#Ashley Sanchez one shot

[outsideratheart]

A Future With You (Ashley Sanchez x reader)

A/N: Where did this fic come from you ask? I have no idea and I’m not a huge fan of it but i like to think of it as a spring clean fic. I had to write this so that I can clear my head and make room for another one. Also,this GIF is adorable.

The Washington Spirit had just played their final game of the NWSL season and it didn’t end the way the team wanted. 

You had missed 6 weeks of the season due to international duties which you didn’t mind because in that time you and the Lionesses had been crowned Champions of Europe. A title which you achieved in front of a sold out Wembley stadium. 

Now just over 2 months later the Lionesses are making their return against none other than the World Champions, the United States of America. The fact that an International friendly will be played in front of 70,000 fans is amazing and something you didn’t think possible before the summer tournament. 

“It’s 5 days Ash” you tell your girlfriend as the two of you stand in the departures at Ronald Reagan airport.

Ashley is currently stood with her head buried in the crook of your neck and her arms wrapped tightly around your torso.  

She refuses to move so her reply is inaudible. 

“I feel like I have just got you back. Why do you have to leave?” Ashley pouts as she looks up at you.

You can tell that she is upset that you are leaving. This time, when she drops you off at the airport you would be reunited in just under a week but still the feeling is bitter sweet. You wanted nothing more than to stay with her but you also loved playing for England.

“I have to leave because I’m British remember?” You tease her.

“Oh yes, the accent, how could I forget” 

A small chuckle escapes your lips at her answer. According to Ashley she heard you before she saw you, your accent drew her in all those years ago at UCLA and she has been yours ever since.

You stay entangled in each other arms until the last minute.

“I really do have to go now”  you say whilst checking your watch.

“You know when I next see you, you will be my enemy” she pokes your chest and gives you her best mean face.

“Adorable” you gently kiss her nose.

“Hey! I’m trying to be intimidating” her determination is admirable.

“I know, I’m shaking in my boots, I really am” 

Once again you check the time knowing that you will risk missing your flight if you don’t leave soon.

“I love you Ash, see you at Wembley” 

“I love you too Y/N” 

She watches you walk away, already counting down the days until she sees you again and little did she know you are doing the same thing.

************

Thankfully, days pass by quickly and before you know it, game day arrives.

Although there was nothing at stake in this game nothing about it seemed friendly. Wembley was full with both US and England fans, although the latter seemed to take up more of the stadium. Everyone knew that the winner of this game would have bragging rights going into the World Cup next summer.

As always you are at the back of the line up, eyes forward and focused on keeping your unbeaten streak alive. Since Ellen retired you had taken up the #10 mantle and you were now the number 1 choice for starting centre forward. You feel a little nervous but after the impact you had in the Euros you knew that Sarina made the correct choice and you would reassure her of that tonight.

Ashley grabs your hand as she passes, giving it a gently squeeze before letting go. The action is so fluid nobody picked up on it.

The United States line up and much to your surprise you see Trinity lined up opposite you. 

“Take it in Trin, you will remember this moment for the rest of your life” you tell your Spirit team mate.

You see her close her eyes as she relishes in the moment, the calm before storm if you will.

“Good luck Y/N” 

“You too” 

You quickly hug her before getting back into game mode.

The game is tough but you expected nothing less. England lead 2-1 with ten minutes remaining.

In the 83rd minute you see the subs board but more importantly you see Ashley standing next to it. 

You make eye contact with her as she runs into position. 

“Welcome to Wembley” you hold you arms out as if you own the place but then again if you ask the fans they dubbed the stadium Y/N’s house after you scored the winning goal in the final. 

She shakes her head at your antics before focusing on the game. 

Luckily for you the final whistle is blown and the crowd erupts. England had retained their unbeaten record whilst simultaneously ending the United States’. 

Both teams go into a quick huddle before dispersing with the majority of them staying out to met the fans. You however get dragged off to do media as you had won Player of the match.

You are given a pair of headphones and a few seconds later you can hear Alex Scott’s voice. 

“Here with us now is tonight’s player of the match Y/N Y/L/N” 

Someone off camera gives you the award.

“Thank you. Not a bad way to spend your Friday night right?” You joke.

“No at all. How was it down there?”

You give her a quick recap of the game along with your opinion of your team’s performance but you lose your trail of thought when you see Ashley standing behind the camera.

“Y/N, can you hear us?” 

Still your focus remains on your girlfriend, a smile tugging at your lips. It is only when the camera assistant waves at you do you remember you are on live TV.

“Sorry Alex, I saw a beautiful fan and I got distracted” 

Alex rolls her eyes at your charm whilst Ashley blushes behind the camera.

“I’ll bet. Well I know how much you love your fans so we’ll let you go”

You quickly give your headphones to the technician before walking behind the camera to Ashley.

“You think I’m beautiful” even after the years you have been together you find it adorable how she still gets flustered.

“Just a smidge” you measure the margin with you fingers which earns you a shove.

You grab Ashley’s hand as you pull her over to where some of your family are sitting. You point to a few rows up to where your dad, brother and nephew are sitting.

“I can’t see them” Ashley says whilst scanning the crowd.

You wrap you arms around her waist pulling her close as you try your best to point directly in her eye line.

“I see them” 

You watch as she waves enthusiastically, your nephew reciprocating her energy. 

When Ashley turns back to you she realises just how close you are. She leans forward puckering her lips but you back away causing her brows to furrow in disappointment.

“Too many people?” She asks. 

Everyone knew about your relationship and it wouldn’t be the first time you kissed on the pitch. You often would when the spirit had won but it was different this team as your were opponents.

“No. I can’t kiss you when your wearing this” you tug her her US shirt.  

Your childishness and clear alterer motive make Ashley laugh. 

“Want to swap?” Ashley asks and you nod eagerly. 

Both of you now stand there wearing the opposing teams jersey. You hold your hand and Ashley twirls around. 

“What do you think?” The question seems simple but the way it has your mind thinking is anything but. 

“Y/L/N suits you Ash” Trinity says. 

Turning you see the forward with Hatch and Andi. 

“You ok? You look like you’ve seen a ghost”

“Just a glimpse into the future” you reply.

Andi eyes you wearily, she is about to ask you more when a member of the England media team comes over asks for a photo of the Spirit team. 

Around an hour later you find yourself standing outside the US changing room waiting for Ashley, Trin and Andi. Your patience runs out so you knock before hearing a ‘come in’. 

It seems they are waiting on Ashley as you see her packing up the last of her things. 

“The offside call was bullshit” Pinoe says and whilst you know she is trying to get a rise out you, you are tired, sore and ready to take your girl home so you weren’t in the mood.

“It’s only a friendly P, imagine if something like this were to happen at, let’s say the World Cup, oh wait a minute it did but it was in your favour”

Your reply catches the pink haired veteran and the rest of the Locker room off guard. 

“You ready Ladies?” You ask not missing a beat.

“Where are you taking them? You do know we fly to Spain tomorrow?” Becky asks you.

“It is family night at the Y/L/N household and don’t worry I have talked to Vlatko, I will drop them back at the hotel tomorrow morning”

Just over an hour later you pull up to your family home in Richmond. Your life may have changed drastically but this is one thing that remains the same.

“Auntie Y/N” 

You are barely through the door when your nephew comes running over to you.

“Harry, did you have fun?” You say as you throw him over your shoulder.

“Mm-hmm. Did you bring your friends with you?” He asks referring to your team mates.

As if on que your friends walk in.

“I did. I brought Andi, Trin and—“

“Auntie Ash” the 3 years old practically jumps out of your arms and into your girlfriends.

You and Andi greet your parents as Harry is in deep conversation with Ashley and Trinity,

or as deep of a conversation a three year old can have.

Your mum and sister in law are finishing up tea whilst you’re sat in the garden with your dad, brother and Andi as you watch your other team mates entertain your nephew by chasing him around the garden and playing hide and seek.

This is now the second time that day that you are shown a glimpse of your future with Ashley. You let your mind wonder as you think about how Ashley would be as a mum, you begin picturing her with you children running around. It won’t happen for a while but she would make a good mum, that you are certain of.

“Y/N” your dad pull you out of your head.

“Huh—yeah—sorry—what—“ you want to reply to whatever he must have said but you didn’t have a clue.

“Where’d you go?” You brother asks.

“Let me guess, the future?”

The spirit captain knew you well.

“Can I ask you a question?” You look towards your dad and his face changes when he hears the seriousness in your tone.

“Of course” 

“How did you know mum was the one?”

You can tell by the look of their faces that you have caught the three of them off guard.

Your dad has his thinking face on so you leave him to it.

Ashley had been in your live for 7 years and you had been dating for just as long. Is it so wrong for you to think of what your future held, especially with the blonde?

“You’ve been thinking about this for a while haven’t you?” Andi whispers.

You nod your head “How did you know?”

“Something changed over Christmas. When we met up for new years something was different, I couldn’t put my finger on it, you just looked at her differently”

This was true. Over Christmas you and Ashley had a rom com day which turned into a wedding movie day and naturally your future nuptials got brought up and it scared you but in a good way. What followed was dream after dream about Ashley, the two of you getting married, you having children, buying a big house in DC and getting a dog. The latter actually happened when you got home after the Euros. 

“I can talk about you mother until the cows come home but our story doesn’t matter” your dad tells you. 

“It does matter” 

“No Y/N it doesn’t” he voice is stern “That is our story. You cannot compare that to the love that you and Ashley have” 

“I wasn’t—“

“I know how your brain works kid. Let me tell you this, if you are thinking about it then you already have your answer” 

“So if you have learnt anything here tonight Andi, it is that if you look up the word vague in the dictionary you will see a photo of our father” your brother’s smart mouth comment earns him a slap around the back of the head. 

“Great advice dad, I feel so much now” he knows you are being sarcastic but he say your welcome anyways. 

Needing a distraction from adult life you begin watching Ash but you see she is already making her way towards you. 

“What’s wrong?” Ash plants herself on your lap despite there being several seats available. 

“Just thinking” you see your dad and brother staring at you with knowing looks in their and it is only then that you realise you sound exactly like your dad. 

“About?” Ashley tucks a stray hair behind your ear whilst keeping her eyes locked onto yours. 

“You. Us”

It wasn’t the answer she was expecting, her face lets you know that much. 

Before you can reassure Ashley that everything is ok, your mum calls everyone in for tea. 

Despite your hardest efforts you cannot get out of your own head. Ashley absentmindedly plays with the ring on your index finger whilst you give her hand a light squeeze every so often when you catch her staring at you. After one of those times you see her glance at Trin who shrugs her shoulders, both of them then look at Andi who looks at you and you shake your head which doesn’t go unnoticed by your girlfriend.

“Are you sure you’re ok? Something is—off” by now Ashley knew you like the back of her hand so you try your best to distract her, one one thing comes to mind.

You kiss her, really kiss her. For a few seconds your surroundings are forgotten. It is only when you hear your mum clear her throat as she stands behind you ready to clear the table do you pull away.

Straight away Ashley buries her face in your neck with embarrassment.

“I have been thinking about doing that all night. You know how I get, sometimes I just need you” 

Thankfully Ashley accepts your lie and returns to her conversation with your sister in law.

Time at home with your family always passes quicker than you would like and soon enough you are laid in the living room on one of the blow up mattresses whilst Andi and Trin are on the other.

Ashley is on the verge of slummer and you can see her visibly fighting sleep, unlike your other team mates who crashed as as soon as they hit the mattress.

“Thank you for tonight” Ashley mumbles “I love it here, you are happier when you are home” 

Although it was true, your parents would agree that you are much happier when Ashley comes with you.

“You’re my home Ash” your reply is simple but it speaks volumes.

“I know”

You kiss Ashley’s temple before telling her to go to sleep, which she does in a matter on seconds. You on the other lay there like you have had multiple espressos. When you realise that sleep isn’t on the cards you do what you mum always told you to do when something is on your mind, have a cup of tea. The English know that there is nothing a good brew can’t fix.

Waiting for the kettle to boil you raid the fridge for a sweet treat, you had just beaten the World Champions, scoring in the process, surely you deserved it.

“Jackpot” you whisper shout when you see leftovers of the cheesecake your mum made.

You rest against the kitchen counter, going back and forth between cake and cuppa.

“You know it’s almost 3am?” The voice makes you jump but you soon relax when you see a barely awake Ashley walking towards you. Immediately she grabs your arms, putting them around her neck so she can cuddle into you.

“I couldn’t sleep. Cake?” You hold the fork up to Ash who nods before opening her mouth.

“Now it’s just us, will you tell me what’s wrong, please?” Ashley’s voice is soft but you can still hear a little sadness.

“Today has been weird. First I saw you with my jersey on, then you played with Harry and you fit into my crazy family with ease” 

“These are bad things?”

“God no, they are— would you marry me?” The words come out before you can stop yourself.

Ashley could have given 100 guesses of what would come out of your mouth and that was not one of them.

“Are you asking me to marry you?” A small smile forms on her face.

You have to think for a minute. Is this what you are doing? It had been on your mind for the past couple of months, today more than ever.

“I don’t think I am” you stare into the garden. You are confused and overwhelmed.

