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jessethegoat · 2 years

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Jesse's first article of WC 2022

it's really interesting to read, so I put it below (Athletic does have awesome articles about football and do subscribe if you can ❤️). Also his thought about Pulisic is very interesting.

I had the perfect seat. Upper deck, front row.

All around me at the sold-out Meadowlands there were people in soccer jerseys. They were singing songs and chanting. I felt like I was in Europe. I was a college student at Princeton University in 1994 when the World Cup came to the U.S. and I remember going to the hotel to pick up my tickets for the semi-final from a Princeton alum, Charlie Stillitano. The whole Italian team was sitting in the lobby drinking espressos, of course. Maldini. Costacurta. Albertini. Baggio.

These guys were my heroes. My coach at Princeton, Bob Bradley, had basically modelled us to play like AC Milan. I knew those Italian players inside and out. And then to be in the stadium watching them play against Hristo Stoitchkov and Bulgaria, to see the fanfare. It was eye-opening for me. It was exciting, the possibility of having that kind of soccer culture back home. We absolutely needed that 1994 World Cup in our country to give our sport a chance. The fact so many people were so excited about it gave us the idea that a league could be successful. It made us dream — even if I never could’ve imagined I’d be team-mates with Stoitchkov just a few years later.

This U.S. men’s national team gives me that same feeling. Inside the business of professional soccer in the U.S., the World Cup has always been a litmus test of where we are in our development of the sport in our country. Outside of the business, for the fans and the public, it’s more about the momentum and overall outlook of the sport. It’s about the potential of where we can go.

When you’re there at the World Cup, you can miss some of that big picture. I remember when Landon Donovan scored that goal against Algeria in South Africa in 2010. In the locker room, we were pumped. I remember the power and excitement of winning the group. Of mentally getting ready for the next match. But the movement back home that it created? We didn’t anticipate that. And then we saw the videos coming out of all of these celebrations in the bars back home.

That’s what the World Cup is about.

And this U.S. team has a chance to be inspiring again. That’s the best thing that can happen for our sport. How the team plays, the tactics, the performance? That’s the litmus test. But we need that momentum. We need a team that’s inspiring.

Certainly one of the talking points around the U.S. team in Qatar is that only one player on the squad (DeAndre Yedlin) has been to the World Cup. It’s a young group that doesn’t know anything about the tournament — what the rhythm is like, the pressure. They’ve played in the youth tournaments, but now they’re on the big stage. I’ve seen some of the quotes from some of the guys this week saying it hasn’t really even sunk in yet that they’re at the World Cup because I think for all of them it’s been a dream.

I know inexperience will be a factor, but I give big credit to U.S. Soccer and to Gregg Berhalter because it would have been easy to keep veteran guys such as Michael Bradley, Brad Guzan and others, players that were and are still very good players, and feel the security of: “They’ve been there. They know what it takes. They’re going to help lead us into the new phase with these young players.” But Gregg and the federation committed entirely to young players and now when you look at it, of course achieving qualification was a must given the fact we missed out in 2018, but if this group can do well in this tournament, you can use it as a springboard for 2026. It was really well done and really well thought-out and it gives us a chance to be better in 2026.

And youth doesn’t have to be a detriment.

One thing for sure is that over the years fearlessness has been the American identity. I think of the 2002 team that went to the quarter-finals; that was a big part of it. They played with total reckless abandonment and belief. That was certainly part of it for us in 2010, when you think about how we fought and battled back in games against England and Slovenia. And of course that late goal against Algeria. There is this identity of fearlessness and belief in U.S. teams, and soon we will see that in this group. They’re too young to be afraid. Too young to know any better.

And then we will see if it can be matched with clarity — in terms of roles, tactics and intensity. That’s the recipe for success in all the games, and certainly against England.

Planning out how to play in a World Cup is not easy. If I’m the manager, I’m asking myself, “All right, based on the opponent and what the games are going to require, what is necessary in the team?” We did this a lot in 2010. We looked at each game, knowing that we were going to have to have some rotation and use our entire squad the right way. We tried to predict what each game was going to look like and then which players would fit the idea of what the game was, what our match plan was going to be and what the match-ups were going to be on the day.

