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selfindulgentpixies · 8 months ago

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Learn to play the game for me

Aventurine x GN!reader Hunger games!AU

Wrote this for @decaydaddy's event! The idea of Aventurine being a previous victor and mentor for the hunger games hit me like a truck. It just fits him really well I feel like. I can't say i'll write more for this just because I can't say i'm fully back on the writing horse yet. I was just really taken by this idea because i really enjoyed the hunger games back when i read it. Even if i only read the first two books. It'll be clear that certain scenes really stuck in my head.

header is official promo art and divider credit goes to @kaeyaphile

A sharp rip echo’s through the room before a string of curses fall from your lips. “Fuckin mother fucki’- the hell did you you warn me first?! Why do I need this done exactly?!”

“Ah ah, language, if you’re going to get sponsors we need to play up that pretty and polite image, no one’s going to want to sponsor you if you don’t.” Your mentor chides as the stylist disposes of the first paper and wax strip now coated in hair, hair that you really didn’t think there was a point in getting rid of.

You glare at your mentor, pretty as a picture as he always is. He’d even been pretty when you were young children, even if he’d lacked the flamboyantcy and refinement he now carries himself with back then. You try to ignore it as more warm wax is painted onto your leg and keep your focus on Aventurine. “And you think a few sponsors will be enough for me to survive this thing? I’ll probably end up dead, and then i’ll just leave behind a ‘pretty’ and hairless corpse.”

Something shifts in Aventurine's eyes and he leans close to you. “You can survive this, you just need to learn how to play their game. Just like I did. Are you really ready to just give up and let yourself be chewed up and spit out?”

Something stutters in your chest both at the intensity of his gaze and at his close proximity. Rrrriiiip- the wax strip being pulled from your skin cuts off anything you could have said, though to your credit you don’t swear this time and just let out a surprised choked sound.

Aventurine steps back from you, the expensive heels of his shoes clicking on the hard floor as he turns away. “I’ll leave you to get finished being cleaned up.” He gives a little wave of his hand and walks away.

___

You stand before the full length mirror, staring at yourself draped in expensive fabric you would never have been able to imagine yourself in before. Soon you’d be sitting on a stage, selling yourself, selling the idea of you, to the sponsors who could tip the balance for you once the games begin. No. The games have already begun. Aventurine stressed that point to you, that the game began the second you were chosen as a tribute. Everything you did leading up to the fighting was just as important if not more so. You swallow thickly, your thoughts race, you weren’t cut out for this but who was? Maybe those brats in the more well to do districts. Not you though. You squeeze your eyes shut, trying to keep your breathing in check.

Suddenly there are hands on your arms, squeezing lightly. Your eyes snap open, only to be met with your mentor’s in the mirror. Finally alone with him you can see concern there. “That’s right, come back to me, just breathe.”

His words make your heart stutter but you do as he says, he breathes deeply and you mimic the action. Time stretches on forever with you mimicking his breathing until he seems satisfied. “There you are,” there’s a hint of a smile on his lips now. His hands smooth over the fabric he’d wrinkled while gripping your arms. “I know none of this is fair, but I’ll do everything I can to give you every advantage I can in order to even the odds.” His voice is serious, quiet, you might not even be able to hear him if not for how his lips are pressed to your ear.

“Aven…” before you can fully say his name he continues.

“All I ask is that you fight like hell. Both on stage and in the arena. Don’t throw the game because you’re scared.” His eyes are intense, so much so that you try to glance away from his reflection in the mirror only for him to turn you toward him.

He holds your gaze until you give him a firm nod. “Good.” He rests his forehead against yours for a moment and you feel your cheeks heat, your heart racing for an entirely new reason by the time he pulls away and steps back from you. Suddenly your hands shoot out to grab at his arms startling you both.

“I-i..” A deep breath. “How… Did you manage it? You were a lot younger than I am now when you won.” Despite being your mentor Aventurine has actually spoken very little about his own games. He’s dodged most direct questions both by you and the other tribute.

“I got lucky.” He lets out a dry chuckle when your face contorts.

“That’s a terrible answer and doesn’t help me.”

“Ah ah but is it not in line with what they say about these games? ‘May the odds be ever in your favor.’?” there’s a hint of something pained in his voice.

“Aventurine, please, is that really all you’re going to tell me…?”

He removes your hands from his arms before reaching up to cup your face. You feel the warmth of his hands seep through his gloves to your skin contrasted harshly against the cool metal of his rings. “Tell you what, you win and then i’ll tell you everything.”

“But-”

“That doesn’t help you win? Consider it a little extra motivation.”

Before you can protest he steps away from you and turns to head toward the door with a little wave. “It’s almost time for your interview~” With his back to you can’t see that sadness in his expression. He’s not ready to talk about her with you yet, his older sister who’d given her all and made it possible for him to be standing here now. He can’t share that pain with someone who could be dead tomorrow.

—

Very few could ever claim to know what’s going on in Aventurine’s head, and you certainly don’t count yourself among them. So when your interview concludes and you’re just barely off stage and he takes your hand, mouthing the words ‘trust me’ then without a moment for you to process he pulls you to him, his lips crashing with yours. Your sound of surprise is swallowed up by him as he deepens the kiss, your hands flying up to grip the fabric of his expensive jacket. You almost don’t register the gasps and murmurs of the crowd. You may not see it but this moment with your mentor is broadcasted on the large screens as he walks you back a step further into view. The way he kisses you and his tender embrace plain for everyone to see.

Everything feels like whirlwind from there, granted everything since being chosen as tribute has felt that way, but this? The news of you apparently having a love affair with your mentor is everywhere. Headlines of how a pair of lovers are being forced apart and how one must watch the person he loves endure the same trials he once had to survive are abuzz. “Was that seriously necessary?!” Your face is heated and you can’t decide if you feel more embarrassed or angry as you stare at Aventurine perched on the love seat in your temporary accommodations. Shameless with legs spread and a knowing smirk on his lips.

“It makes for a good story. Everyone loves a tragic love story.” He gives a small shrug.

“Why didn’t you ask me first!?”

He raises one elegant brow. “Would you have agreed?”

“No!?”

“And that’s why i didn’t ask. This is another way i can help you and make you more appealing to the audience. Besides… You didn’t seem to mind while I was kissing you.”

“That’s-!” Your stomach twists and you feel your face heat further if possible.

He puts his hands on his knees before standing and walking toward you, when he’s about to pass you he speaks again, looking at you from the corner of his eye. “If it helps, I meant it. The kiss, I mean.”

Your world slows. “You- you don’t get to just say things like that and walk away!” You follow hot on his heels as he begins to head for the door. You grab at his expensive jacket once again, the poor fabric seemingly doomed to your abuse, and turn Aventurine to face you. His expression surprises you, all traces of smugness gone. You swallow thickly. “You can’t play games with my feelings at a time like this…” Your fire seems to fizzle out further with each moment you look at him.

“I’m not… I wouldn’t be putting so much work into giving you the best chance possible if I was.”

“But… why now? After all this time.. After you were in the games when we were little I never heard from you again and suddenly now that you’re my mentor you’re telling me what? That you lo-” a deep breath.

“And if I am?”

“I don’t know… But i have missed you.”

“That’s why you wanted me as your mentor isn’t it? I know you asked for me specifically.”

“Is it why you accepted?”

You meet eachother eyes and suddenly share a small moment of quiet laughter.

“You’re impossible, you know that right? And don’t think I’m not still mad at you.”

