something, some revelation or something, but I don’t even know what I was waiting for because I don’t want anything else, I just want to be with you and I’m sorry that I didn’t just accept that earlier. I shouldn’t have made you wait like this.”

Nico nods as he listens to your rambling explanation, watching your eyes welling with tears. When you finish talking Nico pulls you into him, pressing his lips to the top of your head. “I would have waited as long as you needed.”

Sniffling you pull back, wiping away the tears from your eyes before they could roll onto your cheeks. “Sorry, I shouldn’t be crying like this,” you say with nervous laugh. “I, um, I don’t know what to do now…we’re here to celebrate you, how…where…what happens now?”

Nico chuckles quietly, leaning down and pressing his lips to yours gently. “Just stay with me, you don’t need to worry about anything else.”

“I’m not going anywhere,” you say, taking Nico’s hand in yours, moving to his side. “I love you,” you whisper.

Nico glances down at you, his lips curling into a smile. “I love you too.”

#nico hischier #nico hischier imagine #nico hischier fic #nhl fanfiction #nhl one shot #nhl imagines #nhl fanfic #nhl fic #hockey fanfic #hockey fic #hockey fanfiction #hockey imagines

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theninerealmsbakery · 1 month

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2021!Kung Lao x Reader x 2021!Liu Kang Headcanons

Liu and Lao are super protective over you. They know that being in a relationship with two of Earthrealm's champions makes you a target for attack, so they watch over you, ready to defend if necessary.

We all know Kung Lao is a proud man. Proud of his abilities, proud of his heritage. This pride extends to you and Liu. He's proud to be with you both and likes to show you both off when he can.

Liu Kang is a bit of a mother hen. He always makes sure the people he cares about are well fed, drinking enough, getting enough sleep, etc. He always wants to provide for you and Lao.

Unfortunately this means he often puts others needs before his own. It's up to you and Lao to make sure he is also taken care of! You're both used to carrying around snacks with you and giving them to Liu when he needs them. You also bring jugs of water to sparring matches for them both. He gets so flustered when you do this, it makes him love you all the more.

You and Lao cuddling into Liu on cold nights because this man burns like a damn furnace due to his arcana. He likes that his arcana can be useful to those he loves.

Speaking of arcana, they both love showing off to you, but in very different ways. Lao will use his hat to teleport right next to you and scares the shit out of you. Liu is much more gentle and likes to make different shapes with his fire to show you. He will also use his fire to keeps things warm for you, like your tea cup, your bowl of food or your hand.

Lao is more likely to be open to PDA with you. He's never afraid to put his arm around your shoulders or your waist. He likes to let everyone know who you belong with.

Liu is more subtle. He prefers to keep physical affections private, though he doesn't mind holding hands or a quick kiss to your forehead as he walks past you.

Liu loves to share meditation time with you. Even if you don't meditate with him, he loves if you just sit with him while he does, maybe reading or some other quiet activity.

Lao is the king of power naps. This man can nap anywhere, anytime. Loves to just pull you aside so you can take a quick nap with him. He claims he feels more refreshed when he holds you while napping. He tries to convince Liu to join you both, but Liu is too duty bound to do so.

I feel like being in a relationship with both Liu Kang and Kung Lao is the closest thing to heaven I can think of. They both love you and each other very much.

#they are too cute!!!#i wanted them both but then realised i have two hands #i thought they had great chemistry in the movie #liu kang #kung lao #liu kang x reader #liu kang x kung lao #kung lao x reader #kung lao x liu kang #liu kang x reader x kung lao #kung lao x reader x liu kang #mortal kombat #mortal kombat 2021 #mk 2021 #headcanons #ludi lin #max huang

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amourdivine · 1 year

Text

𝐀 𝐋𝐄𝐓𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐅𝐑𝐎𝐌 𝐘𝐎𝐔𝐑 𝐅𝐔𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐄 𝐂𝐇𝐈𝐋𝐃.

Hello, my loves. I hope you're all doing wonderfully well. Although this pick a card was not the #1 winner in my most recent poll, I know that many people here are excited to build a family, so I decided to provide something fun for you! I hope you enjoy it & please don’t forget to provide feedback, if you will; If you liked this reading, please consider booking a paid reading or tipping me at @ [email protected]! xo. ♡

how to choose your pile. take deep breaths for a few minutes & look at each and every one of the piles separately. which pile sparks a feeling inside you? which pile gives you a strong memory or calls out to you the most? take your time and feel free to come back to it later.

♡ ♡ ♡ personal readings are available. click here to know more!

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disclaimer. none of the images are mine unless stated otherwise! this is a general reading for entertainment purposes. tarot is a divination tool & is not a substitute for medical and professional advice, nor is it meant to be taken as such. i do not take responsibility for any choice(s) made by you or others regarding my readings. please remember you are responsible for life and in power of it.

amourdivine. 2021 - 2023 © do not copy, redistribute or edit my content.

