#I Am UCI

[pageofheartdj]

What's better than radioapple?

Double radioapple XD

[tristesza]

Chinese portraits : Remco Evenepoel & Wout van Aert

Pre-race ritual ?

Wout : Pin my bibs, clean my shoes and my glasses

Remco : Eat and listen to music

Your dream meal after the TT ?

Wout : I saw my road teammates on sunday evening, they’ve eaten good burgers. They told me it was good quality there, so I think burger from the hotel restaurant.

Remco : We didn't have burgers and fries last time, I think it will be this time. Or a good pizza

A song during the warm-up before TT ?

Wout : I always listen to musics from Tomorrowlands, for motivation and energy.

Remco : A little hard though… Hard style and hard techno. There are some artists, like D-Sturb.

The time trial in a kilt or with bagpipe in the earpieces ?

Remco : Neither !

Wout : With a kilt ! I think the picture is funnier.

Your favorite rider during Worlds ? (Excluding belgians)

Remco : He cannot be belgian ? Yeah… Mathieu van der Poel

Wout : Christophe Laporte

Oppenheimer or Barbie ?

Wout : Oppenheimer

Remco : I haven't seen either of them. My wife saw barbie with her little sister, so it will be Oppenheimer.

The first thing you will do when you return to Belgium ?

Remco : Go to sleep quickly, because the day after I have my flight for the training camp.

Wout : Go to the chip chop to eat tasty belgian fries

Biggest celebrity in your phone contacts ?

Wout : My wife !

Remco : Eden Hazard or Thibaut Courtois

Wout’s streak : natural or dyeing ?

Remco : I think it’s natural

Wout : Yeah, I was born like this. It’s a natural thing

[chimielie]

“You have crazy eyes,” Oikawa says offhandedly, setting a glass down and leaning hard on a wooden table, long legs crossing over each other elegantly.

“I do not,” Iwaizumi retorts. “What the fuck are you talking about?”

“Mhm,” Oikawa pushes his head into the other man’s line of vision, dodging as Iwaizumi unfolds his arms to make an attempt at pushing him away, his gaze locked on the other side of the deck all the while. “Nothing’s happening, that’s why the vein in your forehead is about to pop. You’d think he’d notice the big dumb guy staring at him this whole time.”

“I’m not going to dignify that with a response,” says Iwaizumi, casually posing his arm to rest on the table, open palm up.

“Maybe he has noticed and he’s just ignoring it?” Oikawa squints, dropping his (prescription, but don’t you dare tell anyone) sunglasses down his nose for dramatic effect. “A braver man than me, then.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Iwaizumi says, but his fingers twitch, not quite a fist and not far from being one. His eyes are an olive orchard burning. As Oikawa said: crazy.

You are: oblivious, blithe, gorgeous. The tops of your shoulders are sun-warmed and you’re swirling a glass of red in your hand, the contented lilt of your smile familiar to him after many nights watching your favorite wine stain your lips. He sees you sway a little, your eyes popping wide as you realize all too quickly that you might be a little further past tipsy then you’d thought, and the bastard you’re talking to puts his hands on you. One on your shoulder, one on your waist to steady you.

Hajime’s always had a penchant for parkour when he’s drunk, and you and he have been taking sips of each other for days now. He slams a palm down on the hard wood, momentarily airborne as he jumps over the table and cuts through the other people standing around to get to you.

“Hey,” he says, grin looking a little feral as he watches the hands on your waist come off. The guy’s movements are jerky, looking at him like what the hell, man? Iwaizumi has no idea why.

“Hi, Haji,” you say, your lips curling into a warm smile. “This is Naoto. He’s from the same place I am, actually.”

“Cool,” Hajime says, extending a hand to shake like he learned at networking mixers at UCI. Naoto stares at him for a second and then takes it cautiously, wincing as Hajime crushes his fingers in his best arm-wrestling champ grip. “Good to meet you.”

Naoto clearly does not think it is good to meet him. He steps back upon release and makes a rushed goodbye to you, citing a group of friends he suddenly needs to find urgently. You smile and wiggle your fingers at him vaguely, already far more focused on the sun setting over the waves past the terrace than you are on whatever is happening between the two of them. Hajime steps up behind you, sliding a hand over your waist, his palm covering the surface area touched by Naoto. You put a soft hand over his, stroking slowly over his calloused knuckles, and hook your other arm back to tug him forward so he’s pressed against your back, bending so he’s cheek-to-cheek with you, watching the water undulate.

“You havin’ a good time?” His voice is a little rough from the clear liquor he and Oikawa were drinking paired with the effort of keeping his voice quiet, his concern just for you.

“Yes, sir,” you say, taking another sip from your glass. You hold it across your chest and he wraps his fingers around the delicate stem, putting his mouth right over the print yours left. “You?”

“Of course,” he says. “It’s beautiful out here. I think Shittykawa got sunburnt on the beach, though.”

“His fault for being pale,” you wave your left hand dismissively. He wants to pin you like a butterfly, your wrist arched gracefully against the darkening sky. “He has all those fancy skin creams to stop it from flaking, too.”

He feels a little bad for abandoning his best friend, but when he turns his head to check on him, the other man has reunited with Makki and Mattsun, who are all clustered together while taking photos of the two of you. Oikawa’s features specifically are spelling out something very smug and that will be very annoying for Hajime later. Iwaizumi concludes that he will probably survive thirty seconds without direct entertainment from him.

“He gets bad flush, too,” he thinks aloud. “Maybe it’s nothing.”

“See?” He hums and rubs his thumb over your top where he’s holding you with the right hand, soothing circular patterns. He can almost feel you purring. “I can always tell when you’ve started drinking for the night because Kawa gets red and you start running around and climbing things.”

“I don’t,” he protests, but it dies in his throat. You shake in his arms as you laugh.

“You always do. You tried to climb up my balcony once, remember? You said you could beat the elevator up.”

“I would’ve done it if security hadn’t come out,” he grumbles. You take your glass back and put it on the railing. It’s perilous, but Hajime doesn’t say anything. If it spills over your outfit, he’ll follow you back to the room and help you change.

“When I met you, I didn’t expect you to be the crazy type,” you say, turning so your lips brush his skin as you speak. “You seemed so steady compared to Kawa.”

“Only crazy about you,” he says. You sigh happily and melt back into him. He exhales slowly, a controlled breath, and wonders how a bastard like him got so lucky.

[koushisun]

runnin' home to you

Iwaizumi x GN!Reader, reader and iwaizumi both graduated from UCI, sequel to - Where the Love Light Gleams -

WC: 2.7k - angst to fluff, getting back together

A/N: i wrote this almost 3.5 years ago and figured it was finally time to post it lmaooo

You have no idea how you ended up in this situation.

One minute, you were washing dishes peacefully in your apartment, and the next you were braving LA rush-hour traffic to pick up Oikawa from the airport.

After your break-up with Iwaizumi two months ago, you hadn’t really expected to see him again.