“Win the games and I’ll make it up to you.” And he sounds so sure when he says it that a small part of you believes you could win, if not for yourself perhaps for him. Perhaps for the two of you.

The next day, standing on the platform waiting for it to rise to the arena you feel your resolve solidify. He stands in front of you and rests his forehead against yours. “May the odds be ever in your favor.” spoken for you only before he steps back, allowing the platform to rise to take you to the surface, away from him and he hopes it’s not for the last time. By the resolve in your eyes as you get further and further from him he can believe you have a chance, and that’s all you need to win a game like this.

I hope you guys liked it! Aventurine has taken over my brain lately. I've actually written a couple other things but I just haven't polished them. This idea forced me to sit down and write it.

Tag list: @scarabrat-archived @pastelle-rabbit @fushigurro @zorosdimples @bad-as-the-boys @likelilacwine @kweenkatsuki-fics

#aventurine x reader #aventurine x you #aventurine x gn!reader #honkai star rail x reader #honkai star rail x gender neutral reader #rossi writes

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writingquestionsanswered · 3 months ago

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Distancing Character from Person of Same Name

Anonymous asked: I'm writing a fanfiction about an obscure pairing, and some time ago I met a person who has the same name as one of the characters, and now writing about this pairing makes me a little uncomfortable. It's a pretty common name, but I also see this person quite often and it's just weird for me. Do you have any advice so I can separate the character and the person in my head?

Here are some things you could try to distance this character from the person you know in real life who has the same name:

1 - Keep a Character Visual Handy - If you're writing fan-fiction about a canon character, you can search for promo pictures of the character. Or, if it's an OC or an original fiction character, you can try casting the character (see guide here: Guide: Casting Your Characters) with a real actor/model to help you visualize them. Try printing the picture out and tacking it up someplace where you can see it while you write. You could also keep it open on your phone, laptop screen, etc. This will help keep the character fresh in your mind as you write.

2 - Watch Clips or a Character Tribute - If you're writing fan-fiction and you're writing canon characters, odds are good there are clips or even fan-made character tributes of this character on YouTube. Watching some clips or a character tribute before you write is another great way to make sure the character is fresh in your head, rather than the person you know who shares their name. If you're writing an OC or original fiction and you've cast your character with a real actor or model, you could look for clips of movies or shows they're in that closely matches the vibe of your character, and watch those before you write. Or, you could put together some character aesthetics/mood boards and look at those before you write.

3 - Make a List of Differences - Try making a list of all the ways you can think of that your character and their inadvertent namesake are different. No detail is too small. When you're around the real person with that name, really try to focus on the things that make them different from your character.

4 - Change Up the Name a Bit - If you're writing a canon character, your options might be limited, but see if there's a canon nickname for this character you can lean on in your story that makes sense. For example, let's say the shared name is Madison, and the person you know in real life only ever goes by Madison. But maybe the canon character is sometimes called Madi by other characters... if you use Madi as often as it makes sense, that can help to create some distance.

If you're writing an OC or original fiction, you have more room to give your character a nickname of your choosing, and most names have a variety of possible nicknames. You could also try altering the spelling or changing the name to something that sounds very similar.

5 - Talk About It - If you're comfortable talking to this person about that fact that you're a writer, see if you can find an opportunity to share that you happen to be writing about a character with the same name. If it's a fan-fiction character, you can say something like, "Have you ever heard of the TV show ----? There's a character in it named -----, and I've been writing about her and another character, so I always think about that character when I see you." Or, something like that. Sometimes, just getting it out of your head (if possible) can sort of interrupt the connection in your head.

I hope that helps!

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

I’ve been writing seriously for over 30 years and love to share what I’ve learned. Have a writing question? My inbox is always open!

♦ Questions that violate my ask policies will be deleted! ♦ Please see my master list of top posts before asking ♦ Learn more about WQA here

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bietrofastimoff23 · 9 months ago

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КFP4, spoilers

Well, let's get back to talking about my favorite Tai Lung, for which I was waiting for the project. it was quite expected that he was exploited in a promotional campaign for the sake of PR, so the short screen time does not bother me.

What I didn't like:

inefficient use of Tai Lung.

A quick transition from contempt for panda to respect. I just feel that defeating a villain, and even with the help of an ally, is not such an impressive thing for him to change his mind so radically. it would have worked better if he had more interaction with Po, because as it stands, this whole last scene with the tribute from the villains looks forced and insincere (especially from Lord Shen and Kai).

no interaction with shifu. they don't even mention each other in any way, which upsets me a little.

What I like:

Still GOAT.

Tai Lung was treated with more respect than any of the other villains. for sure, this is also due to technical subtleties, but I was still proud of him, that he acted as a kind of main voice of the inhabitants of the world of souls. he walked ahead of everyone, he spoke on behalf of everyone, he showed an example of respect and told Po that he needed to send them all back. He was also the one who made sure everyone left and took the Chameleon.

Now officially he and Po have a good and respectful relationship. They're still not friends, but it's nice to see them reconcile. and although I still find it hasty, it was nice to watch them say goodbye and how Tai lung says they'll see each other on the other side.

Tai Lung is such a son of Shifu. although they didn't cross paths here in any way, I could still feel their connection in all this dry humor of Tai Lung and his passion to arrange emotional swings for others in the best traditions of Shifu.

As he says "dragon warrior". Not only in this movie, but I need to say it.

in general, there are no special disappointments, even despite the studio's outright manipulations with the use of posters with him and a lot of promos with his participation, implying an important role for the plot. if there's a fifth part coming up, I can see tai lung being used more, because this farewell scene doesn't give the impression of that. But for now… it could have been worse, so I'm not complaining at the moment (just give me time and maybe I'll find something to complain about, lmao)

~he's a fairytale~

#tai lung #kung fu panda #kung fu panda 4 #kfp #kfp4 #po kfp #shifu #master shifu #my post #bad english

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cher-rei · 4 months ago

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afterglow pt- 13 [ T.A.A ]

pairings: trent alexander arnold x fem!reader

summary: young and aspiring marketing and business major jamie carter (you) is privileged with working alongside the liverpool marketing and public relations team while also getting entangled with their star player and right back, trent alexander arnold.

genre(s): friends to lovers, fluff, slowish?? burn and just a good time

[wc: 5.3k] afterglow masterlist

notes: rahhhhhh!!!

spamjam._.

liked by liverpoolfc and 3 244 225 others

spamjam._. may 24th anyone? [tagged: taylorhinds]

view all comments below

taylorhinds 👀💜 [liked by spamjam._.]

liverpoolfc collab of the century I fear

→ spamjam._. if you know, you know 🤞🏻

user collab?? are they doing a photoshoot together or something?

→ user probably, you know how jamie is and her random promo photoshoots for brands 😭

→ user take back to the adidas shoot last year omw

→ user life was so much easier back then

virgilvandijk oh, so you were serious? 😂

→ spamjam._. I had a 10 hour board meeting yesterday for this. don't test my commitment 🙄

trentarnold66 she's a baller 🥵 [liked by spamjam._.]

harvelliot LET'S GO!! COUNT YOUR DAYS ON THAT PITCH

fía.messi bro has me flying over for this 😭 [liked by spamjam._.]

→ spamjam._. I couldn't get your dad so I had to settle for the next best thing (and mateo is only 10 so I had to choose you 😔)

"what's the date today?"

"the 23rd," laura answered promptly and went back to typing something on her laptop while the rest of your media team carried on with their personal tasks in the meeting room.

you stood at the whiteboard in front— a black marker in one hand and your ipad in the other as you wrote out and marked certain dates down and finalised a few things.

