#I do go to montreal often which is nice and I do love it but I feel like its my second home now (good thing aww)

[miladysatsuki]

thank god I’m going to atlanta next month because I need to go on a goddamn trip like my life depends on it I don’t even know who I am when I can’t travel 🤫🤭

[baby-alien11]

being Skeet Ulrich daughter and dating Jack Champion

Some people could think that being the child of an icon actor from the 90s will be overwelming, but to you, it was an honnor to be one of the children of Skeet Ulrich

Being the youngest child meant that you were treated like a baby by your family, especially your older siblings who liked to play dress up with you

Mostly putting the ghostface mask that Skeet kept as a memory from Scream on you

When Skeet saw your little body with the big ass mask and a little robe, he only laugh and took a photo of you

You didn't understand the meaning of the mask until you were eight and saw the four movies

So when your father was asked to make a comeback for a new Scream movie, you were the most excited and asked him if you could go with him

But because of the pandemic, his scenes had to be filmed in a green screen, but you went to see the process of filming

While being there, you made a bond with Melissa who played Sam, Billy Lomis daughter, calling her your "half fictional sister"

Radio Silence, the group of directors, even offered you a small cameo in the next movie, which you gladly acepted with your fathers permition due to you still being a minor

So a year later, when the filming in Montreal started, you flew there with your father, due to him having to shoot scenes for the movie

Arriving there, there was a reunion with the current and new cast to get to know each other

That's when you and Jack met

It was nice to have someone your age to hang out in the middle of a cast of young adults and grown ups

He felt the same, but at the same time he was nervous because you were the daughter of Skeet Ulrich, one of the OG ghostface

But with the more time that you both spend together, he realised that you were almost the same chaotic as him

When the time to filming arrived, the directors told you that your cameo will be on one of the first scenes during a Halloween party and your costume will be one of your fathers recent characters, which was a female version of F.P. Jones with your own jacket that the crew of Riverdale gifted you on your sixteen birthday

At the moment that Jack saw you, he was speachless by how beautiful you looked, while you look at him with curiosity because of his diy knight costume

"This is so creative", you laughed analyzing the costume, "I love it"

"Really?", Jack asked with a little smile

"Of course", you exclaimed, "I can already saw a lot of people doing this for actual Halloween"

Hearing that words, the smile that Jack had on his face only grow with confidence

Enough confidence to asked you out on a date at that same moment, which you acepted

On the weekend during Jacks free days, you went to a amusement park with both of your parents supervision due to still being minors

In that date, during one of the games he won a red dragon plushie which he gave to you as a gift

The plushie ended up being named Jake, for American Dragon: Jake Long

During the next weeks of filming, you avoided to go to the set in order to not get spoiled on the entire plot of the movie

So, your interactions with Jack were only during his free times or when he wasn't filming

Dates at his or yours hotel room, at restaurants, parks, etc

Even if your dad tried to see something bad in Jack, he couldn't because the guy was a sweetheart

(When Jack knew he was one of the ghostface, he asked Skeet for advice on his performance, which he was glad to give)

Jacks mom loves you, when he and your dad are on set, she often is making you company, it doesn't matter if it's watching a movie in the hotel or walking on the city

Switching childs was the name that she and your dad gave it

It wasn't until the wrap party, that Jack finally asked you if you wanted to be his girlfriend

Which you gladly acepted

From that moment, and thanks to both of you living in the same city, you often spend time in each others houses

Surprisingly, Butter, his sphynx cat, attached to you quickly, so you often put him inside the pocket of your hoodies, specially when was cold or hug him while taking naps

For a while, both of you decided to keep your relationship private until the Avatar era

It started with him saying things like "my girlfriend...", or things that both of you had done that connect with the question asked

During that days, you and Jack liked to see the reaction of the internet and the theories

The only people who knew where his castmates who had fun in keeping the secret

When the day of the London premier arrived, both of you walked the carpet hand by hand, and taking photos together with some interviews, until you gave him space to take individual photos

Let's say that the internet was crazy after the photos were released

After going public, photos, lives, tiktoks, etc together were almost always

Almost everytime that you open tiktok, you saw at leat five edits of both of you, which you send him

Trinity was like a little sister to you, often hearing her songs everyday

He even managed to you to acompany him to the gym, but you stayed in the cardio machines

When the time of Scream VI arrived, you went with your dad and walk a small part of the carpet with a few photos taken, and then you spent the rest with Jack

Seventeen even mannaged to get an interview with you

"Y/N, you look absolutely beaufitul!", the girl who was the reported exclaimed making you blushed, "What are you wearing?"

"This is Balmain, I wanted to go with the theme, so this black dress was the one"

"It's stunning, how do you feel at being here?"

"It's so cool, I watched the first four movies when I was eight and then I got to be in the set for the last and this one"

"I was informed that you have a cameo, can we know at what moment?"

"I'm just going to say that you'll know when you see me, just pay attention", you joked making her laugh

"And not only you get a cameo out of this movie, also someone special", she said making your face red, "Can we talk about that?"

"Oh my god, I thought I was ready for this question", you laughed, "Yes, I met someone special during this, and it was easy to connect beacuse we were the only minors, and Jack is the sweetest boy that I've ever met, is an adventure everyday with him"

"I just want to say that you are one of the best couples at the moment", she said, "What was your fathers reaction when he knew you and Jack were dating?"

"He was there, and he almost went Billy Loomis mood, but he loves him, don't tell my dad I said that"

"Well, it was nice talking to you, Y/N, you look stunning"

"You look stunning as well, have a good night, enjoy the movie"

During the movie, you almost jumped from your seat when the ghostface reveal was, not noticing that Jack was filming your reaction

y/n.ulrich, masonthegooding, lianaliberato, and 175, 882 more

jackchampion in honor of Scream VI now on cinnemas, I would like to bring this photo of my beautiful girlfriend

tagged: y/n.ulrich

melissabarreram look at my half fictional sister

usser125 this is so cute

jasminesavoy like father like daugther

jack_quaid dude, she is going to kill you

› jackchampion i'm taking the risk

y/n.ulrich okay

devyn_nekoda that answer isn't good

jackchampion, vanessamorgan, deadmeatjames and 39, 181 more

y/n.ulrich don't mess with Billy Loomis daugther

tagged: jackchampion

usser010327 yep, they are couple goals

melissabarreram SAY IT LOUDER SIS

skeetulrich I raised you and your siblings well

› y/n.ulrich thanks dad

deadmeatjames this is final girl material

jackchampion okay, you won

› y/n.ulrich as always

[teenytinyjimin]

je ne sais pas (j. hoseok)

dans mon esprit tout divague, (in my mind everything goes wild)

je me perds dans tes yeux (i lose myself in your eyes)

je me noie dans la vague de ton regard amoureux (i drown myself in the wave of your loving gaze)

je ne veux que ton âme divaguant sur ma peau (i only want your soul going wild on my skin)

summary: in which two strangers spend an unforgettable day together without actually getting to verbally understand each other.

pairing: hoseok x reader

word count: 2.8k

tags: fluff, language barrier, idol!hoseok, quebecois!reader, strangers to lovers, im bad at this tagging stuff

warnings: none, just enjoy some sweet hoseok fluff <3

author’s note: im really excited about this one yall 😭 i love the idea of language barrier romance because just think about it... u love someone so much that talking to them doesn't matter as much as the memories u create with them.. god ok ill stop speaking please please enjoy!

── ⋅ ⋅ ── ✩ ── ⋅ ⋅ ──

The province of Quebec is often quite peaceful for about 85% of the year, with the exceptions typically being one of two things. First, there's always the typical influx of tourists that happens during peak times of the year like summer, Christmas, things like that. However the second exception is typically related to whatever artist is in Montreal for the Canadian leg of their world tour. It wasn't uncommon for there to be a little bit of buzz around the famous singer in question, however no one seemed to go harder than kpop fans when their group or soloist of choice was coming for a show or two.

You weren't really a fan of kpop in the way that many of your friends were. Sure, you've listened to some songs before, but you never felt the desire to get invested in any of the artists or the lore that came with them. It would be nice to hear your friends babble on about a new song that was released or a new tour that was announced, however you were absolutely not expecting the absolute freakout that was to come when BTS announced that they'd be doing a show in Montreal.

"Can you believe it?" One friend asked you with excitement. Yes, you could. They were famous. Of course they were going to come to Canada for a world tour. It's not that you weren't excited for your friends, who called themselves 'Army', but you just weren't as invested so it didn't mean as much to you. It also didn't help that a lot of their discussions with fellow fans and the things they'd post relating to BTS on their social media profiles were in English.

The majority of Quebecois people were able to communicate in English as well as their native language of French, but for some reason your family lived under a rock and you didn't learn anything beyond basic greetings and conversations in English. You felt rather left out because it felt like you were behind your friends and everyone else around you, however as you grew older you tended to not let it bother you that much. Since French is a prominent language in Quebec, you weren't bothered about language barriers and knew you could get around and live life normally without worry.

Since your friends were much deeper down the Bangtan rabbit hole, they were able to secure floor tickets to their Montreal show and were extremely busy completely overthinking the event and what they wanted to wear. It was now the day before the show and they were last-minute panicking, roaming the stores of downtown Montreal to put together outfits that were both cute and appropriate for the vibe of the concert.

Given that they were rather busy with this, you decided that this would be a weekend to yourself where you could peacefully do whatever you wanted. The quaint cafe you work at full-time decided to close for the weekend given the occasion (apparently the owner was also an Army), so it was a perfect opportunity for you to go down to the local park and do some reading on a bench.

And that's exactly what you did. You found yourself parked on the lawn of Mount Royal Park, right next to the lake. You brought some light reading with you, a small romance novel that involved the typical coffee shop trope, prepared to do some reading but also some people watching in between. It was absolutely perfect, and you couldn't have asked for a better way to spend the weekend. As you peacefully read your cliche novel, cup of iced coffee from a local coffee shop in-hand, you thought the day couldn't get any better. Until it did.

