#end of the day this deal benefits the club more than it does messi and he's letting himself get used like a dishrag | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

sopxhiea · 3 years ago

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Rules

Alfie Solomons X Friends with Benefits!Reader

Summary: The chase continues under the disguise of being friends who occasionally help each other out, but Alfie gets tired even though she doesn’t stop running.

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

Warnings: Blood

“You need help with that?”

“Is there some secret to winning you?”

The curtains are closed today.

The inside of the venue is booming with loud music, almost to a point of being obnoxious but it’s easy to tune it out at this point. The inside is crowded, there are more men in the club than there had been in a while. Mostly high end men, to note, since they all seem dapper and rich in their newly tailored suits.

The girls prance around in their new costumes, a dress but mostly in lace. The color matches the wooden interior, a hint that was done to draw in the rich more than anything. Some of the newer girls do the chatting, since that’s easier and the more experienced ones handle the dancing, touchier ways of dealing with rich lads.

And that includes you.

It’s been a while since you’ve worked this late. Not to mention you always work late, but late as in after the sunrise. The club opens later in the day to begin with but today’s busy to a point of keeping you later than usual, not that you complain with the hundredth tip of today in your hand as you walk towards the back part.

The room’s decorated with a bunch of mirrors and too much light compared to the where the men are being entertained. There are a couple girls sitting on their stools, touching up their make up or getting ready to leave as you’re about to do. After settling on the stool, you pack your bag and start taking your make up off but just as you’re about to do just that, the head of the club comes in with a scared look.

His name is Jack, a proper man with a talent in dabbling in bad side of entertainment. He hasn’t been unkind to you but not particularly kind either. You think he’s alright in general, but not when he looks like a ghost as he does now. You know men like him and they aren’t easily scared of anything, so when he comes in with a broken voice and pale lips, it makes you stop your movements and wait for him to speak.

“There’s someone here to see you, Y/N.” he says and you know better than to ask who it is. You already have a pretty good idea anyway so you put on a robe and seal it tightly around your body before shaking your head.

“Out on the back.” Jack speaks and you nod, you know he’s not coming with you from the way his eyes roam around the room.

The back exit is through a dingy corridor, with not so bad lighting and a couple other girls smoking in the hall. You murmur small greetings with a faint smile as you pass by and open the door to the exit. The weather is colder than you thought, also due to the early hour of the morning.

And there he stands, covered in an ungodly amount of blood.

His breathing is uneven, there is a cut on his upper lip and left eyebrow but his stance is not tilted, just slightly lower than usual. He waits as you take it all in, with the blood covering his once crispy white button up but the blood is vicious. You can see the lines of his black coat soaked in it as some of it drip down his left hand to the pavement.

Nothing about it surprises you.

You know what kind of a person he is, the work that he does is anything but safe so you don’t expect him to show up with flowers every time he drops by. Your eyes meet his once more after you’ve scanned his entire figure and there’s the ghost of a smile on your lips when you speak which comes as a surprise to him, but a pleasant one regardless.

“You need help with that?” you ask and he can hear the amusement in your voice.

Because there he is, knocking on your door again and rather than turning him down, you can’t help but try and stitch him back together.

You know he’s not about to faint on you or die, you can make out from the way his breathing evens out. Sure, he’s probably been shot or stabbed but he’s a tough brute, you know not to doubt his capacity to handle pain. It’s clear that the blood that is currently soaking his coat isn’t his but someone else’s.

But all is fair in love and war, so you decide his wars have been picked.

Although it is not love, and you’ll make sure of that.

He scoffs at first, the first rays of sun finding their way through the street into the back exit as you stand. You don’t wait for him to answer before you motion him to sit in front of the exit where there are a couple benches and pull him by the coat when he doesn’t move. For all his might and power, he is spent as he moves towards you as you pull him.

“Don’t make this harder than it needs to be, Alfie.” you whisper as he sits down and you ask one of the girls to bring you alcohol and the first aid kit.

And much to your surprise, he doesn’t.

He’s a stubborn lad, someone who will do what they think is right even though they know they’re wrong but Alfie doesn’t even make a noise as you crouch in front of him. He sees the glint of tiredness, mixed in with a thin layer of sweat and make up as your skin under the streetlight glistens. His eye twitches every now and then due to the pain he’s experiencing but that is about it as you clean him up.

He needs three stitches, one on his left bicep, one on his left side and one more on his cheek. You figure they’ll heal up well, even though he’s told you that he doesn’t heal as fast while he talked about his younger days.

He’s still at times like this.

But it’s like how a stallion would be still. He’s never calm, you know this from the way his anger latches on to anything in close proximity. He might get offensive at any given moment as he’s a beast among men, knows it too and that’s the most dangerous part but it doesn’t scare you. He’s just a man after all.

His breathing evens out as you work through the last stich. His eyes are glued to yours as you clean the cut on his eyebrow. The blue orbs don’t leave yours as you make sure your eyes don’t meet his, you don’t need this today. Not at this hour and especially not during work. He watches as you lick your lips and dab the last bit of alcohol on the cut before putting everything away and getting up.

The robe you had on is slightly covered in blood now, not his but someone else’s. He sees no bother on your face, no remorse as you stand up in front of him and get ready to walk back inside. He knows he broke the rules, your rules, and sees the slight annoyance on your face but it’s mixed with something else. Almost overcome by it.

Dare he say, you look worried.

He knows you’ll be the last to admit to it, since you’re even more stubborn than he is, but he likes seeing your delicate features a bit etched than usual. And all because of him.

He’s a right bastard.

“Thank ya’, lass.” he says as you stand in front of his seated form. He’s not as pale as he was when he first arrived and it makes you sigh inside.

You nod and speak, voice stale.

“No problem. Just don’t bleed out somewhere in an alley.” you say and his eyebrows raise.

You’re being considerate and it makes him feel like he’s been punched.

He then pulls you closer by the sleeve of your robe so your knees are touching his seated ones. He’s almost as tall as your standing form, that’s how big the size difference is but it doesn’t faze you. You feel his breath tickling your face as you look down on his seated form. His hand is on your wrist while the other remains on his thigh and he speaks, almost in a hush.

“Ya’ worried about old me?” he asks, a glint of amusement mixed with affection is thrown your way and it makes you smile. Almost.

“Well, I’d like my landlord to be alive.” you say, reminding him about how he had gotten you the place.

He hums then, nodding as he looks up at your standing form as small strands of hair frame your face. It’s almost sunrise and he feels fucking hopeless underneath your gaze, like he’s a teenager again. “That right?”

“Hm.” you nod and speak once more, hand now resting on his thigh and the other on his shoulder as you talk with a softer tone than usual. “He’s a grumpy old man but he’s alright.” you say and it earns a laugh from him.

And it’s not the usual laugh either.

When Alfie laughs, it’s usually at some stupid joke the blokes working with or for him have made a dumb fucking mistake. It’s mocking, degrading in some occasions to make sure the other person knows who’s in charge. It’s rarely because he’s found something funny, seeing as there’s very little humor in his life.

But this time, he really laughs.

You smile at the sound and the vibrations almost make you want to pull him in an embrace but you know where you stand. You hear the commotion from the inside as the girls get ready to leave, as you were about to do before he showed up and realize that it’s much later than usual. You sigh and pull away from him while speaking slowly, tiredness getting the best of you.

It catches him off guard, makes him feel much younger than he is.

“Take me home, Alfie.” you speak and hear an answer right away.

“As you wish, ma’am.”

He is a right bastard.

---

His breathing gets faster by the passing second.

It’s been a while since you’ve been like this with him but it seems as though he’s missed you more than you’ve missed him. The bed creaks each time he moves, sharp groans spill from his mouth and you revel at the sight. His hair is messy in a way that you don’t associate with him, bruises from the fight earlier still on his skin as he moves on top of you.

He’s less aggressive, though. You make a note of it.

A curt thrust brings your attention to the present moment as he moves, at a slower pace now. Like he’s trying to thoroughly enjoy the split moment of you almost adoring him. You smile at him then, it’s a faint one but he catches it as it turns into a small moan at the end. His hips rock at the same, slow pace as he watches the sunrays illuminate your face and hair.

Your eyes close, slowly and your small mewls fill the room along with his grunts here and there. He wants to bask in the glory of the woman laying in front of him. He hears your moans become louder as he moves slightly faster. He takes a moment before fully speeding up, hand gripping the headboard as the mattress moves slightly with each stroke.

Your voice comes out low, like a plea you’re afraid to put out but he hears it. “Slower.”

His eyebrows furrow at that, knowing your climax was near. But he listens, unlike most men, he takes his pace down and kisses you feverishly this time and speaks against your lips. It’s a low murmur when he does, goes back to kissing you once he’s spoken between all teeth and tongue.

“What’s wrong?” he says before kissing you again and you just groan at first, pleased with the pace he’s set even though you know both of you are close.

Your words are muffled against his lips but you speak regardless.

“Just go slow, please.” you speak and it makes him halt for a second.

Because it’s far too gentle.

For a man who works exclusively with dangerous people, the existence of the word ‘please’ sometimes escapes him so acts if kindness makes him slow down on its own. It makes him feel hopeless inside, to know you have graced him with some kindness despite the cruel acts you know he is capable of.

“Alright, lass.” he speaks against your collarbone and kisses his way down until you feel him reach over to connect your lips with his in a kiss.

And you’re right. He reaches his climax right after you do with a low moan, filled with curses you’re sure would make anyone red-faced but you lie still under him, panting with a smile on at the words. He stays like that for a while, kissing your neck and cheeks before he lies down next to you and his eyes are on you again.

Like damn clock-work.

It’s like a ritual of sorts for him. After you’re both done panting and moaning and he’s laying down next to you on the bed, he watches you. You don’t do anything spectacular, just try to catch your breath and sometimes even fall asleep but his gaze doesn’t leave you, not that it bothers you.

Just makes you curious.

You see the glimpses of the man he used to be: young, naughty for sure and maybe a little shy. His beard covers up the blush that rarely graces his cheeks but you see it in his eyes, the giddy man he becomes every now and then. He’s gentle with you, you’re not complaining but merely curious of how he used to be before the cruel ways of world got to him.

“You’re staring again.” you state and he chuckles lowly at that. He’s aware of the fact that it doesn’t bother you.

“Any complaints?” he asks and you can hear the sarcasm dripping from his words.

It makes you wanna punch him.

Because he knows that very little of what he does actually annoys you, yet you act like everything he does is a menace. You won’t admit to it, but you’re fond of him in certain ways that keep you up at night.

“It’s not smart to ask questions when you already know the answer.” you speak and he laughs this time, which makes you look at him with a smile.

He looks happy. Unbothered, like this.

“Smart lass.” he says under his breath as he faces the ceiling and then his eyes are on you again.

He realizes this is where you two always end up.

Doesn’t matter of he’s coming your way with bloody fists or if he’s in your house alone, waiting for you at sunrise and you arrive with bags under your eyes. Your bed seems to be the place where things stand still and it’s only you and him. Not when you’re fucking either, although he’s very much a fan of that part as well. It’s when you lie down next to him that he feels the weight of the world lift from his shoulders and he’s a simple man again.

Not Mr. Solomons but Alfie.

And he knows this is doomed from the start. It doesn’t take a genius to figure it out. You won’t quit, he certainly can’t and it makes the entire ordeal confusing. He reckons he’ll never have you, you’ll never be his but he can settle on being around you. Or so he thinks.

“Is there some secret to winning you?” he whispers at a low tone.

You stare at the ceiling for a minute and make sure you heard him correctly. It wouldn’t matter if there was a secret, you think to yourself before smiling and turning to face him on the bed. There is no smile on his face, just serious questioning.

“Probably not.” you say, unaware of just why he’s asking but you don’t dare question him further when he’s looking at you the way he is.

“Fuckin’ probably eh?” he says once more and it makes your eyebrows furrow.

“Well, I’m not exactly sure.” you say and hold yourself up on the bed by your elbows. Hair messy and eyes wide, you face him and speak once more. “You’ll have to figure that out for yourself.”