"okay." you tapped the marker on your chin and took a step back from the board, gaining everyone's attention. "those pictures are up for the efl final, but I'm going to need a date for next week for my meeting with the set designers and stylists because I have a few ideas for the launch."

sienna, another member of your media team was quick to check her calender, her email set up on her desktop. "you're good for march 4th if we're set to release the shoot may 7th."

you bit the inside of your cheek as you thought for a moment. "put it down. I'd also like an update on the news for the boss' special collection and," you wrote down something under the title national duty. "I need the flags ordered asap."

the room fell silent after that, everyone in their own headspace while the sound of keyboards clicking sounded through the room. you wanted to make next season's kit release a big one, the board giving you three words to ride off of and the mock design for the kit a few months ago.

you quite liked the tribute to the design and after consulting a few close professionals (sophia and alexandra) there was an idea of what you were going for. the idea of a more sophisticated look and aesthetic ran through your mind, the question of how would you style the jersey yourself playing a role.

"moped," you blurted which got you a few strange looks. "I want a moped for the shoot."

logan, who was silent for most the of the meeting eyed you for a second. "like the scooter?"

"the bike from that one disney movie?" laura followed and pulled up her pinterest page, moving her laptop to show you and you nodded, writing it down under the kit launch column on the board.

"I want it in red and maroon and see if they can get the jersey design on it," you said while tieing up your hair because this was oh so obviously only the beginning of the meeting.

you had been so busy the past few hours, confined between four walls that the only sunlight you were getting was the light emitting from the passage through the simgular glass wall of your meeting room that overlooked the second floor. your phone was probably buzzing with messages from clara asking you when you were free for your lunch break but that was the last of your worries.

but eventually something caught your attention from the corner of your eye as you stood in front of your team, going over some extra details. "the videographers are working on it currently so all we nee--"

you paused mid-sentence, the glimpse of a figure strolling past the room catching your attention for a moment. "uhm, all we need is to check if..."

they walked past again, only this time at a pace that was definitely noticeable. normally you would've disregarded trent's childish behaviour in the middle of work but everyone was growing agitated and needed a break.

you flicked your attention from your team to trent who was strolling along with his hands in his pockets, only to come back a second time, then a third until your team gradually noticed him. your lips drew into a thin line as he sent them a small wave, pretending to be busy.

"okay, everyone we can take a break." you set the markers down, their thankful sighs of relied making you laugh. "I'll see you in 45, okay?"

the seven of your team members flooded out the door in no time, leaving you alone while trent waited until they were out of sight to finally enter the room. he walked up you the whiteboard beside you, trying to act as if he knew what any of the writing meant while you continued to joy a few things down.

"don't try anything, the walls are literally made of glass," you said unbothered without taking your attention off of the work in front of you.

from beside you trent mocked an expression of hurt, offended that you'd accuse him of coming here just to do something. "I wasn't going to. I came here because I just happened to be walking by after our gym session," he answered, the lie dripping off his tongue effortlessly and you gave him a look.

you didn't respond, instead becoming immersed in your work once again. the marker in your hand moved between the spaces of your fingers, a pout forming on your lips as you concentrated.

don't get him wrong, trent found it extremely attractive that you were in your element— your hair messily tied up, the marker in your hand spinning between your fingers and the look of determination on your face made him crazy. but he was just a man after all and wanted to spend some time with his... free trial user.

with a sigh he sat down at the desk, spinning aimlessly on the chair to try and cure his boredom. he hated this— referring to the lack of privacy in the room because the blinds were open. suddenly, he perked up at the sound of your voice, but to his dismay, you weren't talking to him and were on the phone with someone he didn't care about.

"yes, I'd like to keep them neutral but you can have a selection and we can test them out on the day of the shoot," you said and hurried back to the whiteboard to write something down.

the sound of the marker squeaking on the board made trent cringe, that and he wished that you'd just sit down for one second. when the call ended, you felt the his eyes on you, a look of judgement perhaps? but what did he expect? you were at work and had to get things done.

"someone's cranky," you joked while flipping through a binder.

he threw his head back with a scoff. "well yeah, you're not even looking at me. you probably don't even care that I'm here right now."

really now? you rolled your eyes at his exaggeration, a smile dancing on your lips. "a lot needs to be done before the end of the month unfortunately and I'm kind of in charge of that." you scrunched your nose at the last part, the feeling of admitting that you were in charge sending a weird surge through your body.

tent pursed his lips, his look softening at the way you continued to flip through the binder, mumbling to yourself about not finding something. "I know but--"

"--there aren't any 'buts'." you put your hands on your hips, sending him a stern look to showcase your point. "you're supposed to be focusing on recovering. it's already an issue that you won't be playing sunday, we need you fit for the last few games of the season at least."

the room fell silent again, slight tension building up but you didn't care because it was the truth. it wasn't just him— it was curtis, darwin, mo and dominik as well. a few of their most crucial players were injured and unfortunately that make their chances of winning slimmer. and as excited as everyone was to play on sunday— the kids included even if they only got about five minutes of playtime, but this was still a final.

the coaching staff was agitated, virgil didn't know how if the chelsea squad were going to put up a fight and the injured players were beating themselves up. it wasn't an easy time for anyone right now, but they needed to focus. and right now, it seemed that trent wasn't getting the message.

it was unlike him, and you could see from the way that his leg anxiously bounced up and down that he knew that. so as much as you needed to reprimand him and remind him of what needed to be done, you could also tell that he wasn't okay.

with a sigh, you put down your things and went to lock the office door and close the blinds. the room was encapsulated in slight darkness again, prompting you to switch on the overhead lights that weren't needed earlier on.

trent remained quiet though, even when you came to sit down on the table in front of him. you looked down at him, the footballer leaning back in the chair.

"talk to me, what's bothering you?" your voice was laced with genuine worry and it made him ease into his seat further.

"nothing's wrong. I just wanted to see you but I guess it's a bad time." he plainly shrugged his shoulders, a look of mock dismissal on his face.

you quirked an eyebrow at his answer. "that's the worst lie you could've come up with right now." despite your targeted response you gently took his hand into yours and prompted him to speak. "is it because you're benched for the rest of the month?"

"yes and no," he said, looking up at you. "yes because I let the team down when they need all the help they can get. this is important to all of us and ever since my stupid knee happened I've been acting up."

he didn't need to mention it, but he was referring to the match against burnley where he was subbed off at halftime. you knew that it took a toll on his confidence, both on and off the pitch. there wasn't much you could do unfortunately besides comfort him.

"don't look at me like that," he groaned and leant forward to rest his head on your thigh, the embarrassment sinking in. "I sound so emotional, my ego is buried six feet under right now."

you stifled a laugh at his retort and let your hands run gently up and down his back. "it's okay. I'll ask harvey to pick it up for you, it's not a problem for him."

trent couldn't help but laugh, the feeling of his fingers trialing your thigh sent a shiver through your body. the two of you held that position for a bit longer, the feeling of being near each other enough to ease your respective anxiety.