"Hey, excuse me, can you help me?" You looked up from your book to see a boy standing a short distance away from you. He had the warmest smile on his face and his eyes were bright with cheer. You tilted your head slightly, not too sure what he was asking. After a minute of silence, his smile dropped slightly.

"Uh... E-English?" He asked. It was clear that he was struggling with his words as well, even though you didn't speak the language. You shook your head, a slight frown on your face. "Français?" You ask in response, to which he mirrors you and shakes his head in return. The boy looks down for a second, clearly stumped as to what to do at this point. Part of you thought that he was about to walk away, however his feet didn't move from where he was standing.

After a second, he looked back up, his sweet smile once again appearing on his face. With his phone in hand, he pointed at it, then pointed at himself, then pointed at you. Was he asking for your number? Raising an eyebrow, you started to shake your head, however you watched as his smile dropped again and he shook his head rapidly. "No! No!" He said frantically, before mimicking the act of taking a photo, making a little 'click click' noise. He wanted a photo!

Finally understanding what he was saying, you grin and nod, causing him to squeal in delight. He approached you briefly to hand you his phone before backing up toward the lake a little more. You start to turn his phone landscape before he shakes his head and lets out a little yelp, indicating that he wanted the photo to be in portrait mode. You giggle at his antics as he attempts to pose in the way he wants, admiring his efforts to not only have a good photo but also to communicate with you.

Once it seems like he's ready for you to take the photo, you begin clicking the photo button and watch as he begins to move a little bit to hit different styles of poses. And wow, this man was incredible at modeling. You watched in wonder as he effortlessly moved his body in all kinds of directions, going from casual to silly to cute and back to casual. He was absolutely gorgeous, there was no denying that. A ten in a world of fives.

After a couple minutes, he stops posing and giddily bounces back over to you. When he takes his phone back to look at all the photos, he makes a couple of 'woaaahhhh' noises, clearly impressed with your photography skills. You turn away as a blush creeps to your cheeks, flattered that he's happy with the photos. When you look back you watch him slightly bow to you in thanks before pointing to himself. "Hoseok," He says, making sure to enunciate each part of his name in the correct way so that you know how to say it.

You smile and nod, offering your name back to him, to which his smile grows into one of the most beautiful smiles you have ever seen. If it weren't for your impeccable self-control, you probably would have fainted the very first time he smiled at you, given how absolutely charming he was. However, this most recent smile made you a little weak on your feet. You were able to tough it out and stay strong, but God, he was just stunning.

You go to sit back down on your spot in the grass, but before you get the chance to you feel a gentle hand grasp your wrist. Face hot with shyness, you peer back over to him and notice his smile has dropped. You watch as he points toward the exit of the park and into the main city, and gives you a 'come on' motion, indicating that he wanted you to come with him. If this would have happened a few minutes ago when he first approached you, you might not have taken the offer. But now that you've gotten to somewhat know this breathtaking stranger, it was an offer you couldn't turn down. Grabbing your book and iced coffee from off the ground, you decide to follow him out of the park.

As you step back onto the streets of Montreal, walking with this random man, you watch as he turns to you and thinks for a second. You can tell he was trying to figure out how to communicate his next thought, so you remain silent and patient. After a second, he points at his eyes, and then gives this huge gesture with his arms, almost like he's expressing something blowing up. Letting out a soft giggle, you tilt your head slightly, resulting in a laugh coming from his own mouth. His laugh was so loud, sweet, and full of joy, and it was like pure honey dripping from his tongue. He retries his previous charades, now acting like he is looking at something with his hand above both of his eyes. He then goes 'woahh!!' and gives an amazed look, and you realize that he's asking to see some of the highlights of the city. With a soft nod, you take his hand, watching a soft blush creep to his cheeks as you pull him along the street and show him everything he needs to see in your beautiful city.

˗ˏˋ ♡ ˎˊ˗

After spending hours with Hoseok, showing him about everything in Montreal and taking a picture of him with it, you found yourselves once again back in the park where you first met. It was a rather chaotic day, pulling the boy around and watching his face light up at absolutely everything, but what seemed to be weirder was the fact that multiple times during your tour you guys received a few looks and even whispers. Every time that it happened, Hoseok would indicate to you that he wanted to move on and go to the next spot while also pulling up the light scarf that he had around his neck to cover his mouth and nose. You thought that it was rather bizarre but dismissed it as people being disrespectful since he was a rather loud and excited tourist.

Now, though, it was just you and him, sitting in the grass in front of the lake as you ate a late lunch/early dinner. He asked you to go with him to a local store where he went around and picked out a bunch of ready-made food as well as a bottle of champagne, paying for it all and implying that he wanted to eat it with you back at the park. Considering this stranger was doing more than anyone had ever done for you in the last twenty-something years of your life, you were beyond flattered and at this point you were hardcore swooning for him.

You half expected your meal to be quiet and consist of you guys looking at the lake, looking at each other, and silently eating your meal. But this was Hoseok, the man you had learned was anything but quiet. Even though he couldn't speak your language and you couldn't speak his, he was telling you all kinds of stories through the power of charades and sound effects. For most of the time, he had you in tears, laughing at his impeccable sense of humor and all-around silliness. But he also provided you with moments of peace so you could eat without choking, which was rather respectful of him, you thought.

After a while of fun storytelling, you two fell silent. You gazed over at the lake, watching as the sun made the water shimmer, and let out a sigh. When you looked back over to Hoseok, you caught him staring at you, causing a blush to creep to your cheeks. Raising an eyebrow, you nudged him as a way to ask 'what are you looking at?'. Shaking his head, he hesitantly stretched out his arm to wrap it around your waist. Just by looking at him you could tell he was internally freaking out, his eyes wide with nervousness. You smiled softly and inched your way closer to him, accepting his embrace as you rested your head on his shoulder.

There was something about this man that was so much different from anyone else that you had ever met. His charisma, his kindness, his energy – all of it was so attractive. It was the fact that he wasn't just a pretty face, he was a pretty human. You could tell he was raised right with a heart of gold and you felt beyond lucky to have ever met him in the first place. For him to have asked you of all the people in Montreal to take a picture of him made you feel extremely lucky, because had he not approached you, the two of you would have never met.

He pulled back a little bit to prompt you to remove your head and look at him. You watched as he pointed at himself, then cleared his throat before singing a little bit of a song. His singing voice was as sweet as can be, and you were about to just sit there and admire him, until you realized that the song he was singing was familiar. You didn't quite know what the name of the song was, and he wasn't singing it in quite the right tone, but you knew it was by BTS. The kpop group that was currently in Montreal and about to perform the following day.

Your mouth gaped open as you realized what was happening. You didn't even realize that you had been spending the entire day with a member of BTS. The people looking and whispering throughout were probably people who recognized him, not people who were judging him. And he was hiding his face because he didn't want to be recognized. He just wanted to spend the day with a beautiful girl and feel like a normal human being. You didn't blame him for not telling you sooner, though. It's not like you're a diehard fan of his group, but you probably wouldn't have looked at him the same way had he told you immediately.

After processing what was happening, you closed your mouth and smiled, giving him a vigorous nod. Once he gave you a smile in return, you went back to resting your head on his shoulder and grabbing your glass of champagne to hold. You wanted to show him that it was cool, everything was fine, and things weren't going to change. You liked him as Hoseok, the boy he introduced himself as when he eagerly asked you for a picture earlier. Not the kpop idol that stands in front of thousands on a stage and performs for them.

As time continued to pass and the sun got to a point where the day started to become sunset, you two sat in blissful silence while enjoying one another's presence. After a while Hoseok once again nudged you, causing you to look up at him. You watched as he once again admired your face, a blush creeping to your cheeks as you became shy from the eye contact. Just as you were about to look away he reached his hand over to brush a strand of hair behind your ear, and then rested that hand against your cheek.

At this point there was no need for charades because all you needed to do was look into his eyes and he told you absolutely everything you needed to know. He dipped his head down slightly as you both pulled each other in for a kiss, his sweet lips meeting yours in absolute harmony. Your stomach did about five thousand backflips as adrenaline coursed through your veins and your brain went fuzzy. Whether you wanted to admit it or not, this was a moment that you were waiting for practically all day. Little did you know, however, this was a moment that he had been anticipating even before he spoke to you for the first time. It all started when he saw you from a distance and his heart almost beat out of his chest because he was so enamored by your beauty.

As you both pulled away from the kiss, you watched as his mouth curled into the sweetest heart smile and he leaned in once again to peck the tip of your nose. You knew that today was going to be absolutely perfect, but your new romance made it about ten times better than perfect if that was even possible.

It's safe to say that the next day you were at barricade at the biggest concert of the year in Montreal, courtesy of BTS' resident rapper and dancer, J-Hope. Or, as you knew him, your smiley Hoseok.

[fannyrosie]

I've followed you for quite a while and I've always loved your style plus I lived vicariously through your life in Japan lol. I'm sorry if you've already posted this I couldn't find the post but I was wondering why you left Japan. It's my dream to live there one day and I was curious what it was like.

I have answered that in my Instagram Stories, but here is the long story version (TL;DR: I came back mainly because of my poor health):

I left Japan after 6 1/2 years for several reasons, but one the main reason is because of my health. I've never been the healthiest person, even before moving there (I was even dubbed "the sick one" at my old job because I often had to suddenly leave work in the afternoons). I was constantly tired and had really bad abdominal pains. I saw several doctors in Montreal, and all I managed to get was a diagnosis for IBS and anxiety. However, I was functional most days, and managed to work and live relatively normally, as long as I rested a lot and stuck to my FODMAP diet.

During the few first years of my life in Japan, my physical health remained that way, with some random very bad health periods, but overall, I was fine. I even started to workout regularly to improve my posture and muscles. However, from 2020 onwards, my health declined significantly. On top of my worsening IBS, I started having really bad spine pains, radiating to my head, chest and arms, and making me so tired I had to take several days of rest every time I went out. I started to catch every little virus I got in contact with, and had to avoid taking public transport the most I could. I was working from home, and walked a lot, so that was manageable, but it made me more isolated.