𝑷𝑰𝑳𝑬 𝑶𝑵𝑬.

strength | the star | king of wands

Hello, pile one! I’m not sure if it’s just my mind, but I keep seeing a lot of colors for this pile, especially primary colors, so it’s possible that you might have this child with an LGBTQ+ person and/or be LGBTQ+ yourself! I also saw a lot of crayons even before shuffling, so I think your kid will definitely be a very artistic type. A lot of messages came through even before I shuffled, so I think this kid is absolutely ecstatic about being a part of your family as your child.

This child is going to be very, very feisty and funny. They might be a bit of a tomboy or just a bit “rough” around the edges, but they’ll be very protective over you and their family as well. You could be a parent twice or more, so I don’t think this will be your only child, but definitely the eldest. Also, if you decide to have any pets at the time, they’ll probably want to do and know everything. Your future child’s asking you not to get frustrated when they ask you a bunch of questions about the world, pile one. They really wanted to get that across before moving on with the other messages, because they might be the type of super sensitive and feisty kid - very in touch with their emotions and they easily get hurt by words, but they have a very big and forgiving nature. Also, they’re asking you not to be overprotective, since they’re your first child, they want you to give them independence and autonomy slowly. Remember what I said about the pet? Yeah, they want to learn how to do things and they’ll watch you a lot in secret. Perhaps you’ll be up one morning and when you’re about to feed the cat, you’ve noticed that your kid’s already pouring the food onto the cat’s bowl. That’s adorable!

Something here tells me they might have fights and I can see a kid pushing another off the playground, but your kid will not start them per se. They seem very short-tempered and I can almost hear a little voice in my head going “they started it!” because your child might be very protective over others, especially animals. Also, right off the bat, they’re apologizing for coloring the walls with crayons? Not sure if that’ll resonate for all of you, but if it does, please come back to let me know!

Also, if your child’s a little boy, your second child will be a little girl or vice versa. I can picture a little boy looking after a little girl in these cards, almost like one of them is playing and the other one’s making sure they don’t stray too far. I can’t say much about the other children, but this child will be your first and I doubt it’ll be the only! They’re so giggly, they might love it when you do a funny face or style their hair in a unique way. Also, this kid might be a bit eccentric like the artist they are - they could draw little monsters everywhere and love playing with makeup or looks regardless of their gender. They’ll brighten up your world and love you unconditionally, pile one. By the way, I had a lot of trouble spelling the words and since I’m channeling your future child’s message, I think they’ll ramble a lot and possibly mix up words at first. They’re really asking me to emphasize how loved you’ll be, in a way you have never ever felt before. This child is also urging me to tell you to take care of yourself physically and emotionally, but they also want you to promise that you’ll stay safe for them. They really love you so much, pile one. If you liked this reading, please consider booking a paid reading or tipping me at @ [email protected]! xo. ♡

additional messages & signs: 333, pluto, leo and aquarius season, august, collecting beach shells, ginger or light blonde hair, freckles, tooth fairy, book quotes, “you can be a fighter”, “tell me everything”, “who did this to you?”, chocolate chip cookies, rainbows, lgbt parade.

𝑷𝑰𝑳𝑬 𝑻𝑾𝑶.

the fool | ace of swords | king of cups

Hello, pile two and welcome to your reading! While shuffling, I saw many cards related to Leo and other fire signs, but mostly Leo. I also heard “single parent,” so it’s possible you may raise this child on your own or become a single parent yourself. I love the freshness and boldness of this child. They may be a bit reckless and, well, foolish, since we have The Fool card here! But on a more in-depth interpretation, they seem unafraid and a bit of an airhead as well. They’re a bit brash and blunt with their words - may occasionally embarrass you in public, but all is done in good faith. They’re extremely pure and good-hearted, so it may surprise you that they’ll never grow out of that typical “naiveté” of a child’s, even well into their adult years.

This child may be born during the months of August or October, given the Leo and Libra signs I’ve gotten here. Although naive, they hold a lot of emotional wisdom and depth to them. They may be overlooked during their childhood years at school, perhaps their more extroverted and youthful nature can get them in trouble and make people underestimate or misunderstand them. However, they’re not a natural troublemaker or mischievous by any means. They’re quite witty and may have a knack for sarcasm or wordplay. Also, this kid looks like they’d be easily lost into books and works of fantasy. They have a wild imagination and it’s something they’re asking you to protect and cherish. This pile reminds me a little of pile number one, but with more maturity to them and emotional depth to them.