"you're going to get better okay?" you said softly and he hummed in response. "whatever happens, happens but you need to do what you can. that's all that matters, so for now you're going to be the best bench warmer ever and support your team."

it was the day of the efl final and the team was ready— standing ready with their mascots at their sides in the tunnel that you were running through to make some last minute checks.

maya messaged earlier on in the day to say that they'd be at the match today and you couldn't wait to see them again after such a long time, especially alex who was apparently extremely excited to be here.

today more than ever you wore your liverpool jersey proudly only to be called out for wearing it by a familiar face. you just finished wishing the team goodluck when a chelsea player caught your attention in the line beside you.

you eyes rolled at the sound of the voice but you turned to look at him nonetheless, the smile on your lips slightly forced. "colwill."

levi put out his hand for you to take into a friendly handshake, a cheeky smile on his face as he looked you up and down. "It's always weird to see you in anything other than blue. you switching sides for the day?"

the backhanded comment was obviously a joke, it was natural for the two of you to have banter like this despite the fact that it had been years since you last talked to each other. from the line beside you, harvey was shamelessly watching the back and forth.

it made no sense to him that you always knew someone. in every situation and match of theirs, there was always someone that you knew.

you scrunched your nose at levi, not liking the idea of wearing a chelsea jersey. "we'll leave those blue days of mine at the academy thanks. good luck for today though, you're going to need it."

levi stifled a laugh at your goodbye and watched as you left the tunnel, old memories flooding back but never staying.

"academy?" harvey asked out loud, not meaning for levi to hear but he did and nodded. when he told harvey that you played for the chelsea academy before you left london it raised some intrigue amongst the reds on his side.

judging by their facial expressions he could tell that it wasn't something you liked to talk about. "she got called up a bunch of times for the first team but never took the offer. first time around she was 15."

there was no other reaction from harvey other than an irritated groan, his head shaking to the side as they started to make their way out of the tunnel. "she's lived 100 lives I'm telling you."

from behind him, andy hurriedly shushed him, the laugh barely staying inside because of the strange encounter. but harvey was right— it felt like you've lived 100 lives because there was a piece of you everywhere, a piece of you imprinted within the memory of so many people.

"the carter effect," harvey mumbled to himself with slight distaste as he stood in his position on the pitch waiting for the whistle to blow.

agonising. that's how you'd describe the first of the match. it was like a game of tennis— back and forth but the team was showing resilience against chelsea and their 10 man defence strategy. the man to man marking made you want to scream, because this was not the strategy of a team that knew that they were going to win.

"fucking cowards," you muttered under your breath and jayden danns— one of the kids who were newer to the first team bench, gave you a look.

feeling his judgemental gaze on your side you looked at him with widened eyes, gesturing to the pitch. "it's the truth. you can't play football like this, it's disgraceful."

from the seat beside you, bobby clark, another one of the children (as you liked to call them) spoke up and asked you about how long the chelsea squad could play defence. there wasn't a definite answer on your side as you sat with your hand on your chin in thought.

eventually, it had all the kids in thought, all five of the boys that you were looking after watching with determined eyes to see if there was a break in chelsea's defence.

"the only forward who they're expecting to score is palmer," james said and you scoffed, the rest of the bench chiming in to talk about cole palmer's recent performance and how it's been saving chelsea a ton.

spamjam._. added to their story!

amongst the chatter, you felt your phone buzz in your pocket. the name that popped up on your notification center made you smile— trent who was sitting in the stands with the rest of the injured players.

the last few minutes of the first half played out in a way that had your blood boiling. conor who was starting in trent's position today was playing exceptionally well for his first official start for the team, but someone else saw that as a threat apparently.

one shove from ben chilwell on conor had you out of your seat in an instant. the two players managed to fall on top of each other because of conor's honest tackle, and ben chilwell saw it as a challenge for something more.

seconds away from half time and a fight was about to break out and naturally the liverpool players tried to stop it, with a few players feeling provoked (cody and harvey). luckily it was broken up before anyone got seriously hurt, but by then you were already on the touchline alongside jurgen waiting to jump in.

the half-time whistle blew and you watched with distaste as they walked into the tunnel. instead of going up to the press room like you normally would, you decided to take a quick trip into the stands where the injured players were. you were alone today, and for another 4 months because clara was officially on maternity leave.

she was nearly 5 months into her pregnancy, but you still couldn't get behind your stupidity and not noticing any sooner. the signs were blatantly obvious but you thought it was normal— the loose clothing, strange cravings and her mood swings were nothing out of the ordinary.

she was doing well though, and was staying with her parents for the time being or at least until the season was over so that she could go back home with mason. at least she had stability, that's what mattered most.

"nice of you to visit us," curtis sarcastically greeted as you stood on the outside of the barricade. "I see the boys are treating you well."

it was clear that he was mocking you so you flashed him a tight lip smile. what the kids were doing was asking you questions about anything that came to mind— why you decided to work in marketing? was it true that you and trent were dating? (which you denied obviously)? who would win in a fight, a shark or a tiger? and funny enough you recalled jobe asking you the same question a while ago.

"a shark or a tiger?" he asked with a challenging smile.

your eyebrows furrowed and you looked at jude next to you, who shared the same expression of confusion. "well where's the fight happening?" you asked jobe who made it clear that he didn't like the follow up question.

he pulled a face at you, "what do you mean where's the fight?"

his question left you and jude speechless, his older brother trying to prompt his understanding of the situation further but jobe was stubborn and didn't care about the logistics of the scenario.

"it depends on where the fight is," jude said and you nodded. "they live in different environments entirely so it matters."

jobe rolled his eyes at the question, almost as of it were ridiculous. his shoulders tensed up and he leant forward on the chair he was sitting on. "yeah, but who would win the fight, this isn't about the environment."

you stifled a laugh, in further disbelief. "jobe where is the fight? where is it happening?"

"that's not the point!"

you couldn't stay to chat long to trent's dismay. he couldn't even hold your hand and the look of despair on his face said it all. but you agreed on keeping it on the low, no physical contact in public because there were always cameras around.

you flashed him a smile and waved before heading back to the bench just in time. a sigh of exhaustion leaving your lips at the thought of another 45 minutes of back and forth.

it was around the 60' minute when something built up, having you on the edge of your seat and holding your hands together in prayer and desperation until the ball finally hit the back of the net. however your rejoice didn't last long because once again, the referee was checking for offside.

you stood with your hands in the air in shock, utter hatred for the decision alone. "that wasn't offside at all! what the fuck kind of decision is this?"

the rage and irritation in your tone only grew when the referee called it, your scream drowning out in the sea of groans from the supporters. if it wasn't for james then you probably would have gone up to the stewards yourself to complain.

this was nothing new for the team though, and it was evident in their unimpressed expressions as they got back into position again. you carried on complaining for quite a bit after that— if there was one thing that you hated, then it was cheaters and liars. there was no reason to call the goal offside.

not too far away in the stands trent had his attention on you, an amused smile dancing on his lips as you complained to the other players on the bench— exaggerating your movements and explaining further, your blood boiling.

curris noticed him watching and teasingly nudged his arm. "talk about passionate."

he was right, your passion for the sport was never something you tried to minimise or hold back and that was something that trent found extremely attractive. you were always standing along the touchline with your hands on your head in distraught or leaping from your seat when they scored.

this was a first for trent— his past girlfriends who attended his games usually sat in the family booth and watched from afar, possibility not knowing what was actually happening on the pitch. but the idea of having you so close to him on the once place that he felt the most at home made his heart race.

close, both literally and figuratively— you'd be on the touchline, at most of his games because it was your job but also because you shared the passion for the sport and that meant more than anything to him. the fact that he could share what made him whole, with his partner.

"saffie's at home watching peacefully," curtis then shook his head as he watched you talk to conor who was subbed off, probably complaining again. "and this beast is picking a fight with the stewards."

trent stifled a laugh at his retort, stopping himself to try and listen in on what you were telling conor who was nodding along.

