#well. Coach Taylor and Emma

[pitchsidestories]

I loved you in secret II Niamh Charles x Reader

masterlist I word count: 1188

a/n: hi, this one contains hurt/comfort, it's all fictional as always and we hope you guys like it.

Loosing against Barcelona hurt a lot but what was even more painful to you was the heartbroken face of your girlfriend who was coming towards you, the rain pattered steadily on her slumped shoulders.

In the background you saw the Barca players celebrating their entry into the Champions League final.

Even though you knew that not a single word which existed in the human language could ease away the pain right now, you whispered her name: ”Niamh-“

The defender quickly stopped you from talking more by putting a finger to your lips before pressing her mouth on to yours, giving you a passionate kiss.

The move of the brunette caught you off guard because the relationship was supposed to be a secret and you could tell that your team has been watching the two of you.

For another moment Niamh leaned her forehead against yours before she apologized quietly: ”Sorry.”

“Sorry, for the kiss or the loss?”, you frowned at her.  

“Both.”, she admitted in an honest tone.

You wanted to press on for her to keep speaking, but it was Erin who cleared her throat, so your girlfriend and you turned around to face her.

The Scottish midfielder nodded into your coach direction who didn’t look the least amused, even a little disgusted:” Sorry to interrupt you girls. I thought you should know that Emma saw you two.

Much to your surprise Niamh’s reply was: ”Good.”

“Good?! You must be joking, Niamhy.”, Sjoeke scolded the defender, she herself seemed to have appear out of nowhere.

“Do I look like I’m joking?”, Niamh asked the red-haired woman in a tone which didn’t leave a doubt about her being serious.

The German forward quietly moved away from her.

“Come on, let’s go inside, love.”, you told your girlfriend.

“Please.”, she answered, tears in her eyes because the pain of loosing 2:0 against the reigning champions of Europe was still too fresh for her not to get highly emotional about everything which was thrown at her.

In the dressing room a concerned Millie came up to both of you:” Niamh, y/n?”

“Yes?”, you lifted your chin, to look properly into your captain’s worried face.

Sounding much more annoyed Niamh mumbled through gritted teeth: ”What?”  The sadness was still there but you could feel her getting angrier by each passing minute.

“You better get home quickly.”, Millie responded softly.

“Why?”, you raised an eyebrow at her.

“She’s pretty mad.”, Guro explained. Hearing the Norwegian say this, send a shiver down to your spine, you all knew all too well who your teammate meant with she, Emma who’s facial expression from earlier was engraved into your visual memory.

Your girlfriends voice brought you back from your thoughts. “About the kiss in the rain? Emma should be mad about the game instead, how we lost it in the second half!”

She tried to keep her voice steady but the anger seeped through the words.

Millie shook her head calmly: “We all lost that game tonight.”

You sighed, looking at the tall defender: “Yes, but Millie, she has no right to hate us just because Niamh and I love each other.”

A look of empathy crossed Millies face: “No, I absolutely agree. I know it‘s been bothering Niamh for a while now.”

“Yes, she‘s tired of the hate. Especially after Emmas statement on player-player-relationships.”, you continued.

Millie nodded in understanding. You were sure that everyone in the room knew that Niamhs anger came from an accumulation of disappointing games and questionable interviews of your coach.

“But we didn‘t lose because of this tonight.”, Millie reminded you.

Niamh let out a long sigh: “No, we didn‘t.”

“Niamh.” The older team captain tried to find the youngers eyes.

“Yeah?”

“Go home.”, Millies voice was soft, her eyes full of worry for the two of you. Still, you did not dare to refuse her order.

You started packing your bags silently, trying to leave the stadium as fast as possible.

“Bye, girls.”, Niamh said plainly, not looking at any. of your teammates.

Guro forced herself to smile: “Bye.”

“Goodbye.”, you said before following your girlfriend out.

Niamh was unusually quiet on your way home. As soon as the door closed behind you and you dropped your bags, she turned towards you.

“I‘m sorry, love.”

“You don‘t need to apologize, Niamh.”, you replied, carefully reaching out to take her hands into yours.

She shook her head, avoiding your eyes: “No, I didn‘t want to get you in trouble. I was just mad.”

Of course, she made the decision to kiss you in the heat of the moment, led by her emotions and it might have consequences for you too but you could not blame her.

“We all were. And rightfully so, I mean the first leg might have been the best game of the season…”

Your girlfriend let out a tired breath: “It‘s been a weird season.”

“You can really say that.”, you nodded in agreement.

Still in thought, Niamh continued: “I didn't say anything when she first called our relationship inappropriate… but it has been bothering me the whole time.”

“Me too to be honest. But I didn’t want it to affect your captaincy.”, you admitted.

“I should have said something.”

You carefully put your hand on her upper arm and tried to find her gaze: “And loose the armband? She'll leave at the end of the season and we're staying.”

“Now that Millie is back, she will get it anyway.”, your girlfriend sighed exasperated.

“Probably., you paused for a second before adding in a hopeful tone, but we can stop hiding now, right?”

“We should have stopped much earlier. We owe that to our teammates who taught us that it’s okay.”, she confessed quietly while placing her head on your lap.

“That’s true to Pernille and Magda..”, you began.

“Fran and Maren.”, Niamh mumbled while your fingers ran soothingly through her still slightly wet hair.

“Aswell as Jess and Ann-Katrin.”

“And there are young players looking up to us.”, the defender said earnestly.

“Right. I don’t want them to feel ashamed for whom they love.”, you whispered as you wished away the upcoming tears with your free hand.

“Come here.”, your girlfriend asked you to lay down beside her which you did.

With closed eyes Niamh kissed away your hot tears.

“I love you.”, you told her, smiling sadly.

“I love you too. On and off the pitch. No matter what anyone says.”, the defender responded seriously before pulling you into a close hug.

“Do you think you can fall asleep tonight?”, you asked her cautiously.

“I’ll try too.”, she answered honestly.

“Sleep well, Niamh.”, you wished her goodnight.

“You too.”

Both of you were drifting away into an exhausted sleep, this season has been tiring. In the morning you were feeling less sad because you could finally stop loving your favourite person in secret and live your truth.

Even though not everyone might like that fact, but you felt like a heavy weight has been lifted from your shoulders. You loved Niamh and it was okay if everyone knew about your love for each other.

