#Southern Superstars

[newsepick]

Shikhar Dhawan Dazzles With Maiden Fifty In Legends League Cricket (LLC) 2024 |

Shikhar Dhawan, captain of the Gujarat Greats, showcased impressive form in the Legends League Cricket 2024 match against the Southern Superstars, scoring his maiden half-century with 50 runs off 37 balls. Opening the innings, he quickly reached 25 runs in just 12 balls and formed a 63-run partnership with Morne Wan Wyk. However, despite Dhawan's performance, the Greats lost to the Superstars by 26 runs, managing only 118/9 in response to the Superstars’ 145. Chaturanga de Silva's 53 off 28 balls was crucial for the winning team's score.

[mamisfavmosher]

hear me out rhea x southern!reader. like reader is from DEEP in the south and rhea can’t understand her sometimes

hehehe i have some deep tennessee roots in me so i absolutely love this!

i just did some bullet points of certain sayings and scenarios i think would happen :))

sweetie from the south // rhea ripley x fem!reader

"you done started pissin' me off, Rhea. i swear we can't have anything nice in this house." you huffed as rhea broke yet another object, determined to prove her ultimate strength to you.

"lord help me"

"Rhea, god willing and the creek don't rise, I think you're gonna be WWE's biggest star yet!" you exclaimed, kissing her cheek. "What creek?" She asked, confused.

"there really ain't nothing to it, Rhea. I know you drank the last of my Kool-Aid!" "i needed something sweet and you put loads of sugar in there!" She defended herself.

"hurry up! I swear you're movin' slower than molasses over there!" you hollered at Rhea as she took her sweet time fixing her hair.

"babydoll, how much hairspray do you need?" rhea asked, walking up behind you. "you know what Dolly always says, the higher the hair the closer to God!" you smiled at her through the mirror and continued your never ending spritz of hairspray.

"oh my sweet heavens! Rhea!!" you clutched a hand over your chest as Rhea stumbled backstage with bruised ribs after Nia Jax's attack.

"well, butter me up and call me a biscuit, it is hot out here." you huffed, hands on your hips. Rhea admired you from behind, taking in the view of you in your bikini at the beach. "I'll butter you up, don't have to tell me twice. C'mere, baby." She said and pulled you to her, a cheeky grin on her face as she held up the sunscreen.

"It's just so frustrating, you know?" rhea ended her angry rant about some annoying person at work. "you're preachin to the choir, baby." you agreed with her rant casually.

"how long is the party gonna take?" Rhea asked, smugly observing your outfit as you fixed your makeup in the mirror. "Till the cows come home, probably." You shrugged, spritzing perfume on your neck. "Cows? You're bringing cows home?! Babe, maybe you shouldn't go-" Rhea looked alarmed as she quickly blocked the doorway. "I am not bringin' cows home, rhea! It's just an expression." you giggled.

"you're glowin', sugar! look at you! grinnin' like a possum eating' a sweet tater!" you hugged rhea as she came out of the bathroom in a pretty black dress. A strong look of confusion crossed her face, "a possum? i hope that's a compliment." She shrugged. "Well, you missed the rest of it! A possum eatin' a sweet tater! Means you look happy." you gave her a sweet smile and pecked her lips. "I'm always happy around you, babe."

"pretty as a peach, mami!" you commented on her appearance when she came out of the bedroom one day. "Pretty as a peach? What's that supposed to mean?" She chuckled. "Ya' know... you're lookin' prettier than a glob of butter meltin' on a stack of wheat cakes!" you exclaimed. "Babe... what?" Her face said it all. She was so confused. "It means you look dazzlin', sugar. Now, c'mon, let's go!"

i loved this, i could definitely do more at some point if anyone wanted it

[jonathanbyersphd]

Jancy + Sweet Home Alabama AU

[alpacinosangel]

Little tribute to Jesus Christ superstar 😜

[tojisun]

hockey player simon pt 03 // part of this plot // mlist

i swear it was just supposed to be a drabble w no plot

jo heaves a sigh the moment you slide in front of her, and you would have been insulted if it wasn't for the gentle smile she gives right after. still, she's staring at you with that teasing tilt of her lips and her eyes narrowed in humour, one that you're not privy to.

"what?" you finally bite out, fiddling with your iced coffee, feeling self-conscious.

you fleet your eyes to yourself and, yeah, sure you're wearing the same pants as yesterday’s but c'mon? you didn't get to go back to your place after, well...

at least you didn't repeat your top, and is instead wearing a sweater you've stolen from simon's closet. cashmere, cream and soft, and the material comfortable, if not a little bit loose in the arms that droop past your fingers.

you thought you at least looked like those typical college students in the movies—effortlessly chic in a boyfriend sweater, if not a little haggard because who is not when in university?

she finally chuckles, the thrum of her voice easing up the frown that tugged your brows together. “don’t sweat it, superstar. it’s just that i’m still not used to seeing you be a sugar baby.”

you choke mid-sip, her words devouring you like an angry tide. you feel your eyes water in protest, the feeling burning as you sputter.

“i’m not–!”

“you’re not what?” tim asks, sliding into the seat beside yours.

you grumble, wagging a finger as you wipe your stained chin with your other hand. jo snorts and fills him in, chuckling all the while as she gestures at your sweater because she knows it couldn’t possibly have been yours.

tim’s smile turns cheeky, teasing, and he wiggles his brows at you.

“shut up, oh my god,” you whine, rolling your eyes at them, almost shyly, and you feel your cheeks warming. “i’m not– simon’s not my–”

“oh c’mon, babe,” jo says, playfully throwing her mechanical pencil at you. you huff before chucking it back at her, giggling to yourself when it bounces off her arm and rolls into the floor.

tim picks it up for her.

“he buys you expensive things—” her eyes flit to the new promise ring that you’re wearing. you unconsciously hide it behind your palm. “and pays for your tuition which i’m so, so jealous of.”

“doesn’t he fly you around too? in a private jet or something?” tim pipes up, shamelessly snagging away your iced coffee now that you’re too preoccupied to drink it.

“he doesn’t!”

twin brows quirk up in silent judgement.

“…he buys us first class tickets, not, like, a whole jet.”

see? they seemed to say with the way they cock their heads to the side.

you sniff. “it’s for work,” you mumble, remembering the first time simon flew you for his games.

“i mean, for him, maybe. but you? tell me what business do you have in winnipeg?” tim chirps and you almost want to jump him just to make him shut up.

“sugar baby,” jo finishes, singing. “but i mean, who can blame him, huh?” she grins, her voice dipping into a faux southern accent. “i’d spoil you too, sugar.”

“oh, you flirt,” you trill, taking the opening she offers to change the topic.

tim takes the bait and whines about how jo doesn’t do all those things for him, but jo is unmoved, eyeing you knowingly, but thankfully drops it too.

it’s just—

there’s a whole stigma to athlete’s girlfriends. for god’s sake, they even have a whole label—puck bunny—which is honestly just a dig made up by really shitty men who burn with jealousy . and you know that, but—

you can’t help but wonder if some, not all, of simon’s love for you is because of what you do to him. of what you give him in return. especially since he’s so busy all the time, either flying during the season and is rarely home, or packed with training and other physical regimen during the offseason.

so you wonder if this—flying you with him on the days the official WAGs are not being flown by the franchise, bringing you to vacation spots on the other side of the ocean, buying you everything you used to only dream of ever having—was his way of paying you back for your support and patience and care and love.

tim knocks his shoulder with yours, worry now lining his boyishly charming face.

“y’alright?”

“of course.” you lick your lips. “so did you ever get a copy of the lab sheet from rayan?”

.

you watch from the front seats as the team wrap up practice tonight, their coach looking pleased at their performance. it was still difficult to follow the game, but the players all look content too despite the sweat and their ragged breathing.

they never did know how to hold back even during a practice.

you say your goodbyes to the other people who came to watch, shooting simon a text that you’ll be waiting for him in the parking lot, and walk out.

the cashmere sweater, thankfully, is enough to fight off the cool air and the gentle breeze while you make your trek to simon’s distinct range rover, all sleek and pure black like he’s got the damn royals for a passenger.

it’s locked so you hover outside, stuffing your hands in the pockets of your pants, and entertained yourself with making puffs of air like you’re ten again. it’s honestly not too bad to be alone, if it weren’t for the sudden swarming of your doubts—the very same ones you thought you already shrugged off before taking the cab to the rink.

fuck.

“hey, love,” simon’s voice pierces through your thoughts and you jump, barely smothering the yelp that almost tore itself from the base of your throat.

you swivel, heart pounding, and simon’s beautiful face creases into one of concern.

“are you–”

“si!” you greet, jogging to him.

he laughs and opens his arms for a hug, one that you excitedly give him. you tuck your cold face in the crook of his neck, breathing him in, taking in the antiseptic scent of rink soap and the faint smell of his shampoo.

his body is so warm against yours, and you can’t help but melt in his hold, body relaxing at the comfort he brings you.

“you ready to go home?” he asks like the insinuation that his home is also yours is not heart-stopping and world-changing.

you nod, unable to trust your voice right now.

there’s something different whenever it’s just you and simon—your thoughts, for once, are quiet and your confidence in yourself peaking like simon is the only place in this world where you can truly be yourself. it’s not just indulgence, nor tolerance, but it’s pure unadulterated acceptance.

and maybe it’s because of that realization, that flipped switch, that in the lull of your conversation with simon, you bring it up.

“did you know? my friends think that you’re my sugar daddy.”

you feel him freeze, body going rigid as your words spill into the space between you two. you continue to hide your face away from, avoiding a serious conversation as regret begins to build, shame licking up from your fingertips to your ears.

stupid, you think to yourself. why the hell did i bring it up? fuck—

then, simon laughs, soft and sputtering, his whole body shaking as he giggles, choked wheezes uncontainable. you tip your head up just enough to catch his eyes, questions filling your tongue, waiting to be spilled, but simon cups your cheek so tenderly before you could doubt anything any more.

“do i need to be one to spoil you rotten?” he asks like he didn’t just shaken the foundations of your doubts.

do i need to be one to spoil you rotten, he said like spoiling you was the norm. like showering you with expensive gifts and booking you expensive flights and helping you with your expensive necessities was something that boyfriends typically do. like your friends are the odd ones for thinking he had to be anything other the man you’re dating to be able to splurge for you.

“no,” you say, dizzy with the weight of your affections.

simon’s smile droops, his eyes clearing. “was that something that honestly worried you?”

“i–”

the humour leaves him, and simon straightens up at seeing the gravity of the turmoil in your heart. his hands fall to your sides, thumbs hooked in the dip of your hips. he leans forward until his nose is brushing against yours.

“you know i love you, right?” simon asks, his voice quaking in desperation.

“yeah,” you sniffle, honest because god you mean it. “yeah, si. i know.”

“okay,” he says after a while, still intensely looking at you like you aren’t surely anything but a blob in his eyes with how close you two are pressed to each other.

then, his lips brush with yours, so faint, you almost missed it. you shudder at the feeling of it—how could a chaste kiss feel so intense?—your lips wobbling as something in your heart bloats.

you feel simon’s lips stretch into a grin from where they’re ghosting above yours, and then he’s kissing you again, this time deeper and longer. you curl your arms around his neck, feeling like you’re being swept off your feet all over again.

because simon is not good with words, truly, but he’s managed to swing an axe to the cornerstone of your self-doubt and made it crumble.