“Baby look at me” Ashley turns your head with her index finger “Talk to me”

“After the game, you had my shirt on”

“You have already said that”

“Hear me out, please” it was a beg more so than a question “you had my last name on your back earlier then when I saw you with Harry I started picturing how you would be with our children. I cannot stop thinking about our future”

“I think about it all the time. Want to know what I see?” 

You nod your head eagerly.

“I see us, our yet to be named dog” this makes you laugh “Then in a few years I see you with our children, teaching them how to play football and telling them off for not saying water right”

“It is spelt water” you say, your English accent stronger than normal “there is no D in it” 

“I see those things and I get excited, don’t you?” Ashley ignores you comment in favour of staying on topic.

“I do but it’s scary, what if you get sick of me?” 

“Y/N, we have been dating for 7 years. We went from teenage college students to professional adult soccer players. We are going change over the years but I will always love you, that won’t change”

Even half asleep Ashley knew how to calm you down. 

“Mmm, I guess you’re right. I will love you until my last day Ashley, I promise”

Ashley mumbles good.

“Now come back to bed” you quickly put your empty plate and cup in the sink before following her back into the living room.

Feeling a little more like yourself, you decide to have a little fun with your girlfriend.

When Ashley feels you stop she turns to see you down on one knee.

“Ashley Nicole Sanchez, will you marry me?” Her eyes widen “Not now, in the not so distant future”

“Yes Y/N Y/M/N Y/L/N, I will, at some point in my life, marry you. Now lets go to sleep” Ashley rolls her eyes at your playfullness then she leans down giving you a sweet kiss before pulling you to bed.

[04mxfutbol]

You Are In Love (Ashley Sanchez x Reader)

A/N: This was requested by @redbullfanatic and I just want to say that I loved writing this! (: I hope you like it, and I hope everyone does as well (: I also hope I did it justice 🫡 also I’m sorry this took me like forever to finish 😭 (crossing my fingers and praying I did it justice)

P.S I’m nervous sweating for this 🥲 lmaoo

Oh and I highly recommend listening to You Are In Love by Taylor Swift while reading this, and make sure the repeat one song option is on 👀

You never understood why people fell in love, never understood how someone could love another person so much. You certainly didn't think you'd fall in love with someone, or understand what everyone said about falling in love.

It never crossed your mind that you could fall in love, but seeing your friends, teammates, be in love with their significant other it started crossing your mind.

Crossing your mind just a little more often, crossing your mind every time you were with the one person who understood you more than yourself.

Your best friend.

It was a late night during the season. You and Ashley had drove to your favorite spot after training, where stargazing was the only time you two seemed to enjoy each others company just a bit more.

And although you both played for the same team, you both always seemed to be caught up on something new.

“You’re like literally the best, best friend I’ve ever had.” Ashley says as she lays her head on your shoulder.

“You’ve had others before me? I feel so betrayed, hurt.” You say jokingly. "Wounded."

“See you’re just the best.”

“Well I am the best.” You say with a smirk. "No one better than me baby."

“Easy now. Don’t be too cocky. I can easily give your spot to someone else.”

“Who? Trin? The girl who can’t cook to save her life. Who’d bake you your sweets when you’re sad.”

“Damn you're so right. I guess I'll have to keep you around." Ashley says jokingly.

"You guess? Wow. I didn't know this side of you Ash."

"You know I appreciate you."

"Appreciate me? Oof. Shot after shot Ash. Come on Ash you love me." You say wrapping your arm around her. "Say it."

"You're so weird sometimes." Ashley says as she pushes you away.

"You love me, say it."

"No."

"Say it."

"No."

"Say it."

"Y/N no."

"Come on Ash say it."

"Another day when you're not threatening me."

"Threatening? So dramatic." You say shaking your head.

Bickering. It's what best friends do. And it went on the whole night.

Ashley never gave in to your ‘threat’ that night.

But that was months ago.

- - - -

You always heard that being in love was something so unique, so magical, so special. They said that falling in love would make you understand what all the fuss was about.

Apparently it also made people crazy, which made you absolutely terrified. How can love make someone crazy? Crazy in love?

It terrified you, how could love make someone crazy? Fears of loving someone was always on your mind.

Because how is that possible? Is it even possible? To be crazy in love?

Is it?

Another question that was constantly crossing your mind.

"Are you listening to me?" Rose asks you.

"I am yeah." You say turning to face her, giving her all your attention.

"So as I was saying, I told Pinoe to grab me food before the game and she forgot it!" Rose shouts, hands on your shoulders as she shook you.

"Devastating." You say shaking your head.

"So much." Rose says with a sigh, defeated, she laid back on the couch. "I was hungry."

Some of the girls from the national team met at Trinity's apartment the night before the gala you would all be attending.

You glanced up and saw Ashley laughing at whatever Trinity was saying. Typical.

"So how's this side of the country treating you?" Rose asks you with a smile. "Good I hope?"

"Good indeed." You answer, looking at Rose with a smile. "I'm liking it here."

Rose smiled at you then looked up at the ceiling, you glanced at Ashley once again only to see that she was looking at you. She smiled at you, the look on her face seemed different, but nevertheless you smiled back and looked back at Rose.

"How's Seattle treating you?" You ask, leaning back on the couch beside Rose.

"You know what? I absolutely love it there, although I don't get enough sun as you can clearly see, but still I love it there." Rose says looking at you.

"Good, you deserve that. A city that truly appreciates you." You say, Rose smiles at you as she hugs you.

"You know Ash, I say tomorrow at the gala we find a good dancing partner." Trinity says as she puts her arm around Ashley.

"That's why I have you though? Right?" Ashley says confused.

"Oh, you're right, crap. Damn you're a terrible dance partner then." Trinity says and laughs.

"Fuck you." Ashley says with a chuckle as she punched Trinity on the arm.

"You're too easy to mess with." Trinity says.

"Whatever." Ashley says as she then glanced at you, but you were so focused talking to Rose you didn't notice.

The night went on for hours, yet you and Ashley had yet to catch up since you had gotten back from your trip. It would have to wait until the following night.

- - - -

It was finally gala night. Everyone dressed nicely, all ready to enjoy the night. Or at least get through the night.

"Are you okay? You're so out of it, come on we have to go inside."

"I'm fine, I'm just tired and want to be in bed."

"Typical."

You walked into the ballroom where many players of the league had already arrived. Luckily for you the gala was being hosted in the same city you played for.

So here you were, alongside your good friend Naomi.

“Nervous?” Naomi asks you as she walks right beside you.

“A little?” You say with a nervous laugh. “It’s our second year but having to socialize is not something I want to do.”

“At least you’ll be able to reunite with Ashley. She said you two haven’t talked since the season was over?”

“I’ve been busy.”

“Right.”

“I have!” You exclaim.

“You two play for the same team, what do you mean you’re busy. Also she’s literally your best friend.” Naomi says as she pulls you to the side.

“I have brand stuff.”

“You’re such a bad liar.” Naomi says shaking her head. “Come on let’s go take a seat.”

You followed Naomi, trying your hardest to not make eye contact with anyone because socializing was something you were trying to avoid.

“Y/N! Where were you! I thought we were coming together.” Trinity says as she hugs you from behind.

“I had to wait for Naomi to get ready, she takes a long time.” You say turning to look at Naomi.

“Don't try putting this on me, I didn’t take long, you were the one who couldn’t find their shoes.”

“Sounds about right.” Trinity says with a laugh. “Ash is looking for you. She’s been looking for you the whole time we’ve been here.”

“I forgot to text her I was getting here late.” You say as you pull your phone. “Yikes, I didn’t see her calls or messages. Whoops.”

“She’s with Sophia and Rose, I think they were grabbing drinks.” Trinity says and you nod.

“Alright, alright. Let’s get this started! Grab the person beside you and let’s dance!” The DJ shouts, as they put some upbeat music.

“Come on.” Trinity says pulling you by the arm and towards the dance floor. “You can look for Ash later.”

“My worst nightmare.” You groan as you’re pulled onto the dance floor. “I’d rather go get a drink.”

“Too late.” Trinity shouts as she starts dancing. “Come on Y/N, dance!”

"Isn't Ash your dancing partner?" You ask.

"Oh well, she's not here and you are, so for now dance with me."

You looked around and saw everyone dancing, you couldn’t just stand there like a statue. You took a deep breath and began to let go, the music filling your ears and you started to dance to the music.

“There we go!” Trinity shouts as she grabs your hands. “Ash is going to kill me for making you dance with me.”

“No she won’t.”

“Oh she most definitely will, she wants to talk to you.” Trinity shouts just enough for you to hear and you furrow your eyebrows.

“About?”

“She didn’t tell me but she said she wanted to talk to you. Seemed important if you ask me.”

“Huh.” You hummed.

“You two have been so weird. What secrets do you guys have hidden?” Trinity asks you which makes you laugh.

“There's no secrets.” You say confused.

Well it may have been a tiny lie. Well you kept a secret, not just from Trinity but also from Ashley, and well just about everyone.

After dancing with Trinity for a good amount of time, you stepped away and went to grab a drink. The lights were dimmed, just enough to know where you were walking.

Heading towards the bar, you bumped into teammates and friends, stopping and chatting before you finally got to the bar. Once at the bar you asked for a drink, non alcoholic, because you didn’t want to say or do anything you’d regret the following morning.

You grabbed your drink and stood in the back. Searching for Ashley.

As you took another sip from your drink you had finally spotted Ashley, who just so happened to look up. You smiled and waved at her, in the darkened room you could still see her beautiful eyes, she smiled at you and subtly waved at you.

“You know you can’t avoid her forever.” Naomi says, startling you.

“Oh my god, you scared me.” You say as you clutch your drink.

“You should tell her you know. You two have been best friends since like forever. Since before I met you, and I met you at college.” Naomi says. “You should tell her you l-.”

“Ah ah ah. I don’t know what you’re talking about. We’re best friends. We hang out together and we bake cookies sometimes. We watch movies and we cry together, well she cries to sad dog videos.” You say nonchalantly.

“Your eyes say something else.” Naomi says softly as she reaches for your hand.

“My eyes say I don’t want to be here.”

“If that’s what helps you get through the day.” Naomi says patting your back. "But if you were to ask me, I see something else."

You took another sip, thanking yourself as you chose correctly in asking for a non alcoholic drink. You looked around the room once again and saw Ashley from afar. But looked away as soon as she looked up.

Naomi caught a glimpse in Ashley’s eyes, her face. Naomi smiled as she looked at you.

“The eyes never lie.” Naomi whispers to you as she walks away.

Ashley looked at you the entire night. Wondering why you still hadn’t gone to talk to her.

“You told her right? That I wanted to talk to her.” Ashley asked Trinity.

“For the billionth time Ash, I did. I told her.” Trinity says. “Is it that important?”

“Not necessarily I suppose.” Ashley says with a sigh.

“You know what could help the whole you two avoiding each other for like a couple of weeks now?”

“What?”

“You maybe telling Y/N that you know.. you kind of, maybe, well.. that you l-.”

“Nope.” Ashley says cutting Trinity off before she could finish her sentence. “You give me terrible advice.”

“Says the one who can’t talk to her best friend because she’s too scared.” Trinity says.

“I’m not scared. I’m just waiting.”

“Waiting for what? A sign?”

“Maybe.”

“You got mad at her for taking her shirt off in front of you after you had flicked a ton of flour on her. Ash, babe. Best friends don’t get mad. Plus she’s done that plenty of times in front of you, in front of like everyone, like in the locker room when we all change. And for you to suddenly get mad.. Please, I’m not dumb.” Trinity says as she takes a sip of her drink. "Or blind. There's only one reason that could make it all make sense to me. And I'm sure I'm right."

"She's my best friend. If it's what I'm thinking you're thinking, you're completely wrong Trin."

"Friends to lovers, you gotta love that." Trinity says with a smirk. "On a serious note, who says she doesn't feel the same way."

"I say." Ashley says. "And I never said I feel that way."

"You kind of just gave it away. Also, I think you both feel it and know it deep down." Trinity whispers as she looks up and sees you talking to Naomi. “You both have that look, I just think neither of you realize it or maybe don’t want to see it. OR maybe you two are just clueless. You guys just need a little push.”

"I hate you." Ashley whispers.

"You gotta love me though, or else who would help sad little you." Trinity says patting the top of Ashley's head.

Later on in the night as you were sitting you felt arms wrap around you. You looked up and saw Ashley was the one hugging you.

“Hey.” You say as you hug Ashley back, grabbing her hands.

“Hey.” Ashley says with a smile.

“What’s up?”

"Nothing. Wanted to say hi." Ashley says as she lets go.

“Trinity said you wanted to talk?” You say.

“Oh yeah well I just wanted to ask you if you were coming but you’re here so my question has been answered.” Ashley says with a smile.

“Oh, well, do you want to go out and get some fresh air?” You ask and she nodded.

You grabbed your coat before walking out, knowing she’d get cold soon enough.

“What are they up to?” Sophia asks Trinity.

“I don’t even know anymore. They’re so not… themselves.” Kelley says as she grabs food off of Sophia’s plate.