I saw several doctors, but even though they did blood tests and x-rays, they couldn't find anything and just assumed it was stress. After reading about EDS, I thought I might have that (since I am also hypermobile), and had to wait 7 months to get an appointment at Todai's hospital. However, on the day of my appointment, I got told that Todai only deals with EDS related to heart issues, and my tests were all normal, including my x-rays. That was in June 2022, and was the final straw, as it proved that even the most advanced hospital in Japan couldn't help me. By that time, I had to wear a back brace to do the most basic things, like laundry or going to the supermarket, and was taking painkillers every day. I had to stop working because I couldn't work on my computer for more than 2 hours a day. Obviously, no work=no money.

Coming back to Québec, I had to wait 3 months to get back on the public health system, and as of today (6 months after being back), I managed to get x-rays and MRI showing I have: discopathy (degenerative spine disk disease), osteoarthritis (degenerative joint disease), several herniated disks in my cervical region and pinched nerves due disks collapsing. Basically, I have the spine of a 70 year old. I have been referred to a physiatrist, but we all know that Québec's public health system is very slow. so God knows when I'll see one. Nevertheless, they found something, which is better than all the doctors in Japan who told me it was just stress. Japan sadly has a big culture of having to "endure" pain (mental or physical), and it shows in their medical system.

Due to the degenerative nature of the illnesses they found up to now, my health is constantly getting worse. I used to have good and bad health days, but now, I have more bad health days than good health days. I still take painkillers every day and wear my back brace to do normal tasks, but most days, these are not enough. I am trying to make the most of my "good" health days by dressing up and doing nice things, but I never know how I will be the next day (or hour).

I had to take two breaks writing this; hopefully it makes sense haha

[macaroni-rascal]

Montreal Worlds 2024 Day 4!

My voice is completely shot, my hands are legitimately sore from clapping, ears still slightly ringing, and I had the best damn time!

FREE DANCE

Mrazek's easily won the Swan Lake Battle, team nepotism were fucking awful, and it was even more apparent when a superior team skated to the same music directly after them. Diana Davis walked on the ice for 4 minutes, and did one lift that was supposed to be impressive, but was just shaky. Woof.

Olivia Smart deserves so much better, judges were not kind.

Lim and Quan got a standing ovation and they more than deserved it, they were stunning. I adored every single second of that free dance.

I didn't watch that team, so don't know, don't care, and fuck 'em.

I still don't love Turkkila and Versluis that much, in person they skate quite small and it felt like the program dragged on forever.

OKAY SO. A documentary is being made about the Reeds it seems like, a dude came and set up a camera next to us because Cathy Reed was sitting two rows behind, and he made the people right behind us come sit in our row and us scooch down so that they could get a good shot of her watching her sister. So that was both cute and a little annoying. We were stuck there also for Cpom, since Cpom had already started by the time the camera guy left and we didn't want to disturb others watching. A nice program from R/A though!

Cpom were SO very good. They were captivating and lovely, definitely had more speed at the start of the program, but wow have they ever improved. A joy to watch.

Back in my seat, in time for the small most boring most rip of P/C program of them all. 2/10.

Lajoie and Lagha had me right from the start. Just. I adore them so much. I'm so proud of them for coming back so strong after injury, I cried, I clapped, I cheered. I was fully moved.

Fear and Gibson were just fucking awful. I hated it. She's throw around in lifts and never needs to hold a position, they are doing push ups on the ice, they are standing still for 45 seconds in their choreo step, they are the second slowest team, and god just can they go away already?

Chock and Bates ARE SO FUCKING SLOW. I don't know if I didn't notice it in the RD, but jesus christ so glaringly obvious they were trudging through molasses the entire program. I didn't like the program. It was two cool lifts, and then a slow slog through Madison Chock being off the ice as much as possible. 1/10.

The first time ever the Italians made me happy. A nice program, a nice moment. The dress mishap at then was a little funny, still annoyed they will likely stay in until Milan.

Gilles and Poirier, the third slowest team. After the emotional moment with L/L, I just wasn't as moved or interested in this program. It felt melodramatic more often than not. Glad for them winning the free, now retire already.

MEN'S FREE

Adam coming from 19th to 3rd, what a moment. The crowd loved the back flip, and in the moment, I did too. Why not? He had nothing to lose. Redemption skates always give me warm fuzzies.

Donovan was a lovely time, she's got such razzle dazzle, he needs to work on his speed though.

Goodbye two spots of Canadian Men, that's all I have to say about that.

Love Selevko, he's my favourite.

Kao, it was not your day, or your competition. He kept drilling and fucking up his quad in front of me all warm up, I wanted to shake him.

Jun, it was also not your day or your competition, but you have a nice ina, so it's all cool.

Deniss was a lovely moment, I enjoyed his skate a lot. When he got standing ovation, a rude American behind me loudly said 'why are people standing up, he didn't do that well?' Which was wild.

Jason Brown!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So beautiful. The single axel honestly made me laugh. What a treat it was to see him skate.

Lukas was also a very fun moment, he's a skater I enjoy waching.

Shoma, I love you. <3

Yuma! What a moment, a shame about the triple axel, but that step sequence is so gorgeous. Can't wait to see him grow and evolve as a skater.

Ilia was there. LISTEN. Okay. Objectively the things he is doing are impressive, I just personally do not find it interesting. You know what I mean? My and my friend were at a sensory overload high and we just booked it out of the venue during his standing ovation before the scores cause we had to get out there. That rude American I mentioned would not stop fucking yelling at the top of his lungs during the skate, I had to plug my ears several times. Good for him, but he's not my thing at all.

GENERAL THOUGHTS AND HAPPENINGS!

Okay, so that rude American I mentioned a couple times, he was honestly hilarious. Another guy was sitting next to him, and the rude American kept giving him all wrong information about skating. Just confidently, with his whole chest, attempting to educate someone with nothing but false info. He kept calling jumps wrong (called flips toe, calls loops sals, and sals lopps), he said that V/M skated to Umbrellas at their first worlds (it was their second) he pronounced salchow like sal-CH-OW, no card C, but chow like chow down, he called several elements wrong all ice dance events, got coaches wrong for several skaters, etc. So hilarious.

I saw Corey Circelli and almost asked him he's like Italy but then didn't.

On our way out, we walked next to Lia, Trennt, and Hannah Lim all talking about Ilia's skate, that was fun.

Thinking of drafting an official complaint with the Bell Center to make their seats 4 inches bigger on all sides. I'm so serious my right hip, and lower back still hurt. Those seats were made for babies.

My wonderful amazing friend who I hadn't seen works at the Bell Center on the weekends, and I got to catch up with him, and then during the men he brought me a hot chocolate. Shoutout to him, he's the bees fucking knees.

I shan't be going to the gala. Thought I could do it, but I am so sensory overload from four straight days of bright, loud, and crowded. I am a person that like dim, quiet, and 3-4 people at most, and I am at my limit. Also, fuck those seats, I can't sit in them for one more minute.

ALL IN ALL! I had SO much fun, it was truly amazing seeing all these skaters I've loved for so long, and being able to really watching and analyze so many different things. I've gained new appreciation, new perspectives, and some new favourites. I am, however, very ready to get home to my bed, my cat, and my space. I'm flying out dumb early tomorrow, and I can't wait!

[saucylittlesmile]

I usually write in my tags but I decided to this instead, eith Scott’s long interview:

They changed my life. And it changed how I felt about the sport, and they empowered me to be my best self and learn what that is and who that was

I was going to write something but in this case, I felt a picture was worth a thousand words.

But not very long after – two, three years after – we kind of started thinking – because we’d already retired once and done tours and we’re doing a show – and we just looked at each other and were kind of like ‘This isn’t the same’. We both had other projects that we were putting on hold: her getting her MBA and working for Deloitte, and for me, the skating school. So as much as we miss each other daily, it was time to move on and not perform anymore.

I mean, we already knew this; they didn’t find the same fulfillment in show skating long term, and yet touring is enough of a commitment that it can keep other life plans from being realized; but still it’s nice to always know they were on the same page of being ready to get to that next stage of life. I did laugh at his ‘we retired once’ given how often they reiterate a that they didn’t retire hut took a break - still, it was an earlier chance to experience that lifestyle of non-competitive touring life too.

And I wanted to really do my own thing. But I would have done my own thing, I think, in Montreal, if I hadn’t met my wife and missed my family and all that stuff. I still think my home is in Ontario. But professionally, I was a little bit upset, because I would love to be beside them in Montreal and join forces.

It’s a Sliding Doors moment - that whole imaginary what if scenario that changes everything and yet changes nothing. But the reality is, he gets to be near his family, and his daughter gets to grow up with close family; and he gets to have a bit of a ‘the best of both worlds’.

The athletes relating to each other, being able to tell a story, kind of cat and mouse, back and forth. So that’s my strength, I think. I always really dove into that as a performer, I’d get to work with the best woman in the world, Tessa, so when we got into those energies, it was so much fun.

I’m thinking about Tessa being shocked that there are teams who don’t talk to each other on the ice. I’m thinking about teams who skate together but who barely even look at each other, let alone seem to make a connection. We were spoiled by VM’s partnership, and the level to which they were able to perform those stories and relate to each other, but not everyone can manage it, It’s going to be interesting to watch him encourage growing those relationships.

So I could be like ‘I want you to try this.’ And it wouldn’t necessarily even make sense. But Madi and Zach they can make anything [make sense]. And then the first time it’s gold, and you start to think ‘Holy shit. Maybe I am a great choreographer.’ And then you work with a 10-year-old and 12-year-old and you’re like ‘Oh, no, there we go. I’m back again.’

I just LOL’d at this.

