#as someone living in july 2020

[archiephd]

i do think the internet is ruining activism. and is also the greatest tool yet for modern solidarity and mutual aid and awareness

[sunkissed-zegras]

𝐉𝐄𝐀𝐋𝐎𝐔𝐒𝐘 𝐈𝐒 𝐀 𝐃𝐈𝐒𝐄𝐀𝐒𝐄, 𝐆𝐄𝐓 𝐖𝐄𝐋𝐋 𝐒𝐎𝐎𝐍 ─ UCONN WBB MANAGER

౨ৎ ─ summary | y/n posts herself while on vaca in europe!

─ warnings | pls this is so short but so fun to make, nothing but banter

yourusername rome, italy

Liked by nikamuhl, ice.brady, uconnwbb and 99,674 more

yourusername | european summer ✌🏼 july 15th, 2023

View all 2,312 comments

nika.muhl | oh hello 🤗

↳ yourusername hi gorg

nika.muhl | JUMPSCARE TW IN THE LAST SLIDE

↳ paigebueckers u think ur soooooo funny huh?????

↳ yourusername she kinda ate u with that sorry love you paige

fan001 | oh my god im in love?????

fan002 | she's so fucking fine oH MY GODDDDDDD SOMEONE GET ME AN INHALERERRRR

↳ kamoreaarnold everyones collective reaction to this post

paigebueckers | im so quirky ahh pose in the second slide

↳ yourusername wanna talk ab the nose scrunch thing u got going on???

↳ paigebueckers wym??? i look cute

↳ yourusername addison rae 2020 ahh pose

↳ paigebueckers oh! so you're blockedddd! bye 🤗🤗🤗

kamoreaarnold | mom forgot the kids (me and ice) at home with dad (azzi) for years (two weeks)

↳ azzi35 when did i become the dad?? hello?

↳ yourusername im sorry baby next year ill take u

↳ kamoreaarnold thank u mom

↳ azz35 so this is a family trip u say??? 👀👀

↳ kamoreaarnold u didn't seem to pleased earlier so no

↳ paigebueckers hey kk u need a stepdad?????

↳ kamoreaarnold no this is a mom and daughters kinda vaca sorry

↳ ice.brady 🥳🥳

paigebueckers | im mad at u but u look hot so ur forgiven ig😘

↳ yourusername u started this with my bday post

↳ paigebueckers bro aaliyah posted worse pictures and a tiktok slideshow???

↳ yourusername ya and who gave her the pictures????? YOU

↳ aaliyahedwards_24 why are u being so messy paige...

↳ paigebueckers i hate both of u get out of here

paigebueckers | holy cow wowwowowowowowowowowow😍😍😍

↳ ice.brady it's giving obsessed bro ur living in her comment section

↳ paigebueckers jealousy is a disease get well soon love 😘😘

↳ ice.brady HELPPPPPPPPP NOT THE LOVE GTFOOOOOOO

↳ yourusernames i giggled

fan003 | WE NEED MORE POSTS OF JUST Y/N SHES SO FUCKING HOTTTTT

fan004 | new pfp unlocked thanks mother

↳ yourusername youre welcome child

ice.brady | the facetime pic made me cackle thank u y/n

↳ yourusername i know me too

ice.brady | THE MOST GORG GIRL IN ALL OF THE WORLDDDDDDDDDDD 😌

↳ yourusername SAYS YOUUUUU

uconnwbb | we missed u! our star player!

↳ kamoreaarnold yall keep in mind this is y/n...

↳ fan00 i fucking love her she's so iconic i cant

↳ make sure to check out my navigation or masterlist if you enjoyed! any interaction is greatly appreciated !

↳ thank you for reading all the way through, as always ♡

[st4rtar0t]

Random messages for you

DM to purchase a reading. currently offering donation based readings including special offer for Indians.

Picture 1

I see that some of you will literally be changing home this year or you may have live away from your parents for sometime. for others of you I see that you will be making a new addition to your home. ALSO you need to clean your doorstep, especially if you have a lot of shoes there. remove unwanted things from your home. You may face some kind of opposition in the upcoming days, spirit is telling you to stand your ground and DO NOT BACK DOWN. I see that some of you will be getting a lot of recognition this year. This will ignite a lot of intense emotions in other people for you, some will love you and some may hate you. Some of you are dealing with a two faced friend, yes that person that came into your mind right after you read this. They may have cat like features for some. Invest in high quality food. Do not joke around with your health. This year is good for you if you want to start something new. I see that you will be getting a lot of creative ideas. If you are planning to go somewhere try to wear red or include flowers in your outfit. Some of you may receive flowers form a friend or lover. your favourite ones. Take extra care of your hands these days.

Picture 2

Okay so for you I see that you need to be extra careful about everything. Its not the time for you to take risks and if you do take risks you may end up regretting in the future. I also see that some of you may even win a lottery of you may get some money from your elders as a gift. I see that you may get a chance to travel overseas this year. If you have been asking if you are on the right path, YOU ARE, I kept getting this message. I see that some of you are running from your problems, you need to understand that running away from your problems will only make them worse. You may get invited to some sort of celebration or party, do not even think about rejecting this offer, you will make a lot of connections from this event. You may face some kind of fraud especially if you own a small business so be careful of people darling. They don't always have the best intentions. You are also being encouraged to go on a trip with your friends or family. This months will be the moth for intense character development for you. A lot of new lessons will be learned. Also be extra careful around sharp objects.

Picture 3

I see that some of you will be receiving some kind of precious gift from somebody you love, this doesn't necessarily mean expensive gift, it may be a handmade gift. Fruits are going to be really significant this month, especially grapes. You will be rewarded for something you did a long time ago, this may be something you started in 2020. Some of you will be meeting someone really significant, may be some kind of partnership involved. Something or someone is restricting you from acknowledging your potential, this may be a habit, a person or some kind of obsession. Be careful of energy vampires around you. Learn to preserve things, learn sustainability, it will be helpful for you. If you are looking for something you lost, look into that white bag in your room. Your guides communicate through birds and nature, dove more specifically. Somebody who has a V in their name, born in July or an Aries will be asking you out. If you are single you are not going to be single for long, if you are already in a relationship things may get more passionate between you are your partner. Btw pay attention to your finances.

[nansheonearth]

 A Boston shelter tried a new approach to finding women stable housing. Three years later, its success is clear.

Since launching its stabilization program in July 2020, Women’s Lunch Place says that 97 percent of women who found housing are still living in their homes.

By Alysa Guffey Globe Correspondent,Updated August 30, 2023, 5:51 a.m.

Nancy Edwards in her apartment.SUZANNE KREITER/GLOBE STAFF

Two years ago, Nancy Edwards fell into homelessness after being priced out of rent in Southern California. With her two dogs, Roo and Tink, in tow, she decided to drive across the country with all her belongings packed in her small sedan. Her final destination would be Boston, the home of her only child and the last place she says she received adequate mental health care.

She arrived in Boston in September 2021, and later that month met Lianne O’Reilly, a behavioral health and stabilization clinician at Women’s Lunch Place, a daytime shelter and advocacy center serving people who identify as female.

With help from O’Reilly and Women’s Lunch Place, Edwards, 65, was able to receive the mental health care she needed and took the first steps in applying for housing in the city.

“I was able to make heads or tails out of life and rescue myself from being homeless,” Edwards said.

Edwards is one of 173 clients who Women’s Lunch Place has helped to secure housing since the organization launched its housing stabilization program in July 2020. Three years later, the organizaton reports that 97 percent, or 167, of the women are still living in their new homes.

At Pine Street Inn shelter, a mother and daughter persevere and find communityNew housing strategy behind Mass. and Cass cleanup offers ‘hope, dignity’ — and may be a solution to homelessness, officials say‘Permanent supportive housing’ may be controversial to would-be neighbors, but it’s been beneficial to those who live in it

Located on Newbury Street in Back Bay, the stabilization program is designed to provide clients at Women’s Lunch Place with wraparound services before and after they receive keys for an apartment, said Doris Romero, the center’s housing and stabilization manager. Often times, women who walk through the doors have a steep learning curve when living on their own and can be evicted if they do not have continuous support.

“The last thing that I want is after getting someone into housing is for them to lose their housing,” Romero said.

Romero facilitates conversations with landlords, property managers, leasing officers, and even other tenants to ease the burden on clients. Each woman seeking housing is paired with a full-time advocate from the organization, and the team has doubled in size since its inception, she added.

For some, the housing search can take years, with some guests only moving into homes now after originally starting a housing application five years ago, said Romero. Other times, partnerships and applications with the city can speed up the process for those who really need housing. For instance, Edwards submitted an application to the Elders Living At Home Program through Boston Medical Center.

“In the application you have to explain why this person needs housing, and as soon as I met [Edwards,] I knew that housing was really key to her stability and moving forward,” O’Reilly said.

As a result, Edwards moved in to her new home about seven months after connecting with Women’s Lunch Place.

“It’s nice and quiet and I feel secure,” Edwards said on a recent Friday in her one-bedroom apartment in the South End.

Nancy Edwards in her apartment.SUZANNE KREITER/GLOBE STAFF

While stabilization programs are not necessarily a new invention, Women’s Lunch Place’s method of keeping tabs on and tracking women it helps find housing is encouraging, because it shows “obvious and dramatic evidence that it works,” said Susan Sered, professor of sociology at Suffolk University.

For the past 15 years, Sered has been following a group of about 50 women in Boston who fall in and out of homelessness. In her research, she has seen women lose housing because of substandard living conditions or abusive men in their life who visit homes and cause trouble — issues that can often be prevented with robust stabilization services.

“A lot of these problems are dealt with before they get out of control,” she said of the system in place at Women’s Lunch Place. “They can provide this kind of really intensive support that can help people get through that difficult period or a difficult incident and hold on to their housing.”

Romero said she poses as many questions as possible to find a strong fit for each individual client.

“Do they want to stay in Boston? Do they want roommates or their own space?”

However, even though the program is run through the shelter, women who seek the stabilization services have their own agency throughout the process, choosing where, when, and what they apply to.

“We can provide them options of different opportunities, but they get to choose where they want to apply to,” Romero said.

Most of the clients would prefer to stay in Boston, Romero said, but that doesn’t always work out. Sometimes, after looking at options in Boston, she encourages clients to look elsewhere, such as the North or South Shore, to set realistic expectations. Romero added that the center has had luck stabilizing people in Medford and Watertown homes.

The stabilization program is unique since it doesn’t end once women get the keys to their new place.

“People really assume like everything’s like sunshine and flowers once you get housed,” O’Reilly said. “And it can be, but for a lot of people it can be traumatic in many ways.”

The length of stabilization looks different for each client, Romero said. Advocates visit the homes of their clients as much as they need to help with everything from setting up cable to finding a church community nearby.

Women’s Lunch Place also assists clients facing possible eviction — a vital component of stabilization services, staff members say.

Estella Green, 55, credits the program for her finding stable housing and avoiding eviction after she had been sleeping on the streets or couch surfing for almost three years.

“I was in a place where I was about to go downhill, but I came here and I asked for help and they helped me,” Green said.

With help from her advocate, Christina Labossiere, Green has lived in a one-bedroom apartment in Brighton for more than two years. Since March, the organization has assisted Green in applying to the city’s Residential Assistance for Families in Transition program, which helps keep households in stable housing situations when facing eviction, loss of utilities, and other housing emergencies.

Green said she loves the apartment, especially the bed to sleep in, but still comes to Women’s Lunch Place almost daily because that — not Brighton — is her community.

“You can relax, be comfortable, and you can always find someone to talk to,” Green said.

Alysa Guffey can be reached at alysa.guffey@globe.com. Follow her @AlysaGuffeyNews.

Edit:

Here's a link to donate to Women's Lunch Place

Follow them on ig

If you reblogged the previous version, reblog with the donate link.

[copperbadge]

Hi Sam! Recently diagnosed midlife ADHDer here. First, thanks for talking about your ADHD & sharing what you’re figuring out. It’s super helpful to someone on a similar trajectory.

I just saw a reference to your photo books for the first time & it seems like a great way to help with memory issues that come with ADHD (like I know I did [x thing] but when?). Could you talk a little about the process of collecting photos & such all year & then how you create one?

Thank you!