"They do know we were right here, right?" Rose asks as she looked at the rest of the girls.

"I'm going to be honest, I highly doubt they even noticed us." Trinity says. "They seem to forget that there's other people around these days."

"What do you know?" Sophia asks Trinity, turning around to get a read on her face. "Oh you know something."

"I'm an observer yes, I'm also nosy. Unfortunately this time, I know nothing. Yet."

As you walked out, you both felt the cool breeze on your skin.

“I’m cold.” Ashley says immediately.

“I knew you’d say that, which is why I brought my coat.” You say as you help Ashley put on your coat.

“Thank you.” Ashley says with a smile, buttoning up the coat you had brought out for her.

“That’s what best friends are for.” You say with a smile. “Plus I know you always get cold.”

You both stayed silent, watching people walk by the street.

“So..” Ashley says filling in the silence.

“So?” You ask.

“The gala is great so far don’t you think?”

“Yeah, no it’s been great. I like seeing everyone I don’t usually get to see.” You say nodding.

There’s silence again.

You turned to look at Ashley, something in the look she had made, made you wonder so many things. Could it be? Were you just maybe imagining things?

Yeah. You had to be imagining things. Right? But maybe not? You couldn't prove it, but maybe, just maybe you were seeing just enough to know.

“I like your necklace it’s pretty.”

“Thank you, it was a gift.” Ashley says with a smile and you nod. “I’ve missed you. I know we see each other like a lot but I miss having my best friend around. So we can do things together.”

“Has Trinity not been of any help?” You ask.

“She’s a terrible baker.” Ashley says with a laugh, you laughed as well, knowing well that Trinity was in fact not a good baker.

“I’m sorry I’ve had to put you through such a difficult situation.” You say sarcastically. “You poor poor thing.”

“Shut up.” Ashley says with a laugh, as she lightly punched you. “But it’s been such a pain. I hope you don’t leave me for that long again.”

“I won’t I promise.”

“Good.”

You both smiled and stayed silent again.

The silence wasn't awkward, there was no tension. It felt nice, even though there was silence, you both felt at peace, felt comfortable.

Silence. But this time, this silence was beginning to feel different than before.

You were both realizing it. A different type of silence. A silence you both had never felt.

After a short while, standing in silence, you both walked back inside. But shortly after the Gala was over you had to talk to Naomi.

“Do you mind going with Trinity back to her apartment? Ash and I are going for a drive.” You whisper.

“Drive? Did you tell her that I said that the eyes never lie.” Naomi asks.

“No. We're just heading back to change real quick and then going on for a drive. We haven't seen each other in a while, you said it yourself. We're going to catch up." You say truthfully.

"Okay then. Don't be out too late though." Naomi says and you nod.

After the gala was over, you and Ashley went back to your apartment, changing into some comfier clothes, then heading back out.

"It's a beautiful night out." Ashley says as you drive.

"It always is." You say as you take a quick glance at Ashley who was looking out the window.

"So where are we going? We have lots of catching up to do." Ashley says turning back around.

“I say we go where we usually go. Deal?”

“Sounds great.”

"I do feel like this is going to be a long drive, should we maybe get coffee?"

"My weakness, yes please. There's a drive thru coffee shop a couple of blocks down, it's open 24/7."

"Well bless their souls for being open at midnight." You answer as you drive to the coffee shop.

Once you both had your coffee, you drove down to the closest but also furthest place from town, away from so many lights. To a beautiful scenic view.

You put your hand out, setting it on Ashley’s thigh.

“What?” Ashley asks as she takes a sip of her coffee.

“Hold my hand won’t you.”

“Why?”

“When did you start asking so many questions? You just take my hand. Just hold it you weirdo.” You say as you shake your hand.

Ashley held onto your hand, it felt like you were in high school again. Sneaking out to get snacks and going out for a drive.

The rest of the drive was left in a comfortable silence. Nothing out of the ordinary, just comfortable silence, and the sound of the wind coming through the windows.

You turned for another quick glance, but this time Ashley was looking at you as well. You smiled and looked back at the road.

"What?" Ashley asks as she started to giggle nervously.

"Nothing."

"You're being weird."

"I'm being weird? You're being weird." You say with a laugh.

At the next stop you turned and saw the light of the traffic light reflecting off of Ashley’s necklace.

“I like your necklace.”

“Well you gave it to me for my twenty second birthday.” Ashley says with a smile.

As you arrived, you took out the blanket out from the backseat.

“See I’m grateful you have a truck, but not those big ugly trucks. Just a cool, small truck.” Ashley says, you turn around and look confused.

“What?” You ask with a laugh. “It’s a Toyota Tacoma.”

“Yeah a nice truck.” Ashley says and you laugh.

You continue laughing as you open the back, placing the blanket, then go back to the backseat and grab some pillows.

“Come on.” You say as you extend your hand out to help her on.

Ashley grabbed onto your hand as she got on, coffee still in her hand. You both laid down, legs extended out as you both looked up.

“I love when we come out and stargaze.” Ashley whispers as she pulls on the second blanket. “It’s always so pretty.”

“To get out of all the noise in the city?” You ask.

“That and being able to just stare at the sky with you in silence. Because even when we’re hanging out and it’s silent it’s still so enjoyable.” Ashley says as she turns on her side to face you.

You sat up to take another sip of your coffee, no way you were sleeping anytime soon.

Ashley sat up as well, taking a sip from her coffee as well.

And although there was pure silence, somehow it was also loud.

Naomi’s words were stuck in the back of your mind the whole time, maybe that was what was loud.

“The eyes never lie.”

As you both sat up, Ashley looked down at her hands, she was fidgeting with her fingers. You knew that meant she was nervous.

“Hey, what’s going on? What’s making you so nervous?” You ask, but Ashley didn’t look up. “Ash? Look up. Look at me. What’s going on?”

You scooted closer to her as she looked up and your shoulders brushed against each other.

You grabbed her hand, while looking at her worryingly. Ash was never one to get nervous or anxious when you were around.

“The eyes never lie.”

Naomi’s words ringing in your mind. If there were a mute button on those words, you’d press it immediately.

“I-.” Ashley stopped herself from speaking, you furrowed your eyebrows. “I-.”

“Ash?”

For once Ashley couldn’t speak, couldn’t say what she wanted to say. She was starting to get irritated with herself.

You’re her best friend. Ashley thought. Why was it so hard to talk to you?

“Ash? Ash you’re kind of scaring me here.” You say, Ashley sighed as she placed her hand on your cheek.

That single touch, your heart felt like it was about to jump out.

Ashley was aware of what she had done but her mind, her heart was racing.

And in the silence, the look in each others eyes. You both could hear it, feel it.

While staring at one another, no one chose to speak.

Silence.

And in the silence, you knew. You both knew.

You cupped her face with your hands and then leaned in, connecting your lips with hers.

You both moved in synch, you couldn’t seem to pull away. Neither of you could pull away. As you both kissed in what seemed liked a long awaited kiss, the silence only made it so much clearer to you.

You were in love.

In love with your best friend.

Finally after pulling away, Ashley rested her forehead against yours, bumping her nose against yours, pecking your lips once again before actually pulling away.

Neither of you said a word, the silence seemed to say it all for you both. You grabbed her hand again and just closed your eyes for a few seconds.

The kiss wasn’t awkward, the silence was comfortable.

Ashley rested her head on your shoulder as you both looked at the view in front of you.

“I like you.” Ashley whispers.

“I like you too. If me reciprocating wasn’t clear.” You say softly making Ashley giggle.

You weren’t just going to admit you loved her, not like this. And although you definitely knew, you weren’t going to say those three words just yet.

Ashley smiled as she grabbed your hand, lifting it up and kissing the top of your hand.

Ashley felt her heart pound, but also feeling how at ease she felt with you. Holding your hand this time was not the same as before, this time she knew you had felt the same way.

The drive back was peaceful, comfortable. Still, neither of you had said another word but there seemed to be no awkwardness or tension.

It just felt right.

"I'm going to take you out tomorrow. A real date." You say right before you both went to your separate bedrooms.

"Let's see if you remember that tomorrow morning."

"I'll remember don't you worry."

As you both laid in your separate beds, the bedrooms across each other, you were both staring at the ceiling.

Ashley silently cheered as she kicked her feet against the mattress. She covered her face with a pillow, although no one could see her she hid as if someone could. Her smile never fading away.

You were smiling at the ceiling, hoping and wondering if Ashley was maybe just as giddy as you were. You pulled your blanket over your face, smiling as wide as you possibly could.

The two of you seemed to not get enough sleep. Replaying the entire night over and over in your heads. Or it was possibly the coffee you both had. Definitely the first thing though.

The following morning you got up bright and early to try and make breakfast, but seeing as you weren’t home for a while. There were barely any groceries, mostly just bread, so toast it was.

"Something smells burnt." Ashley says groggily as she lifted her head up from the table.

Burnt toast.

"I have a broken toaster, you can't blame me." You say turning around. It was a lie, well half lie. It was a broken toaster, but you had forgotten you had put toast. Too distracted by looking at her.

Messy hair and a smile on her face as she stretched.

"I like your shirt."

"Thanks it's comfy. Oh and yours." Ashley smiled as she spun around.

"My clothes do look good on you. Good sleep?"

"The best, oh and I'm keeping this shirt." Ashley says as she walks over to you. "Burnt toast on a Sunday type of day I suppose."

"It's my specialty." You say with a smile, Ashley stepped to the side and jumped on the counter. "I'll make a good breakfast with what I can find, and not burnt."

Ashley smiled as she swung her legs.

"Y/N?"

"Yeah?"

"Why do you have a target picture frame of a family stock photo on your coffee table."

"I haven't gotten to it yet okay? I can't find a worthy picture of going in the picture frame. It has to be nice, pretty, and something I love."

"So a family stock photo is better than an empty picture frame?" Ashley asks.

"Umm, yes."

"You're so weird."

"Well you kissed this weirdo last night." You say turning around to face her.

"Touché."

Although technically you two weren’t official yet, it felt like you two had been together for years now. I guess that's the advantage of being best friends for many years now.

You walked over to Ashley, a smile on both her face and yours. You stood in front of her, in between her legs, big smile on your face.

“I like you.” You say as you leaned in.

“I like you.”

“But we established that already didn't we." You say with a smile, Ashley simply nodded. "Date. Tonight."

"You remembered." Ashley says sounding surprised.

"Hey I keep my word, so tonight. Date?"

"Date."

"Great." You say then lean in to give her a small kiss.

You didn't know if it would get better than this, but if it did, then maybe you would understand everything everyone always said about being in love.

- - - -

Three months. Three months of being officially together, and you had to say they were by far the best three months of your life.

You asked Ashley to be your girlfriend on your third date, it was an unforgettable night.

Today though, today you were out with friends, and with your girlfriend beside you.

"You're so pretty." Ashley whispers as you walked behind the rest of the girls.

"You're beautiful."

Forgetting you were with other people, you stopped on the sidewalk to kiss her.

"We're going to leave you both here, with no ride home." Trinity shouts.

"Come on before they actually leave us." Ashley says pulling away.

"One more." You say with a smile, pulling her back into you and kissing her again.

"Y/N."

"I had to get one more." You say with a grin.

You walked hand in hand, swinging your hands as if you two were in your own little world. In your minds, you obviously were.

Today had made up from the fight you guys had the week before about some absurd miscommunication mishap. Well it wasn't absurd, you thought it was, which is probably why you had gotten into a fight, but you stayed up all night talking and trying to get Ashley to stop being mad at you.

So here you were, going shopping with her and the girls, and that meant buying her a few things. But buying her things isn't what Ashley wanted, she just wanted to spend time with you and your group of friends.

After a long shopping spree, you returned to your apartment. Which was becoming yours and Ashley's apartment, having more and more of her stuff magically appear. But you were loving it.

You loved her, but you weren't telling her yet, not yet. Because as much as it did, you knew those three words are so powerful and mean a lot.

As you got home the first thing you both had gone to do was lay on the bed, and as you both did, you both looked up at the ceiling, music in the background.

Ashley turned to look at you, a smile on her face as she saw you had closed your eyes.

She was going to say it, say those three words. Tell you that she has loved you all this time but didn't want to rush it, she was about to tell you that when she sees you all she feels is warmth and love.

But she held back, wondering if it was too early to say it.

But how could it be early when you both had loved each other for longer than you had initially thought.

Nevertheless you both didn't say it that night.

- - - -

Six months now, six beautiful months. It seemed like the more time passed by, the happier you got, you never thought this much happiness was real. You thought it was all fairytale talk, but it wasn't.

Ashley opened her eyes in the middle of the night, the thoughts in her head couldn't let her sleep. You were also awake, the thoughts in your head also couldn't let you sleep.

The both of you looked up at ceiling, not a single word was said as you held hands.

A few minutes later you both turned on your side, you both looked at each other, the look on Ashley's face was strange, different. You smiled softly at her as she still looked at you differently, you couldn't figure out the look on her face, but it didn't matter you still leaned into her touch.

"You're my best friend." Ashley whispers as she caresses your cheek. Leaning in to rest her forehead against yours. Her whole body seemed to relax in that moment.