“Oikawa? What’s up? Is everything ok?” You were in the middle of washing dishes when your phone rang. After quickly drying your hands with a fluffy dish towel, you picked up the phone, only slightly confused at seeing Oikawa’s name.

You heard him gasp loudly through the phone. “Must something be wrong for me to call you?” You could picture him with his hand over his heart, dramatic as ever.

Rolling your eyes, you replied, “I guess not.” You moved away from the sink and over to your living room, plopping down on your couch. It was a… well-loved couch, one that you had thought of replacing many times, but kept for Hajime’s sake. He really seemed to love that worn, green sofa for some reason.

“Well anyway, I need you to come and pick me up from the airport,” Oikawa stated happily.

Your face scrunched up in confusion. “The airport?”

“I know you know what an airport is.”

“Obviously I know what an airport is, dumbass,” you scoffed. “I meant why are you at LAX? Shouldn’t you be in Argentina right now?” You put your feet up on the couch, hugging your knees close to you.

The last time you had seen Oikawa was well before you and Hajime broke up.

You hear him sigh. “Just come get me and we can keep talking after that. Okay?”

“Fine. But I live out in Anaheim so you’re gonna have to wait at least 45 minutes.” You glance at the time on your phone. “Make that an hour. Maybe more.” You pinch the bridge of your nose. How is this happening to you? All you wanted was to move on from your breakup in peace. Was that too much to ask?

Apparently.

“See you then!”

—

You and Oikawa sit in your car, a tense yet awkward silence enveloping the space. The radio is humming quietly, the bright guitar chords the only thing keeping you sane at that moment.

“So…” Oikawa begins. You mentally brace yourself for whatever it is he’s about to say. “Why exactly did you and Iwa break up?”

Your grip on the steering wheel turns your knuckles white. “I can’t imagine Hajime didn’t tell you already.”

“Oh, no, he did,” Oikawa states. “I just want to hear your perspective.” He turns to look out the window. The sun had already set, the city lights the only thing left to light up the twilight. The yellow of the streetlights casts the car in an amber glow.

You let out a deep sigh. “Well, I’m not really sure how much there is to tell.” You purse your lips before continuing, “I didn’t want to break up. Hajime did. We talked about it, and he got what he wanted.”

“Ok.” His eyes flick over to you. “Is that really all there is to it?”

Somehow, you feel like Oikawa is testing you. On what, you don’t know. “We tried long distance.”

He hums, nodding you along.

“Hajime said he felt guilty asking me to wait for him.” You nearly whisper the words, and you wonder if Oikawa could even hear you. You speak up. “He said he didn’t want to keep me waiting when there was no guarantee we would get to be together in the future.” Your grip on the steering wheel remains firm, the grooves of leather digging into your palm. “I got angry with him. I still am angry with him. It felt like he was just giving up on us.”

“Let me ask you this,” Oikawa says. He locks his eyes on you, and though you can’t look at him, you feel his gaze burning into your skin. “How far would you go for him?”

You feel your anger dissolve, floating off into the night. “For Hajime?” You question, eyes soft as you stare out at the road ahead of you. ���For him, I would go anywhere.” You feel a bittersweet smile rest on your face. “And maybe that’s naive of me, but it’s the truth.”

Oikawa smiles in return. “I don’t think that’s naive at all.” He breathes a laugh. “I mean, I literally left Japan to play volleyball in Argentina. I had no idea what I was getting myself into at the time, but I don’t think I could ever regret it.” He turns his attention to the night sky.

Your voice is soft as you say, “I offered to follow him, y’know.”

The words linger in the air, resting warm but heavy on the two of you.

“I know.”

—

“You want me to do what?”

Oikawa leans back in his chair, laughing. “I want you to go see Iwa-chan in Miyagi!”

The two of you sit at your dinner table, his laptop open in front of the two of you. The slightly cracked screen shows a list of flights from LAX to Sendai, all set to arrive by December 23rd. Oikawa must’ve lost his damn mind.

“Are you actually stupid—that's like, a month away.”

His smile grows wider. “I’ll choose to ignore your hurtful words. But hey, that’s plenty of time to buy your plane ticket!”

You pause for a moment, nervously searching his eyes before sighing. “Why are you doing this?”

Oikawa’s cheerful expression softens, turning a touch more serious. “You said you would go anywhere for Iwa.” He leans towards you. “Did you mean that?”

“Of course I did.”

He leans back, a gentle smile on his face. “Then go chase your dream.”

—

You’re glad to be off the plane; a full ten and a half hours of sitting still is not your idea of fun. You make a mental note to book a session with your chiropractor when you get back to California.

You drag your suitcase behind you, scanning the crowd for Matsukawa. You’ve never actually met him in person, though you had talked to him a few times when Hajime video-called his old friends. You spot him leaning against the wall just outside of baggage claim; he’s taller than you thought he would be, though you suppose it makes sense given that he used to play volleyball.

“Matsukawa-san!” You greet him with a smile.

He kicks off the wall and reaches out for your suitcase. You let him take it but keep your backpack with you. “Nice to finally meet you in person,” he says, adjusting his grip on your luggage. “I'm parked not too far from here.” He nods towards the door and you follow behind him as he exits the terminal. “How was the flight?” He asks.

“Eh.” You shrug. “It was about as good as it could be, I guess.” You’re suddenly grateful for all the time you spent learning Japanese, both for Hajime and for fun. The words still feel foreign in your mouth, though you manage to get through your response without too much trouble. Hopefully, you haven't gotten too rusty in the past few months.

Matsukawa chuckles. “Yeah, it’s not exactly an easy trip.” You walk in silence for a few minutes before finding his car and beginning the drive to his apartment.

“Y’know,” he says, glancing at you briefly. “I’m glad you agreed to come.”

“You are?”

Matsukawa sighs before replying, “Hajime wanted to do what he thought was best for you. Even if that meant hurting you and him both. The ends justified the means.” He flicks on his blinker. “He misses you.”

You can’t make yourself look at him, so you content yourself with looking at your fidgeting hands. “I would certainly hope so,” you mutter. “It would make this whole trip a little awkward if he didn’t.”

“Well,” Matsukawa chuckles, “you’re not wrong about that.” He comes to a stop at a red light. “Hajime’s never given up easily. I’ve known him for years now, and I don’t think he’s ever backed down from a challenge,” he says. “He hates losing, but he hates giving up even more.” he glances at you for no more than a moment, but his knowing gaze burns you all the same.

You don’t respond for a moment. Then, “I thought I knew a lot of things about Hajime.” You pick at your nails, grimacing when you pull a hangnail a bit too far. “But I’m not sure what I know anymore.” You shake your head, willing the thoughts away. They could wait for another time. “Anyways,” you redirect, “why don’t you tell me more about Hanamaki-san! I’m excited to meet him.”

Matsukawa snorts, responding, “What do you want to know?”

—

Matsukawa’s apartment was surprisingly clean. You had seen your fair share of bachelor pads back in California, and they were almost never this neat. Not to say you didn’t welcome his apparent cleanliness; it was a nice surprise, really.

The kitchen was an absolute mess, though.