Ey, happy to have helped! Congrats and sympathies on your diagnosis. And honestly it's good for me too, talking all this out, it helps me get my thoughts in order. I often namedrop you guys to Therapist, you are "my readers" :D

The process of putting the photobooks together is...well, it's a lot, so this is going to be a super high-level overview, but basically yeah I wanted to have records of where I'd been and what I'd been doing that were more concrete than just digital photos on a hard drive or a cloud. But I didn't really want to just print the digital photos and put them in a box, either, so I started making photobooks. Usually I go through Walgreens or Shutterfly for printing, whichever has the good coupons when I'm working on it.

So, here's the weird, kind of obsessive part: a huge help in making a yearly photobook, for me, is the fact that I take my photos off my phone at the end of every month. I have some that live on the phone -- my growing collection of photos of my niece, a selection of photos from my Europe trip, some memes -- but those live in their own folders. The main camera roll gets downloaded every month, and I put them all in a file labeled with the month and year (2023-01, 2023-02, etc). It's a recurring task in my to-do list, that I offload the photos on the last Saturday of each month. You don't necessarily have to do it this way, though -- it's just what works best for me, and I encourage people to find a way to do things that will actually be functional for them.

Across the course of the year, although really moreso in October and November, I go through the photos and remove any I absolutely know I don't want to keep. Once I've done that, I save a copy of the whole year's worth of photos to my digital archive, and I take another copy and label it "FOR PHOTOBOOK" which allows me to do more culling of them than I otherwise would, because I know anything I delete is still in my archive. And this all has the advantage of me knowing that the photos in my archive are at least SOMEWHAT organized.

So I go through all the year's photos in the For Photobook file, month by month, sort them into folders by event (so there's, like, 01-Polar Vortex, or 04-Europe, or 09-Birthday) and clear out all but the photos I know I want most. My photobooks are generally longer than the default length they give you at most sites, so I usually do have to add a few pages (they're like $1/page or something) but not too many. Often these days I have some stuff that's events, like the Europe trip, and then some stuff that's just like....a folder of funny shit I saw in Chicago, or a folder of all the food I photographed that I want to save. The cats generally get their own four-page spread at the back. :D

In 2020, I will say, there were only two themes: CATS and COVID. I alternated pages.

Anyway, once I've got the photos sorted, and deleted any I don't want to include, I get on Shutterfly or Walgreens Photo and start up a new photobook project. I upload the first folder of photos, place them on the page with suitable captions, then upload the second folder of photos, etc etc, until all the photos are uploaded and placed in the book. I don't caption extensively -- often it'll just be a page that'll say like "TEXAS IN JULY!" and all the photos from that trip. But it definitely does help me keep track of what I was up to. And it's kind of soothing to review the year and see all the stuff I accomplished.

So that's the bare bones -- by all means feel free to ask questions, although if you guys wouldn't mind asking in comments or reblogs if possible, that should keep the discussion contained as necessary. :)

[hockeyandhrsepwr]

Dancing in the Kitchen

Life Lessons Track 1

*italicized lines are lyrics from the song (or just slightly altered)*

July 2023

Yourusername

Yourusername LL: Dancing in the kitchen

Stream now

Ynsbiggestfan holy shit holy shit!

Fan172 bestie is this because of your tweet?! Ahhh

Teddysphotos proud of you!

Bellababe Here we freaking go!!

fan47 how many tracks?

yourusername 🤷‍♀️ you'll have to wait and see......

May 2020

6 more minutes. The drive from the airport seems to be taking forever, but you know thats just because of where you’re headed. The bright lights of Monaco shimmer as the road curves and you’re home. The taxi pulls up in front of the building and you hop out, heading inside.

“Ms y/n! I didnt know you were coming today, would you like me to call up?” Henri the doorman exclaims as you give him a wave. “No thanks Henri, I’m hoping to surprise him. But here, this is for you.” You pass him one of the bottles you’re holding, “Tell the mrs I say hello and we’ll have to catch up when im back for a bit longer!” The elevator doors open and you bid him goodbye before grabbing the lift.

Knocking on the door, you wait. Joris said he was home, but that was half an hour ago so you’re hoping that hasn’t changed, when you hear music playing and someone singing along. It brings a smile to your face, and you knock again. Of course you have a key, but you think this will be more fun.

“Un moment!” He calls and the lock clicks. The door opens and Arthur’s standing in front of you.

“Damn it. Shh” you whisper.

“Uh, I should leave shouldn’t I?” The younger Leclerc responds.

A smirk graces your lips, “probably”. He rolls his eyes and heads back to the kitchen, telling his brother that somethings come up and he has to head out. As he passes you waiting in the living room he sticks his tongue out. Very mature, you mouth, before heading to the kitchen door to watch.

Charles is so into whatever he’s cooking that he doesn’t look up until you clear your throat. “Arthur, I though you left” he says as he turns. When his eyes lock with yours, he freezes and drops the tray he’s holding.

“Hey champ,” falls from your lips as his brain starts working again and he jumps over the mess on the floor to pull you into his arms and spins you around.

“What, wha….” You giggle as he can’t seem to complete his thoughts.

“We didnt get a chance to properly celebrate your win” you hold up the bottle of champagne in your hand. His hands rise to grasp the side of your face and bring you in for a kiss. You pour all your love into that kiss, all the hours of missing him while you’re on tour and he’s off to the races, all the missed phone calls and uncelebrated moments.

All of a sudden, the fire alarms going off. The two of you break apart and you giggle as Charles starts panicking

“Oh no, the chicken” and waves a tea towel in front of the oven to clear the smoke. He looks back at you and shrugs.

“Pizza?”

“Pizza” nodding, you pull up the number for your favourite place that delivers.

The music changes in the background to something slower, and you grin as you hear the first few notes. He bows and offers you a hand, pulling you in for a dance. Resting your head on his chest, you listen to the sound of his heart.

“I miss you” you whisper, “all the time. I didn’t think it would be this hard”

A single tear rolls down your cheek before Charles is gently lifting you chin so your eyes meet his. “Hey, I miss you too. All the damn time. It feels like my heart isn’t whole unless you’re next to me. But we’re both shooting for the stars, achieving the things we only dreamt of as kids. Doing what we were meant to do. Okay? Je t’aime tellment et mon coeur t’appartient” (I love you so much and my heart is yours)

Nodding, you whisper the sentiment back, before pulling away and pointing to the bottle of Dom you brought. “I’m so proud of you. You finally did it.”

Last weekend, he’d won the Monaco GP in front of all your family and friends. It hurt that you couldn’t be there to celebrate with him, so you made it your mission to find a way home as soon as possible, even if it’s just for the night.

The corners of his mouth turn up, “that for me amour?” Biting your lower lip, you smile “yeah, but….”

His eyebrow quirks like he knows what youre about to ask. “Can I spray it?” You ask sheepishly

He nods, laughing at your request, knowing that you’ve always enjoyed watching that part of the podium celebration and wanted to try it yourself. Grinning, you grab the bottle and pop the cork, dousing him lightly in champagne.

Charles grabs the bottle off you and returns the favour, soaking with you and the kitchen floor before taking a swig from the bottle. You pass the bottle back and forth as he pulls you back in to dance, both of you gradually getting tipsier. Champagne drips onto the floor as you sway to the sweet sounds of La Vie en Rose.

“You’re supposed to be in New York” he whispers, like saying it any louder will make you disappear.

“I’d rather be right here where you are. I took the long way from Singapore since we had a 3 day break. Its just for the night but I had to see you.”

“You know, we always seem to end up here.”

You’re confused, “at home?”

He shakes his head, looking a bit ridiculous “no, we both fly around the world, all over for work, but we always end up back here, dancing in the kitchen.”

Foreheads pressed together, you press a sweet kiss to his lips “I could spend a thousand nights right here. Dancing in the kitchen with you for the rest of my life.”

“As long as I’ve got you, everything will be okay” he mutters against your lips

“I’m forever yours”

Lost in your own world, dancing slowly around his kitchen, you both jump when a knock sounds.

“The pizza” you burst out in laughter as Charles goes to open the door, dripping Champagne all over the living room like a wet dog.

The rest of the night is spent curled up on the couch, talking about everything and nothing before you fall asleep tangled together. The next morning bring a teary goodbye as you head to the airport, unsure when the next time you’ll be together in person will be.

xx

[hashashafashasha]

HL2VRAI TRAILER ANALYSIS

"Friday, July 6th, 2040" - The science team has been left in the game for 20 years, since the original series took place in 2020 according to Dr. Coomer. This likely means that the ACAB stream and cast commentary are both non-canon.

The party was for Tommy's 37th birthday, meaning he is now 57 years old. Our beautiful baby boy has grown up so fast. This starting sequence has original backing music too, which uses the melody that both Passport Guardian and Gnome Regrets also share.

Does Bubby replace Kleiner in this universe?

what

Dr. Coomer hasn't changed model, BUT

This is definitely GMan giving his job to Tommy (which I predicted hooray for me), so it is possible for the AI to change models, meaning Bubby = Kleiner isn't out of the question.

Finally, the release date switches between 2024 and 2025, meaning we might have to wait, at most, two years for hl2vrai.

All of these still don't account for Benrey, and while we still haven't seen him since he died in canon, I think Wayne has made it pretty clear that he can return. And still no sign of Emmet Calhoun

I don't know what this thing is someone please help me

Let me know if there's anything I missed! Also yes I know that I said the science team wasn't coming back I know I was wrong I know but please please spare me I was wrong but I was just saying what I wanted to happen there's probably going to be a mix of new and old characters if I had to guess but please for the love of god let me live I'm sorry

[gucciwins]

Are bel and Harry celebrating 1 year of HH? How are they celebrating?

Hi babes, I wanted to write something in honor of the year one year of Harry’s house and thought interview style would be a fun way to share how Bel and Harry celebrated. Very little Harry and Bel but enough to give you an insight 💜💜💜💜💜

____

Zane Lowe checks in with Harry on the one year anniversary of Harry’s house. 

Harry is set up on Bel’s laptop for a Zoom call with his good friend Zane Lowe. Jeff had told him he did not need to do anything, but Harry thought about where he was a year ago and where he is now and wanted to share with his fans how this has been a fantastic year. 

While Harry’s team sent out an email thanking everyone for an incredible year, and if you scrolled down below the photo, you would find the link to his interview.

It opens with Harry looking away from the camera with a large dimpled smile. He leans out of the frame and is assumed to receive a kiss from his longtime girlfriend, Y/N Belmonte. 

Harry checks the audio and sees it off as he unmutes and begins to wave his hand in greeting. 

“Good day, Zane. How are you doing?” Harry greets.

“I’m doing well, my friend. Excited to talk with you,” Zane answers genuinely. 

The two start by checking how they’re doing and what they have been up to. Harry shares how it’s been the start of the tour and how excited he is for the last leg of Love on Tour. Zane expresses how he will try to make it out for Wembley. Describing how he can’t wait to be in that vibrant energy. 

“You’re always welcome,” Harry promises. 

Z: We are gathered here today because Harry’s House turned one year old. 

H: The big one. 

Z: This has been an incredible year for you. 

H: *laughs* It’s been unreal. 

Z: Tell me what this album means to you now, a year later. 

H: It means more to me now. This album I had so much fun creating. And when I finally shared it with the fans to see how well received it was, it was only an added blessing. 

Z: That’s beautiful. Now this album went on to have three singles and a sold-out world tour. It was also recognized as Album of the year at the Grammys. 

H: Don’t forget I swept at the Brits this year.

Z: *laughs* That you did. 

H: It was an incredible night. I feel honored that my album was loved by the fans and that I had an amazing fan there to present me with the award. It–it was special. A night I will never forget. 

Z: How have you been celebrating today?

H: *looks away from the camera for a second* I went on my morning walk alone, and when I returned, the living room was filled with balloons and streamers. There was a beautifully decorated cake. The album was playing Bel’s favorite song on the record player. Seeing all the trouble she went through for me made me tear up.

B: *whispers* No trouble at all. 

H: *giggles* It shows me how lucky I am to have someone at my side who celebrates all my accomplishments with me. 

Z: It’s magical to have people at your side uplifting every goal and dream you have. Thank you for sharing that. I know we’re limited on time, wanting to respect your time and all, but I have a few final questions. 

H: Of course. 

Z: I know most of the album was written in 2020, but you did say 2021 brought some changes. Don’t think you ever said what it was. Would you care to share? 

H: *blushes* The album started while filming my two movies. I thought going into my 2021 tour, the album was finished, but, uh…someone walked back into my life and changed everything. There are tweaked lyrics. A song or two was removed, and another was added. This album happened because of them, even if she thinks she doesn’t deserve the credit. 