[unbotheredalwyn]

So obviously after the Joe breakup shit changed we had that ratty twatty and then suddenly travis. Like ratty twatty first of all made it seem like you know this person is like horrible yet you choose to be with him? Everyone called her (rightfully) out I feel like cause he is really a twat of a person and the whole ice spice collab to basically "save" Matty twattys image. I also felt like it was unfair of her fans to force her to break up with him I mean it's her life. And Joe during this time went through so much shit after the break up I remember he was papped and everyone made fun of how skinny he is and how horrible he looks (he had bags under his eyes on the photo) which is actually sad cause he lost his grandmother I think during that time and people were genuinely saying disgusting things and saying mother is looking so much better etc etc while Joe was having a downwards spiral. Again I understand no one knew his depression was that bad but fuck swifties can be more kind.

Exit ratty twatty enter travesty lord this man gives me the ick.

Swifties are blinded by their relationship but he is really not a good dude. I mean that video live of him pushing his coach and yelling? Videos online of him being openly racist, being a trump supporter (and also swifties are dumb they think bc he got vaccinated and bent the knee for black lives matter he is somehow Democrat?) honey trump is vaccinated as well. And just because he supported blm does not make him a good person. He was PAID to do all that performative shit.

I mean she has millions of fans, thousands of young girls thinking the blatant red flags of travesty is hot and shit. Tells me he can push her around too. (not to mention he supported his abusive friend that literally hit his wife.)

And it feels like she's forcing travesty tbh? Like girlie you wanted the art to be about you yet you let some man overshadow it. Because truly that's what's happening like swifties are more into him at this point and the relationship they made up in their head as Taylor.

This is where I got annoyed and took a step back. Each time they were seen Joe got thousands and thousands of hate just for what being introverted?

Then they attacked Emma (Joe's Co worker) for a cheating rumor THEY MADE UP and the shit they said were so genuinely disgusting she had to switch off her comments.

Then Ai audio dropped about Joe abusing Taylor and Ai videos circled making it seem like Joe is a cheater when he is NOT. fuck they even trended a sex scene with that Alison chick he worked with saying he said Alison (her real name) and not her character's name when he DID NOT. It was in the fucking series! This woman got slut shamed so bad she turned off comments too for literally WORKING with Joe. Swifties literally spread shit around that he cheated on Taylor with Emma and Alison when he didn't! And the fucking best of all Taylor was on the set while filming conversations with friends. She most likely saw it IN PERSON and they chose to say all this genuinely disgusting shit about Alison who I've learned is actually a pretty good person.

Here I got genuinely disgusted.

So okay again I understand that Taylor can't control all her fans but her silence while her cult mass harrases people?

Whats insane to me is Joe. Like the guy got so much hate because SHE CHOSE to lead fans on. When she announced ttpd everyone thought the title relates to Joe and Paul mescal

Joe got mass hate

Then the secret songs at eras being about cheating

Joe got death threats

ALL TO BE AN ALBUM ABOUT THE FUCKING SEWER RAT SHE CAN'T GET OVER?!

she literally took ALL the hate against Joe *knowing* she's releasing an album dissing her 6 weeks situationship is genuinely disgusting. I cannot fathom it.

And AND the only thing she could say about Joe is dude did not want to marry her bc he was severely depressed WHICH IS NOT HER PLACE TO TALK ABOUT HIS STRUGGLES?

like I am SORRY this man wants to d word next to her and she just didn't care and wanted to fuck Matty?

Her partner, that got her through her darkest times BTW, did not deserve this.

She let all this mass harrasment just happen to market ttpd. Like genuinely what the actual fuck. 2 innocent women Emma and Alison were attacked and called sluts for genuinely existing and breathing the same air as Joe. And the proof he did not cheat is in her OWN lyrics. (which swifties cannot seem to fucking read bc they'd rather attack Joe than admit this album is about a sewer nazi rat)

The hate Joe got made me cry. The disgusting things they said about him. Swifties literally threatening to bash his head in with a hammer or that he needs to hang himself and they'd enjoy seeing his body swinging from the roof.

Genuinely why would any person say this to anyone at any time?

And they made fun of depression like. What. The. Fuck. Just because Joe might not see it does not mean other people with crippling depression won't.

Oh and a side note she's still bringing up Kim on albums? Not just Kim Kim's CHILD?! leave the kid alone.

Genuinely feel like the most honest Taylor we got was during lover (a time which Joe helped her voice her political opinions and shit) and idk I just feel cheated on?

My whole life I've defended Taylor against everyone and I genuinely feel like she's showing her true colors now being with travesty and ratty and I cannot fathom how this is the same Taylor I'm seeing now as she was like a few years ago.

And it's not just Joe that got death threats BTW. When midnights came out and everyone gave honest reviews cause that evil Jack antonof little gay man ruined the production there were journalists literally getting so much death threats its insane.

Taylor gets (rightfully) called out and fans can't handle it.

She needs to address them ASAP. All these parasocial freaks. The people harrasing Joe. The people literally only seeing Taylor as a breeder for travestys children.

I can't genuinely I can't this is not how I want to feel about Taylor I mean I gave her my youth I looked up to her so much I feel so disappointed in the way she's acting yk?

Yes maybe she can't do jack shit about swifties but she can try.

And her staying quiet over Palestine? Her voice her one post about a ceasefire could change EVERYTHING.

idk at this point I can't stand to be around Taylor.

[b-skarsgard]

•Nicholas Hoult remembers his first encounter with the dreaded vampire Count Orlok. It started with the voice — a haunting, rumbling tone that cuts through shadow.

Robert Eggers, his director on Nosferatu, a reimagining of the 1922 black-and-white silent film classic, played Hoult an audio recording of his costar Bill Skarsgård, the It actor behind Pennywise who now transforms into the titular lich king. In the weeks leading up to filming in Prague, Skarsgård studied with an opera coach to lower his voice an entire octave to reach the deep bowels of Orlok's timbre. He often recorded himself experimenting with the voice, sending different Voice Memo samples to the filmmaker until they found the right sound. Skarsgård labeled one such audio file, "Tiger Growl," which is just him breathing as Orlok. He thought about that famous scene when Thomas Hutter, the unfortunate estate agent, played in this film iteration by Hoult, accidentally cuts himself in the presence of his vampiric client, who then becomes almost aroused by the sight of blood.