Despite looking like an airhead, they may actually be quite observant to the things other people don’t pay attention to. They may forget to do homework or the occasional house chores, but this child will be extremely emotionally sensitive - they may be the first to notice when one of their peers isn’t doing well or may use humor to lift other people’s mood, but this child may struggle with insecurity or confidence, deep down. They may feel they need to overperform in order to be cherished and loved, so they’re asking you to use plenty of words of affirmation to remind them how good they already are.

This child may have a bit of a dramatic flair to them as well, but like I mentioned earlier, it’s all in good nature. Do not joke about their feelings, though! Under this whimsical and dramatic nature, they take emotions very seriously. It’s quite an interesting juxtaposition - hence why I also feel that they may be misunderstood or taken for granted by their peers, at times. They may be neurodivergent and so, it’s important you check in on them. If this child is autistic, for example, allow them to take pride in these traits that make them different and unique. Also, you’ll learn a lot about the world through this child’s eyes. They have a very unique way of perceiving things. If you liked this reading, please consider booking a paid reading or tipping me at @ [email protected]! xo. ♡

additional messages & signs: leo or sagittarius, pisces, scorpio, september, october, twitch streamer, video games, “you were born to stand out”, neurodivergent, adhd, autistic, fair, blunt, sensitive, quirky, lego house, marvel movies.

𝑷𝑰𝑳𝑬 𝑻𝑯𝑹𝑬𝑬.

seven of pentacles | knight of swords | eight of pentacles

Hello, pile number three! Welcome to your reading! Honestly, I had a little bit of a tough time shuffling for this pile, just because the messages and the overall feeling of it was so intense. They seem quite introverted and hardworking, like an old soul in a young body. It’s quite different from my previous piles, since this child holds a lot of seriousness and introversion to them, which is not actually a bad thing - they’re devoted to making you a proud parent.

They may tend to take things very seriously and to heart, however. Whatever you say to your child, they’ll take it to heart, so be careful with your words around them - it seems it can go either way. I get a bit of “middle sibling” energy from this, so they may tend to overwork themselves in order to gain people’s approval or excel in their studies to gain a sense of control. It reminds me a bit of Saturn and Capricorn as their overall concepts.

It breaks my heart a little because this child seems quite guarded. They may have a hard time opening up or simply feel that you’re too busy for them. Their main love language seems to be quality time and acts of service, so it’s important you take plenty of interest in their hobbies - no matter how “weird” or “quirky” they may seem to you, this child is very booksmart, even though sometimes they may come off as a “know it all,” they want to become resourceful and helpful, someone that you’re proud of in the long run. Aw, my heart.

Now, they may also be extremely competitive. I think they may partake in several extracurricular activities at school and become some kind of valedictorian during college. They’re reliable, trustworthy and quite solid. Although may be a bit of a wallflower as well, so be mindful when you engage with your kid, since they need their own time and may struggle with placing boundaries. This child is asking you to remind them that you’re the parent - not them, and they don’t need to have it all together. So no matter how many times they struggle with their perfectionism, it’s important you bring them back to their qualities and how worthy they are of everything.

They may also be naturally strict with themselves and have extremely high standards. They may get this from you, as well, if they witness you being harsh on yourself, they may become adept of this behavior since this child idolizes you a lot and may have troubles with their own self-image or self-worth outside of their achievements. Please remind them to have fun, a lot of it! Not everything has to be a task or a side hustle, and this message seems to apply to you as well. They acknowledge you’ve worked hard to build financial stability for them, but remember to bond emotionally with others and not pass these false beliefs onto your loved ones. Honestly, they’re a little bit of a “mini adult”, it reminds me a lot of the child character played by Dakota Fanning in “Uptown Girls,” especially the scenes in which she struggles with vulnerability and receiving affection. This is a very responsible kid, it warms my heart to know how much motivation they’ve got to succeed in life and to make you proud. They adore you so much. If you liked this reading, please consider booking a paid reading or tipping me at @ [email protected]! xo. ♡

additional messages & signs: “why don’t you do something for yourself?”, capricorn, virgo, taurus, horseback riding, harvard, straight A’s, INTJ, ISTJ, good enough by lifehouse, “and now that you don’t have to be perfect, you can be good”, you’re on your own kid by taylor swift, "fear of being average"

#pick a card #pick a pile #pick a card reading #pac reading #tarotblr #tarot reading #tarot witch #witchblr #spirituality #divination #astroblr #astro community #astrology #astro notes #tarot reader #free tarot reading #tarot community #*

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swashbuckler5e · 5 months

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Black Widow 2021

Black Widow is a 2021 American superhero film based on Marvel Comics featuring the character of the same name. Produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, it is the 24th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). Directed by Kate Shortland from a screenplay by Eric Pearson, the film stars Florence Pugh, David Harbour, O-T Fagbenle, Olga Kurylenko, William Hurt, Ray Winstone and Rachel Weisz, as well as Scarlett Johansson as Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow. Set after the events of Captain America: Civil War (2016), the film sees Romanoff on the run and forced to confront his past as a Russian spy before he became an Avenger.