Z: We don’t even have to ask who you’re talking about.

H: No, I guess we don’t. Think I may have slipped earlier.

Z: Either way, I feel they’ll know. 

Z: What do you think is next? What do you see for the future? 

H: I know you mean music wise, but after finishing in July, I’ll enjoy being home and being a son, a friend, and a partner. It might be crazy to say, but she’s all I see when I think of the future. It’s all I want to see. I guess that’s where I am in life. 

Z: Are you happy, Harry?

H: The happiest I’ve ever been. 

The interview blows up, and it’s safe to say it was the best gift Hary could give his fans on the first anniversary of Harry’s house, a peek into the inside of his life. 

_____

hope you enjoyed this little blurb amores 🤍

[vs120shound]

Natasha Marley, of Russian heritage, was a vision with Marlboro 100s and Virginia Slims 120s Luxury Lights Menthols and Non-Menthols!

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Pretty Blonde with VS120s Luxury Lights Menthols!

Natasha Marley: A Vision of Pure Beauty!

Natasha Marley, who grew up in the U.K. of Russian parents, is one of the prettiest women in the Greater SF World Community scene. We say she is among the 10 prettiest SF Models/SF Entrepreneurs/Social Media Smoking Darlings-Social Network Cigarette Girls. She landed at No. 23 on our "unofficial" official Top-25 all-time favorite SF models list published on vs120shound released in January 2023. That was too low on the list, ought to have been higher, we proclaim in hindsight (Ah! 20/20 vision in retrospect!). Expect to see her in the Top-15 the next time we get around to re-compiling "The List" many months or a couple of years from now. We'll let you digest this Video of The Week | Hall of Fame division post to assess and rate her beauty and smoking style/power as you feel, as you see fit, as how it strikes your fancy. We simply adore her look, style, elegance and classiness!

. . . well, Ms. Marley, now a mother of two young children and retired from the public eye, was one of the more prolific SF models on the Smoking-Models (U.K.) family of SF websites. She appeared in 29 projects, 17 on Smoking-Models and 12 for www.ElegantSmoking.com. Her term with S-M began on September 14, 2009 and finished on June 1, 2020 -- and we believe those are dates of the videos' release not filming or completion of production -- and her career with ElegantSmoking started on July 31, 2009 and ended on April 9, 2020.

Her Instagram account, IG@therealnatashamarley, nearly has been scrubbed clean of any evidence of her smoking. The informed guess is that she has left cigarettes behind for a healthier lifestyle and to be a better role model for her young, impressionable children. One image remains and that is an IG@smoking_temptresses post that was added, ostensibly by Natasha or the folk(s) running her IG page. Kind of stick out now, we'd say. Cannot pretend the past did not exist. It can be revisited and changes can be made in lifestyle, career and life paths from what was experienced and learned during someone's past. Could be the case here.

This is a grand Megapost! effort by us. Several others of them on our brand have had more packs but this is the most content. What is a pack exactly (not done elsewhere and we've never explained, so here goes . . . )?

A pack for our purposes is an SF image, and there are three kinds -- GIF; photograph; video. A "post" is also a pack but, of course, it almost never is one image, ordinarily several or many but not exceeding 30 photos because that's the tumblr maximum.

It might be nice to see others in the tumblr SF-Content posting realm move forward with such an approach but that is unlikely. We're fine with the standard, traditional one-photo or one-video or one-GIF style the everyone else employs; we continue to do it ourselves but rarely nowadays. We love the great SF blogs/vlogs/webpages on tumblr, from which we re-blog mostly now on vs120shound-2. Our favorites -- and we realize some of you who follow us are aware of our preferences -- seem to be recently thelibrarian120, gomerianworld, smokingscholar, rtpsmk, qwerty53421, thesmokegod (zeusbabes) and blackmaca13, to name a likely Top-7 for us. Those wonderful pages are one photo or one video or one GIF. And they are sensational, extraordinary at it. And there is a lot creativity out there, just not Megaposts!, which take a lot of time to prepare, produce and publish. We're fine with that. We are comfortable with it. It works for us. We do this for you all ("y'all" . . . lived in Texas for 18 months) and for us, for our entertainment.

Speaking of our favorite tumblr SF blogs . . . we thank smokingscholar whose post is "re-blogged" in our style for our VOTW | Hall of Fame division post here today! That post from "The Scholar" on April 27, 2023 has received 267 positive responses, likes/re-blogs thus far! That video we've seen before but in an edited down version, so it was a treat for us to see at full length. Hope you enjoy.

THE MEDIA!

Natasha Marley on YouTube!

From YT's "smoking girl" webpage, with Jenna Hoskins, in 2018 . . .

The 'Super' Re-Blogged Post from 'The Scholar!'

From vs120shound on April 27, 2023 . . .

Natasha Marley Posts on Our Network!

From lostlighter23 on June 27, 2023 (Photo of The Day) . . .

From vs120shound on August 31, 2023 . . .

From vs120shound on January 5, 2023 ("The List" -- Top-25 all-time favorite SF models, No. 23) . . .

From vs120shound on November 7, 2022, in a re-blog from a post by blackmaca13 . . .

From vs120shound on August 20, 2022 . . .

From vs120shound on August 15, 2023 (leading off the first two spots in a photo assortment of various SF models/actresses . . .

From vs120shound on June 21, 2022 (leading off another assortment compilation) . . .

From vs120shound on March 9, 2022, a re-blog from a post by thesmokegod . . .

Natasha Marley Nowadays!

From Instagram@therealnatashamarley on March 19, 2023 . . .

Video from IG@smoking_temptresses on December 16, 2022 . . .

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Smoking Temptresses (@smoking_temptresses)

ANCHOR PHOTO OF NATASHA MARLEY!

This VOTW | Hall of Fame division post is being published on December 6, 2023 at 11:12 a.m. EST. It was produced on Dec. 4-6, 2023 over a period of five-and-a-half hours but was well worth the planning, effort and energy! Thanks for your support and interest in our "work!"

[joesalw]

Ok I'm sorry but this is gonna be a long rant.

I am an ex swiftie (also a minor) and I joined the fandom back in 2022 after midnights released. Before that I had heard a few songs but I barely knew anything about Taylor before 2020 and I did not know about the Kimye stuff or anything.

When the bejeweled music video was released I did not realize the easter eggs so thus I thought that I need to become parasocial and I NEED to know everything that taylor has done every minute of the day (referencing Do you really wanna know where I was April 29?)

I went deeper into the hole. I started getting obsessed with Taylor. I clicked on every video , post and podcast mentioning her. I genuinely became a parasocial fan. I only heard her songs and barely cared about other artists. I hated on her exes (Jake Gyllenhaal and John Mayer especially) because I believed that they had hurt Taylor to no extent. I still don't like them/am neutral but I don't hate them anymore. In march I joined tumblr because I heard Taylor was on here and I have no other social media to support her from so I came here to give her my support.

In April , the breakup happened. I was genuinely devastated. Joe was and is an amazing person. I was shocked to see her move on so quickly and date m*tty he*ly . I was even as a child shocked as to how someone can move on so fast. But also move on to someone so problematic after calling herself an activist? Idk what was wrong with her. But IG as long as she is happy.

She broke up with him. We all rejoiced. Speak now TV was also announced! Yay!

I remember so well on 7th July I was in school and I was so fucking excited about it coming so soon I couldn't sit still. I was counting down minutes until it's release even tho I did not have any devices to listen to it on. My friends were so happy to see me happy and excited af.

I went home and heard speak now tv. Amazing experience for me at that time.

I became the person who said shit like : I hate everyone but Taylor and Taylor is a gift to this Earth and etc etc.

But the amount of joe hate and joeover and joebless jokes annoyed me. Why were we hating a person who was in her life at her worst moments? Taylor would never condone or allow this.

But boy was I wrong.

Most of the hate against joe was my #Strike 1 for leaving the fandom.

Then came along Traylor. I was like oh ok as long as she is happy :))

Then she started associating with the nfl people. Br*ttany M*homes and Abuser bitch.

When I heard of this I was like wtf Taylor???

Weren't you the one who was going off about being on the right side of the history and believing victims?

I was like it's fine maybe she doesn't know or maybe she will stop once she knows.

She didn't

Then she won person of the year. I was already very unhappy with Taylor at that time. But I still was like Yay! Congrats! But maybe you shouldn't be the one to win it?

Then the doxxing by a swiftie happened. It was #strike 3

I left the fandom. I still had hope she would change.

Now after seeing her jets emissions (I'm a huge Environmentalist and a feminist so this shit bothered the living helm out of me) and her continuously hanging out with brittany piece of shit and all the joe hate going on, I am beginning to despise her.

I had initally blocked hate pages like yours but Now I open your posts everyday and check them because I relate to them sm.

I went from a person defending every action of Taylor's, being the only one in my entire theatre who knew the lyrics to all the songs of the eras tour movie , having Taylor as my top artist of the year with more than 60 percent of the songs being hers to despising her so much for being fake and stuck up.

I remember after I left the fandom and not many people knew about it , A classmate said something against Taylor and her songs directly to me daring me to oppose it and I genuinely wanted to cry because I thought that I would now always be associated with this fandom.

The ex swiftie in me genuinely wants 2016 to happen again so Taylor will be removed from the pedestal she is put on by so many. She needs to be saved from herself and her parasocial fans.

And I used to say I would love Taylor forever but I suppose forever really is the sweetest con.

TLDR :- I USED TO BE A PARASOCIAL SWIFTIE WHO USED TO LIVE AND BREATHE TAYLOR BUT NOW I'M SLOWLY STARTING TO DESPISE HER.

Sorry this was so long I had to get it off my chest.

Thanks for reading it!

ex swifties are my favourite people in this planet rn

[theneighborhoodwatch]

which character do you think is the most sus and why

honestly i think everyone has at least one trait that makes me Wonder about them, so. i'm just gonna list those under the cut instead. i've gone over some of these in more detail in previous speculation posts, but i don't wanna just link to them for the 48545674567456th time, so consider this a spiritual sequel to that old ass conspiracy board i made. any links are to stuff that isn't readily available on the actual website. anyways:

wally:

do i really need to explain this one

okay i'm just gonna pick one of the less obvious things: have you ever noticed that his bio uses present tense the most? like after the little introductory blurb it introduces him as "wally is" as opposed to everyone else's "(x) was"? someone in my discord server pointed that out once and i haven't been able to stop thinking about it.

barnaby:

what little we learn about his relationship to wally from the website is Odd; both of their bios mention not only that they were best friends, but that this was stated Multiple times throughout illustrated pages and the like, as if someone was really desperate to impress upon people that These Two Are Totally Besties, We Swear. you'd think this would be a poor attempt to disguise there being some animosity between the two, but that doesn't seem be the case, either.

other than that, though, barnaby actually seems pretty normal - perhaps deceptively so...

frank:

has a first name that ends in a consonant and a surname that ends in a long "-ee" sound, as opposed to everyone else having a first name that ends in a long "-ee" sound and a surname that ends in a consonant.

is noted to have no canonical backstory; the only other character who falls into this camp is wally.

is an entomologist/lepidopterist (or at least an Enthusiast about those subjects) in a town where the only wildlife present seems to be bugs. this was first mentioned in an ask from 2020, so normally i would hesitate to put this here, but post-website launch concept art never shows there being any non-insect (or at least non-arthropod) wildlife, so i think it is Likely that this still applies.

there are Conveniently little to no notes regarding the construction of his physical puppet - all that the WHRP seems to have been able to confirm is that it did actually have a head-spinning mechanism.

julie:

hails from a cave in what is Explicitly noted to be the same forest that surrounds home; post-website launch concept art definitely seems to allude to there being something in those woods, or at least the general idea of julie wandering "out of bounds."

has the most detailed family background by way of her siblings having actual designs and names. her bio clarifies that they didn't live in Home, but no other characters with family members seem to need this clarification. is the implication that This level of detail for side characters is unheard of? then again, barnaby's mom also has a name and design...

can speak to flowers/plants, which definitely sheds a new light on whatever might be going on in this may 2021 concept art. i've seen a lot of people interpret the title of this piece - "liar!" - as an accusation from julie towards someone else (most commonly frank) but given that that the script linked in the february 2023 audition post establishes that julie is capable of lying about what a plant tells her for her own convenience, albeit in a far more playful context... who's to say that she isn't the liar?

sally:

her puppet is all but outright stated to have required more puppeteers than any other character.