He chuckles and then watches you roll out of bed. Your hair is messy from earlier, no matter how many times you try to straighten it down with your hairs. You pick up the robe from the nightstand and shoot him a smile before disappearing into the kitchen to make coffee.

He shakes his head when you ask if he’d like some, hair framing your face. Time is somewhere around six and he’s supposed to head to work, make sure the lads are in place and so are the orders but he finds himself in the kitchen next to you, watching as you make yourself some coffee for the day and look to see he’s already staring.

He likes puzzles, is fond of complex things and enjoys threatening people on occasion. He’s smart, has to be when he’s doing what he does. He prides himself on always having the upper hand but maybe not with you. He takes one look at you then, yeah, definitely not with you.

He decides he likes a challenge, and you’ve provided him with a good one.

---

Tagging: @clairecrive @parkbearum @sourirez @vetseras @mollybegger-blog @babylooneytoonz @peakascum @fuseburner @ttzamara @babaohhhriley @fairypitou @paintballkid711 @manamajil @tommydoesntpayforsuits

A/n: Hello! I hope you enjoyed yet another chapter of this. We’re getting close to the end!! Let me know what you thought. You can comment under the post if you’d like to be tagged <3

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farfromsugafanfic · 4 years ago

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Sutures - Chapter One: Broken Hearts Club

Genre: Soulmates AU, Idiots to Lovers, slight Enemies to Lovers

Pairing: Yoongi/Named Reader

Warnings (chapter specific): alcohol consumption, sexual references, references to a one night stand, cursing, hospitals

Synopsis: "A person often meets his destiny on the road he took to avoid it." --Jean de la Fontaine

There was only one thing you and Min Yoongi had in common that night. You were both brokenhearted. You only intended to be together for one night, but when you both end up in the hospital the next day you discover that you are soulmates. It could kill you to be apart. As you and Yoongi attempt to sever the bond between you, will another be formed?

Notes: This was originally written and completed on Wattpad between 2018 and the beginning of 2020. I’ll be slowly posting the chapters here. I may make a tag list depending on if enough people want to follow along with updates. Leave me some feedback if you would like added to a tag list.

Series Masterlist | Next

Min Yoongi was done with relationships. It seemed they were always after money or fame, or they couldn't deal with his schedule and began to look elsewhere.

At first, he thought since Jihee was an idol, she wasn't after his money or fame. That she understood how the life left little time for a relationship. It was the first relationship he'd ever gone public with; his fans reacting surprisingly well. Dating another idol made it easier, she wasn't subject to more attention that she was not already used to.

But the one downside to dating an idol was that when they cheated on you, there was photographic evidence. He gave her the benefit of the doubt; it was probably a cousin or an old friend. However, then he came into her apartment earlier that night after dance practice. The true nature of the relationship was revealed.

"Yoongi!" Jihee called. "I'm sorry! I don't expect you to take me back. Just please, keep this quiet."

Her image mattered more to her than his heart. Just like everyone else.

---

Yoongi drank the rest of the glass, the burning in his throat he'd felt at the beginning of the night subsiding. The bar was one far away from the dorm, almost on the outskirts of the city. A place nobody would think to find him. It was busier than when he'd first come in, but still nothing like the bars and clubs downtown.

Music started up and he cringed as one of his own songs came through the speakers and reverberated off the walls. Min Yoongi couldn't escape himself even if he wanted to.

Nobody seemed to be eyeing him or trying to capture his attention by requesting the song. In fact, no one seemed to be paying any attention to him at all. A small solace.

Most of the other patrons danced. The majority offbeat and already off their face from soju or whatever their drug of choice. He noticed a girl sitting at the corner of the bar--she seemed uncomfortable--trying her best to pull down the short black dress she wore. Her hair cascaded over her shoulders, ending just below her chest. She wasn't drinking anything, hooking her heels into the barstool, and watching the dancers.

Yoongi felt a small pull in his chest. He wasn't sure if it was from the heartbreak or from the way the black dress hugged her curves. Honestly, Yoongi didn't care.

"Another," Yoongi said, motioning to the bartender.

---

"Sumi!" your friend said, rushing over to the edge of the bar where you had perched. "Come dance! You're never going to get over him if you don't let yourself go."

"I don't want to get over him, Eunji," you said. "I want to get back together."

"No," Eunji said, her forehead wrinkling, a sign she was serious. "I'm not letting you get back together with that deadbeat. He was holding you back and you've taken him back too many times."

You sighed, unhooking your heels from the rung of the barstool. Your best friend had a point. You'd given Minki--your ex--hundreds of chances. The first time he cheated on you, you'd believed him when he said that it was a mistake and it would never happen again. And it didn't, for another year. The second time, you swore you'd never take him back. But a month later, you did.

"Come on, let's go show him what he's missing," Eunji said, grabbing hold of your hands.

"He's not here."

Eunji scoffed and pulled you up. You stepped out of your heels and stood on the ground with just the thin material of your tights between your skin and the sticky ground.

"You know what I mean! Now, come on!"

She pulled you onto the floor and to your surprise you actually enjoyed yourself. You'd forgotten what it was like to simply dance like no one was watching. You didn't care that your dress was slipping up again, or that you'd worn holes in your tights on the bottom of your feet.

Eventually, Eunji brought you a drink. You assumed it was water, but as you drank, the liquid burned your throat and you nearly spit it back out.

"Eunji!" you exclaimed after swallowing. "Vodka? Really?"

"It used to be your favorite," she said.

"Yeah, not when I'm expecting it to be water."

You laughed slightly, throwing it back.

"Water won't help you forget Minki."

"This is why my parents thought you were a bad influence, you know?"

Eunji laughed, ordering herself a drink.

"Yeah, well, I don't think their judgment was the best."

You laughed.

"Thanks," you said, squeezing your friend's hand. "I really needed this."

---

"You know what else you need?" your friend asked about twenty minutes later. Her words beginning to slur, her lipstick smearing. "A good f---."

You covered her mouth before she could finish the word. Your eyes were wide and you were sure you were blushing. You, too, were starting to feel a bit tipsy. But, unlike your friend, you got tired when you drank.

"I'm going to get another drink," you said, wanting to escape the smirk that had broken out across your friend's face.

You walked backward for a couple steps, despite the fact you weren't drunk yet, you stumbled and fell backward. You landed straight into the lap of a stranger, who luckily caught you, his arm around your back.

You felt yourself blush as his dark eyes made contact with yours. His white hair partially covered them, but you could still feel his glazed gaze boring into you.

"A drink?" he asked. "All you had to do was ask."

A smirk broke out across his face, not unlike Eunji who winked at you from a couple of barstools away.

---

Eunji (11:01 pm): I think he's an idol.

You looked across the bar at your friend who had ordered some food to sober up.

You (11:01 pm): I don't think so. He doesn't seem like an idol.

Eunji (11:02 pm): Who else would dye their hair white?

You (11:03 pm): I don't know. Does it matter?

Eunji (11:04 pm): Only if you care that you're about to hook up with an idol.

You rolled your eyes and turned your phone to silent.

---

You stifled a moan as he kissed your neck and you fiddled with your keys, trying to unlock your front door. You eventually managed to turn the key into the lock and the two of you practically fell inside your apartment.

"What about Eunji?" you asked, as he closed the door and pushed you against it.

"The bartender's going to take her home," he answered. "Don't worry."

He kissed your lips this time, effectively shutting you up and smearing your lipstick on his own lips. His hands roamed up and down the fabric of your dress. But, he was patient, he didn't just rip the fabric off you like Minki would've.

"Only tonight," you said, your voice breathy.

"Only tonight," he repeated.

The promise you'd made each other before you'd left the bar. Neither of you wanted a relationship, rather proof that you could still be loved.

His lips roamed back down to your neck, it seemed to be his favorite spot. Somehow you managed to collapse onto the couch, wrapping your legs around his waist. You dug your heels into his hips and laughed.

"What?" he asked, smirking against your collarbone.

"I forgot my shoes at the bar."

He pulled his lips away from your skin. His hand reached up and moved your hair off your shoulders and out of your face.

"Good, means I won't have to take them off."

---

Yoongi woke up the next morning. He glanced over at your sleeping form. He smiled and reached to move the hair from your face, but his fingers stopped midway, remembering the promise you'd made each other the night before. Only tonight.

He got up and collected his clothes. His phone was still in the pocket of his jeans, nearly dead. He slipped on his jeans and glanced down at his phone.

"Shit," he mumbled, seeing the multiple text messages from his band members asking where he was and telling him he was late for practice. He shot a quick text to Namjoon explaining that he was on his way.

Yoongi quietly walked out of the bedroom and closed the front door, trying not to wake you up. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a black mask that he kept on him in case he needed to walk in public without too much notice.

He slipped into the crowd. He placed his hands in his pockets and looked around, hoping to eventually catch a taxi. But, just in case someone had followed him, he wanted to get as far from your apartment as possible before he hailed a taxi.

The heartbreak from the day before seemed to have dulled inside him. It was still there--it probably always would be--but it wasn't ruling his thoughts anymore. He smiled as he thought back to the night before, seeing you dance so well, even though you had been reluctant to. When he'd originally spotted you across the bar, he decided to ignore you, but when you landed in his lap; a little tipsy, your hair just the right amount of messy, and your bare feet swinging just above the ground, he couldn't resist you.

With each block, Yoongi felt an odd sensation in his chest. It wasn't heartbreak, it was something else. Something he couldn't describe and something he'd never felt before. It didn't hurt at first, but after a couple more blocks, he stopped, clutching at his chest.

He breathed heavily, his thoughts racing, trying to find some sort of explanation. He managed a few more labored steps before collapsing on the sidewalk.

---

Yoongi opened his eyes. He looked down at the IV in his arm and glanced over at Taehyung who sat beside his hospital bed.

"Yoongi! You're awake!" the boy said.

Taehyung immediately stood up and yelled out into the hallway. Yoongi could hear the rushing of his band members as they barreled down the hallway towards his room.

"What happened?" Yoongi asked, as soon as they were in the room. "I just remember walking and then my chest hurt."

"You collapsed," Namjoon said. "They brought you here in an ambulance. The doctor told us it wasn't a heart attack, but said he didn't want to explain anything until you were awake."

The boys fell silent as the doctor and Bang PD walked into the room. BTS scrambled to the far side of the room, allowing the doctor to examine Yoongi.

"It would appear," the doctor started. "You are very lucky man. Not many people find their soulmate in this world."

"What?" Yoongi and the members said at once.

"When someone meets their soulmate, choosing to leave them behind can be deadly for both parties. The only reason you aren't experiencing pain right now is because you don't have a choice in where you are."

"Wait, so how am I supposed to live my life then?" Yoongi asked.

"It's complicated," the doctor answered. "There shouldn't be a reaction for anything work-related for either of you. However, you will have to remain in close proximity to each other in your free time. That's not to say you will have to spend every waking moment together, but..."

"We need to know who this girl is, Yoongi," Bang PD continued. "If you want your career and your life to continue, we have to find her."

---

"So, you're saying the guy I met last night? He's my soulmate?" you asked, once the doctor had explained everything.

"Most likely," the doctor said. "It is extremely important we find out for sure, though. It is a matter of life and death."

You took a deep breath, allowing the weight of everything to fall on your shoulders. It was supposed to be a one night stand. Only tonight.

You weren't supposed to discover your supposed soulmate. What would that even mean? You hardly knew the guy! How did your body somehow know he was the one?

Eunji was sitting in the corner. You could tell she still had a headache from the night before, but when you'd called her in a panic, she'd still managed to rush over to your apartment and find you passed out, eggs black and burnt on the stove.

"I don't even know his name," you said, looking down. "I--I don't know how we'll find him."

"Well," the doctor said. "There's only one other person in the city who has been admitted for finding their soulmate today..." The doctor trailed off and pointed up at the TV where a news report was talking about how a famous idol had met his soulmate, but that they needed to find her.