Lionsgate Films began development on a Black Widow film in April 2004, with David Hayter attached to write and direct. The project did not progress and film rights to the character reverted to Marvel Studios by June 2006. Johansson has been cast in several MCU films, starting with Iron Man 2 (2010), and is in talks with Marvel about a solo film. Work began in late 2017 and Shortland was commissioned in July 2018. Jack Schaeffer and Ned Benson contributed to the script before Pearson joined. The film was written as a prequel that expands Romanoff's history and helps conclude his MCU story following the character's death in Avengers: Endgame (2019). Shortland emphasized the fight sequence and said it was the most violent MCU film to date. Filming took place from May to October 2019 in Norway, England, Budapest, Morocco and Macon, Georgia.

Released </h1> Black Widow premiered at events around the world on June 29, 2021, and was released in the United States on July 9, with simultaneous access to Premiere, in theaters and via Disney+. It is the first film in Phase IV of the MCU, and was delayed three times from its original May 2020 release date due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Black Widow broke several Pandemic box office records and grossed over $379 million worldwide. In July 2021, Johansson filed a lawsuit against Disney for simultaneous release, which was settled two months later.

#action adventure #movies #action movies #marvel #marvel series #hollywood #black widow #black widow 2021 #super hero #super bowl #american super hero

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am-i-the-asshole-official · 9 months

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aita for being bitter at my family for keeping their dog that doesn't like me, and for being glad when they had to get rid of the dog?

so i (adult m) live in a small 3bed/2bath home with my family: mom (f40s), dad (m40s), nana (f60s), and my sisters (f17, f12). i was homeless for a while and moved in with them in dec 2019/jan 2020. they had two dogs that they loved for a long time, both dogs had passed years before i moved in. from what i've heard, the dogs were beloved members of the family and their deaths, while expected (because of old age and health issues), were devastating.

our house is small, but i don't really have an issue with that. i spend nearly 100% of my time inside the house because of a surgery i had a while back, and i'm content to nap and watch TV and socialize with my family all day. i require a lot of care and special attention and i'm unable to hold a job (would rather not go into detail), and while occasionally my family will leave me home by myself for a few days for a vacation, this is pretty rare and i'm overall satisfied with the care they are able to provide me. i'd say my life is pretty good.

or it was.

in the last couple of years it has been increasingly obvious that my family (with the exception of my nana) miss having a dog around. they would occasionally talk about a dog up for adoption they saw online, or a friend who was having puppies and how it would be so cool to get a puppy, or looking at videos of dogs and reminiscing about their old dogs and talking about how nice it would be to get a dog. this didn't bother me in and of itself, because it had been happening for a while and they never actually followed through.

... until early last month, when they came home with a dog. this came from out of nowhere (they stopped on the way home from the shelter to buy dog supplies, like food and bowls, toys, etc). no one had told me about this or asked me what i thought, so i was surprised and confused when they brought a strange dog into the home. according to them, they are "fostering" this dog for a few months while she undergoes treatment for a health condition (after which she will be eligible for adoption), but her behavior towards me has erased any sympathy i might have felt for her.

this dog is big (she's almost certainly stronger than i am), unruly, untrained, and she does not like me. i've been avoiding her because her extreme level of energy unnerves me, but every time she sees me she growls at me and tries to lunge or snap at me like i'm the one invading her territory and not the other way around. i have voiced my fears and my strong dislike at having this dog in the house, but i don't think my family really understands what i'm saying.

after a few days, it became clear that allowing the both of us to be in the same room would lead to injury. this was further cemented after an incident where i was sitting on the couch with my mom and my sister came in from walking the dog and the dog lunged at me and i accidentally gave my mom a minor injury in my panic. so my family has decided that the best course of action, until they have time to condition her to my presence, is for me to stay in my room indefinitely.

practically, the space is big enough for me—i don't need much, and i'm not super physically active, the only thing i can't do in here that i can do in the common areas is watch tv—but it's frustrating being confined to a single room in my own home, where i've lived for years, while this dog is granted open access to the rest of the house. my family promised it would be temporary, that they just have to work on training her and correcting her behavior and getting her comfortable with me, but the longer this has dragged on the more i have been forced to accept that this is my life now.

at the end of last month, my sibling (nby20, lived with us until starting college in 2021) came down from their university town to stay with us for a few days for their birthday. during their visit, they spent some time in my room with me, hanging out and empathizing with my situation. they said some things that made me feel more validated in my discomfort over this whole situation.

