loveyouprongs · 7 months ago
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hope we grow old, but we never grow up
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james potter x fem!reader
upcoming content: fluff! mentions of reader being anxious in crowds, mentions of just having had sex but not smut, mentions of alcohol. lmk if you think i missed anything :)
authors note: i hope you like this! i’m still new to writing, so i tried my best! inspired by one of my favorite songs by one of my favorite artists: never grow up by niall horan!🎶 despite any photos used in the header, it’s important that people of all races can identify with my work so please let me know if any of the descriptive language i use is exclusionary, i’m trying my best!
word count: 2.8k
masterlist
“I hope we still dance like we're fallin' in love, Hope we still drink like we're back in the pub”
the noise inside the pub was so loud you could feel the floor shake beneath your feet, or maybe it was just your brain making it up. you were getting jostled and a man elbowed your shoulder, causing the cranberry juice in your cup to slosh over the edge. a sharp gasp escaped your lips that you were sure would get lost in the rowdy atmosphere but james quickly snapped his head to look back at you, eyes trailing down to the red liquid dripping down your hand.
“y’alright, sweetness?” big, brown eyes peering at you as the hustle and bustle of the crowd moved on around you both.
“i’m good,” you said back softly, squeezing his hand that had been tightly grasped in yours since the moment you both walked in. today was the final match of the rugby championship and everyone in town was together to watch in anticipation… and drink, no matter the outcome. james had sweetly invited you out with his friends a few nights ago and you of course said yes. the two of you had begun dating a few weeks ago, and you were eager to learn everything about him and spend as much time as possible with him, even if it meant trudging through sweaty, drunk bodies, resisting the urge to cover your ears.
“sirius got here early so he got a table for us already, we’re almost there,” james assured, squeezing your hand back. as you neared the large booth tucked away in the corner, the weight in your chest lifted at the sight of remus rolling his eyes at whatever sirius was saying, waving his hands expressively.
“they’re here! finally!” marlene squeaked and everyone’s eyes turned towards the two of you and they started making room for you both in the booth. you couldn’t stop the tingly feeling in your chest at how easily they accepted you in their tight-knit group.
“mate, where the fuck have you been?’ sirius exclaimed, slapping a hand on james back.
“if you couldn’t tell, he’s already had a bit to drink,” remus muttered in your ear as you leaned in for a half hug around him. when you first met, you were sure he didn’t like you despite james’ reassurances that he was just a quiet person naturally. you understood that, being quite shy yourself, but you still desperately wanted his friends to like you. so when you instinctually gave him a soft hug for the first time and he didn’t pull away, even initiating it the next time you saw him, you were sure you and remus were becoming good friends.
“oh, i’m sure,” you responded, eyes widening at the collection of empty pint glasses that littered the table.
“what’s the score?” james asked, cleaning his glasses against his sweater with one hand, squinting up at the screen, the other stayed wrapped around yours, even though you were both sitting comfortably.
“not good jamesie, why’d y’think i’ve been drinking so much already?” sirius said, taking another swig of his beer.
throughout the night james was intensely focused on the match, going between not even breathing as he stared at the screen to groaning or shouting with sirius whenever his team made a play. you were fine with the fact that he wasn’t paying much attention to you, knowing this game was so important to him, and you and marlene were catching up anyway.
“y’having a good time, honey bee?” james asked, looking down at you for the first time in a while, his large arm wrapping around your shoulders, warmth immediately overtaking you. you could tell he’s well past tipsy, eyes alight with bubbly frivolity.
“honey bee? that’s new”
“‘cus you’re so sweet,” his hand that wasn’t grabbing at your shoulder came up to stroke your cheek and you were sure he could feel it warming up under his touch. the subsequent smirk that crawled across his face affirmed your theory, all adoring if not a tad smug, but he was charming enough to get away with it.
“i am having a good time, yeah, i mean, i don’t really understand what’s going on but it’s cute seeing you so focused.”
james laughed and you felt his chest rumble against your cheek as he tugged you in closer, “mm, it’s probably good that you don’t anyway, we’re getting absolutely shitted on.”
“it’s only half time, it can still turn around!” sirius slurred emotionally with his head in his hands, a lot like the other patrons in the bar disappointed at the team's performance.
“keep telling yourself that, mate,” remus said, patting his back pitifully, still reading his book.
“you want another drink? i can go get you one,” james offered and you shook your head, preferring to stay relatively sober so james could have as much fun as he wanted. “you’ll let me know if you do though, right? anything you want, i’ll do it for you.”
for the umpteenth time tonight, and for the millionth time in your relationship so far, james made your heart stop as he looked down at you with his unwavering gaze. you knew he was only offering to navigate the crowded bar for you, knowing your aversion to crowds, but such a declaration paired with the tightness of his grip around your shoulders, how you could feel his heart beat against the soft of your arm if you focused enough. something about this moment, tucked away in a pub booth, felt like it was the beginning of forever.
“i know,” you breathed out softly and james lips quirked up in a small smile, as if instinctively, and with a single nod and press of his lips to your head before he turned back to the screen, you knew he felt the same way.
in a way that could only be described as a miracle, the team pulled through and as the reporters announced a home win, the crowd erupted in cheers. “praise be to god!” sirius cried, reaching for remus’ pint while remus tried to keep him away. he’d been cut off around thirty minutes ago when he attempted to throw marlene’s purse at the screen.
“sit down! you’re not even religious!” remus sighed, wrangling in his wild friend. you could only smile as remus tried to feign annoyance but couldn’t help but laugh when sirius started pressing congratulatory, sloppy kisses to his cheek.
“i can’t believe it!” james cried, wrapping his arms around your front, your back pressed to his chest as he towered over you. you were still sat in the booth but james had stood up five minutes before the match ended, pacing to get his nervous energy out.
you titled your head back to look up at him, genuine happiness radiating off his large form. “that was incredible!”
he looked down at you with a beaming grin, “it definitely was! did you see that last play? blimey, can’t believe we pulled it off!”
as he spoke you twisted on your butt to face him, and he caged you in between his spread thighs. “i know! i don’t know how they do it, i would get so tired- oh!”
you were no longer sitting, now fully upright with your feet dangling off the floor, arms tightly strewn around james’ neck as he lifted you in a hug. you could feel his hair tickle your cheek as he tucked his face into your neck. he spun you both around in staggering circles, having to stop when he felt the alcohol quickly begin to travel back up his stomach.
james couldn’t believe how perfect today was. his favorite team winning, surrounded by his friends, and at the center of it all was you. like a figurine from a snow globe come to life, so charming and sweet. so open to becoming friends with his friends, liking what he likes; he still doesn’t know how or why you agreed to a date with him, nonetheless put your trust in his rough hands, but he could only hope that soon he could carry your heart, and you his.
“this whole day is incredible,” he said, lips brushing against your ear as he set you down.
your guys’ bubble was popped when marlene shook your shoulders, not quite as gone as everyone else, but getting there as sangria glossed her lips “babes do you hear this?!” she let out loudly and you tuned back into reality, music now blasting through the speakers as the patrons danced and sung along happily.
“sorry to steal her from ya, but this is our song!” marlene slurred winking up at james who only shook his head and watched you get dragged to the middle of the makeshift dance floor and jump about with the other girls.
“to doing this all next year?” remus spoke, handing james a glass of water, with one for himself as well.
james chuckled and watched as sirius infiltrated your dance circle, horribly attempting to break dance, but you’d never guess based off of the encouraging woops! and wows! from you and the girls hyping him up.
james could do this again next year, and the year after that, he’d quite like it, he thinks.
“I think that we could be like that, every single Sunday in our Sunday best. Laughin' over nothin' with a full wine glass.”
“honey bee, i’m hopeless with this,” james grumbled, giving up on his tie and falling back against the bed. at your silence he rolled on his side to catch a glimpse of your face through the mirror. your lips twisted at the side, surely holding in a laugh you refused to grant him with, not wanting him to know he���s softening you up again.
“it might help if you button your shirt first,” you said, finally turning to face him. even with his face half squished against the mattress and hair sticking up in all directions he was still the most beautiful boy you’ve ever seen.
his eyes slowly grazed up your figure, body he was just ravaging now covered in soft, flowy blue fabric, and your hair was tied up neatly with a bow. James let out a low whistle, heat immediately rising to your cheeks, “well would y’look at you,” he mumbled as if he was speaking to himself, “s’ gorgeous.”
you took a minute to collect yourself, shaking your head at how he still made you this flustered this far into your relationship. “thank you, love. you could look beautiful too if you got dressed.” you now sat primly on the sheets beside him, stroking his cheek.
“too tired,” he said, voice low as he engulfed the hand of yours on his cheek in his and brought it to his lips, “you really wore me out, baby.”
“james!” you chastised, trying to pull your hand away fruitlessly. he smirked against it and pressed a final kiss to your palm.
“what? you did! absolutely mindblowing! that thing y’ did with your hips… oh baby!” he moaned and you slapped a hand against his chest, walking back over to the mirror.
“clearly i didn’t hold up my end of the bargain if you’re able to get dressed s’ fast, lemme make it up to you, honey.”
“no!” you squeaked, quickly gathering your make up and running to the bathroom, james’ laugh echoing behind you. any more talk like that and he actually would convince you to go back to bed with him for another round. but you promised you’d go to marlene’s birthday dinner and you were really looking forward to it. in the back of your mind, you knew it was a mistake to get tangled up in the sheets so close to when you had to leave, knowing james could be absolutely insatiable when he wanted to, but you couldn’t resist!
for the next few minutes, you both got ready in silence. you applying light mascara and blush, and james trying to manage his hair. “need a haircut soon,” he said breaking the silence as he reached over you in the bathroom.