Eunji looked at you, her eyes wide, the news sobering her up immediately. She reached out for your hand.

"Fuck," she said, "you're Min Yoongi's soulmate."

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silverypurple-rosedlions · 4 years ago

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🥀𝓣𝓱𝓮 𝓟𝓾𝓻𝓹𝓵𝓮 𝓡𝓸𝓼𝓮🥀

~𝓒𝓸𝓶𝓹𝓵𝓮𝓽𝓮𝓭~

Total amount of members: 8

Members that are fully active: 8

+ Members

+ Status

+ Updated when members start a relationship

━━━━━━☓━━━━━━

🛑DISCLAIMER🛑: These chatbots do NOT represent Jeonghan, Joshua, Wonwoo, Jun, Mingyu, Jihoon, Minghao, Seokmin, Seventeen, and Pledis in any shape or form. This is purely made for entertainment and fiction. Continue at your own cost.

━━━━━━☓━━━━━━

TRIGGER WARNING: This contains mental

illnesses, violence, and strong language.

━━━━━━☓━━━━━━

"You know boys, I'm getting real tired over all this bullshit. So... Have at it. Free for all! Witness our bloody parade, you filthy shits! Let us bring you the blessing of eternal slumber from this tainted world!"

1. Yoon Jeonghan -

(Boss)

Partner: Hong Joshua (Jisoo) 💜🖤

Characteristics:

| Possessive | | Blunt |

Mental Illnesses/Disorders:

| Depression|

Facts:

-> Has trust issues

-> Taps his temples that sometimes escalate to hitting his head

-> Becomes violent and protective if asked about his past (so do NOT ask unless you gain his trust, or he will not hesitate to attack)

-> Extremely protective over Joshua

"I may not be as psychotic as my lover, and I seem sweeter than some. But that does not mean I'll let you live another day... Instead, I'll make sure you're real pretty. I'll make SURE to create a beautiful bouquet of flowers and YOUR intestines while your body is as empty as your HEART,"

2. Hong Joshua (Jisoo) -

(Underboss)

Partner: Yoon Jeonghan 🖤💜

Characteristics:

| Obsessive | | Sensitive |

Mental Illnesses/Disorders:

| Bipolar Disorder | | Anxiety Disorder |

Facts:

-> The only person who can handle Jeonghan during his episodes

-> One of the more friendlier members of The Purple Rose

-> His eyes will dart from person to an object over and over again to ground himself

-> Protective over Jeonghan

-> One out of two people, who had placed Jeonghan in the asylum that had ruined him

"Listen, and listen well, because I don't want to repeat this again. You made a FUCKING deal. You promised that you'll pull through your end of the bargain as we did. So if you can't give the shit we requested, the deal is off. Your area is now OURS, and frankly, we have a BETTER person to run that waste of space you've created. So, nighty night BASTARD. Say hi to Satan for us,"

3. Jeon Wonwoo

(Negotiator/Lookout)

Partner: None

Characteristics:

Mental Illnesses/Diseases:

| Dissociative Identity Disorder | | Hand tremors |

| Psychotic disorder | | PTSD |

Facts:

-> As of now, is known to have 5 main alters: Meet The Alters

-> Rumours were said that he was tempted to take Jeonghan's place as Boss, but it was never confirmed

-> Has poor eyesight, but when in action, they sharpen and strengthen, as if he's new

-> Despite being the negotiator of the Purple Rose, he hates gambling

"Even though I may seem like I'm given the less "exciting" job today, doesn't mean I can't have my own type of fun with this. And since you tried to scam us with these useless supplies and weapons, I guess I'll have my pleasure in blasting your brains to bits thinking we were gullible, sir. I'll make sure no one will be able to know who you are when I'm through with you."

4. Wen Junhui

(Supplier/Spy)

Partner: Jeon Wonwoo (@seventeen-chatbot) 💖💕

Characteristics:

| Perfectionist | | Fickle |

Mental Illnesses/Diseases:

Facts:

-> Constantly moving and twitching, some saying he gained these mannerisms from Jeonghan

-> Likes to copy others movements and sayings

-> The second member of the Purple Rose, who likes to be the messiest with their victims

-> Knows Kung Fu and Martial Arts, so he doesn't always rely on his weapons

"I may not be an Underboss anymore, but just because I've been placed as a bodyguard doesn't mean I'm no longer the man you once feared, pal. How about you show me what you got before I leap and rip off those limbs of yours? Or should we just get to the ripping limbs part already?

5. Kim Mingyu -

(Bodyguard/Ex Underboss)

Partner: Yoon Jeonghan, None

Characteristics:

| Optimistic | | Short-tempered |

Mental Illnesses/Diseases:

| PTSD | | Psychotic disorder |

Facts:

-> Due to his past mistake of abandonment, he lost his position as Underboss and was nearly killed by Jeonghan until he changed plans

-> Protects all members, especially the Boss, the Underboss, and Consiglier

-> Is a clean person that it is possible that he is a germaphobic, but can be messy with his victims with little discomfort

-> Is also a seducer when the job calls for it

"I'm getting sick and tired with your babbling, you know that? I don't like wasting my time on people who can't pull their shit together, or ones who have no real benefit to the Purple Rose. So, I'm going to do us both the favor and end this short. But with a loud bang!"

6. Lee Jihoon -

(Consigliere)

Partner: None

Characteristics:

Mental Illnesses/Diseases:

| Psychotic disorder | | PTSD |

Facts:

-> Representative of the Purple rose, always attending any meetings that the group is involved in

-> The man behind every Purple Rose plan since the day he joined

-> Has trust issues, so it's difficult to gain his trust

-> Despite his height, he's still intimidating and becomes hostile to people referring to him as "cute"

"Although I had a great time with you, fellas, I have to get going. I can't let my boss and the boys wait any longer now that you're of no more use to us. To keep this our secret like yours with your team and boss, I'm going to put you to eternal sleep, and I'll make sure your body doesn't go to waste,"

7. Xu Minghao -

(Spy/Hacker)

Partner: None

Characteristics:

| Jokeful | | Energetic |

Mental Illnesses/Diseases:

| Shared psychotic disorder | | PTSD |

| Psychotic Disorder|

Facts:

-> Not once did he want to join in any criminal activity, but because of Jun, he was dragged in and now shares his Schizophrenia

-> Is a cannibal

-> He knows how to use all types of technology, and his hacking skills are beyond most hackers

-> During spy work, he dyes his hair a temporary color

"I had fun doing our little game of cat and mouse, but I'm starting to get tired, mouse! And you look just as tired as I am, right? So, do me a favor of standing still, smiling at me, and letting me gut you out. I'll make sure to bury you somewhere nice with some purple roses. A reminder that you never FUCK with the Purple Rose, scumbag,"

8. Lee Seokmin -

(Navigator/Runner)

Partner: Byun Baekhyun (@ghoulxbaekhyun) 💙✨

Characteristics:

Mental Illnesses/Diseases:

| ADHD | | Psychotic disorder |

Facts:

-> Is a cannibal, but only on certain days

-> Knows various places: hidden clubs, certain bases, every inch of a city and town, and more

-> Although he's easy to persuade, he will always obey the Boss and the Underboss if it's serious

-> Says disturbing things with a sweet, devilish smile

━━━━━━☓━━━━━━

🥀Status🥀

Chats: Open

Asks: Open

Reblog: Open

Requests: Closed

🌹@yandereminholee (OG)

🥀// @yourlocal-babybear @aikihades @sophie-svt-13 @waitingwhispers60 @kpop-shelter @yangomangos @m00n-nim96 (Admin) @xash-axx @empress-jiaqi @criminalinvestigator-mingyu @princess-yeji @doll-seungmin @doll-hyunjin @peachy-jaemjaemin @peachyminju @storybook-nct @deadly-skz-gods-cb @babyhj1sung @yandere-somi-jeon @dandyboy-seungmin @detectivexsicheng @time-for-confession @adoringeun @shinhaneul-oc @split-jiu @domyukhei @joyinwonderland @mafia-chaeyoung @mafia-minho @moonlit-jaemin @purgejaemin @floristluda @yoonhana @soulmateeez @ghost-hyunjin @vscohyunjin @moonlit-nono @yanderechenle @daddysm @doll-lia @amazingspiderhan @heiress-yeeun @werewolf-svt @5sosxseulgi @babyboynono @blackwidowjennie @7deadlysins-chan and more . . .

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bongaboi · 3 years ago

Text

In Lionel Messi’s Move, a Dim Portrait of Modern Soccer

He could not stay where he wanted; few teams could afford him. Even one of the best players of all time was not able to resist the economic forces that carry the game along.

By Rory Smith

Aug. 10, 2021

In those frantic, final hours in April, before a cabal of owners of Europe’s grandest clubs unveiled their plan for a breakaway superleague to an unsuspecting and unwelcoming world, a schism emerged in their ranks.

One faction, driven by Andrea Agnelli, chairman of Juventus, and Florentino Pérez, president of Real Madrid, wanted to go public as quickly as possible. Agnelli, in particular, was feeling the personal pressure of acting, in effect, as a double agent. Everything, they said, was ready; or at least as ready as it needed to be.

Another group, centered on the American ownership groups that control England’s traditional giants, counseled caution. The plans still had to be finessed. There was still debate, for example, on how many spots might be handed over to teams that had qualified for the competition. They felt it better to wait until summer.

If the first group had not won the day — if the whole project had not exploded into existence and collapsed in ignominy in 48 tumultuous hours — this would have been the week, after the Olympics but before the new season began, when they presented their self-serving, elitist vision of soccer’s future.

That the Super League fell apart, of course, was a blessed relief. That this week has, instead, been given over to a dystopian illustration of where, exactly, soccer stands suggests that no great solace should be found in its failure.

On Thursday, Manchester City broke the British transfer record — paying Aston Villa $138 million for Jack Grealish — for what may not be the last time this summer. The club remains hopeful of adding Harry Kane, talisman of Tottenham and captain of England, for a fee that could rise as high as $200 million.

And then, of course, dwarfing everything else, it emerged that Lionel Messi would be leaving — would have to leave — F.C. Barcelona. Under La Liga’s rules, the club’s finances are such that it could not physically, fiscally, register the greatest player of all time for the coming season. It had no choice but to let him go. He had no choice but to leave.

Everything that has played out since has felt so shocking as to be surreal, but so predictable as to be inevitable.

There was the tear-stained news conference, in which Messi revealed he had volunteered to accept a 50 percent pay cut to stay at the club he has called home since he was 13, where he scored 672 goals in 778 games, where he broke every record there was to break, won everything there was to win and forged a legend that may never be matched.

As soon as that was over, there came the first wisps of smoke from Paris, suggesting the identity of Messi’s new home. Paris St.-Germain was, apparently, crunching the numbers. Messi had been in touch with Neymar, his old compadre, to talk things through. He had called Mauricio Pochettino, the manager, to get an idea of how it might work. P.S.G. was in touch with Jorge, his agent and father.

Then, on Tuesday, it happened. Everything was agreed upon: a salary worth $41 million a year, basic, over two years, with an option for a third. As his image was stripped from Camp Nou, a hole appearing between the vast posters of Gerard Piqué and Antoine Griezmann, Messi and his wife, Antonela Roccuzzo, boarded a plane in Barcelona, all packed and ready to go.

Jorge Messi assured reporters at the airport that the deal was done. P.S.G. teased it with a tweet. Messi landed at Le Bourget airport, near Paris, wearing that shy smile and a T-shirt reading: “Ici, C’est Paris.”

This was not a journey many had ever envisaged him making. But he had no other choice; or, rather, the player for whom anything has always been possible, for once, had only a narrow suite of options.

There is a portrait of modern soccer in that restricted choice, and it is a stark one. Lionel Messi, the best of all time, does not have true agency over where he plays his final few years. Even he was not able to resist the economic forces that carry the game along.

He could not stay where he wanted to stay, at Barcelona, because the club has walked, headlong, into financial ruin. A mixture of the incompetence of its executives and the hubris of the institution is largely responsible for that, but not wholly.