We would have four-hour conversations about two positions. We’d debate options for scenarios: if the game is tight, if we need a goal, if we make formation changes.

Obviously, there are players who are going to play in every game. Christian Pulisic and Tyler Adams fit that category. But then you start to analyze things like: is Tim Ream the right guy for a counter-attacking team like Wales? Or is he a little bit better against England, where he knows the team, he knows all of those players and can sit a little bit deeper? He’s clever in the box defending, and then with the ball, he can make good decisions.

In 2010, in four games we wound up using everyone other than Jonathan Spector — 19 of 20 field players. And I think that’s one of the keys: figuring out how to use the arsenal of players you have. I hate talking about football and tactics like it’s a chess match, but sometimes you’re trying to analyze game by game by game. What do you expect each opponent to look like? And who are the best players to use to maximize your potential in that match?

It’s why Ream is a good match for Aaron Long on the roster. Facing Tim in the Premier League, you see he has really developed an intelligence on the pitch, a savviness and an understanding of games. Tim is incredibly good with the ball, but it’s not just that his technical ability is good, it’s that he’s a good decision-maker. When you watch him play week in and week out in the Premier League, he doesn’t make many mistakes because he’s a very intelligent player. He plays to his strengths and he’s good at that. Long has a bigger arsenal to draw on in terms of qualities and athleticism, but he doesn’t have the experience that Tim has. Now you have one player that has a little bit more athleticism and you have one player with a little bit more experience. And the balance of those two could be good.

Walker Zimmerman could be good if the game is requiring two center backs that are gonna have to defend in the box and deal with a lot of crosses and manage a lot of tight spaces and some shots and one-v-ones on the outside of the box. These are some of the decisions Gregg and his staff are going to have to make as they plan out the group.

Against Wales, the U.S. is going to see a team that sits in a low block and looks to hit them in transition with players like Daniel James and Gareth Bale. It will likely be similar against Iran. I always say the reason teams play with a low block is that it’s hard to break down. People like to criticize you when you can’t break those teams down, but when they have a low block, that’s the strategy, right? At Leeds, one of the things that we always talk about against teams like this is finishing plays with shots. We want to finish, obviously, with goals, but we say we want to finish plays with shots on frame because that’s another way to create more corners and more set-piece plays. Those can be the difference in these types of games.

Defensively, when those types of teams have a goal kick or the goalkeeper has the ball in his hands, it’s about coming a little bit deeper and inviting your opponent to try to play more. Some teams won’t bite and they go direct, then you have to be good in second-ball situations. Because at that point, if they push forward and go direct and you’re good in second-ball situations, you have created more space behind the opponent where then you can create quick combinations in midfield and look to play more vertically behind them.

One of the most important strategies, for me, when you’re playing a low block is actually losing the balls in certain areas for counter-pressing, so you can win the ball back and create chances. You have to be good at counter-pressing. Incredibly good.

You also have to be good at rest defense, which is marking the opponents while you are in possession. It is crucial to be disciplined in making sure that their players are not standing free, because the tighter you are when you lose the ball, the less you give them room to get out on the run. It requires an acute awareness that every time you lose the ball, you need complete commitment from every player to make sure that you’re running back, that you’re counter-pressing, that you’re smart about fouls, that you do not allow the team to play into the exact strategy that they want. And you have to be aware of the strategy of the opponent the entire match and understand their strengths and eliminate those possibilities.

Even on attacking set pieces, you often have to literally man-mark their transition players because a lot of times these teams want to be effective off defensive set pieces. When I’ve played Liverpool over the years, I’ve man-marked Mohamed Salah on our corner kicks. You get your fastest, most-disciplined players in those roles. You need guys that take pride in that. It’s one of the beauties of Tyler Adams. He takes pride in not allowing his defensive responsibilities to slip. And you need players that are committed to that — that are disciplined, focused, concentrated on exactly those strategies.

All of these things require a very clean and clear tactical awareness of the entire group at all times, and very clear roles on the day for what’s necessary. When you do that well, you can completely dominate the match. If you’re too loose and your awareness is not good enough, then you can look very vulnerable.