It seemed like everything changed, and it definitely did.

You knew it then and there, her words, the strange look on her face, it all made sense.

You knew what it was.

You didn't say anything, you just embraced it all, the warmth, the pure bliss.

She was in love and so were you.

But neither of you had to say it, you both knew it right there. The moment she said it, she knew by your body language.

You both knew.

The silence filled the room again, but it was once again, a comfortable silence.

- - - -

One year. One year with Ashley and it was still as beautiful and magical as it was in the beginning.

So there you were, standing in the kitchen making breakfast for Ashley. You made pancakes with blueberries, trying your best to not burn anything this time.

As you finished plating the food, you felt arms wrap around you. You turned your head and kissed Ashley on the cheek.

"Good morning."

"Good morning, how long have you been up?" Ashley asks as she kisses your back.

"An hour at most." You answer as you flip the pancake.

"How are you not tired? We had training yesterday. And it was brutal."

"Oh I'm definitely feeling it, but nothing can stop me from making you breakfast." You say as you grab the plates and take them to the table.

"You could always sleep in with me."

"If I were to do that we'd be in bed until the afternoon because you never want to get out of bed." You say with a look.

"You’re acting as if you would actually get out of bed. You’re a liar. You know damn well you wouldn’t want to get out of bed either.”

“Okay true but my point still stands.” You say which resulted in Ashley making a weird face.

“No it really doesn’t.” Ashley says shaking her head. "Like at all."

You looked at Ashley, her smile could light up the whole city, you were sure of it.

The moment that went through your head you thought that was so corny, and mentally asked yourself, how did you get to this point?

So far everyone was right, love does make people crazy and apparently corny.

"Something smells burnt." Ashley says making your eyes widen.

"Crap. My toast."

"Oh the irony, burnt toast on a Sunday again."

“Well at least your pancakes are intact, my toast on the other hand, are definitely not intact. The price I pay for admiring you.”

“So it’s my fault?”

“Yes. You’re too distracting.”

“Was it my fault last week when you burnt your pasta? Because I can assure you I wasn’t home when that took place.”

“I was thinking of you.”

“You’re unbelievable.” Ashley says with a chuckle, slightly shoving you.

“You know, Trin says you keep a picture of me in your locker.”

“How can I not? I have one of you in my locker, in my car, in my wallet. The list goes on.”

“Ashley Sanchez is down bad everyone.” You say as you sit beside her. “And down bad for me.”

“You’re so right. I’m not even going to deny it.” Ashley says making you laugh. “But so are you, for me obviously.”

“I’d be crazy not to be.”

“You’re my person. I hope you know that.” Ashley says as she reaches for your hand. “And you always will be.”

“I feel the same way about you.”

Ashley smiled as she looked at you, her eyes shined in a way it had never shined before, eyes so bright and filled with love, admiration, everything.

Your heart was beating faster than normal, your eyes shined bright, you were sure your eyes were in the shape of hearts. How could someone be so beautiful, wonderful, kind, and just so utterly perfect. That someone was your girlfriend.

Even now you still couldn’t believe it.

After finishing breakfast, you both cleaned the apartment, and once that was finished you headed outside.

The entire front yard was covered in snow, the small attempted snowman was beside the door, rocks as the eyes and a piece of raw penne pasta as the nose. Ashley’s signature, as she couldn’t find a carrot in the fridge.

“I can’t believe it’s still snowing.” Ashley says as she looks up, eyes closed and tongue out as she tried to catch snowflakes.

“I can’t believe we train in this weather.” You say as you grab the snow shovel that was leaned against your car.

“Are you really going to shovel the snow right now? Come and make some snow angels with me.”

“If you want us to be stuck here tomorrow, sure.”

“It’s pre season training babe. Come, here I’ll even put some music on, I brought the speaker out. What do you want to listen to?”

“Anything you want.” You say as you shovel some of the snow while Ashley decided on a song.

“Great, Taylor Swift it is.” Ashley says as she presses play. “Now come, we don’t have to go in for training tomorrow.”

You looked up and saw Ashley dancing in the snow, you dropped the snow shovel and ran towards her. You lifted her up and spun her around.

The song playing didn’t register in your mind, so enchanted, so amazed, so mesmerized, and just so focused on what was currently happening.

All you heard was four words from the song.

You are in love

It was as if it was telling you, confirming it to you. What you were feeling was true and real. Then two more words confirmed it all.

True Love.

Ashley laughed as you spun her around, her hands in the air, you spun her around for a few more seconds before stopping.

You smiled, Ashley was still laughing at your antics of spinning her around.

Right then and there, you truly understood, you understood why people said falling in love was so magical, unique, so beautiful. You understood why people lost their minds.

Being in love was the best thing that could ever happen to someone.

Without even registering it, you said the three words you never thought you’d ever tell anyone. But you did.

“I love you.”

You understood why people fight for the person they love.

Because when you are in love, sometimes love can make you crazy. But in a good way.

You helped Ashley back on the ground, her hands went up to cup your face, a big smile as she read your face.

“I love you.”

You smiled as you wrapped your arms around her waist, pulling her in for a kiss. Ashley laughed as she pulled away, her eyes were watery as she looked at you like you hung the stars just for her. She loves you.

“I’ve wanted to tell you for so long, deep in my heart I just always knew I loved you.”

“That makes two of us.” Ashley says as she booped your nose. “I love you. I truly do love you.”

The fears of loving someone were no longer around.

Because you knew, you knew that you are in love.

“I love you."

The song continued playing and replaying over and over. Probably because Ashley didn't know she accidentally pressed the 'replay one song' option. But maybe it was a good idea, because it became your song.

And inside your shared apartment, one day in the next three years, the target picture frame of a family stock photo on the coffee table would be replaced by a picture of you both on your wedding day, for every guest in your home to see. Someone you love was placed in the picture frame, you just had to wait, and it was worth the wait. You always wanted a worthy picture to be placed, a picture of something you loved, in this case it was someone you love.

Your wife.

That is life now. And you were happy it was the way it turned out to be, because it's beautiful and wonderful, magical. You knew what it was from the beginning, and you know now what you feel.

You are in love. True love.

[onlyhereforthestories]

Stay, Stay, Stay (Ashley Sanchez x Reader)

This was a request that I loved writing! I hope you all like and this is my first Ashley fic but expect more!

It had been a long day and you were more than ready to get home to your girlfriend of 3 years. Since coming out to the public in the most subtle way you could (showing your support for the woman at the World Cup and how proud you were of her for being there) you had been noticed more in your normal life. This has led to more pictures and eyes on you no matter where you were and that included at your work. For some reason today seemed to be a day where you noticed the presence of cameras or phones trained at you more and that made you really uneasy.

You were hoping Ashley hadn't seen any of the recent ones yet, so you had time to explain yourself and what happened today before she got the wrong idea. However as soon as you walked through the door to your shared apartment you knew the pictures were already all over social media and the blonde had seen them. She stood in the doorway to the kitchen with a slightly hurt expression on her face and her arms crossed protectively over her chest.

You took a moment to take your shoes and coat off before you made your way towards her, you kept your hands in your pockets and tried to relax your posture so she could see that you were not here to argue. “It's not what it looks like.” Maybe that wasn't the best sentence to start with, but it was the truth and you wanted her to know that from the get go.

The scoff you received in return said that right now Ashley didn't believe you and part of you was hurt and the other part did not blame her. “So you pressed up behind another woman is not what it looks like yeah?” The eye roll didn't go unnoticed by you, and you knew you were in for a hell of an evening if you didn't sort this out.

“You can't see my camera because it's the other side of me and Lily, that was the start of the picture…” You saw the jealous spark flash across your girl's face when you mentioned the models name and so stopped speaking quietly.

“So you're trying to tell me that you were pressed so close to another woman without being ready to take whatever shot you were trying to take? What you wanted some extra time all stuck to her perfect model back?” Ashleys voice was getting louder and louder as she spoke. You could see her working herself up over this and you weren't sure how to help. You honestly were literally there for a second because you both realised the male model who was meant to be facing Lily wasn't ready yet. You were behind Lily so you could get the camera at a good angle between them and facing the sky for the shot of them from waist height.

You couldn't explain that right now because you knew your girl and she was not in a place to listen. She had started muttering about how you would like it if she got all up close and personal with Trin in training. When she headed for the lounge you made to follow only to have a pillow thrown at your face.

You blink a couple of times to process what just happened, you couldn’t think of a time at which Ashley had even threatened seriously to throw anything at you, so you were slightly in shock. When you managed to ground yourself you looked up to see the smaller blonde stood in shock by the coach that had a throw cushion missing from its usual set up.

Taking another few deep breaths you opened your mouth so speak, as you do you see Ashley shrink a little ready for what she thought was going to be an angry response from you. “|I think it would be best if I go into the bedroom for a little while and give you some space and time. I’m sorry you had to see the photo without notice from me but when you are ready ill explain what happened.” Without another word you headed for your shared room to shower and change while your tiny firecracker calmed down.

Ashley was stunned to say the least, she was expecting you to blow up on her for not only getting stupidly jealous but for throwing something at you. She didn’t mean too she was just feeling really overwhelmed by her thoughts and she just needed for you to not be in the room she was. Taking a moment to listen to your retreating form she stayed standing until she heard the shower switch on. She knew you, she knew you loved her more than a lot of things so she knew that whatever the reason behind the picture would be an innocent and honest one. She would explain to you as well that she had been seeing comments about how she had managed to get the hot photographer and that you could do so much better than a world cup bench player so when the photo came out after that it had just been the final nail in the coffin.

When the shower turned off Ashley got up to go to you but when she headed in that direction she saw the cushion and bent down to pick it up. With that an idea came to her mind, you were giving her time to cool off and she knew how to get you to come back. She ran back to the couch, threw the cushion in its place and grabbed her phone connecting it to the surround sound system you had insisted they have set up in the small apartment. She scrolled through the playlist you had made together until she found it, your song.

"I'm pretty sure we almost broke up last night,

I threw my phone across the room at you,

I was expecting some dramatic turn away,

But you stayed"

You had just pulled your joggers on when you heard the first line of one of your favourite songs, it held a massive place in your heart being you and Ashley’s song. It didn’t even take you the first line to realise this was Ashley saying she was calm and ready to talk.

Deciding to have a bit of fun you rummaged in your wardrobe for your old softball helmet which you had always kept. Pulling it on you walked out the room and towards the living space where the music was coming from. As you rounded the corner you made eye contact with the love of your life and got to see the moment she realised what you had on your head.

“I’m ready to talk.” The belly laugh you got in reply was exactly what you were aiming for. It would always be one of your greatest achievements making the woman laugh.

Before you could go to take the helmet off you were being charged at. You put a foot back to brace yourself as Ashley flung herself into your arms, which of course wrapped right around her, one around her waist and the other under her left thigh to hold her to you. She had pressed her head into your neck and was pressing a few delicate kisses there as she whispered her sorry. You squeezed her waist and replied that it was okay.

Ashley was set back on her feet but before she could pull away you started to sway with your arms around her neck. You favourite Taylor Swift songs playing on in the background as the two of you got lost in the moment.

[alespov]

You belong with me - L.Kennedy (18+)

Trigger Warnings : swear words, typical canon violence. Reader insert, no use of y/n. Implied fem.

Author Note : in honor of it being my birthday, I wanted to finally come out of hibernation. I missed y’all so much <3 feedback is highly appreciated 😘

" Did you see the way Leon was staring at you!" Ashley nudged your side while holding back infectious giggling. You gave her a look but on the inside, you were doing backflips. You, Ashley, and Luis were waiting in the dining room while Leon sorted out his business with the odd merchant. You and Ashley were sitting at the table while Luis idly looked out the window.

"I agree with Ashley on this one princesa, he's in love with you." Luis teased you while grinning and Ashley broke out into laughter. You playfully hit her arm and scowled at Luis. "He is not, you two need to stop." Luis held his hand up and offered you a sly smirk. "Princesa if you don't tell him, Ashley will." Ashley nodded her head in agreement.

The butterflies in your stomach moved up to your heart and swore your heart would stop if she did.

"Tell me what?" Leon questioned while leaning against the door frame with his muscular arms crossed. One eyebrow raised while looking directly at Ashley.

"Um you know how her head hurts, kinda sounds like a migraine," Ashley replied sheepishly, then sealed the deal with a small smile. You hope Leon would take the bait. but something told you the blonde wouldn't be easily convinced.

He nodded and motioned you to follow him to the elegant hallway. Despite Salzar being a fucking lunatic he had good taste for interior design. "You could hear Ashley and Luis quietly mumbling the silly song about how you and Leon were in a tree. " You shot both of them a glare, and they started laughing.

He lead you to the top of the staircase and grabbed one of your hands. "Are you okay... I mean you've been kinda distant with me." Leon revealed while gazing into your eyes. His baby blue eyes conveyed his deepest fears and emotions. You brushed the stray hair out of his face and gave him a sad look.

"I'm scared Leon, am I going to turn?" He shut his eyes and brought you closer to him. "Of course not." He mumbled into your ear, "I do everything in my power to protect you."