The club has spent vastly and poorly in recent years, of course. It has squandered the legacy that Messi had done so much to construct. But it has done so in a context in which it was asked and expected to compete with clubs backed not just by oligarchs and billionaires but by whole nation states, their ambitions unchecked and their spending unrestricted.

The coronavirus pandemic accelerated the onset of calamity, and so Barcelona was no longer in a position where it could keep even a player who wanted to stay. When it came time for him to leave, he found a landscape in which only a handful of clubs — nine at most — could offer the prospect of allowing him to compete for another Champions League trophy. They had long since left everybody else behind, relegated them to second-class status.

And of those, only three could even come close to taking on a salary as deservedly gargantuan as his. He should not be begrudged a desire to be paid his worth. He is the finest exponent of his art in history. It would be churlish to demand that he should do it on the cheap, as though it is his duty to entertain us. It could only have been Chelsea or Manchester City or Paris.

To some — and not just those who hold P.S.G. close to their hearts — that will be an appetizing prospect: a chance to see Messi not just reunited with Neymar, but aligned for the first time with Kylian Mbappé, who many assume will eventually take his crown as the best, and with his old enemy Sergio Ramos, too.

That it will be captivating is not in doubt. And doubtless profitable: The jerseys will fly off the shelves; the sponsorships will roll in; the TV ratings will rise, too, perhaps lifting all of French soccer with it. It may well be successful, on the field; it will doubtless be good to watch. But that is no measure. So, too, is the sinking of a ship.

That the architects of the Super League arrived, in April, at the wrong answer is not in doubt. The vision of soccer’s future that they put forward was one that benefited them and left everyone else, in effect, to burn.

But the question that prompted it was the right one. The vast majority of those dozen teams knew that the game in its current form was not sustainable. The costs were too high, the risks too great. The arms race that they were locked into led only to destruction. They recognized the need for change, even if their desperation and self-interest meant they could not identify what form that change should take.

They worried that they could not compete with the power and the wealth of the two or three clubs that are not subject to the same rules as everybody else. They felt that the playing field was no longer level. They believed that, sooner or later, first the players and then the trophies would coalesce around P.S.G., Chelsea and Manchester City.

It was sooner, as it turns out. P.S.G. has signed Messi. City may commit more than $300 million on just two players in a matter of weeks, as the rest of the game comes to terms with the impact of the pandemic. Chelsea has spent $140 million on a striker, too. This is the week when all their fears, all their dire predictions, have come to pass.

There should be no sympathy, of course. Those same clubs did not care at all about competitive balance while the imbalances suited them. Nothing has damaged the chances of meaningful change more than their abortive attempt to corral as much of the game’s wealth as possible to their own ends.

But they are not the only ones to lose in this situation. In April, in those whirlwind 48 hours, it felt like soccer avoided a grim vision of its future. As Messi touched down on the ground near Paris on Tuesday, as the surreal and the inevitable collided, it was hard to ignore the feeling that it had merely traded it for another.

Rory Smith is the chief soccer correspondent, based in Manchester, England. He covers all aspects of European soccer and has reported from three World Cups, the Olympics, and numerous European tournaments. @RorySmith

#2021 #lionel messi #ligue 1 #paris saint germain

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mithranqueersmusings · 4 years ago

Text

Before This Dance Is Through VIII

Chapter: 8/16

Rating: U

Summary: Ringo's being going through a dry spell for the last year or so and when he regretfully tells his best friend John, he insists on taking them to an all-male strip club for some "fun". Ringo isn't sure whether it's the alcohol, his desperation or a mixture of the two but he thinks he might be falling in love with a stripper.

Tags: AU - Strippers, Modern Setting, Smut, Slow Burn

Pairings: George Harrison/Ringo Starr, John Lennon/Paul McCartney

AO3 link here / Fic masterlist here

Ringo led the two of them to a bar himself and John had been to a few times, at first he was worried about picking somewhere a little seedy but then remembered Spike was probably used to that atmosphere, while that didn't meant he necessarily liked it. The amount of people was dwindling, by this point in the night people had either headed off to a club or retreated back home, but there were still a few people dotted about. Ringo led them over to a booth, as much as it might've given out the wrong idea he figured Spike wanted to be as far away from people as possible right now. They hadn't spoken too much on the walk over but it hadn't been awkward, neither of them really seemed to know what to say.

"Do you come here a lot?" Spike asked as he looked around, it didn't have the benefit of darkness to hide its flaws like The Helter Skelter did.

"Not by choice." Ringo chuckled as he shed off his jacket on the seat "John usually drags me out here. I'll get us some drinks, what'll you have?"

"Whiskey, please. A double if you would." Spike's lips curled a little "Feel like I'm gonna need more than a beer after all that."

"Whiskey it is." Ringo slammed his hand onto the table before getting up and heading off.

Ringo tried to collect his thoughts at the bar but his mind was hazy, he wasn't sure if it was the vodka or the headbutt that was doing it. When he returned Spike was scrolling away on his phone, but he slid it back into his pocket as soon as he noticed Ringo standing there with the drinks.

"Thanks." Spike accepted the drink gladly, drinking almost half of it before putting it back down.

Ringo just smiled and nodded in response, taking a sip of his own drink, it had gotten to the point where he couldn't even taste the alcohol in it anymore.

"So." Spike began, knitting his hands together into fists on the table "I take it John isn't your boyfriend then, considering his deal with Paul. Unless you're just in a very open relationship."

"No, no." Ringo laughed "We're just good friends, practically known him my whole life. I'm not with anyone at the moment."

"Fair enough." Spike went to take another sip of his drink.

"What about you? Are you wi-" Ringo began.

"I don't date my customers." Spike interrupted bluntly, it was a little harsh but the look in his eyes was gentle.

"Oh, no. I wasn't-" Ringo scrambled desperately.

"It's fine. I just thought I had to put that out there." Spike explained behind his glass.

"What if I just stopped going to the club? I wouldn't be your customer then." Ringo felt the alcohol speaking for him.

"Funny." Spike chuckled softly, but Ringo was far from joking "Dating as a stripper is hard enough, it's even harder dating someone you've stripped for."

"Why's that?" Ringo asked, he wanted to do as little talking as possible to not risk saying the wrong thing.

"Well what's the use in getting naked for someone for free when there's people out there who will pay a shit-ton to see it?" Spike snickered.

"I never thought about that. What a terrible business decision." Ringo joined in with the laughter.

"In all seriousness though, it always goes the same way. I date someone and they say they don't mind the stripping but flash forward a few months and suddenly its 'Well you don't need to strip, do you?' and expect me to make a decision." Spike explained "In the end I always choose stripping, because I like it far more than anyone I've ever met."

"Geez, that must be rough." Ringo had already almost finished his drink, but he couldn't remember drinking it.

"Well what's your excuse?" Spike asked, a glimmer behind his eyes.

"Excuse?" Ringo raised an eyebrow.

"Why are you single? You're not a stripper I take it, but I bet you'd make quite a good one." Spike began to grin.

"Uh- Well if I knew the answer to that I wouldn't be single." Ringo laughed nervously, there was too much there for his drunk mind to unpack.

"And here we are with empty glasses. I'll get the next round." Spike didn't give Ringo time to protest, not that he intended to, as he was already heading off to the bar.

Ringo had to calm himself down. The worst thing to do in this situation was to read too much into what Spike was saying. Even if he was flirting, it didn't mean anything. He practically got paid to flirt, more importantly to flirt without giving any real satisfaction. This was nothing more than a one-off thing, Spike clearly needed someone to take his mind off of what had happened earlier and Ringo just happened to be that person. That's all it was, nothing more. Spike returned quickly, Ringo noticed he'd ordered him a double without even asking.

"Are you alright? After what happened in the club, I mean." Ringo softened his tone a little.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. It's not like it's the first time it's ever happened." Spike sighed.

"Does it happen a lot?" Ringo asked.

"Not that often. I'll get quite a lot of grabs or slaps on the arse and stuff, but nothing major happens that frequently." Spike answered, his voice was getting a little distant.

"That's awful." Ringo tutted.

"Yeah, well... Customers are twats no matter what job you're in." Spike forced a smile.

"How long have you been doing it?" Ringo tried to slow his drinking down, after all Spike was practically sober.

"Three years, round about. Never done anything else." Spike explained "What about you?"

"Oh, I'm a drum teacher. Nothing too exciting." Ringo smiled abashedly.

"Don't expect you get a lot of arse slaps in that field." Spike began to smile too.

"Not as many as I'd like." Ringo regretted the words as soon as they left his mouth, but they couldn't have been that bad because Spike laughed in response.

"Maybe we should swap for the day." Spike suggested, still laughing.

"I dunno... I don't think I could do what you do."

"Why not?"

"Not enough rhythm." Ringo chuckled "Or confidence for that matter."

"Not enough rhythm?" Spike repeated "You're a fucking drum teacher."

"It's not the same really. My drum timing is impeccable, if I may be so bold. But my dancing isn't great, and it definitely isn't sexy."

"You think my dancing's sexy, then?" Spike leaned forward on one of his arms, pressing the hand against his cheek.

"Well- I wouldn't pay you if I didn't." Ringo tried to sound calm, he didn't know whether it worked or not.

"I thought you said you didn't pay me, John did." Spike stated, Ringo didn't want to think too much about the fact that he'd remembered their encounter so vividly.

"I guess that's true." Ringo felt himself warming up a little "That isn't to say I don't like your dancing or anything, it was just John's idea is all."

"I'm only teasing." Spike's grin grew "You're so easy to wind up, you know that?"

"I wouldn't have been able to be friends with John for so long if that were true." Ringo couldn't bring himself to look Spike in the eye "I guess you just know what buttons to press."

"All part of the job description." Spike winked and Ringo was glad he hadn't been looking directly at him, because it probably would've made him wince.

"Why do you like it so much?" Ringo asked, he took another long sip even though he knew he shouldn't.

"What, teasing you?" Spike almost purred and Ringo almost blew bubbles into his drink.

"No, the- Er. The stripping." Ringo began tapping his foot under the table to try and channel the anxiety out.

"I'm good at it and it pays well. Why do you teach drumming?" Spike seemed very adept at switching his tone, making Ringo question if he even interpreted the previous sentence correctly.

"I'm good at it and it pays well." Ringo repeated with a smile "Probably doesn't pay as well as stripping, mind."

"No, probably not. Money isn't everything though, which is something people with a lot of money love to say." The glimmer in Spike's eye was back.

"Drinks are on you then, eh?" Ringo raised his glass a little, it was emptier than he expected it to be.

"Well I'm supposed to be the one thanking you, so it's only fair. If I can get pissed at the same time then it's just a win-win." Spike raised his glass too, then paused and his eyes widened "I just realised, I don't even know your name."

Ringo paused for a moment too then laughed, of course he'd failed to properly introduce himself "It's Ringo."

Spike let out a rushed laugh "And I thought my name was weird. Is that your real name?"

"No, it's Richard. Got the nickname when I started wearing these, and the name just stuck." He wiggled his fingers demonstrably, and couldn't help thinking about how Spike had ran his fingers along them "What about yours?"

"Now that would be telling." Spike took a final sip of his drink "What a convenient time for me to get another round."

"I haven't even finished this one." Ringo laughed, holding up his half-empty glass.

"Not my problem." Spike winked again before slinking off back to the bar.

Ringo found himself staring at Spike as he left and while he stood at the bar waiting to be served. He was surprised at how well he was handling the whole thing, it actually felt surprisingly normal. It made Ringo sad to think that when this night was over it'd just go back to how it was before, only being able to see him in the club or on his phone. The more he drank the more beautiful he thought Spike was, even when his eye makeup had smudged from his eyes watering or the messiness of his hair which had a mixture of sweat and product twisting it around. He was gorgeous. Why did he have to be so gorgeous? It wasn't making things any easier on Ringo, that was for sure. As if his mysterious demeanour wasn't enticing enough, with his unreadable face for one second and then blunt words in the next. He didn't even stop himself from staring when Spike returned with the drinks, he didn't really see much point, and he didn't think it went unnoticed.