having a character who's a playwright/director and whose house is built to resemble a mini theater in a story that relies so heavily on the fourth wall (or lack thereof) as a source of horror feels like a very... Dangerous combination.

some people have tried to draw parallels between her backstory and that of old testament satan, buuuut i'm not entirely sold on this. it feels a bit too outlandish even for me, considering that any remaining christian imagery seems to have been relegated Solely to wally and/or home.

her introductory blurb seems to have a nod towards poppy? "She’s a fire-cracker who is willing to let her imagination run wild in the name of a new adventure, albeit at the occasional expense of her more cautious neighbors." that aforementioned audition script Also all but outright confirms that this is about poppy, given her and sally's interactions there, i.e. sally trying to get poppy to come out of her shell by casting her as the lead in her next play and Clearly thinking very highly of her, but pushing her past her limits just a bit too far too fast. again, much like julie and lying, it's all in a playful context, but i wonder... sally, are you paying enough attention to your friends?

i could also make a joke about my sally/poppy agenda, but. i will refrain. for now.

poppy:

is the only walk-around puppet to not have a live-hand variant.

her puppet also apparently has no surviving photos of it? or at least not any photos of it in its entire eight feet of glory.

in a similar vein to the possible relationship between sally being a playwright and welcome home fiddling with the fourth wall so much, i feel like poppy being a recluse in a series where one of the Main Themes is supposed to be "what happens when a Home becomes just a House/what it's like to live in a decaying home" is a very convenient setup for horror - one that Excites me as much as it scares me. if something happened to her, i wonder, how long do you think it would take for someone to notice?

eddie:

his theme color, purple, is used very sparingly in his actual design compared to the rest of the cast and their colors - it only shows up on his eyelids and maybe the inside of his bag? even designs like poppy and howdy's make more use of their respective theme colors than eddie's. it being on the eyelids is an interesting choice, too, given the eye motif that's been present throughout so far. eyes are the windows to the soul and all that.

purple also makes an appearance just outside of his post office, in the form of a sprig of lavender with a butterfly on it - and, well. something about purple signifying secrecy/hidden truths, perhaps?

according to this post-website launch concept art, the only two clocks in the entire neighborhood are: A) the street clock between howdy's shop and eddie's post office, and B) the watch upon eddie's wrist. both also seem to share some design elements with him (and maybe sally?) - namely, the eyes.

and of course, his backstory. or rather, the fact that his backstory is so half-assed that it's a running gag that he can't remember his hometown and the most we know about his mom is that she has the same job and She Exists, Probably. like that's fucked up in the context of welcome home, right? we can agree on that?

howdy:

howdy is an adult and yet Not a butterfly. he never actually pupated he just got Bigger. this is never explained or addressed in-universe as far as we are aware.

and also this is in the presence of a lepidopterist, aka a guy who should Definitely be aware of the fact that howdy should have pupated by now. foreshadowing for a future point of contention? a future alliance, even?

howdy. the shipments. where are your shipments coming from howdy.

home:

much like wally, this one is so obvious that i feel stupid for even dedicating a bullet point here. just fucking look at anything on the website talking about or involving them. this house is All Unsettling Trivia.

imagine i am beaming this brian david gilbert clip directly into your brain whenever i discuss their relationship with wally until further notice

like i've said before, i don't think they're evil evil (or at least, not evil without reason) but i do think whatever they and wally have going on is, like, Not Healthy. they have codependent swag imo.

[foxes-that-run]

The 1

The 1 is talking to an ex and updating them on her life, we got to see it reenacted at the 2021 Grammys when Folklore won AOTY:

The 1 was written between March and July 2020. It had not been long since Harry and Taylor saw each other, we know of at least at Ed Sheeran's Wedding in September. Lover and Fine Line (on Taylors 30th Birthday) came out since then, 2019 had been a big year.

In the long pond sessions Taylor and Aaron talked about how it reflects the whole album. Which is interesting when Taylor also sang in Gold Rush that her mind turns Harry's life “into folklore”.

I see The 1, Cardigan and Exile as one conversation (I'll get to Betty). From pleasantries, expressing support and then rehashing their end.

Lyrics

[Verse 1] I'm doing good, I'm on some new shit Been saying "yes" instead of "no" I thought I saw you at the bus stop, I didn't though I hit the ground running each night I hit the Sunday matinée You know the greatest films of all time were never made

In the long pond sessions Taylor said the opening line has a double meaning, that the sound of folklore was a new direction and that she was being open to new experiences personally.

Taylor has a similar line to the bus stop, in Cardigan, which is almost a continuation of The 1, “I knew I'd curse you for the longest time / Chasin' shadows in the grocery line” both capture that feeling of subconsciously looking for someone

Taylor says she’s busy, hits the ground running and fits as much as she can in. Ironic lines in a pandemic. The matinee line sounds like she made time to see Dunkirk, but maybe that's just me.

“The greatest films of all time were never made.” I love this line, she’s reflecting that their relationship was cut short. She also refers to it as a film later in the conversation in Exile. The wildest dreams music video also refers to them as Taylor and Burton

[Pre-Chorus] I guess you never know, never know And if you wanted me, you really should've showed And if you never bleed, you're never gonna grow And it's alright now

In the pre-chorus Taylor reflects on the different views of their relationship in 1989 compared to HS1. They have both said they don’t communicate in person what they can in song.

'If you never bleed your never gonna grow' there is a similar line in Woman on HS1: "he’s right where I should, where I should be but you’re making me bleed”. The reference here is that Harry should have shared his feelings sooner, or then but didn't.

However, in Cruel Summer however, Taylor said "And if I bleed, you'll be the last to know, oh" so it seems mutual to hide their feelings.

In Olivia, Harry said “This isn't the stain of a red wine, I'm bleeding love”

It's alright is a reference to Fine Line's "We'll be a fine line / We'll be alright"

[Chorus] But we were something, don't you think so? Roaring twenties, tossing pennies in the pool And if my wishes came true It would've been you In my defense, I have none For never leaving well enough alone But it would've been fun If you would've been the one (Ooh)

I love “roaring 20’s” like, it refers to both her age and “it was so Gatsby that year” from TIWWCHNT, referring the party 1989 era before the gates shut in Reputation. 20 is a Haylor theme also

Also tossing pennies and wishes reminds you of I wish you would.

ME! Also includes “I can never leave well enough alone”

Taylor has described their relationship as 'like the mall before the internet' in Coney Island, an incredibly fun place.

[Verse 2] I have this dream you're doing cool shit Having adventures on your own You meet some woman on the internet and take her home We never painted by the numbers, baby But we were making it count You know the greatest loves of all time are over now

I love the second verse, she is hoping that her muse is living a happy new life. To me 'adventures on your own' conjures up Harry's post One Direction career. Which it may have been with his second album freshly released.

'We never painted by the numbers' is similar to 'you painted my nights a colour I have searched for since' in Question..?

[Pre-Chorus] I guess you never know, never know And it's another day waking up alone [Bridge] I, I, I persist and resist the temptation to ask you If one thing had been different Would everything be different today?

Taylor has a few songs that explore Haylor What Ifs:

Cardigan "I knew you would haunt all of my what-if's"

INTHAF Imagines what if they had met as children, and

Suburban Legends imagines a fantasy of them surprising the whole school in a 1950's gym, as a metaphor for being a power couple at a high profile event.

Slut! “Aquamarine, moonlit swimmin' pool / What if all I need is you?”

We were something, don't you think so? Rosé flowing with your chosen family And it would've been sweet If it could've been me In my defense, I have none For digging up the grave another time But it would've been fun If you would've been the one (Ooh)

More Haylor rosé since Maroon: "Your roommate's cheap-ass screw-top rosé, that's how".

Digging up the grave also reminds us of the opening of Look at what you made me do, where Taylor emerges as a Zombie wearing a dress similar to the one she wore in Out of the Woods.

[the-cat-and-the-birdie]

Not sure if you're actually interested in talking more about this, but I'm jumping in anyway because I relate so hard to being confused about the spiderverse timeline. Not only did everything about the society and Miguel happen fast, but a bunch of other stuff don't add up either? Like.

The first film takes place in early December 2018 according to Miles' test (if we can trust that? It does snow several times) and Peter's headstone, and Across takes place less than a year and a half later... or in July 2023 according to the bodega's security cameras?

Also, the news anchor says Peter was 26 when he died, but the headstone says 1991-2018. Then his birthday was in mid to late December? And he died right before it? That's sad. Oh! Speaking of birthdays: Miles asks why he can't go back to Brooklyn middle school. Soo... he's 13 (which the art book claimed, I think??) and skipped a grade? Is his birthday also late in the year? It has to be imminent if he can be 15 in a year and four months.

And Mayday! Babies typically start crawling at 7-10 months. 9 months of pregnancy + 7 months of living baby = 16 months, or a year and four months! MJ must've gotten pregnant immediately after she and Peter B reconciled. That's effecient of them, but I guess she'd waited long enough.

If we disregard the security cams, it's actually April-ish 2020. How long has Gwen been with the society? She says "a few months", yeah? If that's the truth, it must be between two and five months, because Jess' belly was noticeably big in the prologue, but she's yet to give birth by the end. So! Gwen joined in December or January? Maybe February? That's winter. Is it common to be dressed in shorts, tights, and sweater but no coat in New York during winter? Because that's how she's dressed. And the people around her are wearing t-shirts.

Gwen and Hobie has been on "a couple dozen" missions together. That's at least 24, if he meant that literally. Nearly one every day for one month. But it can't have been continuous because he's got shit to deal with in his own dimension in between. How do they manage their time? Do they have a schedule? And this has less to do with the timeline and is really something that just hit me:

Did Miguel deliberately gather all those spider-people to intimidate Miles with? Because HQ is teeming with spider-people doing mostly nothing (and that's only in the lobby). Don't they have villains to catch at home? I'm picturing Miguel sending a mass dm to everyone about how he needs them to come in and act natural – they have a 15 year old that has to be put in his place!

All this to say: I don't think you're dense about this. I think it's the writers that can't math.

BRUH ACTUALLY DEADASS

HOW LONG HAS JESSICA BEEN PREGNANT??????

Because her pregnancy and Gwen's time there PLUS pavitr joining in under six months is SO JARRING AND CONFUSING.

I assumed Gwen was with them for like 6 months, but that seems way too long so maybe 3? And we can (generously) say Jess was maybe 5-6 months pregnant? So okay, she's about to give birth.

And as someone who lives in NY, nah Winter here is a good 40F(4C) here or lower - even spring you have to wear a hoodie and it's like 60F(15C) until July so I don't know when they recruited her tbh

But for some reason I always assumed that Gwen joined before Pavi did, but I guess not?? But Pavi had only been Spider-man for six months? So did they recruit him right away or was HE the 'new guy' before Miles???? And why would they recruit him right away?

Yeah and with Hobie's work schedule - like I'm assuming they don't go on missions only together because she knows Pavi and LOTS of the other Peters, so either shes going on other missions with other people too- meaning Gwen has done a couple dozen with Hobie and THEN some, or she has a lot of time between missions to meet a lot of Peters around campus.

But then that adds up to like 50 something missions. Unless anamolies are happening every single day, that's still 10 weeks, five days a week - at the least.

And they have training rooms!! So i'm assuming Gwen didn't start going on missions right away with the way Miguel was treating her - so what the hell?????

It's like....

If MJ got pregnant right away, at the same time Miguel got the watch - how long did it take him to meet Peter B.??? Was Peter B the first one he met? And how long did he know Peter B before he lost his daughter? Mind you - all in under a year or so. How long was he with his daughter?????

This makes NO SENSE. NO SENSE WHATSOEVER

And also to answer your last point:

Personally I think, yes Miguel actually made a concentrated effort to do that.

I wrote about it in my Hobie dialogue break-down - but the entire Spider Society scene was propaganda meant to intimidate Miles. Hobie even points this out, telling Miles 'propaganda bro'.

Their watches can take them anywhere - Jess goes to the bridge in Mumbattan. But when they need to see Miguel, they make Miles look at the all (trained) Spider-people. Then they take him to the prison area, then the go home machine. They could've just teleported into Miguel's lair, but instead Miguel made them do this whole tour (things Hobie and Gwen have seen), before meeting Miguel.

In my opinion Miguel absolutely planned that, theres no other reason for them to have been there and for the three of them to have to walk through all of that.