“Hey! Issei!” You jump a bit when a head pops around the corner—you can only assume the mystery man is Hanamaki. His strawberry blond hair is dusted with flour and, once he moves into the hallway, you can see he is wearing a frilly blue apron that is absolutely caked with who knows what.

You had no idea it was possible to get that messy in the kitchen.

“Hiro!” Matsukawa walks further into the apartment with you following closely behind. “What the hell happened to my kitchen?” He asks, more confused than angry.

“I made us all dinner, obviously.”

“Fuck that,” Matsukawa deadpans, “we’re ordering take-out.”

Hanamaki pouted at the taller male, whining, “Aww come on, man! I promise you won’t get food poisoning this time!”

Well, that’s not concerning at all.

“Do you want your usual?” Matsukawa is resolutely ignoring his friend at this point. Hanamaki doesn’t answer, choosing to grab a plate of the food he prepared. “I’ll take that as a yes. Do you want me to just order for you?” He asks, turning to you.

“Oh, uh,” you begin, “I wouldn’t want to upset Hanamaki-san!” As worried as you are for your immune system, you still don’t want to turn down someone’s hospitality.

“He’ll be fine,” Matsukawa says, eyes shining with amusement. “Hiro just started watching this cooking competition and now he thinks he’s God’s gift to the culinary arts.” He continued typing on his phone. “Last time he tried to make something, we both got food poisoning; let me tell you, it was not a fun time.”

In the end, you decide to play it safe and let Matsukawa order you food. Though you did graciously (and perhaps a bit stupidly) let Hanamaki feed you a sample of his dinner.

It was pretty gross.

“So, Hanamaki,” you started up some conversation as you waited for the delivery to arrive, “what do you do for work?” You notice Matsukawa’s smile as Hanamaki finishes chewing his food.

“I’m sort of in between jobs right now,” he admits. “But I just had a job interview for the Sendai Aquarium, so I’m hoping that’ll work out.”

“Well, I wish you the best of luck!”

Your eyes flit between Hanamaki and Matsukawa as you try to piece together their dynamic. They seem really close. How do they make it work? Hanamaki is such a free spirit, and Matsukawa seems much more grounded. Of course, they’ve known each other for a long time, and they certainly have things in common, but what makes it so easy for them to stay together?

And why wasn’t it that easy for you and Hajime?

“I’m not gonna ask about you and Iwa,” Hanamaki’s voice breaks you out of your thoughts, “but I will say this: sometimes, it’s best to just go with the flow. Shit happens, y’know? I mean it’s not like Issei and I always get along. We just keep trying. So, just see where this takes you.”

You let that sink in for a moment. “Yeah, maybe you’re right.” You give him a small smile. “Thanks, Hanamaki.”

—

On the frigid morning of December 24th, you stand on the front step of Iwaizumi’s childhood home. He had moved back in with his parents when he returned to Japan six months ago, hoping to save up money and move to Tokyo.

You feel your heart squeeze in your chest as you knock on the door. The ensuing silence is almost suffocating despite the winter wind chilling your cheeks. Your breath catches in your throat when you hear the soft scuffing of socked feet on the wooden floor inside.

The door opens to reveal Hajime in a faded UC Irvine hoodie and dark grey sweatpants. The hoodie was one you had given him for his birthday two years back, and the sight makes tears rise, unbidden.

“Hey, Hajime,” you whisper. You wear a ghost of a smile, your eyes drinking in his form.

He says your name, obviously confused. “What are you doing here?” His eyes are wide, and he ushers you in from the cold. He takes your jacket and hangs it on the coat rack. “I thought you said you were going home for Christmas?” You can see the concern in his dark brown eyes.

Your voice is thick as you reply, “I am home.”

Hajime stills for a moment before his face crumples and he cries, pulling you into a warm embrace. You bury your face in his sweatshirt, comforted by the familiar scent of his cologne. When he finally pulls away, he asks, “How long are you here for?”

You slide off your shoes, answering, “I go back in two weeks.” He nods, leading you into the living room. “Hajime.” You call. He turns to look at you, your hands held firmly in his.

“Yes?”

“We need to talk about what happened,” you say firmly, but not unkindly. He nods silently, walking to the couch. It’s plush and comfortable, and the two of you sink down into the cushions, a safe distance away from one another.

“I know you had your reservations about this, but I’m going to move to Japan.” You squeeze his hands. “I told someone recently that I would chase my dream. And I meant it.” You look into his eyes, hoping he could feel your sincerity. “I’m going to be here for this Christmas, and every other Christmas after that.” A shaky breath. “If you’ll have me, that is.”

“You know I want that too.” His eyes are watery, and his hands hold yours in a firm grip. “Of course I do. But I can’t ask you to uproot your whole life for me. That’s just not fair.”

“Hajime.” You pull a single hand out of his hold and guide his face to look at you. “You’re not asking me to give up anything. I’m telling you this because it’s what I want.” He leans his face into your hand. A stray tear makes its way down his tan skin and you gently wipe it away. “If I didn’t want this, I’d be sitting on my shitty green couch in California, not here right now with you.” You press your forehead against his and close your eyes. “Don’t ever think I don’t want you, ok? I want to be with you—I don’t care if that’s here or California, or anywhere else in the world. And that’s my choice. Not yours, not anyone else’s—mine.”

Neither of you say anything for a while, simply sitting and basking in the other’s presence.

“You know,” Hajime’s voice cuts through the silence and you open your eyes to see his dark brown ones staring at you intently, “I happen to really like that ‘shitty green couch,’ thank you very much.” A teasing grin sneaks on his face and you can’t help but laugh.

“Not really sure why, but whatever.” You shake your head, grateful the atmosphere lightened up. Your hands are still intertwined, and though his palm is a bit sweaty, you’re grateful for the reminder that he’s really here with you. “So, will you let me stay?”

His smile grows. “Nothing would make me happier.”

[samkerrworshipper]

Please could you do an imagine with Lucy bronze where the reader is also on the England team and gets injured during a game and Lucy is basically just being really cute and fluffy as well as a little protective 🥰

AHHH

I loved this request sm so here you go!

i feel like this could be followed up with a part 2 to expand on the reader and lucy’s relationship so lmk if you want to see that! also please feel free to keep sending in requests god knows i need inspo rn lol

A shoulder to cry on

Lucy Bronze x Reader

fluff, lil bit of angst, injury, graphic injury, pain, hurt/comfort, 3200 words

blurb: when lucy’s girlfriend goes down in a match how does she deal with it and how does lucy look react

I was too busy watching the ball flying towards goal to see the body flying at me. Too busy focusing on the Australian goalkeeper to acknowledge the knees slowly sliding under my own feet. Too busy focusing on getting my team a goal to give us a chance to stop myself from being floored by the Australian whirlwind, Ellie Carpenter. I went head first into the turf, my body flopping down onto the grass with my head dug into the dirt. My ears were ringing and I was a groaning mess. My whole body hurt and I couldn’t even muster the energy to turn over to access the damage that had been inflicted. All I could feel was gut wrenching pain, from my feet all the way to my hip.