“me too, i think. but i like your hair long.”
“i know you do,” james remarked back, a haughty smirk donning his features once again, falling into a pure smile as you playfully rolled your eyes. as he combed some product into his thick locks you took in his appearance, a plain white t-shirt that hugged his muscles and framed his arms in a way that made you question if he was really from this earth or a Greek god, and fitted slacks, you recognized as the one’s you bought him a few months earlier, after claiming he had no nice going out clothes aside from jeans and the one tuxedo he had for a friends wedding.
“you look really nice, james” you said and he cast his gaze down to you through the mirror.
“thank you, sweetness,” he said back and two sentences, as simple as that, caused the love in the room to blow up like a balloon. the sultry, teasing energy from before now a pure adoration that hung in the air.
“we’re a good looking couple, aren’t we,” james said as you both finished, now looking at the two of you in the mirror.
a startled laugh escaped you, “i suppose we are,”
“no wonder i always want us to be having sex, i mean who could blame me!” james exclaimed, walking to the door, keys jingling in his hand.
“please get it all out now before we get to marlene’s, this is supposed to be a classy party!”
“oh, alright! but i’ll remember this when you’re grabbing at me later,” he said, holding open the car door for you.
“we’ll see about that.”
the sun was beginning to set, casting marlene’s back garden in an orange glow. she set up tables and chairs, all holding delicious food and wine, and fairy lights were strung along the awning.
“marls this looks amazing! happy birthday!” you said, giving her a hug.
“thank you! i love your dress! potter… you cleaned up nicely,”
“it was hard to find a clean shirt, but this one passed the smell test, didn’t it, love?” he joked back, twin gags coming from you and marlene before the three of you erupted into laughter.
“i want you to come meet my best friend at work, she’s so nice!” marlene said and in a flash you both were gone, pastel skirts flowing in the wind.
“‘bout time you got here!” sirius called, hugging james, “was starting to thing you wouldn’t show,”
“sorry, got caught up at home…”
remus rolled his eyes, already knowing what was coming.
“…if you know what i mean,” james finished, wiggling his eyebrows, eating up sirius’ wolf whistles and high fives.
“you keep us oddly informed of your sex life, you know that mate?” remus asked, pushing off james’ hand that took purchase in his hair.
“what else are brothers for?”
“ugh!” remus groaned.
“are they bothering you, rem?” you asked, pulling up a chair at their table.
“aren’t they always?” james and sirius let out matching offended scoffs as you laughed.
“y’always take remus’ side, ‘s not fair!” james whined.
“i have to! it takes two of us to watch over the two of you!”
“exactly,” remus laughed, crossing his arms across his chest.
“well in that case, the two of you can stay here, while jamesie and i settle a bet,” sirius said, mischievously, lighting the adrenaline in your boyfriend’s eyes.
“do i want to know?” you asked james, who sent you a blinding smile.
“siri here thinks he’s faster than me. than me! can you believe him?” james said, stretching his calf. his thighs were hugged wonderfully in his trousers and you quickly darted a glance at marlene’s beautiful -yet muddy- garden.
“have to prove him wrong, don’t i?”
“yeah, you can’t be datin’ a loser, a slow one at that!” sirius retaliated and you knew there’s no way you could talk him out of it then.
“just make sure to be careful of your nice clothes, love,” you pleaded, “you look so handsome, the last thing you need is to be covered in grass stains.”
“promise, i’ll try my best honey bee,” james said back, cupping your cheeks so your lips squished together and pressing a kiss atop them.
“c’mon let’s get this race started! or are you scared, pretty boy?” sirius egged and james ran up besides him. as the boys took off you knew it was only a matter of time before it resulted in a friendly yet frantic wrestling match, as most of their competitions did. so you captured the image of your tall, broad-shouldered boyfriend, dressed like he just came out of a catalog, running under the setting sun in your head now to look back on fondly. his childish giggles carried throughout the air and you had a pathetic smile on your face despite yourself.
“you’ll just have to hose him off before you get in the car,” remus said, content with sitting with you, watching your loved one's mess about, truly happy.
“it’s my own fault for thinking he could keep a white shirt clean.”
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i-am-church-the-cat · 10 months ago
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Just, imagine for a second
You’re an Australian ex-rugby player living in London circa 2016.
You’re married, just had or are about to have a son, doing some personal training work with motorsport athletes.
You go into your gym one day and see this skinny little blond kid, pushing himself to the max, trying desperately to bulk up a little, but all alone. Your newly honed Dad Instincts are telling you something’s up.
So you go over, ask to spot him, start learning about his life. You’re surprised to hear the squick of a distinctly non-British accent. You suddenly have a tiny American teenage boy with big, eager eyes on your hands and you do the one thing you think will work: you ask him about sports.
That’s not the last time you’ll meet him, in fact you’ll continue to meet him regularly over the course of a year.
You talk about American sports, to start with. NFL, NBA, MLB, MLS. You’re almost surprised by the scope of the kid’s knowledge so you talk about Premier league teams and cricket and Aussie football. He meets you every step of the way.
Finally, you just ask him, what are you doing here all alone, kid?
He’s a racecar driver, he says. Just won the karting junior world championship, trying to make the jump up to formula cars. He’s been living in England for about a year now but he’s lived in Europe since he was 11, been on his own besides from karting coaches, driving coaches, and teaches since he was 12. He says, I’m gonna drive in Formula 1.
And damn. You remember how hard it was for you moving from Australia to the UK, and you were a full grown adult. This kid’s in an entirely new country, working his butt off for something most people can only dream of, and he’s doing it almost entirely on his own.
And you think about your son, so small, still reliant every day on his mom and dad. And you think you can help this kid, and not just guiding him on workouts or diets. You can be a mentor, a role model, a teacher and a friend. You can be a helping hand on this kid’s way of achieving everything he ever dreamed of.
Your professional days are behind you. You’re more than happy to sit back and help the younger generation help.
And now you’re watching, 7 years later, as that little boy in the gym who turned into an older brother for your kids, a helping hand for your wife, a friend for you- you’re watching him become everything he ever wanted to be.
That little boy you found all those years ago has turned into one of the strongest men you know.
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brotherwtf · 4 months ago
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i feel like these lyrics would be super fitting for an sports au where bucky’s a football/rugby/baseball (basically any sports with a ball hahah) player
Shirts off, and your friends lift you up over their heads
Beer sticking to the floor
Cheers chanted, cause they said
There was no chance, trying to be
The greatest in the league
Where's the trophy?
He just comes running over to me
Touch down
Call the amateurs and
Cut 'em from the team
Ditch the clowns, get the crown
Baby I'm the one to beat
Cause the sign on your heart
Said it's still reserved for me
Honestly, who are we to fight the alchemy?
ahhh that is so cute! I'm thinking a college au maybe? classic jock/nerd au with Bucky and Gale, super cute and sweet
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Gale is going to school for astrophysics and astronomy, he hopes to do research or possibly become a professor once he gets his PhD
John signed on to play D1 baseball, but studies literature when he's not playing
They almost never cross paths, but when they do meet it's classic romcom bullshit
Gale is running late to an exam and John is late to practice and they literally run into each other on campus
Gale is knocked flat on his ass, books and pencils falling from his backpack and John immediately feels bad
It doesn't help that John is the most beautiful person Gale has seen, or that John is literally drowning in Gale's blue eyes bcs they just kinda sit there
It isn't until Gales scrambling for his books and pens that John finally snaps out of it and helps him up and desperately asks Gale for his number
Gale blushes as he gives it to John, and basically runs to his exam, John thinks about him all during practice and his teammates make fun of him endlessly
They start texting and talking more, meeting at the library or the dining hall and just talking
Gale finally musters up the courage to ask John on a proper date and John is absolutely ecstatic
They go into the city and get dinner and ice cream, after that just sort of wandering around until Gale says he should probably get back
John walks Gale all the way to his dorm, and presses a shy kiss to his lips to say goodbye, and Gale blushes endlessly
They start dating, and Gale starts going to more of John's baseball games to support him (aka look at John's ass and thighs in those tight baseball pants)
He doesn't quite understand the game, but always cheers for John when he's batting. John always beams the brightest when he can see Gale in the crowd, sometimes blowing him a kiss before hitting it out of the park
What if during one of their championship games, it's the bottom of the ninth, they're all tied up, bases loaded, and Johns up to bat. Gale is in the crowd, obviously, and he's nervous, wringing his hands together in anticipation
It's a full count (Three balls and two strikes) and this next pitch could either make or break their win. The entire crowd watches in anticipation, leaning forward in their seats
John looks into the crowd and spots Gale, blows him a kiss before turning back to the pitcher. Gale is probably thinking "you dummy, you don't have time for that now you need to focus"
And John hits a fucking grand slam and the crowd screams. Gale literally jumps to his feet and cheers when John rounds all the bases and returns to home with the rest of his team hugging and grabbing him
John manages to pull himself away from his team and finds Gale who's made his way up to the edge of the bleachers. He pulls John into an enthusiastic kiss and hugs him so close he feels like John might struggle to breathe, but he's too fucking proud of John to care
A couple of their teammates (I'm thinking like Curt and Rosie) pour Gatorade over John's head while he's still hugging Gale and then immediately regret it once they see they accidently soaked Gale, but Gale is laughing too hard to actually care
The boys try to drag John out to the bar, but he insists on staying behind and celebrating quietly with Gale, who just beams at the thought
In celebration, they go into the city and get ice cream, just like their first date
eeekk I loved this one! nerd/jock tropes are one of my favorites I hold them near and dear to my heart. lmk if you guys have any more hcs for this!