They even make them go to the food court for Miguels empanada like how petty can Miguel be lol He literally just wanted to scare Miles

[beardedmrbean]

madrid — 

As Abraham Jimenez Enoa walked his 3-year-old son home from kindergarten, two men sidled up beside them.

“We know you are near your home,” one of them said.

The experience shook the exiled journalist, who says he decided to leave his adopted city of Barcelona for a while after the encounter in July.

Despite being expelled from Cuba last year for writing what he says is the truth about the country’s communist government, Jimenez Enoa says he has been targeted by unidentified men in Europe, including in Madrid and Amsterdam.

Each time, the men spoke with Cuban accents.

The journalist, who writes for The Washington Post, said he believes those targeting him are Cuban agents.

Members of his family were senior military figures, so Jimenez Enoa once lived a cushioned life at the heart of the Communist Party establishment. His family had close ties to the late Fidel Castro and Argentine Marxist revolutionary Che Guevara.

The 34-year-old turned his back on this life to forge a career as an independent journalist.

Neither the International Press Center in Havana — a government agency that handles media queries — nor the Cuban Embassy in Madrid replied to requests for comment from VOA about Jimenez Enoa's allegations.

Jimenez Enoa, like other dissidents who flee hostile regimes, says he is a victim of “transnational repression,” a tactic in which governments target critics outside their own borders.

Freedom House, which has been monitoring the phenomenon, says there were 854 verifiable incidents from 2014 to 2022, which included abductions, assassinations and attacks. Of these, 11% involved journalists.

Journalists in exile are targeted because they reveal uncomfortable facts about what is going on in their own countries — information that their governments do not want to make public.

China, Egypt, Russia, Turkey and Tajikistan were involved in the largest number of cases, according to Freedom House reports. China has been involved in 30% of the incidents, it said.

Jimenez Enoa believes the incident in July was an attempt by the Cuban government to intimidate him. He told VOA the two men approached him and said they knew where he lived.

“I didn’t know who said it. There were lots of people around,” he told VOA in an interview in Barcelona. “I saw two men who were laughing to themselves. They were dressed as Cuban diplomats [with a shirt and tie], then they went.”

Jimenez Enoa, who published The Hidden Island, a book about Cuba, said he was also followed at a book fair in Spain’s capital in May.

“At the book fair in Madrid, during the whole day, there was a man watching me and filming me. He did not say anything. Someone I spoke with said they had spoken to him and they said that he had a Cuban accent,” Jimenez Enoa recalled.

In March of last year, at a meeting in the Netherlands, Jimenez Enoa came face-to-face with a man he believes was a Cuban agent.

"A man started to offend me, saying everything I did was a lie. He continued to offend me. The organizers had to get him out of the place,” he said. “A diplomat [later] showed me a picture of the man and said he worked at the Cuban Embassy in Holland.”

Of his three encounters in Europe with what he believes were Cuban agents, the last incident was most disturbing, he said.

“I was with my son, and it was around the corner from my house. Each time these people had Cuban accents,” he said.

Jimenez Enoa said he did not report the incidents to the Spanish or Dutch police because he did not have any evidence to present.

The Committee to Project Journalists, which in 2020 honored Jimenez Enoa with an International Press Freedom Award, has called on Spanish authorities to investigate and ensure his safety.

The experiences are unsettling because Jimenez Enoa fled Cuba to avoid threats after enduring a campaign of harassment.

“I was put under house arrest; my phone was bugged. I was later arrested, handcuffed, strip-searched and questioned by security officers. Then they secretly filmed me and put my image on television, claiming I was a CIA spy,” he told VOA in an earlier interview.

“Later, they telephoned me and said I had to leave the country, or they would put me in prison and ‘terminate’ my family and the family of my wife.”

[icouldntfindquiet]

Please keep this on Tumblr as I don’t want to scare Van but CATB tagged photos might be a thing of the past. 😢

I was bored yesterday (27th April) and wanted to look through their tagged photos and noticed it stopped at 30 January 2020 which I found odd because it should go further than that.

And idk…I just had a feeling more photos were gonna go missing and I was right. 😭 I just checked tonight (28th April) and it now stops at 16 July 2020. Someone’s actively hiding tagged photos. I think it will eventually be empty like Larry’s. FFS Larry, QUIT teaching Van how to do things on Instagram!! 😭😭

Btw, you can sort by oldest to newest which is what they’re doing to avoid detection but one day, people are gonna notice all the photos are gone. 😭

My gut is telling me it’s Van because it’s the weekend and who’s gonna torture management with this task?? 😭 Please don’t share this. We already know he’s lurking and I don’t want to hurt his feelings but I need to tell someone. 😭

And if by any chance Van sees this…carry on and do what makes you happy. I’m upset but I’ll live. 😭

[averagewriter-inthedark]

Flying High…On The Bars🤸🏽‍♂️ | Top Gun Maverick Imagine (Bob Floyd) Part 1

Takes place after the events of TGM

TGM Masterlist

PART 2 HERE

Characters & Pairings: Lt. Robert ‘Bob’ Floyd x Olympic gymnast!reader (romantic), Dagger squad x reader (platonic)

Content Warnings: fluff, mentions of sporting injuries, slight profanity, recounts details of 2012, 2016, & 2020 Olympic Games. | Female!reader (she/her) | wc: 9.4k—I decided to split this into 2 parts because it was almost at 20k words.

Premise: When one sets their eyes on the Olympic dream, it becomes their life. When one falls in love with a person committed to achieving that dream, it becomes theirs as well. One year after a global pandemic shut down the world and two years after the high-risk uranium mission of the Top Gun special detachment, the dagger squad gather in Bob’s home base of Lemoore, California to witness the love of his life compete for a final shot at All-Around gold in the worlds greatest gymnastics competition. Prepping for her final Olympic Games, gold medalist Y/n L/n thinks back on her decade long career, and the moment she met the man of her dreams.

Note: Y’all I am loving these sport imagines for TGM I’ve been doing. I think imma do a soccer or tennis next 👀 now disclaimer this imagine does recount details that took place in the Olympics mentioned, but there were changes to the narrative to fit the story. Basically you’re imagining it was you on the teams instead, so don’t come at me saying, ‘that didn’t happen.’ I kept the outcomes for certain scenarios the same, but then changed others to fit Y/n’s place. Hope you enjoy and let me know your thoughts. Also like my ‘For The Gold’ imagine, I’m going off the basis that the events of TGM took place in 2019, not 2022.

I also wanna disclaim that I am very aware of scandal that took place with USA gymnastics. I have decided to not mention it in this miniseries for the sake of not triggering anyone and because I do not want to spread misinformation in case I were to miss things. Of course we know it happened, and it just makes me angry and disgusted to even think about that doctor and I do not want to trigger anyone at all. I do mention Nadia Comaneci in this (she was my idol when I did gymnastics) but do know I do not mention her coaches who were involved in the scandal. I loved Nadia, not her coaches and I’m just as disgusted with them as I am with that doctor. My heart is with all the gymnasts who were affected.

—————————-

“It’s 6:30 am Eastern time back home in the US, however it is 8:30 pm here in Tokyo on Thursday, July 29th, as we get set up to watch the final of the Women’s All-Around in artistic gymnastics. The men competed last night, and it was an unfortunate loss for both Americans after failing to medal in the Team. It was silver for the women’s two nights ago in the team final, losing to the ROC by about four points in the overall score—the first time the American’s have lost the gold in the Team since reclaiming the title after The Magnificent Seven in 1996.”

“It was a shocker to many people, John. Team USA have dominated the international level of gymnastics for over a decade now. They have been the Olympic champions in the Women’s All-Around since Carly Patterson won the title in Athens, they were the two-time gold medalists in the Team and have had someone on the podium in almost every event for the past few Games—Simone Biles dominated Rio four years ago. They were the favorite to win on the team final, but fell short and I know it must’ve been a sad loss for Y/n L/n on Tuesday after being part of both the London and Rio winning teams.” The tv screen was split with the coverage showing the commentators and footage from the 2012 London Olympics. It focused on the gymnast standing on the podium with her teammates, gold medals around their necks and waving to the crowd.

“I agree, Andrea. You know she is the first American gymnast since Dominique Dawes to make it on the team for three consecutive Olympics. After last night she became the second American, after Dawes, to medal in three consecutive Olympics—silver medal in the team final. She’s the veteran, having been in the elite stage since 2011 where she won her first World title on the bars. In London she walked away with three gold medals, the team, the uneven bars, and the balance beam. It was history for the USA gymnastics that Olympics with Gabby Douglas becoming the first African-American to win the All-Around and Y/n L/n as the first American to win gold on the bars in its individual final. L/n then repeated her victories in Rio—making Olympic history for Team USA again with back-to-back gold in the team, bars, and beam.”

“You know it was a big surprise when she appeared at the trials in June. After winning her seventh World’s title on bars in 2019 Y/n was hoping to get the gold on beam after reclaiming it in 2018, but a bad fall on the apparatus tore her ACL. It would have put her out of the trials had it taken place in 2020, but Covid canceled the entire 2020 season and the Olympics were postponed a whole year. Y/n didn’t say anything about coming back to the sport after recovering until after the VISA championships when it was revealed she petitioned for a spot in the trials. Both Aly Raisman and Gabby Douglas, who were her teammates the last two Games have since retired. I really thought it would be the same for Y/n L/n, but she surprised everyone.”

“She already, Allen, has made history in her own way by becoming the first American to win the gold back-to-back on two individual events—her signature event the uneven bars that she’s got multiple world titles to as you mentioned, and the balance beam. Many predicted Simone, the favorite to win on beam, would come out on top since it’s one of her strong factors, but an unfortunate mistake cost her the gold. Then in bars Y/n unveiled a massive dismount, becoming her fifth eponymous skill rated a J-Value. The gold medal was already hers at that point. ”

Now the split screen had a reply of the stunning routine on the uneven bars. The second her feet hit the floor and her arms raised over her head, the then two-time Olympian already knew she had secured the gold.

“That was an amazing moment to witness. The entire stadium was holding their breath. Y/n had already established herself as one of the best gymnasts on the uneven bars since her debut on the national team in 2010. Her routine in London was flawless, both in the team and event finals. After the Trials her teammates selected her as the captain of this squad and has really shown true leadership in these Games—we’ve seen it during qualifications and the team finals, comforting the team when the results came in. Her and Simone shared a moment together after the vault when Simone decided to pull out for the remainder of the competition. The veteran gymnast making a statement on Twitter in defense of Simone when she was receiving criticisms for her decision. Y/n’s definitely taken the role of big sister—the oldest at aged 25– and I know the girls are likely having some difficulty without family and friends to support with the regulations set for these Games. There’s no spectators in this arena save for the media and volunteers. Each nation was only allowed to bring one coach if I’m not mistaken so all the gymnasts are having to adjust. Definitely a different feel these Games no doubt—especially for Y/n who has got to experience the energy one sees in an Olympics with a full house. She’s the fan favorite for this All-Around in Tokyo and it’s going to be interesting to see if Y/n can deliver on Sunday as well and pull a three-peat on the uneven bars—the first for Team USA.”

“It’s definitely going to be an interesting Games no doubt now that it’s been confirmed Simone Biles will not be competing in the All-Around final citing concerns with her mental health. After pulling out of the Team finals it was unknown if she would continue in the All-Around and event finals. She and Y/n were the top two Americans to qualify—the first time for Y/n in her now third Olympics after having not been selected to compete for it in the preliminaries in London and lost to teammate Aly Raisman in Rio. Sunisa Lee has replaced Simone in this final and now the two Americans will go head to head for the title of Olympic Champion.” More replays showed of not only past Olympics but also the preliminaries from Saturday showcasing the contenders for the All-Around; Suni Lee in her Olympic debut and the now three-time Olympic gymnast Y/n L/n.

Thousands of miles across the Pacific Ocean where the sun is not even out as it reaches 3:30 in the morning, members of the 2019 Top Gun special detachment, Navy servicemen & women, and residents of Lemoore, California gathered in the gym of Taylor’s Elite Gymnastics Y/n spent 20 years training in.

“You excited, Bobby Boy?” Jake clapped his friends back, shaking his shoulders lightly in a playful manner. “Ready to cheer on the missus?”

Bob scoffs, but blushes nonetheless, “of course I am, Bagman. This is everything she’s trained for. If I could be there I would be the loudest in the stands” Jake makes a sound, muttering, ‘simp,’ causing Bob to brush him off. Phoenix comes over two cups of coffee, handing one over to her backseater.