When I was finally turned over I was met with the sight of Ellie and Steph Catley, two Australians that I didn’t want to see right now. I was a screaming, shaking, crying mess. Both women were very clearly taken aback by my emotion. The stadium was a ruckus, and as my teary eyes flashed up I saw my goal being replayed on the big screen, a goal. At least that was something, I’d done something to help us claw our way back. We were 100 days off from the World Cup start though, 100 days. Judging by the amount of pain I was in though that was nowhere near enough time.

As a professional athlete there is always the background fear that you are going to get injured. An overwhelming worry constantly in the back of your head that maybe this time it is going to be your last, maybe the next time you step on the field it might be the last time in a while. As you become a professional, as you start playing for your nation you learn to silence that part of your brain, you can’t afford to live in fear that you are going to get hurt. But watching teammates, friends, people you love get hurt, reinstalls that part of your brain, makes you wonder if maybe you are next, maybe next time it’ll be your turn. That fear though, it’s nothing in comparison to actually getting hurt, nothing in comparison to realising maybe this time it actually is your last.

That was all I could think about as the two Australian women tried to talk to me, tried to communicate with me. The first one of my teammates to rush over was Leah, who shoved both Australians away before crouching down beside me.

“Hey y/n, take a deep breath, the medics are about to get here, you don’t need to worry.”

Leah’s words were like a breath of fresh air, a break from the constant ringing in my ears.

“L-ucy, need Lucy.”

Leah nodded at me, smiling down at my face and nodding. Her hand made it’s way down to my face and wiped away the tears that were falling.

“She’s on her way angel, just stay patient for me, she’s making her way over, just take those deep breaths.”

“Hurts, hurts so fucking bad.”

Leah nodded at me, I watched her eyes creep down my body to my legs and that was how I knew it was bad, because not even Leah could avoid looking.

“I know, I know angel, I am so sorry that I can’t do anything about that. Just keep taking those deep breaths for me.”

I couldn’t help but continue to sob as I waited for someone, anyone to give me some kind of relief. All I could feel was pain and it was clear in Leah’s mannerisms that she didn’t really know how to help me, how was she supposed to help me?

“Y/n, listen to me, take a deep breath, I know you are in pain, the medics are getting here as fast as they can so you just need to take some deep breaths.”

It didn’t help that we were positioned on the opposite side of the field that the medics would be on and it was also a problem that if the umpire hadn’t blown her whistle they wouldn’t be allowed on.

“How bad is it?”

The words left my mouth in between sobs and breaths. Leah clearly didn’t know what to say, she clearly didn’t want to worry me any more but Leah wasn’t a good liar and she had a shit poker face.

“Don’t worry about that, keep your eyes on me. It’s just me and you, kiddo.”

Leah had taken me under her wing long ago, she treated me like her little sister.

I watched her eyes flash up in a panic and before I knew it she was jumping off of her feet and rushing off in the direction behind my head. I couldn’t help but turn my head to watch where she was going. I was still a little bit spaced out so it took me a few seconds to spot her out but once I did I found her rushing towards Ellie, who was sitting a few metres behind me. I couldn’t figure out why she was rushing over until I spotted Lucy approaching, running towards her, a look of absolute anger on her face. Leah was trying to get to her before Lucy inevitably got to Ellie. I watched it unfold as Lucy just made it to Ellie before Leah did, yanking her up by under her armpits.

I didn’t get to see much more, my head was pulled back to being flat on the turf by Millie and Sam Kerr, my ex-teammates from Chelsea.

“Hey y/n/n, the medics are just about to get here, it’s going to be alright.”

Millie’s tone of voice was similar to that of Leah’s, calm, patient, the voice of a captain.

“I need Lucy.”

Lucy was my other half. The love of my life, my everything. I wanted her, I wanted her to be there to hold my hand and to tell me that everything was going to be fine, even if it wasn’t.

“I know, Leah’s sorting her out, she’ll be here in a minute.”

Lucy was insanely protective over me, to a concerning degree. In the past year I’d made the decision to move to Barca, to be with her and it had been great but something I’d learnt from playing alongside her regularly was that she was a little bit too protective over the people she loved. A defender did so much as foul me on the pitch and she did everything in her power to seek some sort of revenge whether it was in the form of physically hurting them or doing anything in her power to get to them.

“I need her Mil, please.”

Millie nodded at me and then looked at Sam, I was in fucking shambles.

“I’ll go get her okay, feel better kid.”

Sam patted me gently on the shoulder before leaving just me and Millie. I was still lying on the pitch, fighting back more tears as I looked up into the sky and just prayed for this to all be over, for the pain to subside and for everything to just dissipate.

The medics were the next people to make it over to us, accompanied by Sarina and our trainer. The game had obviously been stopped for me so they seemed to be in a rush to get me off, with my goal we had a shot at winning now.

“Hi Ms y/l/n, how are you feeling?”

“In pain.”

My answer was flat and the medic let out an empty laugh at my reply.

“Okay, on a scale of 1-10 where would you put yourself at?”

“A 6.”

Sarina snorted at my reply, she knew that I had a high threshold for pain, I’d met her originally when I was playing as a rookie for Chelsea, she’d been the Netherlands coach at time and the coach for a professional team in the Netherlands which she’d tried to recruit me for but I’d turned her down. I’d never have guessed a few years later she would be coaching me on a National level.

“That means its a nine.”

I glared at Sarina, she knew me a little bit too well.

“Okay, this is a penthrox whistle, it should administer immediate pain relief, enough that we should be able to get you on the stretcher and off the pitch.”

I looked at Millie, then at Sarina, then at the Medic, immediately shaking my head.

“I’m walking off.”

All of their faces told me that I was missing something.

“I can’t allow you to do that.”

In all of the chaos, all of the emergence, I hadn’t had the opportunity to even look at the source of my pain.

Before I could say anything more Lucy was crouching down beside my head and I couldn’t have been more grateful to see her. Her hand slid into mine and just her face, her smile, it was enough to make me feel like I wasn’t fighting a fucking battle.

“Luce, can you please tell them to let me walk off the pitch, just let me have that.”

I was fighting back tears and I could tell that Lucy was fighting an internal battle. Her eyes flashed down to my legs and then back to my face and just the split second gasp was enough to tell me that it was bad, really bad. Her hand fell to my face and that was how I knew it was not good and that was when I started sobbing again.

“How bad is it? Stop beating around the bush just tell me.”

All of the people above me looked between each other before the medic spoke,

“Your knee is dislocated, you’ve got some deep lacerations and stud marks in your shins and a piece of your tibia is sticking out of one of them. You are bleeding a lot, we need to get you off the field and to hospital, take the green whistle and we’ll get you off the field as soon as possible.”

Those words hurt, a lot, more than the injury itself. I nodded to the medic, I wasn’t walking off the field with that list of injuries, I was surprised I was still conscious with that comprise of injuries.

“Baby, just take the pain meds, you're in enough pain.”