So I’ve made a list. I won’t tell you who else is on the list, because I’m hoping that they’ll end up on our team as well – one day – but they were at the top of my list.

I want to know, lol, because I could only guess 1 name. Bet the rest I’d be surprised at. Love they made sure that Madison (and Adri) could tour if they had the desire and the chance.

Yeah, I go back and forth on that one. What I said yesterday in the meeting – and I have to tip my cap to the dance tech committee that they’re asking us, trying to poll everyone and to work collaboratively, you create an ice dance event that everyone likes – but I don’t mind it. I don’t think there’s a major flaw right now.

Interesting that the ISU is at least having discussions about dance with the people who have to deal with the decisions. Guess I shouldn’t 100% blane the ISU. ;)

I miss pattern dances a bit. The problem with pattern dances is how they’re judged. I like pattern dances because of the old-school patterns on the ice. Speed, dance position, like the older style of ice dance, and nobody really seems to care about that anymore. So I always wonder, why are we keeping it around for key points when it’s not really the spirit of the dance? But I do miss it in the program this year, I would remove PST and put pattern dance back in.

I can’t believe I’ve been around long enough to live through SM saying he wants the pattern gone to circle back around to him wanting it back. 😭 This one section we were shaking hands, preaching to the choir, same page agreement.

Of course then he went on to praise the choreographic elements and I had to cancel him.

(okay I get he’s saying he thinks they creative and he wishes he could’ve done them and etc etc but No Scott That’s Just the Wrong Opinion, I am right, thanks)

Well, Moulin Rouge came from Tessa and I’s heart and soul. And with Marie-France and Patrice and Sam all collaborating – It’s a special one. It’s not the most original one or groundbreaking, but it came from our souls. And we love the music. And so that was probably my favourite in the end.

They fought for it, and it made it all the more their program. ❤️

And also, we went back into Pink Floyd for our last number, because the Pink Floyd free dance is probably the project that I connected with the most.

Vindication! Uncancelled him, as a Pink Floyd free dance enthusiast.

Just a great interview. I love that they weren’t editing him down into a condensed version. Really, we have been incredibly spoiled with a few of Tessa’s recent podcasts and Scott’s interviews and their joint one - way, way more insights and stories and so on than I would have ever expected to get at this point.

[wilderhockey]

nhl teams as school clubs/student orgs

the result of a 15-minute conversation with lil @wymgreenteam this afternoon. based specifically on our experience in hs (also note that I’ve been out of hs for four years now so some of this might be misremembered but whatever it’s about the vibes).

this is not necessarily kind to all (or really any) teams but it is light-hearted and in good fun.

I put it under a readmore because 32 teams is a lot of teams

~

anaheim ducks: theater (actors specifically) - dramatic as fuck. loud as fuck. endearing in spite of it [see sharks/kings]

arizona coyotes: not a club. they’re the guys who show up to school in their tractors from october to march because the weather is fucking terrible and they’ve gotta get there somehow (thanks mn)

boston bruins: key club - self-important for no particular reason. also this is a club where you pay to do community service, which is just fundamentally wrong in the same way I feel when I see the bruins’ meth bear

buffalo sabres: swim team - wet. no I will not elaborate.

calgary flames: garden club - I didn’t even know we had a garden club until lil suggested this

carolina hurricanes: model UN - super well-run, they’ve got some nice kids involved, but I dislike them on principle

chicago I’m not writing out their team name: lacrosse - universally hated except by themselves and often take insults as compliments. also the worst punishment I can think of for a hockey team is telling them they remind me of lax bros

colorado avalanche: empowering women’s club - mostly performative but sometimes (when they can get the whole group together) they do fun things

columbus blue jackets: student section - they’re all college kids sorry it just fits

dallas stars: gender and sexuality alliance - listen. I don’t know what’s going on down there, but I can tell you it’s definitely gay

detroit red wings: cross-country - sometimes the rookies are good but everything else about them is forgettable

edmonton oilers: knowledge bowl - connor mcdavid reminds me of kb kids. leon draisaitl would be that guy who knows fuck-all answer-wise but can hit the buzzer super early and always knows what the question is asking. they just have neatly partitioned tasks for everyone and it sometimes works. yes I did kb for 7 years can you tell

florida panthers: FCA (fellowship of christian athletes) - the combination of donuts and christian rock at every meeting leveled out to a net zero

la kings: theater (tech crew specifically) - black and white outfits and idk sneaky vibes? they feel like a variety show in the same way tech does [see ducks/sharks]

minnesota wild: marching band - they’re dumb. they love each other. pranks are inevitable. some gay shit is happening. the director has very little control

montreal canadiens: magic the gathering club - just some kids hanging out. j chillin. one-sided feud with costco. vaguely hostile but in a blatantly self-defensive way

nashville predators: baseball - they were good for a while one time but now they’re just sad and middling

new jersey devils: speech - it’s fun when you’re not worried about winning, it’s a great group, but the moment you start paying attention to numbers you will cry

new york islanders: volleyball - bitchy vibes. and mat barzal’s tiny shorts

new york rangers: quiz bowl - to quote lil, they “aren’t smart enough for [knowledge bowl]” but also zero teamwork despite individual prowess

ottawa senators: robotics (FRC specifically) - they’re constantly falling apart but when it works it Works. also lots of freaks of many varieties (affectionate)

philadelphia flyers: that one political club a couple of my friends started junior year. pac or something? - it was going fine and then it changed management and now. hm.

pittsburgh penguins: student council - overachievers (affectionate). somewhat ineffective but they’re putting the effort in

san jose sharks: theater (pit specifically) - oft forgotten, but generally chill [see ducks/kings]

seattle kraken: chess club - to quote lil, “good vibes. don’t do anything, just here for fun.” I agree

st. louis blues: choir - rancid vibes. (I was a choir kid I’m allowed to say the vibes were rancid bc they were)

tampa bay lightning: honor society - overachievers (derogatory)

toronto maple leafs: lettuce club - for anyone unfamiliar, this is a club where every year, everyone interested sits at a table and simultaneously consumes an entire head of lettuce. whoever does it fastest is the Head of Lettuce for the next year. I have no fucking clue what they did at the rest of their meetings. leafs vibes

vancouver canucks: anime club - what the fuck is going on over there don’t look pretend you don’t see them and it’ll be fine (affectionate)

vegas golden knights: debate - this is for nolpats specifically I know he’s in LTIR hell but this is for him

washington capitals: that’s just the teacher’s union

winnipeg jets: football - they were never good but people go for the social aspect not the score

[tutuandscoot]

Just another super cute #softboiscott moment

They always always (very rarely even pre-comeback would they not) switch back to holding hands after they take their bows- both practice and performance- like it’s just habit or impulse. Like I know it’s been said before but there is nothing convenient or proper- like ‘how you’re supposed to’ about it so it really just must be that they really really like holding hands 🥹 even if it’s not convenient, but coz it’s just what they do it’s so normal to them and something a simple as that is just really beautiful. Also I just think it’s really cute when they wear gloves coz they have quite famously said they don’t like to partner in gloves but when it’s this cold I can just imagine him telling her to keep warm as rug up if she’s cold (not that he needs to tell her she has every right to but I just remember the off mic ‘are your hands cold/how are you knuckles’ comment so yeh and he’s always taking care of her so that’s why I think it) coz he often only has gloves on at the end and beginning of practice, but yeh it’s just nice they are all bundled up and warm it’s cute ok… 😬

His lil bow for Marie 🥹🥹🥹 I’ve seen quite a few of other skaters- specifically dance pairs do this. I’ve only seen it from them a handful of times- mostly with Marina, this is the first (and I think only) time post comeback/with MFP (the only time caught on camera at least) that I’ve seen it and it’s not even both of them. Certainly they would always say thank you at the end of practice (it’s just what you do, same in ballet you always go and bow/curtsy to the teacher at the end of class- if it’s a strict school at least) but yeh one of the rare times there’s a bow. It’s really really sweet and I remember watching this a while ago and I tried to find it again coz it made me super emotional (surprise surprise 🙄😅) it’s just very small and the follows it up with his beautifully soft cheek kisses which there’s other times- often after performances where he either goes in for it or Marie is kinda like, ‘excuse me where’s my kiss’ (and i think important to note is very different to how he kisses T but still always with this curtesy and respect for their femininity). Obviously I would have no way to know what their actual relationship with each of the coaches they’ve had over their careers possibly is (beyond what they’ve told us) but there’s just so much difference between them with MFP and with Marina and everyone else from Detroit. That’s pretty obvious but I had a though the other day that… obviously TS are strong minded as fuck- I mean for T to get through all those years being injured and succeeding just by the sheer force of will. For both of them everything they would’ve had to face but there’s something about them (it’s that they’re sensitive- they’ve said that) that Marie and Patch seem more like parental, mentor, companion figures to them more than simply their coach- which I fully believed Marina cared deeply about them but (maybe stereotypically) it was just a harsher, less kind environment, and that in Montreal it just seemed softer and more nurturing. That could a bit maybe be the training environment as well as just how TS approached their comeback as a whole but also just their relationship with MFP since they were young. From the outside it just seemed more caring. More mutual respect- and I think for Marie and Patch- who were no doubt brilliant in their own right, they know just how talented TS are and, not to over exaggerate, but are so much better than they ever were and maybe see some of their unfulfilled potential that can be realised in TS and want to do everything to ensure they can succeed and know that they are loved- and then in turn TS show them that respect for being their mentors and teaching them how to be mentors in their own right. And so you sort of see that in just this little moment of his bow of respect and manners but then that kiss(s) that’s a little bit motherly (like she’s a bit of a motherly figure- they do call TS their babies). It just feels like.. again no way to actually know, but the first thing to come from MFP after a practice or performance is ‘i’m/ we’re proud of you’ rather then ‘you screwed that up’ or ‘you didn’t try hard enough’. And it’s like that because TS DO work so hard and always tell each other how proud they are of each other so it’s like their dynamic isn’t being looked down upon or pushed to the side as being unimportant- or only their performer/chemistry is important. It seems like a totally reciprocal thing and there is just more love and nurturing there.