"exactly! I would have thrown him to the floor, conor. you're weak my boy." you pat him on the shoulder reassuringly, causing curtis to throw his head back in laughter.

20 minutes and two yellow cards later, the score was still tied at 0-0. the thought of the match falling into added time made you nauseous, because at the rate anything could happen. with a hand on your forehead you sunk further into your seat, all hope lost as the kids put on their jerseys.

"save us. please." your voice was meek and desperate causing the three of them to laugh, watching as the sub board went up. "I believe in you!"

when the final whistle blew for a short break before the added extra time you got up from your seat and paced up and down to loosen the tension in your legs. jurgen was huddled with the team, strategizing but you weren't too sure what he could possible be telling them.

personally you would have told them to break the chelsea players' legs. or at least try and play a bit rougher but there was nothing you could do except sit and watch. the kids were doing well luckily, and you did a headcount oh how many of them were on the pitch.

4. there were 4 first team players on that pitch and the rest were the club's academy kids going up against a full cheslea squad in a cup final. it was jaw dropping to witness this in person.

when jurgen came over for some water you asked him what the strategy was, to which he just shrugged with a smile. "I told them to have fun. just kick the ball until it hits the back of the net."

you blinked up at him for a moment, the answer a surprise to you but it made sense. there was nothing better that could have been done, so instead you started to pray and manifest, begging the universe for a goal or at least an opportunity.

with your lips pursed you looked up to the timer above the pitch, the big 116 mocking the players on the pitch. there was 4 minutes left and chelsea's management decided that it was a good time to make a substitution. obviously it was to waste time, but even then it was a stupid idea.

the players on the pitch were out of breath, virgil had swear dripping down his forehead and a look of complete exhaustion hiding behind his blank stare. what a way to make people suffer.

it wad the last corner of the match probably and tsimikas was up to take it. naturally you got up again seeing as this was probably going to penalties which you were confident enough in.

with hopeless eyes your eyes followed the ball as it crossed into the penalty area where the players were showing each other, trying to make way for a header. the stadium held it's breath, everyone's hope deep in the dirt until virgil managed to get a touch on the ball just enough that it successfully hit the back of the net.

it happened so quickly but the adrenaline eventually kicked in and you were being pulled into a hug from jurgen. on the other end of the pitch, virgil was sprawled on the floor, the boys surrounding him and laying beside him. it was all over once the final whistle blew seconds later and you heard the bustling noise from behind you.

darwin came running down the steps, pushing curtis to the side as he leapt over the barricade and onto the pitch in excitement with the staff. it was all too much, the overwhelming feelings of anxiety and excitement whirling inside of you.

you were left speechless, nothing more to say than. "how the fuck?"

the celebration was nothing short of heartwarming, but the feeling of watching the chelsea players leaving the stadium without saying a word was a better feeling.

"maybe you should actually try and score next time," you said with a teasing smile directed at levi who was heading towards you up the stairs with the rest of his team. "instead of standing as if you were the great wall of china."

all he did was shake his head and gave you a friendly pat on the shoulder as be walked past, before quickly turning back. "I still think you look better in blue though."

you stifled a laugh, not bothering to answer and instead made your way to the pitch where the banner was set up to take a few pictures before they came down to sing the anthem with their proudly adorned medals and trophy.

while they did all that you made a quick run up to stands, eagerly minding your way until maya, noah and alex were in the clear. the excitement on alex's face was enough for you, a proud feeling of warmth spreading through your chest.

"how was it buddy? did you have fun?" you asked and pulled him into a tight hug.

the younger boy nodded happily, going on about how scared he was and how he really wanted ice cream during the match because it was "super intense". when the time came you bid them goodbye and headed back down to take some pictures.

a fond smile formed on your face at the sight of the academy players, the group immediately making their way over to you with their medals and bombarding you with excited comments.

"I can't believe I nearly scored twice," jayden said with widened eyes, still in disbelief as he held up two fingers. "that's more than once and I just got here."

"which means that you better score soon, the season is nearly over." you lightly punched his arm, the group of academy players following you through the crowd of staff on the pitch.

once again james forced a sarcastic laugh, looking to jayden with his eyes narrowed. "well I just got here too and got booked 3 minutes in. I literally breathed."

not long after that, the photographers called all the academy players together for a group photograph and you took a step back and watched. but your attention was promptly caught by trent leisurely strolling beside dominik and mo.

with a smile you waved him over and suggested that he joined the picture since he was an academy graduate as well. he wasn't too sure at first but he eventually cut in.

after a few pictures your eyes squinted. "what's he doing here?" your question was directed at harvey who was seated on the floor, his face melted in irration as you spoke to him.

"I could ask you the same thing," he shot back and you nearly responded but the group dispersed, everyone going their own way as the celebration wrapped up.

naturally, you joined trent in his little stroll but made sure there was enough space between the two of you so no suspicion would be raised.

even though you were talking normally for the most part, it physically pained him that he couldn't even hold your hand. he gap between your bodies made him cringe, and what made it worse was that this was the first time that he's ever felt this needy or desperate to be close to someone.

but as you were talking to him now, the stadium still full of supporters while you stood in the middle of it all, he felt the desperation panging at his chest.

"bro are you seriously zoning out again?" you asked with a sigh. "this is the fourth time today-- and yes I'm counting."

"well sorry." he lifted his hands into the air in defence. "It's not my fault that my heart is in actual pain because I have to treat you like a normal friend in public."

your eyes rolled at his exaggeration, his dramatics being nothing new especially about this topic. "we aren't officially together yet so we can't do anything about it. calm down, loverboy."

normally this would be the part where he'd kiss you so that you'd shut up but trent had to bite his tongue today, and instead just nodded. it was the harsh truth unfortunately and as much as he loved private relationships, he wanted to show you off. he wanted the world to know that you were his.

but for the first time in a while he'd have to be patient.

spamjam._.

liked by judebellingham and 3 223 122 others

spamjam._. my kids dawg!! 🏆❤️ (and those other grandpa's too)

view all comments below

liverpoolfc red suites you so much more 🫶 [liked by spamjam._.]

→ spamjam._. say it louder for the people in the back 👏 @levicolwill

user ??? oh the dramaaaa

user 120 minutes of torture that I refuse to relive

bobbyclark can't believe that I made it onto the profile 😫

→ spamjam._. watch me crop you out.

→ jayden.danns @bobbyclark I'm the one who got the photocreds on her story 🥱 lower your tone in my presence

→ jamesmconnel and I got booked for breathing 😒

→ spamjam._. james that was a clear tackle?? you got booked for a reason 😭

→ jamesmcconnell yeah for breathing!!

virgilvandijk you should've gotten a medal for being the best cheerleader today 🥇[liked by spamjam._.]

→ spamjam._. aahhh!! I'm so glad my efforts were noticed

→ curtisjr you were screaming at the refs and nearly barged into the stewards room 🤨

→ spamjam._. which is more than you did today benchboy

mosalah grandpas? 😔

→ spamjam._. your leg is broken, so yes. grandpa's 😔

[next!!] [previous!!]