Lucy’s voice, her convincing was probably the only thing that made me nod my head and let them pass me the inhaler. I got straight to inhaling it, and within the first ten or so inhalation I felt the pain relief start to kick in. It was good, it made me feel almost ten times better. Lucy was there the whole time, whispering sweet nothings into my ear as they medic attended to my legs and Sarina wrapped a blanket around my shivering upper half.

It was about five minutes before I was floating on a pain free drug induced cloud. When that happened they started to transfer me to the stretcher, with the help of Sarina, Lucy, Millie, Leah and the two medics. It was a touchy process, they were very clearly trying to keep the movement of my leg limited. The actual movement of getting me onto the stretcher had me screaming, pain relief or not it hurt insanely and I knew at that moment that my World Cup dreams were pretty much over. I cried the whole way to the ambulance. Lucy and my teammates had to desert me once I made it over to the sideline so they could finish off the game, eventually, along the way I passed out from the mixture of drugs and blood loss, something I was grateful for.

When I started to stir I had a headache but I felt warm. It took me a few seconds before I cracked my eyes, it was dark outside, my room was dark. But not so dark that I couldn’t make out everything around me, the lights from the hallway and machines giving me a steady source of light. The first thing that I saw was that a big percentage of the Lionesses were piled into the room, Georgia, Leah and Keira and piled onto a pull out sofa, Rachel, Millie and Mary sharing the spare cot beside me and a few of the other girls scattered in seats across the room. It was cute, looking at all of my teammates who were clearly gassed from the game but still here. Sarina and Lucy were slumped in the seats immediately to my side. Just as I let my eyes float over to Lucy her own blueish eyes tiredly connecting with my own. A tight lipped smile made its way to her mouth as she acknowledged me.

“Hey baby.”

Her voice was hushed, it was clear she was trying her hardest not to awaken any of our teammates. As she blinked away the sleep she slipped her glasses over her face, locking her eyes properly with me once the frames were slipped over her eyes. Her voice was enough to put more tears in my eyes, I was pretty sure I’d cried enough tears for about six people.

She stood up quietly, letting her hand fall to my face, gently rubbing a circle against my cheek. It was enough to have my lip trembling and my eyes darting across the room. Before I knew it I was a pleading staggering mess.

“Why me? Why now?”

Lucy’s facial expression just broke into a frown and I could feel her worrying from a few centimetres away from me. Before she said anything she pressed her lips to my forehead. I sobbed into her, not really worried about waking up any of our companions.

“I know sweetheart, I know, it’s okay, I’m going to be here for you every step of the way.”

My breaths came out in hiccups and the hospital gown I was in clung to my body with the sweat that I was producing from working myself up.

“How bad is it, did we win?”

My words came out in pieces, it sounded like my Spanish, which was very rough and not very consistent.

“No, but don’t worry about that. They relocated your knee, you had to have surgery on your leg but it’s just a metal plate and some stitches for the lacerations from Carpenter’s boot.”

I honestly felt bad for the Australian defender, she’d had it bad enough with the press for the last while, let alone getting someone else’s blood all over their cleats.

“So my world cup dream is over.”

Lucy let the words hang in the air for a few seconds, it solidified the words in the room.

“Hey, not necessarily. The doctor said that the surgery went really well, that the fracture was pretty minor and that he expects a speedy recovery. You could be back running in 4-6 weeks.”

Even Lucy didn’t sound that optimistic, it was clear she was trying her hardest but she was struggling.

“My fitness will be shot, 4-6 weeks off the pitch pre world cup practically guarantees my spot gone, even if I’m running, in what world would Sarina take the chance of putting me on the pitch.”

Lucy’s brow furrowed, it was hard to catch in the dim light but I managed to with my eyes adjusting to the darkness.

“I won’t have anyone putting my girl down, especially not you. You will be fine. I can’t promise you that you will make it back on the pitch, you will make it to Australia, if it’s the right fit. Maybe it won’t be, maybe that’s fate and I know that’s shit to accept, shit to get the short straw and I am so sorry that you are in that position. If I could switch with you I would. I would do anything for you and you know that, I’ll be here for you everyday, I will give up anything to make this easier for you, I can promise you that. I can promise that I’m here to be whatever you need. You need a shoulder to cry on? I’ve got two. You need someone to listen? I’ve got two working ears and great advice if you want it. You need someone to just be here for you? I will sit with you for as long as you need.”

Lucy’s words hit home for me. She had always been willing to do anything for me, she’d walk to the ends of the earth to do anything for me, she’d made that clear from when we’d first met. I’d been apprehensive from the beginning but she’d fought and fought until I’d given into her and when I had I’d fallen head over heels in love with the woman.

I moved myself over in the bed and patted down next to the space I’d left open beside me. Luc seemed apprehensive to begin with, her eyes darting between my leg and my eyes.

“Please, I just want my girlfriend to hug me, can I have that?”

Lucy bit her lip, she was clearly a little bit nervous about the idea but her slumped shoulders and tired eyes were enough to tell me that she was tired and just as needy as I was. Neither of us slept well without the other, on the rare occasion that we were separated we both struggled with the loss of contact.

“I’m not sure y/n/n, I don’t want to hurt your leg.”

She was so cute when she was nervous, her voice a nervous murmur. I put her worry to rest fairly quickly though, the pain meds were running through my veins and I was equally as tired.

“Luce, my bad leg is on the other side, I just need some contact, I need to feel loved and comfortable and this hospital bed is making that hard, so please, just hug your girlfriend.”

Lucy sighed and nodded at me, she couldn’t deny me, ever, I had her wrapped around my little finger.

“Alright, how about I slide behind you and you can rest against me?”

It took a little bit of push and shove and some wincing and pain on my side but eventually we got Lucy situated behind me, up against the pillows. I was resting comfortably against her chest and stomach, my head resting in her neck. It was everything I’d needed to make me feel a little bit better and once we’d both gotten settled I smiled up at her gratefully. She pressed her lips to my forehead, I swore that I could feel the compassion behind it but maybe that was the morphine speaking.

“I love you.”

She’d smiled down in that goofy way that she did when I gave her a compliment. Lucy was a goofball, it was one of the things that I loved about her. She was always laughing and making people around her laugh, she was just full of good energy and it made me a better person.

“I love you too, my love, always, get some rest. It’s all going to be okay.”

[etapereine]

U23 Race Calendar: A Primer

“Watch U23 races!” I often tell you. “But user etapereine," you may think, "I don’t know which ones those are!”

Fret not! I, your friendly neighborhood little guy enthusiast, am here to guide you and help you make sense of wonderful world of U23 racing.

First Things First

The U23 category is, as the name suggests, an age-limited category in competitive road cycling, encompassing riders aged 18 to 22 (based on birth year). This category is sometimes referred to as espoirs (French) or beloften (Dutch). For the 2025 season, this category includes riders born between 2003 and 2006, inclusive.

These days, many of the top youth riders end up on WorldTeam or ProTeam development teams, in-house continental-level teams that usually share staff and other resources with the affiliated professional team. These development teams compete in a combination of U23-specific races (1.2U or 2.2U), as well as races other races on the UCI calendar at the .Pro level or below.