“Leave him alone, Seresin,” she scolds, “if that was your wife you’d be doing the same thing.” Jake falls silent making Payback chuckle from his spot on the beanbag in front of the four, “he’s not saying anything ‘cause he knows it’s true.”

Fanboy pitches in, munching on some mini donuts, “he’s probably just still salty Y/n wouldn’t hook him up with one of her old teammates. Or that one swimmer he used to gush about.” From the side Rooster explodes in a loud laugh, causing Jake to glare at him. Coyote has to bite back a grin, not wanting to show amusement at his best friend's bad luck.

The pilot wipes a fake tear, still giggling, “Sorry, that was just really funny.” While the others began to tease Jake, Bob focused on the screen. Softness in his eyes as he watched the NBC live coverage, showing footage of Y/n warming up while in the corner of the screen had replays of her 2016 Games in Rio. His heart was hurting he couldn’t be in the stands due to Covid, but regardless Bob was over the moon with love and happiness for his wife.

Since the age of 5 the gym was her second home after her mother put her in a mommy & me gymnastics class. Bouncing on the trampoline was really what made the child fall in love. She could be there all day if they’d let her. Then after a few more classes that were meant for just some bonding time between mother and daughter, Y/n begged to be placed in the regular lessons after seeing the older girls swinging on the bars and balancing on the beam.

It was the start of a career that would span over a decade when Y/n began competing, claiming multiple national titles, world championships, and three Olympic Games.

In 2004 Y/n sat glued to the TV watching Team USA compete in the Athens Olympic Games. Carly Patterson was crowned Olympic Champion of the All-Around and Y/n knew at that moment she wanted to become an Olympian.

Her parents were hesitant, especially after talking to other parents during Y/n’s lessons, to pull her from school and dedicate all her time to training. There was also the topic of moving to find a coach. Many gymnasts they read up on had traveled to different gyms and had lifelong coaches. For Y/n, her family wanted to stay in Lemoore. Her father had done time in the Navy and was stationed there when he met Y/n’s mother. They fell in love and her father decided to end his contract with the Navy to be with her mother. Not long after he ended up getting a good civilian job on base with Y/n being born in 1996.

What made her parents decide to go through with full-time training were the owners of the gym. Mike and Mary Taylor. Husband and wife who together ran and coached the gymnasts. It was a fairly new gym—having only opened in 2000 so they never had one of their students go to the international level. “There is a fire in her, we both see it. She’s got the dedication, the spirit, and we would love to be the ones to help her achieve the dream of the Olympics. And we would do everything in our souls to make it happen. When we look at her, we see a future Olympic champion.”

So the deal was set. Y/n would become homeschooled and spend nearly 10 hours in the gym everyday. After waking up she would have breakfast with a smoothie before starting one of two 5-hour practices. Mornings were dedicated to bars and beam with Mike and afternoons with Mary on floor and vault. Lunch would be in between and then after dinner Y/n would condition with a personal trainer. Within a couple years she had worked up to level 5 and began competing in meets.

It was learned very quickly that Y/n had a talent for the uneven bars. She was strong on the beam and good on floor and vault, but bars is where she shined. An All-Around gymnast, Y/n put more focus in perfecting her bar routine than anything else. It was where she felt like she had a better chance at becoming an Olympic champion. Flying high in the air on releases brought joy and hitting a perfect handstand made Y/n feel like she was on top of the world.

Nadia Comaneci of Romania, the first gymnast in Olympic history to receive a perfect 10 in competition, was her idol and who Y/n strived to be like. She was the definition of perfection. Every moment of free time Y/n was watching reruns of the 1976 Games in Montreal where Nadia claimed the All-Around, Uneven Bars, and Balance Beam gold. Sometimes Y/n wished she could attempt to do the flawless routine, but the uneven bars were placed differently than they were in the 70s.

There was also the American Mary Lou Retton, the first American woman to win the All-Around at the 1984 Games in Los Angeles. Y/n admired many gymnasts from the former USSR in the 60s & 70s & 90s including Olga Korbut, Ludmilla Tourischeva, Nellie Kim, Larisa Latynina. Russia’s Svetlana Khorkina, Belarus’s Svetlana Boginskaya, and Vera Caslavska of the former Czechoslovakia were amongst Y/n’s idols in the sport.

And of course, the 1996 Magnificent Seven: Shannon Miller, Jaycie Phelps, Amanda Borden, Dominique Dawes, Dominique Moceanu, Amy Chow, and Kerri Strug. The team of women Y/n cited as her biggest inspirations. Y/n was born the year they won the US their first gold in the Women’s Team All-Around on home turf in Atlanta. Chills always appeared when watching replays of Kerri Strug landing the vault on practically one foot to secure the gold against Russia.

In 2010 at age 14 Y/n made her debut on the junior national team. She appeared in several championships, claiming titles to the uneven bars and balance beam. She never listened to commentators when watching replays of meets to see what she needed to improve, but there was always a heaviness to her heart when they would say she was unlikely to be an All-Around contender. “We’ve seen her these last competitions and there’s no doubt she will be a threat to other gymnasts when it comes to the uneven bars—her routine even here on the junior level is insane—and possibly balance beam, but there is a lot to be done for Y/n on the floor. She’s powerful on vault—as we saw in her Yurchenko 1 ½ twist, but fails to stick the landing and is always taking a large step with big deductions. She needs to control that power so she’s not catapulting forward on the landing.”

Her family and coaches reminded her to not listen to commentators or opinions of the media. It was hard first coming into the national stage, but by the 2012 U.S Olympic Team Trials Y/n was a pro at handling the them. She was 16, the reigning World Champion on the uneven bars, and looking to earn her place on the London team. The trials lasted two days with Y/n qualifying after finishing in the top 8 of the VISA Championships. 15 total girls including the Beijing All-Around Olympic Champion Nastia Liukin and member of the 2008 silver winning team Alicia Sacramone, all competed for one of the five spots on the team.

Like all the gymnasts in attendance, Y/n competed on every apparatus but it was her bars and beam routines that secured her spot for London. After a small mistake on the floor Y/n feared it would be the make or break in deciding if she would make the team since she did not rank in the top two places by the end of the trials. Her vaults were good form wise, though she needed to really work on sticking the landing better. When her name was called out in the back room Y/n burst into tears. Her coaches pulled into an embrace, crying with her, before she and the other four girls were hauled to the floor. The crowd of spectators were on their feet. Cheers from every corner.

Vision blurry, Y/n turned her gaze to the section her parents were seated in. When she found them the tears fell more rapidly at the sight of her father practically jumping up and down whistling while her mother was in her own emotional state. They blew kisses to her, Y/n returning them before waving to the crowd. “Ladies and gentlemen, your women’s 2012 London Olympic team!!!”

London was a dream come true.

The moment Y/n stepped into the arena she had to hold back her tears, pitching herself as though to say, ‘is this really happening?’ The smell of the chalk brought comfort. Y/n was itching to get on the bars and show the world what she was made of. Her teammates were some of the best gymnasts to exist with several World titles to their name. The pressure was on for these young women. The media and fans back home were hoping they would be the first team since the Magnificent Seven to win the gold in the team final. It was their goal, but they had tough competition against Russia and China.

The qualifications were intense, but the team as a whole managed to get the top rank to guarantee a spot in the final. After discussions with the appointed team coach, Y/n only competed on the bars and beam. Uneven bars was her strongest apparatus where she would no doubt deliver. The beam was her second strongest, with a difficult routine that when executed would bring a high score. It saddened the gymnast she would not get the chance at All-Around gold, but Y/n pushed her emotions aside to focus on the big picture. Rio was four years away, she could easily try for a spot on that team. For now, she needed to focus on getting the gold in her events.

Qualifying in the top spot on bars and beam, the next step was the Team final.

And it was one to remember.

The team kicked off on the vault where Gabby, Jordyn, and Aly gave a beautiful start to the competition. Russia was next before the second rotation: bars. Y/n was the last of the three Americans to perform after Russia went first. She kept her back to the bars when the Russian athletes were up, the golden rule of gymnastics that was learned very early on: never watch your competitors or pay attention to the standings. Very often will it jinx the performance of the gymnast who does. And Y/n was not about to let that happen.

When Kyla and Gabby were on, Y/n clapped and cheered them on alongside Aly and Jordyn. “C’mon Gabby, you got this!” Yes! Beautiful—one more big one!” “Stick it, Kyla—stick it! YEAH!!”

Then she was up.

A quick pep talk from Mike and Y/n stepped onto the platform and waited for the green light. When it appeared, she saluted the judge and faced the bars, taking a deep breath before running to punch her feet on the springboard, hitting her hands onto the low bar in a straddle position before catching the high bar. The entire routine Y/n didn’t think, she just let muscle memory take her away. Cheers from her teammates and the crowd fueled her. Release after release, handstand after handstand, kip up to the high bar from the low bar. The routine felt like forever but in reality it was only less than two minutes.

“Beautiful start off the springboard and onto the high bar—from here are a series of handstands which have become a staple in Y/n’s routines since the junior U.S Championships in 2010. Here we go on the first….hit it right on the mark, now the second…oh gorgeous form—legs are squeezed together. She will hit two more before going straight into a big release. Here it comes-over the high bar—-wow look at the height! Then straight to the low bar and back to the high into another big release. Unstoppable, this routine is jam packed with difficulty. Y/n has shown little mistakes since unveiling this routine at the beginning of the season—despite one error during the American Cup where she missed a handstand that resulted in shaky release. One more big transition from high bar to low bar and back again before falling straight into a release. Wow, that was amazing! Now she’s gearing up for the dismount—very difficult here—she’ll be doing a double twisting double layout, the same Shawn Johnson did in 2008 rated a G-Value skill. Here we go, the moment we’ve all been waiting for—and she sticks it!! Unbelievable! The crowd loved that and so did her teammates, they’re jumping for joy down below.”

Y/n finally breathes as the crowd goes wild around her. Briefly closing her eyes, she exhales before facing the judges to salute. A wide grin on her lips, Y/n claps her chalky hands covered by the grips and runs to the stairs to be embraced by her coach. Her teammates surround her, hugs and high-fives all around. “That was amazing!” “You were perfect! Absolutely perfect!”

“This is why Y/n was picked for these Games—it is that routine that secured her spot on team USA. It’s untouchable. She is the World Champion in this event, completely dominating the junior level—no one else could touch Y/n on the bars. She’s looking to become the first American to win the uneven bars on Sunday night for event finals and she is exceptional. Those handstands are perfection, the form is impeccable and the landing was perfectly executed—she would get a ten if it were the old system. Now we’re just waiting for the score, which is going to be big. Her start value is 7.1, huge for an uneven bars routine but it’s those transitions combined with the releases and of course that G dismount that really make this routine such high valued—not to mention the series of handstands at the beginning. I believe she has the highest start value in this event these Olympics—no doubt the fan favorite for Sunday night.”

Y/n downs a bottle of water, ignoring the snaps of the cameras from the press directly in front of her. She waves to a few people in the audience, a little girl shrieks when they see the gymnast noticed them. Quickly Y/n packed her bag because they were about to make the rotation to beam. They were just waiting on her score.

“For those of you at home watching for the first time who are confused on how the scoring works, the gymnasts routines used to be scored out of a 10–that’s how it was for the Magnificent Seven and Carly Patterson. But after the 2004 Olympics the Code of Points changed and now they are given a difficulty and execution score. The difficulty is set in stone by the routine, so in Y/n’s case her start value is 7.1–that is the difficulty of her routine based on all the elements put together. The execution score is out of 10–similar to the old system where the judges deduct when they catch errors, imperfect form, or the gymnast falls. After the execution score is decided it is added to the start value, and that is the score the gymnast receives. The highest score Y/n can receive is a 17.100 if she were to receive a perfect execution score of 10. On the screen now is the deduction zone and green is what these athletes want—they want little deductions as possible. Yellow is basically the caution area and red is the danger zone where the gymnast made a really bad mistake—possibly a fall off the apparatus or had too many visible errors.”

“You know, Y/n does her best to not leave room for deductions but there’s always something the judges will catch. Scoreboard is coming around and it looks….it’s a 16.541 for Y/n L/n! Holy moly that is a massive score for the Americans—it’s put them well ahead over Russia going into rotation three. She scored higher than in the qualifications which was a 16.3! I know she’s happy now—we can see her smiling from this angle as the Americans get ready to move to the balance beam. Y/n will compete on the beam along with Kyla Ross and Aly Raisman before sitting out of the floor.”