England will obviously be a match where they have the ball a little bit more, which could be good for the U.S. This is one of the things with Leeds, too. We like playing against opponents that want the ball because we’re fast, we have athleticism, we like to press, we like to play with intensity. This U.S. player pool can run. They’re young, they’re fit and they have some talent. And most of them, most importantly, are built with fearlessness. A lot of the guys are playing now in the Premier League or in the Champions League week-in and week-out. These guys know what the level of a game like that is. I think if they can be organized against the ball and in pressing, and if they can be good in set-piece situations, defensive and attacking, that will give them the best chance to get a result in that match.

The forward situation is the trickiest for the U.S., especially in a tournament like this. Berhalter likes to overload the wings and create crossing situations, and to do that you need somebody in the middle who can finish, who runs hard in the box, who knows to find space. In the games in CONCACAF when the U.S. have had a lot of possession and have been able to push teams back, they’ve been able to create chances more from that inverted winger position coming inside and creating combinations and scoring goals that way. But against better competition, I think the two ways that they’ll be looking to score will be from crossing and from transition.

Wales have some really good center backs who are strong defending in the box, and so you have to try to find overloads — creating numerical advantages in specific areas of the field — in order to get into the box.

That’s what will be important for me, whether it’s against Wales or Iran, is that we don’t just look like a bunch of attacking players standing outside the box, that we’re putting pressure on them by putting numbers inside the box. By attacking crosses, flat crosses, by creating combinations in the box, by trying to go one-v-one and get penalties. Those things will be vital and good things to watch for in those matches.

It all comes back to one idea: how can you be really dangerous to score goals? For the U.S. in this World Cup, that will be the big question: where are the goals coming from?

Maybe the answer is a simple one: Pulisic.

One of the most difficult things for me is I don’t know Christian well enough. A big part of uncovering the potential of players is uncovering the potential of the people. You have to get to know players to really unearth the potential of their personality, within what their qualities are as a player. And that’s often the fun for me of being a coach. A lot of times with me it’s young players, but that’s not always the case.

We have Rodrigo at Leeds, and he’s 31 and I’ve even had a conversation with him at one point and said it’s too bad I didn’t know him when he was 18 because I could have helped make him one of the best players in the world — I truly believe that. But in the process at Leeds, we’re still uncovering new potentials for him and he’s committed and adapted incredibly well. But to do that I’ve had to really get to know Rodrigo as a person and what makes him tick. What are his vulnerabilities? What are his insecurities? What things make him stronger? What are the things he likes?

With Christian, I don’t know him well enough, and I’ve said in the past that I would love to get to know him more because I can see that there’s so much potential there. But I often wonder how to tap into it, truly.

If we look at what Christian can bring to the U.S. at this World Cup, from a purely tactical perspective, he’s best in space. So in transition moments and when he can be on the run and use his combination of agility and speed and technical ability, that’s when he’s able to be at his best. That feeds more into the games where the U.S. are able to be a little bit more in pressing phases and are in more transition phases. We could see more of that in the England game.

The key, though, is that Christian has also got to find ways to be dynamic running off the ball in the box, not just being satisfied with wanting to get the ball wide in spaces. What I like to say to attacking players in those situations is that our good players can handle the ball in wide spaces — on the wing or in deeper spaces in the midfield. Our best players need to put themselves in dangerous spots that the other players aren’t as good in. And so that involves being more in and around the box, being in and around the center backs and using your cleverness and ability in tight spaces, using your quick first step and then obviously your finishing ability. If Pulisic can do that, the U.S. will be far more dangerous.

In just a few days, we’ll see which way it goes, but as I think about that first game, I keep coming back to that feeling I had way back in 1994 at the Meadowlands. That feeling of the potential that is there for the sport in our country.

They won’t want to talk about it right now, but in reality, this World Cup is a stepping stone for the team going into 2026. We all want to see the team do really well now, but everyone back home is looking at 2026 and imagining what this can really become when the World Cup comes back to the U.S.

It’s a foolish thing to even say out loud, but can we be contenders at home? To even say that out loud is ridiculous. But we do think this is a golden generation of players. We do think that — on pure potential — this is the best group we’ve ever had. So can they develop and grow in a way where, in three and a half years, they can be talked about as semi-finalists? Finalists?

That is the hope of what 2026 can mean.

Inside the business and outside it, too.