#cherrei writes #afterglow trent alexander arnold #trent alexander arnold fluff #trent alexander arnold fanfic #trent alexander arnold x reader #trent alexander arnold imagine #trent alexander arnold #footballer imagine #liverpool fc #footballer x reader #football imagine #fanfic #liverpoolfc x reader #liverpo

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gentlebeardsbarngrill · 8 months ago

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03/21/2024 Daily OFMD Recap

TLDR; Birthday Boy; Rachel House; Taika Waititi; You Wear 50 Well; #RhysRadness; Stats; Watch party Reminders; Articles; Daily Darby/Today's Taika

Wow, I'm sorry all, I literally fell asleep at the computer last night and just.. didnt get up til this morning. I apparently was pretty wiped out! So tonight's recap is this mornings recap! PS: Im behind on all my messages so please dont think im ignoring you :)

== Birthday Boy ==

As you can imagine, Rhys was everywhere today, on his birthday on this side of the world! Some more stills from Uproar from Caravancarparkfilms IG

He also posted some old and new pics of our captain!

Dan Schreiber Posted a video of Rhys starting to sing My Sharona! Thanks @kiwistede for getting that over to tumblr!

Samba also gave us some more pictures!

And then there was the merstede cameo he did!

= Rachel House =

I keep wanting to post more about Rachel's new movie The Mountain but there's been so much Rhys stuff going on I keep forgetting! So here's some sweet promos for the movie that's in select showings in Aotearoa right now!

== Taika Waititi ==

Great news all! Taika got your lovely letters :)

== You Wear 50 Well ==

More tributes to the birthday boy!

@nika_market

@The_MovieDweeb

= Tumblr Highlights! =

Lots more gorgeous tributes by our tumblr sibs!

@ammdakin

@emcolbs

@illustoryart

== Adopt Our Crew ==

Stede Bonnet won #RhysRadness! As well he should! Our leading man in his major leading role. Congrats Stede!

https://x.com/adoptourcrew/status/1770823288752640358?s=20

== Watch Parties ==

= Newark, Newark =

When: Saturday 23rd March @ 7 pm GMT / 3pm EST / 12 pm PST Where: BBC iPlayer, Now TV

Hosted by @lamentus1

Extra Note: The Rhys Darby Faction Discord will be streaming it as well at 5pm GMT / 1 pm EST / 12 pm PST

Watch Party Hashtags:

#NewarkThePlank

#OurFlagMeansDeath

== Wrecked ==

Today is the series Finale!

Times will be 10pm GMT / 5pm EST / 4pm CST / 2pm PST. Watch two episodes per day. Episodes are 21-22 minutes each. Use the following Saturday for the tags/watch if interested but not able to make this time.

Hashtags:

#WreckedPirates

#SaveOFMD

#RhysDarbyFaction

== Fan Spotlight ==

Today's cast card is none other than our fellow crewmate Hugo Pierre Martin! He's been supporting the SaveOFMD effort for a while as well as being a part of the show's cast! Thank you @melvisik for highlighting our lovely friend!

== Stats ==

Thank you @/meowzawowza_ on twitter for these awesome stats!

== Articles ==

‘Night Court’ – ‘The Duke’s a Hazard’ Post-Mortem Interview with Rhys Darby

== Love Notes ==

Hey Lovelies, I fell asleep last night writing so I'm gonna paste in something from our dear friend TheLatestKate today. Definitely get some rest if you can, we can all persevere tomorrow.

== Daily Darby / Today's Taika==

Today's Theme: Button downs and smiles Taika Courtesy of @kiwi-taika Darby Courtesy of @fandomsmeantheworldtome

#daily ofmd recap #daily ofmd recaps #ofmd daily recap #ofmd daily recaps #ofmd #our flag means death #rhys darby #taika waititi #rachel house #dan schreiber #the cryptid factor #adopt our crew #long live ofmd #rhys radness

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tani-b-art · 8 months ago

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“This ain’t a Country album. This is a “Beyoncé” album.”

I understand why she said this! Because the way it seems she created a completely new genre with ‘Cowboy Carter’! The Country is there (and all the elements) and there’s some Blues, Folk, Soul, Zydeco, Bluegrass, a lil Rock, Gospel and Opera and then some (all genres with Black (Black) American origins). Almost like she opened a new sonic portal while helping to reclaim the genre made by Black Americans.

First off — the album cover art. She pays homage to a long-standing Black American Southern tradition of Houston rodeo and rodeo queens. Carrying our country’s flag…the imagery is signifying to her being a Black American woman. Who she is.

The album cover alone set the tone for what she presented with act ii. [and the photographer is Blair Caldwell, a fellow Black Texan, who has such an eye for capturing beauty. all his photographs are visually pleasing].

[Even the promo - the track list design is a nod & historical reference to Black American culture via The Chitlin Circuit promotional posters. I love it. Made my little graphic art heart smile. The nostalgia of it.]

From the opening track title and lyrics and later on within other songs, she wove her ancestral claiming to America with so much pride. Pride for our country and our flag that we absolutely should have.

Then to have Ms. Linda Martell, the trailblazing Black pioneer & legend in the genre who broke many barriers, be a part of this album was so reverent. (Especially her spoken word throughout that spoke to the way that she and Beyoncé have had to navigate this music industry. When their presence wasn’t well-received, in the very genre we created, they set out to move in a “non-traditional” way). They themselves are the embodiment of unconventional. Ms. Martell rightfully receiving her flowers at the golden age of 82 is harmonious!

Every part of act ii has made people research and discover. The same way act i did. Gotta love a good educational experience through music. (btw—the mention of Zydeco had me hyped).

Having Rhiannon Giddens on instrumentation (along with other background Black musicians and I’m sure Black vocalists) and sharing this musical journey with Tanner Adell, Brittney Spencer, Tiera Kennedy, Reyna Roberts, Willie Jones and Shaboozey — other young Black women and Black men in the genre…all of this Black fellowship made me so happy.

Just sooo much honoring throughout it all. Lots of love poured into it.

Everything is resonate. Connecting. With purpose.

Her voice, her musicality, the note choices, the lyrics, the song titles and the spelling of them, the arrangements.

It’s fun and beautiful.

It sounds amazing.

A beautiful tribute to her roots.

Bravo Beyoncé!

#Beyoncé #Cowboy Carter #Linda Martell #Tanner Adell #Brittney Spencer #Tiera Kennedy #Reyna Roberts #Willie Jones #Shaboozey #Blair Caldwell #Black music #Black culture #Black American culture #Black American music #country music #go stream Cowboy Carter #go buy Cowboy Carter #and go stream and buy all the artists she featured

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worldofedd · 1 year ago

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🌎 This is Edd's world, you just live in it

What happens when you get a superhuman, a vampire, a robot, a witch, and...whatever the hell Tom is, in the same house? You get worldofedd!

An indie semi-selective rp/ask blog featuring characters from the webseries "Eddsworld", as well as an OC. Penned by blaze-art.

Oc, canon, and crossover friendly!

Pretty damn canon-divergent

No NSFW, but the blog is 18+ only because mun is an adult

This blog will/will likely contain depictions, themes, and mentions of: Blood, swearing, gore (occasionally), death, sexual references/jokes, guns, alcohol, smoking, and violence.

Has verses for Monster High, Splatoon, Cookie Run, and Pokemon, among others.