the week after they went back home, the dog started acting aggressively toward my nana, especially when my nana got close to one of my sisters. it got to the point where my family had to lock her in her crate to keep her from attacking my nana, and even then she would bark and growl at my nana. so my family made the (very difficult for them) decision to stop fostering the dog and return her to the shelter. since she was returned, i have regained my access to the rest of the house.

while i am not stoked about my nana being attacked, i am relieved that the dog is gone and i am no longer a prisoner in my own home. along with this relief are feelings of bitterness—the dog acted aggressively toward me on numerous occasions, but as soon as she displayed that behavior toward my nana, they got rid of her. after the conversation with my oldest sibling, who offered an outside perspective, i have been feeling slighted and as if my comfort was a secondary concern to my family.

my parents and sisters, meanwhile, are devastated by this recent turn of events. they had all grown very attached to the dog (apparently she could be very sweet and loving when she wasn't aggressive), and they had fallen in love with her quirks and the amount of excitement she brought into the home. my parents had spent good money spoiling her with toys and treats that cannot be used now. my sisters, being younger, are especially devastated—my youngest sister has always felt things very deeply and openly, and seeing her this sad is heartbreaking. i've been trying to comfort my family as best i can, but i feel like my presence alone is just another reminder that the dog is gone.

though i acknowledge their attachment to the dog and their sadness at having to give her up, these feelings of bitterness and resentment—that her attacking me wasn't a "good enough" reason to get rid of her—remain. i am also having trouble tampering my relief and excitement at once again being allowed access to the tvs and the common areas. am i an asshole for having these feelings when my family loved this dog and are still upset at having to get rid of her?

What are these acronyms?

#aita #am i the asshole

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3rddimension · 4 months

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fun question: do you have a favorite part in the shourtney stream compilation? if so, which one? personally i love part 18 and part 25 <3

Here's my quick fav list! (In no particular order tho)

Part 5: Halloween Karaoke. This is around super early relationship and they're being soft as hell when Court ask Shayne when they want to sit on the sofa together but there's a baby doll hanging around them. Also the general vibe of that stream is super fun and they're cheering each other on their turn to sing.

Part 18: Donner Dinner Party. The origami saga start around this time and they're teasing each other in the level that we've never seen before.

Part 24: Star Wars Day. It's basically double date live stream. LMFAO

Part 26: SSSS Revival. Probably one of the first big clue pop up around this time. The morning breakfast talk and the way both of them caring for each other the whole stream. Espcially around the end when Shayne bracelet is not working and Court with pouty face went to him with the replacement one. It's super cute.

Part 31: Stan vs Internet Summer Fun Edition & Wii Bowling Night 2. The start of broken ankle saga. Court basically admit that she can't go to the gym (because she need to taking care of Shayne) also the boba slip up. She's also trying to get attention from him the whole time on both stream.

Part 33: Ring Fit one. The instant iconic & classic smoothie incident. Enough said tbh.

Part 36: The whole video especially God Hates Charades part. This is after they went back from visiting Shayne's family in Colorado. So you get a big slip up when they were playing charade and Court let out that it's remind of Shayne's dad with a significant details about his dad history.

Part 41: That soft voice to tell Court to put goggles on is basically why this one is on the list. The best moment out of all imo.

youtube

Part 42: What are Those Gamer Gear. I loveddddd the part when Shayne accident hit her face. lmfao

youtube

#shourtney #shartney

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seeminglyranch87 · 5 months

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Taylor & Travis Timeline

December 2023 - part 1

December 1 - Taylor and Travis attend Christmas Party at a pop-up bar wearing matching Christmas sweaters featuring squirrels - or should we say "squirle"? IYKYK. (x) Kansas City

Twitter April 2011 - Travis

IG Halloween Oct. 2021 - Taylor

December 2 - Travis arrives ahead of Chiefs v Packers Game, Green Bay, WI

December 3 - Chiefs v Packers, Lambeau Field, Green Bay, Wisconsin. Defeated 19 - 27

Taylor attends the game bringing Brittany Mahomes & Lyndsay Bell with her on her jet. They return to KC immediately after the game.

December 5 - Taylor seen out for dinner with Jack Antonoff in NYC

December 6 - Taylor Swift is announced as TIME Person of the Year - 2023 (x) This is a brilliant article - go check it out!

Most recently, she’s been dating the NFL star Travis Kelce, as has been well documented when she attends his games. “I don’t know how they know what suite I’m in,” she says. “There’s a camera, like, a half-mile away, and you don’t know where it is, and you have no idea when the camera is putting you in the broadcast, so I don’t know if I’m being shown 17 times or once.” She is sensitive to the attention that’s put on her when she shows up. “I’m just there to support Travis,” she says. “I have no awareness of if I’m being shown too much and pissing off a few dads, Brads, and Chads.”