Warming up on the beam, Y/n did her spins, a couple jumps, her Arabian, and dismount. She was set to go second, giving a slight break after coming off of the high from bars since the US was set to go first in the rotation. Then in the final rotation on floor they would compete after Russia. Y/n was confident in her beam routing, having perfected it for over a year. It had lower difficulty than her bar routine but was still highly valued at 6.4. The highest Y/n had received on it was a 15.628 at the trials, usually ranging between 15.100 and 15.533 in other competitions. In the qualification round Y/n got a 15.478 and secured her place in the individual event final.

“Welcome back to our coverage of the women’s artistic all-around team final in London. We’re onto rotation three of four and it’s the balance beam for Team USA. All three Russians have competed with great performances and very little deductions. The margin between Russian and the US looks like it may be neck and neck going into the floor. Up first for the Americans is Kyla Ross—she and Y/n L/n will finish their team finals on this event. They both were chosen to compete on just the bars and beams—Jordyn Wieber will join Gabby Douglas and Aly Raisman on floor after sitting out for two rotations following the vault. Up first for team USA, Kyla Ross.”

“Let’s go, Kyla!!” Y/n clapped her hands around her mouth. “You got this girl!” When the gymnast finished Y/n was immediately hauled up the stairs, high-fiving her teammate before waiting for the green light on the far right end of the beam. Once Kyla’s score was finalized and on the board, the green appeared and Y/n saluted the judge. The springboard was placed beside the middle of the apparatus, and Y/n once again took a deep breath.

“Y/n’s got the green light from the judge, and is now setting up for her mount. This is quite the skill she is about to do—Dominique Moceanu of the 1996 team performed this mount on the beam in Atlanta. Here she goes….beautiful. It’s a tricky mount but when executed right it can be stunning. Now onto this interesting spin that many gymnasts have started to use in their routines, it’s called a ‘wolf spin.’ She’ll do three full turns right here before setting up for her first big combo—Arabian into a pike jump then right to a back handspring—a little shaky right there on the landing. There will be a slight deduction for not having her chest up in time. Gorgeous spins as she walks to the opposite beam. Here is her tumbling pass, back handspring to a layout—repeating it—and she’s got it! A spin to jump combination and straight into a back tuck. Y/n has made it a habit in her beam routines to display her strength. From this handstand she will turn and split her legs down the middle before holding it at an angle so she’s not level with the apparatus. Very hard to do that could easily end in disaster, but she makes it look effortless. The crowd loves it too. Now all there’s left is the dismount—the time buzzer has sounded. An F-valued skill she’s gonna do a stretched back salto with a triple twist. And she sticks the landing once again!! Beautiful end on the beam for Y/n L/n! That is gonna be a good score I feel.”

“Great job, that was awesome!” “Well done, Yn.” “You did amazing!” Her teammates swarmed her again, followed by her coach who pressed a fatherly kiss to her forehead, “well done, well done, my little powerhouse.” Catching her breath, Y/n wrapped her arms around him in a hug. Together they looked out to the audience to try and find his wife, her other coach, and Y/n’s parents. When they found them they were on their feet clapping, waving frantically at the two. Then the score came in and Y/n visibly saw them get more excited. Rotation 3: BB—Y/n L/N (USA) 15.840

“Wow, a huge score for Y/n L/n of Team USA—15.840! That is the highest score she’s ever received now—her 15.6 at the Olympic Trials was the highest she had gotten on this routine and now it’s been replaced.”

“Well deserved too. This routine was the best she’s ever performed, John. There were those two slight errors where her chest was low on the landings, but her form is just outstanding.”

After cheering on Aly it was time for the last rotation. Y/n packed up her backpack before pulling on her Team USA sweats to cover her bear legs. Over by the floor Y/n was filled with nerves, but confidence for her teammates. After the beam there was a tight lead over Russia, but not by a large margin where anything could happen. It was gonna come down to what happens on the floor.

When the results came in and USA appeared on the #1 spot Y/n jumped for joy, interlaced hands with her teammates in the air. The entire arena was on their feet—especially those who came all the way from America to support. Y/n’s parents and coach were whistling and screaming, it was a truly golden moment for the 16-year-old from Lemmore, California. And for the girls sharing it with her.

They pulled off what they set out to do since being named at the trials. The Olympic Gold in the Women’s Team Final, making them the first team since the 1996 Magnificent Seven to win the title. It was an honor Y/n would carry for the rest of her life and got to share with her spectacular teammates. Standing on top of the podium, with a gold medal around her neck as the national anthem played, Y/n let the tears fall freely. Overwhelmed with emotion, her lips trembled as she mouthed the lyrics. The arena was quiet save for the melody, but when it ended it erupted in cheers. Together with her team Y/n raised the bouquet of flowers to the sea of spectators. Cameras flashed as they posed with the silver and bronze winning teams Russia and Romania.

Post interviews took place and Y/n was still unable to let go of the grin on their face when answering questions. “Y/n, congratulations on this amazing win. You and the team have won the gold—America’s first Team gold since 1996. Can you put into words how you’re feeling right now?”

“Honestly I can’t—I-I’m just so overcome with emotion, it still feels unreal. I want to take this moment to thank my parents who are in the crowd, they have been my strongest support system during this journey and of course my amazing coaches that are with me in London. And of course Aly, Jordyn, Gabby, and Kyla. They were spectacular tonight—I’m so proud of this team, everyone gave it their all and pulled off the best routines we could to get here. After the first rotation the energy just kept bouncing off each of us—it was a great start that flowed into every rotation.”

“I have to bring up that bars routine, Y/n, everyone is talking about it. Absolutely phenomenal. That was the best we’ve seen you do in the event—scoring higher than you did in qualifications. You’re the reigning World champion and the favorite for Sunday night’s event finals. Do you think you’ll do better than you did tonight ?”

Y/n bit her lip, offering a shrug to the reporter, “The thing about this sport is you never know if you’re gonna hit the routine each meet. The goal is to every time but you just have to go in there and give it your best. And that’s what I plan to do Sunday. My coach and I are going to work on where improvements are needed, and I hope to deliver the same way I did tonight.”

The volunteer signaled for the reporter to hurry it up. “Well we’ll be cheering you on both Sunday and Tuesday night as well for the beam finals. Congratulations again on behalf of everyone watching at home. You and the team did amazing and we hope you all have fun celebrating tonight. We’ll see you back here Sunday for the uneven bars.”

Y/n shook the reporter's hand with a grin, “Thank you so much! Have a great night,” blowing a kiss to the camera, Y/n waved to the fans shouting out to her and moved to follow the team out of the arena. The next time she was in the dome was to cheer on Aly and Gabby from the stands during the All-Around final. Kyla and Jordyn were with her, as were the coaches and parents. A wave of red, white, and blue was around them, supporters of Team USA which competed for the loudest section against others when it came to cheering on the Americans. Y/n was on her feet each time Aly or Gabby finished a routine, “Way to go, Gabby!!” “I see you, Aly, let’s go!!”

By the end of the competition Y/n was frantic with joy. Gabby’s name was at the top spot making her the All-Around Olympic champion. The entire arena was on their feet in an explosion of cheers. Unfortunately Aly missed out on the bronze, landing fourth place. Y/n shed tears for both Gabby and Aly, filled with joy for the former at winning the gold, but heartbroken for the latter.

The rest of the week flew by in a blur until it was Sunday night and Y/n was back on the mat for the women’s uneven bars final. She along with seven others would compete for the honor of Olympic champion. The last to compete, the athlete kept her back to the bars and mentally prepared—doing some handstands to pass time. When her coach came up saying it was time, Y/n shook the nerves off and blocked out the crowd.

This was the moment of her life.

“Representing the United States of America,” the crowd cheered, “Y/n L/n!” Taking her place on the mat, Y/n saluted the judges at the green light before licking the tips of her thumbs and clapping once—a ritual since she started competing. With a nod to her coach, who was set up to move the springboard upon her punch onto the bar, Y/n sprinted up and started the routine.

All throughout the routine Y/n thought of her idol Nadia, striving to have the perfect form she did when she took the gold 34 years prior in Montreal. She let her body do the work, letting it carry Y/n through the air upon releases and putting it in the right position with each move. Before long it was time to dismount. The arena was on edge, waiting for the show-stopping move that Y/n had stuck in the team final. With a deep inhale, the gymnast released her hands and twisted before opening her arms at the nick of time.

When her feet hit the mat, arms out and upright, Y/n had to hold back the tears for she knew she just pulled off the best bars routine of her life.

The audience knew it too, they were in an uproar. It continued even after Y/n saluted the judge and walked off the stairs. Her coach practically hauled her off the last step, embracing her while she cried. Of course it was bad luck to celebrate when the score hasn't come in yet, but Y/n had the highest start value of all the finalists and there was no doubt she just overtook the #1 spot. “I’m truly speechless folks, that was without question the best routine of the night. Y/n L/n promised to deliver and she did—from start to finish the routine was non-stop. Hit after hit—that landing will go down in history books. Y/n knows it too, she’s already celebrating it looks like with her coach, Mike Taylor, who’s been with her since she began her gymnastics career. The crowd is celebrating too—I can see her teammates on their feet. We’re just waiting on the score and it should be coming in at any second—-16.825! THAT’S THE GOLD MEDAL FOR Y/N L/N OF THE UNITED STATES!!! She’s the new Olympic champion on the uneven bars—the first for Team USA!!!”

Being on top of the podium felt like cloud 9. Y/n couldn't believe that after years of hard work and dedication she was the Olympic gold medalist in their favorite event. It meant more to her than when she won the World title the year before. All she pictured when the national anthem played was her at nine years old, sitting in front of the tv to watch the Athens Games. That little girl was now an Olympic champion. The best in the world on the uneven bars.

A dream that came true.

Speaking of another dream, Y/n felt all the wind leave her body when after the podium ceremony she was called over by the team’s head coach….and next to her was Nadia Comaneci. Beaming at the gymnast when they locked eyes. If the cameras were not on them her knees would’ve buckled right there. There was no stopping the tears at that point. Her idol was congratulating her, hugging her, completing her routine….it was the best moment of Y/n’s life. More so than actually winning the damn gold medal.

When Y/n repeated the glory on the beam two nights later with a 15.866, there weren't as many tears but the emotion was all the same. It had been the final night of completion for gymnastics with Aly Raisman securing the gold on the floor exercise. Team USA on top of the podium in 5 of 6 events. Y/n was over the moon.

But one question remained.

“Hello again, Y/n, wow has it been a run for you in your Olympic debut. Along with Aly Raisman you’re the most decorated American to come out of this competition. Three gold medals. The Olympic champion on the uneven bars and balance beam as well as the #1 team in the world. Unbelievable, you’ve been amazing to watch this week and everyone at home must be over the moon for you.”

“I really am—It’s so unreal to think that this time last year I was making my debut with the senior national team. I’m so filled with gratitude, my parents and coaches—this wouldn’t have been possible without them. To be called a three-time gold medalist is the biggest honor in the world and to share one of them with my team is….I’ll never be more proud than I am of them. They’ve done amazing at these Olympics—Gabby winning the All-Around, Aly with the floor and the bronze on beam. I’m just so overcome with happiness for not just myself but for them as well.”

“I gotta ask because it’s been buzzing after your win on the bars, but are you looking for a shot at the Rio team in 2016? You’re now the Olympic champion in two events—are you hoping to defend it in four years? Not to mention hopefully get the chance at competing in the All-Around since you weren't selected in the qualifications?”

This was the question that had Y/n up nearly all night thinking about. It was unspoken between her and her coaches, having wanted to focus on the current competition than set sights on the future. Now that the Olympics were technically over for her, Y/n was ready to get back in the gym for another chance at glory.

This time, her goal was the All-Around title.

“I pretty much knew regardless of the outcome of this competition that I would train for Rio. Now the motivation is tenfold really and I do hope I get the chance at the All-Around if I do make the team. For now I’m gonna celebrate with my family, coaches, and my team before getting back in the gym for next year’s Worlds.”

The 2013 to 2015 World Championships were some of the best years in Y/n’s career. Not only did she take the silver in the 2014 & 2015 All-Around next to gold medalist Simone Biles, but claimed the 2013 gold on the balance beam followed by silver in 2014 & 2015, shocked the globe by becoming the 2015 World Champion on vault, and went three for three gold on the uneven bars. By the time the 2016 Olympic trials came around, Y/n was the second ranked gymnast in the world.