Directory

#{ It's Pretty Swell | Self Promo }#{ This is Just a Tribute | Promos }#eddsworld rp #eddsworld roleplay #roleplay promo #cartoon rp #cartoon roleplay #rp promo #newgrounds rp #newgrounds roleplay

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thatthingilovewith · 3 months ago

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i’m begging u to tell me about the facet mizzen beef

Ok so the Facet Mizzen beef is actually starts the Facet Hilarius beef. Ok so the tributes are planning on escaping from the zoo and we know from a promo that people from district one are almost mistakable for members of the capitol. Mizzen sees Hilarius and thinks “wow him and facet look sorta similar” (this is based on my sister thinking they look similar) they do not, so Mizzen idea is kidnap Hilarius and have Facet take his place so they can escape, “hopefully these people are so self centered they won’t notice”. Facet obviously does not like being mistake for a member of the capitol and it only gets worse when Wovey tells Hilarius they look similar and Livia over hears and starts telling everyone about how “Hilarius could be mistaken for her tribute” in an attempt to get him sponsors cause obviously that a,es him better than the other. After that him and Hilarius hate each other, and he hates Mizzen for starting the whole thing. I just want to make clear both of these beefs are extremely stupid and childish, but none of them will just let it go. Also Mizzen stole part of facets sandwich while they were at the zoo and never apologized.

In a modern au both Facet and Hilarius develop a crush on Reaper and start competing for his attention. Unfortunately, Reaper only becomes aware of their affections when Ma Ash asks him if he has any idea why “two skinny white boys are fist fighting on the front lawn”.

Sorry @ylvisruinedmylife and Lily for taking so long to respond to your original asks

#tbosas #the ballad of songbirds and snakes #mizzen tbosas #hilarius heavensbee #facet tbosas #facet x reaper #reaper tbosas

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sparkliingdust · 2 years ago

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This (early) rant is brought to you by being single but in love with movies for Valentine's Day.

It's about Titanic. And that damn board. And whole debate surrounding that damn board.

They tried getting on it together, it tipped over.

Once Rose was on it, it was slowly submerged in water. If he fit on it too, the weight of them both would’ve made it sink further - a few inches of water would’ve made the board useless and quickly turned their bodies into icicles because they wouldn't have been as dry as Rose was on the board by herself.

Rose was also slowly freezing to death anyways. When he's first leaning on it, water is tipping onto it. Sorry to say but when he's slowly passing away, he's leaving as little weight as possible until it's just his hands resting with hers. By then the water and the waves of everyone panicking around them stops, Rose is left dry on the board. She just lasted longer because she was on the board with as little water as possible to cover her. But in an another 30 minutes, she wouldn't have heard the lifeboats come back for them. Like I love Jack but he just died first because he didn't have a life jacket or got his own piece of door.

In the freaking promo image, James and Leo are occupying more weight on one side of the board bringing it down. James and Leo both only have their hands and elbows leaning on it. You're telling me two people are supposed to have kept the board dry?? When Jack realizes leaning onto it brings on more water he accepts she's the only one who can fit on it safely? When her outfit is heavier than his because of the corset, the dress, a wool jacket, the heart of the ocean necklace in her pocket? Come ON PEOPLE. It's not about the size of the board, and how they could've fit together. It's about the buoyancy of the water with the weight of both of them combined.

Also, everyone ignores what a boss Rose is to leave everything behind and then start her life over in an entirely new country by herself and from scratch. She gave up her mother, her fiancé, a whole life of comforts she took for granted to possibly die with someone she loved. When she loses him too, she ends up surviving instead of giving up in tribute to his death. If he didn't die, the story would've had a happier ending but it would've been 10x cheesier. She held onto that necklace when she could’ve easily cashed it in. That’s how little and how much the heart of the ocean ends up meaning to her - holding onto it for 84 years, never knowing she’d be able to take it back to where she lost everything, and with a simple plop into the ocean let it all go and found peace after a life full of exciting and beautiful memories. BDE.

#titanic #movies #let it fucking go #rose dewitt bukater #jack dawson #film #james cameron #jack x rose

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blackbird5154 · 2 months ago

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I've been quite thoughtful in the last months of how I engage with my hyperfixations, and especially with my current love for Terzo, because I have now understood the reason why I love him so much...

But essentially it's a very complicated thing.

Because reading also the opinions on Tumblr (such as yours), I see that with many fans we have a point in common: that is, that in him we see a symbol of hope.

For me, but also according to the lore itself, he's a man who has faced a lot in his life; and yet he managed to embrace its dark sides and face them, becoming the Satanic Pope that we all know and love.

So, according to my terribly parasocial logic, I see him as a person who would be able to give me comfort in difficult times, because he would know how it feels.

Because he is, even in appearance, mature and elderly.

Mature above all because life has made him this way.

I am honestly very pessimistic in these moments, starting from the last few years.

And if I got a tattoo inspired by Cirice, because that song came on the radio precisely in a difficult moment (a day coming back from the psychologist) and before the reports of war and suffering increased.

As much as I'm obsessed with it, it brought me so much happiness to be in this fandom. Also seeing in Terzo a comfort character, if I may say so.

I see myself in him, that's why I love him so much and I wanted to do a tribute on my skin 🥺

Terzo is a very good guide in difficult moments. You're right, his image combines optimism with a knowledge of the dark sides of life, from the Peter Bebergal's promo and music videos to the complex improvisational character that is embodied on stage.

Terzo has always epitomized for me the strength and willingness to stand up for good things while fighting bad things. He seems like the kind of person who always broke into the thick of things and was never afraid to look difficulties in the face. He cared for those who were weaker and didn't think about whether the danger was comparable to his own abilities. He followed his heart and led people.

About hope. A friend of mine, who doesn't know Ghost well but knows of my fascination with Terzo, once told me a dream she had. It cited obituaries for all the deceased Papas. The obituary for the Third had text whose meaning could be summarized in one word: HOPE. Apparently, it's something that's in the air. And you don't even need to know lore well to feel it.

War is an event that makes a lot of people show the worst sides of their nature. Sometimes, when you look at it, it feels like the world is going to hell and people are turning into monsters. Life turns on you with its ugly side. Even if you're not directly involved, just watching from the sidelines. ESPECIALLY if it affects you directly. But that doesn't mean the world has gotten worse. It's just that it turned his ass on you.

There are two sides to the song Cirice. On the one hand it's about a moth that flies into a deceptive light. On the other, it's about a man who reaches out his hand. Like in the photo I recently reblogged, he reaches out and says: I know this darkness, I will lead you through. I also have a moth symbol in the form of a neck pendant. Depicting it on your body is an even more powerful step. I'm glad if it makes you feel like your supporting character is always with you.

Stay strong. We're not alone 💜

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posthungergamessyndrome · 1 year ago

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The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes Movie Review

I went to the opening night of The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, and since I had written all my reviews of the Hunger Games movies on my tumblr blog, I’d be remissed if I don’t do one for the prequel here.

First I want to say that no matter how you feel about the prequel or even if you read it all or not, sitting in the movie theatre in my district 12 shirt and TBOSAS cardigan and watch a new hunger games movie with other hunger games fans who were also all dressed up is so nostalgic and just bring me back to the times when we were thick into this franchise here on tumblr with the OG movies, and that alone was worth going to see this movie.

The showing I went to was a Panem Party, so they also had “merch” on our seats when we arrived, and it reminded me so much of the time when I went to the catching fire premiere in DC, and it's just amazing to have new hunger games merch in 2023.

I did purposely avoid all promos for this movie as much as I can because I wanted to go into it as spoiler free as possible, and I only read the book once and haven’t reread it since.

I did rewatch all the movies earlier this year but only rewatched mockingjay part 2 the night before, which I think was a good idea because I think a lot of the foreshadowing and parallels are with Mockingjay.

Before I go into spoilers in my review, I’d say overall it’s a good movie on par with the original trilogy. I think this prequel managed to do and succeeded in what other franchises failed to do when they tried to also revisit or expand their world.