He leaned his forehead on yours and your lips started falling into place.

"Oh hey guys, Ashley and I figured out the last puzzle so we can leave this shithole place," Luis called and the moment was ruined. You and Leon quickly pulled away and he cleared his throat.

"Thank you Luis" Leon expressed through gritted teeth, you could tell he was annoyed.

Luis caught on to what was happening, "Oh shit did I interrupt something? Do you need a minute Sanchez" He threw you a wink and patted Leon on the shoulder.

Leon brushed past him and went to retrieve Ashley. Once Leon was out of view, you turned to face Luis. "what the actual hell!" you whispered yelled at him. "Princesa how was I supposed to know that you were going to jump his bones." Luis matched your tone and gave a small chuckle. "I was not going to jump his bones..... he was checking on me," you muttered looking away from Luis.

Luis rolled his eyes and threw his around you, and reassured you that Leon likes you.

Leon came running out of the run with Ashley in tow. "Let's go, guys, they're coming!" Luis grabbed you and pulled you down the stairs. While firing his pistol at the cultist who was firing their bows and arrows at you, and kept trying to grab Ashley from Leon's grasp.

You and Ashley took shelter under a table while Leon and Luis fought off the cultists. You and Ashley were huddling together when a cultist grabbed you from under the table. you let out a scream and Ashley attempted to hit the guy with a vase. "LEON!" She screamed at him, pointing in your direction. But Leon was pinned in a corner and couldn't get out of it. He looked over and a dangerous look washed over his features, you could tell he was seeing red.

"HEY LET HER GO FUCKER!" Ashley threw rocks at the guy but sadly to no avail, and you were starting to lose hope. Until Leon and Luis came running to your rescue.

Leon said something to Lusi and he and Ashley ran off. Leon ran after you shouting that he was coming and not to worry.

When Leon had caught up to the guy, he kicked the back of his knees and you fell down on the hard ground. When you got up you saw Leon stabbing the guy to death with his favorite knife.

"Leon calm down." you crawled over to him in a hurry and tried to steady his shoulder. Let's face it the guy is already dead, one stab from Leon could kill anyone. He stopped stabbing the guy and practically pounced on top of you muttering that you are okay. He was shaking, and blood stained his face.

"Hey.... it's okay. I'm fine you saved me." you rested your head on his shoulder and he rested his head on your head.

Leon pulled away slightly and gave you a chaste kiss. You moved your hand to cup his face and Leon deepened the kiss. His kisses were desperate and a bit heated. He gently bit on your bottom lip and you knew your lips would be swollen after this.

He broke the kiss and laid his forehead against yours. "Sorry for bruising your lips," he chuckled and gave you another kiss on your lips.

"After this do you want to get dinner as my girlfriend, 'cause we're practically dating right? I mean after that kiss, I think we should be."

You beamed with excitement dn the butterflies left your stomach. "it would be a crime if we weren't dating after this." You replied cheekily.

[poetlcs]

2023 reading tracker

total: 75/52

sff

a sky beyond the storm - sabaa tahir

enclave - claire g. coleman

a criminal magic - lee kelly (dnf)

the shattered city - lisa maxwell

a feast for crows - george r.r martin

the ballad of songbirds and snakes - suzanne collins

chain of iron - cassandra clare

hell bent - leigh bardugo

chain of thorns - cassandra clare

the bronzed beasts - roshani chokshi

the drowning faith - r.f kuang

how high we go in the dark - sequoia nagamatsu

the jasmine throne - tasha suri

the hunger games - suzanne collins

catching fire - suzanne collins

mockingjay - suzanne collins

a far wilder magic - allison saft

translated

the transmigration of bodies - yuri herrera

portrait of an unknown lady - maria gainza

love in the big city - sang young park

my brilliant friend - elena ferrante

frankenstein in baghdad - ahmed saadawi

la bastarda - trifonia melibea obono

bolla - pajtim statovci

contemporary

you are eating an orange. you are naked - sheung-king

seeing other people - diana reid

the henna wars - adiba jaigirdar

you and me on vacation - emily henry

now that i see you - emma batchelor 

delilah green doesn’t care - ashley herring blake

becoming kirrali lewis - jane harrison

style - chelsea m. cameron

yellowface - rf kuang

the summer i turned pretty - jenny han

it’s not summer without you - jenny han

the charm offensive - alison cochrun

love & virtue - diana reid

the divines - ellie eaton

sincerely, carter - whitney g

crushing - genevieve novak

icebreaker - hannah grace

cleopatra & frankenstein - coco mellors

duck a l’orange for breakfast - karina may

happy place - emily henry

wildfire - hannah grace

i am not your perfect mexican daughter - erika l. sanchez

you don’t have a shot - racquel marie

mystery/thriller

final girls - riley sager

nine liars - maureen johnson

the box in the woods - maureen johnson

a good girls guide to murder - holly jackson

good girl, bad blood - holly jackson

queen of the tiles - hanna alkaf

as good as dead - holly jackson

kill joy - holly jackson

five survive - holly jackson

the dry - jane harper

non-fiction

mirror sydney - vanessa berry

in byrons wake: the turbulent lives of lord byron’s wife and daughter, annabella milbanke and ada lovelace - miranda seymour

the lavender scare: the cold war persecution of gays and lesbians in the federal government - david k. johnson

odd girl out: the hidden culture of aggression in girls - rachel simmons

dinosaurs rediscovered - michael j. benton

queer others in victorian gothic - ardel haefele-thomas

alone time: four cities, four seasons and the pleasures of solitude - stephanie rosenbloom

how to break up with fast fashion - lauren bravo

the white album - joan didion

the gene - siddhartha mukherjee

the new hite report: the revolutionary report on female sexuality - shere hite

my body - emily ratajkowski

historical fiction

the mountains sing - nguyen phan que mai

one for the master - dorothy johnson

tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow - gabrielle zevin

the christie affair (dnf) - nina de gramont

classics

things fall apart - chinua achebe

northanger abbey - jane austen

jamaica inn - daphne du maurier 

[faegramme]

𝔐𝔞𝔰𝔱𝔢𝔯𝔩𝔦𝔰𝔱 <𝟛 (updated 8/10/22)

𝔴𝔦𝔩𝔩𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔱𝔬 𝔴𝔯𝔦𝔱𝔢:

- smut - x reader, some character x character - death/major character death - angst - fluff - specific headcanons - prompts of characters OR [reader] with specific features/personalities etc. (for example; a plus sized reader with a love interest character of your choosing, writing a main character as transgender, etc.) - SOME longer story ideas - yandere/dead dove/darker prompts - age-gaps (LEGAL ONES) - multiple love interests - gendered reader (usually i write an androgynous reader, but if you're looking for anything specific i don't mind delivering on that one ^^)

𝔲𝔫𝔴𝔦𝔩𝔩𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔱𝔬 𝔴𝔯𝔦𝔱𝔢:

- underage smut - incest of any kind - heavy, heavy gore - zoophilia - fetishization - physically abusive romantic relationships (meaning i won't write an entire one-shot of someone b34t1ng you to d34th)

𝔲𝔭𝔬𝔫 𝔯𝔢𝔮𝔲𝔢𝔰𝔱𝔦𝔫𝔤…

please specify a detailed prompt, which fandom, which character(s), details of [reader] if needed, what topics, and any other detail i might need to know for your prompt. i will always try my best to have them pumped out fast, but i both work and have school, and lack of detail may hinder the timing of your request! if i am not provided enough detail, i may abandon the request unless i ask for follow up. i also reserve the right to refuse anything i am not comfortable with. please do not spam my inbox with your request, if it isn't eventually uploaded, it's possible that i wasn't comfy with that particular request. please always feel free to revise and resend or submit a new prompt, no judgement here whatsoever.

*.~Fandoms~.*

꧁༒☬𝔧𝔬𝔧𝔬'𝔰 𝔟𝔦𝔷𝔞𝔯𝔯𝔢 𝔞𝔡𝔳𝔢𝔫𝔱𝔲𝔯𝔢 ☬༒꧂

phantom blood: - johnathan joestar - dio brando (more upon request...)

battle tendency: - joseph joestar - caesar zeppeli - kars (more upon request...)

stardust crusaders: - jotaro kujo - oldseph joestar ᴍɪꜱᴄᴇʟʟᴀɴᴇᴏᴜꜱ ʀᴇQᴜᴇꜱᴛꜱ: ~ one ʜᴇᴀᴅᴄᴀɴᴏɴꜱ ᴏɴᴇ-ꜱʜᴏᴛꜱ

- noriaki kakyoin - jean pierre polnareff - muhammad avdol - 3io brando (more upon request...)

꧁༒☬𝔞𝔯𝔠𝔞𝔫𝔢 ☬༒꧂

vi jinx caitlyn kiramman jayce talis vikor mel medarda silco vander sevika ekko

꧁༒☬𝔯𝔢𝔡 𝔡𝔢𝔞𝔡 𝔯𝔢𝔡𝔢𝔪𝔭𝔱𝔦𝔬𝔫 𝟚 ☬༒꧂

arthur morgan john marston charles smith javier escuella sean macguire (more upon request...)

꧁༒☬𝔰𝓀𝔶𝔯𝔦𝔪 ☬༒꧂

!all characters requested must derive from a faction or hold significant story value! validating factions include: - companions - dark brotherhood - imperial legion - stormcloaks - thieves guild - dawnguard not a faction, but characters with defining personalities and story value in the dragonborn DLC also validate to be requested.

꧁༒☬𝔯𝔢𝔰𝔦𝔡𝔢𝔫𝔱 𝔢𝔳𝔦𝔩 𝔳𝔦𝔩𝔩𝔞𝔤𝔢 ☬༒꧂

- ethan winters - lady dimitrescu - karl heisenberg - donna beneviento - mother miranda

꧁༒☬𝔰𝔞𝔩𝔩𝔶 𝔣𝔞𝔠𝔢 ☬༒꧂

- sal fisher - larry johnson - todd morrison - ashley campbell - travis phelps - maple cohen - chug cohen - robert silva

꧁༒☬𝔯𝔦𝔠𝓀 𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔪𝔬𝔯𝔱𝔶 ☬༒꧂

- rick sanchez - bird person (more upon request...)

꧁༒☬𝔣𝔦𝔳𝔢 𝔫𝔦𝔤𝔥𝔱𝔰 𝔞𝔱 𝔣𝔯𝔢𝔡𝔡𝔶'𝔰 ☬༒꧂

any animatronic from the previous games can be done, just outline what type of plot and/or personality you'd like me to execute, or i can write them based off of my own headcanons ^^ - glamrock freddy - glamrock chica - montgomery gator - roxanne wolf - vanny - vanessa - sun and/or moon - any variation of william afton, dave miller (pre-springlock failure, springtrap, glitchtrap, burntrap, etc.) - any variation of michael afton (OF AGE, security guard mike, post-scoop michael, scooped micahel, etc.)

꧁༒☬𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔞𝔯𝔠𝔞𝔫𝔞 ☬༒꧂

- asra alnazar - julian devorak - nadia satrinava - portia devorak - count lucio - muriel (more upon request...)

꧁༒☬𝔣𝔞𝔩𝔩𝔬𝔲𝔱 𝟜 ☬༒꧂

!all characters requested must be a valid romanceable character, or hold significant story value! validating characters include: - nick valentine - preston garvey - john hancock - cait - piper wright - maccready - curie - paladin danse - deacon (more upon request...)

[void-argent]

uswnt v matildas round 1

WHAT A GAME

here are the thoughts no one asked for

CASEY 'BRICK WALL' MURPHY

captain horan #10 LOVE IT

CASEY 'NOTHING THROUGH ME' MURPHY

the way that this team of 'rookies' played like a goddamn OLYMPIC TEAM

CASEY 'CLEAN SHEET' MURPHY

huge congrats to ashley hatch on her STELLAR debut and AMAZING opening goal

CASEY 'WOMAN OF THE MATCH' MURPHY

lynn (kept up with ellie carpenter) and midge (assist queen) were so good

CASEY 'SHOT BLOCKING QUEEN' MURPHY

rose and andi.... no words but SOLID

CASEY GODDAMN MURPHY

tierna and alana y'all were AWESOME

HAVE I MENTIONED CASEY MURPHY?!

emily fox honey you were amazing

C. A. S. E. Y. M. U. R. P. H. Y.

saucy sonnett you did so good I'm so proud i love you (almost had a goal)

CASEY

sofia huerta 💯

MURPHY

congrats morgan weaver (*cough* alex morgan *cough*) ashley sanchez and bethany balcer on your debuts!!

CASEY. MURPHY.

on the real tho this game was AWESOME! the youngsters played great and showed some definite potential.

*um also why was australia basically playing tackle football?*

NEXT GAME NOV 30 @ 4 AM ET

MATILDAS PT 2 SEE YA THERE

[avaritia-apotheosis]

Sound the Trumpets (Death Comes a Calling)

Going Angst Week 2021 | Day 5 - Death

Ft. TUE AU where Clockwork never meddles with the timeline and a lot of character death.