For that reason, this is by no means an exhaustive list - several teams have already been active in Tour du Rwanda and the Croatian races, among others. Dates are all 2025, but most races are run at roughly the same time every year.

The Biggest of the Big

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that not all cycling races are created equal. From juniors all the way up to elites, some races count more than others, and this first category is the cream of the crop. These are the mini Grand Tours, the baby Monuments: some officially so, some just in practice. If you're only going to watch one or two U23 races this season (or any season), these are probably the ones to shoot for.

13 April: Paris-Roubaix Espoirs (France). Raced the same day as the elite men, and last won by Tim Torn Teutenberg of Lidl - Trek Futures Racing.

19 April: Liège - Bastogne - Liège U23 (Belgium). Raced the week before the elite men, and last won by Joe Blackmore of Israel Premier Tech Academy.

15 June - 22 June: Giro d'Italia Next Gen (“Giro Next Gen,” they’re so pretentious. Shut up, it’s the Baby Giro.) (Italy). 8 stages and raced in trade teams. Last won by Jarno Widar of Lotto Dstny Development Team.

23 August - 30 August: Tour de l'Avenir (France). 8 stages and raced in national teams (for now); this is one of the last remaining vestiges of the Nations Cup series. Considered the U23 equivalent of the Tour de France. Last won by Joe Blackmore of Great Britain.

4 October: Il Lombardia Under 23 (“Lombardia Under 23,” they’re so pretentious. Shut up, it’s the Piccolo Lombardia.) (Italy). Last won by Brieuc Rolland of Equipe continentale Groupama-FDJ.

Classics, But Make Them Baby

Of course, it's not all about Monuments and Grand Tours. Just as the elites' spring classics season doesn't jump from Sanremo to Roubaix to Flanders with nothing in between, neither does it for the little guys. These range from "official" U23 versions of elite-level classics to 1.1 and 1.2-level races with a significant development team presence.

21 March: Youngster Coast Challenge (Belgium). Last won by Niklas Behrens of Lidl - Trek Futures Racing. Affiliated with and raced the same day as the Bredene Koksijde Classic.

1 May: Eschborn-Frankfurt U23 (Germany). Last won by Wessel Mouris of Metec - SOLARWATT. Raced the same day as the elite men.

3 May: Flèche Ardennaise (Belgium). Not U23-specific. Last won by Milan Donie of Lotto Dstny Development Team.

11 May: Gent Wevelgem / Kattekoers-Ieper (Belgium). U23 race of the elite race by the same name. Last won by Huub Artz of Wanty - ReUz - Technord.

12 October: Paris - Tours Espoirs (France). Last won by Antoine L'Hote of Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Development Team. Raced the same day as the elite men.

The Littlest Biggest Stage

Not the biggest fan of one-day races? Just want to maximize your U23 race watching experience and go for multiple days? Stage races have you covered!

14 May - 18 May: Orlen Nations Grand Prix (Poland). 4 stages. Part of the Nations Cup series, and raced in national teams. Last won by Mathys Rondel of France.

21 May - 25 May: Ronde de l'Isard (France). 5 stages. Last won by Darren van Bekkum of Team Visma Lease a Bike Development.

28 May - 1 June: Alpes Isère Tour (France). 5 stages; not U23 specific. Last won by Jarno Widar of Lotto Dstny Development Team.

29 May - 1 June: Course de la Paix Grand Prix Jeseníky (Czechia). 4 stages. Part of the Nations Cup series, and raced in national teams. Last won by Brieuc Rolland of France.

16 July - 20 July: Giro della Valle d'Aosta (Italy). 5 stages. Last won by Jarno Widar of Lotto Dstny Development Team.

4 September - 7 September: Giro della Regione Friuli Venezia Giulia (Italy). 4 stages; not U23 Specific. Last won by Jørgen Nordhagen of Team Visma Lease a Bike Development.

But Wait, There's More!

Like the elites, the U23 riders too have their chances at special jerseys at the World and European Championships. The rules regarding participation in the U23 races of these championships have seen some changes recently.

26 September: World Championships MU Road Race. Beginning in 2025, this race will be limited to U23 riders who are not under contract with a ProTeam or WorldTeam. Last won by Niklas Behrens of Germany. Time trial on 22 September.

4 October: European Championships MU Road Race. Last won by Huub Artz of the Netherlands. Time trial on 1 October.

But What About the Women?

Finally: you may have noticed that the races listed so far in this post are all men's U23 races. While steps are being made - multiple Womens WorldTeams now have affiliated continental teams - the U23/development structure on the women's side of the sport is certainly nowhere near as robust as on men's side. This also applies to the very sparse women's U23 race calendar.

In 2025, the women's U23 calendar consists of the following races:

17 August - 22 August: Tour de l'Avenir Femmes. Entering it's third year and raced in national teams (for now). Last won by Marion Bunel of France.

25 September: World Championships WU Road Race. For the first time ever, the U23 women will have their own race at the World Championships, after several years of a combined race with the elite women. The U23 portion of that combined race was last won by Puck Pieterse of the Netherlands. Time trial on 22 September.

3 October: European Championships WU Road Race. Last won by Sofie van Rooijen of the Netherlands. Time trial on 1 October.

@pro-cycling-primers

[starxzyz]

uci decisions come out on friday (allegedly) and i am painfully average

[oneminutefiftysixseconds]

i can't watch today's race live but let it be known i am manifesting a puck pieterse u23 world champion win in the shitty system the uci use for women's world champs (having the u23 race ‘within’ the elite race rather than separate -- so there's fewer opportunities for u23 riders to make their national teams -- the first rider under the age of 23 to cross the line becomes u23 world champ)

[glitterrosesnzz]

do you know how good the idea of A/lastor's shadow outing the fact that A/lastor has to sneeze would be??? really fucking good, thats how good.

ALSO THE IDEA OF THEM LIKE??? COVERING UP EACH OTHER'S ALLERGIES TOO??? Allergy Alliance. thats so nuts. L/ucifer burns something A/lastor is allergic to and a few days later A/lastor makes something that's about to set L/ucifer off just drop down through a shadow portal and away from him.

(at the same time, while they're doing all this... i feel like they're somehow turning it into a competition??? I have no idea how, but I can definitely see L/ucifer smirking at A/lastor after burning up the allergen being all like "ha, this is my win". i almost feel like they'd expose each other to allergens and stuff just to then save the other from it???? this would backfire on them so horribly).

oh my god wait though a sneezing while hiding scenario with L/ucifer would be so fucking good??

for one, i hc that he is absolutely horrible at holding back. so unless he gets help on that front he'd have to resort to stifling, which he's so-so at, and-

well. his powers acting up (fireworks, fire in general, wings-) would be highly inconvenient, especially if he's in an enclosed space, doubly so if he's hiding with someone else.

[therabbits-blog]

Welcome to the blog!