#jesse marsch #article #leeds united #US men national team #USMNT #world cup 2022 #wc 22 #christian pulisic #tyler adams #rodrigo moreno #fav

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defensenow · 4 months

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circuitmouse · 1 year

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#christian pulisic #Hershey Pennsylvania #US Men's National Soccer Team #soccer

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guzhufuren · 6 months

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A Guide to Some of the Best Queer Asian Shows

The guide includes a show’s basic summary; main genres/tropes/themes and official streaming links (additional info on how to watch at the end of this post)! You can find some content warnings in the reply section of this post. Shows are listed by countries, numbered by the order I recommend watching in, not by rating. All shows have happy endings unless specified otherwise. The list will hopefully be updated regularly (last updated on 04/04/2024, 98 queer shows in total).

Most shows are about mlm, I specify with coloured notes those that are focused on wlw, polyamory, aromantism/asexuality, etc.

Tumblr does not allow large texts or more than 30 images per post at the moment, so you can click on every country’s list to expand them and view them fully in a separate post. You can access this guide in a google doc here.

Thailand 🇹🇭 (full list here)

1. KinnPorsche mafia boss/bodyguard; action; kidnapper/kidnapee side couple

Kinn, a son of a prominent mafia head, is ambushed by an enemy, and meets Porsche, a bartender who comes to his rescue for a price, thus beginning their reluctant relationship as boss and bodyguard, which soon turns into something more.

iQIYI

2. Bed Friend friends with benefits; office setting; trauma

King and Uea work in the same office. After a company outing ends in a drunken hook-up between them, Uea and King agree to keep seeing each other on a strictly physical basis. With no strings attached, will these two be able to keep things between them simple and carefree or will their emotions eventually get the better of them?

Uncut 18+ on iQIYI or GagaOOLala or cut on YouTube

3. The Sign reincarnated lovers; fantasy; thai mythology; police

The story of the love between Phaya and Tharn who used to be mythological creatures Naga and Garuda in their past lives, and were forced apart. But fate intervened, and two men were reincarnated in new bodies. Now, they work together as partners in the Special Investigations Unit to uncover violent crimes and supernatural mysteries while their love is tested by mystical forces and past enemies.

YouTube

4. I Feel You Linger In The Air period drama; time travel; bittersweet

Jom, an architect overseeing the renovation of a rundown villa, continuously dreams of a man he's never met. When a twist of fate transports Jom to Chiang Mai in the 1920s, he assumes the role of a servant to the affluent young master Yai, the mysterious man from his dreams.

GagaOOLala or YouTube

5. You're My Sky sports; university setting; coming of age

Thorn, a young basketball player follows his senior Fah to university as a result of the promise they’d made — to become national basketball champions. However, to his dismay, he finds that Fah has already given up on basketball. --- Aai has to work in pairs throughout the semester with San, 1 year footballer; in order to receive a scholarship to study in Japan, Ai must be willing to do everything to get an A grade. --- Track running requires the compatibility of the team members to be very high. Vee, who became the new racquet 4, has to speed up training to fit in with the team as quickly as possible, especially with Dome, spending extra time together to train. Is love actually a major obstacle on the path of being an athlete?

Viki

> more tv shows from Thailand

GMMTV Thailand 🇹🇭 (full list here)

1. My School President high school setting; secret crush; school president/rebel musician

Gun is the head of his high school music club. Tinn is a school president and Gun's long-term rival. The Principal wants to disband some of the school’s “useless” after-school clubs, especially the music club. Per school rules, the student council president is the one who has the power to dissolve clubs. Gun is now at Tinn’s mercy, so he attempts to do whatever he can to persuade his rival not to cancel the music club. Little does he know, Tinn actually has a secret crush on him. Could romance brew as Gun makes a desperate attempt to secure the future of his band?

Viki (MSP) & YouTube (Our Skyy special 33-40) & YouTube (special)

2. Moonlight Chicken adult romance; age gap; deaf character

Jim is an ordinary guy running a chicken rice diner. One night, he meets Wen when he stays past closing drunk. Brought together by fate that night, intangible feelings arise. Neither can stop thinking about the other despite Jim's efforts to remain unattached. Jim also takes care of his nephew Li Ming, who is falling in love with Heart, a deaf teenager who is practically kept under house arrest by his affluent parents.