I point out that it’s a net positive for the NFL to have a few Swifties watching. “Football is awesome, it turns out,” Swift says playfully. “I’ve been missing out my whole life.” (A game she attended in October was the most-watched Sunday show since the Super Bowl.)

“This all started when Travis very adorably put me on blast on his podcast, which I thought was metal as hell,” she says. “We started hanging out right after that. So we actually had a significant amount of time that no one knew, which I’m grateful for, because we got to get to know each other. By the time I went to that first game, we were a couple. I think some people think that they saw our first date at that game? We would never be psychotic enough to hard launch a first date.” The larger point, for her, is that there’s nothing to hide. “When you say a relationship is public, that means I’m going to see him do what he loves, we’re showing up for each other, other people are there and we don’t care,” she says. “The opposite of that is you have to go to an extreme amount of effort to make sure no one knows that you’re seeing someone. And we’re just proud of each other.”

Taylor attends the premiere of "Poor Things" in support of friend Emma Stone, Rockefeller Center, NYC. Taylor sat with Laura Dern, Suki Waterhouse and Robert Pattinson

December 8 - Taylor seen out with Selena Gomez, Zöe Kravitz, Cara Delevingne, Anya Taylor-Joy in NYC

Go to December 2023 part 2

Return to the timeline

#squirle #squirrel #taylor swift #taylor and travis #travis kelce #87 and 89 #taylor swift and travis kelce #traylor #killatrav #seemingly ranch #timeline #87 + 13 = 100 #tayvis #taylor and travis timeline

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betterthanburrow · 1 year

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Capricorn Baby - Instagram AU

(Bengals Quarterback! Joe Burrow x Author! OC)

liked by yourinstagram, and 100,755 more uses

Bengals: 🎊 HAPPY NEW YEAR 🎊 Looking forward to all that’s to come in 2022!

view all 25,679 comments

username1: hopefully there will be a super bowl win… the Bengals are so close yet so far from the finish line!

username2: i can’t believe the Bengals’ first football game of 2022 will be against THE CHIEFS?!

joeyb_9: 2022 will be a good year for the Bengals!

↳ yourinstagram: you are definitely right about that Mr. BurrowHead!

liked joeyb_9, and 499,815 more users

yourinstagram: my biggest accomplishment of 2021 was publishing my first book and becoming a New York Times Best Selling Author… i’m so thankful for everyone who has been apart of this journey and i can’t wait to continue the journey in 2022!

view all 105,651 comments

joeyb_9: i’m so proud of you and i’m happy to say that i’ve been along side your journey since the beginning!

↳ yourinstagram: thank you for being apart of the journey 💗

bookofthemonth: your book ruined me (in a good way)… i can’t wait for the next book that you’ll publish!

emilyhenrywrites: i love you! your book is my favorite book that was released in 2021!

↳ yourinstagram: i love you too! and that is such an amazing compliment coming from you 💗

liked by yourinstagram and 115,007 more users

Bengals: 🗣️ The first game of 2022 in The Jungle!

view all 30,552 comments

username1: if the Bengals don’t win this game… it’s over for the Bengals in 2022 before the year started.

↳ username2: the Bengals losing the first game of 2022 would be so embarrassing… all the hard work during this past season would be for NOTHING!

↳ username3: the Bengals NEED to become the AFC North Champions… or else someone will need to burn the jungle down.

yourinstagram: it’s been a very long time since i’ve been so anxious for a football game 😵‍💫

liked by 89,460 users

Bengals_Updates: Joe Burrow girlfriend’s IG Story.

view all 7,019 comments

username1: the way Y/FN knew she had to post this instagram story because she knows that if she wasn’t spotted at the game then the media would start creating rumors that her and Joe broke up…

↳ username2: the last time Y/FN didn’t attend one of the Bengals’ games, the media started spreading those rumors even though we know the reason she wasn’t at the football game is because she has a book signing scheduled the same day as the game 😵‍💫

username3: i wonder why she isn’t attending the football game?!

↳ username4: maybe it’s because it’s her birthday is the day after the game and wants to be with her family and friends?!

liked by yourinstagram , and 110,572 more users

Bengals: RULE THE NORTH. RULE THE JUNGLE.

view all 45,771 comments

lahjay10_: 🔥🔥🔥

username1: THE BENGALS ARE THE AFC NORTH CHAMPIONS… WHO WOULD’VE THOUGHT THAT THIS DAY WOULD COME!

username2: the football game was so entertaining to watch… i never realized that the Chiefs could involved in playing an entertaining football game?!

yourinstagram: 2022 really is the year for the Bengals!

joeyb_9: and now… we’re going to the playoffs!

liked by yourinstagram, and 559,015 more users

joeyb_9: king of the north #AFCNORTHCHAMPS

view all 227,995 comments

Bengals: 🔥🔥🔥

yourinstagram: oh damn… you’re so hot, now it’s time for you to get back home to me to celebrate 😚💗