A/N: this was inspired by Memorial by Alice Oswald

[AO3]

On the seventh day, Joshua, leader of the Israelites, marched his army around Jericho seven times. And on the seventh march, he bade his priests to blow their ram’s horns and ordered his men to raise a great shout. At the sound of the trumpets, at the sound of the soldiers’ bellows, the walls of the impenetrable city shook and shuddered, collapsing into nothing on the earth as Jericho was laid bare for the conquering.

For Dan— simply Dan, for God has long since fled him— it took but a single cry.

The barrier around Amity Park, the last bastion of humanity, shattered like glass, as hell screamed from above.

The first to die was VALERIE. Brave Red Huntress, the hope of the world. Strongest amongst them with her suit streaking red as she flew to the skies. Always the first to fight, the first to defend. She died attempting to lead Phantom away from the city, plummeting from the air, weighed down by the hoverboard she rode. You could see the ring of frostbite her ankles from where Phantom froze her feet, dark blue and necrotic black despite the momentary exposure.

KWAN dies from an ectoblast to the back. A gurgle on his lips as he, too, falls from the sky. Blood spills from his mouth as wind whips past the hole in his chest. His parents are huddled together in the bunkers underneath the city, fingers laced together and stone-faced as they worry about their son. They will hear a loud thump above the bunkers— one sound among the cacophony of screams and explosions— and convince themselves that it is simply a tree or a lamp post that had toppled over.

Little MIKEY, who shot up like a tree but still lanky and cowardly in the face of danger, ushers his wife and newborn child into the bunkers. He goes to follow, but stops. Turns. A few meters away there’s a little girl laying on the ground, blotchy faced as debris fly overhead. The doors to the bunkers are slowly closing. He makes a choice. Mikey presses a kiss to his pleading wife, his wailing newborn, and runs to the girl. The child enters the bunker seconds before the metal doors close with a hiss. Mikey dies with a smile, bleeding at the steps of the bunker, legs crushed by the falling pieces of Amity’s skyscrapers.

Everyone knows when PAULINA dies. 1:30 P.M., the sun shining as brightly as it did, reflecting on the ruins of the Resistance’s HQ. Paulina Sanchez has acted as the city’s lead strategist for five years now, organizing supplies and working with others to create drills, providing morale to a city whose numbers keep dwindling with every year that passes. The soldiers she helped train hear her last words on the comms, her harsh breathes marred by harsher static as she continues to issue them orders. Paulina was born to command and died commanding.

STAR, ever her satellite, died protecting Paulina moments before. Activates every single trap within HQ with pinpoint accuracy, all to buy enough time for her best friend to escape. She is buried in concrete. Her signature flower hair clip fell from her head at some point in the battle and lies singed some ways away.

SPIKE is killed when he tries shooting Phantom in the head.

DALE is shot trying to drag Spike’s body to the nearest medic.

Phantom rears his head back to take a breath, and the city shatters once again at his howl.

DASH dies on his knees, arms outstretched and body pierced with glass. Behind him, pushed away, was a newly minted soldier and the rest of his squad. Dash had once confessed to Kwan, in the lonely hours between patrolling their city, that he always feared peaking at highschool. That his glory days had started and stopped as Casper High’s star quarterback. After today, there will be few who remembered Dash the Quarterback or Dash the Bully. They will remember Dash, leader of the fifth infantry division, who fought bravely and died saving his men. A hero at last.

The ghostly wail tears down buildings, but it also cracks the earth. The roofs of bunkers are ripped open with a groan, revealing the shattered blue sky and crumbling buildings.

A child suffocates in her fathers arms. The father trying desperately to shield his child from the worst of the debris, but his back gives out, and so does his breath, and the child is much too weak to crawl her way out.

A mother sings a shaky lullaby to her baby. A vain attempt to coax it to sleep, so at least it might die in its dreams where the world was happy still.

ANITA dies with her brother HARRY in a fire.

TOM is killed while holding his wife’s hand.

LANCE dies—

WENDY dies—

JOCELYN is killed by—

ALEX falls—

ELIJA—

YUI

SAFIYA

CALEB

WILL

CARRIE

HAROLD

PAM

STAN

JOSHUA

ASHLEY

WES is dying with his back on the ground, bleeding from his throat. With shaky breath and fire in his eyes he looks up at Phantom and gasps—

“You’re no ghost. You’re a monster.”

ELLIE is one of the last to die. It’s dusk, and the once vibrant city has quieted. She’s flying overhead, looking for any sign of survivors. She has found none so far but continues, in that childish way all children do, to hope beyond hope that there is someone out there. That she isn’t alone.

She’s not alone. She encounters him, standing above the ruins of their home— her home, arms crossed and a bored countenance on his face. She sees the red creep into her vision, knows it’s stupid to rush in because she will lose and right now, finding what remains of the city is more important.

She knows that.

It doesn’t stop her from screaming at the sight of him. Ellie surges forward with hands blazing green, throwing her everything in a desperate attempt to hurt him. Phantom throws up a shield with barely a glance in her direction. Ellie pushes more energy into her blast, can feel the bottoms of her feet destabilizing, can feel her hair turn to goop, but she does not stop.

She pushes and pushes. The heat from her blasts melts her palms, her fingers leaking ectoplasm, but still she channels all her energy into this one attack.

Ellie destabilizes into ectoplasm, disintegrating like her clone siblings a decade before.

Phantom’s shield never even cracked.

When Jericho fell, Joshua commanded that a few should be spared.

When Amity Park fell, no one was afforded that same mercy.

[kay-no-lies]

people are blaming the back line for that loss?There were 29!! shots!! TWENTY NINE. 10 of those were on target. Sonnett had one or two shots? Right?? Michelle Betos had 10 saves!

Trinity and Ashley Sanchez have soooo much potential, but they need someone more consistent making those runs with them.

[thedeaditeslayer]

Interview with Steve Villeneuve, director of Hail to the Deadites.

Below is an interview with Steve Villeneuve whose documentary is currently running on the film festival circuit. This interview was done with the Horror Channel after its viewing at Fright Fest in the UK. 

FrightFest 2020 delivered some incredibly entertaining and informative documentaries. Hail to the Deadites from Steve Villeneuve is a celebration of the the Evil Dead series of movies and truly gets under the skin of what the franchise means to those who created it and those who are mega fans! Here Steve talks about this amazing doc.

HC: Can you recall the first time you saw an Evil Dead movie and what it was that grabbed your attention?

SV: I guess I was 13. I actually saw Army of Darkness first on television. Years later, spot the cover of Evil Dead 2 in a video store. Then, rent Evil Dead one without knowing it was the first film because here in Quebec, The Evil Dead is called L'Opera de la Terreur and Evil Dead II is Evil Dead II. I remember been completely confuse while watching the first one because I had the feeling that I saw that film before.

HC: Is it true you own over 60 copies of Evil Dead in different video formats?

SV: I actually own more then that but my collection is really small compare to the collection of fans in the film. Michael, John, Elise and Emmanuel have an amazing collection. Way bigger then mine. I spoke with Dennis (a fan in the movie) and he told me : I was laughing at the scenes of myself as back then I had a lot of Evil Dead items, and now I have A LOT more! Ha ha!

HC: What's your favourite piece of Evil Dead memorabilia in your collection and which one has eluded you so far?

SV: Hard to say! My last purchase was a MCFARLANE TOYS MOVIE MANIACS ARMY OF DARKNESS ASH 18" FIGURE MOTION SOUND. But I would say that I'm really happy with Limited Edition DVD + T-Shirt from Germany that is still sealed.

HC: Do you have a favourite scene from any of the movies?

SV: I kind of like the entire "Pit" sequence from Army of Darkness. For me that scene is where Ash take a step up and become this iconic character. Specially because he's doing the boomstick speech right after.

HC: Why do you think, after all this time this franchise continues to entertain and gain new fans and followers?

SV: The fact that each film is different from one to the other help a lot. But it's really about the character of Ash. Like Bruce is saying in the film, Ashley is the average man. He's not Navy Seal or FBI so fans relate to that. Also, Bruce Campbell really found a way to get a great following.

HC: Which story included in the doc do you consider to be the most memorable?

SV: The easy answer would be the story of Ac McRayr. As a parent it is quite difficult to imagine this situation. But, without telling to much I need to say that Adam story is just amazing. Again, I don't want to spoil anybody so you guys will need to take a look at the film.

HC: Were there any stories you had to cut due to time restrictions?

SV: There's SO many fans that, yeah, we had to make some difficult choice but the choices were made before shooting anything. So we didn't have to cut out some stories for the final cut.

HC: Bruce Campbell seems to be a true force of nature, what is he like in person?

SV: He's really intimidating because he's tall and he exudes a lot of confidence. You just don't want to f**k-up the interview you know. But he was great. He actually sat down with us for a good 15-20 minutes after the interview just to talk. The funny part is when he started talking about the time was in Montreal shooting The Woods because when I shot my first film, Stories of a Gravedigger, I actually shot it in the same hospital about a month after he was there.

HC: This is a true celebration of the movies; would you like to work on another doc for another franchise such as Halloween for example?

SV: Halloween would be a really good choice or maybe the Scream franchise. But I think my choice would be Halloween because it kind of started the Slasher films which I am a big fan.

HC: Do you think the often talked about 4th (or 5th including the remake/reboot/reimaging, whatever you want to call it) movie should be made and if so where should it be set?

SV: I'm a huge fan of the 2013 movie. I think it's one of the best remake/reboot along The Hills Have Eyes and Dawn of the Dead. I just really hope that they will continue and that, at some point, the universe of this film will cross the universe of the original films.

HC: The doc is getting its International premiere at a virtual event, will you still be as nervous when its unleashed for people to see?

SV: Of course I will. I'm pretty sad not to be at Fright Fest but there's nothing we can do about it. You know, where you are doing a feature film, you know that you will get some super bad reviews. In this case, it's more personal because there's real fans in it. The good thing is that most of them saw the movie and loved it. So I'm at peace.

HC: So, what are you up to at the moment?

SV: I'm currently working on the sequel of my first documentary Under the Scares. So far we have a great line-up with people such as Dee Wallace, Bill Moseley, Doug Bradley, Eduardo Sanchez, Felissa Rose, Larry Fessenden, Leanna Quigly, Michael Berryman and Sid Haig. My goal is to have this film ready for next year.

HC: Steve Villeneuve, thank you very much.

[chey-fey-ma]

Some of the events I’m about to address will be extremely triggering for some people. Please proceed with caution. This has to deal with the protests and police brutality.

I was arrested.

I was arrested violently. I was pushed to the ground and arrested with my hands behind my back and guns pointed at my face. My boyfriend and good friend, both of whom are men of color were also pushed to the ground with guns in their faces and not a single right was read to us.

To emphasize my point, the three of us weren’t anywhere NEAR a protest. We had heard screaming and calls for help and sirens down the street and knowing that people we all loved and cared about could be in danger, we decided to suit up and brace ourselves to offer medical supplies and a place to stay for anyone that was hurt by the awful acts of brutality by police that we had been witnessing for the past couple nights. For the past year Brady Street had been my home. It was where I went to get a latte at Rochambo and tell jokes and draw pictures with friends and family alike. But last night, it was the most unfamiliar place I had ever been to.

As we were making our way back down the street to go into our house that was less than 15 feet away, we were ambushed by an all black cop car taking us from our left flank. We knew we were caught but we didn’t expect to be in trouble for being right outside our own home, the same home my boyfriend had for the past 5 years without a single problem. Four cops come out with guns in their hands and ready to shoot. It was in that instant I felt that my life was over. Everything I had dreamed or ever wanted was out of my reach. I would never perform on Broadway. I would never move back to NYC. I would never get married or raise a family with the man I love, even if I was to not get shot, he still could have and that dream would still be out the window in a blink of an eye. Without a second thought, a person— another HUMAN could decide that my dreams were unattainable and take my boyfriend away from me for the rest of my life; however long that could be since I have no clue how I could recover since he is my lifeline and has my soul.

In an instant our lives could be deemed worthless only because of a curfew that was haphazardly placed on a day to day basis; and for a moment, we were deemed as worthless. In total there were well over 50 police officers all in squad cars and even the SWAT team pulled up to the scene. All for three peaceful people trying to get home from making sure no one was hurt. As they saw me lay helpless on the ground, crying with fluid draining from my nose, they pulled out their cellphones and took pictures and recorded. “Oh this ones going to Ashley” I heard one say and talk about how they were going to send it to a family member or friend.

While I was thinking these moments could be the last time I ever saw my boyfriend alive, these cops patted themselves on the back for a job well done and circle jerked to a young woman crying thinking that she would never get to say goodbye to the man she loved or to her mother and brother.

After being arrested and our possessions taken forcefully from us, we were separated. My friend and boyfriend in one car and I in another. There I was paraded around the city as I cried not for myself but for the fear of losing my loved ones. Finally I was taken to a dark area under one of the freeway bridges were about 60 other police officers were standing around waiting for something to happen. After about an hour of doing nothing, I was finally put in the back of a high security bus all by myself and three armed cops driving the bus.