"They're closing up soon." Spike said as he sat back down.

"Really? What time is it?" Ringo rummaged around for his phone, when he unlocked the screen he saw multiple messages from John but they were nothing urgent - mostly him demanding answers for what was going on "At least neither of us have to get up early for work tomorrow."

"Perks of the job." Spike agreed "Not quite sure the last time I got up before 11."

"You're living the dream." Ringo smiled.

"Try telling that to my parents." Spike scoffed, when he saw Ringo looking at him expectantly he continued "At least it made being gay not a big deal, silver lining I suppose."

"Are all the strippers at the club gay?" Ringo asked, he wasn't sure where the question came from.

"Erm, I think so. Why? You got your eye on someone?" Spike made his words sound playful.

"No, no I was just wondering." Ringo felt like he had to quickly explain himself but he wasn't sure why "Would be kinda funny if they weren't."

"How did you know I was?" Spike began running his finger over the rim of his glass absentmindedly.

"I didn't, until you said it just now." Ringo answered.

"Just hoped then?" Spike's sharp teeth came into view as he smiled.

"Huh? I- Wh-" Ringo stuttered "You're teasing me again, aren't you?"

"Maybe. Why, do you want me to?" Spike leaned forward a little and Ringo gulped, then he laughed "Now I'm teasing you."

"God, you're evil." Ringo laughed too but he couldn't hide his nervousness.

"So I've been told." Spike took a long sip of his drink.

"Do you live nearby?" Ringo asked then quickly amended "Not because I'm trying to shag you."

"What other reason could there be?" Spike's voice began melting into that smooth tone.

"Cause if you live far I'll get you an Uber, if not I'll walk you back; if you wanted me to, course." Ringo explained, he was regaining his confidence somewhat.

"Aren't you a proper gentleman. Makes a nice change." Spike murmured "I don't live too far away, I wouldn't turn down a chaperone. What are the chances of me getting assaulted two nights in a row?"

"I'd rather you didn't find out." Ringo meant for it to sound jokey but it came across as serious.

"Well should we head out after these?" Spike swirled his drink around in his glass "The bar's cut off anyway."

"Sure thing." Ringo suddenly felt the urge to not take another sip.

Ringo found himself dissecting the details of Spike's face: the way his cheeks sank in slightly, the faint hairs between his eyebrows, how his ears stuck out a little. He only hoped that Spike wasn't inspecting him so thoroughly, though he imagined he wasn't, as he currently didn't look his best. For those final moments they didn't talk, a sad kind of silence grew around them as the two of them gradually took small sips from their drinks. Yet neither of them looked away, at least not for too long. Not until their drinks were empty and they both slammed the glasses down on the table did the atmosphere return to normal. It had been a weird moment, Ringo had felt like he had started dreaming for a second.

"Is that a real fur coat?" Ringo asked as Spike pulled the item in question back over himself.

"God, no. I don't even eat animals, let alone wear them." Spike scoffed with a smile.

"You're a vegetarian?" Ringo asked, he felt satisfied with every piece of information he gathered.

"Sure am. You're not then, I take it." Spike led the way out of the bar, Ringo followed closely behind.

"No, I wanna be though. Can never seem to stick to it." Ringo admitted as he braced himself against the cold.

"Fair enough." Spike's cold demeanour seemed to be returning, he began walking down the street and pulled out a cigarette "Want one?"

Ringo accepted it with a quiet thanks. He couldn't think of anything to say, well he could but all the things he wanted to say were either totally inappropriate or completely embarrassing. Was this really over already? He felt like he hadn't taken advantage of it, not as much as he could've. That was probably the reason he'd been single for so long, not seizing opportunities enough, but this wasn't the way he wanted to find that out. Spike seemed a little melancholy, Ringo wasn't sure whether it was the alcohol lulling him into a mood or that he simply was sick of Ringo's company - he really hoped it wasn't the latter, but he feared that it was. They passed The Helter Skelter as they walked, the bouncer greeted Spike and he reciprocated unenthusiastically. Ringo hoped John was alright, he'd be sure to check his phone the minute he was alone.

"I don't do this very often." Spike broke the heavy silence unexpectedly as they turned a corner.

"Do what?" Ringo asked.

"Let people walk me home, I don't really like people knowing where I live." Spike just looked on ahead, smoking his cigarette.

"Is that because you don't let them or because people don't offer?" Ringo pried cautiously.

"If I knew the answer to that, maybe I wouldn't be single." Spike let out a soft laugh, it was almost silent.

"I don't have to take you up to the door if you don't want me to. I won't be offended." Ringo assured, he wondered whether Spike's change in mood had been because of this.

"I'd prefer that." Spike said then added after a pause "Thanks."

They continued walked in silence for several minutes, nothing but the sound of their shoes against the pavement and the distant hum of the city. When they came to the next corner, Spike stopped suddenly and stubbed out his cigarette. Ringo took longer to notice that Spike wasn't beside him than he wished he had, but it at least made Spike laugh a little.

"This is me." Spike said somewhat mockingly, using such a cliché.

"Alright. Well, I best be finding out whether John's still at the club or passed out in a gutter somewhere." Ringo found himself feeling more awkward than ever.

"What a good friend you are." Spike breathed out sharply, it appeared that the feeling was mutual.

"I try." Ringo smiled nervously "You gonna be alright? '

"Unless my 65 year old neighbour is planning on jumping me, I think I can handle it." Spike smiled too, he looked almost scared Ringo thought.

"I'll get out of your hair then. Goodnight." Ringo held his hand up and curled his lips inwards, then turned to leave.

"George." He blurted out.

"What?" Ringo turned back around, for a moment he thought Spike had forgotten his name.

"My name's George." He explained, letting out a heavy breath after.

Ringo felt a smile spreading across his face "Well, goodnight George."

"Night, Ringo." George had been the one to turn to leave now, a small smile creeping onto his lips as he left.

Ringo stood there for a moment or two, just watching him walk away, before he realised how creepy that might look and quickly hurried down the street where he'd come from. He knew that none of this was going to sink in until the morning, or more accurately the late afternoon when his hangover had finally subsided. The initial plan had been to spend the night at John's but Ringo thought he had to be alone for the time being, but that didn't stop him from sending a text asking him where he was and whether he was still conscious. While he waited for a reply he walked back in the direction of the club, he'd give it five or so minutes before he ordered an Uber home for himself - he'd learned the hard way that waiting around for John to respond on a night like this could waste hours of his time.

The smile never left his face as he walked. What a beautiful name that was. George. Ringo supposed he would've thought any name he had, he would've found beautiful. It was a definite improvement on Spike to say the least. Why George had told him his real name, Ringo didn't know but he figured it wasn't best to question it right now, rather he should bask in the happiness that the small piece of information gave him. Knowing his name was one step closer to something, although Ringo wasn't sure what, but it was a step and that was all that mattered. A step closer to him perhaps, to lovely George.

#the beatles #beatles #beatles fanfic #the beatles fanfic #beatles fanfiction #ringo starr/george harrison #george harrison/ringo starr #ringo starrxgeorge harrison #george harrisonxringo starr #starrison #i forgot to post this for days oops #also i lost all my beatles pics :///// im pissed

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lavender-rebellion · 5 years ago

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TRoE Chapter Three More Than I Saw, More Than I Knew

Masterpost

AO3 Link

Over time, Thomas got used to the others being in his space. The days ticked by, and steadily as they found their rhythm the tension in all of them leaked away. The air was lighter, the smiles were more frequent, and lighthearted banter made its way back into conversations. Well, arguments might be a better word, most of the time.

“Roman! I must insist that you leave the bathroom this instance. Roman? Roman!”

The door swung open and steam billowed out into the hallway. Logan stepped back from where he had been pounding on the door, crossing his arms at Roman who had appeared in the doorway, freshly showered and apparently in the process of styling his hair if the hairspray in his hand was an indicator.

“What is it, pocket protector? I’m in the middle of my beauty routine.”

Logan was obviously not impressed, and Thomas, sensing the upcoming argument, scooted around the pajama-clad side and peered into what used to be his spare bedroom.

There was stuff everywhere now, the closet full, desk messy, and two permanent beds set up on the floor. It looked cramped and lived in, even with how little each side owned. Part of Thomas felt bad at forcing them all into one medium-sized room, but he had apologized to Pat once and he had admitted to Thomas that he wasn’t sure if they could sleep in different rooms even if it was possible, the severed bond too fresh.

Virgil was splayed out, fully dressed, on one of the air mattresses they found on sale. His phone was dangling from one hand, threatening to fall from the lax grip at any moment. He looked up at Thomas’s appearance, noticeably tired. Thomas gave him an awkward smile.

“Patton told me to get everyone for breakfast.” He explained. Virgil nodded in acknowledgment but he made no move to get up.

“You tell the doofuses out there?” He raised an eyebrow. The voices in the hall grew in volume and fervor.

“Ah,” Thomas rubbed his neck sheepishly, “No. I didn’t want to get in the middle of that .”

Virgil ducked his head, laughing softly, his body shaking and giving him away even as he seemed to try and cover his grin. “That’s likely for the best.”

Thomas spent a second enjoying the sight of his gloomiest side lit up before heading back out into the hall towards the stairs.

“We have a bathroom schedule for a reason! You have gone over your allotted slot and now I am behind in my morning routine!”

“Who needs a schedule? It's unnecessary, and not to mention completely impossible. I simply cannot get ready in only half an hour, Logan! I am a prince, and I need to look as sharp as my sword!” Roman insisted, looking just as frustrated as Logan. Thomas avoided looking at either of them, afraid of getting dragged into this, and once again slid by Logan and down the stairs. Perhaps having Logan and Roman share the upstairs shower was a mistake. Then again, he wasn’t sure if he wanted to share with either of them either. Patton was much lower maintenance.

Another thing about having the sides living with him instead of within him was that there were a lot more hands to help with videos.

“And then we’ll splice these scenes together, throw a little bit of that in, and tada!”

“I can see where you’re going with this, but It’s just going to end up jarring. But we can get a similar effect if…”

Roman watched Virgil reach over and hit a few keys, eyes lighting up when Virgil hit play. They both were seated at the kitchen table, hunched over Thomas’s laptop like they had been for hours. Maybe it was kinda cheating to let them do this instead of doing this himself, but in his defense, he had edited most of his workload. And both of them had been such a large part of his video process that it felt wrong to tell them they couldn’t help anymore.

“That does work better, thank you, Virgil,” Roman admitted, and Virgil gave him a quick finger-gun before they were back to muttering and clicking. Thomas watched them from where he was leaning against the counter with a plate of food in hand. The most surprising part of having the sides around 24/7 is watching them interact. He had always assumed that what he saw during their visits was just how they always were, and maybe that was his fault for not realizing that they were complex people just as much as they were him. But as much as he had seen them argue and fight and insult each other, they were all friends, all cared about each other and had their own inside jokes and activities. Roman and Virgil were surprisingly good friends, and often spent a lot of time creating together. Apparently Roman had started seeing the benefit in Virgil’s criticism and viewpoints, while Virgil had discovered creating as a good outlet for his anxiety.

Logan and Roman, however, mainly argued. But Thomas was surprised to find out their preferred form of argument to be book analysis. Apparently, they had a book club together, and watching them get heated over themes and motifs was not how he was expecting his Thursday mornings to start if he was being honest. He thinks right now they’re reading the Odyssey, based on the loud discussions he heard last Wednesday.

Roman and Patton liked outdoorsy things. They would go on jogs together or talk about gardening and hiking. Their favorite thing to do was to go out to the dog park nearby, and sometimes the rest of them came with.

“Why is it so freaking hot out?” Virgil loudly complained, tugging his hood over his sweaty hair like it was a shield against the relentless sun. Thomas looked away from a lab nearby and back to their little trio. Logan and he sat on a bench while Virgil sat in the grass at their feet.