↳ joeyb_9: yes ma’am 😮‍💨

liked by joeyb_9, and 500,669 more users

yourinstagram: Capricorn Baby 🌷✨

view all 255,001 comments

mamaburrow: happy birthday Y/FN… i hope you had an amazing birthday celebrating with Joey 💘

lahjay10_: happy birthday miss capricorn!

bookofthemonth: happy birthday 💞

emilyhenrywrites: happy birthday darling 💖

joeyb_9: happy birthday baby, i’m glad you loved the cake, your present, and the alcohol 💗

liked by 95,472 users

BurrowDaily09: Joe Burrow’s Instagram Stories.

view all 9,831 comments

username1: according to my research on zodiac signs… Sagittarius and Capricorns are not compatible at all. they’re definitely going to break-up soon.

↳ username2: according to MY research… SHUT UP!

username3: do y’all think Joe baked the cake?!

↳ username4: you know damn well that Joe Burrow has little to no baking skills… i think she has tagged the bakery where the cake is from on her page.

↳ username5: the bakery that Y/FN tagged in her post said that Joe was the one who ordered the cake from the bakery and surprised Y/FN with the cake… apparently the bakery is where Y/FN got Joe’s cake for his birthday a few weeks ago.

liked by yourinstagram and 100,745 more users

Bengals: SEE YOU IN THE PLAYOFFS, CINCINNATI!

view all 55,871 comments

joeyb_9: we’re going to rule the playoffs just like we rule the north and how we rule the jungle 🔥

username1: i still can’t believe the BENGALS are in the PLAYOFFS for the SUPERBOWL?!

username2: i still think that i’m dreaming… i need someone to pinch me hard until i’m awake.

yourinstagram: like Mr. Burrow said… 2022 is going to be the year of the Bengals!

Author’s Note:

if you have a request for an Instagram AU, please send the lnstagram AU request through my Inbox and i’ll try to get the requested Instagram AU published as fast as i can!

thank you all for the love and support! 🤍

#Joe Burrow #NFL #CFB #Cincinnati Bengals #LSU Tigers #Joe Burrow Fanfiction #Joe Burrow Fanfic #Joe Burrow Fic #Joe Burrow x Reader #Joe Burrow x OC #Joe Burrow Instagram #Joe Burrow Instagram AU #Instagram AU #NFL Instagram

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beardedmrbean · 2 months

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WASHINGTON -- Inflation has changed the way many Americans shop. Now, those changes in consumer habits are helping bring down inflation.

Fed up with prices that remain about 19%, on average, above where they were before the pandemic, consumers are fighting back. In grocery stores, they're shifting away from name brands to store-brand items, switching to discount stores or simply buying fewer items like snacks or gourmet foods.

More Americans are buying used cars, too, rather than new, forcing some dealers to provide discounts on new cars again. But the growing consumer pushback to what critics condemn as price-gouging has been most evident with food as well as with consumer goods like paper towels and napkins.

In recent months, consumer resistance has led large food companies to respond by sharply slowing their price increases from the peaks of the past three years. This doesn't mean grocery prices will fall back to their levels of a few years ago, though with some items, including eggs, apples and milk, prices are below their peaks. But the milder increases in food prices should help further cool overall inflation, which is down sharply from a peak of 9.1% in 2022 to 3.1%.

Public frustration with prices has become a central issue in President Joe Biden’s bid for re-election. Polls show that despite the dramatic decline in inflation, many consumers are unhappy that prices remain so much higher than they were before inflation began accelerating in 2021.

Biden has echoed the criticism of many left-leaning economists that corporations jacked up their prices more than was needed to cover their own higher costs, allowing themselves to boost their profits. The White House has also attacked “shrinkflation,” whereby a company, rather than raising the price of a product, instead shrinks the amount inside the package. In a video released on Super Bowl Sunday, Biden denounced shrinkflation as a “rip-off.”

Consumer pushback against high prices suggests to many economists that inflation should further ease. That would make this bout of inflation markedly different from the debilitating price spikes of the 1970s and early 1980s, which took longer to defeat. When high inflation persists, consumers often develop an inflationary psychology: Ever-rising prices lead them to accelerate their purchases before costs rise further, a trend that can itself perpetuate inflation.

“That was the fear — that everybody would tolerate higher prices,” said Gregory Daco, chief economist at EY, a consulting firm, who notes that it hasn't happened. “I don't think we've moved into a high inflation regime.”

Instead, this time many consumers have reacted like Stuart Dryden, a commercial underwriter at a bank who lives in Arlington, Virginia. On a recent trip to his regular grocery store, Dryden, 37, pointed out big price disparities between Kraft Heinz-branded products and their store-label competitors, which he now favors.