.

“oh god,” jo sobs in your arms, the two of you snuggled up under your sheets. “that was a joke! i promise!”

“i know,” you say, giggling. “i swear jo, it’s not you, it’s me.”

she looks up at you, eyes shimmering with tears. “are you sure?”

“yeah,” you croon, bumping foreheads with her. “...‘sides, simon’s taking me somewhere to make up for, and i quote, ‘making you doubt how serious i am about you’.”

she sniffs. “…permission to make a joke again?”

you grab your plushie from somewhere behind you and smack her ass with it.

“ow!”

“stop being dramatic—that didn’t hurt.”

[giggles nervously] so uh. 🏃🏻

[harrywavycurly]

Hello my loves! So below you’ll find all my work in one place, or at least links that’ll take you where you want to go! Enjoy and as always if you like it reblog it and tell me what you think✨

Requests: here (open)✨

Stranger Things

Masterlist: Here

Eddie Munson:

Texting Husband Eddie

Texting Boyfriend Eddie

Friends with Benefits

Fake Dating

Stages of Heartbreak

Wrong Number, Right Time

It Was Just One Night

Bucket of Sunshine

Trouble Next Door

Fake Marriage

Secret Rendezvous

All other fics here

Steve Harrington:

Texting Boyfriend Steve

Double Trouble

Sugar Daddy Steve

All other fics here

One Direction

Harry Styles:

Where we Started: Friends to lovers where Harry has to pick if telling you his feelings is worth risking the friendship.

Texting Boyfriend Harry

Southern Comfort: Strangers to lovers, Harry is given the wrong number.

Fake Husband: You meet Harry at a house party and in an attempt to help you not look like a loser in front of your ex Harry has a great idea…just be his wife for the night.

Tumbleweed Heart: Harry is your ex and you need him to stop calling so you can both move on

Harry’s “I’m in love..” moment: The moment Harry realizes he’s in love with his bestfriend

Lonely: The one where Harry asks his bestfriend to marry him because why not?

Killer!Harry AU: You’re married to Harry who’s a killer but you have no clue, because to you he’s just your loving husband who sometimes comes home late with banged up knuckles.

Older fics you can find here

Niall Horan:

Texting Boyfriend Niall

Older fics you can find here

Life with Narry: You’re besties with Niall and Harry, you’ve known them for years ever since One Direction and these are just little stories about what it’s like being friends with two superstars.

Masterlist: here

Blurbs

FAQ/Q&A

How you meet

Hurt Feelings

Spa Day

AMAs

Decorating the Tree

Bubble Baths

Golfing

Movie Night

New Year's Eve

Wedding Date

Jealous Harry

Leaving

Flicker of Hope meets Life with Narry

Sick Day

The Fight Part One

The Fight Part Two

Happy Birthday Harry Part One

Happy Birthday Harry Part Two

You Get Drunk

You Meet Nick

Other Celebs

Joseph Quinn:

Texting Boyfriend Joseph Quinn

Cheater Joe

Joe Keery:

Texting Boyfriend Joe Keery

[sunsetkerr]

THE TRADE | s.kerr

summary: as your afl season ends, your contract is up- leaving you, the hottest player in the aflw, up for grabs.

pairing: aflw!reader x sam kerr

notes: part one here!

yourinstagram

liked by samanthakerr20, crowsaflw and 18,398 others yourinstagram our third flag, so proud to have spent the last five years with this team. ytfg 💪💪

view all comments

samanthakerr20 the only time I will accept you not wearing a west coast guernsey is now ���️❤️ so proud, go the crows!! ↳ yourinstagram screenshotting this and sending it to west coast right now

crowsaflw we love you #1 ↳ yourinstagram ❤️

user no because im so happy

user they need to resign her ↳ user shes a free agent, meaning whoever bids the most is most likely where she will go ↳ user she can't leave the crows 💔

alannakennedy casually winning flags ↳ yourinstagram its a constant tbh

alexchidiac10 loving the hat in the second pic ↳ yourinstagram its sam's dads 💪 ↳ samanthakerr20 roger was robbed

aflwupdates

liked by user, caitlinfoord and 7,281 others aflwupdates BREAKING NEWS: Adelaide Crows star, Y/N L/N, is officially a free agent. After winning her 3rd flag with the southern club, L/N's contract has not been renewed and she is rumoured to be looking for a new club. It is unknown whether Adelaide is negotiating a new contract with their star forward.

view all comments

user im losing it, she can't leave ↳ user I wouldn't be surprised, she doesn't live in Adelaide so it might be easier to go to a club closer to home ↳ user where does she live? ↳ user y/n has a home in perth with her wife sam and their daughter, but flies between perth, adelaide and london (where sam and y/n also have a house) for sam's football

caitlinfoord sick pic though @yourinstagram ↳ yourinstagram ffs caitlin ↳ user caitlin can't resist putting her foot in it 😭 ↳ yourinstagram literally this is my life, come get your dog please @mackenziearnold @alannakennedy

yourinstagram

liked by samanthakerr20, maryfowlerrr and 26,387 others yourinstagram in the off season we party (tillies style)

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mackenziearnold matildas 🤝 the crows ↳ yourinstagram party animals

user SAM AND Y/N HAVE MATCHING TATTOOS??? ↳ samanthakerr20 disgusting really

user seeing the girls let their hair down is so refreshing

user y/n looks in no condition to have caitlin foord on her shoulders, that is one expensive woman y/n- don't drop her please ↳ yourinstagram if I did it wouldn't be an accident

matildas see you at training tomorrow morning ladies!! ↳ maryfowlerrr I can't go out.. I'm sick

samanthakerr20 you little rager, you look so good in that shirt ↳ yourinstagram its 100% off (a sam kerr exclusive discount) ↳ samanthakerr20 🤤🤤🤤🤤🤤🤤🤤

user we are all freaking out about her trade and she's out here getting off her face with her wife's team mates 😭😭

crowsaflw

liked by yourinstagram, samanthakerr20 and 9,290 others crowsaflw it is with great sorrow we announce the departure of our superstar y/n l/n. five long years with the best, she will be missed on and off the field. truly a force to be reckoned with ❤️ we will miss you, forever our #1.

samanthakerr20

liked by yourinstagram, amysayer_ and 739,298 others samanthakerr20 she's off to continue to do great things ❤️ proud.

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user its so weird seeing them all lovey and not all I hate you ↳ yourinstagram dont worry its weird for me too

crowsaflw our girl! ↳ user but like.. not anymore... ↳ user too soon

kyracooneyx my lord and saviour ↳ charlotte_grant all hail mrs l/n-kerr

samanthakerr20 realising this photo kinda makes it look like you're dead xx ↳ yourinstagram sometimes when im with you I wish I was xxxxxx

yourinstagram

liked by samanthakerr20, aflw and 18,388 others yourinstagram the new diggs

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user STOP ITS OPTUS, SHE'S GONE TO WA

user omg shes going to west coast or freo

optusstadium so happy to have you!

samanthakerr20 who says diggs? ↳ yourinstagram literally shut the fuck up

mackenziearnold physically cannot sit still right now ↳ yourinstagram right now or ever?

user y/n literally tell us, tell us right now

westcoastaflw

liked by samanathakerr20, yourinstagram and 11,938 others westcoastaflw welcoming our new #1!! @yourinstagram blue and gold looks very good on you, don't you agree @samanthakerr20?

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samanthakerr20 DAMNNNNNN 🤤🤤🤤🤤🤤

samanthakerr20 can finally watch one of your games without wanting to vomit looking at your guernsey 🤤🤤🤤🤤 ↳ yourinstagram 💙💛

user I cannot breathe

user sam got what she wanted 😭😭 ↳ yourinstagram she always does unfortunately

roxykerr20 thank goodness we didn't invest in any crows merchandise 😂 ↳ yourinstagram you never would roxy 😌 I did this solely for you and roger ↳ samanthakerr20 I'll just jump off a cliff then x love you babe

[icycoldninja]

Masterlist XI

Let's do this the right way; save space.

REQUESTS ARE CURRENTLY CLOSED

Last updated: 11, 14, 2024

Icycoldninja's rules

Masterlist I

Masterlist II

Masterlist III

Masterlist IV

Masterlist V

Masterlist VI

Masterlist VII

Masterlist VIII

Masterlist IX

Masterlist X

DMC:

Sparda boys + V x Aerith-like!Reader headcannons

Sparda boys + V x Sophia-like!Reader headcannons

Sparda boys + V x Zookeeper!Reader headcannons

Sparda boys + V x Paranoid!Reader headcannons

Sparda boys + V x Constantly naked!Reader headcannons

Sparda boys + V x Jazz singer!Reader headcannons

Sparda boys + V x Kneading!Reader headcannons

Sparda boys + V x Reader with gift related trauma headcannons

Sparda boys + V x Maiden!Reader headcannons

Sparda boys + V x Reader with a mini-me headcannons

Sparda boys + V x Reader with a non sexual tickle kink headcannons

Sparda boys + V x Reader who is shy about noises headcannons

Sparda boys + V x Reader lactation kink headcannons

Sparda boys + V x Reader who has never seen snow headcannons

Sparda boys + V x Reader anime accident headcannons

Sparda boys + V x Pianist!Reader headcannons

Sparda boys + V x Psycho!Reader with a gun headcannons

Sparda boys + V x Reader with Marie Antoinette syndrome headcannons

Sparda boys + V x Reader with low life expectancy headcannons

Sparda boys + V x Reader Reader who makes otter noises headcannons

Sparda boys + V reacting to Reader giving them a wedgie headcannons

Sparda boys + V x People pleaser!Reader headcannons

Sparda boys + V x Best friends to lovers!Reader headcannons

Sparda boys + V x Reader first date headcannons

Sparda boys + V x Male!Reader headcannons

Sparda boys + V x Hurt dog-like!Reader headcannons

Sparda boys + V x Goth!Autistic!Reader headcannons

Sparda boys + V x Reader with weird cooking habits headcannons

Sparda boys + V x Haphephobic!Reader headcannons

Sparda boys + V x Sunburnt!Reader headcannons

Sparda boys + V Reading Reader's diary headcannons

Sparda boys + V x Reader with anger issues headcannons

Sparda twins + V x British accented!Reader headcannons

Sparda boys + V x Surprisingly strong!Reader headcannons

Sparda boys + V x Reader kitten situation headcannons

Sparda boys + V x Shy!Praiser!Reader NSFW headcannons

Sparda boys + V x Shinobu like!Reader headcannons

Sparda boys + V x Fem!Reader who gets stalked by a monster headcannons

Sparda boys + V x Knitter!Reader headcannons

Sparda boys + V x Visual-kei!Flutist!Reader headcannons

Sparda boys x Reader double proposal headcannons

Sparda twins + V x Old friend!Reader headcannons

Sparda boys × Daughter!Reader dating a bouncer headcannons

Dante x Chubby!Insecure!Reader headcannons

Dante + Vergil x Black Magic using!Frail!Reader headcannons

Dante + V x People pleaser!Reader with abandonment issues headcannons

I can't trust you (Dante x Traumatized!Reader angst/suggestive)

Dante x Autistic!Reader headcannons

Awkward things the Sparda boys + V do during sex headcannons

Dante + V x Reader who meows for attention headcannons

How the DMC boys would carry their SO

Sparda boys x Younger!Fem!Reader headcannons

Anal destruction (Vergil x Reader NSFW)