And finally, really just continuing on from the previous point, that he goes to give JF a hug and not one of those like ‘bro’ hugs but again a really nurturing ‘good job I’m proud of you’ hug. Like I said TS are strong minded AF but just knowing some of the stuff Scott especially (and as a result tessa) was dealing with that season, idk it’s just really heart warming all that compassion and it just really seemed like people were taking care of him really well- it wasn’t all about the skating it was about being good people and taking care of the people they care about. It’s just an energy thing and just feeling like even though he was going through a really hard time and probably on some level a competition/rink/travelling wasn’t where he felt he should or wanted to be, he also wanted to be here with Tessa skating and getting better and striving for this goal together and for these two years they were each other’s no. one priority and commitment. So it’s just sweet to think about that comforting and loving environment they created, no matter which/both of them may have been having a hard day, that they had this greater team supporting them, and were in a much more caring environment, even though they were further away from home then previously they had people around them that resembled, or were at least able to be at times like a family to them 🥹.

[landwriter]

For the random get to know me ask: bamboo 🎋

bamboo ⇢ do you change into a different outfit when you get home?

I'm self-employed and this would require me leaving home so -- but really, this is SO seasonal?

In the summer I'm usually doing a lot of work on the house or the land so I have a fully separate Indoor/Outdoor wardrobe, because god thought it would be very funny to bless me with an abiding love for working with my hands and being outside as well as terrifically bad grass/dust/mold/pollen allergies. A few times this last spring I'd go out and do shit with breathing pro on hahaha. But even when the pollen and mosquitos aren't in High Murder Season it's not nice to soak in your sweat!

In the winter I stop changing clothes when I come in and out and settle into a cozy rota of sweatpants and sweaters unless I'm going somewhere, and then I put on real pants and sometimes even A Nice Sweater. Will often end up going for hikes or not-getting-out-of-the-car errands in my jamjams and a jacket. When I went off the road last month, I spent the day at a kind stranger's house and an hour at the autoshop in said jamjams. But I do love how mild it is here, that I can go out in the same thing I sleep in! In early spring too I'll just go around gardening in my sweats too. It's terrible haha. I wake up and just start puttering.

However if I've gone to a Bra-Wearing Situation the bra comes off pretty fast. Back when I was a Young Professional™ I used to not even get the whole meme of Ladies Taking Off Their Bras When They Got Home. I was like, What, like it's uncomfortable?! I would just wear that shit every waking hour. But then I lived in Montreal, which meant I stopped wearing a bra, and like with alcohol or men, I simply lost the tolerance.

[arqueete]

2022 New Year's Meme

Every year I do this survey that went around Livejournal in the 2010s. Anyone is welcome to do the survey!

1. What did you do in 2022 that you’d never done before?

I got married! I had a wedding and a honeymoon (my first time visiting Montreal)!

I visited Columbus, OH for the first time (and second time) to visit the office of my new job.

I played pinball machines for I think the first time? At least the first time in my adult life.

I went to local science museum Discovery World for the first time (as far as I remember) as well.

Some food I cooked for the first time: cream puffs, fondue, ice cream, chicken paprikash, baozi.

Finally went to local summer concert series Jazz in the Park.

2. Did you keep your New Years’ resolutions and will you make more for next year?

My resolutions for 2022 were to be more physically active (and try a fitness challenge), and to keep up with learning Italian. I bought rollerblades and did a little rollerblading (though not as much as I would've liked), I feel like I did start walking places a lot more in the summer, and I was doing a calisthenics routine for a while there, so I did at least make an attempt at being more physically active. I haven't been working on Italian as much as I'd hoped either, but I did take a six week Italian class in the spring and that was really helpful!

In 2023, I have a few resolutions:

I have a membership at a pottery studio but I don't actually use it very often. Next year I'd like to make more of a routine out of going and have something in progress at all times.

I want to make more of a habit of finding ways to use up leftover ingredients and throw away less food.

I mostly get around via the free streetcar and my car--I haven't ridden on a local city bus since before the pandemic started. I'd like to ride the bus a little more in 2023.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth? A friend of mine had a baby girl earlier in the year! 4. Did anyone close to you die? Fortunately no.

5. What countries did you visit? I visited Canada for the second time, this time to stay in Montreal. I really enjoyed it there--the French was a little challenging at times but rewarding and interesting other times, the historic neighborhoods were fun to explore, I appreciated the public transit options, and I generally was very charmed by this city! I'd love to see it again someday. 6. What would you like to have in 2023 that you lacked in 2022? Last year I said I wanted to find a job that I would enjoy and where I felt I could stay for a while--I'm really happy to say I did start a new job this year where I feel supported and enjoy spending time with my smart and fun coworkers.

In 2023, I'd like to have closer relationships to people who live nearby. It seems like we keep on putting off inviting people over (or out). I want to take the initiative more to see people and maintain connections. 7. What date from 2022 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? October 16, 2022 was the day I got married! 8. What was your biggest achievement of the year? I do think it has to be planning the wedding. I've definitely never organized any event of that size and boy was it a lot of work. 9. What was your biggest failure? I don't want to be overdramatic about it but it was a bummer that I worked hard on an entry to the state fair knitting competition this year and I was really proud of what I made, but I didn't place. 10. Did you suffer illness or injury?

I had my first ever root canal this year for a cracked tooth. I also developed chronic hives, which is ongoing and I'll be seeing an allergist about it in January.

11. What was the best thing you bought? A lot of the best things I acquired this year were gifts (like my ice cream maker) but I think it was sometime this year that I bought this nice water bottle from Target, and I was never really a water bottle person before but I am now. 12. Whose behavior merited celebration? My friend @prosopopeya changed careers!

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed? The supreme court. 14. Where did most of your money go? It's always rent. Aside from that, wedding/honeymoon expenses and groceries. 15. What did you get really, really, really excited about? Besides my wedding (which was sometimes as nerve-wracking as it was exciting) I got really, really, really excited when I stumbled upon the Phantom of the Opera pinball machine!!! 16. What song(s) will always remind you of 2022? Earlier in the year I got really into the Glass Animals album Dreamland (and I saw them live this year! My diving in to the album mostly came after the concert.) At the end of the year I really enjoyed the new Death Cab for Cutie album Asphalt Meadows. It was already my all-time favorite love song but our first dance at our wedding was to "Passenger Seat" by Death Cab for Cutie.

17. Compared to this time last year, are you: i. Happier or sadder? Happier. ii. Older or wiser? Wiser. iii. Thinner or fatter? Thinner. iv. Richer or poorer? Richer. 18. What do you wish you’d done more of? I wish I had seen more theater. I already have tickets to a couple shows for next year so hopefully I can turn this around. 19. What do you wish you’d done less of? I need to stop going to the grocery store so often. The pandemic had forced me to plan meals and make infrequent shopping trips and work with what I had on hand and this year I threw all of that out the window and I am constantly at the store. 20. How will you be spending Christmas? We were really relieved that we got to have a "real" Christmas this year after Covid kept us at home the past two years. We went to my parents' house on Christmas Eve, then we hosted my in-laws at our apartment Christmas morning, and then had Christmas dinner out near Madison, WI with my husbands' extended family.

21. How will you be spending New Year’s Eve? We plan on having a charcuterie dinner at home and then we have tickets to a speakeasy-themed event at a local bar. On New Year's Day we will maintain our tradition of attending the 36th Annual Cool Fool Kite and Ice Festival and flying our octopus kite, Squeaky Jr.

22. Did you fall in love in 2022? I'm still in love with my new husband! 23. How many one-night stands? None.

24. What was your favorite TV program? I loved What We Do In the Shadows and Derry Girls.

25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year? I've never liked Elon Musk but boy am I tired of hearing about him causing chaos this year. 26. What was the best book you read? I'm really proud of how much I read this year! I usually read only a few books a year but I read at least a dozen books in the last half of the year alone.

But when it comes to the best book I read... I think it has to be Dracula. I participated in Dracula Daily, an email mailing list that sends you excerpts from Dracula on the day the book says they occur, and experienced the entire book that way along with a bunch of other people on the internet.

The experience was so unique and interesting--to really get a sense of the passage of time in the story (it begins in May and ends in November), to often only get a little bit at a time which helped me appreciate little details and maybe made the more boring and long-winded bits more tolerable (I know @hrello has been suffering through this on his solo read), and to read along with lots of other people and share jokes and bits of historical context with each other. And of course the story itself, which feels actually kind of novel and refreshing after seeing vampires remixed so often in pop culture--generally, myself and people on Tumblr really rallied around the human characters in the book more than the vampires. Dracula is a novel about the power of friendship! 27. What was your greatest musical discovery? Bon Iver's Justin Vernon started a monthly radio show called Song Chest Radio Hour, and in one I listened to (maybe I should listen to more in 2023!) he said something like, "If you've never heard of The Roches you're in for a treat," and played their song "Hammond Song." He was right, it really is a treat.

28. What did you want and get? Last year we bought a stand mixer and ever since I have dreamed of the stand mixer ice cream maker attachment. This year I got it as a wedding gift and it is all I ever dreamed of--I've made several different cereal-flavored ice creams and I want to experiment more.

29. What did you want and not get? Dying waiting to see our wedding photos. The photographer still has a few weeks left, contractually, to deliver them to us so there's nothing to be annoyed about yet but we were really hoping to at least get them by Christmas. This is past the time he mentioned it usually takes him to deliver so we can't help but worry about it. (What if he sent them weeks ago and we didn't get them for some reason?) I have some cute frames waiting for photos! 30. What was your favorite film of this year? Everything Everywhere All at Once blew me away--it made me feel so much and reminded me of what makes movies great and special as an art form.

31. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? I turned 32 this year (which hasn't really sunk in yet) and our original plan was to go to the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago, which I'd still like to do, but it was the Saturday after Thanksgiving and we just weren't up for it. Instead, we got breakfast at a local waffle place, went to the Public Museum to see the Streets of Old Milwaukee decorated for Christmas, had lunch and freaked out over a water leak in our apartment that required an emergency maintenance call, and then went to Discovery World. I had the Milk Bar malted chocolate cake made for me by my husband as a birthday cake.

32. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? If we hadn't had so much drama around Thanksgiving and my family canceling and then my husband's family canceling. Those big family holidays feel extra precious since the pandemic started. 33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2022? I started working for a company that sells clothes, which does do something to a person. I feel like I approached 2022 with an open mind about my personal style, challenging some ideas about what is "me." I wore a couple dresses with low necklines. I bought an animal print sweater. I bought a cropped sweatshirt. At the same time, I embraced feeling comfortable and felt like I learned more about how to look sexy or confident or put together in a relaxed way. 34. What kept you sane? Reading. I tried to use reading to replace some of my social media usage this year so that scrolling through feeds isn't like, my default state of being. I read a lot of books and also got a few magazine subscriptions so there's always things around to read without looking at screens. 35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most? I enjoy the cast of What We Do In the Shadows. 36. What political issue stirred you the most? The mid-terms were this year and fuck Ron Johnson but the big one for me was the overturning of Roe v Wade. 37. Who did you miss? With the whole Darren Criss in Chess thing this year, and showing my husband Spring Awakening for the first time, I really wished Jaymee were around so I could tell her about it. 38. Who was the best new person you met? My new coworkers! There are some people at my new job that I really get along with and I'm so grateful. 39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2022: I think weddings can be a good exercise in having reasonable expectations for what you will get out of your relationship with different members of your extended family. There can be this feeling, especially with all the tradition that is attached to a life event like that, that surely everyone will show reverence to this important moment even if they don't have a history of showing up for you in that way and... you know better, right? And I don't mean that in a bitter way but with a sense of peace.

40. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year:

You've had too much of the digital love You want everything live, you want things you can touch Make it feel like a movie you saw in your youth Make it feel like that song that just unopened you

Glass Animals - "Dreamland"

[mundanemiseries]

@fairymint​ | munday qs [ no longer munday but...still accepting ]

✈️ — ever traveled anywhere interesting?

// honestly i don’t get to travel all that often, most my family will do is somewhere a few hours out from the Toronto area

But last year we did go to Montreal which was...v cool. And back in 2019 my parents and i went to Europe for a few weeks and that was super nice, I also got a bunch of rlly nice pics while i was there

i would...love to show some of them but....i took them all on film and i don’t have a scanner to scan in the pics :P (tho....some of them are actually in the bg of my banner lol)

[dreamhot]

i’m happy you liked motreal 🫶🫶 i feel like it often gets overlooked bc it’s french and not as sensationalized as like toronto but it’s soooo nice both to visit and to live in so many hidden gems 😎 -mtl anon 🤪

no shade to the torontonians but i lived in the city for 2.5 years and it wasn't for me (would visit again, just not. reside) but like. montreal. holy shit i fell in love immediately which says a lot given that extreme heat tends to make me hate everything indiscriminately LMAO (in all fairness it was just as hot back home)

i really wanna come back someday when i have more time (and in a cooler season lol) cos there are still so many things i wanna see and do !!! plus i need to go to la ronde at some point i miss wonderland so bad i need to be on a roller coaster again before i perish

[talenlee]

Game Pile: Lunark

Lunark Gushing

Watch this video on YouTube

And there’s a thumbnail after the fold, and the script outline afterwards.

Lunark is a 2023 step-platformer from Canari Studios, a Montreal-based indie game company, Wayforward games, an America-based indie game publisher, and me! Well, not me directly, but I, and two thousand eight hundred and twenty three other people all pledged some money, around $28 a head, back in 2019. It raised $81,655 on the back of a promise of a pixel-art step puzzle platformer, with rotoscoped cutscenes, and that’s exactly what I got, exactly what it is.

Well, short script, guess I can knock off early.

Lunark’s excellent. I did back it on kickstarter, entirely based on the trailer, and because it reminded me of Flashback. I loved that game, and loved all the first third of it I ever played, and the weeks of time I spent playing that part of the game.

Flashback was a great game for its time and I don’t just mean that because videogames hadn’t invented machine guns yet. It was great because the whole game fit on a 3.5 inch floppy so if you saw it at a mate’s place you could zip it up and take your own copy home and maybe photocopy some copy protection (I think) or their copy was cracked (probably). In that time, a single floppy was a great size for a game. You weren’t logging onto the internet to download new games all the time, you were having these rare meetings of going around to a friend’s house or seeing someone you didn’t often see to broaden your network of available software, and in that space, Flashback was great.

Flashback was a game that unfolded. Setting aside the core mystery you were dropped into tabula rasa, it was a game whose mechanical system felt like it was immediately available, just there under your fingertips as you played it, but which you had to learn how to coax out with the right positions, the right timing, the right combinations of buttons. Learning how to play it meant getting to know how it worked through the plot itself, which, and I know I’m not alone in this, often meant restarting the whole game to see an early cutscene again because you didn’t see what it told you to do next because you pressed a button and accidentally skipped the cutscene wholly.

Flashback was a time abyss of a game with a big beating mystery at its heart compelling you to finish it and I never did and nobody I know ever did but we all agreed that it played really well and we liked it. It was cool and it looked amazing and we definitely liked it. Do you know how it ends? Nope. Nobody did. Why’d you stop? uh, there was that bit.

You can go and play the original Flashback in a number of places, including a gog remake that… may be fine, I don’t know, and honestly don’t really care. The stylisation filter they put on it looks like my attempting to hide photoshopped-out tattoos on pictures by making the whole image’s skin texture rubbery and shiny. That’s not even touching on the 3d remake which is, uhm, well, I was told if I can’t say anything nice and the company that made it is probably out of business now anyway, since the only other game they made was Amy.

[maybe a clip from the folding ideas speedrun of amy]

The thing with going back and playing these old DOS games is that you need some heavy nostalgia to stick with them or a deep and abiding interest in getting to the end for some other reason, like a self-assigned dedication to trying to play games every week to get through a sort of ‘game pile’ as it were. Most of them work fine, but also, they’re not very good at encouraging you to play them, some of them are really repetitive, their narratives and conclusions aren’t really very interesting, the logic can be positively absurd at times, but also, very importantly, most of them have awkward interfaces. Not bad, not a huge problem, but there’s a lot of game interface language that you marinate in right now that is kind of universalised by the right things succeeding and most people adopting them.

WASD movement, which is the standard for first person shooters, was not the default in DOOM. Nor was it the default in Quake, where you were expected to toggle strafing with the alt key. Sierra, one of the companies most renowned for point-and-click games of the generation, made point and click games for less than half their life, and even then, the model people assume is standard only lasted for about five years.

When you go back to play these old DOS-era games, you were very likely to find an interface designed by someone with some very specific ideas of what was natural and intuitive and often you couldn’t customise them at all. Some designers thought the most natural way to move left and right was with the O and P keys, and jump and duck with the Q and A keys.

I bring this up to you to underscore that Lunark, as a game, owes a lot of how it looks to this particular period of rotoscoped pixel art that we mostly tie to Flashback and Prince of Persia, but what it owes about how it plays and the story it tells is not about how Flashback plays, but rather, how I remember Flashback feeling.

I mean, okay, yes, you could just simplify that into ‘Flashback but it plays really well,’ and that’s a place to start. It’s not just ‘that thing you like, in a bigger cup,’ though. I like Lunark a lot, and I like it as its own thing, which is very important. Enjoying it though, had all these moments when I thought ‘oh, is this going to be like this thing, from other games,’ and the game has an almost perfect sense for when introducing that thing would piss me off, and routes around it, or, when it would be perfect and revels in it.

You know something a lot of step platformers don’t do well? Combat and boss battles. Know what Lunark does a surprisingly good job of? Yeah! I was surprised! The step platformer tends to be a game which makes a puzzle of movement, with really deliberate and fixed-animation movement to boot and how do you treat that kind of movement in combat (you know, when there’s immediate risk of harm)? It feels weird to say this, but Lunark has a number of boss fights that feel like they cracked the puzzle without complicating the interface, and it’s just, really? Quite good?

Lunark has boss battles! And they’re interesting and good and they don’t feel like they’re repeating the same basic pattern, nor do they feel like they overstay their welcome. It’s very honest, hey, this is a boss battle and all the bits of how it works are visible, and that honestly plays into the honesty of the rest of the game. There are sure some execution problems, the game doesn’t mislead you or lie to you. Even the narrative, which is about a main character trying to solve a mystery, is mostly a mystery because people are withholding information, not because you’re somehow wrong about something important.

It’s a game that feels classical and invigorated by deeply loving its source material. Where Flashback unfolded through stages to reveal a game that was pretty good, Lunark is every bit as good, with a better interface, and an equally solid narrative told through the same mix of short cutscenes and character dialogue and play experience as Flashback did. And the story isn’t complicated, or even particularly complex. What it is, is obtuse; for the most part, the sequence of events that make up the story, and its background, all follow a reasonably coherent, sensible set of choices, but because your character doesn’t know what’s going on.

Lunark is amazing, and part of why it’s amazing is because it feels like it loves Flashback enough to know how to do Flashback better. You can make things that are like the things you love, and just add some more care, and more love, and a big monster that huggs you and an opportunity to pat some animals. That’s pretty cool.

Check it out on PRESS.exe to see it with images and links!

#GamePile #Games

[huggybug]

don’t let me go (9) - thomas bordeleau

word count: 1.6k words

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“If we’re doing this, I need everything out in the open now. We can’t hold grudges for our past and I know you’ve said you forgive me but any questions or anything you want me to explain, let’s do it because I need to be certain that this is starting on the right foot” You stared him down across the table. Your first date probably wasn’t the place to have this conversation but at this point, there was no reason to hide away from things.