"It was unlike anything I'd heard before," Hoult recalls to Entertainment Weekly of listening to some of those samples. "It was chilling to me. Rob was playing it off of his phone, but it still filled the room."

"He really wanted a very deep, resonant voice," Skarsgård says of the director behind The Witch, The Lighthouse, and The Northman. "The character is somewhat paradoxical because he's very powerful and demanding, but there's something frail about him, as well, because he's a corpse. So the voice needs to be very powerful, but at the same time, there needs to be some sort of fragility or almost pain and labor in his breathing and talking."

•The actual look of Orlok feels far more precious. Skarsgård partially secluded himself from the rest of the cast ahead of filming; he would see folks on the weekend, but on shoot days, he maintained his distance from the likes of Lily-Rose Depp, Willem Dafoe, Emma Corrin, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, and Ralph Ineson to enhance the impact of seeing him transformed. The same approach applies to the film's marketing.

•The actors themselves are careful when talking about the reveal. "I’d hate to spoil anything," says Dafoe, who plays the Van Helsing-esque figure Professor Albin Eberhart von Franz. "The only thing that I thought was really great and felt really fresh is he looks like he could have been from Romania as opposed to a suave English guy or something. He had a look that was rooted in historic accuracy and a folk tradition."

"I think the best way to discover Orlok is through the movie for the first time," Skarsgård adds. "The movie functions on that, as well. He lives in the shadows for a long time, and it teases the reveal of the character as the movie progresses."

•Skarsgård experienced his own jump scare prior to filming. David White, the prosthetic makeup FX designer who worked with Eggers on The Northman and Skarsgård on The Crow, sculpted a clay bust of what the actor would look like as Count Orlok as a reference for the real thing. “I was terrified just looking at the image,” the actor remembers. “It looked so, so different from me, way more so than Pennywise. I was worried that I couldn't perform through it, that it would feel like giant prosthetic pieces, and I couldn't come alive through that.”

The words “Grinch” and “goblin” came to mind for Skarsgård, but it was on the second camera test, with him sitting in a chair in full getup and surrounded by candles, where it felt like the Count finally arrived. “That was the first time where I felt the camera was alive, and I [could] start becoming this thing,” he says. “Robert came up to me after, and he was like, 'There he is.’”

excerpts taken from the article which you can read in full at the link above

[brainrot-goes-brrrrrr]

More Random SBG headcanons

Taylor loves any form of photo opportunity, but her favorite would be photo booths. If she sees one she will drag anyone, mainly Tyler, into one to take pictures. She has an album somewhere full of these photos, and the first photo in the book is of her, Tyler, her mom, and her dad when they were little at an aquarium.

Aiden is great at video games. Since he was left home alone often, he probably turned to video games for entertainment. Considering Aiden’s tendency to seek out thrills, he would probably turn to horror or timed games.

It is 2016 I’m allowed to say this, Aiden was a FNAF kid, and I feel like the twins might have been as well. Taylor watched a lot of playthroughs as a kid and got Tyler into it so they would watch it together. Tyler was freaked out by it and refused to watch it in full screen, he probably went to the comments to look for a jump scare list. Aiden is a lore freak, if given an opportunity he would give a several-hour-long spiel about the entire timeline.

Firm believer that Logan’s glasses have Coke bottle lenses. This is probably not true, I just think it would be funny if his lenses went out of the frames.

Baron is terrified of Tyler. Not in the way that Tyler would beat him in a fight, but because the baseball coach would be fond of him. Tyler already puts a lot of his effort toward his sport, so he probably has a closer relationship with the coach than the other players. So if Tyler were to tell the coach the shit this guy does, I feel like he could do some damage to Barron. The only reason Tyler hasn’t told the coach about everything that Barron has done is because Barron is a valuable player for him. After all, if the team looks good, then he’ll look good for scholarships.

Ashlyn gets cold pretty easily. In the winter she has to look like the Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man so she can be somewhat comfortable. I thought that the it was called the State-Puff Marshmallow Man my life is a lie

Ashlyn is also pretty muscular because she does ballet— lean muscle. Ballet requires so much control and strength to pull off, so it would only make sense. Have you seen how buff ballerinas are?

Both Aiden and Taylor were scary movie and scary game fans. Aiden loves the thrill of the stories, and Taylor loves creepy/eerie things as we saw with her enthusiasm in a haunted tour of the Sorrel Weed House. When they hang out, they either watch a recent horror movie that came out or a new game that Aiden had gotten.

Ben, Logan, and Tyler, however, can not handle horror and they get jumpy around it. Ben and Logan openly express that they don’t care for the genre, but Tyler just kind of avoids it/does not want to admit he is scared by it. If they have to watch a horror movie, Logan will be curled up in a blanket near Ashlyn covering his eyes to avoid the jump scares(he fails miserably), and Ben is huddled up around Taylor and Aiden because their presence comforts him. Tyler is either sitting somewhat apart from the group or on the other side of Ashlyn trying to act tough, he is failing miserably, resulting in Aiden, Taylor, and Ashlyn teasing him.

Mike and Emma treat all of the kids as if they were their own. At first, I think they were mainly fond of them because they were Ashlyn’s first and only friends as well as them always being at their house. I think it also has something to do with the fact that they spent at least a month teaching them self-defense to protect themselves and each other. Finding out about everyone’s situation, I think they just want to protect them.

Speaking of the previous headcanon, Tyler sees Mike as a father figure, and it kind of just eats at him/leaves him with some conflicting feelings. He is a bit envious of Ashlyn for having such caring parents, and it comes with a bit of guilt when he looks at her for a while. I think Mike realizes this and tries to be there for him. I don’t think it is the same for Taylor because Tyler stepped up to that role, similar to the relationship between Katara and Sokka in Avatar the Last Airbender.