Naked encounter (Vergil x Reader NSFW)

Nightlight (Dante x Male!Neko!Reader)

Dante x aspec!Reader headcannons

Braids (V x reader fluff)

Second place (Dad!Vergil x Daughter!Figure skater!Reader platonic)

Too shy (Dante x Shy!Fem!Reader)

Super Spicy Shower Time (Dante x Fem!Reader NSFW)

Time (Nero x Reader angst)

He loved you (V/Vergil x Reader)

I don't feel pretty enough (Dante x Insecure!Fem!Reader)

Noise (Dante x Male!Neko!Reader)

Sparda boys + V x Reader with a southern accent headcannons

Sparda boys + V x Supposedly Dead!Ex!Reader headcannons

MGS:

MGS4!Raiden NSFW alphabet

It's Jack! (NSFW)

Jack the Ripper's grand appearance (angst/fluff/crack/NSFW)

If you slapped his butt (MGR)

X Blind!Male!Martial artist!Reader headcannons

Raiden imagine (NSFW)

Another Raiden imagine (NSFW)

FF7:

My superstar (Yandere!Sephiroth x Reader)

Pegging headcannons (Genesis x Reader)

Post-Nibelheim!Sephiroth x Creepy!Reader headcannons

Rescue (Sephiroth x Reader angst)

JJK:

Dating Gojo headcannons

Dating Mahito headcannons

HXH:

Dating Hisoka headcannons

Dating Illumi headcannons

Fairy Tail:

Dating Midnight headcannons

[faeriemarie]

my current favorite drs to script:

BALLERINA DR

persephone harvard, ballerina/actress, 31, wife of callum turner

HOCUS POCUS DR

sylvie costa, witch, 15, girlfriend of max dennison

STAR WARS (OG TRILOGY) DR

jana vilimari, princess, 17, girlfriend/future wife of han solo

Y2K FAME DR

wendy zhang, actress, 36, dated SO many famous men but currently girlfriend of josh o’connor

SKINS UK DR

alice baudelaire, 16, girlfriend of sid jenkins

YOUTUBER DR

arabella moon, broadway actress/youtuber, 23

WRITER DR

rosemarie zhao, writer/poetess, 24, girlfriend of mike faist

FRANNY & ZOOEY DR

sylvie baudelaire, socialite, 17, girlfriend of zooey glass

NEPO BABY DR

vanessa clooney, writer/poetess, 24, daughter of george clooney

60S DR

ever monet, rock muse/warhol superstar/musician, 13, future girlfriend of bob dylan

ANIMATOR DR

rosemarie jeong, stop-motion animator, 33, wife of zach woods

SINGER DR

remy jeong, singer/actress, 31, wife of ben schwartz

drs i want to script:

poldark dr: gentlewoman, 21, wife of george warleggan

love, victor dr: 15, girlfriend of felix weston

superstore dr: 19, girlfriend of jonah simms

community dr: 19, girlfriend of ian duncan

dead poets society dr: 15, girlfriend of knox overstreet

actress dr: 22, younger sister of dakota & elle fanning

southern gothic wr

midwest americana wr

[hugheses]

literally years ago i started transcribing this and then never got around to finishing it but finally did with some help from oomf. pls tell me if you notice any errors!

below the cut:

5-3-21

AJ: We are so excited to have Ellen Hughes hop on the bus with us today. So Ellen, welcome. And to give a little background, you grew up in Dallas, which, a long time ago before the Stars, there were not- it was not a hockey hotbed, as maybe it is now. Played a lot of sports. You ended up playing soccer, hockey and lacrosse, three sports at UNH, made it to the NCAA semifinal game in Lacrosse in 1987, inducted into the UNH Athletic Hall of Fame in 2012. You ultimately pursued a graduate degree at UNH, and while you did that, assistant coached for both the soccer and hockey teams. Ultimately, you made Team USA for the 1992 World Championship, where with Cammi you won a silver, named to the tournament All-Star Team. Two years later, at the Worlds in ‘94, you served as an ambassador to Norway's national team, went on into broadcasting. You were in the booth for when Cam and I won gold in 1998 with CBS and then a sideline reporter for the 1999 World Cup of soccer. Your husband, Jim, is a former hockey player and coach, has worked for the Maple Leafs organization. And of course, you are the uber matriarch, hockey mom of North America because you have three superstar sons. You've got Quinn, drafted number seven overall, plays D for Vancouver. You've got Jack, who is number one overall with the New Jersey Devils and of course, Luke, eligible for the draft this year. So welcome, Ellen. We can't wait to catch up with you.

Ellen: Thanks so much for having me. And thanks for the nice intro. I know, AJ, you see Jack here and there with the Islanders, could you remind him of some of those things, that I actually had a life? And Cammi, I know you've been nice enough to have Quinn over for dinner, not this year because of COVID, but maybe you could give him that whole intro again that, I did something other than just being their mother.

Cammi: Well, you know, it's funny. There is probably, I don't know what it was, maybe four or five months ago, you had sent me a video that you guys found, which we have to post on our social media channel here. But it was you as this little cute, blond, tiny little voice hockey player being interviewed in Texas, of all places, for hockey. Right? A woman, a female playing hockey, let alone kids playing hockey in Texas is so rare. Right? And I remember Quinn texting me and being like, said something about your skating, how bad it was. And I was like, little do all your kids know is that their talent comes from their mom. I've nothing—taking away nothing from Jimmy, because Jimmy was a great athlete himself. But you and Quinn play almost identical. And I'm going to keep reminding him of that.

Ellen: I love it. I love it. I usually get like just one word, dust[?] with things like that.

Cammi: Yeah, well, thank you for being here.

AJ: Yeah, yeah. But I want to start back with the fact that you grew up in a nontraditional hockey market. I know. According to USA Hockey, we’re not supposed to say that anymore because there are all—they don't really consider that anymore. There are so many with the Coyotes and the Stars and the two teams in Florida and Southern California. But when you grew up in Dallas, hockey was not a mainstream sport. I can imagine you had to have been playing on the boys team. Can you tell us what it was like growing up in Dallas then?

Ellen: Well, it's so funny because you see, you know, it's so exciting to see where the women's game has gone. And, you know, you forget how old you are and you kind of forget like, wow, that was pretty unusual what I was doing back then. And, you know, I'm even older than Cammi, so Cammi's older than you, AJ. Sorry to age you there, Cammi. But you forget that what we were doing in those times as young girls and how… you know, unusual it was, because we were fortunate enough to have parents that encouraged us and led us and pushed us and created those opportunities to play with the boys. And it's amazing to think that we did that and it seemed so normal to me. And my dad's been gone a long time, like he used to coach us. But I think about the fact that as a young girl in Dallas, Texas, a nontraditional market, to have a father that said, “Oh, you want to play hockey? Okay, you can play with the boys and you can go do those things.” And just how lucky I was to have a father that created those opportunities and supported those opportunities. And so it's pretty great. But we used to play down at the fairground. So, so people that know Dallas know that, you know, there's a fairgrounds downtown and the Cotton Bowl is played there every year. And there used to be a CHL team. So the old CHL. And so for us, it was very normal. I have an older brother that played and then went off to prep school and played at Deerfield Academy and then played Division three college hockey at Bowden. He could have played Division one, very academically oriented, and that's what he chose to do. So you want to do everything that your brother did. So when we were really little, we moved from St Louis to Dallas, and when I was in St Louis, all I wanted to do was play hockey. But in the state of Missouri, and I may have this factually not correct, but this is what my parents told me, that the girls weren’t allowed to play on boys’ teams in the state of Missouri. So when I knew I was moving, it was on my eighth birthday and my dad said, Well, it'd be great because you can play on- you can play hockey when you move to Dallas. So that's when I was so excited about the move. Like I could go play on a boys team because there was no girls’ teams to play on. And so there's only one team, if you're good enough, you play on the best team. And we would travel to St Louis, we would travel to Kansas City, we would travel to Colorado a couple of times a year and we would go play the best teams that we could possibly play. I just didn't understand at that point that was the world that I was living in, that that was unusual or different. So every once in a while I look back on it and think how fortunate I was to have parents that really not only supported it but encouraged it and let me really sow my own oats.

Cammi: When you were in St Louis, you saw the game of hockey around you. You wanted to play, you couldn't play. Did you play off ice then to be ready for when you moved and were like able to play or did you just start fresh when you moved to Texas?

Ellen: You know, I don't even remember. I was eight, so I don’t- I don't- it I must have been- I must have learned how to skate, but I wasn't playing. I don't really remember playing, like I remember running around the rinks with your brothers. I mean, you know how that is. You play mini sticks at the rinks, y’know. But I always wanted to play. I wanted to play everything. So, you know, I was just… and then off I went and I just started playing and I loved it. And I was fortunate because, you know, Cammi, you never went to Bob Johnson’s hockey school in Colorado, did you, in Aspen?

Cammi: No.

Ellen: I know, because I know you have a close relations with that whole Wisconsin crew. But every summer we spent the month of August in Aspen, and I would do the Bob Johnson Hockey School. So I actually think I did that like, at seven, before I ever moved, and they would always let me play. So it was Bob, it was Grant Standbrook, it was Jeff Sauer, all these people that, y’know, were so supportive of the women's game, Art Berglund who just passed away. And so I would spend my summers there playing and being groomed by the players that played with Tony at Wisconsin. It would have been their generation of players that were the camp counselors and that was right around the ‘84 men's Olympics. And a lot of those guys went on to play in that. So I think culturally that was exciting for me and that's where my passion grew.

Cammi: And you played soccer as a young girl as well.

Ellen: Yes. So soccer: really competitive. You know, we won youth nationals. And I was, I mean, it's crazy to think that I'm going to be 53 years old. And when I was being recruited to play women's soccer, there were 31 Division one schools across the country offering scholarships. And so Wisconsin was one of them. And I really wanted to go there because of my allegiance with that. But they had no women's hockey. So when we— [...]

Cammi: That's where I- me, too. I wanted to go as well. We would have been teammates instead of rivals.

Ellen: Right, at least for one year. I think you were a freshman my senior year. Is that right?

Cammi: Either junior or senior. Yeah. Yeah.

Ellen: [Laughs] So anyway, so the soccer side of things, you know, if you were an elite player, you wanted to go to UNC. My very best friend on the team growing up on my youth hockey, my youth soccer team was Carla Werden, you know her as Carla Overbeck, who became the captain of the team in the first World Cup team. Mia Hamm, I played with on my state team, so we were really good in those days. Brandi Chastain was my roommate at my first youth national team camp for soccer. So that was my, you know, generation of players. And I wasn't recruited by UNC, but I was recruited by some of the other top schools and I had this like, crossroads, where am I going to go to a school like UNH, where there are startup women's soccer programs, but yet I can play two sports. And they were offering me a full scholarship. And the crazy thing is there was no school in the state of Texas that was playing Division one Women's soccer. Think about that. Not a one. I mean, there was 31. I think there's 360 some odd schools, Division one programs at this rate for women's soccer. So that's how the landscape changed and that's how the lack of landscape really drove my next move.

Cammi: So you chose UNH. You played soccer and hockey, but then you also added lacrosse.