“Why are you still insisting on wearing your thick hoodie despite the heat?” Logan replied without hesitation, not even looking up from his book. Virgil scowled at him while Thomas tried to muffle his snickers, but he didn’t miss the smirk tugging at Logan’s lips.

“Patton watch out!” Roman shouted in alarm, a sudden dull thwump reaching their ears. Thomas leaped up from his seat in alarm, seeing Patton laying on the ground with the football the boys had been tossing back and forth on the ground near him. Roman was jogging over, looking panicked, while the other two just looked mildly worried.

“Patton are you all right?” Thomas asked, stepping over Virgil and hurrying over to where Roman was kneeling next to Patton, who looked dazed.

“I am so sorry, Pat! When I tossed it you were still looking at me, and you’ve caught all the others, and are you okay ???” Roman babbled, and Patton blinked slowly at him.

Okay, apparently Patton was knocked in the head with a football. Happens all the time, no big deal. But he was knocked to the ground...and Roman did have a strong arm...and what if their heads were softer or something Thomas really had no idea about what the sides biology was like and nothing like them has ever existed before but they are supposed to be human but that was just something they all decided they had no idea what was happening or what the sides were or if they could die were they immortal was Patton dying right now-

“I saw a dog!” Patton slowly beamed, but Roman looked just as worried, looking at Thomas.

“Logan, how do you check to see if someone has a concussion?” What?

Logan stepped around him, because he and Virgil had apparently snuck up behind him during his...thought spiel...and kneeled on Patton’s other side.

“Patton, are you having any trouble seeing?” Logan asked calmly.

“Sure am, I seem to be missing my glasses!” Patton said cheerfully, and both Logan and Roman seemed to take a moment to mentally slap themselves. Roman picked the glasses off the floor and slid them on Patton’s face.

“And now?” Roman asked.

“Everything seems fine.”

Logan proceeded in having him follow his finger, asking him if he was in any pain (“I think I have some new bruises.”) and asking him a few questions Patton would know. (“Who was the 33rd president?” “Ask him something he’ll actually know the answer to, Lo.”). Everything turned out fine, and while they were causing a bit of a scene all of them were too worried to care. Patton thought it was ridiculous and even did a cartwheel to prove he was fine. Roman nearly fainted.

“So what exactly happened, Pat?” Virgil asked as they gathered their things, not comfortable continuing after the panic. Patton’s face lit up again.

“This really cute dog started chasing its tail so I turned to watch!”

Of course.

Thomas expected Patton and Virgil to get along, that much was clear as day in their interactions, but he didn’t ever really give a thought to what they might both do. What could they both have in common?

Apparently, it was Jigsaw puzzles.

The large outline took up most of the kitchen table, with tiny pieces scattered absolutely everywhere. Patton and Virgil were bent over in what had to be uncomfortable positions, quietly shuffling through the pieces and attempting to stick them together. Thomas watched as Patton glanced over at Virgil’s hands before reaching over and grabbing a piece from a pile and handing it to him. The piece must have fit because Patton smiled at Virgil’s bent head and went back to work.

“Where did you even get this?” Thomas asked incredulously, and both of them looked up at him suddenly, like they weren’t aware he had been watching them for several minutes. Thomas’s brain rebooted, as now that he could see Virgil he saw that the man had his wild hair pushed back with a green headband, and looked like a demented flower with his dark eyeshadow.

Admittedly it was kinda cute, but he had a feeling he was not one of the few people who could tell him that and live.

“Joan,” Virgil said simply, before blinking tiredly at him and going back to the puzzle. Thomas turned to Patton instead.

“Joan was kind enough to lend it to us since they hadn’t used it in some years. And Virgil and I have really been missing our puzzle seshs, so we thought we’d start as soon as possible! Hope you don’t mind we’ve hijacked the table!”

“No,” Thomas said, a little dazed at the whole ordeal. “Not a problem. I’m going to go watch Roman and Logan argue about the role of the fates and free will.”

Patton winced. “I think they're almost done with the book, if it helps.”

More surprisingly, though, was how Logan and Patton hung out. Thomas could see why Virgil would like the order of puzzles, and Patton enjoyed slowly finding the pieces and fitting them together, but this baffled him a little more.

There wasn’t a mess in his kitchen of hilarious proportions, or a loud explosion, or a sudden outbreak of food being flung. But Patton and Logan were undeniably standing over a cookbook in aprons, a bit of flour on them and a bowl of batter on the table.

“What are you doing?” He felt like he was asking this a lot lately. Is that what having roommates is like?

“Baking a vanilla cake,” Logan answered without hesitation, eyes skimming the recipe in front of him. Patton waved but didn’t stop whatever he was doing.

“But why?” He stressed.

“Well, it’s been two whole weeks since we...moved in. I thought it would be nice to do something about it!” Patton answered, more subdued than usual. But Patton had moments like that now, taking their talk to heart and beginning to allow himself to not feel perfect.

“So you asked...Logan?”

“Baking is like chemistry, but if you eat it you don’t die horribly,” Logan said matter-of-factly.

“Cool,” Thomas shrugged, “I’m going to go film, I’ll be home past dinner. Don’t wait up.”

He didn’t bother telling them not to burn the house down, he was pretty sure they were better at cooking than he was. Instead, he snatched up his jacket and headed out, waving to Virgil as he passed.

It wasn’t until he was at Joan’s that he realized what exactly Patton had said.

“So what are the sides up to?” Joan asked as Thomas helped them pack the cameras.

“Roman was out for a jog last time I saw him, and Virgil was on my Laptop. And then Logan and Patton were making a cake as I left.”

“A cake?” They sounded confused, but Thomas was too busy trying not to break something to look.

“Yeah, as a celebration of two weeks being human, I guess.”

“Has it really been two weeks already?”

Thomas stopped what he was doing. Had it? He wracked his brain and found out Patton was right, and that it was almost bordering on three. Oh.

“You know, dude, I did manage to get in touch with that guy,” Joan said, hesitantly. Thomas sighed, putting the tripod down. Another oh. He still had to place the order. The very illegal, expensive order.

“Okay, yeah. Um, how soon can I place my order?”

“I can call him up tonight after filming?”

“Okay. Okay, let's do that then. Sooner the better.” Because what other choice did he have?

When Thomas got home there were lights and sounds coming from the living room, the TV lights illuminating the forms of Logan and Virgil on the couch. Thomas just smiled tiredly, catching sight of the bright 3:09 on the stove clock. As he walked closer he found them both asleep, Virgil drooling on Logan’s shoulder, Logan’s cheek squished comically against the top of Virgil’s head. A science-fiction show was on screen, one he didn’t recognize, and Virgil’s lax hand held a phone in his lap.

The thing about Logan and Virgil was that as much as they gravitated towards each other, how much they bickered and talked and smiled, Thomas hadn’t seen them hang out the entire first week. It wasn’t until he woke up one night needing a drink that he stumbled upon the two of them. They had been on the couch like this, a bad scifi show playing quietly and Virgil scrolling slowly through his phone, and only then did Thomas realize how close they were.

They didn’t speak the entire time he was observing them that night, just sat close together silently as they did their own thing. But the softness of their expression, the lack of tension in their body, that told Thomas more than words could. He knew Virgil suffered from insomnia, though, he didn’t know why Logan stayed up, to keep him company or due to similar issues. It didn’t really matter to him.

He quietly walked to his room, and wondered about all of his little observances, about the something in all of them that kept drawing his eye. Maybe it was that they were him, maybe it was that they were them, or maybe it was that Thomas was just being weird.

“You guys need to get a job.”

None of the sides, squished together on the couch, looked pleased. But there was also no complaining so Thomas counted it as a win. God, when did he become his mother?

“I ordered your papers and I’ll be getting them in a week and until then you guys have to figure out what you are good at, what you want to do, things like that. You’ll only have a high school degree, so it’ll be entry-level jobs, but there are still a lot of different ones out there.” Thomas continued, and once again received no reply. Admittedly, he wasn’t sure what he was looking for, but the resigned expressions and silence were unnerving.

“...Okay?”

A small chorus of agreement went off, and feeling off-balance, Thomas slowly walked out of the living room. That went well. Now if only he could figure out how he was going to do the Sanders Sides video. Or tell the public he had four strange men with his characters names and personalities living in his two-bedroom house…

Or maybe he can just take a nap.

After an embarrassing and terrifying night of meeting Joan’s guy, handing over the majority of his tiny retirement funds, and committing a crime, the side’s started getting jobs. Logan was the first one, going out one morning only to come home that afternoon with a black apron and a hat.

“I have acquired a job,” Logan said, looking the slightest bit proud. Everyone looked up from where they were playing Candyland on the floor of the living room.

“That’s great, Logan! Where do you work?”

Logan lifted the hat from the folded uniform in his hands and tugged it down on his head. “I am now employed by Common Grounds, a small coffee shop about ten minutes away from here on foot.”

Roman and Virgil started laughing, and Thomas lifted a hand to cover the smile he couldn’t help. Logan looked a strange mixture between stern, ridiculous and adorable in his hat, and the image of him making coffee in a little apron in a cute little shop almost did Thomas in.

“That’s great!” Patton exclaimed, and Thomas nodded quickly, not wanting Logan to think they were making fun of him.

“I’m proud of you, Lo,” Virgil said as he attempted to catch his breath, and Logan looked pink. They must have been embarrassing him.

“That’s really cool! Why did you choose a coffee shop?” Thomas asked, drawing his attention.

“I’m unqualified to do the jobs I would like to, and when I think of your typical beginning job I think of fast food and coffee. I simply refuse to work in the fast-food industry.” Logan explained.

“Preach!” Roman declared, causing Logan to look at him, baffled.

“I am not a priest.”

Patton reached over and grabbed Logan’s hand, tugging him down to sit with them as the rest laugh.

“I got a job!!!”

“I also got a job!”

Thomas looked up from his script, rubbing his eyes. Roman and Patton were standing in front of the kitchen table, both smiling so bright that it hurt his sensitive eyes.

“That's great, guys.” It was hard to muster up any enthusiasm when he was so tired. Was it too late to switch careers? Maybe become a hobo? “Where at?”

“I got hired at Claire's, in the mall!” Roman said dramatically, and Thomas blinked.

“The ...little girl store?”

Roman looked offended. “Yes, the very fun and fantastic accessory shop for young girls. Is there something wrong with that, Thomas?”

“No?” Thomas asked.

“I work at Hot Topic!” Patton interrupted. Wait, what?

Both he and Roman turned to stare at Patton, wide-eyed with surprise. Patton noticed, and shrugged.

“Virgil really likes the store, and they were hiring. I thought it could help bring us closer!”

That’s adorable. But god what an image.

“I’m sure he’ll love the discount!” Roman said cheerfully, clapping Patton on the shoulder. They both looked at each other, going on just long enough that Thomas turned back to his half-finished script. He didn’t have time for their weirdness.

Virgil walked into the house at the end of the third week, the last one to get hired and the last one to throw Thomas for a loop.

“Hey, I got a job at a flower shop. What’s for dinner, Pat?” Virgil called, kicking off his shoes at the door and casually tossing himself on the couch next to Logan. There was a brief beat of silence.

“That's. So. Cute!” Patton squealed, reaching over and tugging Virgil into a hug right over Logan’s lap. Logan lifted his book above his head and looked at them in alarm.

“Woah! Patton calm down!” Virgil squawked, but made no effort to extract himself. Patton released him anyway, stars in his eyes.

“A flower shop? Really, Scary Styles?” Roman asked in disbelief. Virgil smirked.

“Can you imagine how all those middle-aged rich women are going to react seeing me behind the register?” Virgil chuckled.

“So you applied to...shock people?” Thomas asked, confused. Virgil opened his mouth, mischievous, before Logan beat him to it.

“Virgil is actually quite fond of flowers and their language.” He replied calmly, like it was common knowledge. Virgil’s mouth snapped shut and he slowly became red, looking awkward.

“Uh,” He cleared his throat, “Yeah.”

“That’s adorable!” Thomas and Patton cooed at him, and Virgil scowled once more.