YouTube

3. Not Me revolution; freedom fighters; secret twins

When his twin Black is viciously attacked and subsequently left hospitalised in unconsciousness, White is unable to endure the harm done to his brother in silence. He learns Black was a part of a gang of anti-capitalist freedom fighters, and it was one of them who betrayed him. White disguises himself as Black to discover which one of them betrayed him and put him in a coma.

YouTube

4. 23.5 wlw; high school setting; secret admirer

Ongsa moves to a new school and meets Sun, a cute popular girl who she immediately falls for. However, she decides to approach Sun in instagram dms under the pseudonym Earth, leading Sun to believe she's talking to a guy. But Ongsa does not want to lose the opportunity to talk to Sun, so she decides to keep the fact that she is a girl a secret and continue talking as Earth.

YouTube

> more tv shows from GMMTV Thailand

Japan 🇯🇵 (full list here)

1. Cherry Magic! mind reading; secret crush; office setting

By still being a vіrgin at 30, Adachi gains a magical power – the ability to read other people's minds by touching them. At first, he’s overwhelmed by his new ability, and it’s not proving to be helpful to him. But that all changes when he accidentally touches their office’s most perfect guy Kurosawa, who he learns has romantic feelings for him.

WeTV (Cherry Magic) & no international streaming of Cherry Magic The Movie is available to my knowledge, so watch on bilibili or KissKH

2. Kieta Hatsukoi (My Love Mix-Up!) misunderstanding; high school setting

Aoki has a crush on Hashimoto, the girl in the seat next to him in class. But he despairs when he borrows her eraser and sees she's written the name of another boy — Ida — on it. To make matters more confusing, Ida sees Aoki holding that very eraser and thinks Aoki has a crush on him!

Viki

3. Our Dining Table food; child character

Salaryman Yutaka finds it difficult to share meals with other people. However, his life starts to change when one day, his cooking attracts the attention of a young boy named Tane and his older brother Minoru. The two brothers are impressed by Yutaka's cooking skill and invite him to their house to cook together. Yutaka's dreary life begins to change, and soon he finds himself looking forward to the meals he shares with the Ueda siblings together, as well as developing a taste for romantic feelings.

GagaOOLala

4. She Loves to Cook and She Loves to Eat wlw; neighbours; self-discovery; food

Nomoto loves to cook, but tends to make too much food and has no one to share it with. Luckily for her, turns out her neighbor Kasuga has a big enough appetite for the both of them.

No international streaming available, translated to english by Furritsubs, S1 & S2, watching instructions provided, please support translator on kofi.

5. Takara-kun to Amagi-kun high school setting; relationship exploration

Takara is a good-looking popular guy in class, while Amagi is a simple but bright and pure fellow classmate. The two begin to date in secret after Amagi's blurted out confession.

Viki or GagaOOLala

> more tv shows from Japan

China 🇨🇳 (full list here)

Most chinese shows are adapted from explicitly queer novels, the shows are undeniably and obviously queer, but nevertheless the queer romance part is censured. The only exception is number 4 on the list, it is not censored.

1. The Untamed period drama; fantasy

An epic fantasy led by a problem child who comes back from the dead 16 years later in order to fix the broken world he left behind — and finally unite with his soulmate.

YouTube

2. Word of Honor period drama; fantasy

The leader of assassin organisation Zhou Zishu quits his position in pursuit of freedom with drastic measures. In his travels, he meets Wen Kexing, the leader of Ghost Valley who wants nothing but revenge. The two become entangled in various machinations within the martial arts world, and eventually become soulmates instrumental in each other's redemption.

YouTube & Special Episode on Tumblr or DailyMotion

3. Couple of Mirrors wlw; period drama; socialite/assassin

You Yi is a kind-hearted socialite and a successful author. Her perfect life is turned upside-down when she discovers a betrayal by the two most trusted people in her life. With no one left to turn to, she finds refuge in the friendship and support of Yan Wei, a lonely female killer disguised as the owner of a photo studio.

YouTube. the show doesn’t have a happy ending, but it can be a happy ending for you if you stop watching at episode 12 timestamp 28:02.