This is a designated system blog for plushprosecutor. Some of us have our own blogs, but I thought "might as well make a general one!~"

Some boundaries ~ DNI - No DNI. We block freely. Tags - Yes! DMs - Sure, but don't be weird about it Source talk - Okay Source mates - Ask

Some of our other blogs include: @plushprosecutor - main blog @ucy-spike - oc blog @ghostsarerealbitch - momo 👻, ken👽, raijin ⚾, seiko 🚬, jiji ⚽, typhon 🩲 @imapollojusticeandimgoingfine - apollo 🐇 and klavier🎸 @trespassesuponthewatersofqingce - quinn📜 and chongyun 🧊

Alters you will see frequently on here Kiersten - 🍵- she/her

"My name is Kiersten. I am a Kristoph Gavin introject from Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney. I associate with source, but I am a transgender woman. Treat me as what I am: a human. My favorite colour is green."

Ale - 🖥️- it/its

"#howdy #i am a brain made alter #horny bastard #permanent fronter #meow"

Apollo - 🐇 - he/any

"My name is Apollo. I am a host. I'm here to make sure we don't die :^)"

Anyone else who posts on here will sign off with their emoji and their name in the tags

Our links: carrd

pluralkit

I'm out of things to say. Thanks for reading.

[luke-hughes43]

i have to know more about jack and eden! i feel like she told him about her quitting hockey first and he shut her down. i need to know how it went down

yes!

so even tho she committed to uci at 14, jack always held out hope that she’d decommit and try to play both in college. quinn and luke knew before she told them that she was giving up hockey after high school and were ok with it.

at about 16 eden sits down with jack and explicitly tells him that she's gonna stop playing after high school. this is before she meets cutter. and there's a little insight on the relationship between ellen and eden too. here's how that goes:

eden's pov

so I'm telling jack about giving up hockey today. Quinn and Luke figured out when I committed to uci for soccer that I was giving up hockey but jack's been holding out hope for me. jack knocks on my door, "come in."

"hey eden. what's up?"

*remind me that we need a nickname for her for her brothers and then cutter.*

"can we talk jacky?"

"always. what's going on?" he says as he sits on my bed. I take a deep breath and say, "I'm hanging up my skates after high school. I'm not decommitting from uci."

"what?"

"I'm giving up hockey after high school jack. I'm gonna follow mom and play soccer in college."

"why? you're so good on the ice, better than the 3 of us. you could go so many places with hockey and your just gonna throw that all away."

"I'm not throwing anything away jack. I'm the top female soccer recruit in the whole country for my age, I can go more places with soccer than I can with hockey and you know that. why can't you just be supportive of me? I'm supportive of you all the fucking time jack, I supported you through your injury this season, through your time at the program, even back in Toronto. all I'm asking is that you support me for once."

"I'm not gonna support you wasting your talent."

"I'm not wasting anything, i'd be wasting my talent if I stayed with hockey. I'm a better soccer player than I am hockey player but you wouldn't know because you've never come to watch me play. I'm the only 16 year old to ever make the under 20 women's national team in the history of the team. I'm finally doing something for myself instead for you, Quinn, and Luke so you don't get to be mad at me for not playing hockey after high school. and I'm still playing right now so why does it matter jack."

"I just don't understand why you won't even consider doing both in college. I know you got offers to do both and they are a lot closer to home than california."

"it was never about being close or far from home jack. this was about me and what I wanted to do with MY future. I love hockey, I always will because it's in my blood, but I don't love it like you, Quinn and Luke do. I think of soccer the way that you guys think of hockey and that's why I'm pursuing it. I just want the support of my big brothers in doing this, why can't you just support me?"

"I'm not gonna support you throwing away your future and talent."

"well good thing it's not your future to worry about then. I'm doing it jack, and there's nothing you can do to change my mind."

"well don't come crying to me when your plan doesn't work out."

"don't worry, I won't." I snap back at him and storm out of the room. I find mom in the kitchen and I start crying in her arms. she says, "oh honey what's wrong?"

"jack. he hates me for quitting hockey. he says I'm wasting my talent by not playing after high school. is he right mom?"

she pulls me in for a hug and holds me tightly and says calmly, "no he's not. if you don't wanna play after high school then you don't have to. your father and I aren't mad at your for choosing soccer. I'm so proud of you for sticking with your heart and following what you love and not what your brothers are doing. I'll talk to jack."

"don't. I don't want him to be supportive if he's being forced into it. I want him to be supportive because he wants to, not because he has to. I'd rather no support than fake support. I just need to know he isn't right."

she sighs and says firmly, "he's not right honey. I promise, he's not right. if you wanted to play both, I'd support you 100% but you don't want that and he's just gonna have to accept that. do you know how excited I was the day I found out your were a girl? I was so happy, especially after having 3 boys. I was glad I got the opportunity to try to pass on my love of soccer again and it stuck. and you got the love of hockey too. it might be a different kind of love but you still love it."

I nod, "yea. I just enjoy watching the boys succeed at it rather than doing it myself. I'm not ready to give it up yet but I know that I don't wanna play after high school."

"and that's ok. your dad and I will support whatever decision you make. and I'll be damn sure to be at as many of your college games as I can make." she says rubbing my back soothingly.

I smile, "thanks mom."

"of course honey. now go get cleaned up for dinner and tell the boys to as well." she says and let's go of our hug.

[solomonhwang24]

Today, I woke up around 8 o'clock to get ready by 9:30 to drive back to campus. I was at home, then went to go pick up my older sister that is in the apartments by UCI. I got dropped off right at Kerckhoff because I really wanted to see my friends that I have not been able to see for a couple of days. Also, I got the chance to get food with Jocelyn which was sick, and we decided to get panda express. I unfortuantely spilled my crab Rangoons the moment I got them, and I was really sad. I went to LS7A lecture for the first time in a while and I was able to eat from the food truck with Andrew. We walked over to Kerckhoff to see Chris' fire fit. I just came back to my room to see my roommate locking in and writing his resume, so I felt the need to lock in myself. I am happy to be back on campus and to see my friends.

[gogogogolev]

Stephen will be competing at the 50th Skate Canada International in Halifax, Nova Scotia this week. The short program is on Saturday, October 26 starting at 2:55 PM ADT, and the free skate is on Sunday, October 27 starting at noon. There is no gala. Parts of the competition will be broadcast on TV on CBC. Livestreams of the on air broadcast are here.

Stephen returns to international competition after 51 weeks away. In the past 5 years Stephen has been out of competition for about 36 months due to injury or illness. You can argue that some of that is part of the off season but even if we shave off a few months it is still a huge amount of time to not be competing. He has been through a lot with his growth and it may be that he also has a chronic back issue. The big goal this season has to be to remain in good health as much as possible.

In case you have missed it there have been several changes in his life. He has left Team Raf, moved back to Toronto from Irvine, and transferred universities from UCI to U of T. He even seems to have gotten a new car. We haven't really heard from him but he seems to be doing alright. I know we have been begging him to come back for years but he needs to be comfortable with what he has decided to do with his life even beyond this sport. Maybe we will get to hear his thoughts about all this in the near future.