I opened my eyes and I was suddenly in a new place with people I have never seen before. All the people being detained looked at me and suddenly I felt a sense of comradery I had never experienced before. I was finally able to stop crying as I realized almost all the people held here looked like they were just trying to get home. One by one I listened to their stories and I realized this was the most disgusting act of power I had ever seen. I felt violated and like I was suddenly non human by the way we were being treated.

What I witnessed was illegal and breaches human decency on every level imaginable. There were two healthcare workers in scrubs being detained with me who were literally on their way home from their clinic that was 45 minutes away. They were arrested at about 9:45. Just from coming home from potentially saving lives. There was a new mother who just had a cesarean section only less than 2 weeks previously. There was an expecting mother with her arms tied behind her back who looked like she could pass out at any moment. The new mother actually did at one point pass out after throwing up and an ambulance was called about two hours later. TWO. HOURS. LATER.

Outside of the Milwaukee section 2 prison facility I was stored in there were military personal with loaded machine guns who kept staring at us like we were nothing more than vermin on our way to be exterminated. As if we were bred for the slaughter of their injustice.

I was taken in at about 10:45 with a lot of my colleagues taken in at around 9. One by one slowly they took us in the back to book us. I can not stress enough how unprofessional and how awful most of the cops were, with many of them admitting they had no idea what was going on or what they were doing. One cop taunted us asking if we learned our lesson. “Yeah” I said. “I’ve learned to never trust cops again and that all you guys are pigs” I muttered, a stance I hadn’t taken before this night. It really was all or nothing, and if I was going to be treated with no regard, why should I care for a second about a cop’s life. They clearly didn’t care about ours. Mine. My friends. My boyfriends. People I love and care about.

Slowly I watched my new friends disappear and finally taken to a holding cell for the information on them to be processed. I was going to be one of the last ones and the officers admitted they were taking a long time on purpose. I mean, they’re getting paid TAX DOLLARS to sit on their asses all day, so I suppose they were trying to milk out that few extra dollars by tormenting and traumatizing us.

For 14 hours I was never read my rights, never given anything to eat, never got to make a phone call, never told I had access to a lawyer, and only reluctantly given water because some of the people I was with threatened to sue. They told us because it was a temporary facility that it didn’t count as being normally arrested and so none of our rights were actually ours. Once again, everyone that was detained with me were ALL heading home. No exceptions. Some people were driving home when they had their tires blown out by police. One woman told me her boyfriend (who is black) was tased for stepping out of his car once his tires were blown up. It was only when she begged them not to shoot that they put down their weapons.

At about 7 hours in, I was exhausted and sweating profoundly and I started to cry from anger and once again wondering if my friends were safe. I kept saying that over and over again. That I just want to know if they are okay. One girl stood up and yelled at a cop asking if they cared that I was sobbing begging to make sure my boyfriend was alive. We were all met with shrugs and a woman officer (she was medium built and blonde with her colleague being another woman officer with dark brown hair with the last name of Sanchez) telling us that she didn’t care. The two woman officers just gossiped and looked at us with disgusting faces. Perhaps they were just doing their job. But that just speaks even more about what kind of job being a police officer really is. Apparently to do your job right you have to have no regard for human life and for the actual safe keeping of the city. As long as you get the arrest numbers, you’re golden to keep terrorizing marginalized communities and people.

There was one point in the night that I had a trans man and another non-binary individual (like me) being detained with the group. After he told them that he was trans, he was brought to the back to be berated and made sure that he REALLY was trans and not just trying to get attention. I don't know what happened to him behind those closed doors since I never saw him again, but I can't imagine it was anything short of horrific.

The rest of the night was a blur and I was labeled as a rioter and my possessions labeled as riot gear. This was my only offense. I had on a helmet and some padded protection on my body since if there WERE shots fired, I wanted to try to lessen the impact. The woman took out my piercings and my hair ties and Bobby pins. I was left only wearing my oversized Star Wars t-shirt and some athletic leggings. In a cruel act of irony, one of the officers pointed to my shirt and said “looks like we got another fan”. I just stared at him and he said “smile it's a good thing”. This was already 10 hours in. I grunted and spat back, “one would think, right”. I’ve never talked back to a police officer in my life, but I was tired, angry, upset, and in pain. I was fighting for the resistance. They were on the side of the Sith.

We were then placed in individual cells for holding. It was unsanitary and period blood filled the toilet I was given as well as urine from whoever was there before me. At this point I needed to pee and I told everyone to look away. They did as I, as safely as possible, hovered over the toilet seat to finish my business. I wasn’t given toilet paper or anything of the sort; instead I used my sock that had been on my foot this whole time. It was actually one of my boyfriend's nice fuzzy black socks. Male cops were able to walk in and out as they pleased and could see females trying to relieve themselves. It was the most dehumanizing experience I have ever had.

Finally I could hear freedom ringing in my ears as I was approached and told that I was free to go. I tried to thank the officer but I couldn’t find the words after being treated so horribly. I was given my stuff back in a large bag and then thrusted out into the sunlight after being held for again, 14 hours (need I remind you this was all for just a ticket too). My eyes began to tear up as I realized I had no idea where I was or how I was going to get home. I looked around, and since we were thrown out the back, I didn’t see a single person. I cried as I picked up my ALMOST dead phone and saw my boyfriend tried to call me several times. For the first time the entire night, I was extremely relieved to see that he was alive and well. I saw his messages saying he and our friend were alright and got out and the only way they were alright was all thanks to the neighbor who saw the WHOLE thing and recorded it too. He saved our lives. Full stop, HE is a hero. He was recording and on our side and trying to get us home safely. Our neighbor picked up my boyfriend and friend from section 4 where the men were held. For those who don’t know, it's right in a super dangerous neighborhood and we live on the East side.

Once I called my boyfriend he told me he was out front and I shakily told him that I thought I was on the side of the building but I would head that way. Finally I saw him and he saw me and it was as if we were the only two people on the planet. Yes, it is just like in the movies when you have someone really love and care about you. He first waved to me and I hung up the phone to make my way towards him. He started running and then finally we were in each other’s arms hugging on for dear life. He placed his hands on my head and looked me up and down while saying that he was sorry over and over and over again. But I wasn’t even a tiny bit angry with him, I was the most relieved and content I had ever been in my entire 21 years of living. After our tearfilled reunion, I got the names of some of the other people that were with me and I gave them my contact information as well.

I have a lot to say… A lot more to say about what I felt and what I still feel. The 700 dollar fine is almost nothing compared to the emotional trauma that I felt and went through. All for just being a decent human being and making sure people were alright from protests that were happening. We were arrested for caring and arrested for essentially the color of our skin. Well, not so much me, but it was the fact that I was with two males of color— the most gentle and kind males anyone could ever hope to encounter. I know it was this because I saw other white people walking around and they didn’t get arrested, just told to go home. My stance is now clear to me. There ARE no good cops. There never were. They hold up an institution of racism and fear. That same racism and fear that was so very real to me and not just a concept like you are likely to be reading about just now. Please know I am very angry and heartbroken, but we are safe and right now I’m just thanking my lucky stars that we weren’t slaughtered like George Floyd. It is a predicament that no one should have to experience and no one with a human heart should perpetuate.

[sagehaleyofficial]

HERE’S WHAT YOU MISSED THIS WEEK (12.11-12.17.19):

NEW MUSIC:

·         PVRIS dropped a symbolic new video for “Old Wounds,” a song from their EP Hallucinations, which was released in October. The video features two individuals peeling back the layers of one another along with some shots of nature and space.

·         Poppy dropped her fourth single and video last Wednesday for a song titled “Fill the Crown,” which consists of numerous allusions and ultimately pays tribute to the 1957 film classic, The Seventh Seal. The song will appear on her forthcoming album, I Disagree.

·         Neo-classic rockers Coheed and Cambria released the video for “Toys,” a track from their 2018 Unheavenly Creatures album. The clip, titled “The Unheavenly Christmas Carol,” was developed by C&C CEO Claudio Sanchez and directed by Alek Wasilewski.

·         Drive-Thru Records broke a stint of silence by launching an Instagram account to announce a classic compilation is heading to vinyl. The vinyl version of Welcome to the Family still features the Godfather-inspired artwork and a full-size custom-printed pizza box, just like the original CD.

·         Set It Off dropped a surprise B-side called “Catch Me If You Can.” Frontman Cody Carson and drummer Maxx Danziger began teasing some sort of news on Twitter on Thursday, which ended up being the new song.

·         Roughly a month after parting ways with Black Veil Brides, Ashley Purdy dropped his first solo track. The song is called “Nowhere,” and Purdy has continued to tease new music since his departure.

·         Blink-182 drummer and mixmaster Travis Barker has formed a new label, DTA, a joint venture with Elektra Records. The label’s first release is “Gimme Brain,” a collaboration between Lil Wayne and Rick Ross.

·         In celebration of Taylor Swift’s 30th birthday, Something Merry gathered some talented artists to cover her instant hit album Red. Dan Campbell of the Wonder Years sings his rendition of “All Too Well,” with the album also featuring Future Teens, Adult Mom and Chris Farren.

·         Craig Owens released a heartfelt Christmas track “It Doesn’t Have to Be This Way” just in time for the holidays. The former Chiodos singer hopes the track can lift people’s spirits when they’re feeling down this season.

·         Metalcore newcomers It Comes in Waves have dropped a new song “Wolf in Disguise” with a gnarly feature from Sleeping with Sirens vocalist Kellin Quinn. The new track shows off a deep driving guitar line coupled with a nasty breakdown to cap things off.

TOUR ANNOUNCEMENTS:    

·         Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl got into the Christmas spirit this year by shotgunning a beer with Santa Claus at a recent show. The man in the suit was a fan attending the Intersect Festival on December 7th.

·         The Used unleashed details for an intimate club tour in 2020, with the band hitting select venues to play the smallest rooms they’ve played in more than a decade. Dragged Under will join the band as support.

·         Green Day played an intimate show in Costa Mesa, California, as the Coverups, a side project of the members. The cover set by the band consisted of hits by Misfits and the Ramones, as well as many other punk classics.

·         Bad Religion are celebrating 40 years of punk-rock incisiveness by teaming up with Alkaline Trio for a spring co-headlining tour next year. The campaign starts March 26th at the Palladium in Los Angeles and ends April 19th at the Eagles Club in Milwaukee.

·         After the departure of Ashley Purdy and the addition of their new bassist, Black Veil Brides continued to reveal new show dates for next year. The band announced more concerts in Europe after their upcoming North American tour in 2020.

·         Tiny Moving Parts announced a U.S. tour with Belmont, Capstan and Jetty Bones, kicking off the tour in March with a Wisconsin date and traveling the country until mid-April. Each of the bands made the huge announcement on social media.

·         This week, Dance Gavin Dance frontman Tilian Pearson revealed Issues will be joining them as the “mystery band” on their upcoming tour. Pearson gave them the seal of approval by saying he’s “been a fan for a while now.”

·         Green Day played the 2019 Game Awards last Thursday. The Hall of Fame rockers played their hit song “Welcome to Paradise” before kicking into the titular track of their upcoming album, Father of All…

OTHER NEWS:  

·        Crocs and Post Malone released their fourth collaborative silhouette, “Post Malone X Crocs Duet Max Clog,” last Tuesday. After going on sale, Crocs announced on Twitter about an hour after the release that the shoes have sold out.

·         One Panic! at the Disco fan got the surprise of her life when the frontman actually responded to a letter she sent, sending back his autograph as a wedding gift. Twitter user Erica Veon sent Urie an invite, along with a letter on “how much his music means” to her.

·         Paramore took to Instagram, sharing a year-end post reflecting on the band’s time together before clarifying it didn’t mean a breakup was in store. Fans took to Twitter and expressed their excitement about the post as well.

·         Yellowcard’s lawsuit against late emo rapper Juice WRLD for alleged copyright infringement has been put on hold. The members of Yellowcard are being represented by lawyer Richard Busch, who told Digital Music News that the lawsuit has been paused.

·         In the wake of angry fans sending tweets last week regarding Brand New’s absence on Spotify Wrapped, the company decided to shadow fix the issue. Social media posts have since come in, showing the band being included in users’ playlists.

·         YUNGBLUD shared his heartfelt short film Lonely Together, where he expressed struggles of finding himself and living in a society where not everyone is accepted. The singer is known to stand up for his beliefs when it comes to fashion, politics, individuality and more.

·         My Chemical Romance frontman Gerard Way curated a playlist of all of the music he enjoyed this year. The playlist in on Spotify and is titled “Music New & Old That I Enjoyed This Year,” featuring both new and old hits.

·         This weekend, Crown the Empire vocalist Andy Leo threw it back to 2009 by embracing this year’s 10-year challenge with close friend Post Malone. He kept the nostalgia going by sharing a photo to his feed with the caption “The only 2009 vs 2019 that ever mattered.”

·         Blink-182‘s management company announced they will be going to court to settle the $500,000 lawsuit against them from Fyre Festival. The festival is attempting to win back the $14.4 million they originally paid to the lineup and influencers.

·         A photo of a Target pillow with a phrase used in Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness’ song “Cecilia and the Satellite” surfaced online, and the singer says he hasn’t been asked for permission. The pillow features the phrase “For all the things my hands have held, the best by far is you.”