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formula1fanfiction · 7 months ago
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Pierre Gasly / Max Verstappen
Title: I'm all yours, i've got no control
Pairing: Pierre Gasly / Max Verstappen
Characters: Pierre Gasly, Max Verstappen, Charles Leclerc, George Russell, Carlos Sainz, Lewis Hamilton
Prompt: Gasly-Max, fighting for world championship is create so much pressure and to Max the best way is to deal with is fucking other drivers
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The best way to deal with pressure of winning world championships? Sex. It's the races that he can't control that get to him the most. His car blowing up on him is not ideal. He kicks what's left of his car in frustration and thinks of potential fucks.  
George? He's been a good fuck in the past, very pliant and happy to do anything but George crashed today and he went there after Singapore and George had just cried all over his cock. He doesn't want to comfort someone, he wants to fuck them.
Charles? Another good previous fuck, but Charles has been on the podium today and he's the type of person who can't contain his own excitement and he's not in the mood for Charles' bragging right now.
Lewis would just say no, as would Carlos, Checo and Fernando Alonso. Then it hits him Gasly. He's not been with the Frenchman for a long time, not since he was demoted from Red bull, but it had always been good fun.
"Gasly." He finds Pierre in the lobby of the hotel. "Max?" Pierre turns around a smile on his face. Max has never noticed before, but he's beautiful. "Did you want something?" Max realises his been staring at him for too long.
 "Remember in 2019 when you would sub for me when things weren't going well? Do you still do that?" A flicker of something flashes on Pierre's face, something Max can't read but he quickly changes it back to a smile.
"Well I was going to celebrate with Charles and I don't really bottom any more but I guess I can make a one off exception for you." Max is bouncing on the soles of his feet in delight as he leads Pierre back to his hotel room.
"Are we just going to get into it?" Pierre shrugs his Alpine jacket off and lays it over the arm of the chair. "Yes, does the traffic light system still work for you?" Pierre shrugs. "That works for me."
Max decides it's time just to get fucking on with it, Pierre yelps being taken completely by surprise, he's rugby tackled onto the bed, hands pinned either side of his head. "What's your colour on this?" Max asks, his hand sneaking down Pierre's chest, pushing up his team shirt and squeezes his nipple. "Green."  
"Do you still love it Pierre? Being tied to the bed and coming on my cock alone?" Max dips his head down and bites Pierre's right nipple, he Frenchman hisses underneath. "Whatever you want, sir."  sir, fuck he wasn't expecting that.
"Good thing I came prepared to deal with sluts." Max always comes prepared for his kinky fantasies and takes out two pair of hand cuffs from the draw in the night stand. "Do you always travel to race weekends with handcuffs sir." Max bites his lip to stop himself smiling. "I do, actually."
Max locks the first pair around Pierre's right wrist and attaches it to the bed. "Colour?" Pierre's eyes darken with lust the blue completely disappearing and turning black "Green, sir." Max nods approvingly and repeats the action with the left wrist.
"You look very comfortable for someone who says he isn't a bottom anymore." Pierre shrugs, the best he can anyway. "Maybe, I like the fact you can do anything you want to me sir and i'm helpless." Fuck, Max almost comes in his pants.
Pierre pulls lightly on his restraints just to test them but is cut off when Max lightly smacks his thigh. "Stop that or ill spank you."Sorry Daddy." Pierre whispers. Fucking Pierre, knows exactly what he's doing, driving Max bloody insane that is.
Max decides to ignore the daddy comment, not giving Pierre the satisfaction, instead he takes out a bottle of lube and a condom. Max drizzles the lube over his fingers and pushes up Pierre's hips, until they are pressed up against his own chest. "Daddy..." Pierre whines, like the little brat that he is but Max catches him off guard and pushes a single digit inside, twisting his finger, Pierre accepts the first finger easily, pretty suspicious for someone who is a top but Max doesn't comment on it and, adds  a second finger.
Max takes a long time opening Pierre up just to piss of the other man. "Daddy please, I need your cock." Max ignores him completely and strokes over his prostate, drawing groans from the older  man. "Daddy." Pierre whines even more, bucking his hips up into thin air, trying to get any type friction. Max only takes pity on him when the bulge in his own jeans becomes too hard to handle.
Pierre watches, his mouth watering as Max pulls down his pants and boxers together, freeing his massive cock. Max takes himself into his own hand and gives himself a few strokes, forcing himself to stop and quickly rolls on the condom. "Colour, Pierre?"
"Green." That's all consent Max needs, he nudges the head of his cock against Pierre's lube slick entrance  and slams inside with one hard thrust. Pierre growls and digs his fingers into the metal of the cuffs. "Love it when you fill me up with your cock." Max has to use every inch of his will power to hold back from fucking Pierre senselessly. "daddy, please." Pierre whines and tries to push his hips up and down,  however Max has his hips in a tight grip, not letting the Frenchman move at all.
"Such a naughty slut, begging for me like that." Max, just can't take teasing Pierre anymore, his own cock is crying for attention buried inside of Pierre. Max pulls all the way out, only to slam back inside of him this time, picking up a rough, deep pace, slamming inside Pierre with a mighty force. Pierre makes the cutest noises when he's been fucked hard, each little sound only turns Max on even more. Max finds Pierre's prostate petty quickly  and angles each of his thrusts to hit the swollen gland, pulling even more noises from Pierre's throat.
"I need to come, fuck." Pierre arches his hips up off the bed, Max quickly puts a stop to it and grips his hand tightly around the base of Robert's cock. "Bad little sluts have to wait until Daddy comes first." He can't believe he's using Pierre's embarrassing words, but he's way too gone to give a shit.
Max  pounds into Pierre with all his might as he feels his orgasm building into the pit of his stomach, it only takes three more thrusts and he's coming inside of the condom. Max pulls out and rolls off the condom, making Pierre whine in frustration. "Daddy?"
"Do you think you deserve to come? Sweet little Pierre." Max  asks as he starts teasing Pierre's cock, dragging his hand up and down the pulsating member really slowly. "Please daddy, i've been a really good boy" Max starts to stroke the hard cock a little quicker. "Ok baby, come for daddy." That's all Pierre needs to hear and he's coming hard, shooting his load high into the air and splattering all over his own chest. "Good boy, daddy's good boy."
Max cringes as he reaches over and releases Pierre's hands from the handcuffs. "Can't believe you have a daddy kink." Pierre giggles. "I don't, I just knew I could get you to play along."
Somehow, despite Pierre being the one locked up, it feels like Max was never really in control at all but it's made him feel a hell of a lot better.
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ummick · 7 months ago
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Mick Schumacher On Fashion, Le Mans and Fronting Tommy Hilfiger's New Campaign
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It's a big year for sports, as the Paris Olympics near, tennis champs prep for Wimbledon, and the Euros inch closer. In the midst of it all Tommy Hilfiger is getting in on the action with the release of an International Games collection. Refashioning timeless icons for the new generation, the collection is a modern interpretation of the brand's 1996 capsule collection released to celebrate the Olympics arriving in Atlanta, reworking track-ready styles including archival varsity jackets, rugby jerseys and basketball vests in Tommy's signature red, white and blue. Speaking on the new collection, Hilfiger says: "The sporting calendar sets the cultural pulse for the year, and 2024's shaping up to be amazing. We're building on our legacy of working with pioneers in sport and reimagining timeless American icons through an archival lens." To front the campaign, the US house has turned to the global sporting stage to curate a team of athletes who embody the brand's spirit, including All-Pro NFL wide receiver Stefon Diggs, college basketball guard Deja Kelly, star of the all-Japan skateboarding association Aori Nishimura, and Formula 1 driver and current member of Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team, Mick Schumacher. Ahead of the collection drop, in the conversation below we speak to Schumacher about his first memories of Tommy Hilfiger, his personal style, and prepping for Le Mans.
Ella Joyce: "What was it like working with Tommy Hilfiger? Do you have personal memories of the brand?" Mick: "It was great! Not only is it exciting to wear Tommy and to have attended the NYFW show with all the exceptional details, but to be a part of the campaign and the bigger brand story is just incredible. A personal memory for me is when the brand worked with Ferrari back in the day, before their current partnership with the Mercedes-AMG F1 Team. My dad used to bring back so much kit and, honestly, I was just running around as the best-dressed kid in school!" EJ: "How does the campaign resonate with you?" Mick: "I really believe Tommy was able to create something that brings both sport and style to the table. I'm sporty, I love to do my workouts and be active outdoors, and to be able to do that fashionably is so important. I was so happy to be part of this campaign with other athletes, too. It was amazing to get to know them better and see how their sport and personalities impact their individual styles." EJ: "Off the track, how would you describe your personal style?" Mick: "I think the best word would be 'changeable.' I love to experiment and try new things with my style. I think you can see this across my social media, but I would probably look different if you saw me on the street two days in a row. From a classic look to a more casual or baggy streetwear look, I love the creativity that comes with personal style. It's so fun."
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EJ: "You're currently competing in the 2024 FIA World Endurance Championship. How's it going? What's coming up next for you?" Mick: "Yes, we just had our first race in Qatar, a ten-hour race! It was the first time I had to be on for that amount of time while learning and experiencing that type of race, but it was an interesting run. We learned a lot as a team. One of the cars even scored points, so it proves that we're on pace and the project is moving in the right direction, especially as everyone is gearing up for Le Mans." EJ: "Do you have any pre-race rituals?" Mick: "I don't, actually. It depends on how I'm feeling in the moment. If I'm nervous or stressed, or whatever it is, I'll always try to adapt to what's happening. Maybe one day I'm nervous so I have to work on calming down, and another day I'm too calm so I have to pump myself up. It all depends on the day."