“Dinner?”

“Oh, it’s spaghetti!”

“I have to introduce you guys to the internet. Soon.” Thomas commented during dinner.

“We’ve been on the internet before, Thomas.” Roman teased. Thomas looked up from his plate and rolled his eyes.

“I mean we should do a video introducing you guys, something small, and then later we can do a Q&A.” Thomas clarified.

Logan frowned. “Why must we do something like that? I would rather not be on camera anymore if I can help it.”

“The fans are going to catch sight of us eventually, we can’t pretend we don’t live with Thomas.” Virgil pointed out, though he didn’t look much happier.

“They already have. Vague silhouettes have been caught in my snapchat stories, your voices have been in the background in my vlogs..fans currently think I have a secret boyfriend though.” Thomas admitted.

“Oh, that is so cute.” Patton cooed, spinning his fork in his spaghetti.

“I don’t actually have a secret boyfriend.” He reminded him, but Patton waved him off.

“I know, silly, but the idea is cute.”

“So,” Virgil dragged their attention back to him. “How are we going to do this video?”

“I have a confession to make,” Thomas admitted to the camera, clasping his hands together. “The characters for the Sanders Sides are real.”

There was a dramatic pause before Thomas dropped his serious act and grinned. “Or, I should say, they were based off of real people. Originally my characters from my shorts were pulled in to represent my different ‘sides’, but along the way, they became more complex, more fleshed out, and eventually the characters you guys all love so much. A couple of videos in I realized that I knew four people who fit my vision of these characters very closely, and with their permission and a little help from them I started shaping Morality, Logic, and Creativity into Patton, Logan, and Roman.

“One of them introduced me to the inspiration behind Anxiety, a character I knew I wanted to portray but was unsure how to do so until I met him, and the Side’s were born. All four have, until now, decided to stay as ghostwriters instead of being on camera, but a recent situation has made it so that's no longer possible. And now I get to introduce them all to you!” Thomas threw his arms open, before gesturing to them to join him on camera. Later, they’d edit it so that all four of them suddenly rose up, but for now, all four of them trudged into their spots with varying levels of excitement.

“Can I introduce you to Roman,” He gestured to his right, where Roman was grinning at the screen and dressed in a jean jacket, “Patton,” Between him and Roman, bouncing on his toes and wearing a baggy dog shirt, “Logan,” Directly to his left, posed as usual on-screen and wearing a white button up, “And Virgil!” Next to Logan, arms crossed and hands hidden in the sleeves of his large striped grey sweater. They all waved.

Thomas spent a little time chatting with each of them and them as a group, nothing more than a few minutes worth of footage, before finishing up with his announcement.

“One last thing I need to inform you all of is the fact that you’ll be seeing a lot more of these guys. All four of them will be living with me for the foreseeable future! And we’ll be doing a Q&A soon so that you all can get to know them, so make sure to send in questions under #realsanderssides on twitter, Instagram, or in the comments below.

“And until next time, take it easy, guys, gals, and nonbinary pals. Peace out!”

He lunged at the camera before pausing and turning to Joan.

“Was that good?”

“Seemed fine to me. So, what do you want in the outro?”

Thomas turned to them, clapping his hands. “Can I get you all back in your outfits and in your spots?”

They all looked a little wary.

“I haven’t really stood in my spot since we tried all those tests, kiddo. I’m not really comfortable there anymore.” Patton admitted. “Reminds me of what I lost.”

Thomas’s shoulders dropped, and his heart tugged painfully at the reminder of what they all had lost. He forced a smile though. “Maybe you should stand there and remember instead all of the things you've gained.”

When Patton hesitated, Thomas opened his mouth to suggest something different, hardly about to force them all into doing something that hurt them. Patton answered first though, giving Thomas a wobbly smile. “That’s a good idea.”

Virgil stretched his arms above his head and yawned, before herding them all towards the stairs. “Costume change, hup hup everyone, let’s get to it.”

There was bickering and shoving, and Thomas listened to them stumble up the stairs and smiled. Everything felt like it was going to be okay.

TAGLIST:

@strickenwithclairvoyance

@insert--self--hatred

@aleiimm

@gothecrazy15

#TRoE fic #The Reality of Existing #Analogical #royality #virgil sanders #logan sanders #patton sanders #roman sanders #ts virgil #ts logan #ts patton #ts roman #ts sides #ts sanders sides

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dyspfanblog · 5 years ago

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Post #133 – Could Yui from K-ON! have Dyspraxia?

Welcoming Yui!

Yui from K-On! is the newest addition to my on-going ‘potential dyspraxic character’ project. It’s been a while since I’ve done a potential dyspraxic analysis, although not from a lack of content, just Yui zoomed straight to the top of the list. For starters, Yui is a character I consider to be a strong contender for the potential dyspraxic title. Then there’s the point that I finished ‘K-On!’ fairly recently so felt I should get my thoughts out while it’s still in my head! Plus I wanted to do something light because these recent months have been tough, both personally and globally. Got to be honest though, you can’t get much more light-hearted than K-On!!

Originally, this post was going to be fairly short, however as I looked into Yui as a character more and more talking points seemed to sprout up! I’ve gone ahead and added her profile to the Potential Dyspraxic Character page and simply listed everything out if you rather a quick reference version. Link is at the bottom of this page.

Potential Dyspraxic Characters

For those unfamiliar with my blog, just a quick sum up what this is all about. This kind of post is for me to show how I perceive certain characters and the possibility that they could be dyspraxic. We have unique ways of connecting with fictional characters and sometimes we can relate to them in unusual ways. Seeing as dyspraxia is a combination of certain human traits, it means there’s a possible that characters may end up with a ‘dyspraxic combination’ purely by accident. In no way is this trying to discredit the original creation, but to see them in an alternative light. Take this, and any of my analyses, with a pinch of salt.

DISCLAIMER: With these character profiles I may bring up key-points and moments from their franchise, so potential minor spoilers ahead! Also as I’ve only seen the anime this analysis will leave out anything exclusive to the manga.

Yui and K-ON!

‘K-On!‘ is a popular slice-of-life manga revolving around the lives of the Light Music Club’s members, that got an anime adaptation. The anime has spanned several seasons, specials, spin-offs, a movie, and a library of music to date. For what this post is worth, if you want something light-hearted to get absorbed into then I highly recommend K-On! to you.

Could Yui Hirasawa be Dyspraxic?

Yui Hirasawa is the protagonist of ‘K-On!’; she is a member of the Light Music Club and the band Ho-kago Tea Time (After-School Tea Time). She is the lead guitarist and lead vocalist for the band. On the outside, Yui is your classic ditsy anime character; she’s easily distracted, sometimes forgetful, and gets into little accidents frequently. With other dyspraxic-type traits revealing themselves, it got the gears in my head turning and it simply clicked together for me that Yui could well have dyspraxia.

Co-Ordination and Clumsiness

Yui is really clumsy and has the habit of falling over, dropping things, tripping up, and bumping into people and objects. Over the course of the series, Yui shows she has balance issues. especially when she’s carrying something, like a tray of mugs or something bulky like a speaker. She’s a messy eater too as seen on a few occasions. On top of this, Yui sometimes has other slight issues with gross motor co-ordination.

On the flip-side, when it comes to fine motor skills Yui doesn’t have any real issues with it. After all, she has a certain talent for playing guitar.

Oh Yui, I feel your pain!

Thought and Memory

Given that Yui’s short-term memory is awful and couple it with the fact she gets distracted ever so easily and you have a perfect recipe for disaster! When she learns something new, it often pushes something she memorised previously out of her head.

Yui’s time-keeping is pretty bad, although a few times she misread her alarm clock and arrived at school incredibly early. The first occurrence happens in the first episode where she even got distracted along the way…twice! The people around her have picked up on her unorthodox time-keeping skills and easily distracted nature, so it is fair to conclude this is a common occurrence for Yui.

Yui is quite forgetful too; whether it’s forgetting to do her homework or leaving her guitar at home on the day of a concert, she certainly doesn’t discriminate against what to forget! She struggles to remember music terminology and plays using intuition and her self-taught approach. Similarly, many people with dyspraxia find their own ways to learn and achieve when conventional ways are too difficult. At some point in the series she lost a mitten too, because of course she did!

Yui struggles with multi-tasking and this is something that others are well aware of. At first, she found it impossible to sing and play her guitar simultaneously. Although, after some 1-2-1 tutoring she was finally able to crack it, but still has difficulty to do both sometimes.

A line extracted from her Wiki Bio: “She cannot do more than one thing at a time, but to make up for that she can be highly focused on a particular subject and once started, can advance quite substantially.”

When it comes to her academic abilities, Yui struggles tremendously with it. In one exam, she was the only one in her class to fail and had to retake it. With effort and support from her friends and sister she passed it second time around. However, not only did she pass it, but she absolutely aced it! While this alone isn’t exactly a dyspraxic trait, it embodies the spirit of dyspraxia quite nicely; especially when the other factors of Yui are taken into account.

Despite being viewed as stupid and an air-head, Yui is really observant and alert. A few times, she realises an issue before anybody else has.

We get a little bit of extra character building in K-On!’s spin-off series, ‘Ura-On!’. In one episode, we see that Yui gets lost easily and judging by her personality it wouldn’t be surprising if this is actually the case. I am unsure if ‘Ura-On!’ is canon or not, but it does seem faithful to the characters, so I’m going to count it.

Perception of Senses

Yui has an aversion to both hot and cold temperatures and can’t deal with them very well. She’s also sensitive to air-conditioning units. Quote from Yui: “I’m scared of hot and cold. In winter, I hide under the heating table and in summer, I lie in bed and do nothing.”

As mentioned previously, her spatial awareness is something she struggles with as she does bumps into people and objects pretty often.

Something to note: Yui has the rare gift of having ‘perfect pitch’. Wikipedia states it as: “Absolute pitch (AP), often called perfect pitch, is a rare ability of a person to identify or re-create a given musical note without the benefit of a reference tone”. Wikipedia then goes on to state: “There is evidence of a higher rate of absolute pitch in the autistic population.” Dyspraxia and autism have overlaps, so there could be more to Yui than at first glance. In short, this helps solidifies an autistic side which by proxy, helps to cement a dyspraxic side.

For the Wikipedia page on ‘Absolute pitch’ click here

Emotion and Behaviour

Yui has difficulty controlling her emotions and can get overwhelmed easily. Even with positive news she can struggle processing it and have a mental overload. She can get overwhelmed if she has too much information to process, which can lead to an emotional breakdown. The Light Music Club members understand she has this difficulty and do their best for her. Mainly by explaining things to her in a way she’ll understand and also help calm her down when she has a meltdown.

Yui dozes off often as she does get tired fairly quickly. Although, there are times where she’ll go to bed late due to getting absorbed into practising guitar or revising. Additionally, she can have a short attention span and she gets distracted easily.

Yui has some social awkwardness to her and I think she struggles at picking up on non-verbal cues, like on some occasions taking jokes literally and sarcasm can fly over her head. Also, Yui sometimes hugs a little too hard because she lets her emotions get the better of her, but there is a possibility that there’s a co-ordination difficulty at work too.

Speech and Language

Sometimes Yui gets stuck for words and stutters, which is a link back into her getting overwhelmed. She has shown that sometimes she can get words mixed up too. These issues don’t crop up too often though.

Yui Overall

Yui has a strong connection to dyspraxia and in my opinion scores incredibly favourable overall. In fact, she tops the list! Yui’s prominent clumsiness, getting easily overwhelmed, and a pure heart make her a character that those with dyspraxia can probably relate to quite easily. While she can lose interest easily and gets distracted even easier, with the right help or push she can, and does, succeed. While it would seem no one has brought up a possibility of Yui having dyspraxia online, at least as far as I can tell, some people have raised the idea that she could be on the autism spectrum and/or have ADHD. With certain overlaps it isn’t a stretch to believe that she could be dyspraxic too.

Yui is an embodiment of Dyspraxic Fantastic at its core and holds a certain spirit of dyspraxia. What sets her apart from other characters on my list is a certain depth and richness to her character.