[tashiduncandonaldson]

quickly! team donaldson's (art and tashi) opinions on/relationship with your fave tennis players? 🎤

OK, I'M SORRY THIS TOOK ME SO LONG TO ANSWER, BUT I WANTED TO GIVE IT THE TIME AND ATTENTION IT DESERVES AND TO SEPARATE WHAT I'D *WANT* THEIR OPINIONS TO BE AND WHAT I *ACTUALLY* THINK THEIR OPINIONS WOULD BE OK LET'S GO!!!!

disclaimer: this is all unserious and for fun. what EYE think art and tashi feel about my fave players isn't a reflection of MY opinions of my faves

taylor fritz

i think art would feel a little threatened by him. another good american male player???? art's getting a bit antsy. i can see tashi being allllllll about his serve but also feeling a little competitive that art has to keep his ranking higher than taylor's lmao she does lowkey start vibrating whenever taylor does one of his primal on court screams, though. girlie loves a good tennis scream. once art retires, i can see him feeling less competitive and being more publicly complimentary about taylor's tennis. i WANT him and taylor to be buddies, but i don't think they actually would be, as much as it pains me to say 😭

bonus: morgan riddle. tashi appears in one of morgan's vlogs, and morgan interviews her asking her what it's like being a female coach for a male tennis player. they wind up striking up a nice friendship as two women in business in the tennis world, and the interview goes over really well. (this one might be a little indulgent of what i personally want to see happen...lmao)

2. jasmine paolini

both art and tashi are impressed by how small she is but how much power she packs into like, literally everything she does lol jasmine and tashi take a picture together, and it breaks the tennis fandom. tashi posts a little video of jasmine teaching art some italian words, and that also gets the tennis fandom excited. jasmine is also super kind to lily, and she's lily's favorite tennis player, which lily doesn't hesitate to say, even around art. RIP art

3. jannik sinner

in a universe where art and jannik go h2h, their matches are the epitome of chilling malevolence since they're both so cool and sharply focused on the court. i can see art really liking jannik's tennis and being pretty insistent on watching jannik's matches even after art retires. tashi likes him, but i can see her being more of a carlos girlie. lily lowkey has a little kid crush on him

4. coco gauff

both art and tashi love her. art's jealous of how good coco's kits look. tashi wants to yap tennis with her and just really loves her. itching to get her hands on coco's serve and fix it. crashes out whenever coco double faults. turns into the "my wife thinks she's the coach" meme whenever coco wins a match. there are whispers after art retires that maybe tashi will become coco's coach. lily dresses as coco for halloween one year, and it's the cutest thing. coco is tied for first as lily's favorite player. (RIP art again)

5. casper ruud

art likes him and doesn't see him as a threat, which is more of an arrogance thing on art's behalf than it is commentary on casper's tennis. clearly, art's pretty good on clay if he's won roland garros TWICE, and i like thinking that he likes to practice with casper during clay season. sometimes they're mistaken for each other because pretty blond tennis players who are similarly built. tashi jokes once that she'll go home with casper thinking he's art, and art's like lol but can't help a little 👀 when she says it (RIP art x3). those pics of casper shirtless on a court one time definitely inspired my thought that tashi posts thirst traps of art like that on insta. zoo wee mama!

6. emma raducanu

another one who tashi wants to get her hands on because she thinks emma has a ton of untouched potential she hasn't unlocked yet. art pretends like he doesn't really have any thoughts one way or the other about her tennis, but he's definitely locked onto her winning the u.s. open and at such a young age. (but then he winds up winning it someday, and he doesn't crash out anymore <3) lily also loves emma. (at this point, i'm just going to say lily loves all the wta players, so that's a given sdlkfjsdl)

7. lorenzo musetti

another 1HB!!! art lowkey feels solidarity to see another person with a 1HB, but he's also lowkey like, "i've got to have the better backhand" because he's competitive lmao they also have a lot in common being guys with 1HBs, young kid on tour while being a young parent, and then the shorn sheep era and fans mourning the loss of the floppy hair. one time someone points this out to art, and he's never unable to think of musetti as just the italian version of himself

8. alex eala

talk about someone tashi wants to get her hands on to fix their serve!! similar to emma, tashi sees alex as someone with a lot of untapped potential. art doesn't really pay attention to her until the match when she beats iga, and then he's like, wait who IS this kid???? (i see art being a big iga fan) tashi keeps an eye on her and follows her career pretty closely because she just sees the kind of player alex could be. she also follows her on instagram

9. matteo berrettini

tashi makes an offhand comment about how hot berrettini is, and art crashes out because do u know who berrettini could arguably be said to look similar to...? bingo! so art has a little bit of a silent internal meltdown and decides he doesn't like berrettini, no matter how nice the guy is. tashi doesn't care for his serve, and art just gets grumbly. RIP art x4

10. mirra andreeva

another young player who catches tashi's eye, and she starts keeping up with early on. when mirra wins her first wta 1000 title, tashi leaves a little congratulations comment on the post. art thinks she's a good player, but her emotional outbursts make him think of A Certain Other Player, so he doesn't like watching those parts of her matches. i can also see him being kind of a stickler about sportsmanship just based on how we see the audience react to him swearing and going for a racket smash in challengers, but that's another post for another day

anyway, this was really fun to go through! i tried keeping it to just 10 people. otherwise, i'd be here yapping all day but yeah! and again, my answers are all for fun. these are just my opinions on what i think art and tashi would think, not necessarily what i think. thank you for sending this in, and i'm sorry it took me so long to get to it!!! if anyone agrees, disagrees, or has other thoughts on what tennis players art and tashi would like/dislike/etc., i would love to hear them!!!

[alexbkrieger13]

I have gone done a small rabbit hole of managerial statistics because Casey Stoney is being speculated as Arsenal’s new coach by the fans but it’s being reported that she isn’t a candidate. This rabbit hole mainly stems from seeing a comparison between Casey’s career and Jonas career which is also comparing three different leagues since it’s their full career. To compare the win percentage of the current top six managers with the addition of Jonas, Emma Hayes, and Casey for just their tenures in the WSL. Now some of these managers have only been in the league for a couple games so not the best comparison. Or their Wikipedia page says it hasn’t been updated in a couple months so the numbers might differ. Also I put them in order of the current league standings. Gareth Taylor: 72.8, Sonia Bompastor: 100, Marc Skinner: 63.27, Dario Vidošić: 80, Matt Beard: 48.84, Jonas Eidevall: 66.67, Emma Hayes: 71.12, and Casey Stoney: 67.53

Yea seems like the fans don't want her but the pundits do which is kind of hilarious. Obviously you have to take into account the player she had available to her we're not as great as some of the other players but yea we'll be interesting to see who they end up getting there's not many well known coaches on the market currently so

[wosobronze]

https://www.tumblr.com/wosobronze/763893583672705024/gareth-taylor-not-making-any-change-when-his-team?source=share

They need a change in the midfield, Jill could be the right person to come in.