Ellen: Yeah. And the interesting thing about hockey is here I am, this girl coming out of Dallas and nobody knew about me. And as you know, Providence at the time, so all the Ivy Leagues were playing hockey and then we didn't have a lot of programs back then that were playing. So it was all the Ivy- it was the ECAC. So it was what, maybe 15 teams playing? How many, 22?

Cammi: Yeah, roughly 22.

Ellen: And so there weren't a lot of options. So there were so many girls playing that wanted to get on those teams. So I remember reaching out to Russ McCurdy who was the coach and saying, “You know, I'm being looked at by UNH for women's soccer, but I'm only coming there because I want to play women's hockey,” and he was like, “Oh, you know, you're probably not going to make the team. You know, we're a fully funded program.” I mean, you know how that goes, right? Right, right. Why would you take a girl out of Dallas you knew nothing about, playing in these, he asked if I was playing women's hockey at that time. And so I had- you know, I wasn't guaranteed a spot, but I'd watched them play, and my mom and dad watched them play. And I really, in my heart of hearts thought I'd be able to play. And they were a fully funded program and my scholarship was coming from soccer. And so, I decided that I wanted to do it. And he said, and I remember having Bob Johnson at the time call on my behalf. He called, he was at Wisconsin still, and he called and said, you know, she can play, she’s been with me every summer, and I really think you should give her a shot. So he said, okay. So the deal was, I was going to play soccer. Well all the women start with hockey, probably—when did we start, in the fall, like in mid-September. And they had the whole training camp, while I was still playing soccer until Thanksgiving. And so I said, when you get done with soccer, just come see me and I'll give you a week to try out, to get up to speed. So he really had no thought of me or like, there was no, like, ‘she's not making this team.’ So we finished soccer and then I went over to hockey and I remember after my first day he said, “What size states do you wear?” So that was like, that, that made me happy. Like that was it. I was on the team, so it was pretty good.

And then our women's soccer coach, Marge Anderson, was one of the most decorated women's lacrosse players in those days. She had played at UMass for soccer and hockey, and she was on the World Cup team for lacrosse. So she would take a couple of athletes a year because in those days you needed female athletes to play more than one sport, to really round out your depth of your programs. So she had encouraged me to come out and play lacrosse. I knew nothing about it. So our first year they had just won the national championship the year before, believe it or not. Did you guys know UNH won the National Women's Lacrosse championship? Different landscape in those days. So they had won the national championship. None of the Southern schools were playing. Nobody across the country was playing. It was a real Northeast-driven collegiate world. And so I walked onto this field and, um, let's just say… I wasn't very good. I could run, but my stick skills- and I learned and I did everything, and it was great, and we went to the Final Four, but I was out at that point. So everybody always says I played three sports like, I was on the team. I was, you know, three sports at that level. I was done at that point and I stuck with soccer and hockey after my first year. But it was a really cool experience.

AJ: Well, a kudos, too, by the way, to go back to something you just said, that McCurdy asked what size state you are. Kudos to UNH for giving you guys skates back in the 80s. I didn't get skates in college until my senior year, which was the fall of 1998. That was the first time I got skates bought for me. So that's, that's pretty good on UNH, I give the Wildcats props.

Cammi: Well, Ellen, you know what? So, Russ, I actually- I was. I was the same, a kid coming from Illinois. So, such a similar story where nobody wanted to talk to me really, until someone saw me play when I went out to the East Coast, I just played with a girls’ team for one game and I got seen by Providence. Other than that, I called Russ. Same thing. No interest, but I got to say, Russ, and I know what he meant to you, when I look at all the coaches that I've been coached with, he coached us at the — at the ‘92 World Championships where you were named best defenseman of that tournament. He taught me a lot, not about, not just about hockey, but just like how to organize yourself off life, how to make your bed every day. Like, there's things that stuck with me from Russ from that one or two, I think, seasons we had him. He was a special guy, you know. You know, I just— he never gets any recognition. He's very unknown. But did you remember that about him? Do you have that same sort of view of him that I do?

Ellen: Totally. And I'm still really tight with him and Sheila. And, you know, when you think about it, for what he did as a male player, you know, in that generation, he was a heck of a hockey player. And then, I don't know what he did, but he left the game and did something, you know, I'm not really sure what he did and came back to the game, but for his stature to come back and coach the women and do what he did, and he coached tennis as well, and he cared so much. He was so passionate about the game, and teaching the game, and teaching away from the game. And he cared so much about the people, you as a person. And I always laugh because, you know, Quinn had Donnie, you know, your brother, at the NTDP. And he reminds me a lot of Donnie. I don't know if you feel that way, but-

Cammi: I totally feel that way because as you say, first of all, from a mental standpoint, they're both like, they help you so much with the side, the mental side, and also the skill based stuff that Russ taught us. He goes beyond the game and I feel, yeah, it's really interesting that you say that because I can see that as well.

Ellen: And it's just the, you know, some people have their skills and then some people like, have different skill sets. And I feel that the best of the best try to cover all the different skill sets and really get to know the different human being and try to push the buttons. And it doesn't work for everybody. Not everybody would feel that way, but he was an amazing man and still is an amazing man. And I also think it's funny because one thing that, you know, I don't know how you are with the kids, but this sticks with me. And I don't know if you remember this, Cammi, but the interesting thing is, I've seen my boys be taught that same lesson from coaches at a younger level, and I can particularly say the NTDP level is: get up every day and make your bed. You've accomplished one thing. Do you remember that from him? And then it was either Donnie-

Cammi: No! Always.

Ellen: Or Wroblewski that I remember had Quinn and Brady, like, make your bed every day. And then I saw with, with Jack and Luke. Like, “we got to make our bed every day because that's orderly” and like, little things like that.

Cammi: Well, I got to say, Ellen, that stuck with me for— still to this day, I think of Russ when I make my bed. I'm not kidding. And I tell the kids the same, like if you just… and it resonated with me. So like, I don't know, it stayed with me. It resonated with me when he said it. And then his… just his stuff about practicing skill. And we hadn't really done that so much, as an, I guess where we were at Providence. Like we would just go practice, but like, he was working on skill-based stuff. He’s a very smart man. So I'm happy to hear that you're still in touch with him and you felt the same way. But I love that we're both making our bed because of Russ McCurdy. You taught your kids that.

AJ: I obviously didn't have Russ, I obviously didn't have Russ McCurdy, you can see behind me in my hotel room here. So I do not make my bed every day. And I know the value of it, but yeah, no, never had a coach who told me that.

Cammi: He was pretty special.

Ellen: Then. AJ, I was thinking about when you said about getting skates. I don't know how you guys were, but how would your shot be today? Like when I was playing, like, of course I couldn't shoot the puck because we would take the old men's sticks that were wooden and they would cut them down for us. Like, how would I have any flex on the stick?

AJ: Right? Right. So stiff. And it's like, it's crazy when you think about that, and the technology. And even when I did get a pair of skates, when I came back after the Olympics and played at Harvard, they were so much lighter. They were just… the material and everything, and then you look at the sticks and it's crazy. I mean, I never played with the one piece that they have now, that was just coming out when I was at the tail end of my career. But I remember I tried them, but the puck was all bouncy and I didn't like them. But you think about how quick the release and all the kick point on those sticks, that technology's insane.

Ellen: Right? You also think about how great the women are and where they're at. Like we didn't go in the weight room. We did not go in the weight room. The weight room was not for women's sports.

AJ: Our coach actually, my first year at Harvard before Katie Stone took over, he actually thought weightlifting was unbecoming for women. He didn't, he didn't book us. He wouldn't let us go in weight room. It was a, it was sort of an off limits thing. So he was a lovely man. But it was… not appropriate.

Cammi: Well, our Providence College coach, John Marchetti, who I love, I have always loved him as a coach. We had to beg him to just get us to get in shape. He thought women, that was just the way it was at the time. He was old fashioned and women would skate from the blue line in, so we would have half ice practices. And I was like, “We're out of shape. Like we got to skate!” “You guys don't need to skate full ice.” And it was literally all great intentions. Wonderful man. But that's what he felt. And I mean, think about that. Like I tried- it blows people away to think that that was the way it was. But that's how we were viewed as women. We can't exert ourselves the same way as men. And we were begging him to.

Ellen: Okay, now I know why we won, then. Why we beat you? Because we skated. [unintelligible]

Cammi: You didn't. You didn't beat me. Did you beat me when I was there?

Ellen: I don't know.

Cammi: We won. We won. I think we went the last year. You remember freshman year. I think you beat us in the finals. I think we[...]

Ellen: I think we met four years. Was just super cool, but I only — I was there five years. Much shorter. One year. But we went three years.

Cammi: Okay? We went three years. So we must have crossed over. And you beat us once? Yeah, you beat us. Let's get into the hockey mom stuff because I think a lot of moms are interested in the landscape of sport. Our kids that are passionate about anything. And it typically it's like, well, we know the sports world, but I mean, nowadays it's, it's everything. Like, whether it's music or some sort of non-sport, a passion that someone has. We're always trying to get our kids to pursue excellence. And AJ and I have talked a lot on this podcast, how sometimes things are flipped a little backwards and we're a little bit out of skew right now with the way we push our kids and just how fast they're put through the system. And you had three boys that you raised with Jimmy, who are now… two are NHL superstars. One's on his way. How, what was it like in your house? How did it start with the kids? What were you like as a mom and Jimmy as far as like, having, cultivating that for them?

Ellen: You know, it all seems like a blur. You know how that is, right? You're in the middle of it, both of you with young kids. So you're just day to day. I mean, you're day to day, right?

Cammi: Survival.

Ellen: Right? It's survival mode. So for me, you do things that you enjoy or you- you teach them things that you feel like you can teach them, Right. So it's kind of a slight on me that I wasn't more worldly and wanting to take them to museums. Or maybe like I felt like I had do those things because like, ‘Oh my God, what am I teaching them?’ But you tend to do the things that you - you're trying to find activities. Jimmy was off coaching a lot, I had three young boys that were really close in age. So what do I know? What can I do to pass time and keep them active? It was kicking a soccer ball. It was throwing a ball, it was doing rollerblading, it was passing the puck, it was taking them skating. So for me, those were mommy and me activities, right? And then every once in a while I'd be like, you know, I'd be like, ‘uh, we got to do Kumon, we gotta do like - we gotta read.’

You know, academics was really important to me because I felt like I was so driven the other way that like, I didn’t want to miss out on the other. So for us, it was never this grandiose plan, and I'm sure you guys were the same way. It was more like, ‘be the best at whatever it is you're doing, work your hardest at whatever it is you're doing.’ Working the hardest didn't mean scoring the most goals. It was playing the right way, whatever it is, being a great teammate and working really, really hard and we always felt like the other would come.

AJ: Do you feel like with your boys having you as a mom, Jim as a dad, did they feel pressure to perform on the rink?

Ellen: I don't think so, because we never put pressure on them. We would put pressure on them to work hard and play the right way. I mean, there were days I can remember with Quinn when we moved to Toronto, we were like “Ah, he’s doing pretty good, he’s a pretty good little hockey player. This is good.” Like, hmm. And we were coming from New Hampshire and Jimmy taking the job up in Toronto and we got there and I remember Jimmy going somewhere and he's like, “He is not even in the top 300 players in the city.” Do you know what I mean? Like he was, this thing was not—

Cammi: Was that what age? What age is that?

Ellen: He probably would have been… I'm trying to think when we moved. So Luke was born six, seven, eight, maybe? He was in first grade. What grade are you in first grade?