4. Stay With Me enemies to lovers; high school setting; unconventional families; slow burn

Su Yu is a high school student who lives with his single poor father. Su Yu gets a new classmate Wu Bi. The two clash right from the start, and after getting off on the wrong foot, their explosive relationship takes a turn.

YouTube or GagaOOLala. the show doesn’t have a happy ending, but it can be a happy ending for you if you stop watching at episode 24 timestamp 05:00. OR watch the full thing and look at this post after

5. The Spirealm inside of a video game; mystery; fantasy; horror-ish; hopeful ending

A game designer Lin Qiushi is transported inside of a game he recently played, and now he must go through 12 horrifying survivor game doors to survive in the real world. Inside his first door he meets Ruan Nanzhu, a mysterious man who offers him to team up.

The show was taken down from streaming, download files here and subtitles here.

Various WLW mini web-dramas here.

Various WLW short films here.

South Korea 🇰🇷 (full list here)

1. Love for Love's Sake inside of a video game; high school setting; healing

At the age of 29 Tae Myungha finds himself transported into a fictional video game, and now 19 years old, he meets Cha Yeowoon, who is in the darkest moment of his life. And a translucent window appears where he receives a mission — to make Cha Yeowoon happy.

iQIYI (better subtitles) or GagaOOLala

2. Semantic Error enemies to lovers; university setting

A serious programmer and a rebellious artist clash over a school project. Their animosity keeps escalating to new extremes, defined by petty pranks and feisty arguments.

Viki

3. Love Tractor farm setting; farmer/city musician

Sunyeol, a city man with zero ability to survive in the countryside, comes to his grandfather's rural home. In front of him appears Yechan, a passionate and kind young farmer. While learning about rural life and assisting with farming tasks, Sunyeol gradually finds himself drawn to Yechan's warm and straightforward nature, while Yechan helplessly falls for Sunyeol.

iQIYI

4. Our Dating Sim high school friends to lovers; office setting

After 7 years, Lee Wan meets his first love, Shin Kitae, in a gaming company. When they were best friends in high school, Lee Wan was in love with Kitae. But he ran away and disappeared after confessing his feelings to Kitae after graduation. When the two of them begin working on a new dating simulation game and get more immersed in the project, old feelings are rekindled.

Viki or GagaOOLala

5. She Makes My Heart Flutter wlw; bar setting; niece and aunt dynamic

The extroverted Gang Seol is hired by her aunt Jung at her only-women bar. Even though they are both lesbians, they seem to be worlds apart and have very different love stories.

YouTube

> more tv shows from South Korea

Taiwan 🇹🇼 (full list here)

1. History3: Trapped mafia boss/policeman

The story of a police officer who becomes trapped in the underworld, as he develops feelings for a gang leader.

YouTube or Viki

2. Kiseki: Dear to Me mafia; age gap

Bai Zongyi, an exemplary high school student with dreams of becoming a doctor, is one day unexpectedly drawn into the world of a charismatic and mischievous gangster Fan Zerui, who blackmails him into taking him in and treating his wounds. Just as their love story begins to unfold, Fan Ze Rui's criminal life catches up with him. On the other hand, Chen Yi and Ai Di are two orphans who grew up in the gang together. Ai Di has always loved Chen Yi, but Chen Yi only notices their boss.

Viki or GagaOOLala or YouTube

3. My Tooth Your Love dentist/chef; trauma healing

Bai Lang is a successful bistro owner with an severe fear of visiting the dentist... until a toothache forces him to come face to face with the handsome yet cold dentist Jin Xunan.

Viki

4. Anti Reset android/human

When Chu Yi Ping, an emotionless man, dislocates his hand in an accident at school, his uncle gives him Ever 9 as a caretaker, an experimental intelligent robot that his company is secretly testing.

Viki or iQIYI or GagaOOLala

5. History2: Crossing the Line sports; high school setting

When an injury sidelines a high school senior from the volleyball team, he develops feelings for a recruit.

YouTube or Viki

> more tv shows from Taiwan

Philippines 🇵🇭

1. Sleep With Me wlw; radio; disabled character in a wheelchair

A science textbook writer with a sleep disorder meets a wheelchair-using radio host who runs the midnight shift. This chance encounter at the radio station quickly sparks their interest in each other.