I love Sonia too. She’s clearly a great coach but she never speak louder the same way Emma was. And I love that she always want more from her players.

And she’s funny!

well we know jill would never say no lmao

she seems like she genuinely cares for all the players and i love that

[igaryna]

hi!! for each of your fav players, what moment got you to start liking and following them

ooo this got me thinking

for iga- i started following her when she won qatar and indian wells back to back in early 2022, and fully became a fan when she became #1 and it only grew as the win streak continued

elena- the fact that she doesn’t show a lot of emotion reminds me a LOT of myself (i’ve had coaches pull me aside multiple times and ask me if i’m even enjoying myself) and i became immediately defensive of her after the response to her “lack of reaction” to winning the wimby title

coco- 2019 wimby run. literally what got me into pro tennis.

ons- when she’s playing well she has the most gorgeous tennis to watch. i got to see this in action at the charleston final in 2022 and got to MEET HER after she won the title which i’ll never forget.

emma- 2021 wimby run, i become a super big fan after that and started running around telling everyone she was gonna be big, so you can imagine my reaction when she won the uso. so she’ll always be my princess <3

atp (these are a lot less interesting i truly do not keep up with atp to the extent of the wta)

daniil- he’s always been my dad’s favorite player. that’s why

jannik- i do not remember, i thought the carota boys were hilarious at their first few appearances (in 2022? 23? which made me start following him more i think)

taylor- iw 2022 (god this and iga’s win bring back such good memories WHAT a tournament) my mom is literally obsessed with him so his matches will always be on in my household tbh

felix- i do not remember i think i really liked his personality <3

casper- lowkey a personal anecdote that i will not share but made me start watching him more 😭😭 also i commiserate with him and ons for further personal reasons

[thecapturedafrique]

HLAW: Day 2—Skills v. Passions/Chocolate

I hope everyone has been having a fantastic HLAW so far! I was out of town on vacation this past Juneteenth weekend and am definitely late to the party, but I wanted to share my idea of how Hana’s extensive skill set came to be! This post covers not only the skills we’re shown directly in canon but also the subjects she’d have been expected to be educated in as a noble lady. While it was originally intended to be a list of bullet points, I ended up adding more elaboration (and a little bit of the second theme there at the end lol).

Tagging @hanaleeappreciationweek and its awesome hosts @lizzybeth1986 and @sazanes!

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

In my version of Hana’s backstory, she was educated from ages of 5 to 10 primarily by her Taiwanese governess Tài Luó, named after the character Miss Anne Taylor from Emma. This included the basics such as reading, writing, and arithmetic, as well as some local history and folklore alongside the life sciences.

Under different tutors, Hana began additional lessons in French and Italian as well as the fine arts. This included painting and singing but began with the piano, when 3-year-old Hana first demonstrated her talent by repeating a section played by her mother, leading Lorelai to seek the best piano teacher money could buy.

Lin Changsong (parodied after the real pianist Yin Chengzong) agreed to instruct Hana after hearing her play, teaching her musical theory as well. He also encouraged her to take up another instrument after she demonstrated an aptitude for composition, and so she was also to a far lesser extent taught to play the violin.

After her tenth birthday, Hana’s governess was exchanged for an etiquette coach to prepare her for her first high societal appearance at the upcoming English Social Season. Named after the tutor from Barbie in the Princess and the Pauper, Lady Julianne de Montfort is the heiress to the extinct IRL duchy of Brittany.

Under her tutelage, Hana became fully fluent in French and thoroughly instructed in all of the social graces like conversation, decorum, and courtly manners. Lorelai also enrolled her in the Shanghai Dance School for additional lessons, where she learned ballet and classical Chinese dances from the instructor Shi Zhongyi.

Though having already been taught to sew by her grandmother Lee Bao, Hana was sent to the Shanghai Embroidery Institute, where she had to take supplementary knot tying lessons after finishing early. Bao encouraged her to take her skills further, first for dressmaking and later on for fashion design in general.

Hana’s academic studies were furthered as well by various instructors in world/cultural/ancient history, philosophies of multiple doctrines, classical literature (both Western and Chinese), advanced mathematics, and the physical/social sciences (including astronomy, chemistry, economics, political science, and sociology).

Her instruction in the equestrian arts took place while abroad in England for the Social Season, where she joined the riding club at Wimbledon Village Stables and learned dressage as well as the various riding styles. Hana was led by her parents to partake in other ��noble” sporting activities like polo, ice skating, and archery.

She also learned some tai chi from Bao, who passed soon after her 15th birthday. This also ended Hana’s lessons with both Lady Julianne (which had evolved into fencing practice) and Lin Changsong, as they had both been financed by her grandmother after receiving the blame for her last public piano performance at age 12.

Hana was given a laptop to attend the online Balissande Finishing School, where her social education shifted to focusing on developing her skills as a hostess. This included courses on interior decorating and the history of art and furniture, which ignited her genuine interest in historical interior design.

One of the conditions to be a debutante for the Queen Charlotte's Ball (the finale of Hana’s official court debut) was entering a university program. While Lorelai and Xinghai did limit her options to areas of study they deemed would increase her appeal to noble suitors, Hana was still excited to choose the culinary arts.

She attended the Culinary Arts Academy Switzerland to earn her Swiss Grand Diploma in Pastry & Chocolate Arts, and her internship at Le Cordon Bleu Shanghai further refined her palate. Her graduation at the age of 18 marked the end of Hana’s formal training period, and thus began the search for an eligible husband.

[allinmycorner]

And just like that, Season 32 of Dancing With the Stars comes to an end.

All the competitors returned for one final show, most participating in the opening number. There had been some concerns as Jamie Lynn had not been pictured in a photo of the returning stars and their pros posted before the finale but she confirmed that she had been sick so was waiting for medical clearance. She got it and briefly appeared in the opening number even though she didn't dance. And Barry treated us to one more shirtless dance as he and Peta danced in the audience at one point.