Cammi: Yeah, about seven or seven. Seven.

Ellen: And we thought he was doing great, but we never cared. What we would just say to him, like, and he was on a good little team and we would get beat by Ryan McLeod, who just played with Edmonton in and, and, Strome was on that team, Matty Strome, the youngest of the Stromes. And those two were like, I mean, I mean, they would score five, six, seven goals and I would be in awe how good they were at a little age - at a young age. So what we would do is we would just put them up against the best in the spring and in clinics and have them chase, try to be the best you can be. It was never like, “why aren't you that good” or “why are you scoring” or - and, you know, Jack was a little bit different. He came in and he was playing up a year with the older kids, you know. And Luke, we didn't even think about, like, third child, he's probably benefited the best because we were just trying to get the other two other places and we didn't even know how he played or what happened. And, and I think that was the other thing with them. You know, Jim was so busy working that we didn't watch ‘em practice. We didn't, you know, I might drop one at a the game and try to get to the other one to the game, to get to the other one to the game. So they had to self evaluate at a young age and really decide how they played. You know, you guys are probably the same way with your busy schedules.

AJ: Yeah, it's interesting. I look at it like I'm at the Nationals right now with my daughter Jamie, and talking to some of the parents last night and they were asking me like, what did you think of the game? And we were talking about it. But they don't watch far more than I do because I travel. So, you know, they're asking me, knowing that I have a hockey background. But it's to your point, I love coming to watch my kids play, but I really feel like I can just watch them and enjoy. I'm not coaching this year and it's a really- it is fascinating because I do feel like my kids have sort of they'll tell me how they played and, you know, usually they're tougher on themselves. I mean, I think most kids or most athletes are probably tougher on themselves anyway. But when- like as a hockey parent, I'm surrounded by people and you see all the studies about the low percentage of players that will make it from youth hockey to even D-1, let alone the NHL. You have three kids, three boys, two that are gone first round. Luke obviously is on his way to the NHL. So at what point did you think they were going to make it? Like, was there a time like you're talking about when Quinn was seven and you guys were just trying to have them compete? But was there a moment where you were like, wow, our - our kids are legit?

Ellen: You know, there was a point where I said, All right, this is good. Like, they're going to get to Division one college hockey. Like, I was pretty pumped. And at the end of the day, there's a point where you say you can only provide so much information and now they have to have their inner drive. Now that's gotta kick in. And I think for each one of them, that was when they got to the program. So for junior hockey, I guess, would be the equivalent. And I think it's the every day focusing on getting better, doing I mean, living it, eating it, not liking it, loving it. Y’know? And there's kids who get better from 18 to 20. There's, you know, you got to keep getting better. Doesn’t matter if you're the best at 16 or 15. So I saw my kids take different paths, you know, and just staying to have fun and having fun. Having fun is everything, as you know. You know, I mean, it's got to be fun. I mean, Cammi, you have two sons who are elite little soccer players, but if they're not having fun, that changes their drive for wanting to get better.

Cammi: Fully and if it's not cultivated as well, I mean, you have to have the right people above you and leading you and coaching you to believe in just playing and not just playing for- to be this best. There's a lot of pressure on kids these days and I think about your boys and knowing your boys and, and getting to know Quinn better since he's been out here as a person. Your kids are such great people. They're so well-balanced. They're such they get it. Like when they met Reese and Riley, my sons, they get it. They look kids in the eye. They joke around. They look adults in the eye. I mean, there's- they're just great kids. The other thing I noticed about them and and before I let you comment is when they play, when things are not going their way, they go straight ahead, like there's no pouting, there's no emotion. I mean, of course, we get emotional about the game, but as far as like, you know, what you taught them, like, where did that come from, that confidence and that humility and then that just that drive inside to just keep going?

Ellen: Well, you are awfully kind. And, you know, it's like, up and down. You know how parenting is right. And, you know, for me, it's the competitiveness. You both were uber competitive, Olympians, got to the highest level, accomplished so much, gold medals. So you know, that competitiveness. So you instill that in your children. You don't realize that you're doing it, but it just organically happens. Right? I'm sure. And AJ I see some of the fun things that you do, but I'm sure it's competitive at dinner, whether it's, you know, Boggle that you're playing or - I aged myself. But you know what I mean? Or Jenga that you're playing or if it’s a race, or- everything is a game at my house! Like, Luke and Quinn this summer. We had a lot of time together and they're creating a game out of nothing in the pool. We're like - Jack and I are looking at each other like, ‘What are those two doing?’ Like, it's games and there's a winner and there's a loser. So for me, I think it's more about they really care about winning. They really want to win. And in everything’s a team sport and they wanna - They take it personally. They want to be the best that they can be to help their team win. You know, whether it's giving something up and feeling bad about that and wanting to get it back. And that's probably the same mindset both of you had as Olympians. Is that fair to say? 

AJ: Yeah. I mean, I think that that is, you know, the ultimate drive to compete is something that I'm not sure can be cultivated. Right. I mean, I think you but what what is so impressive about your boys is that the balance that Cammi’s talking about. Right. That confidence and that drive to compete coupled with the humility and on seeing them being interviewed, seeing the way they carry themselves at a very young age, that that's what I think is, you know, you and Jim should be very, very proud of. But I do think that that drive to win and it's not win at all costs, but it's win whether it's the right way or as a part of the team. I think that that is something that can be very unique. And obviously they come from two very competitive elite athlete parents. So they were, they were given that at a young age. I was just reminded while you were- we were talking about Quinn, last year in the playoffs, do you remember getting a text from me Ellen, when I talked about in on the broadcast, I talked about Quinn, he was so relaxed playing the power play that it was like he was playing shinny hockey. S H I N N Y and I got blown up on Twitter that people thought I said he played S H I T T Y hockey. That I was like, ‘oh my God, the Hughes family hears me on NBC telling like’ and it was a compliment. I mean, it was like the utmost like, this is amazing how great he is that, you know, as a young player in the NHL playing with this sort of poise but also like freedom, he just plays with his freedom. And I'm sitting there thinking and my producer was like, “You can't use that term. That's such a hockey term.” Like, who doesn't know shinny hockey? But anyway, that was just so.

Ellen: So I laughed at that when I got your text and I think I wrote back like, “it's okay if you ever want to say he's saying the other - the S H hockey too.”

AJ: I would never say that.

Ellen: You know the game, you're allowed to say that and we would be just okay with it. We would probably agree with you.

Cammi: So when you're watching Ellen, when you get to watch your kids and I know I've texted you before, I'm like, I wonder if she's still up. But of course, you're watching the games when you're on the East Coast and you're watching them and  watching the West Coast games, probably late at night. Right, with Quinn. And... can you relax? Like, are you feeling like now? Like you can relax? Is it still, like, feel intense? Like, what's the feeling that you get as a mom? You know, I know Luke’s on his way, but like, do you get to see you get to enjoy it all? Do you get to sit back and enjoy it?

Ellen: Let me ask you this. When you watch Riley play and it's a big game and [unintelligible], how do you feel?

Cammi: So do you feel like at every game - do you feel like that every game?

Ellen: Well, your logic tells you it should change.

Cammi: Yeah. 

Ellen: But I think it's just your competitiveness. But I can tell you this. Now my oldest two are at a level where I don't get involved in the hockey anymore, I just really try to be a support system. They don't need to hear from me when they get to the next level. You don't know how many people are badgering them or bothering them or sending texts[?]. And you know, they got here because this point, they got here and they're driving their own business. They don't need to hear from me. Now, do they… Do they lean on Jimmy with hockey? Do I know a lot about hockey? But I just need to be a different support system for them. You know, I need to be an outlet for them and someone that's not going to talk about hockey unless it's something specific. Does that make sense? Like when I talked to Quinn today, it wasn’t about last night's game. It was about other things, you know, he's got enough of last-

Cammi: That makes sense.

Ellen: And he's got this - he doesn't need to hear from his mother, that that ship has sailed. Does that make sense? And I don't mean that in a negative st-

Cammi: Totally, because.

Ellen: It's just that's not what they need and, and that's not what I want to be that - be there for them. That type of support system.

AJ: I don't know how you got away without having one of them play goalie. I'm just going to leave it out there.

Ellen: Well, Luke. [...] Luke in net. and I was telling this to someone the other day, I mean, I got funny stories, like when you say, oh, you guys were great parents. I'm like, Oh, really? Like the time I showed up for this massive tournament with Jack and Jimmy's taken everybody's skates sharpened and I got everybody’s skate sharpened and he was off somewhere. I was going to meet him at the university. I'll tell you one story. So this is just typical. So their cousin was playing for B.C. and we wanted to go to a college game because we want to expose these kids that were growing up in Toronto to what college hockey was, so that that could be an option. So we took ‘em to see B.C. versus Michigan, their big cousin. We're driving down and Jack had this massive tournament, which we thought was massive as a you know, you always think these youth tournaments are massive and have grandiose importance, sorry, because you are at nationals and that is important with your daughter AJ. So Jimmy had said, I think Quinn was going to play in Michigan. And I said, okay, I'll bring the boys down I’ll get the skates sharpened and then Jack and I will leave after the game. We won't tell his coach that, like, we're getting into a hotel in London at one in the morning to drive around- around the lake to get to Buffalo for his 9 a.m. game. So I'm driving to Michigan first so he can see his cousins. And then whereas all the other parents are in Buffalo for that 9 a.m. game spending the night getting a good sleep right. Well I let him come watch his brother play. I left two hockey bags with Jim, of Luke's bag and Quinn's bag and I, Jack and I left after the game. We got into London at like one in the morning. We went to sleep. We got back up at six and off he goes for his game. When we get to Buffalo, I'm like, ‘This is great. I did it.’ And they're playing. I think they're playing Shattuck St Mary's and Oliver Wahlstrom is on the other team just to give you a few names. Right. So because he's an Islander, right AJ?

AJ: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Had a goal last night.

Ellen: And it was a non parent coach. So you don't talk to these coaches. I don't think I had a conversation with them and they're young they’re- I don’t know Jack was an underager so he's playing up a year. And so the coach calls me. He's like, “ Umm... We've got a problem. Can you come back to the locker room?” So I go back to the locker room and he goes, “Ummm Luke skates are in Jack's bag.” You know what that means? Where are Jack’s skates? In Luke’s bag or God knows where, right? So I'm like, agh and they're like, “Where are Luke’s skates?” And like, I think he - I left his bag in Toronto. So at this point. So I look at Jack, I'm like, “What you want to do?” and he goes, “Find [buy?] me some skates.” and I'm like, “Okay, what size are your skates?” So I go around, I find the Chicago mission, and if he was in CCM some guy had a Bauer of a size four and a half or five or six or whatever he was in, and they're like, You can borrow these skates, but our game is offset from yours so you can only play until we need the skates back.

Cammi: Oh my God.

Ellen: Right?

AJ: I'm like, my stomach's dropping listening to this. I know.

Ellen: So he’s in these random skates and sorry to go off on a tangent here, but you saying you were great, You know, we do the same things that everybody else does. So it wasn't a completely tightly run ship. So. But maybe that's the adaptability. So Jack goes out and he plays two great periods, and all of a sudden I see this guy walk around and you see them take Jack's skates off. And this is a tight game and it's a big tournament. And he sits on the end of the bench with no skates for the third period. So here you are. We both have - we all have husbands. So Jimmy’s like, “How was the game?” I'm like, “He played great for two periods and let's just leave it at that.” He's like, I was. [unintelligible] But so anyway.