It delves into the world of hunger games without being redundant, it had a relevant story to tell outside of the trilogy but still very much connects to it, it gave us interesting characters and while it gave a lot of new information about the world, it also left audience with questions and wanting more, but it in a good way.

When it comes to casting, I think they did another great job of casting the characters especially with young Snow. I think Tom Blyth was able to humanize Snow enough without - and I can’t believe I’m using this word again after all these years - woobifying him or making him overly sympathetic.

I think both his acting and the script allowed audience to see him as a human being, which is kinda meta when in the movie Snow advocated for the tributes to be seen as human beings by the capitol enough to place bets on them and make them believe the tribute they got to know and root for will win, at the same time we as the audience was led to believe or hope or be deluded or gaslit or whatever you want to term it, that there’s good in young Snow and worth rooting for, which makes the moments where he shows no he’s not a good person and he chose to do the bad things was still shocking to the audience, even if we already knew how his story ends from the original trilogy.

However, I do think what the movie failed to convey about his character is the bad choices he initially made weren’t because he ultimately didn’t have a choice or those are the only choices he can make in order to save sejanus, him and Lucy.

Because in the book we were privy to his internal monologue, we know the bad choices he made were his own conscious choices, that he had every opportunity to be a good person but actively chose to not be one.

But on the other hand that’s a natural consequence of a book to movie adaptation, we don’t get the internal monologue unless there’s a voice over, which I don’t think would have worked in this movie if they went that route.

Although I do think it could have somewhat worked in the last scenes when he was talking to dr Gaul about what are the hunger games for and his future, coz the ending of this movie didn’t explain why the 10th hunger games wasn’t mentioned or known at all by the characters in the original trilogy.

They could have done a montage of Snow erasing the footage of the 10th hunger games himself while we hear their conversation, and while he was staring at the screen it could even then transition to that last scene in the first hunger games movie where president snow was looking at katniss and Peeta returning to 12 and then turning around, and then the scene goes back to young snow as he exit the academy and to the last shot of him in the movie, which also was a nice parallel to katniss’ last shot in catching fire, along with the same movie score.

I do think Rachel Zegler was a great casting choice for Lucy Gray, however, I got to be honest, I found her musical numbers to be cringey. It’s like this movie is actually a hunger games musical but it’s only her character that’s singing for her character and plot development. She’s a great actress but she’s also very theatrical, which you might say makes sense coz Lucy Gray is a performer, but it was to the point I thought she was overacting in certain scenes that it really took me out of the film.

But that said, Rachel and Tom had great chemistry, and the tension in the relationship really came through in the movie. I bought their relationship more in the movie than I did when reading the book.

Their relationship in the book felt very insta love to me, like their tongues are in each others throat after meeting for three days. The movie made it a little bit more slow burn, that yes there might be initial attraction between them but snow was directly questioning her if she’s for real and she’s directly asking him if he can be trusted. Their one real kiss in the movie was earned instead of just kissing all the time like they did in the book.

There’s that real desire or they deluded themselves that they can be together but when hit with reality they ultimately choose themselves over the other.

Sejanus was the character I was looking forward to the most and I wasn’t sure about Josh Rivera playing him, but he managed to pull it off okay.

For me, the real formative relationship Snow had that truly informs who he becomes is his relationship with sejanus, more so than his with Lucy.

I’m not condoning anything he did towards Lucy, but it wasn’t unreasonable that in the end City Boy Snow didn’t choose to give up his lifelong ambition for a two-week situationship with a poor girl from another district that’s likely still hung up on her ex, and worst, to live in the woods. It was kinda expected, really.

His relationship with sejanus however imo was far more meaningful and significant to him, because whether he admits to it or not, he did care about sejanus, even if he didn’t want to. Sejanus basically crept up on him and even though he rationalized in the book and maybe also in the movie that he was only protecting him because his mentors instructed him to or he needed to win the prize money, but ultimately he did care about what happens to sejanus and can’t help but save him from himself. That’s why Snow betraying sejanus and killing him in the end was truly the point of no return for Snow and what he did to Lucy just seals the deal.

So I am glad the movie did spend almost the same about time developing that relationship with Sejanus and Snow, and not just with Snow and Lucy, though I still think they could’ve found a better actor for sejanus.

The relationship Snow had with Tigris was interesting as well, and I also think was more significant to his character development than his relationship with Lucy, but the movie did just gloss over it and only spent time on it at the beginning of the movie.

The biggest issue of the hunger games movies has always been pacing, but while this movie was long, the pacing was the best in this one. I already expected that they will cut a lot from the book even though it is the longest movie in the entire franchise, so the missing details wasn’t as big as a deal for me than it was in the og movies. I still think this should had been an 6-9 episode series, but as a stand alone movie, it works and I don’t truly miss the missing scenes from the book.

I did like the movie was divided in three parts, it helps with keeping up with the movie and storyline, especially for those that didn’t read the book.

when I was reading the book, it didn’t really pick up for me until part 3, but I actually found the first two parts of the movie to be far more enjoyable to watch than the third part. Aside from Snow and Lucy, I think a lot of credit goes to the character of Lucky Flickerman, he gave the movie enough levity to help with the pacing of the film, and I like that he voices out what’s going wrong with the games like the audience would (those drones don’t work!).

I think the arena scenes were done well, it conveyed the horror of kids killing kids without it looking like glorified violence. I do think the portrayal of what happens in the arena was much better than in the first movie, or honestly maybe even in catching fire as far as the emotional impact of the killings and deaths go. There were many moments I was horrified and looked away when a tribute gets killed.

I do think the movie made the capitol students more self aware and empathetic towards the tributes than they were in the books. It wasn’t just sejanus that was conflicted about being a mentor, and I don’t remember the scene of the students rallying to get Lucy out of the arena happening in the book.

Viola Davis as Dr. Gaul and Peter Dinkilage as Dean Highbottom were without a question great in their portrayal but honestly at the end of the day not the most memorable characters in the movie. Unlike woody harrelson, Elizabeth banks, Donald Sutherland, Stanley tucci, & other adult characters in the OG trilogy, who really made an impression with their character portrayals, aside from Jason Schwartzman, no adult character did the same in this prequel movie.

I often say Francis Lawrence is always on the nose with his direction and like to spoon feed the audience, but when it came to the lore of the hanging tree, that's where he finally chose to be subtle. instead of doing like a "Deathly Hallows" exposition of the origin of the hanging tree, it is the plot of the third act. So if you're just a casual fan, you'd think the only connection is Lucy sang it so Snow remembers when Katniss does in Mockingjay.

Instead, what Francis did is show the scenes from the lyrics of the hanging tree as part of the plot. "The dead man called out for his love to flee" that happened at the very first execution sejanus and snow saw in district 12, and snowballed to the rest of the movie until Snow and Lucy agreed to meet at the hanging tree the day the ran away, although at dawn, not at midnight.

The only heavy handed foreshadowing for me was the thing the Katniss plant, "it's too early for katniss" bit was a bit much. the subtle clues here and there for me was enough, with the meadow, the lake, the lake house, the jabberjays and mockingjays, the hanging tree...

so yeah, I think that's pretty much it. If you read this far, especially if you're one of the OGs of the THG tumblr fandom, member of the Peeta Mellark Defense Squad, and everlark stan, thank you and if you're on tiktok want to talk prequel movie or discuss all things hunger games, hit me up!

#hunger games #the ballad of songbirds and snakes #lucy gray #coriolanus snow #katniss everdeen #peeta mellark #mockingjay #catching fire #TBOSAS

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