There was also a performance to celebrate Christmas featuring the pros along with Alfonso and Julianne. At one point, Witney Carson and Helio Castroneves joined their former partners (Alfonso and Julianne, respectively) while former winners Hannah Brown and Rashad Jennings joined in to dance with their former partners (Alan and Emma, respectively). Jason performed his song "I Feel Like Dancing" and even did a little dancing with Daniella, who then finished the dance with her husband Pasha. (The show tried to make a Big Deal about the fact that they are the first husband and wife duo in the finale but neither seemed to want to make it a Big Deal). Charli D'Amelio also performed a new routine with Mark Ballas, who was congratulated on his new baby! Charli also helped hand out the Len Goodman Mirrorball Trophy as well.

Before we got to that point, our finalists had two rounds of competition to go through first. The first round was the redemption dance where each couple was assigned a dance style to redo and hopefully get better scores after working with a judge. In the second round, the rulebook was thrown out the windows and the couples put it all on the line with their freestyle routines.

For one last time this season, let's take a look at how our stars did!

Alyson and Sasha: Alyson thought that Alfonso had made a mistake when he announced she made it to the finals. But she and Sasha celebrate being there and vow to work hard to the very end. Carrie Ann assigns them to dance the salsa again, which was the very first dance Alyson did for the competition. She gave Alyson some pointers and you can see how much Alyson improved from Week 1 to Week 11. I've said before that I could justify Alyson winning the trophy because she was the most improved and this proved it. For her freestyle, she combined Taylor Swift and Jennifer Lopez to do a nice mash-up of ballroom and Latin that showed off her talent and her personality. She also got in a reference to American Pie by saying: "This one time on Dancing with the Stars, I made it to the finals!" It was great to see her in the finale and she should be proud of her fifth place finish.

Charity and Artem: Carrie Ann also mentored Charity and assigned her to do the tango again. She also gave her some tips on how to connect emotionally with her dance. I don't really remember Charity's tango and usually I would rewatch the routines to comment on them but with it being the finale, I decided to just go with my memory. I do remember her freestyle. She decided to tap into her past as a cheerleader and even had help from the cast of Cheer. It was a pretty fun routine. I feel like we've had some cheerleading/sports inspired freestyles that were a little better than this one but for what it was, it was a great way to close out Charity's time on the show. Fourth place may seem disappointing to some driven like her but it's still nothing to sneeze at. She should be proud of everything she did on this show.

Ariana and Pasha: Ariana and Pasha get some coaching from Derek, who assigns her to dance the samba again. It's a fun and energetic routine, again highlighting how talented she is as a performer. Carrie Ann thought she was off the beat but Derek and Bruno thought she did it well. Ariana then had her freestyle, which I thought got off to a weak start and I didn't feel she did much dancing at first. Toward the end, she started to really shine but I was hoping for more. But I am happy that she made it to third place. She worked hard despite her injury and I wish her all the best when she makes her Broadway debut in Chicago!

Jason and Daniella: Bruno assigned Jason and Daniella to dance the foxtrot again, which they danced during Disney Week. He gave them some pointers and Jason definitely improved. This time he glided across the floor and he channeled some classic Hollywood feelings to help with the elegance of his dance. All the judges were impressed. For his freestyle, his was fast paced and was inspired by the Lindy-hop and jive. It was fun to watch and had a lot of content. Jason handled it masterfully and showed how to throw a celebration with your freestyle. I always suspected it would come down to him and someone else so I was not surprised to see him in the final two. While falling just short of the mirrorball trophy likely stung, second place is still a great honor. Way to go, Jason!

Xochitl and Val: Bruno also worked with Xochitl and Val, also giving them the foxtrot as well. And like Jason, Xochitl also channeled some classic Hollywood glamour for an elegant dance though she still also gave it a modern twist - much like her Viennese waltz. Unsurprisingly, she received perfect scores for her routine. She and Val then celebrated her culture by doing a Latin-inspired routine. Her freestyle absolutely was a reflection on herself and she shone throughout it all. Every finalist deserved the mirrorball trophy for their own reason and Xochitl deserved it for how hard she worked and how she kept topping herself week after week. Congratulations, Xochitl and Val on your win. You deserved it!

Thanks to everyone who has read my thoughts on this season of Dancing With the Stars! It certainly was a fun season that kept us guessing to the end. I look forward to Season 33 next year and hope you'll come back to find out my thoughts about that!

Have a happy holiday season if you celebrate and I hope you all have a happy New Year!

[kicksaddictny]

Nike Athlete Think Tank Welcomes Third Cohort, Expands to Include Elite Coaches

What to Know:

Expansion: Nike’s Athlete Think Tank enters its third year, now including 10 elite women athletes and four top-tier women coaches.

Commitment: This initiative reflects Nike’s dedication to redefining athlete partnerships and amplifying the voices of women in sports.

Investment: Nike will donate $1.7 million to organizations selected by Athlete Think Tank members, driving positive change through sport.

At the core of Nike’s values is a steadfast commitment to listening to athletes. For the past three years, Nike has reinforced this by learning from elite women athletes globally through its Athlete Think Tank.

A New Dimension: Coaches Join the Cohort

For the first time, the latest Athlete Think Tank cohort includes coaches from the highest levels of sport. This expansion stems from a key insight: to champion athletes, you must also support their coaches, understand their ideas, and address their unique needs.

The third cohort features athletes such as Alex Morgan, Alice Dearing, Kiki Rice, Laurie Hernandez, Nelly Korda, Oksana Masters, Romane Dicko, Sky Brown, Tunde Oyeneyin, and Yulimar Rojas. Joining them are coaches Emma Hayes, Jenny Lang Ping, Dawn Staley, and Diljeet Taylor.

Driving Positive Change Through Collaboration

“Alongside incredible athletes, the third Athlete Think Tank cohort includes some of the greatest coaches of our time,” says Tanya Hvizdak, Vice President of Nike Global Women’s Sports Marketing. “Creating positive change through sport is done through listening to the voice of the athlete and listening to coaches. I’m excited about the ideas and perspectives they bring and how we can partner to turn those into action.”

Over the past three years, the Athlete Think Tank has been a platform for athletes and coaches to share their insights, thoughts, and visions for a more equitable future in sports. This collaboration has helped Nike redefine the model of athlete partnership, emphasizing a two-way commitment that fosters candor, deep listening, and collaborative problem-solving. It has also led to new Nike products, athlete services, and support for community organizations aligned with athletes’ passions.