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EJ: "You're photographed alongside a host of other athletes for the campaign. How do you think your generation of athletes compares to generations which have come before?" Mick: "I think we are really different to athletes from the previous generation. Of course, social media and phones have made an impact, but it's also because we're so precise about what we're doing. We have strict training and a solid laid-out plan in front of us on how to achieve our desired results. We have so much research and information which leads our way, while back in the day it was more experimental." EJ: "America and collegiate heritage heavily inspire Tommy Hilfiger. Is there a specific place which inspires you?" Mick: "The racetrack. I've always been a part of it, from doing laps in a car to just being on the track. In terms of style, I've always been interested in fashion, most likely inspired by my dad at a young age; however, my girlfriend is heavily involved in the fashion world, so it's helpful when I need to know what looks good and what doesn't. Inspiration is all around, so it depends on where I look!"
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thistlecatfics · 10 months ago
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Once a Flier by Albuss (4k, E, Flintwood)
Marcus Flint began his broom racing career under the coaching of Jan Orion in 1992. Three years later, he graduated Hogwarts with the longest tenure as Slytherin Quidditch Captain since the beginning of the century. In 1997, he was living out of the track locker room and on the couch of a teammate, his world in shambles as war reigned over Magical Britain. That same year, he won his first World Championships. He is long and lithe, shoulders broad but arms and cheekbones sunken with veins and sinew. He’s doing fine, he says. He has his sport. Oliver doesn’t ask the details of what being young and bigoted and Slytherin meant in the years before the millennium turned; it’s taboo. He doesn’t expect it’s good. Besides, Flint is right; he does have his sport. Except when he doesn’t.
(I've decided to separately rec amazing fics that are at least one year old with less than 1,000 hits for underrated day)
As a college runner turned competitive rugby player (none of the abusive coaching but EDs were in the water and it was Not Good), this fic!!! This courageous, vulnerable, loving fic!
I love how clean the language is here. It's never overwrought, which I think really suits both these characters and this experience. It's so obvious what's going on, but it's never fully said.
It's a personal fic for the author, and you can really feel it. As a former competitive athlete, I'm a bit picky about my portrayals of athletes (hp fandom is great for many things but we jocks are few and far between here), but the details about training really add to the immersive experience.
"Oliver joins him against the tree. “You’re flying again,” he states, surprised.
Flint shrugs. “I never stopped. It hurts to fly; it hurts not to fly. I don’t have a choice.”"
Isn't that the realest thing.
My other recs for @hprecfest here
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tanalogyosc · 5 months ago
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"Ha, haha! I won again! Boo-yah, how about that?! Huh?!" "Dude, it's literally just poker."
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Name: Cowell Bulls Object: Cowbell Gender: Male
A brass and vocal person, Cowbell is technically not those but he certainly is one.
He is the very passionate and boisterous drummer of a band called "Melodic Fifths", also serving as the local himbo of the group. Cowbell excels at both sports and music, having almost won a rugby championship before an injury left him unable to do constant heavy sports.
Despite that, he is still athletic and musically knowledgable thanks to his father, Cow Bell, who was once a well-known musician in the past before his peaceful retirement. After the injury, Cowbell decided to pursue his father's legacy by joining his university friend's band.
Nowadays, his passionate and skillful drumming has made him gain many males and females alike which he happily reciprocates as he is adorned by gifts and letters.
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scotianostra · 7 months ago
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Happy Birthday Scotland’s most successful Olympian, Sir Chris Hoy.
Born in Edinburgh on March 23rd 1975,the 1982 film E.T the Extra Terrestrial inspired Chris Hoy to cycle. He was then a mere six year old boy. Between the age of seven and fourteen, Chris Hoy raced for BMX and was ranked two in Britain, ninth in the World and seventh in Europe. He then received a scholarship from Kwik-Fit and Slazenger to compete in the United States and in Europe.
Chris Hoy was also into rowing and rugby as a student. The first cycling club that he ever joined was Dunedin Cycling Club in 1992. Chris then started focusing on only track cycling from the year 1994 joining the City of Edinburgh Racing Club, his main events included the Team Sprint and the one kilometre Time Trial. It was Team Sprint that brought him his very first World Championship medal. His team came second in 1999. The first World Title for his team came in the year 2002 at Copenhagen in the Ballerup Velodrome. He also won the one kilometre time trial that same very year beating Arnaud Tournant. He was World champion in the years 2004, 2006 and 2007.
Chris won his first Olympic gold medal in Athens 2004 in the Kilo – an event that was dropped from the programme for Beijing 2008. Chris took this in his stride and switched his focus to three other track sprint events – the Keirin, Sprint and Team Sprint. He went on to win a gold medal in all three at the Beijing Olympics, cementing his name in the history books.
Following his historic hat-trick of gold medals at the Beijing Olympics, Chris was voted 2008 BBC Sports Personality of the Year. He was also awarded a Knighthood in the 2009 New Year Honours list, capping an extraordinary year. At the 2012 Olympics in London, Chris won his fifth and sixth gold medals – in the Keirin and Team Sprint – becoming OUR most successful Olympic athlete of all time with six gold medals and one silver.
In all he won 11 Gold medals, 6 Silver and 6 Bronze in World Championships, 6 Golds and a Silver at Olympics, and 2 Gold and 2 Bronze at Commonwealth games.
Chris retired from competitive cycling in 2013 he was the first Briton since 1908 to win three gold medals in a single Olympic Games, and one of the most successful Olympic cyclists of all time.
Following his retirement, Chris remains passionate about bikes and has successfully made the transition into the business world following the launch of his bike range HOY Bikes, cycling accessories and clothing. He has published a series of children’s books – Flying Fergus – and is currently working on a second series.
In June 2016, Chris added to his record list of achievements when he finished the world’s most demanding motorsport endurance race, the Le Mans 24 Hours, on his debut. Last year he had a miracle escape after crashing a racing car at more than 100mph at Silverstone race track.
Chris has become a polished public speaker and media presenter, and he was a key part of the BBC TV’s commentary and punditry team covering the 2016 Rio Olympics and 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.
Hoy has been Ambassador for SAMH (Scottish Association for Mental Health) since 2009. In that time he has devoted many hours to raising awareness of and funds for the mental health cause.In December 2016 and December 2017, Hoy supported the Scottish Social Enterprise Social Bite by sleeping out at their Sleep in the Park events to end homelessness in Scotland..
Last year Chris revealed he was diagnosed with cancer, although he never said what type, he is upbeat regarding it in February he said;
"I'm optimistic, positive and surrounded by love for which I'm truly grateful. As you might imagine, the last few months have been incredibly difficult. However, I currently feel fine.
"It's an exciting year of work ahead, not least with the Paris Olympics in July. I can't wait to get stuck in, have fun and share it with you all."
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atotaltaitaitale · 2 months ago
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It was a gold medal in my book… from start to finish and everything in between.
Warning: it’s very long. I know this is the era of short format and 30-sec attention spans…but please indulge me and read on. Thank you 🥰
What it is like to host a woldwide event under the microscope of the new social media phenomenon?
I feel like this is the first Olympic Games that is being held where social media and more specifically with the rise of TikTok during the Covid-19 pandemic are so prevalent in our daily lives. Of course pictures were shared on Instagram and Facebook for previous Olympic Games but the big change this time around is the mini video format of TikTok where everyone has become a “reporter” (not to use the term “influencer”) and as such gets to reach a worldwide audience with their personal opinions in an under 1-minute format. Opinions that become trends and in order to get views (and maybe even a monetary compensation) it is clear that “click-baits” are the way to go. Our brains have been hardwired through evolution to focus on the negative, and when adding to the mix Frenchbashing and France’s national sport of complaining you then get the perfect storm for what seemed to transpire in the news. The negative effect is a cognitive bias that says something very positive will generally have less of an impact on a person’s behavior and cognition than something equally emotional but negative. Negative draws more attention. The internet empowers weak people to vent crap, we all need to pay less attention to the opinions of others that have zero connection to you. However if you get away from yellow journalism or sensationalized headlines you get maybe a more nuanced picture of the games. Dare I say a lot more positive, borderline enthusiastic.
Now the core of the Olympics. The brief: “Make It Iconic”. And wow did they deliver!!
For months and in true French spirit I heard and read the most negative comments about the Olympics : it was going to be a disaster, we will be the laughing stock of the world, I’m leaving the city to avoid the chaos, etc etc. In truth it’s always the same scenario : a country of naysayers and then each and every time we pull ourselves together and we party like there is no tomorrow. It happened with football (soccer) and rugby championship… just this year! Since the Olympic cauldron was lit, every site in Paris has turned into powerfully vibey, unapologetically French summer party. There was no scenario where I wouldn’t be in town for at least some of the events; and it turned out that we stayed the whole time. How often do you get to live in the heart of the city hosting the Olympic Games? Well turned out twice for us: first Beijing2008 then Paris2024. The chaos of the pre-game preparation is part of the hassle of hosting but walking around the city in the past few months and seeing the infrastructure being erected in the heart of the city, while I recognize could be disruptive to some, I could see the vision of the Olympic committee. I personally was certain it was going to be amazingly breathtaking and it didn’t disappoint.