“Fair enough” Thomas said quickly, drawing in a deep breath. “When did you find out?”

“A week after your debut” You bit your lip nervously; as much as you did want to have this conversation, it was scary to talk about it with him. You didn’t know how he would react or what you could do to make things right.

“Who knew? Obviously Mackie but who else knew before me?” Thomas didn’t seem uncomfortable or upset like you’d expected which you continuously told yourself was a good sign, chanting it like a mantra in your head.

“The guys who stayed in Michigan and… Owen” You bit your lip nervously.

“Did you ever want to tell me?” Thomas asked quietly.

“I did… it was a lot at first, almost everyday I would doubt myself but whenever I picked up my phone, I’d talk myself out of it. As he got older, I thought about it less but I’ve always been trying to figure out the best time” Thomas didn’t say anything, just nodded and reached across the table to hold your hand, a silent reassurance that you desperately needed. “It was selfish and I should have told you”

“I mean… you were right I guess” He paused, “I would’ve come back to be with you or maybe asked you to come with me but then you would’ve said no or hated me for even asking and we’d be in a much worse place than we are now. So maybe it was for the best” Thomas shrugged with a little smile and you squeezed his hand gently.

“Everything happens for a reason, right?”

“Absolutely” You both had the closure that was necessary to drop the subject which meant your date could officially commence. As much as you expected it to be a little strange, it felt like you’d been doing this for years and it was the most natural thing ever. The topics ended up on Jacob more often than not but neither of you minded, it wasn’t like you could pretend he didn’t exist, although everything did seem lighter now that the conversation from before was out of the way.

“So I’m leaving in a couple days” You knew Thomas couldn't spend his whole summer in Michigan and as much as you’d love for him to get as much time with Jacob as possible, you knew he had to go home to see his family.

“I’m aware” You were the one who actually booked his ticket, claiming if you didn’t do it he would never go.

“What do you think about coming with me?” He asked hopefully.

“Thomas…”

“I want him to meet my parents, if you’re okay with it of course, and I think you’d both love Montreal” You two hadn’t exactly talked about either of your parents. As far as you knew, Thomas still hadn’t told his family and he was waiting until he could see them in person which you understood, it was too significant of news to break over the phone; your parents still didn’t know Thomas was back in the picture and it wasn’t like you were hiding it but you wanted to be sure everything was secure before you told them.

“I want him to meet them too but maybe you should give them time. You go and tell them and then maybe they can meet Jacob once the news has settled” It was a self-serving reasoning and you didn’t care how transparent you were about it. Thomas’ parents were nice people, you hadn’t exactly met them but from everything you had heard, they were nice, reasonable people. However, you weren’t expecting them to be very welcoming to the girl who hid their grandson from both them and their son for years.

“Can you just think about it?”

“We can talk about it after you tell them” You suggest and he reluctantly agrees.

…

When you got home a few hours later, after a fantastic meal and promises of a couple glasses of wine at home, Mackie and Luke were eager to tap out of their babysitting roles. They were out of the door before you had your shoes off which made Thomas chuckle as he hung up both his and your coats. You were on your way to the kitchen to retrieve the wine glasses when you heard movement in Jacob’s room, making you forget about the wine and head down the hall with Thomas on your heels.

“Jacob Thomas, you better be sleeping” You poke your head into his bedroom and immediately hear the giggles erupt from under the covers. Behind you, Thomas’ eyes go wide at the use of your son’s full name but he stays silent as you both listen to the giggling.

“Hi Mommy!” He pops up with a smile on his face and you shake your head as you walk into his room, Thomas following close behind you.

“Mackie didn’t do a very good job putting you to bed, huh?” You ask as you sit on the edge of his little bed. You typically cut him some slack whenever Mackie or one of the other boys was around so the bedtime was always pushed back.

“I wanted to wait for you” Jacob grips onto your arm, giving it a hug as he wiggles onto your lap.

“It’s way past your bedtime dude” Thomas said, poking Jacob’s side and you could tell he was tired since he barely reacted.

“But I didn’t get to play with you today” Your son pouts, staring up at Thomas with the biggest puppy dog eyes ever.

“We’ve got all day tomorrow” Thomas was supposed to head up to Montreal the day after so he had tomorrow entirely free to spend with Jacob.

“Really?” Your son’s eyes were big and bright as Thomas forced him back into a lying position on his bed.

“Mhm but you have to sleep now so that tomorrow will come”

“Okay… will you be here in the morning?” Jacob asks and you can feel Thomas’ eyes on you.

“I’ll try to be here when you wake up” You weren’t sure if that meant he wanted to stay over or if he was going to come back but you were quick to realize you wouldn't be opposed to the first option.

“Goodnight J” You bend down to kiss his forehead and walk out, waiting for Thomas to close the door behind him before walking away.

“So…” Thomas starts as soon as you two step foot into the kitchen, the space furthest from Jacob’s room. “His middle name is Thomas?”

“Mhm after Thomas Jefferson, he was a great president” You say smoothly but Thomas pinches your arm lightly which makes you laugh. “I wanted him to have a piece of you, even if he didn’t exactly know it” You explained shyly, slightly embarrassed at how cheesy it came off.

“I love it” Thomas’ hand found yours, squeezing it gently next to your body. “You know…” Thomas trails off, unsure if he actually wanted to tell you or not but your grip on his hand pulls the words out of him. “I was kind of upset that he doesn’t have my last name. I know it’s not fair since you raised him and everything but I wished he had my name, you know? But… turns out he always has so thank you”

“I thought about it when he was born but I guess you’d have to be there to sign off on it or something so I decided on his middle name instead. He’s always had you with him, T”

“Just… thank you” Thomas was so overwhelmed, he didn’t know what else to say but you didn’t mind, choosing to press a light kiss to the corner of his jaw. The silence filled the room before you remembered something you had to ask him.

“So… was that you saying you wanted to stay?” You asked, thinking back to what he said to Jacob only a few minutes earlier.

“No! I mean… that’s not what I meant. I don’t want to rush anything” Thomas sighed, running his fingers through his hair, disrupting it from its previously perfect style.

“I’m not offering up sex Thomas, just… you can sleep here” Thomas laughed at your forwardness which made you giggle as well.

“Good because I’m really not ready to be a father of two” You roll your eyes at him but cant help the stupid smile that seems to be growing on your face.

“You’re horrible” He’s grinning now too and you try to distract yourself with the stray dishes that Mackie left on the counter.

“I probably shouldn’t drive… y’know with all the wine I’ve had tonight” You nodded slowly. You both only had one glass each at dinner, and had yet to crack into the bottle you were originally planning on getting when you got home.

“Mhm right” You reach for two wine glasses and set them on the counter before grabbing the bottle of rosé from the fridge. “Well since you don’t have to worry about drinking” You quirk an eyebrow as you open the wine and pour two glasses before tucking the bottle under your arm, grabbing your glass and a container of cookies you figured would be delicious right now. “C’mon, let’s go to bed” And if Thomas didn’t practically sprint to your bedroom at that…

[drwcn]

Hello~ may i ask you something about Chinese culture? i'm a white person and i know that wearing traditional clothes from other cultures (for example as a street wear) simply because it's beautiful is disrespectful because it's also a form of cultural appropriation. A few months ago one of my friends and i were talking and exchanging facts about our cultures and lifestyles and i made a comment about how stunning some hanfu she showed me were and her first reaction was " oh you like it? what's your favorite color i can buy you that one! " and she was quite gleeful and seemed to be unaware of the ethical problem behind me wearing these clothes.. i kindly refused but it's been puzzling me for some time now and so I'd like to know a bit more about it so i can maybe educate myself on this matter and explain my position better next time such as why I can't wear these clothes. i'm really sorry to drop this important and not so simple ask on you but i actually don't know anyone else i could ask, also know that you don't need to answer this if you're uncomfortable or anything tho! it's such a long text omg again sorry for taking up so much of your time aldhsks i hope your day will be great 💝

Hi friend! 

From where I stand if you want one, you should get one, especially if your friend is willing to help you pick a nice one. :) 

Here’s the thing about culture appropriation - everyone has a different opinion on it, so even if I say something, another Chinese person can disagree and that’s valid. 

I have a feeling, just a feeing, that if you go to China and buy a hanfu and put it on and walk around in it, most Chinese people aren’t gonna come up to you and say hey! this is cultural appropriation! In fact they might ask to take pictures with you.

That’s gonna be different if you did the same thing in New York, or Montreal, or Sydney, or London. 

I’m not a sociologist or anthropologist or political scientist, but I am a young person who has a lot of incongruous feelings towards cultural appropriation. There are obvious answers. Any action whereby an item/accessory from a certain culture is used in a mocking or offensive way, or is used as a costume or a gimmick, is of course entirely inappropriate. This is the obvious answer. But, the question that is often asked, and the exactly thing you are getting, is: what if I’m not intending to be offensive? What if I just like it? What if I want to honour it and support it? 

And the answer to that is complicated. 

I am a CN diaspora, and from what I’m seen and experienced, the term “cultural appropriate” comes from a place of fear and feeling of threat. For countries like the US where the population is very diverse and there’s a pressure to assimilate and fit in, there used to be a time when immigrants felt they had to do everything in their power to be more integrated into the new community they landed in and that meant turning their backs on the culture that they’ve left behind. 

The movement we see more and more nowadays is the reclaiming of some of that lost culture and the embracing of every aspect of one’s identity. However, the part of us that’s not quite “white enough”, that we’re just starting to build up the courage to be proud of, is still so tender, so raw, so vulnerable to any kind of assault from outside forces. The fear that we used to feel, the fear of being completely ourselves, it never truly goes away. It’s in the memory of being embarrassed to bring cultural food to lunch at school and wishing your mom could just pack you pizza. It’s the awkward moments when you can’t wear the shorts you want like the other girls in your class because your immigrant mother/father says it’s not appropriate. It’s loving a wuxia story and having no one to share it with because all your friends are non-cn and you’re 14 and everything is embarrassing. Imagine carrying that your entire life, that heavy mixture of shame and fear, and waking up one day and suddenly some pop artist is using aspects of your culture in their music video. Just for the aesthetics. And for that they’re getting millions of hits on youtube and making a fuckton of money. 