Continued Investment in Community Organizations

Nike is committed to breaking barriers to access and achievement in sports. This year, the brand will donate $1.7 million to nonprofits chosen by Athlete Think Tank members. Funds will support organizations such as Social Impact Fund, Central Carolina Community Foundation, Make Life Skate Life, and Charities Aid Foundation America, fostering positive change through sport. Since the Think Tank’s inception, Nike has invested a total of $4.4 million in community organizations.

“Nike’s investment in community and commitment to listening to women athletes signals the depth of the brand’s support for members of the collective as well as women and girls across all levels of sport," says Emma Hayes, U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team coach and a member of the third Athlete Think Tank cohort. “We have an environment where we can change things that are going to make a difference for future generations of athletes and coaches. It’s extremely inspiring and empowering.”

Looking Ahead

The Athlete Think Tank will continue its momentum with the formation of a fourth cohort of athletes and coaches later this year. Stay tuned for more updates on this inspiring initiative.

[itspileofgoodthings]

I think the fundamental part of growing up re: Anne of Green Gables is that Gilbert Blythe is such a good idea but Lucy Maude didn’t spend enough time on him to make him a fully real person.

[richjerimovich]

2022: a summary

post your favorite or most popular post from each month this year. (it’s okay to skip months!)

i was tagged by @anewhope! thank you so much valentina ily mwah 💓

january

fave: ted lasso + frank turner

top: fleabag

february

fave: coach beard

top: ted lasso + toy soldier motif

march

fave: selina mayer & himym (i cant choose pls dont make me)

top: kendall roy

april

fave: jamie tartt + sam fender (+ another honorable himym mention)

top: abbott elementary

may

fave: rose tyler

top: the thick of it star wars rant

june

fave: amy/rory

top: lila pitts

july

fave: steve harrington

top: ferris/sloane/cameron

august

fave: community

top: aloto baseball cards

september

fave: interstellar + dylan thomas

top: wallace wells

october

fave: ot3s

top: emma 2020

november

fave: dan/blair + taylor swift

top: amy/rory

december

fave: jonah simms

top: succession

tagging @violets @melody-pond @staarfires @maygrant @claytonsdani @madeline-kahn @maxchapman @fionagallaqher @eddiediaaz @sonyarebecchi @wynona-rider @darcyscarden @wakandasforever @djarin @chikoriita @rogerhealey @pugsleys @kenobiis @robert-englund @naiey @eddiediaaz @brooksdavis @seance (if you’ve already done this feel free to ignore me)

[wosocharleeeeess]

woso rundown:

NATIONAL TEAMS: best players from each county verse other teams in either competitive or friendly matches. —> womens world cup coming up soon!

Australia (matilda’s) is ranked 11th

- won asian cup a fucking long time ago and that’s the only big trophy lol

- 4th in olympics

- the only think i like about tony right now is his custom matilda’s air force

important players:

Sam kerr: australia all time greatest goal scorer, her backflips have us in a chokehold. plays for chelsea (2x golden boot winner)

Mary Fowler: up and coming star, new manchester city signing. 19 years old

Ellie Carpenter: bloody good defender, holding matilda’s together, alas ACL!! plays for lyon

important to remember: have LOW expectations of us to keep you sane, our defence is often in shambles and sam kerr holds the team on her back. but it’s vibes all around

Club level:

Wsl: (imo best league)

Teams:

Chelsea- (best team)

can’t single out any players cause they are all perfect to me:

the gaffer: emma hayes, built chelsea women from the ground up. she is an icon🤩

- is english so won’t coach the matilda’s 😭

- has an adorable son harry

- so good at managing players

- honestly need a whole other rundown they are that amazing

Arsenal:

- like some of the players hate the team.

- new coach jonas came this season, talked smack about chelsea but then loss the league by one point to us on final day 😘

- have a few aussies: steph and caitlin(more on her later)

Manchester City:

- lost A LOT of players

- could either flop or go really well this season

- we all hate their manager Garth Taylor for benching a gold medalist the entire season

Manchester United:

- the womens team is holding that club together

- ugly collar kit

- pushing for champions league this season :)

Other teams:

- Tottenham- kristie was rumoured going there (LOVE last seasons kit)

- Everton- flop last season who knows

- Aston Villa- have ruesha littlejohn and that’s all you need to know

- Liverpool- surprising preseason (recently promoted)

-

NSWL: American league!

- sam used to play there (chicago redstars)

- kristie now plays there for gotham and is HOLDING the team together

- sam diego wave is going very well

[zalrb]

OTH 1x09 Rewatch

It’s just funny that preteen Zal was a part of the online save OTH campaign, but really, I just naively thought they were going to see Brucas through and I wanted to see where they’d go. Should’ve let it burn, Zal.

Nathan, you pulled her into a classroom with the door open. 

This is cute though

I prefer together-Naley over build-up Naley because build up Naley is a joke.

Every time I see Whitey I’m like I’d rather watch Coach Taylor.

Lucas’ obsession with Steinbeck is just, OKAY.

He should’ve given her Emma. Brooke would love Emma.

“It might help if she thinks you were happy, she thinks I ruined your life” this isn’t supposed to be funny but I just found that whole delivery hilarious.

Also, Deb, you say you’re going to cut back on your hours to spend more time with Nathan and then you immediately start hanging out with Karen and spend all your time away from home. Make it make sense.

LMAO

WHY would you give the steroids IN the locker room.

I struggle with Nathan as a character this season because, like, the elements of what they want are there when it comes to Dan -- Dan goes between telling him he’s not good enough to pushing him to be the best, which fine, but even with that I’m like you let Nathan party a lot for how much you’re supposed to be drilling him, Nathan should virtually have no social life, it should just be basketball but OK Nathan has a social life, Dan shits on him so he shits on Lucas and/or Peyton that’s done better with Lucas than it was with Peyton but fine, but then it comes to the team and it comes to Whitey, there isn’t that sense of added pressure where they all look to Nathan, Whitey spends most of his time taking minutes away from Nathan, the team kind of just does what he says but they don’t revere him? In the pilot of FNL, the mayor goes up to Street, like you’re going to win this season for us, right? He’s being spotlighted for NBC, there are recruiters. And in general with the team, boosters give them gifts and cash, there is so much pressure around the players even in how they’re treated like gods. That’s not there here. And then Nathan as a character, like are you disciplined? Are you not disciplined? Do you have drive, do you just want to walk away? And I get that he’s struggling with those questions but his attitude needs to be clarified.