GagaOOLala

---

You can watch many shows for free on YouTube, and watch others on the streaming websites by setting VPN to one of the countries in the list. In other cases I recommend paying for subscriptions to show appreciation and support of content in order to get more of it in the future, but if you can’t, watch on KissKH (better quality), Dramacool or get files from MkvDrama. Enjoy! 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️

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kisses4reid · 3 months

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understand? pt. 1 | ·˚ ༘ spencer reid ,,

summary - you’re a polyglot translator assigned to work for the bau in a cross-national case, and there’s a doctor who wants to impress you.

genre - fem!reader, SHE/HER r, fluff, meet cute, you know more than spencer and he’s attracted to that

warnings - you're both awkward, mentions of gross case file photos, little research about polyglots actually done so there are inaccuracies, cliffhanger for part 2.

w/c - 1.4k

a/n - thank you for the req anon!! there was multiple parts to this but i really like the first idea so that’s what this fic is about, might keep the other idea for later hehe. i did change some aspects. love you, thank you for the support <33 there will be multiple parts!!! stay tuned!!!

req - hi pia 💞💝🩷💓 how r u? i hope you’re feeling wonderful! this is my first time requesting smthg i apologize if i get something wrong! i’ve been having 2 thoughts about spencer x fem!reader, where reader is a russian translator and idk they meet cute or she has to work with the bau helping them on a case. just wanted to give these ideas to you, obviously feel free to do anything with them! i really enjoy your work and your writing is incredible! i have your notifications on so i am always reading whatever you post! have a great day pia 💝 lots n lots of kisses for u!

This was not what you expected.

You, a woman in your late twenties that spent most of her time in a room listening to voices and decoding foreign messages, didn’t know what you expected. But this: a scary boss, an italian old man, and a skinny college kid, was not it.

“Y/n L/n? I’m Aaron Hotchner, the unit chief, and this is Agent Rossi and Doctor Agent Reid.”

You nodded your head, thick hair covering your top eyelashes as you glanced at the men. Agent Rossi shook your hand, and Dr Reid simply stood and gawked at you. To be honest, it made you worried. You had been warned this was a close knit team, that they trusted each other more than anything and that you shouldn’t get attached to any of them as you’d only be assisting them for one case.

Maybe they just didn’t warm up to new people.

“I’ll do your formal introduction to the rest of the team now, if you’re settled down.” He asks cooly. You like the way his voice rasps, it’s assertive yet comforting.

“Yes, of course. I can’t wait.” You smiled reassuringly at the unit chief, not ignoring the raised eyebrow you received from the silent young man now behind you.

Aaron Hotchner, your new boss for the next week or so, lead you to a large room with a circular table sat in the middle. There were two other women, one blonde and one raven haired, and another bald man that glanced at you immediately after you entered. They smiled at you and trailed your steps to where you stood beside the unit chief in front of a large TV screen.

“Everyone, this is Agent Y/n L/n. She’ll be assisting us with the Becker case you’ve all been informed of. She’ll mainly be our translator and interpreter, but she’ll also be useful for cultural identifiers and anything that we wouldn’t notice otherwise.”

You nodded along, never being a fan of introductions since you moved to America as a small child.

“This is JJ, our liaison, Agent Emily Prentiss and Agent Derek Morgan.”

The ladies smiled at you, in fact all of them did. They were surprisingly open to the fact you would be joining them, the fact made your shoulders loosen and a breath to be let out discreetly.

Next, you were on a long plane flight to Maine with Agents you had known for little under two hours, conversing about victim profiles and motives. The table in front of the ladies and your boss was strewn with victim files and gruesome photos. And while you weren’t a stranger to the dangers and violence the job brought, you had gotten comfortable with only hearing about it and not seeing it. So you opted to hover around the table and stay silent, you weren’t a trained profiler after all, just a translator.

There was a wave of cologne that disrupted your senses, causing you to angle your head back, only to be greeted by the tall doctor.

You smiled softly, assuming the closeness was due to the aeroplane's arrangement. Also because you got the vibe that Spencer didn’t like you.