Dryden, for example, loves cream cheese and bagels. A 12-ounce tub of Kraft's Philadelphia cream cheese costs $6.69. The store brand, he noted, is just $3.19.

A 24-pack of Kraft single cheese slices is $7.69; the store label, $2.99. And a 32-ounce Heinz ketchup bottle is $6.29, while the alternative is just $1.69. Similar gaps existed with mac-and-cheese and shredded cheese products.

“Just those five products together already cost nearly $30,” Dryden said. The alternatives were less than half that, he calculated, at about $13.

“I’ve been trying private-label options, and the quality is the same and it’s almost a no-brainer to switch from the products I used to buy a ton of to just the private label," Dryden said.

Alex Abraham, a spokesman for Kraft Heinz, said that its costs rose 3% in the final three months of last year but that the company raised its own prices only 1%.

“We are doing everything possible to find efficiencies in our factories and other parts of our business to offset and mitigate further price increases,” Abraham said.

Last week, Kraft Heinz said sales fell in the final three months of last year as more consumers traded down to cheaper brands.

Dryden has taken other steps to save money: A year ago, he moved into a new apartment after his previous landlord jacked up his rent by about 50%. His former apartment had been next to a relatively pricey grocery store, Whole Foods. Now, he shops at a nearby Amazon Fresh and has started visiting the discount grocer Aldi every couple of weeks.

Samuel Rines, an investment strategist at Corbu, says that PepsiCo, Kimberly-Clark, Procter & Gamble and many other consumer food and packaged goods companies exploited the rise in input costs stemming from supply-chain disruptions and Russia's invasion of Ukraine to dramatically raise their prices — and increase their profits — in 2021 and 2022.

A contributing factor was that millions of Americans enjoyed solid wage gains and received stimulus checks and other government aid, making it easier for them to pay the higher prices.

Still, some decried the phenomenon as “greedflation." And in a March 2023 research paper, the economist Isabella Weber at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, referred to it as “seller's inflation.”

Yet beginning late last year, many of the same companies discovered that the strategy was no longer working. Most consumers have now long since spent the savings they built up during the pandemic.

Lower-income consumers, in particular, are running up credit card debt and falling behind on their payments. Americans overall are spending more cautiously. Daco notes that overall sales during the holiday shopping season were up just 4% — and most of it reflected higher prices rather than consumers actually buying more things.

As an example, Rines points to Unilever, which makes, among other items, Hellman's mayonnaise, Ben & Jerry's ice cream and Dove soaps. Unilever jacked up its prices 13.3% on average across its brands in 2022. Its sales volume fell 3.6% that year. In response, it raised prices just 2.8% last year; sales rose 1.8%.

“We're beginning to see the consumer no longer willing to take the higher pricing,” Rines said. “So companies were beginning to get a little bit more skeptical of their ability to just have price be the driver of their revenues. They had to have those volumes come back, and the consumer wasn’t reacting in a way that they were pleased with.”

Unilever itself recently attributed poor sales performance in Europe to “share losses to private labels.”

Other businesses have noticed, too. After their sales fell in the final three months of last year, PepsiCo executives signaled that this year they would rein in price increases and focus more on boosting sales.

“In 2024, we see ... normalization of the cost, normalization of inflation,” CEO Ramon Laguarta said. “So we see everything trending back to our long-term” pricing trends.

Jeffrey Harmening, CEO of General Mills, which makes Cheerios, Chex Cereal, Progresso soups and dozens of other brands, has acknowledged that his customers are increasingly seeking bargains.

And McDonald's executives have said that consumers with incomes below $45,000 are visiting less and spending less when they do visit and say the company plans to highlight its lower-priced items.

“Consumers are more wary — and weary — of pricing, and we’re going to continue to be consumer-led in our pricing decisions,” Ian Borden, the company's chief financial officer, told investors.

Officials at the Federal Reserve, the nation's primary inflation-fighting institution, have cited consumers' growing reluctance to pay high prices as a key reason why they expect inflation to fall steadily back to their 2% annual target.

“Firms are telling us that price sensitivity is very much higher now,” Mary Daly, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco and a member of the Fed's interest-rate setting committee, said last week. “Consumers don't want to purchase unless they're seeing a 10% discount. ... This is a serious improvement in the role that consumers play in bridling inflation.”

Surveys by the Fed's regional banks have found that companies across all industries expect to impose smaller price increases this year. The New York Fed says companies in its region plan to raise prices an average of about 3% this year, down from about 5% in 2023 and as much as 7% to 9% in 2022.

Such trends suggest that companies were well on their way to slowing their price hikes before Biden's most recent attacks on price gouging.

Claudia Sahm, founder of SAHM Consulting and a former Fed economist, said, “consumers are more powerful than President Biden.”

#nunyas news

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