Even Smash’s steroids storyline, when he takes them he performs well immediately and everyone tells him to keep it up and you see him in his personal life get moody and quiet. Nathan doesn’t even do well in practice.

I will say Bethany plays being flustered around Nathan really well.

Whitey is actually a terrible coach.

These two

I think it’s funny that they wrote Brooke getting a tattoo so Lucas could get a tattoo so they could stop trying to cover up Chad’s tattoo and both tattoos are basic ass tattoos but also indicative of the 00s.

And I also like how Luke just HAS that tattoo now, there’s no bandage, no swelling, there’s no blood

“You’re out half the night, you’re drunk, now you’ve got a tattoo, what did you join the navy too?” Keith, does the last part fit in with the first parts? A better thing to say would be like, “What, did you steal a car too?”

Peyton is a HORRIBLE friend to Brooke. Because she is absolutely one of the people who don’t see Brooke for who she is.

OK there’s the swelling and the blood because I was like WHAT?

But really James can’t act to save his life. Like Tyler and his “Bad Scott” routine.

When Street had to be rushed to the hospital, the entire team and the coach and family members were at the hospital the minute the game ended.Half the town waited around outside the hospital to show support. Tree Hill is not a basketball town.

Aww Naley.

I remember someone asked me once if I thought Brooke was a bad friend to Peyton because she hooked up with Lucas in season 1 when Leyton were having a sort of a thing, the thing about that, though, is that Brooke asked repeatedly if Peyton was into him and Peyton was like no, she dares her to kiss Lucas in front of everyone, which was shitty but Peyton does it and she gets scared and runs away but when Brooke asks her about it the day after, Peyton doesn’t say I got scared and ran away, she says she doesn’t want the dating drama and I just want to have fun. So. I mean.

[female-buckets]

Ukrainian superstar Alina Iagupova led Fenerbahce to a Turkish SuperLeague Championship last year. She also won the EuroLeague regular season MVP two years in a row in 2020 and 2021. She's led the Euroleague in scoring two seasons in a row, too. She's the first non-American player to win the scoring title since Penny Taylor in 2010-2011. And she's the first European player to do it since Gordana Grubin in 2003-2004. This is the kind of company she's in as a EuroLeague scoring champion...

Only 5 women have ever won multiple EuroLeague scoring titles. Razija Mujanović, Clarissa Davis, Katie Douglas, Diana Taurasi, and Alina Iagupova. Mujanovic was a 6'8" center. But the other four scoring champions have quite a bit in common. They're all big mean guards. And Alina, at 6'1" with what looks like 190 lbs of muscle... she's definitely the biggest. And if you think all that size makes her slow, think again.

This year, Fenerbahce has put together a SuperTeam. They're doing everything they can to challenge UMMC. Here's how well each competitive roster is represented in the top 15 Euroleague stats.

Avenida 2 scorers: Kahleah Copper 1st, Katie Lou Samuelson 14th 1 assister: Sylvia Dominguez 13th 1 blocker: Bella Alarie 14th Top 15 total: 4 | Top 3 total: 1

Dynamo Kursk 2 scorers: Natasha Howard 4th, Arike Ogunbowale 14th 1 rebounder: Natasha Howard 1st 2 thieves: Eva Lisec 5th, Epiphanny Prince 9th Top 15 total: 5 | Top 3 total: 1

UMMC 2 scorers: Jonquel Jones 8th, Allie Quigley 13th 2 rebounders: Jonquel Jones 6th, Emma Meesseman 15th 2 assisters: Alex Bentley 10th, Alba Torrens 12th 2 blockers: Jonquel Jones 7th, Maria Vadeeva 8th Top 15 total: 8 | Top 3 total: 0

USK Praha 2 scorers: Brionna Jones 2nd, Maria Conde 7th 2 rebounders: Alyssa Thomas 4th, Brionna Jones 12th 2 assisters: Alyssa Thomas 2nd, Teja Oblak 7th 1 blocker: Dragana Stankovic 2nd 2 thieves: Alyssa Thomas 7th, Brionna Jones 11th Top 15 total: 9 | Top 3 total: 3

Fenerbahce 3 scorers: Kayla McBride 3rd, Alina Iagupova 11th, Satou Sabally 14th 2 rebounders: Elizabeth Williams 5th, Satou Sabally 10th 2 assisters: Alina Iagupova 3rd, Olcay Cakir 5th 2 blockers: Elizabeth Williams 1st, Satou Sabally 13th 2 thieves: Alina Iagupova 15th, Elizabeth Williams 15th Top 15 total: 11 | Top 3 total: 3

With so many stars on the team, Alina doesn't need to carry the scoring burden this season. She's averaging 16.1 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 5.6 assists. She's more than a scoring machine. She's an incredible facilitator as well. She can carry a team when she needs to but she loves to set up her teammates.

Don't be fooled by UMMC looking like a mid-level team here. They are a SuperTeam. They're such a SuperTeam that each superstar does a fraction of what they'd do on a regular team. But when the EuroLeague final four comes around, the superstars go all out and cut through everyone.

But UMMC, despite all that Russian money and all those superstars, is not a perfect system. And when UMMC faces Fenerbahce in the Euroleague final, Fenerbahce will expose that imperfection. UMMC might have Russian money, but Fenerbahce has Ukrainian legend Alina Iagupova.

I'd love to see Alina play in the WNBA. But the LA Sparks have her WNBA rights. And that's terrible.

The Sparks are the WNBA team with the worst management in the league. They also design their roster around a certain "image." And Alina does not fit that image at all. She came to Sparks training camp in 2019 which happened to be a disaster year for that disaster team. The coach, the manager, and the star player Candace Parker were all at war with each other. Alina went home because she wasn't getting payed enough to put up with that bullshit. She didn't complete her contract. So now, if she wants to play in the WNBA, she has to negotiate with the LA Sparks. Awful.

There's actually a number of international players in the same position as Alina. The WNBA is not an attractive league for foreign players to play in. Until the WNBA fixes that, it won't be the league with all the best players, just the best Americans.