AJ: Yeah, I think that's building resilience. I think you're right. There is something to be in moment. It's- that's the worst feeling possible. But in retrospect, it's a great story, right? And it's one period of hockey that-

Ellen: [unintelligible] five like that running down the coach whenever Jack's hockey bag and his helmet was sideways like, I hope you guys have stories like that.

Cammi: Oh, man. You know what is funny is, those- that's just part of sport and part of the life where you have that happen. But I do as a kid, remembering, feeling like there was nothing more important. And I remember my brother Tony had just got his license. He was driving me over to a friend's house that was going to take me to an away game. It was about 45 minutes away. He went through a stop sign with just skated through a stop sign, hit the front of another car. I'm in the front seat. No seatbelt at that time. Right. And the first thing he goes, “You okay?” and the first thing I said is, “I'm not going to miss my game, am I?” And sure enough, we had to drive home. Somehow we got home. My mom is pregnant with my younger brother Joey, eight months pregnant, and I somehow cried my way into making my mom get in our trans van massive truck with Tony in the passenger seat, driving through snow to get me to the game, which I got there in the third period. But it was to me it was like, I know that feeling like it's- you cannot miss, you cannot. And I see with my kids too. So yeah, those are the best. Some of those are the best memories actually, right?

Ellen: I'll give you one.

AJ: We spent about five and a half hours driving down here to Philadelphia. My daughter, I think, checked nine times to make sure her stuff was in the bag because I had to. She was at school and I had to get it. She does not trust me at all. I'm like, okay, yeah, you just make sure you got two- a right and a left skate in there.

Ellen: I'll give you one last story. To just - to say, like, like here I am, a hockey mom, thinking I’m going to teach my kids to skate. So when Jimmy was coaching in Boston with Robbie Ftorek, I didn't have Luke yet, so Jack... Quinn must've been three. So I wanted to have some one-on-one time. You know, with your first child, you feel like you have your second child and you just need some one-on-one time. So there was free kindergarten skating at the Reading arena. And so we were living in.. in uh.. oh my god I can’t even remember - right around the corner from there. So anyway, so every Tuesday I would take Quinn to skate and that's how he learned to skate. Like it wasn't like I was teaching him strides, I was teaching him to skate. I was getting him on skates. So I was really proud of this kid. He’d gotten off his crates that he was pushing and blah, blah, blah, blah. And at that point Robbie's parents were still alive. Steve and Ruth and they were amazing. And we would go to the games and, and so they didn't live far from there. So they wanted to come watch little Quinn that they see at the Bruins games skate. And I was so proud that I’d taught this kid to skate y’know, he was standing up on his own, he was pushing, the whole bit. So Steve comes out who had taught Robbie how to skate and Robbie was a great skater and I'm like this particular day, Quinn is terrible. He must have been three. Like he just looked like he had two left feet. I’m like, “he's not skating like, I swear, like he could skate, like, something's not right.” And Steve goes, “Ellen, I think his skates are on the wrong feet.” And they were! Do you know how little skates are? Yeah. How would you know? Like [unintelligible]. So we laugh about that story. So, Quinn doesn't know. He can't communicate to tell me that his skates are on the wrong feet. We sit him down, like literally in the doorway. We switch his feet and off this kid goes. And he's pushing and like a little three year old and he's doing great. So that's one of my many [unintelligible] stories.

AJ: But just to make you feel better, I did that to my son Sam, when he was however old, probably five. We went skiing. It was ski boots on the wrong feet. He kept telling us his feet hurt. And we basically were like, You're fine. It's just ski boots they hurt. And the end of the day I was like, Oh yeah, no, they really hurt. That's actually a legitimate point. So been there!

Cammi: Before we wrap up here and get to our rapid fire, I just wanted to ask you about the couple of times where I've seen the boys play tog- Well they played together on the World Junior team and it was in Vancouver. Jack and Quinn played together. What was that like and what was it like when they played their first NHL game toge- against each other for the Jersey Devils and for the Vancouver Canucks? Can you take us through those two times and what it felt like?

Ellen: Yeah, that's great. I mean, the- we had the fortune of them playing together at the World Junior Showcase up in Kamloops the summer before, leading up, kind of the tryouts. So I think that was my first experience. It was great. It was great. Really competitive. They played together. They were on the same PP that was a ton of fun. They were on the ice together a lot. Then the World Juniors that- in Vancouver, that was great too. But Jack was injured, so he was kind of in and out of the lineup, but it was just really great for them to be able to, as- they're so tight, they're best of friends, all three of them. So I think it was more letting them have that experience together and you know, you're disappointed for them in the way that the outcome was because they were so close to winning a gold medal. But it was super cool. It was a lot of fun. And then when they played against each other it was super special, I think for our family, just because it was the first time we got to share something like that with our whole family, we had a huge crew there. The Devils were nice enough, they were amazing. They had a box there and we were able to have all Jim's extended family there from the Northeast, which is a huge group of people. And Jack happened to score his first goal that night. So that was a relief and great and exciting. And then the next time they played together Cammi we went with you. You had the boys and Ray, and that was a great game, too, right? That was a lot of fun. I think the biggest thing is I like it better when they're not on the ice at the same time, especially with one being a D and one being a forward. I prefer, and it's hard to watch them. I don't know who you guys are, but AJ, your daughter right now at Nationals, is a stay at home defenseman so you watch all the D and you have a good feeling. It's really hard to watch two positions let alone two teams play.

AJ: I agree with that when I think about what you're, what you went through, with that and it's not even allegiance of which team you want to win. It's more what they're doing individually and you can't focus. I think that must have been so cool. Was there added pressure on the boys? Did you notice any nerves that night playing against each other?

Ellen: No, but I don't know what kind of side bets there were. Like. I'm going to need [unintelligible] Haha I could have used a girl so I could get a little more information, a daughter y’know they’re a little more forthcoming. I think it was exciting. They were both very young. I mean, it's crazy to think they entered their rookie year together. I think as they, y’know, hopefully have a really long, sustained career. That's your greatest hope for all of these players that play in the professional sports is to be able to stay healthy and have a long, sustained careers. So I think as they age and- it'll be more and more fun to watch it evolve.

AJ: Now we're talking about Quinn and Jack. Is there. Do you think that there's added pressure on Luke right now because of the successes that his brothers have had?

Ellen: You know, it's funny because I always worried about that with Luke, like, you know, as a parent, you know, I want them to all be successful in their own right. I want them all to have their own passion. I want them to care about school and do well in school and so, you know, you're always like, which one needs what someone will, you know, whatever it is you want to try to support them. And so Luke was really small for a while and he was playing against kids that had already hit puberty. And- and you know, I know you dealt with that Cammi with Riley and then he took off and he blew them like his whole game was a new you know, as soon as that- the playing field was evened. And that's a hard thing to try to nurture them through, you know, like, “just keep going” and “it's okay,” and “you’re gonna have your man strength,” and “you’re gonna have more separation speed because of that,” so Luke was really young and I mean, it took him a while before he grew. And so I wondered in my heart, like, is there pressure on him? Does he feel bad about himself? Like, I didn't know, you know what I mean? So then he made the program, which he just kind of started to take off.

Never in a million years did I think he was going to be 6’2” like you could’ve- I would never. I mean, he was who would have thought he was going to tower over his brothers? He was so late. So we used to talk to him about it, you know, and I used to try to ask, but it's hard to get information. But he drove his own bus and he had his own inner desires and his own inner strengths. And it never seemed to faze him or bother him, which, you know, was- we tried to communicate about it like you guys would as parents.

Cammi: It's so wonderful. I just love your whole family. I love everything you guys have instilled in your boys. I love watching them. We're such you know, we've grown so much closer. We get to see each other more often. And I just yeah, I commend you and totally appreciate all the insight that you've given us today. We've kept you a long time on, but we have our not so rapid, rapid fire, if you don't mind answering some rapid fire questions you can answer ‘em slow or fast. It's up to you. AJ and I seem to go the slow way sometimes with our long questions. But let's put you in the hot seat.

AJ: So, yeah, this means you're coming to the front of the bus. So I don't know if that in the bus or trips that you went on that meant you were in trouble. But I'll say that just.

Ellen: Time out before you go. Where were you guys on the bus?

Cammi: I was in the back on the right, about maybe three seats from the bathroom, two or three seats from the bathroom, and  AJ was up front.

AJ: I was more like middle, but on the other side. So it was like.

Cammi: You were like two rows ahead. Yeah. Yeah, where were you?

Ellen: Cammi. I think I was right where you were.

Cammi: Yeah. Okay

AJ: Not quite far enough back for, like, all the crazy card games and everything like that, right? That was always our bus. There was a lot of shenanigans in the way back of the bus. Actually maybe our rapid fire should be called Go to the back of the bus. That might be a little I don't know, might be a little different. All right. So here we go. Let's start. What is your favorite youth hockey, or any sports since you played a lot of sports, memory?

Ellen: Probably winning the national championship with the Dallas Sting in soccer, which still today is one of the premier club teams in the country. 

AJ: Oh, that's a good one. How old were you?

Ellen: I was probably 15. And then one other thing is we went to China when I was 15. That was a pretty cool experience. Before women's soccer had a national team and they were playing, they were having their first international tournament. And since we had won the club championship they sent us, which is amazing to think they sent a bunch of women to China to play in an international tournament. You know. 

AJ: That’s very cool.

Cammi: How’d you guys do?

Ellen: We won it.

Cammi: You're kidding.

Ellen: There's actually someone that's trying to, I just get the emails, that’s trying to make a movie about it, because it's pretty unheard of.

Cammi: It's amazing.

AJ: That is amazing. So we didn't really get into this. The one thing we were carrying our time up for is that you had the good fortune of having all of your boys home during COVID. Maybe a silver lining to what was going on in the world. Everybody got to be back under one roof. But when everyone's home, what's your go to family dinner?

Ellen: Oh, our go to family dinners, steak. They are all about steak. So steak and pesto pasta with a spinach salad is the go to. They would eat steak every night.

AJ: Oh, that sounds good.

Ellen: Cammi, Quinn’s cooking [?]. Believe it or not, [unintelligible]. When they're allowed to go places next year in Vancouver over you and Ray should-

Cammi: I can keep him honest for that?. Yeah, I know I will definitely. If I know that now. What is he cooking in these?

Ellen: Cooking steak and lots of he cooks some, tuna ahi tuna and lots of peppers and veggies and that's a good thing about COVID. Is that most of these young kids have learned to cook, which is amazing.

AJ: That is amazing. That's actually that is another- that's a good silver lining. I know. Speaking of your three boys, Quinn, Jack and Luke, which one was most mischievous as a kid.

Ellen: And I mean, you know how it is, it's a three month cycle like, just like one needs your attention more than the other when they were little. But um… Quinn and Jack together? This is not rapid fire, but I can remember when they were really level and I don't know. And I've already taken up too much of your time. But I remember Jimmy had taken off to Toronto and, oh no, then he must have been littler than this and Jimmy and I, Luke was just born, maybe six months old, and we heard this rustling. You know, you have that in the baby room, on the other room. And I don't know if this has happened to either one of you. And I'm like, it was like six in the morning. You're trying to get sleep, and I heard something. I mean, “Jimmy, what is that?” You know, So we listen to the voice and they had this grandiose idea that they were going to throw the baby out of the crib, Jack was inside the crib, picking up Luke to hand him off to Luke- to Quinn, who wasn't big enough, it was going tobe a  drop outside the crib. So let's just leave with that. Right?