“Are you okay? You seem uneasy,” he asked. It was the first time you heard his voice. And it was as adolescent as you imagined for someone so young, but it had a sophisticated edge to it, with a honey-like undertone. Finding things in voices as if they were perfumes was something you unconsciously started to do since working as a translator.

“I’m fine.” You grinned reassuringly, turning back to focus on the team’s findings.

Spencer furrowed his eyebrows slightly and stepped away, sitting down beside Morgan who had taken a seat at the back. Morgan squinted at his friend, noticing the rare confusion splayed on his face as he stared in your direction.

“What’s up? Pretty girl got your tongue?” Morgan removed his headphones with a cheeky smile displayed on his handsome face.

“For someone who specialises in languages she doesn’t talk much.”

Morgan smirked, “Maybe not to you.”

“I didn’t do anything wrong though.” Spencer ripped his gaze off the back of your head.

“You’ve been staring at her since she walked through those doors. You were so distracted you didn’t even greet her this morning.” Morgan pointed out. Spencer tilted his head confused, a small blush creeping up his neck. “I watched the whole thing from the conference room, so did JJ and Emily.”

The tall boy slumped in his chair and forced himself to look out of the plane’s window, avoiding a reply to Morgan as he knew it would only result in more teasing. You were physically attractive, everyone could see that, but the thing that caught Spencer’s attention was your intelligence. He was no stranger to being a polyglot, he learnt languages for fun, but you were simply next level. Morgan studied Spencer’s face for a second before raising his attention to your hovering state. “Agent Y/n L/n.” Morgan called, causing Spencer to widen his eyes and immediately adjust his slumped position in his plane seat. You turned your head in surprise, slightly confused why you would be needed anywhere else than the files you had been translating for the past two minutes. Your heels were silent against the carpeted floors, but Spencer could sense your presence anyways.

“How many languages do you speak?” The stoic man asked, his eyes darting between you and the doctor below you. You were not short, your genes didn’t allow for it, but you had noticed you were only taller than JJ and Rossi in the team and it felt foreign to not tower over everyone. “Um, I speak 8 languages fluently, and 4 languages semi-fluently.” You stated, readying to turn back to assist the team before Morgan spoke up once again

“Did you know that pretty boy can speak Spanish and German?”

Before Spencer could help himself, he corrected the man, “And Latin and Russian,” Spencer turned his head up to you, “But I can understand more.”

You smiled, genuinely impressed and confused on how a man that young could learn that much. But to be fair, you were in the same boat. The nickname got your attention, locking it in the back of your mind to remind yourself that the people you were working with did in fact have senses of humour, and weren’t just heartless officers. There wasn’t any reason to think that though, as you had been cared for with respect and even Prentiss made a funny remark beforehand. It sort of felt like a family dinner you were intruding on. “That’s impressive, Doctor Reid.” You reply genuinely.

“I mean it’s nothing compared to you though,” his voice was pitched slightly higher and his hands started motioning to nothing in particular, “your brain is constantly changing from high activity to low activity when you're translating from one language to another. Your language network, the lateral frontal lobe, is constantly lighting up and dimming down depending on what language you hear, ordinary people’s language networks only turn on and off.”

Morgan smirked and glanced up at your intrigued and surprised expression. You nodded, a small blush coating the tips of your ears as you responded, “Thank you.” You didn’t really know what else to say, which is funny for someone who understands so many languages, so you simply smiled and turned back to the table. Spencer slumped again, watching you walk away and asking himself why he would inform a pretty girl about her own brain, when she most definitely already knows about it.

“Don’t worry too much, Reid.” Morgan called, grabbing Spencer’s attention. The boy raised a brow, not understanding. “She digs it, I can tell. But she’s just like you, knows how to speak in a million ways and still doesn’t know how to small talk.”

You landed without any more awkward interactions, and got introduced to some sheriffs in Maine, one of them giving you a tighter handshake than the rest and a stare that could only mean unpleasant things. It wasn't something sexist or creepy that lingered in his eyes, it was more like hatred. Spencer took the sheriff's attention away from you after noticing what the whole team did, and asked him to show him the records they kept at the precinct.

Emily Prentiss came up behind you and placed a hand on your upper arm, squeezing it like she understood what you had thought you'd seen. Out of everyone else in the team, she would understand the most.

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