The Olympic Rings were tattooed on her forearm, a reminder that she accomplished her childhood dream. Making the team for the second time that summer was beyond what Y/n could put into words. And she would not be the only returning olympian to the US team, Gabby and Aly were coming with her.

There was a lot of talk of what Y/n would bring to the Rio Games. Not only was she the defending champion on bars and beam—hoping to bring a first for the US by repeating her success in London, but she was aiming for a spot in the All-Around competition. Commentators couldn’t get enough of the impending qualifications. Simone was the top contender—the #1 gymnast in the world—and would no doubt qualify, which only left one spot. One spot that three gymnasts wanted.

Gabby, looking to defend her All-Around title.

Aly, to claim the medal she missed when placing fourth in London.

And Y/n, the reigning two-time World silver medalist.

All three members of the gold winning team in London. All three individual Olympic champions.

It would be a heated competition between athletes and friends.

When the trials concluded Y/n had a lot to think about. A lot to mentally prepare for. In the Olympics anything can happen. She witnessed that in London when Jordyn, the reigning World champion, did not qualify for the All-Around. Romania claiming the bronze in the team final over China. Then Y/n beat the leading contender for the gold on beam. Nothing was guaranteed.

As Y/n packed up her bag following interviews after the 2016 team was announced, she headed to leave for the parking lot to meet with her parents and coaches. Phone in hand, Y/n sent a message to her parents when they asked if she wanted to go out to eat to celebrate. As she came around the corner, having waited until most of the spectators had already left, the gymnast gasped when something crashed into her legs causing the phone to drop from her hands, “Oh!”

“Daisy!” A male voice shouted against the sound of feet approaching. “I told you to watch before turning—I’m so sorry ma’am. I—.” His voice stopped suddenly when Y/n lifted her head to connect with a stunning pair of blue eyes. They belonged to a young man with a baby face, roughly around her age but possibly older by a few years, who had blonde hair—stood at about 6 ft and wore a pair of glasses. “O-oh God, you’re Y/n L/n. I-I’m so sorry about my sister—she wasn’t looking.”

The little girl in question—who looked to be about 11 years old— was now in front of Y/n, mouth agape as she stood starstruck. In one hand was a handheld American flag with the event program in the other and she had team USA painted on her cheek. She looked very similar to the man behind her as she had matching hair and eyes. Daisy, as her name was shouted by her brother, looked like she could cry. “I’m so sorry, Miss. Y/n.”

“Oh it’s alright,” the woman softly smiled. Daisy had the same look of awe and emotion Y/n had when she met Nadia Comaneci in 2012 after winning the uneven bars. “Really, it’s okay. I should’ve watched where I was going.” She bent down to grab her phone, silently thankful it didn’t crack any more than it already was. The guy, however, saw the cracks and went pale.

“I’m so so sorry. O-oh gosh, I’ll pay the full amount to replace it—.” Y/n immediately cut him off.

“No, no, no, it was already like that,” Y/n lightly laughed, a little embarrassed to reveal the truth, “I promise you, I just haven’t had the time to get a new one. But it wasn’t her fault I can assure you. It was actually the locker room floor that’s responsible.” Daisy looked embarrassed and guilty at the thought she broke the Olympian’s phone, but upon Y/n’s words she visibly relaxed.

Her brother on the other hand still wasn’t sure. Internally he was freaking out. The now two-time olympian and gold medalist was right in front of him. And she was so beautiful in person it was making his brain scatter…..And his sister knocked her phone from her hands. “Are you sure? I can really write you a check right now Ms. L/n.” The woman waved a hand with a shake of the head, “You have my word. You don’t me anything, Mr……” she waited for him to say his name. A light tint of red appeared on his cheeks, “U-uh Robert, but you can call me Bob, everyone does.”

Y/n extended her hand, making Bob blush more when he went to shake it and a spark ignited causing them both to flinch. “Sorry!”

Y/n only laughed, finding him adorable, “It’s okay. It’s nice to meet you, Bob, and please call my Y/n. And it’s nice to meet you too, Miss. Daisy.” The little girl smiled wide, in a state of visible joy that she was in the presence of her idol.

“You were amazing today, Y/n,” Daisy complimented, making the woman smile.

“Thank you. Did you have fun watching the competition?”

Daisy nodded, “I had a lot of fun. My favorite was you on bars—I had my brother get seats near them so we could watch you.” Y/n couldn’t help but feel warmth in her body. Anytime she had fan interactions it reminded her how she fell in love with gymnastics. Watching the Games and competitions on tv, attending them in person to watch athletes she admired growing up. One could never get used to it. Y/n could see herself in Daisy, for she had begged her parents to always get seats by the bars when they went to watch the 2008 Team trials.

“You’re her favorite gymnast,” Bob casually said with a smile. Y/n thought at that moment, ‘wow he’s got a beautiful smile.’ Her heart picked up at the realization she was attracted to the man. There was just something about him that had her wanting to stay and talk with him.

Y/n smiled at the compliment, turning to Daisy, “I’m extremely honored to have that title, Miss. Daisy. Thank you so much for your support and coming out today. I’m happy I did not let you down,” Y/n then asked, “Are you a gymnast too?”

“Yup!” She said proudly, “I’m level five. I watched you win in London and wanted to be like you,” Y/n placed a hand on her chest, an ‘awe’ escaping her mouth as she tried to hold back the emotion. This little girl was about to capture her heart.

Her brother surly was about to.

Bob nodded his head to his sister, “Her birthday was recent and this is what she asked for. To come watch the trials—to hopefully see you make the team. C-congratulations by the way! You were incredible out there.”

“Thank you,” Y/n said to him, “It’s a privilege to get to compete for a second time. Thank you both for coming out and supporting,” she turns back to Daisy, “And happy belated birthday!”

“Thank you!” She beamed, before hesitating to hold out her hand with the program. “Could—could you please sign this?” Y/n quickly pocketed her phone, removing a sharpie from her bag, “of course. Anything for the birthday girl.” Taking the program, Y/n flipped to the page with her picture and information, scribbling a message saying, ‘Daisy, Shoot for the stars and go for the gold. Thank you for all your support. All the love, Y/n,’ with a little heart at the end. Closing it, Y/n handed it over to her just as Bob was pulling out his own phone.

“Do you mind? I know you must be on your way.”

“Oh not at all,” she said, motioning for Daisy to come closer, who politely asked, “Can I give you a hug?”

“Oh course!” Y/n opened her arms and Daisy fell into her embrace. They faced Bob, smiling at the camera and he took several photos before nodding, “perfect.” Daisy then requested a selfie, and Y/n was all too happy to say yes. Bob handed Daisy the phone who then handed it to Y/n who went, “oh you want me to take it? I’m not the best selfie taker but for you I shall.” Y/n flipped to the front camera and took several photos with Daisy. One nice one of them smiling and a few goofy faces, ending with a kissy face.

Y/n handed the phone over to Bob, but Daisy stopped them, “now you two!” Bob flushed, looking at Y/n to see she was just as suprised. He was silently embarrassed to say he too would have liked a photo, but it was getting late, the gymnast was obviously tired, and they had an early drive back home the next morning. He was due back to report on base on Monday after taking the last Thursday and Friday to take his sister to the trials. “Oh Daiz, it’s getting late. We don’t wanna hold Y/n up—.”

“C’mon, Bob,” she whined, “this way you can brag to your Navy buddies you met an Olympian. And not just any Olympian, you met Y/n L/n!” The insinuation had Bob slightly glare at his sister, finding it to be rude to say such a thing in front of the person they were referring to. He didn’t want Y/n to think it was for clout.

“Daisy—.”

“I don’t mind,” Y/n offered with a kind smile, butterflies erupting in when they made eye contact. Despite the aviator’s fears, Y/n wasn’t offended. In fact she found it amusing, wanting to do it for him. She could tell Bob was still unsure so she said, “If we do a selfie then it’s best for you to take it.” Bob gave a nervous laugh, but nodded and moved closer to Y/n. He was taller than her so Bob held the phone up higher than usual and at an angle.

After the photo Daisy insisted on taking one of them despite her brothers protest. Y/n chuckled at the banter, before pulling Bob to her and placing a hand on his back. Blushing, he put his arm around her shoulder. Daisy didn’t say how many photos she had taken, but judging by her thumb rapidly hitting the screen it was safe to say it was a lot. Feeling bold, Y/n looked up to Bob, “You know if you let me, I’d be happy to help you with the ultimate bragging rights?”

The man’s eyebrows raised, “what did you have in mind.” He wasn’t sure if he should be excited or scared by the look on Y/n’s face.

“It requires you to crouch down,” upon his wide eyes she quickly added, “I’m not gonna kiss you, but I will kiss your cheek if you let me.”

“Oh,” Bob couldn’t believe what he was hearing, but Y/n didn’t appear to be lying. “Oh—um.”

“If you’re not comfortable I totally understand.”

“No, no, no, i’m fine with that. It just threw me off for a second. But y-yeah, sure that’d be cool.” Y/n giggled, and motioned for him to bend to her level.

“Get that camera ready, Daisy.” The girl gave a thumbs up, and Y/n stood on her tippy toes while Bob hunched over so her lips were level with his cheek. She gently pressed a kiss to the skin, holding it there for a few seconds to make sure Daisy got the picture. Bob’s face was hot, obviously flustered by the contact but he managed to keep it together. Y/n was in the same boat, heart pumping at tad faster than usual. She pulled away, falling back onto her heels as Bob stood back straight.

“U-uh well thank you,” he laughed, adjusting the collar of his shirt with loopy grin. “That’s definitely the highlight of my year.”

Y/n giggled, stepping away and picking her backpack up. “Be sure to tag me if you post it,” her wink had Bob’s heart skip. His attraction to the Olympian was growing by the second, but Bob knew deep down nothing would come out of it. They were on two opposite spectrums. Y/n was a world class athlete about to compete on the worlds greatest sporting stage for the second time in just two months, while Bob was about to attend the prestigious Navy Fighter Weapon’s school. The thought of them possibly ever getting together, let alone a date, was a fantasy.

Bob snapped out of his thoughts, giving Y/n a nod, “I’ll make sure to.” He then looks to his sister briefly before back at Y/n. “Sorry for holding you up, but thank you so much for the photos and signing her program.”

“It’s a pleasure, really,” Y/n told him and Daisy when the girl thanked her after Bob, “Thank you both for coming out today again. I hope you have safe travels back home wherever you’re going. I’m so happy, Daisy, you had a wonderful time—good luck with your gymnastics. Maybe the roles will one day reverse, and I’ll be the one cheering you on from the stands,” It was evident Y/n’s words meant a lot to Daisy. The girl’s expression read a fire was beginning to ignite in her eyes. “ Oh and on that note…” Y/n removed one of the two armbands wrapped around each wrist. She’d had them since joining the Junior national team and wore them before and every meet. Almost like a good luck charm.

“This is for you, consider it my birthday gift to you. These armbands have served as a good luck charm for me, I’d like you to have one.” Daisy gasped, eyes wide as she took the band in her hand.

“But…if this is your good luck charm, shouldn’t you have it for the Olympics?”

Y/n raised her wrist with the matching band, “I still have this one to do the job.”

“What do you say, Daiz?” Bob said to his sister, who still appeared awestruck. He mouthed to the Olympian, ‘Thank you.’ Y/n gave a smile with a sly wink.

“Thank you,” Daisy finally breathed. “Thank you so so much. I’ll cherish it forever.” Y/n gave one last hug to Daisy before shaking Bob’s hand and waving goodbye to them as they went separate ways. “Good luck in Rio!” Daisy shouted after her, “Win the gold again for us!” Y/n gave the girl her word, feeling a slight sadness when she got to the parking lot where her parents were waiting for her.

“What took you so long, honey?”

“Oh I was talking with some supporters. They were really sweet and we just got carried away,” she explained before switching the conversation.

Though Y/n pushed aside her thoughts of the cute blue-eyed Bob as the days to Rio got closer, she sometimes thought of him and his sister. Y/n never wanted to let her supporters down. Some had been with her since her debut on the national team. Others were residents of her hometown, who’d known Y/n as a baby. Lots came after the London Games. Making the team for Rio was not just her dream, but the dream of the people who admired her. Wanting her to accomplish the impossible when it almost seems too good to be true. Letting them down would be something Y/n couldn’t forgive herself for. Y/n vowed to never let that happen.

And after the night of the trials, she felt that more than ever.

Read Part 2!

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