This season did not start with a Challenger Series event but going off his last event we know that Stephen has increased the technical difficulty of his programs. Now he just needs to deliver that content without popping jumps. If he was taking some time to just adapt to all the new things going on then it makes sense to keep away from competition. He also minimized time away from school this way. He has two GP events so he can warm up with SCI. Stephen will be the only Canadian skater at NHK Trophy so the focus will be on him fully but that is much preferable to the previous situation regarding that event. We will only get to see Stephen briefly this year before the wait for Nationals starts.

This season also features Scott Moir's least favourite event but with only one spot at Worlds for Canadian men I am not sure how assignments will get split. Hopefully we will at least get to see Stephen skate in the second half of the season this time around.

Links SCI24 website ISU event page ISU results page Announcement Coloured time schedule Livestreams - CBC SP, Radio-Canada SP (FR), CBC FS, Radio-Canada FS (FR)

Good luck Stephen!

[coochiequeens]

Under the new rules, the men’s division will be replaced by an “open category” – which will now also include transgender men, transgender women and non-binary individuals. Meanwhile the “female category” for any form of competition from elite to grassroots will be preserved for those with a birth sex of female.“ So everyone can compete and if men don’t like that then they are proving that they don’t care about biological women.

British Cycling has become the latest governing body to bar transgender women from competing in the female category to “safeguard the fairness” of the sport. The decision, which ends the transgender cyclist Emily Bridges’s dreams of competing for Britain in the female category, followed a nine-month consultation and a review of the latest science.

Under the new rules, the men’s division will be replaced by an “open category” – which will now also include transgender men, transgender women and non-binary individuals. Meanwhile the “female category” for any form of competition from elite to grassroots will be preserved for those with a birth sex of female.

The new policy, which broadly follows that of UK Athletics and Swim England, will also apply to all British Cycling-sanctioned competitive events involving times, ranking, points or prizes, as well as selection decisions for the Great Britain cycling team.

The news is likely to be widely welcomed by the country’s top female riders, many of whom threatened to boycott last year’s British National Omnium Championships until Bridges was declared ineligible by cycling’s world governing body, the UCI, from competing in the female category as she was still registered as a male cyclist at the time.

That boycott threat arose due to many believing that 22-year-old Bridges, who was on the Great Britain academy programme as a male rider until being dropped in 2020, retained an unfair advantage after transitioning.

Their viewpoint is now shared by British Cycling. In a statement explaining its change in policy, it cited research studies indicating that even with the suppression of testosterone, transgender women who transition post-puberty retain a performance advantage.

However it also pledged that trans and non-binary people would still continue to be able to participate in a broad range of activities under its new policy – including club and coach-led activities, community programmes, and non-competitive events such as sportives.

British Cycling’s CEO, Jon Dutton, said: “I am confident that we have developed policies that both safeguard the fairness of cyclesport competition, whilst ensuring all riders have opportunities to participate.”

The governing body also apologised to transgender athletes for taking so long to come up with a new policy after suspending its previous one last year, leaving riders including Bridges in limbo. “We recognise the impact the suspension of our policy has had on trans and non-binary people, and we are sorry for the uncertainty and upset that many have felt during this period,” it added.

“Our aim in creating our policies has always been to advance and promote equality, diversity and inclusion, while at the same time prioritising fairness of competition. This aim has not changed.”

British Cycling’s new policy has been announced a few weeks after the most recent flare-up in the sport’s contentious transgender debate when the American Austin Killips became the first transgender athlete to win a UCI women’s stage race.

Killips’s victory in New Mexico led the UCI to admit it had heard the “concerns” of female athletes about unfair competition in the sport, and would be reconsidering its transgender policy. Those critical of the UCI included the three-time Olympian Inga Thompson who accused it of “killing off women’s cycling”.

The UCI is expected to announce any changes to its policy in August. As things stand, however, transgender women are still eligible to compete in UCI international events provided they lower their testosterone to 2.5 nmol/l for 24 months.

It means that when it comes to UCI-organised events staged in Britain, such as the Track Nations Cup or the Women’s Tour, the current UCI transgender policy on eligibility will take precedence.

[calandrinon]

ok it is time for some good old-fashioned verb conjugation, I could be sleeping right now but no, I have to practice verb forms from conjugation group V (probably)

example sentence from which I am extrapolating wildly and hopefully somewhat correctly (please tell me if not, it is the only way i will learn)

eu simpuiesc pentru Ileana Cosânzeana pe main. I simp (I am simping) for Ileana Cosânzeana on main

infinitiv: (a) simpui

A simpui nu este o infracțiune. To simp is not a crime

participiu: simpuit

Am simpuit pentru Ileana Cosânzeana. I simped for Ileana, I have simped for her

gerunziu: simpuind

Simpuind pentru Ileana Cosânzeana, Făt-Frumos a ucis de balaur. Simping for Ileana Cosânzeana, Făt-Frumos was slain by the balaur.

imperativ: simpuiește! / simpuiți!

Vă rog, simpuiți pentru Ileana Cosânzeana. Please simp for Ileana, all of you! i mean you really should, she is wonderful 🤩

imperfect

Simpuiam pentru Ileana Cosânzeana când eram mic. I used to simp for Ileana Cosânzeana when I was little

perfect simplu

Tocmai simpuii pentru balaur. I was just simping for the balaur (right then)

various futures

voi simpui / o să simpuiesc / am să simpuiesc. I will simp

aveam să simpuiesc. (looking at it from the past) I was going to simp (and by this point I have done so)

voi fi simpuit. I will have simped (by some future point)

subjunctiv

trebuie să simpuiesc. I must simp (I have no choice but to simp)

trebuie să fi simpuit. I must have simped (it was necessary that I simped)

conditional-optativ dragul meu

aș simpui. I would simp

aș vreau să simpuiesc. I would like to simp

aș fi simpuit. I would have simped

prezumtiv dragul meu celălalt

oi simpui. I might simp

oi fi simpuind. I might be simping

oi fi simpuit. I might have simped

in conclusion, let's all simpuim pentru Ileana Cosânzeana

[abraxax-heart]

My best friend's fiance died in my ER as I was there and had to stay on the periphery because my colleagues didn't trust my judgement as a doctor at the moment (they were right of course). I was told to go check on my other patients. So while he was dying in the shock room for a heart disease we didn't know he had, I was in the room next over checking on my mostly stable patients that came for a tummy ache. We were both 28. No one told me he died until the next day. He died two hours in and nobody let me know until the end of my shift the next morning at 6 am, because they didn't want to disturb my work flow, they kept telling me he was stable and in the UCI, he never even made it out of the shock room. Then, when I cried, I was told to get over it and not expect pity. Needless to say, I left my residency as an emergency doctor one month later. The bullying only got worse and my mental health was reaching an all time low. I still practice medicine, and will apply for a residency in genetics, but I don't think I can go back to the ER with a happy mind like before. I loved it, but, I can't.

being at work while your personal life is falling apart has to be among the top 3 worst human experiences. You’re at your absolute lowest and someone wants to circle back on an email…… unreal