___

Check in next Tuesday for more “Posi Talk with Sage Haley,” only at @sagehaleyofficial!

[mrs-s-carlisle]

Task 002 || In Another Life

Place: ‘De la Cruz and Co.‘, Washington DC

Date: 17.02.2019 (17th February 2019)

Featuring: Sofia De la Cruz

Triggers: Cheating and Language

Word Count: 1865

“When are you going to understand that this is not some cat and mouse game? I don’t like you. I’m never going to like you. I mean look at me, really look at me, do you think I would ever go for somebody like you?” This wasn’t an argument that Sofia had wanted to have in front of half a frat, but as she stood at the foot of the staircase it seemed there was no way to avoid it. Benjamin Carlisle had spotted her the moment she’d walked through the door and had been following her with offers of incredible dates ever since. She had made a decision in that moment, that this had to end tonight. Even as she looked into his eyes, those lovely blue eyes that she’d noticed from the very start, she felt that it was wrong - like something was cosmically shifting with every cruel word she said - but Ben Carlisle no matter how sweet was not the boy for her. And she needed to make that clear before they went too far, before they got hurt. She didn’t want sweet, no matter how much he tempted her.

Her daydreams were interrupted by a persistent knocking on the office door. “Ms De la Cruz?” Her assistant’s call was filled with a false calmness that badly covered her urgency as Sofia composed herself from her thoughts. It was odd, it wasn’t as though she thought about a boy - surely man now - that she hadn’t seen in over a decade every day, but every so often he crossed her mind as she wondered what might have been. Perhaps in another life she had fallen madly in love with that blue eyed boy - the only one that had ever pursued her in college after the public humiliation she had put him through earned her the reputation of shrewd bitch for the next four years - and they’d lived happily ever after. Or maybe he would have broken her heart and she’d ended up right where she was now. She’d never know, so when she called Ashley into the office she vowed that this would be the final time she ever thought of him. It did no good to dwell on things that would never be.

“Yes?” She asked expectantly as the younger woman stood before her, suddenly silent. She rose an eyebrow, intending to wait until she got an answer. However, her panic began to build only seconds later. “What is it? Is it Alejandro?” She asked desperately, launching off her chair and quickly gathering her things together as her mind raced with all the possible dangers a two year old could get into even if Ashley had yet to say anything.

“No!” It seemed the twenty-something had just realised that she had shouted at her boss, who’s eyebrow was once again raised in that scary ‘give-me-a-reason-not-to-fire-you’ way and the phone in her hand was getting a punishing grip that in a fantasy land might be made for her throat, because she began to backtrack immediately, “I mean, no. Nothing is wrong with Alejandro. He’s fine. More than fine. I can call your nanny if you like, if you want to check for your-”

Sofia was growing bored of the long winded explanation, rolling her eyes before she cut off the girl, “So what is it then?”

She didn’t get her answer right away, the blonde chewing on her lower lip as she waited again. She was almost ready to snapped again when finally it came, “Rafael is in your father’s office.”

And just like that she was gone. Storming out of her office and leaving Ashley alone.

“What is it? Is something wrong?” Sofia asked as soon as she closed the door to her father’s office behind her. She crossed the room quickly, reflexively reaching up to kiss her husband’s cheek. She almost didn’t noticed how he grimaced slightly, pulling away the moment her lips grazed his skin. But she did notice, her brow furrowing together as she turned to face Carlos. “...Papi?” She asked hesitantly, both needing to know what was going on between the two men and unsure that she really wanted to.

The older man grimaced, his eyes refusing to meet his daughter’s for a moment before he composed himself and got ready to deliver the blow. Unfortunately in the prolonged silence she had only continued her questioning, “Is it about the campaign? Did something happen? Why is nobody talking to me?”

“Mijas,” He cut in, effectively shutting her up in a way that only her father could. He only allowed a single beat of silence before he continued on, “This morning a woman made a call to your house-” He stopped himself short as he saw that Sofia was opening her mouth again. “Mijas!” This time it was angry, impatient. This wasn’t easy, but it had to be done and he needed to get through it. “She has some compromising photos of Rafael and she’s threatening to release them.” Anything that he said after that, about withdrawing from the governor's race and the public announcement that would have to be made, was completely unheard by the woman. She was no longer looking at her father, her eyes turning to her suspiciously silent husband.

She didn’t care that she was interrupting Carlos’ explanation of his perfectly laid out plans, the rage boiling inside her as she demanded, “Define compromising.” It wasn’t said with confusion, but whispered with anger, her eyes boring into her husband’s no matter how much he tried to ignore her stare.

“It was only a few times Sofia. At the start of the campaign. You were just so busy and I felt like you were absent at home. It was only a few times,” His excuses meant very little to his wife, but it wasn’t until his final words that she really snapped, “And I didn’t know she had taken any photos.”

“I can’t do.”

“Mijas-”

“I can’t do it Daddy. I can’t marry him.”

This wasn’t what she was meant to be feeling the night before her wedding day. She was meant to be the blushing bride; enjoying her rehearsal dinner, letting everybody fuss over her, nervously excited as she forced herself to go to sleep because it was mere hours until her life changed forever. She was about to be Mrs Rafael Sanchez and she was supposed to be so happy that her face hurt for a whole week from all that smiling. She wasn’t supposed to be nervously pacing up and down, wearing away the soft beige carpet of her parents’ suite. Every time she thought about being Mrs Rafael Sanchez for the rest of her life she wanted to throw up. She couldn’t help but think of all the annoying things that he did - like insisting that none of his food touched as though he was child or how he tapped his foot against her (their) hardwood floors while he read or even the way he said her name (not So-fia but Sof-ia). She was meant to stand up in front of everybody she knew in twelve hours and tell them how much she loved him. She was meant to lie.

Unfortunately she wasn’t able to tell any of this to her parents, although her mother’s concern was evident in her pursed lips, as her father suddenly appeared in front of her. The grip on her shoulders wasn’t bruising, but it was firm. It was enough to tell her that this was not up for discussion. “Princesa, it’s two in the morning, you’re just tired. And nervous. Tomorrow is your big day, jitters - a little touch of cold feet - is okay, but I think it’s best you get some rest.”

She tried anyway. “Daddy-”

“Sofia! Do you know how much your mother and I have spent on tomorrow? We can’t just get that money back. And half the city is coming. You don’t want to humiliate us all, do you? Rafael is from a good family, he’s a good man that is going to do great things, he’s going to push you to do great things. I know you want that Princesa, Now why don’t you go back to your suite, pop on some slippers and keep those toes toasty until tomorrow? We’ll see you then mi amor.”

And she’d just nodded, accepting his gentle kiss on her forehead, forcing a strained smile as her mother ran a thumb over her arm for comfort and walked right out of that room. She hadn’t even tried to argue again.

“Oh well if you didn’t know she was taking the photos I supposed that’s okay then!” Her shouts were full of obvious sarcasm, hands flying in the air and narrowly missing the husband that was now looking at her as though she was crazy, “I suppose it’s fine that you fucked some random whore, who is trashy enough to take photos, while I worked hard on your campaign as long as you didn’t realise that she was taking said photos!” Apparently she had no qualms about the office overhearing her exclamations, her voice only raising as she stepped closer and closer towards her target.

“Mijas, that’s enough! Calm down.”

“Shut up!” She had never been so blunt with her father, but she didn’t seem to regret it as she turned away from her husband - her anger now solely dedicated to the older man.

“Excuse me?”

“Shut up,” She repeated, “Just for once daddy, just shut up! I didn’t even want to marry him! I didn’t even want to date him! He is boring and quite frankly stupid, I think that much he has made clear. You wanted your perfectly little son so you made me marry him. You cared more about that than my happiness.”

The office was once again filled with silence. Rafael cowering away in fear of what his wife might do next, Carlos glaring at his daughter with all the anger she had possessed moments before, and Sofia in the middle of it all finally feeling as though a weight had been lifted from her shoulders. She intended to say no more, turning sharply on her heel and headed for the door.

It was only Rafael’s brave protests that stopped her. “What about the press conference?”

She was less than a foot from the door when she paused, her lips pursing before she turned back. “Fuck your press conference,” She shot back, an odd sense of calm in her tone. That was her only answer before she once again set off on her way. Soon he’d see what she knew, that without her and her hard work he was nothing. Her heels clicking against the tiled floors, the only thing that she knew for sure was that she was heading home, packing two suitcases and bundling her son up until they got to a hotel that would take them. As the elevator doors slid closed, her buzzing phone quickly being turned off to avoid her father’s angry calls, she couldn’t help but think about how good it was to finally be free.

[pleaserelaxfc]

NWSL Challenge Cup Thoughts: Week 3, East

Current Standings:

North Carolina Courage: 6 pts

Washington Spirit: 2 pts

Orlando Pride: 1 pt (-1 GD)

NJ/NY Gotham FC: 1 pt (-2 GD)

Both the Spirit and the Courage were dominant in their games this weekend, but weren't able to convert as many opportunities as they should have. This leaves the East the most stratified division in the Challenge Cup so far, and with the Spirit in second place with only two points, if the Courage win tonight, they come very close to guaranteeing themselves a spot in the semifinals.

Last Week's Games:

Spirit vs. Gotham, 1-1:

The Spirit had the better of his game overall, but Gotham took an early lead when Kristie Mewis converted a penalty earned by Midge Purce. The Spirit leveled in the second half off of a stellar shot from Ashley Hatch, but not too long later, center back Amber Brooks was sent off the field with her second yellow card of the night, and neither team was able to get a winner.

Despite their dominance, the Spirit have to work on finishing their chances - they created several really good opportunities, but sent a lot of them just wide. Trinity Rodman continued to be a nightmare for opposing teams in the attack, but she did give up a pretty silly foul for Gotham's penalty. Tinaya Alexander also had a good game, for it being her first start - she definitely grew into the game throughout the first half. Ashley Sanchez continues to do more and more Ashley Sanchez things - I can't explain it in any other way, but I want to keep seeing them.

Gotham had their best stretch of the game in the few minutes after Brooks was sent off, but the Spirit ultimately found their footing and Gotham allowed them to go back on the attack for the last several minutes of the game. A few players had good games individually - Estelle Johnson in particular did very well to shut Rodman down on at least one occasion that could have easily lead to a signature Rodman goal, and their attack did seem more dynamic and cohesive with Mewis and Ify Onumonu back in - but they are clearly still working on pulling it all together.

Courage vs. Pride, 1-0:

Honestly, the Pride were pretty lucky to come out of this one only down one goal. The Courage were in charge for most of the game, and although their only goal came from a penalty, they were threatening for almost all of the first half and large chunks of the second.

The Courage came out with an even more defender-heavy lineup, with Debinha (excused absence) replaced by Kiki Pickett. Taylor Smith (I think the only player in the lineup who had ever played as a forward at the professional level before this season) had several dangerous chances throughout the game, and I'm looking forward to seeing how she and Kiki Pickett are able to combine throughout the season. The Courage did well to maintain their pressure and ultimately won a penalty after a cross hit Gunny Jónsdóttir's hand in the box - Merritt Mathias took the penalty incredibly well to give the Courage what would ultimately be their winning goal.

The Pride faced an additional hurdle early on in the game, when Marta went down with what seemed to be a pretty severe injury. Although she was able to get up and back onto the field initially, a few minutes later she went down again and had to come off for the rest of the game - and will be out for a significant period of time. The Pride weren't able to make much in the attack for most of the game, but the did get a few good chances in in the last ten to fifteen minutes - starting around the same time that Erika Tymrak came on for Jónsdóttir. If they can find that energy in future games, they could come up with some good results, but without Marta, I'm not sure they will be able to maintain it.

This Week's Games:

Pride vs. Gotham (7:00, 3/30):

This one will be interesting, given that both teams have underperformed a bit so far. I'm going to go ahead and suggest a Gotham win, 1-0, although I would probably have had it going the other way if Marta were still in the mix. As it is, Syd Leroux and Darian Jenkins are going to have to make their partnership work pretty quickly if they want to get anything out of this game. (Or, in light of the starting lineups that just came out, Leroux, Tymrak, and Cluff will have to make their partnership work well enough to beat Gotham's Estelle-Johnson-less back line, and hope that their new goalkeeper is up to the challenge presented by Onumonu and Purce).

Spirit vs. Courage (7:30, 3/30):

This could go so many ways. I'm hoping for a Spirit win, and playing at Audi field, they might have a chance at that, but more realistically, I'm going to go with a 1-1 draw. As it stands, the Spirit are missing at least one of their starting center backs, may be missing Tara McKeown (left foot injury), and will probably be rotating a few other players given the three-game week, so I'm not sure that tonight will be their opportunity to turn their results around.

[wsl-chelsea]

Kristie scoring goals in camp!!! US top team vs under 23. I’m wondering if there was a full game or if they played 5x5 with this hard to tell. Also one of the people with a blonde bun with hair coming out is Ashley Sanchez not Kristie i believe it’s hard to see in the beginning.

https://www.instagram.com/tv/CZaiEzaNGOa/?utm_medium=copy_link

woo woo!! i think we only see shots of kmew towards the end yeah