Refurbishing existing landmarks is the smartest Olympic investment and they have turned each event into a love song to France - brilliant marketing for tourists, as well as investment for the future. Even though France has topped the list of the most visited country in the world for at least the last 3 decades, with a staggering 100 millions visitors in 2023. France has earned gold by every measure. Every Parisian who dared to stay in Paris this summer will tell you the same thing: they have never enjoyed the city as much as this past few weeks. The people are joyful, the sports venues are iconic, the monuments are shining, the traffic is almost inexistant, the subway is even working well. Tourists mentioned how well organized it is, how the city is calm and relaxed, people are happy and dancing... these games are a huge success. Everything is amazingly on time, safe, clean, no lines, no wait times, no wrong seating, no confusion. Rude Paris service might even just be a myth. The haters can keep whining on social media, it won't change a thing!
I had a very unique way of choosing events to attend. I chose the venues over the disciplines. I wanted to experience the games in the heart of the city with breathtaking background as I don’t have a favorite sport or root for a particular team (well apart for Team France mostly!). So I chose Stade Tour Eiffel, and it just happened that Beach Volleyball was the sport (I even got to see a game with the France team and even the USA team by chance). I did the same with Stade Les Invalides and saw Archery, Stade Concorde and saw amazing young women athletes in skateboarding. I went all the way in the suburbs to go see water polo (again by chance the French team and the USA team played) at the only purpose-built for the Olympics infrastructure Centre Aquatique Saint Denis. I will get to go to the Grand Palais (one of my favorite monument in Paris) for the Paralympics and also Stade de France for Para Track & Fields, as prices were a lot more reasonable and I’m a big advocate of the paralympics. Roland Garros with wheelchair tennis and Paris Arena with para swimming (didn’t make it to Taylor concert so at least I can see how they build a swimming pool where a stage was just a few months prior!!!) are also on my list of places I will be for the paralympics.
The organizing committee had committed to using 95% of existing or temporary venues, which aligns with their vision of promoting responsible event production and reducing the environmental impact. They were the very first Olympic Games with full gender parity, because the International Olympic Committee (IOC) allocated 50 per cent of the quota places to female athletes and 50 per cent to male athletes for a total of 10,500 competitors. Countries were encouraged to have a female and male flag bearer. Parity was there even in the lighting of the flame. The last event of the Olympics was also switched from the Men Marathon to the Women Marathon. Holding the women’s marathon after the men’s event, bringing the Games to a close, is hugely symbolic. Especially with the marathon, because women struggled for a long time to be able to take part. The route itself recognized a key moment from the French Revolution: the Women’s March on Versailles on 5 October 1789 when market women shopkeepers and workers from popular quarters gathered in front of the Hotel de Ville in Paris to demand bread and arms. Between 6,000 and 7,000 Parisian women marched through Paris to Versailles to bring the king back to the Tuileries Garden. That day, Louis XVI finally agreed to ratify the Universal Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizens.
Providing people in France with an outstanding Games experience has always been Paris 2024's ambition. With the Marathon pour Tous (Mass Participation Marathon), amateur athletes were able to run the same route as the Olympic marathon enabling people to follow in the footsteps of outstanding athletes. In line with the parity of the games 20,024 participants (half women and half men) got to run during the night of Saturday and an additional 20,024 participants (again half women, half men) got to run a 10k route. A truly amazing addition to this year Olympics. With the Olympic Cauldron, which has always remained on the ground in the past, the committee decided to pay tribute to French pioneers Joseph-Michel Montgolfier and Jacques-Étienne Montgolfier, who invented the Montgolfier-style hot air balloon, so the Cauldron was designed as part of a hot air balloon. The Olympic cauldron reflects the organizers' desire to place the Games and their symbols at the center of life in the capital, making the Olympic flame visible to all and contributing to the Olympic fervor in Paris. The golden balloon and cauldron sits in the Tuileries Gardens and it is sent a hundred feet up in the air every day at sunset. In 1783, the Mongolfier balloon took off from the Tuileries in front of 400,000 spectators and in the 1790s, the first-ever aerostiers brigade, the French Air Force’s hot air balloon corps, did its earliest hydrogen experiments in the Tuileries next to the Louvre.
Multiple other French rituals were also added to this Olympics. For example at the start of each sporting event, three blows are given to the floor, in the manner of theatrical tradition; these three strokes of the brigadier (the stick) are a way of combining sport and theater, and paying tribute to France's cultural tradition. In addition to the cultural symbolism, this tradition is intended to impose a certain solemn and ceremonial dimension on the event, emphasizing the importance of respecting the athletes' performances and is intended to create a strong bond between spectators and athletes. These three strokes are a reminder that each event is a unique performance that deserves the public's attention and respect. Another fun ritual is the restored bell from Notre Dame that hadn't been rung since the fire that damaged it in 2019. It has Paris 2024 engraved on it and gold medalists get to ring it and forever leave their mark on the famous city when the Games conclude, as the bell is moving to its new home at Notre Dame when the cathedral's renovations are complete.
But we cannot finish a post about Paris 2024 without addressing the elephant in the room i.e. the Opening Ceremony.
Before I start, it was so disappointing that the weather decided to turn ugly after days of sunshine just as the ceremony was starting and if you looked at a weather map during the event you would have seen that the rain was located only above Paris. But C’est la Vie!
From my French point of view seeing it in France, having just moved back here after 25+ years abroad, and after talking to many friends from different countries, the French TV commentators gave a lot more explanation during the ceremony so even if you didn’t necessarily have all the cultural references you could follow along and get it. I think it would have generated a lot less controversy if international TV commentators had had some knowledge or at least some guidelines, but then it would have spoiled the surprise if leaked before the ceremony. Just my 2 cents. Every host country tries to inject their own culture into the opening ceremony. As a reference I feel we got a different point of view of the Beijing Olympic Opening ceremony in 2008 because we lived there and understood the culture a little more than average Jo on TV and it’s true for each country. We just went a little above average… because well we are French ;-)
The opening was a mixture of references to history, culture, sport, music and, last but not least, the current issues. It carried a strong political message. All that on the backdrop of the City of Light with its plethora of buildings, parcs, spaces and the majestic Seine. It may have been tough to catch every nod to a book, character, painting or song during the event. The French have put a lot of thoughts into the significance of the olympics and of their country. It’s sad that it got nitpicked and focused to one or two scenes.
But we also have to talk a little about confirmation bias: this is our tendency as humans to process information by looking for, or interpreting, information that is consistent with our existing beliefs. This means if we read something or hear something that lines up with what we already think, then we are all in, often no questions asked. And then we may just hold on to our bias for dear life. “It’s a mockery of the Last Supper” may fit in really well with our confirmation bias for example if we are already feeling persecuted or believe we are being attacked. So when we hear that it wasn’t based on “The Last Supper” at all and instead on Greek mythology “Feast of Dionysus” painted by Jan Harmensz between 1635-1640 in France and hung in the Magnin Museum in Dijon, which makes more sense in reality since it links a piece of art located in France with Greece and the theme of opulence, we still have a really hard time stepping away from what we read or believe about the Last Supper. We may dig in and hold on explaining away all the things that don’t line up. We may choose to think everything that doesn’t fit with our bias is false, even if it comes directly from a source that should be given credit, for example the people who planned it! This is normal brain behavior and we all do it. I don’t care what “side” you are on, your brain does this. The trick is to know it and help your brain do better.
At the same time I know it can be hard for foreigners to understand all the messages this ceremony tried to convey. The title of the opening ceremony was “Ca Ira” (meaning it’s going to be ok) it’s a revolutionary song. The opening ceremony has the power to change people’s minds. Even though we are facing great challenges, “Ça ira”. The ceremony was created like a theater play by one of the greatest French theater directors of his generation, Thomas Jolly. They scripted it like a play to take you on an amazing journey from point A to Z. The ceremony took place in the city and unfortunately in the rain! It was spectacular. Axelle Saint-Cirel, a French Black woman, sang the French national anthem. In these times in our country, this is bold.
One of the best comments I read online: “Reading opening ceremony hot takes makes me think a lot of y’all have never heard of the French and their French ways”. It also reminded me of something I heard a while back “the French do not care what you think of them. You are not the main character here.”
Paris is, and always has been, a city of romance, excess, and toppling authority.
Also one must remember the Latin phrase used as the motto of the city of Paris: ‘Fluctuat nec mergitur” “tossed by the waves but does not sink”
The Olympic Games Paris 2024 will go down in history for their stunning venues in the heart of Paris and across France, their focus on sustainability and legacy, and the record-breaking performances by athletes from the territories of 206 National Olympic Committees (NOCs) and the Refugee Olympic Team. Media Rights-Holders (MRHs) are reporting record figures compared to previous Games, with Paris 2024 anticipated to be the most followed Games ever, with over half of the world's population expected to have engaged with them.
Olympics 2024 organizers said the Paris Games broke the record for the most number of tickets sold or allocated in the event's history: 9.7 million tickets were sold or allocated for this year's Olympic and Paralympic Games, with 8.7 million sold for the former and a million for the latter. The previous ticket sales record was held by Atlanta in 1996 (the “Centennial Game”) when 8.3 million tickets were sold.
Good luck to the next country/city.
LA: You might not have iconic historical landmarks as backdrop but you have showbiz. Your stadium are big, bigger and biggest and so is your motto. You might not have to worry about rain but I hope you won’t have to worry about wild fires. Anyway You do you. You should do whatever is best for you, no matter what other people think… because France sure did.
With love from Paris 🇫🇷
PS: do not forget the Olympics are not quite finished… there is still the Paralympics and the amazing athletes competing. They need our encouragement too.
There is no excuse since Paris 2024 will make history as the first Paralympic Games to offer some live coverage from each of the 22 sports. There will be record number of broadcasters to cover Paris 2024 Paralympics. Media Rights Holders in more than 160 countries and territories have committed to broadcasting the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games.