Cammi: How old were they? How old were they when that happened?

Ellen: Luke was under one because he couldn't get out, right? I mean, it was not a great plan. Then. Thankfully, we rescued them.

Cammi: So if you would have had that nanny cams that are the baby cams, that would have been brilliant to have that on video.

Ellen: Right.

AJ: Good. Some Hughes boy mischief. I like it. Now, of the three, who is the most competitive?

Ellen: Probably, I don't, I can't.

Cammi: Can’t choose, you’re a mom.

AJ: Yeah no I actually we were just talking about the drive to win and everything. I understand that. But it's all three, I guess. Now we you, you mentioned being nervous still, when you watch your boys play, what can you remember being the most nervous you've ever been as a sports parent?

Ellen: Mmm that's a tough one. Probably for me, it's not about the kids. It was more about the team. So, you know, having your kids go through the NTDP you want them to win these big tournaments. So you’re nervous for the group because you want so well, they're representing their country so the World Championships, the World Juniors, I mean, Cammie, you've sat with me and seen me between periods at the World Juniors, so that might be a fair one you can attest to, like, you're like, Really? You probably walk away from meeting with the boys between periods and me. Like, she's a little wacky over there. I don't know.

Cammi: Oh, they love you.

Ellen: You're stressed. Not for your kids. You're stressed for the team in your country. And you want so well, you want them to win! Their competitive side and they're tight. And you’re just on the edge of your seat. More like a fan, I would say, than a mother. So much too. Is that fair to say?

AJ: Yeah. Did you ever coach any of them? 

Ellen: Yeah,

AJ: I think they're so close in age. You. Oh, you did?

Ellen: Yeah. So I coached them in soccer. I coached them in lacrosse, but they played box lacrosse. I didn't coach them in hockey. They would do a lot of spring hockey. What I would do is get on the I would just buy outdoor ice like and I would run the skates. But when I say I would run the skates is, I would get out of the way. I would turn the nets. Three on three, three on three, three on three, no direction, just let them. And then it was more, you know, just playing, like the environment, the competitors setting up the competitive- competitive mini games. So that type of stuff as extras.

AJ: The last question we have for you is what advice would you have to hockey parents out there or what kind of motto did you guys, would you say you followed?

Ellen: You know, who gave us really good advice, especially as they got older were Keith and Chantal Tkachuk. They were amazing role models for us. Quinn was fortunate enough to live with them and, and Keith always. They always said it, just be a great teammate, be a great human being, great- be a great person and work hard, be one of the hardest working. Get out there and have fun. You know, I know it's easy to say, but there's so many great things you can do in this life. There's so many greater things you can do in this life. You know, you find your passion, find lots of passions and be you and follow your heart in whatever it is that your [passion is like, live it, eat it, drink it and be it. I mean, I think those are the same advice that both of you as past Olympians give your own children.

Cammi: That's wonderful.

AJ: That is, that's awesome. And you are so awesome. I love hearing the sort of inside scoop from the first family of hockey, the Hughes family, and everybody's favorite hockey mom, Ellen Hughes. But at the same time, I love also taking that little walk down memory lane to make sure everybody remembers what a stud you are.

Ellen: Well, I so appreciate it. And I'm having so much fun listening to you two on your podcast. It's amazing what you're doing. I think you're amazing human beings. You both know how I feel about you and my admiration for what you've done for the women's game and what you're still doing in the game of hockey is so cool and you're both trailblazers. And I love this podcast and I love the guests that you have on. I take myself out of that like I don't fit in the realm of guests. 

AJ: Yes, yes you do. 

Ellen: I'm just saying that in the heart of hearts, I love the guests you've had on, and keep rocking it. You two are amazing and I'm lucky to have you as friends. And AJ, I laugh. I think about watching you at the Olympics and Cammi and I already had a relationship because we played together. And then I think about you today. And it's incredible.

AJ: And you are. I do remember you paved the way for us, but I do. I'm glad. I think you're buttering us up just in case I say, I will say anything negative about your sons on the ice, which so far I haven't had to because they're such superstars. But, you know, don't hold it against me if I do.

Ellen: You know, And then and hopefully things will get back to normal and we'll be traveling and I'll see you guys one day.

Cammi: Well, Ellen, thank you so much for being here. We were so happy you joined us and we'll have to have you on again at some point. And when the whole quarantine is over, well, I'll be looking forward to when you come to watch Quinn in Vancouver here.

[theroyalsims]

BREAKING: ANYA'S DIRTY LITTLE SECRET ID'd! IS ANYA DATING A BUILDER?

A Tartosan Tabloid appears to have identified Anya's Mystery Boyfriend! Lingua Tartosa recently published an article identifying Anya's new man as "Gus," who happens to be a builder.

The article claims that "Gus" is a builder who works in Tartosa. Excerpts of the translated article reveal:

"Our sources can 100% confirm that Anya is dating a builder. He goes by the name 'Gus' and lives and works right here in Tartosa. Imagine? Anya is dating one of ours! Well, technically, no. Although he has been working in the country for a while now, he is apparently originally from Rennaux.

The lovebirds met during renovations of Anya's villa. Who knew Brindleton's future queen liked them rough, rugged, and blue collar? Maybe that's why she's been hiding him! Imagine a Crown Princess slumming it with a builder - although he is admittedly handsome! We're proud to say we've finally cracked Anya's code, and we can now reveal her dirty little secret."

The write up also included paparazzi photos of the man in question. Gus is pictured wearing a red and black flannel shirt, and tried to go low-key with an olive green baseball cap. The flowing hair, the luscious beard, the piercing brown eyes, and his overall casual style seems to confirm that Gus, indeed, is Anya's not-so-secret boyfriend.

Gus also looked to be a little agitated when he realised that his photos were being taken and made a quick escape to a nearby truck. The photos were taken at a construction site in Southern Tartosa, about two hours away from Anya's new (old) cliff-side villa.

Anya's dating history is being dragged back to the surface after the revelation. Thus far, Anya's confirmed relationships were with a Duke, a veterinarian, and a football superstar. A builder is definitely quite the surprise - not that there's anything wrong with that!

However, not everyone seems as open to the idea of a blue collar royal boyfriend. Discussions on social media have been rather... colourful. One post read:

" Anya broke up a royal engagement and still managed to turn down handsome Prince Fonsi for a grumpy-looking BUILDER. Fonsi left Felicity for Anya. We all know it here in Selvadorada. Poor Fonsi's heart has been broken twice."

Of course, such claims cannot be confirmed as multiple reports suggest that the Prince's engagement ended for completely different reasons. There's also the fact that Anya and Fonsi have never been romantically involved.

Another person wrote:

"I would LOVE to see Emilia's face. She's been bugging Anya to marry and get knocked up so she finds the first bloke she sees and calls it a day. Our future consort is a builder. Heck, my brother's a builder and he lives right here in Brindleton! Had we known, we would've sent his ugly face her way! LOL! This is worse than Alice and her bodyguard! Serves Emilia right for being such an overbearing parent!"

There are, of course, those who love the idea of Anya's latest love story:

"I think it's wonderful and very romantic. It shows that love knows no bounds and class does not at all matter. I think this reflects wonderfully on Anya. She's always been very humble and kind towards everyone. He must be very special if Anya chose him. If they love each other, I'm all for it!"

It looks like we'll be hearing more from Gus and Anya real soon! We still have questions and we'd love to get some answers!

[violetmuses]

Rundown - T. Owens 🌪

Title: Rundown - T. Owens 🌪

Fandom: “Twisters” Film Universe

Character: Tyler Owens

Pairing: Tyler Owens + Female Reader

Main Storyline: Returning home brings out an unexpected face.

====

2024

After finally earning your college degree, you never planned to come back home. Over time, loved ones have already moved for countless reasons.

Now, though, several years later, you've pulled up this vast wind farm located within reach of your childhood home.

Vehicles lined up or down dirt paths while locals crowded this space, and modern country music wailed from the distance as you “parked” to find what's going on.

Sooner than later, you recognize this crimson Dodge Ram pickup truck!

Big Shot Tyler Owens slammed the driver's seat door wearing this plaid shirt with buckled jeans. One classic cowboy hat veiled his perfect hair and fashionable sunglasses completed the look.

Even back through high school, you heard so much. This individual planted dreams from the start and this time, YouTube worked as his official storm-chasing platform.

The crew hopped away from this vehicle, but Tyler somehow noticed you and pulled his sunglasses for eye contact.

“Are you kidding me?” His Southern accent grew more based on adulthood. “C'mere, girl!”

You jokingly rolled both eyes and still walked over, cornered away from spectators this afternoon.

“Quit the rodeo?” You reminded him.

“Long story, but enough about me. How are you?” That smile beamed again.

“Good, here for work, but I'm clearly not the superstar right now.” You notice how everyone acknowledged Tyler.

“if you feel it, chase it!” People chanted over and over again.

Just like the old days, you laugh, proud of Ty regardless.

[variousqueerthings]

we have always been here: documentaries about trans people

documentaries about trans people, starting in the year 1953. I don't speak to filmic quality or whether or not something is problematic, what matters here is simply the testimony and the stamp of existence (including in those where the subject matter is spoken about, rather than getting to speak for themselves)

(I haven't seen every one of these yet, so some of them have slightly shorter texts to go along with them)

while (as you'll see) most of these are US-based movies, they are from all over the world. I'd be curious about whether there are any focused specifically on the intersection of transness and disability, I don't personally know of any, although of many speak to issues with access to healthcare (for example southern comfort)

all the ones that have links connected to them are watchable for free

some of these can be watched for free on the archive, youtube, vimeo, many could do with a few coins thrown their way: many of the movies, for example the the aggressives can be rented on vimeo, transgender tuesdays is free on youtube but accepting donations for trans women of colour, lotus sports club is doing festivals currently and is accepting donations to support the team and the vulnerable trans (now men) who have had to leave it to find work, call her ganda is accepting donations to support the family's legal costs in bringing justice for their daughter

remember, finding the stories that have been graciously shared is one thing, supporting our community is the next step

glen or glenda (1953): the first known movie about trans people, a mixed-media semi-fictional account (US)

the queen (1968) (US): following drag-queens at a national beauty pageant two years before stonewall, including footage of crystal labeija (US)

change of sex (1979-1999): a five-part series following trans woman julia grant as she tries to access gender affirming care via the gender identity clinic (UK - available on BBC iplayer)

paris is burning (1990): documenting queer people in the ballroom scene, community, competition, and challenges (US)

shinjuku boys (1995): following five young men who work at onabe bars, which cater to women, as they try to make ends meet (Japan)

transexual menace (1996): snapshots of the melting pot of trans life in new york, from famous faces, to protest, including several immigrants to america from columbia, west africa, japan, hawaii, and germany (Germany/US)

you don't know dick: courageous hearts of transsexual men (1997): about several trans men in different walks of life, who chat about their experiences, politics, and history (US)

the brandon teena story (1998): a documentation about the murder of brandon teena, using testimonies from the people involved (US)

southern comfort (2001): follows robert eads in the final year of his life, before he died of initially treatable ovarian cancer (US)

superstar in a housedress: the life and legend of jackie curtis (2004): a portrait of jackie curtis, one of the earliest punk pioneers, by (mainly cis) people who knew her (US)

screaming queens: the riot at compton’s cafeteria (2005): a rare documentary of the time featuring the voices of trans activists, about the pre-stonewall compton's cafeteria riot (US)

beautiful darling (2005): a portrait of candy darling (one of the trans woman superstars of the 60s) from the perspective of the (mainly cis) people who knew her (US)

the aggressives (2005): centered on black studs, mascs, and trans men, and more, exploring the term "aggressives," race and gender, filmed over five years (US)