The very thing that had caused you so much grief, so much mockery and stress, is being used and monetized. How could you be okay with it? Especially when commercialization often comes with sexualization and objectification as well.  Now what if it’s not some famous person, what if it’s just a random citizen who wants to put on a kimono or a hanfu? Is that okay? Then it really depends on who you’re asking and what their relationship is with their cultural identity. Personally, I don’t really care because the community that I grew up in was very accepting of my culture. I never experienced as much cultural threat as other cn disasporas in other communities. So, like your friend who is CN (I’m assuming), I don’t feel as though my own identity is being infringed upon if you were to wear hanfu. In fact, I would take it as you being interested in my culture.  But imagine someone who comes from a community where they weren’t allowed to freely express their unique cultural idiosyncracies, where they felt much more pressured to assimilate and fit in. I would think that you wearing hanfu would be absolutely seen as cultural appropriation in that case. Because the bottom line is, if they wore hanfu in their community, they would’ve probably been mocked for it, and so a person who is non-cn wearing hanfu just for fun, cheapens the struggles and the pain that they must’ve experienced ongoingly in their life. In simple words: imagine an unpopular kid at school had a mole on their face, a mole which earned them constant mockery from the popular kids. One day, however, one of the popular kids decided having a mole is “cool” and “sexy”, and drew one on their face and began sporting it around. Suddenly everyone is doing it. That kid with the mole is probably thinking having a mole is my thing, it’s part of who I am, I can’t change it, and you made my life hell because of it. Now, not only are you being a complete hypocrite, you’re also taking away a part of my identity. You’re removing the mole from it’s origin, from its context, and you’re drawing it on your face just because you like the look of it. 

There’s a reason why Chinese people from China don’t care if you go to and buy all the hanfu you want. A) it’s generating business, but more importantly B) Chinese people in China are secure in their cultural identity. Being Chinese is their every day life, it’s their norm, their background, their default. By you wishing to try Chinese clothes, eating Chinese food, to them you’re simply going with the flow of their society. Diasporas on the other hand have a completely different relationship with our culture. We’ve had to fight to carve out a space that’s just for ourselves, and no diaspora’s experience is going to be the same as another. Therefore, our relationship with our culture, and with the term “cultural appropriation” is going to be very different. 

[justhockeythings-blog1]

You look really good in my jersey

A/N: Let me know what you guys think of this one! I have a specific part that is my fave, bonus points to anyone who can guess it!

Request: Prompt : “You look really good in my Jersey ” with Morgan Rielly

You and Morgan had been friends for years, inseparable from the second you moved into the house next door to him. Many people over the years had assumed that you two were dating, starting as young as middle school. You had always shaken your head and laughed it off, ignoring the way that Morgan looked at you momentarily before agreeing with you.

Now, after nearly twenty years of friendship, you still had those rumors. Whether it was from your friends, his friends, your parents. It seemed like the two of you couldn’t do anything together without someone making a comment that you two should be dating or assuming that you already were. 

To be honest, you had realized that the feelings you had for Morgan extended beyond that of friendship when you were back in high school. You should’ve seen it coming, you had noticed the shift in your feelings, the way your stomach would flutter when he smiled at you. Your cheeks heated up more often when he said something kind. You two went to a dance together your senior year and you were convinced that you would pass out from fighting off those feelings.

You couldn’t have those feelings. This was Morgan, your best friend, practically your brother. Those were the same words you had repeated to so many people over the years and now you were struggling to convince yourself. 

Then college came, you went to your university and Morgan went off to make his star career come true. It had been easy to avoid those feelings when you weren’t seeing him every day, at least not in person. You two still kept up regular contact, between facetime, phone calls, and texts, it was almost like you weren’t hundreds of miles apart. 

When he was drafted, you were watching. When you graduated, he was there. He had been your date to your best friend’s wedding, you had been his to many events for the Leafs. It only made sense, after your years of friendship, that you found a job in Toronto and be by your best friend again. 

“So when are you finally going to come to one of my games?” He asked, cocking an eyebrow at you as you lounged in your bed, his face smiling at you from the phone in your hand. He was on a roadtrip in Montreal and still found time to call you, making those butterflies erupt in your stomach again. 

“What makes you think I want to come to your game?” You teased, to be honest this was the first time in a long time you hadn’t been able to go to a game. Throughout your friendship you had made it a point to go to every single game you could, especially in high school when your emotions were high. 

Now though, it seemed like your job and his hockey schedule never lined up to where you could go to a game in person. You were slammed recently, up to your ears in meetings, reports, and a big presentation coming up. You wanted to be at the games, you wanted to be at them all but you just hadn’t found the time.

“Ouch, I take back my invitation.” He laughed, placing his hand over his heart as if pained by your statement. 

You smiled a little, biting your lip as you eyed the box at the end of your bed. You had finally bit the bullet and purchased his jersey, your heart jumping when you had laid out the bright blue jersey on your bed and saw ‘Rielly’ sprawled out across the back of it. Now you just had to find a game to wear it to. 

“Once I’m caught up on work, I’ll try and make a game, I’m sorry Morgs.” You offered, using your childhood nickname for him. One you knew would soften him up no matter what. 

“That’s not fair.” He commented with a smile, in reference to your nickname usage. The nickname only you could use and the one that made his stomach flip every time you said it. 

“Of course it is. You love me for it.” You teased and Morgan had to pause at that. It was one of the many reasons that he loved you but before he could say anything another yawn left your lips. “I’m sorry Morgs, I gotta get to bed, I’ll talk to you later, yeah?”

As you both hung up, miles apart from one another, you both fell asleep thinking about the other. 

A week after your phone call you had finally gotten caught up on your work, your presentation had been approved by your boss, and you had taken a long weekend just for the occasion. Which meant it was finally time to go see your boy play live, in person. 

You had arranged to sit with some of the other girls, wanting to see them as much as you wanted to see Morgan play. It felt like your whole social life had taken a toll because of your job. You caught sight of your reflection as you made your way to your seat, smiling to yourself. You hoped Morgan would like your surprise, you hadn’t told him that you were coming tonight or that you had bought his jersey. 

“He’s going to love it you know.” You turned your head, pulling your eyes away from the ice for the first time since the game started to look at Zach’s wife.

“What?” You asked, playing dumb though you knew exactly what she was refrring to. The girls had been a part of promoting a relationship between you and Morgan before, this was only going to perpetuate it.

“I know you might not see it, but you two are madly in love with one another.” 

You felt the heat rise to your cheeks, turning your eyes back to the ice as the third period began. Thankfully, she let the conversation end there, turning it back to hockey quickly but the seed had been planted. You had always assumed that Morgan only saw you as friends, as a sister even. 

You accepted the fact that you were forever going to be in the friendzone, but one comment that you had heard a thousand times, sent your mind reeling tonight. You felt yourself losing concentration on the game as your mind went deeper into the idea that Morgan could be in love with you. You began to analyze every little thing that could have pointed to that outcome. The way he put his hand on your lower back at an event, how he would shift closer to your side when out at a bar full of creepy men, or how any time you fell asleep at his place he would cover you up and let you stay as long as you wanted. You had always assumed that was just him being a good friend, now though you wondered if it could have meant more. You were pulled from your thoughts by the final buzzer. A Leafs win would hopefully distract you from your thoughts about the boy you were about to see. 

You joined the girls outside of the locker room, knowing that the guys would have media but there had been talk of a group going out for a late dinner after the game. If you knew Morgan, you would probably end up along with the group and you were okay with that. 

You smiled as you saw him coming out, watching as he faltered in his steps when he realized what you had on. It made your stomach flip, it wasn’t like you had never worn a jersey or something of his before, but this time felt very different.

“Hey.” You broke the ice, moving to meet him where he stood and hugging him. “You did great tonight, nice goal.” 

You felt his arms wrap back around you, hugging you tightly as though the two of you hadn’t seen each other earlier in the week for lunch. He pulled away, smiling down as he took in your appearance once more.

“You look really good in my jersey.” He commented, his eyes raking over the jersey one more time, which inevitably brought a blush to your cheeks. 

“Glad you think so, it’s a little expensive for me not to.” You chuckled, shrugging your shoulders under the weight of his hands as they held you.

“You know what would make you look even better in it?” He asked, seeming to have a newfound air of confidence around him. You assumed it was from the win, little did you know that it was actually from the fact that seeing you in his jersey had finally given him the push to make a move.

“If we were sitting at a restaurant eating? I don’t know about you but I am starving and the other guys already left.”  You laughed and Morgan chuckled a little, shaking his head, he had to do this now before he lost his nerve.

“If you were my girlfriend wearing my jersey.” He commented, leaving you stunned as you stared up at him.

Your silence was making him nervous, maybe he had misinterpreted the signs. He was mentally cursing his teammates for giving him the push to ask you out finally, but seeing you in his jersey made him realize that he didn’t want to risk seeing you in anyone else’s. 

“You know what, just forget I said anything. Let’s go get food.” He rescinded, letting his hands fall from your shoulders, his cheeks a bright red. His stomach dropping at the idea that he may have just ruined his longest friendship on a whim.

“No, wait!” You grabbed his hand, stopping him from moving. “Ask me again.” 

He furrowed his eyebrows confused by your demand, “What do you mean?”

“Ask me again.” You insisted. “I don’t want to have to tell people that I stood there like a fish out of water when you asked me to be your girlfriend.”

He laughed at that, a genuine laugh, one that was filled with relief and joy at what your statement insinuated.

“Will you be my girlfriend?” He asked again, staring into your eyes to make sure you were serious about this.

“Yes.” You smiled widely, nodding. “Now can we get food?”