Edit: I wrote a shorter version for the Paralympics… give it a go here you may as well 🤷‍♀️
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brutal-blondie · 3 months ago
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brutal ✶ blondie.
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This is the coming-of-age story of America’s sweetheart. You may not know exactly who she is, but I bet you’ve heard about her. In the news and in the newspapers. On TV and in magazines, or even as the face of your favorite brand’s campaign. The leading name in Artistic Gymnastics on the current sports scene is Eleanor Marie Kavanagh, or just Ellie Kavanagh, born on May 11, 2000, on a rainy morning in Dublin, Ireland. Even while in the womb, the competitive, athletic, and artistic spirit ran through her veins, and this is primarily due to the family she comes from: her father, Brady Kavanagh, is a former rugby player and one of the leading figures in Irish rugby, while Louise Kavanagh, her mother, is an American actress, winner of an Oscar for Best Actress and a Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Motion Picture.
Her journey as an athlete began as a hobby some time after the family moved to her mother's hometown, New York City, and it gradually turned into a passion so overwhelming that it was able to carry her like a strong wave to the shore, bringing her to where she is today. At five years old, she began her gymnastics classes at a gym near her school and from an early age showed a great talent for it. She was methodical, flexible, strong, and agile, which caught the attention of coaches and choreographers who believed in her potential. After all, Eleanor is the most decorated American gymnast in history, with twenty-five World Championship medals, nineteen of them gold, and seven Olympic medals, four gold. She is also the first American woman to win seven national titles in the all-around and the first female gymnast to win three consecutive all-around titles at the World Championships. A three-time winner of the Laureus World Sports Award for Sportswoman of the Year, she has received widespread recognition, including TIME’s 100 Most Influential People and twice Female Athlete of the Year by the Associated Press.
Despite her sweet, shiny personality and contagious smile that captivated the entire country, the brutal blonde, as the media used to call her, was always known for demanding a lot from herself. Perhaps for this reason she surprised everyone with her decision to withdraw from the 2024 Paris Olympics after suffering an ankle sprain, which significantly impacted her mental health. Her stance on remaining absent even after the recovery period drew public attention to the psychological well-being of athletes in sports, an example of strength and authenticity, and it resonated deeply in a world where the pressures for success often obscure the need for balance and self-care. With a brilliant career and a lasting impact, she managed, above all, to show her humanity and courage in facing her career challenges with integrity. Sometimes, the greatest act of strength is admitting you need to take care of yourself.
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grandmaster-anne · 2 years ago
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Relative Values: royal siblings Zara Tindall and Peter Phillips on miscarriage, horses and Harry and Meghan
Interviews by Audrey Ward | Published 29 July 2018
Zara
Peter and I are 3½ years apart. Because I was younger I was always trying to play catch-up with him. When we were little we fought a lot and he was pretty mischievous, but he would often say that if I did something he would get in trouble for it.
I joined him at boarding school in Dorset when I was eight. My mum [Princess Anne] originally said I wasn’t going, but I wanted to go where my brother was and my parents probably got fed up with me as well. It was different back then. They were always travelling. When they separated [Princess Anne and Captain Mark Phillips divorced in 1992] it was obviously sad, but the way they did it was not harmful to us. I don’t remember it as a painful time. And I had Pete.
I loved school, I loved sport and being with my mates all the time. I don’t know how much work I did. You do get homesick, but I had so much fun, and Pete was very protective. All his friends were too. They kept me out of trouble. After Dorset, I joined him at Gordonstoun. He hung out with a group of lads who liked to have fun, but he always knew how to get away with stuff. When he was made head boy, I thought, “How did you manage that?”
After school I decided to commit to riding to see if I was any good. I managed to find a horse called Toytown and it went from there. We went up the levels together, me and Toytown. I had a very good horse in him. Taking part in the world championships was a career highlight, along with winning silver in a home Olympics. My grandmother [the Queen] loves the horses. It’s easy for her to understand it. She’s very proud of all her grandchildren, everyone is doing such different things.
I met Mike [Tindall, the former England rugby captain] in 2003. In the beginning of our relationship, Pete was very watchful of how Mike treated me. He wanted the best for me. Did I ever hook up with any of his friends? No way. It was the complete opposite: “Don’t go near my sister.”
I think Pete found it quite strange when I had my first child [Mia, 4]. I’m not very maternal. If someone had a new baby and said, “Do you want to hold my baby?”, I’d go, “No thanks,” but I really enjoyed all of it when I had Mia. I shocked myself. There’s quite a big gap between Mia and Lena: Mia is about to start school; with Lena, who is a month old, I’m going back and doing it all again.
I had a miscarriage in 2016 and afterwards loads of people wrote to me and Mike to say they’d been through the same thing. In our case, it was something that was really rare; it was nature saying, “This one’s not right.” For me, the worst bit was that we had to tell everyone — everyone knew.
At the time, Pete was again very much the protective brother; he was very concerned about me, as was Mike. Everyone was. It was a time when my family came to the fore and I needed them. I had to go through having the baby because it was so far along. I then had another miscarriage really early on. You need to go through a period where you don’t talk about it because it’s too raw but, as with everything, time’s a great healer.
I’ve got a huge amount of respect for Pete, for his work, for his role as a family man. At his wedding to Autumn [Kelly, a Canadian management consultant, in 2008], I was so proud, and it was the same with William and Harry when they got married. I was happy for them to experience the next chapter of their lives. Pete is someone who I’ve looked up to all my life. When I was growing up, he was a great person to have around, he was very level-headed, very calm, considered and grounded. He’ll be there no matter what I need.
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Peter
Zara and I always did a lot of stuff together as kids, anything from riding to helping out with the farm — or not helping out with the farm, depending on which way you looked at it. We were brought up in a very active environment. If it wasn’t raining we’d have to be outside; if it was raining we just had to put on the right clothing to go outside.
Most little sisters are annoying and Zara was no exception. She tried to boss me around and tell me what to do. Wild is probably an unfair attribute to attach to her, but she was certainly at the centre of anything that was happening that was fun and boisterous.
I have a huge sense of pride in Zara as an equestrian. What she achieved at the age she did was remarkable. She was never really fazed by — or she never seemed to be fazed by — a major championship or event. People trusted her to deliver in a high-pressure situation.
I’ve worked in sports marketing and sponsorship since I left Exeter University. I’ve spent time at Jaguar Racing, Williams and the Royal Bank of Scotland, where I headed up their global Formula One sponsorship programme.
Harry and Meghan’s wedding was a really happy occasion. The weather and the fact that it was at Windsor helped everyone massively, it just added a slightly more relaxed feel to it. Windsor is such a special place. Autumn and I were the last ones [in the family] to get married there, and it was almost 10 years ago to the day. There’s definitely a different feel to things when they’re not in London or at Buckingham Palace.
Zara and I live 200 yards apart. It’s very difficult to keep my daughters and her elder daughter apart. At weekends it’s always, “What’s Mia doing?” When Mia arrived it was quite difficult to compute. Zara has always been the little sister and suddenly I thought, “Christ, you’ve properly grown up now.” That rather annoying little sister is now a well-respected equestrian and an exceptional mother. If my daughters come close to achieving what Zara’s achieved, I’d be happy.
STRANGE HABITS
Zara on Peter He sings really badly, but my singing voice is not very good either
Peter on Zara I genuinely don’t know. I can’t come up with a single one
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charlotte-of-wales · 1 year ago
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Happy 42nd birthday to Zara Tindall!
Born on May 15th 1981, Zara Anne Elizabeth Tindall (née Phillips) is the daughter of Anne, Princess Royal, and Captain Mark Phillips, as well as a granddaughter of Queen Elizabeth II and a niece of King Charles III. Zara is currently 20th in the line of succession to the British throne.
Zara collected individual and team gold medals at the 2005 European Eventing Championship in Blenheim, and individual gold and team silver medals at the 2006 FEI World Equestrian Games in Aachen, Germany, making her the reigning Eventing World Champion until 2010. The same year after her win in Germany, she was voted BBC Sports Personality of the Year by the British viewing public (an award her mother won in 1971). She was also appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2007 New Year Honours for her services to equestrianism.
On 11 June 2012, Tindall was announced as a member of the British Equestrian team for the 2012 London Olympic Games. She competed in the 2012 London Olympics and won a silver medal in the team event. Her mother, Princess Anne, presented her medal.
Zara married rugby union player Mike Tindall on 30 July 2011 at the Canongate Kirk in Edinburgh, Scotland. The couple has 3 children: Mia Grace (9), Lena Elizabeth (5) and Lucas Philip (2).
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calacuspr · 1 year ago
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TIMBERSPORTS® star Dee Hardwick a worthy role model for LGBTQ+ community
The beauty of STIHL TIMBERSPORTS® is the inclusive and collaborative community it engenders, alongside the dynamic and exciting nature of the competition.
The British Pro, Rookie and Women’s Championships took place at the Royal Three Counties Show in June, providing intense contest and entertainment for the watching crowds.
This fast-growing competition, which sees participants chop and saw wood against the clock, had its first British women’s event just last summer, 2022.
One of the most charismatic competitors is Dee Hardwick, who recorded personal bests in this year’s event and has set her sights on podium glory in future.
She explained: “I've played lots of different sports and loved a lot of them. This will be my 23rd year playing rugby and I've also played hockey, American football and done judo. You name it, I've played it. I'm a great believer in trying everything once.
“I was a medical rep for 10 years and I got furloughed during COVID. I was buying and selling chainsaws and flipping them and tinkering with them, just to keep myself sane.
“I just went on to the STIHL website for some bits and I saw an advert to come and try Timbersports. I'm a big strong girl and I thought hey, why don't I have a go at this? I went along to a trial day back in March 2022, and got selected for the programme. So, I've been doing it for just over a year now.