Jayne County: man enough to be a woman (2005): a performance by veteran punk musician Jayne County and her band (UK/US) (excerpt)

beautiful daughters (2006): following a group of trans women who performed the vagina monologues in 2005 (US)

still black: a portrait of black transmen (2008): a series of interviews following black trans men speaking about their lives, careers, race, and gender (US)

the advocate for fagdom (2011): a series of political testimonies by queer activists, including the punk musician vaginal davis (US)

she said boom: the story of fifth column (2012): a documentary about seminal 1980s queercore punkband fifth column (Canada)

TRANS (2012): following a series of trans people at varying places in their transition, and the people around them (US)

hide & seek (2013): a group of trans people in pakistan speak about their experiences with the language they have access to (Pakistan)

before the last curtain falls (2014): transexuals and drag queens in their 60s-70s touring a show called "gardenias" (Germany)

mala mala (2014): following a number of trans people in puerto rico from all walks of life (Puerto Rico)

queercore: how to punk a revolution (2017): a primer to the history of queercore with interviews of some of the people who created the scene (US)

laerte-se (2017): a portrait of the underrated visual artist laerte (Brazil)

a year in transition (2018): 20 year old arab-american trans man documents one year of going on hormones (US)

call her ganda (2018): the story about the murder of a trans filipino woman named ganda by a us marine and the repercussions (Philippines)

indianara (2019): indianara is an activist fighting for trans survival and rights in brazil (Brazil)

disclosure (2020): going through a history of trans representation in the media (US)

transgender tuesdays (2020): featuring trans people talking about a groundbreaking gender-affirming clinic that opened in the 90s in the san franciscan tenderloin district (US)

prayers for sweet waters (2021): three trans sex-workers who live in cape town discuss their experience during covid (South Africa)

the end of wonderland (2021): follows erotic photographer tara emory as she goes through changes in her life (US)

travesía travesti (2021): the last performance of a cabaret during the chilean revolt of 2019 (Chile)

casa susanna (2022): documentary about the 50s summer retreat for male crossdressers and trans women (US)

la vida es un carnaval (2022): in a rural town, a group of trans women plan the first gay pride during its annual carnival and a bunch of scar tissue comes up (Mexico)

this is not me (2022): two young transmen in iran with supportive families share their daily lives (Iran)

lotus sports club (2022): a football club in cambodia run by trans man pa vann and a safe space for trans boys and lesbians (Cambodia)

nel mio nome (2022): four italian transmen share their thoughts, experiences, and identities (Italy)

the dads (2023): a group of dads of trans kids meet with the father of matthew shepard for a fishing trip (US)

kokomo city (2023): intra-community, celebratory documentary centering black trans sex-workers in america (US)

[leveloneandup]

Tobin and Christen Recap the World Cup Semifinals with Alyssa Thompson ⚽️ | Episode 7

Tobin and Christen return to The RE—CAP studio to discuss the results of the World Cup Semifinals. They offer their thoughts on what went right for Spain and England and what went wrong for Sweden and Australia. Then, they discuss their feelings on the breaking news that the USWNT coach, Vlatko Andonovski, may be resigning. What now? And what is next? Later, Tobin and Christen are joined in studio with the young superstar of the USWNT, Alyssa Thompson. They discuss training at a young age with her sister, what it was like to find out she was selected for the USWNT, her choice to skip college and go pro, how it felt to appear in her first World Cup and so much more. Finally, they welcome Shawna Palmer to learn more about her program, Football For Her, and all of the incredible, motivational and educational things it is doing for those who identify as female or non-binary in the Southern Californian soccer landscape. And, as always, community questions, a World Cup Finals prediction and Tobin’s Top Things!

[donnatheastronomer]

Sirius

Today let us talk about Sirius, the superstar of the night sky! Known as the Dog Star or the Wishing Star, Sirius shines brighter than any other star out there. With a magnitude of −1.46, it easily outshines the second brightest star, Canopus. From the southern hemisphere, Sirius arcs high overhead. From the mid-northern latitudes, Sirius rises in the southeast, arcs across the southern sky, and…

[nescaveckwriter]

Smoky Old Barrooms, Saving Grace & Guitars - Chapter Two💕

A/N: Oh bugs, 💕 this is so much fun to write, I hope y'all enjoy this💕

Warnings: Drinking, angst, fluff, just it I think 🫣

Also Please Note: These songs used, is not written by me, so full credit to the artists.💕

''No way Bobby'' he sneered

''Dean listen to me, this is just what your career needs'' he pleaded

''Forget it! I'm the freaking superstar, I'm not gonna babysit a wannabe country singer''

His voice getting angry now, ''Listen to me son, you are not the 'Superstar' you think you are''

He smirks ''Oh yeah, then why is there hundreds of people at my shows?''

''Because they want to see, the old you, the one with songs from the soul, but all they get are covers, of drinking and shit, if you go-on like this, your going to end up, going from a great artist to who is that playing on the radio'' he hissed

Shocked by the words coming out of the mouth, who he presumed to be more than just a manager, more than just a friend, more like a father. He grabs his jacket and keys and storms out of the door, getting into his Chevy Impala .

''Another whisky on the rocks, please doll'' the little giddy woman, makes her way towards the bar, grabbing his fifth glass. Glancing through the smoky barroom, its a place where most famous artist's hang out, to relax or get drunk or get lucky, but its a nice joint, nice music always playing. He knows Bobby is right but by hearing it just made him so angry, hell he already feels old and washed up, it's as-if the great music is no where to be found inside of him, in all honesty, most days his caught between living and leaving.

 ''There you go, sir'' she smiles interrupting his deep thinking , ''Yeah thanks'' smiling as he sees her number written down on a napkin, ''maybe I'll call her up a little later'' he mumbles to himself. As his sipping his liquid gold, he hears a sweet deep-laced southern voice, he look's up towards the stage, bell bottom blue jeans, a black shirt, with a black leather jacket, her strawberry blonde  in those loose curls framing her delicate face.

''Howdy y'all, so sweet Jerry over there asked me to do a little song or two, and I were wondering, what y'all wanted to hear, are we feeling happy? or in the mood for a bit of blues perhaps?'' 

The whole crowd goes wild cheering, screaming they wanted to hear a heartbreak song  She just smiled and started strumming her guitar, tapping her boots on the barstool, her voice sounded angelic and full of emotion, the room silenced as they listened to her 

It's just a year today

One year since he went away

So happy birthday, dear heartache

You're one year old today

There'll be the cake tonight

One candle I'm gonna light

So happy birthday, dear heartache

Old love still burns tonight

When he walked out, I felt my heart break

That's when you came to me, dear heartache

You made my heart your home

Now look how big you've grown

Looks like each guest is here

The blues, the memories, and the tears

So happy birthday, dear heartache

Same time, same place next year

So happy birthday, dear heartache

Same time, same place next year

As her voice glides over the audience, Dean can't help but think that women, can sing, not only is she beautiful but she's different than the other, there's something unique about her presence, he smiled as she finished the song, also clapping when she said ''thank you, y'all''

He gets caught off guard as she spoke pointing towards him ''Look y'all, Nashville's very own, top charting country-rock artist, 'hey Mr. Winchester, want to join me up here for a little song, what do you say?''

He nods, gets off his chair, thankful that he'd only had five glasses, and that his still sober enough for this little event, tilting his imaginary hat, as he greets her, whispering ''so you know who I am, but what's your name'' she just smiled and said ''you can call me Grace, cowboy''

After they discussed which song too play, they both a slight nervous wondering if there voices, together will work, his deep voice starts,

''Once I made a promise

That I'd never lead you on

But I feel the yearn to love you

Even though I know it's wrong''

her angelic voice fills the next lines

''You'll have to take my hand

And lead me slowly through the door

I'll be wrong in what I'm doin'

I can't refuse you anymore''

but it's when there voices collide, leaving the people in the barroom stunned

''Lead me on

And take control of how I feel

I can't do this on my own

'Cause it's against my will

I need love warm and tender

In a way, I've never known

If you want me, I'll go with you

But you'll have to lead me on''

Both off them smile while singing the familiar country song, there eyes connect in the way you only see in movies, there voices together sounds like a symphony of wonder, letting you believe in magic of true country music again, leaving the two artists stunned, about how well they fit together. When the song was done, and the crowd cheered, hand claps everywhere, it wasn't long after, when the people started begging for more off there songs, but it was Grace that said ''thank y'all but I have to go now'' thanking Dean and the crowd she got off, slinging her guitar over her thin-framed shoulders, she walked outside, inhaling the fresh air, so she can stop the uneasy rising and falling off her chest.

Still waiting for a cab to come pick her up, to go home, and get some rest, she hears his voice behind her ''going so soon?''

Smiling, and calming her racing heart a little, thinking if only her heart were racing, because of this hunk of a man in front of her, it would've felt good, ''Hey, yeah, I've got a early morning photo shoot, for the cover of my album, and if I'm late my manager is going to be crazy angry'' she laughed a little

Running his hand at the back of his neck ''Oh! so your a well known artist yourself, sorry I didn't know''

Laughter rolling over her lips, ''don't you worry cowboy, my ego aren't as big yours, I don't get easily offended'' she mocks

Laughter fills the airy night, as he's amused by the way she mocks him, without holding back, as most women around him always tries to say something that will soothe his ego. ''I don't have a big ego'' 

''Now I know, I don't personally know you too well, but one thing's for sure your lying to yourself there. the smile curving at her full lips, is enough to make his heart flutter a little

His green eyes, sparkling, for the first time in a long time, ''We can always make a plan to arrange, so that you can get too know me better'' he mocks

The cab pulls up, and as she gets in, she smiles, her voice sweet and fruity ''Now don't you go falling in love with me cowboy''

He can't help the slight dorky smile forming, ''who's gotten the ego now, thinking I'll fall for a woman like you'' shaking his head, as-if she's my type anyway, but something in his chest, flutters as he sees her hand dancing through the wind, as the streetlight shines on her face, giving her a slight -reddish halo, her voice giving him a exhilarating  as she shouts ''goodnight cowboy''

His response was too late, as the cab drove off, leaving him standing there, feeling intrigued by this woman. Taking out his phone, dialing Bobby, leaving only his voicemail tone ''Hey, Bobby, I don't know who you wanted to set me up with, but I just met someone, I want to sing with her, help me find her please, and sorry about earlier.

As he walked over to his car, he can't help too feel a bit more alive, tonight as his done in awhile, he needs to find her again, like he needs air too breathe, singing that duet with her, was absolutely amazing, letting him almost feel about music the way he used too before everything gone wrong, leaving him only half a person. With a smile he gets in, there's a stirring of some new words in his heart, maybe a potential song or two, with the humming of a new tune, he drives into the night. 

Chapter One Here :)

Chapter Two Here :)

Chapter Three Here :)