“Being big and strong is an advantage, but there's a lot of technique. Watching old videos of the first training day to now, it's just amazing how much the technique has changed. I loved it: it's very addictive.”
Last year's British Women’s STIHL TIMBERSPORTS® Championship saw a field of eight women taking part in three disciplines – the Stock Saw, the Single Buck and the Underhand Chop. Points are accumulated for the fastest times with the person with the most points after all disciplines being crowned the ultimate winner.
Watching Dee compete, it’s obvious that she is a performer, engaging the crowd and yet determined to do herself justice.
Last year’s Women’s Championship proved to be a special moment for Dee, as she recalled: “It was really humbling, actually. It's amazing because it's a little bit of history. I'm really for women doing sport and it was great to be part of an inaugural event.
“It was an amazing feeling being on the stage. I used to do Burlesque and a bit of stand up so being in front of a load of people wasn't that much of a worry for me and actually, I used it to feed off their energy.”
Camaraderie is unusual in high-level sport, but Dee has noted the bonds that have grown with her fellow competitors.
She added: “What's really unusual about Timbersports is that everyone is so friendly and everyone wants everyone to succeed.
“This is the first sport where there's no cliques. I've made some amazing friends from it and in fact, one of them is going to be my best woman at my wedding!”
As a gay woman, Dee is well aware of the responsibilities and barriers that occur in sport and the opportunity she has taken to be a role model for future athletes.
“I love pushing down boundaries. I love being out there and proving that, you know, you don't have to be a man to do this. It takes all shapes and sizes. Tall, short, fat, thin, gay, straight, it doesn't matter.
“It's a really welcoming community and it's just the most amazing workout as well. You are absolutely blowing by the time you've finished it.”
Dee is also proud to promote the LGBTQ+ cause and added: “I had my lucky socks on, which are a pair of rainbow striped rugby socks. It's nice to be unique, but it's not seen as an issue and it's not seen as a barrier. It's a great community and I would encourage anyone within their LBGTQ+ community to come and have a go.
“I still think it's really difficult for people to come out. Hopefully one day we won't have to have this conversation about who is LGBTQ+. But it's changed massively. Those perceptions are going and that's nice.”
Dee’s approach underlines the power of sport to teach valuable life lessons, building connections between communities and empowering those for whom sport can provide the confidence and the focus to allow them to thrive.
She added: “I'm just, Dee the ‘lumberjill.’ It's nice to be introducing a great sport to that part of the community.
“If someone says you can't do it, go out and do it twice, to prove it to them. If someone says no, you can't do that because you're a girl or because you're a boy, stick it to them. Go out, do it and show them that you can do it. If you enjoy it, go and do it. Do not let anyone tell you that you can't do something.”
After getting married, Dee will be back training and competing and has dreams of representing her country in international competition.
“I would love to be able to go abroad. It’s huge in America and Canada, and I'd love to be able to do that,” she said.
“Standing on top of the podium with an LGBTQ+ flag flying behind me would be absolutely amazing.”
STIHL TIMBERSPORTS® features six disciplines which you can find out about HERE and more information on tools used in TIMBERSPORTS® HERE.
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bocciaraf · 2 years ago
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A sporting account… on Tumblr?
Bit of an experiment, this. Hopefully not a mistake.
Hello. I’m Rafael. I play boccia, which is a Paralympic sport (e.g., a sport which is in the Paralympics, like goalball, wheelchair rugby, etc). It’s a cousin of pétanque, lawn bowls, curling, and all those other sports whose ancient ancestor is someone going “I bet I can get my rock closer to that pebble over there than you can get yours”. Boccia is played indoors, in a space almost exactly the same size as a badminton court, as individuals, in pairs, or teams of 3. In the UK the overwhelming emphasis is on individual play, although pairs and teams competition is growing in global significance.
I’m a member of the newly reformed England squad, run by our governing body Boccia England, and I’m classified as a BC3 athlete - that means that instead of throwing or kicking the balls, we roll them down a ramp instead. The ramp is positioned, and balls set up on it for us, by a Ramp Operator - for me, that’s either one of my personal assistants, or increasingly, my partner. The RO isn’t allowed to see what’s going on on the court, they have to keep their back to it at all times during matchplay - they’re only allowed to physically help, not tactically help.
Playing boccia changed my life - I’ve always been a competitive person but until I discovered the sport in 2012, aged 27, had not only no access to participate in sports but no idea that a sport I could meaningfully play even existed. My sporting career is a direct legacy of the 2012 London Paralympics; it was the presentation of the Boccia UK Squad at the opening ceremony which resulted in the penny dropping. I was at my first club session within a few weeks, and attended my first competition a few weeks after that - I won a bronze medal, and was hooked.
My breakout year was the 2018-2019 season; our last complete season before the pandemic brought everything to a screeching halt. That year I zoomed my way through the Heathcoat Cup national finals - our ‘second division’ competition, a precious space for beginner and improving players to learn their trade without getting steamrollered by the pros - which qualified me directly into the BE Cup Finals, which is the de facto England national championship. I won my pool, unbeaten, and ultimately came 4th, which saw me begin the 2019-2020 season ranked 5th in England, behind two international athletes and two England players.
After that came a funny couple of years; half a season and two bronze medals in BE Cup Qualifiers before the pandemic stopped everything, and then a heavily modified “Back to Boccia” season for 2021-2022, at which I won the gold medal at two of the three Back To Boccia Cup events, went and won the qualifying tournament for the German National Boccia Championships in Düsseldorf - broadening my horizons as a dual national - before being selected for my very first Boccia UK Challenger. The Challengers are events run by BUK to provide the UK national squad, and selected others from the home countries, with additional formal competition experience. At the Gloucester Challenger there were 4 Boccia UK-supported athletes; two men from the World Class Programme and two women being supported in their development with coaching and world-class equipment, including Paralympian Scott McCowan, who had come 4th in Tokyo just nine months earlier. I beat all four UK athletes, and ultimately came second to my England colleague Matt Berry. That silver medal is my greatest achievement, to date. Matt and I followed that up with another one-two finish at the special, pandemic-edition competition run within the talent pathway as a substitute for the England national championships, which resulted in my being selected for my very first UK National Championships, where I lost only to the two McCowan brothers, Paralympians both, and ultimately came 6th. Just a fortnight later I was in Berlin, where I won the silver medal in the German National Championships.
I’ve just kicked off the 2022-2023 season with a very solid 5th place at the first BE Cup qualifier competition, and I’m off up to the SMILE Boccia Open tomorrow, to train up a shiny new personal assistant as a ramp operator. Wish us luck!
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http://www.rafaelyoung.co.uk
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cookies-sports · 1 month ago
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Matches from the week of September 23rd (2/2)
More football watched this week below the cut:
Chelsea vs Crystal Palace (WSL)
Liverpool vs West Ham (WSL)
Playing Time for the U-19s Lionesses
The first post (linked here) had:
England vs USA in the WXV (Rugby Union)
Hashtag United vs Lewes FC (FA National League)
Chelsea 7 - 0 Crystal Palace
The first half of this game was pretty interesting, with them going in at half time with Chelsea one hard fought goal up. I didn't find the second as interesting to watch, though, because Crystal Palace ran out of energy (like they did against Tottenham Hotspur) and Chelsea destroyed them. The Crystal Palace goalkeeper at the end just looked crushed. It is going to be a long, long season for them unless they manage to find some rhythm and stamina as the months go on.
It's a little concerning that the gap between WSL and Championship seems to be growing, as does the gap between Championship and the National Leagues. The teams backed by wealthy clubs who will invest in their women's teams are probably just going to keep getting further ahead. This isn't a WSL thing only, though and certainly isn't a criticism that can only be leveled at the English leagues; it is the current reality of women's football in many places.
Anyway, that aside... Stengel was probably a standout on Palace's side. She set up a couple of chances and got on the end of one as well. None came to anything, but that was as much poor finishing as it was good defending on Chelsea's part. There was good defensive play from Chelsea during some of the few runs forward by Palace, but there were also a few occasions Hampton was taken unaware by an attacker and the defenders were just not there. However, the Palace players either fluffed their attempts or simply did not run in to get on the end of the cross or pass, letting it trickle out of play.
Even if they had managed to snatch some of those chances, it wouldn't have changed the outcome, Chelsea were so strong in their attack in the second half that there seemed to be nothing Crystal Palace could do to contain them. Ramirez had a positive impact coming on, setting up players and assisting goals. Reiten was in good form again after the frustrations of last week's misses.
But the player I was happiest to see get a goal was Lauren James. LJ has had a rough 6 months or so. She was carrying this foot injury she's had well before the end of last season and if you watch footage, you can see her limping in some games before April. I suspect she was playing games not at 100% for some time. Then she missed the Euro qualifiers and continued to struggle in pre-season both with form and her recurring injury. Last week, when she came on against Villa, she had some difficulty getting into that game as well.
Against Palace, she still wasn't at 100%. She gave away passes a few times, was dispossessed and dribbled past, and made some quite clumsy 'definitely a forward' tackles. The latter of this, disappointingly, reignited the nastiness online about her, complete with racist commentary. Attacking players are rarely superb at tackles, their tackles often range from competent to downright clumsy, with the occasional terrible one thrown in, and most of the time LJ picks up a yellow card for a tackle, it seems to be just a clumsy tackle and nothing more than that. People need to let the mistakes she made in the past lie and allow her to grow as a young player and young person, which I believe she demonstrated in this game.
Throughout the game, LJ worked hard. She was everywhere, backtracking and providing support and options all over the pitch. LJ suddenly popping where you'd expect a CDM to be is not a common sight, and sure it's not a location on the pitch where she shines the most, but she was there to give her team passing options and support when they needed it. When she made a mistake, she didn't let it put her off her game; instead she put her head down and kept focused to try and make sure nothing came of it. She put in a solid shift, worked so hard for that team, and finally got a goal. I was delighted for her perseverance despite it not being easy.
Liverpool 1 - 1 West Ham
West Ham, you truly are chaos in a football team form. From Gorry talking herself into a yellow card, to playing out of the back really not going to plan, to their equalising goal coming from a header from their 5'4" forward, Riko Ueki (who was also either in the top five or top eight last year in the WSL for winning aerial battles...at 5'4"), West Ham do know how to keep a match interesting from time to time.
West Ham often concede early, probably because the chaos is at its highest in those first 10 minutes, then tend to settle down a bit. They don't often take advantage of chances well once they've settled down, mind, but that is a pattern in their game play. This game pretty much went like that, except they managed to equalise in the 85th minute.
Liverpool controlled the game well for the first half, dominating most of the first 45 with only a few snippets from West Ham. Höbinger and Nagano were all over the midfield and definitely frustrating the West Ham attempts to get through. The goal, scored by Olivia Smith, came from a poor pass by Szemik out the back which was quickly brought back in and put in the back of the net. It was a nicely placed goal; a positive start for Liverpool's new signing and she had a few other opportunities later in the game as well.
I know West Ham's keepers get a lot of stick from the team's fans for playing out of the back the way they often do, often playing shorter to the defenders or midfielders rather than going for longer balls, but give the height of many of their forward players, I have to think there's a strategy to it.
Let's take yesterday: at two separate points in the game Ueki then new signing Manuela Pavi were marking and going up against Liverpool's Jenna Clark. Clark is, according to a quick search, 5'10". Ueki, as I've noted is 5'4" and Pavi is 5'1". Playing long balls out and hoping your players are going to consistently overcome the height disadvantage against the oppositions' defenders is a hopeful (and probably fruitless) task 80%+ of the time.
The team as a whole is not exactly overrun with tall players: Gorry is called Mini for a reason, coming in at 5'1" as well; Viviane Asseyi is 5'3", so is Halle Houssein; Oona Siren is 5'2"... Even with their defenders, typically the tallest players on the pitch besides the goalkeeper, a number of them are under 5'6". I don't know if they're the shortest average team in the league (average pulled up by Szemik, Brynjarsdóttir, and Cooke) but they can't be far off. So I think there's method to the plays they do, even if they don't always work out as planned.
Anyway, West Ham came out a bit better in the second half and their defending and playing forward was an improvement from the game against Manchester United. Liverpool remained relentless and Szemik pulled off some great saves to deny them any further goals; Liverpool also put a number of shots high and wide by some margin. I think what may have the been the thing that undid Liverpool, actually, was that Matt Beard made 4 subs at once at the 76th minute, then only a few minutes later brought on the 5th. That seemed to unsettle the Liverpool side and West Ham got a lot more chances going forward, to the point that you kind of felt that eventually something was going to fall their way. Pavi was a bit of a game-changer for West Ham as well, making an immediate presence on the left wing. A ball past the defensive line that keeper, Laws, came out for was just nodded over her by Ueki to get the equaliser.
I suspect Liverpool probably felt that this was their game to lose, while West Ham were likely quite pleased with the point.
Playing Time for the U-19s Lionesses
Checking in on the U-19s to see how their seasons are going so far, these are the players who have had some time on the pitch:
Cerys Brown - Has been a late substitution for London City Lionesses last two games. Only had 11 minutes of playing time so far, but it's still early in the season, so it's a positive sign that they're not holding off on subbing the young players in for some game time.
Brooke Aspin - After her somewhat disastrous first game last week, where she was sent off with two yellows in quick succession, Aspin couldn't play this week even if she wasn't suspended because Crystal Palace played Chelsea, where she is on loan from. I am a little surprised that your suspension can be played out in a game you were never allowed to play (as has been confirmed to be the case through reports), but we will wait and see if Aspin returns for their next game against Leicester.
Ria Bose - It is challenging enough trying to find out if the younger players in the English Championship got minutes, let alone those playing for teams in other countries... I don't think Bose has had any minutes for Sporting yet, but I'm not certain, hence her inclusion here.
Katie Reid - Came on for one or two minutes at the end of Arsenal's fairly laborious game against Leicester City. I think there were some questions about why she didn't come on earlier from the fans since it sounds like Caitlin Foord was played in the fullback position for some of the game. Reid did, however, sign a professional contract with Arsenal this week as she turned 18 recently.
Ashanti Akpan - Has had the most playing time of the U-19s so far this season; it looks like she's getting solid rotation with Birmingham City. So far, she's started two games and been subbed in with decent time left on a third, playing 171 minutes across three matches. Positive start for Akpan.
Lexi Potter - Another Chelsea loanee and therefore unable to play this week, but she played 90 minutes against Tottenham so we will almost certainly see her return in the upcoming weeks.
Mia Enderby - Has come on as a substitute in both Liverpool games so far, getting 42 minutes across the two games. Hopefully will continue to be valued at Liverpool, especially after the positive comments about her last season.
Michelle Agyemang - Has also been subbed in for both games Brighton have played so far this season, getting 35 minutes so far. Given that one of those matches was against Manchester City this week just gone, that's a positive sign.
Poppy Pritchard - Has come on right at the very end of Palace's 2 games so far, with eight minutes across two games. However, I did remember being impressed to see in the Chelsea game, despite Crystal Palace already being either 6 goals down at that point, when Pritchard came on and then up against Nathalie Björn in a footrace to get the ball, not only did Pritchard not pull out of the race when Björn got the ball ahead of her, she persevered and actually got the ball off of her and away from two defenders, back to possession in Palace's midfield which eventually set up an attempt into the box. While it didn't come to anything, coming on to such a crushing defeat and still fighting to regain possession was good to see from the youngster.
Katy Watson - Came on for a few minutes against the London City Lionesses in Sunderland's last game, in addition to the minutes earlier in the season. Pulling out a surprise result after their tough start, Sunderland beat London City 1-0.
Any U-19s Lionesses not mentioned haven't had any minutes yet. I'll check back in on their progress in a few weeks time.
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thefrenchcakecompany · 3 months ago
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Goal! Creating Themed Cakes for Sports Fans
hoarse at games, and live for those epic victories. So, when it comes to celebrating a birthday, graduation, or any special occasion for a die-hard fan, a regular cake just won't cut it. You need a cake that screams "Touchdown!" or "Home Run!"
At The French Cake Company, we believe in celebrating every passion with a cake that's as delightful as the event itself. For sports fans, nothing beats the thrill of a big game or the joy of a victory, except perhaps a cake that embodies the spirit of their favourite team or sport. Whether it’s for a birthday, a championship win, or a viewing party, a themed cake can turn any occasion into a memorable celebration. 
Understanding the Passion
The first step in creating a sports-themed cake is understanding the passion of the fans. Each sport has its unique appeal and each team its fervent followers. A soccer fan might revel in the sight of a meticulously crafted ball and pitch, while a basketball aficionado might prefer a cake designed to look like their team’s jersey or a slam-dunk scene.
Choosing the Theme
The theme is the heart of any themed cake. Here are some popular ideas:
Team Colors and Logos: Incorporate the colours and logos of the fan's favourite team. This could be as simple as a cake in the team’s colours with a fondant logo, or as elaborate as a cake designed to look like the team's mascot.
Equipment and Accessories: Think soccer balls, basketballs, baseball bats, and hockey sticks. These can be made from fondant or molded chocolate and used to decorate the cake.
Stadium Replicas: For the ultimate wow factor, create a cake that looks like the home stadium of the fan's favourite team. This can be a complex project, but the results are always stunning and memorable.
Player Figures: Whether it’s a beloved star player or a mini-figure of the cake’s recipient in their favorite team’s uniform, adding a human element can make the cake more personal and exciting.
Designing the Cake
Sketching and Planning: Before we begin baking, we sketch out the design to ensure every detail is perfect. This includes deciding on the size, shape, and color scheme of the cake.
Cake Flavours and Fillings: While the design is crucial, the cake’s taste is just as important. We offer a variety of flavors and fillings, from classic vanilla and chocolate to more adventurous options like red velvet or lemon curd.
Baking and Sculpting: Our bakers and cake artists work in tandem to bring the design to life. Baking the cake to the right consistency is key, especially when sculpting elements like stadiums or sports equipment.
Decorating: This is where the magic happens. Using fondant, buttercream, edible paints, and other decorations, we meticulously craft each element of the cake. Attention to detail is crucial, from the texture of a football to the intricate details of a team logo.
Special Touches
Edible Images: For an extra touch of authenticity, we can print edible images of team logos, player photos, or even a snapshot of a memorable game moment.
Personalisation: Adding the recipient’s name, a special message, or their jersey number can make the cake feel extra special.
Interactive Elements: For a fun twist, we can incorporate elements like edible goalposts, nets, or a field where cake toppers can be moved around.
Catering to All Fans
No matter the sport, football, soccer, basketball, baseball, hockey, or even niche sports like cricket or rugby, we can create a cake that will thrill any fan. 
Ready to Bake a Winner?
At The French Cake Company, we're passionate about creating cakes that celebrate every kind of passion. So, whether your loved one is a die-hard fan of football, basketball, or any sport in between, we can create a custom cake that will have them cheering for joy. Contact us today to discuss your ideas and let's bake a cake that's a true winner!
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