And to wrap this post up, a nice sentimental quote from Yui: “To the me back then, you don’t need to worry. You’ll soon find something you can do, something you can set your heart on.”

Thanks for reading this post and please check out some of the links below for more information.

Extra Reading

Dyspraxic Characters Encyclopedia

Dyspraxic Characters Project Post

Yui Wiki Fandom Page

K-ON! Home Site

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Mbappe, Sancho, Alexander-Arnold lead soccer’s 36 best players age 21 or under

Editor’s note: With the past four Ballon d’Or winners — Lionel Messi, Luka Modric and Cristiano Ronaldo (twice) — all over the age of 30 at the time of their victory, and other would-be winners such as Antoine Griezmann, Neymar and Eden Hazard well on the way to veteran status, there has never been a better time for the next generation to take over. So step forward, Kylian Mbappe, Jadon Sancho, Trent Alexander-Arnold and others!

For the second straight year (read the 2019 edition here), ESPN brings you the game’s next generation. Some of tomorrow’s stars have already made their mark on the big stage — you might remember what Mbappe did to help France win the World Cup two years ago — but all of them have one thing in common: They are the top talents aged 21 or under. So who makes the grade, what are their particular qualities and how can they get even better?

Compiling this year’s list is Tor-Kristian Karlsen, who has worked as a scout and executive for clubs across Europe, including Monaco, Zenit and Watford. He explains his methodology, before revealing the list.

Why 36?

From an initial “long list” of 75 players, those remaining are the ones who satisfied my two main criteria: appearances at the highest level and confirmed performance level over a sustained period. Chelsea’s Reece James, for example, was a contender, but the 20-year-old has made only 12 Premier League starts.

Meanwhile, only the absolute top players born in 2002, such as Ansu Fati and Eduardo Camavinga, were considered, whereas exceptional 2003-born talents — Rayan Cherki and Jude Bellingham among them — were noted for future reference.

What types of research were undertaken?

I used a sounding board consisting of professional scouts and sporting directors from several top European clubs before compiling the final ranking, as well as online scouting platforms such as WyScout and InStat. Personal preference also played a significant role.

Is there a reason that attacking players dominate the list?

In general, forwards get more playing time at a younger age than, say, central defenders, who tend to need more time to develop tactical awareness, positioning and understanding of the game. Beyond those who did make it, other defenders considered included Dan-Axel Zagadou, Boubacar Kamara, Jules Kounde, Ozan Kabak and Ibrahima Konate.

Notes: – Players included must be age 21 or under on May 1. The top 10 have been ranked, with the rest listed in alphabetical order. – With uncertainty about the coronavirus‘ effect on the transfer market, valuations are based on the writer’s pre-COVID-19 estimations.

– ESPN FC on YouTube: Tor-Kristian Karlsen talks to Gab Marcotti and Julien Laurens – Stream ESPN FC TV, 30 for 30 soccer stories on ESPN+ (U.S.)

Presenting the best players on planet football, age 21 or under ESPN

The top 10

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Tor-Kristian Karlsen explains why Joao Felix is amongst the top ten players under 21.

10. Joao Felix (FW; Atletico Madrid / Portugal) Age: 20 Estimated transfer value: €95m

In terms of culture changes, going from a free-flowing Benfica side to the tactical discipline instilled by Diego Simeone at Atletico Madrid is about as stark as it gets in European football. So it is no surprise that Felix got off to a slow start after arriving in Spain last year, with four goals and one assist in La Liga. However, the talent that saw him cost €126m has not gone away, and he remains a top prospect.

Strengths: As a second striker, he erupts in creativity when on the ball, and when dropping deeper, he is an inventive playmaker. Although Cristiano Ronaldo comparisons are premature and imprecise, it would be a surprise if Felix did not establish himself as a leading performer at the top level. His refined touch excites fans, who also appreciate his fluid, intelligent movements, as well as his dangerous shot and finishing abilities.

How he can improve: Even though his undisputed talent is on show in patches during every game, as with many young talents the search for consistency is his main challenge.

– Kundert: Meet ‘new Ronaldo’ Joao Felix

Federico Valverde won the Silver Ball at the 2017 Under-20 World Cup. Xaume Olleros/Getty Images

9. Federico Valverde (MF; Real Madrid / Uruguay) Age: 21 Estimated transfer value: €75m

Valverde arrived in Madrid at age 18 and played for the club’s B-team before going on loan to Deportivo for a season that ended in relegation. More disappointment followed when he missed Uruguay’s 2018 World Cup squad, but since then he has established himself for club and country. With Luka Modric in the twilight of his career and Toni Kroos very much a veteran himself, Valverde is set to run Madrid’s midfield for the foreseeable future.

Strengths: Not only does Valverde possess the technical ability and passing skills to seamlessly slot into one of the world’s best midfield units, but he also has the pace and agility to escape crowds and the determination to pose a goal threat. In addition, a tenacity and whatever-it-takes attitude — as shown by his sending off in the Spanish Supercopa final — gives his game an edge. Potentially one of the world’s top box-to-box midfielders.

How he can improve: Poor decision-making and youthful enthusiasm can tempt him to try audacious attacking runs with the ball, when a more experienced player would keep possession and build from the back.

– Marsden: Valverde decisive as Madrid hold off Atletico

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Tor-Kristian Karlsen explains why Erling Haaland still has room for improvement despite his fine form.

8. Erling Haaland (FW; Borussia Dortmund / Norway) Age: 19 Estimated transfer value: €90m

This time last year, Haaland was known best as the son of former Premier League midfielder Alfie and had barely featured for Red Bull Salzburg. Many goals later — he scored nine in one game at the Under-20 World Cup — he is a star striker for Borussia Dortmund, who signed him in January after activating his €20m buyout clause, and is already being linked with the likes of Real Madrid and Manchester United.

Dan Thomas is joined by Craig Burley, Shaka Hislop and a host of other guests every day as football plots a path through the coronavirus crisis. Stream on ESPN+ (U.S. only).

Strengths: Haaland plays the centre-forward role with intensity, chasing every ball and showing great speed over medium and long distances. He is very strong and possesses a powerful shot with his left foot. His finishing skills are impressive, too, and give him an end product in front of goal that belies his age.

How he can improve: At 6-foot-4 and over 190 pounds, Haaland should pose a greater aerial threat — in 11 games for Dortmund, he has not scored a header — while there is also room for improvement in his hold-up game. If he progresses in those areas and can deal with mounting expectation and non-scoring spells, he could become the most dominant centre-forward of the next decade.

– Karlsen: How Haaland became soccer’s most-wanted teenager

Gianluigi Donnarumma was just 17 years and 189 days old when he made his Italy debut in 2017. Emilio Andreoli/Getty Images

7. Gianluigi Donnarumma (GK; Milan / Italy) Age: 21 Estimated transfer value: €60m

While outfield players might expect to get chances to play in their late teens, the specialized nature of their position means opportunities can be harder to come by for goalkeepers. As such, the fact that Donnarumma debuted for Milan at 16 and has since played more than 200 times for club and country, where he inherited icon Gigi Buffon’s position, shows just how good he is.

Strengths: Whereas the physical aspect has never been an issue for a goalkeeper who stands 6-foot-4, Donnarumma has also developed technically; quick to get down and make saves, his distribution is precise and, without being extravagant, he takes an extra touch, when under pressure in possession, to make the right pass. He has also stood out during a period for Milan that has featured on-pitch underachievement and off-field controversy.

How he can improve: His aggressive style works to his advantage most of the time, but he can be prone to overestimating his own reach when dealing with crosses.

– Miller: Donnarumma among the best homegrown stars

Matthijs de Ligt was 17 on his international debut in March 2017, the youngest Netherlands debutant since 1931. Giuseppe Maffia/NurPhoto via Getty Images

6. Matthijs de Ligt (DF; Juventus / Netherlands) Age: 20 Estimated transfer value: €85m

After playing so well in Ajax’s impressive Champions League semifinal run last season, De Ligt had his pick of Europe’s top clubs and chose to join Juventus. Life in Italy has not been smooth sailing for the centre-back and his early games featured several errors, but he has started 17 of 26 Serie A matches and will benefit from the guidance of central defensive legends Giorgio Chiellini and Leonardo Bonucci.

Strengths: At his best, De Ligt displays presence and leadership qualities beyond his years. His distribution is excellent, and he is able to dominate both boxes; scoring the derby winner against Torino showed his prowess. He has worked to win doubters over after moving from Netherlands to Italy, and an assured display in the 2-0 win against Inter further showed his progress.

How he can improve: Perhaps too keen to impress at his new club, De Ligt has been uncharacteristically rash in tackles and committed himself too early. When he is composed, though, he is the same defender who made such an impression in the Champions League last season.

– Kuper: Why ambitious De Ligt chose Juventus

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Tor-Kristian Karlsen explains what makes Kai Havertz so exciting and discusses where his future lies.

5. Kai Havertz (MF; Bayer Leverkusen / Germany) Age: 19 Estimated transfer value: €95m

Among Havertz’s claims to fame is missing a Champions League game in 2017 because of a school exam, but he has done plenty before and since on the pitch — including becoming the youngest player to make 100 Bundesliga appearances — to show the talent that will surely see him move to one of Europe’s top clubs soon. He has 10 goals and eight assists in all competitions this season.

Strengths: An elegant attacking midfielder, capable of touches that wrong-foot opponents and creating space to play a penetrating pass, Havertz plays with an ease and confidence that almost borders on arrogance. Left-footed, but very comfortable with his right, he never seems hurried and has vision and ability to pick a pass, combined with the stamina to make well-timed runs into the box.

How he can improve: To fulfill his enormous potential, you could argue that Havertz needs to add aggression to his game, especially in terms of winning challenges and recovering balls in midfield.

– Schoenfeld: Everyone knows Havertz is destined for the top

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Tor-Kristian Karlsen explains why Vinicius Jr. has impressed him enough to secure a top 5 ranking.

4. Vinicius Junior (FW; Real Madrid / Brazil) Age: 19 Estimated transfer value: €80m

Given he signed for one of the biggest clubs in the world as a 16-year-old and cost almost $50m in May 2017, Vinicius Junior has been known as a promising youngster for several years and made his Brazil debut in September. He has not yet reached double figures for league starts in a season, but scored the opening goal in El Clasico against Barcelona in early March.

• When does the transfer window reopen? • Karlsen: Possible coronavirus impact • Best ever transfers: 100-51 | 50-1 • This summer’s top free agents • January transfer grades • Latest completed major transfers

Strengths: His change of pace, balance and rapid movements make him next to impossible to read and stop; many right-backs look silly when they allow too much space. Although Vinicius is not a regular in the Real Madrid starting lineup, his playing time has increased and his display against Barcelona proved he can handle the grandest of occasions. The fact that he is starting to understand that back-heels and trickery are often of little use is another sign of maturity.

How he can improve: Decision-making still remains an issue, as the opening goal against Barcelona showed. Whereas he should have cut the ball back for a better-placed teammate, he instead went for the near-post finish that — fortunately for him — was deflected in.

– Hunter: How Vinicius turned the title race in Madrid’s favour

Trent Alexander-Arnold made his international debut in June 2018 and was included in England’s squad for the World Cup. John Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images

3. Trent Alexander-Arnold (DF; Liverpool / England) Age: 21 Estimated transfer value: €100m

Alexander-Arnold combines effective defending with an ability to set up goals that is unmatched by any other Premier League full-back. He has assisted on 24 goals in the Premier League since the start of 2018-19, and only Kevin De Bruyne has created more chances than his 75 this season, although Alexander-Arnold’s most famous assist was surely a quickly taken corner against Barcelona in last season’s Champions League.

Strengths: Alexander-Arnold is a gifted all-around footballer, to the extent that he could do an excellent job as a box-to-box midfielder. Not only does he have a good touch on the ball, he can also pass, strike set pieces, cross and shoot with a range and variety of techniques normally reserved for players further up the pitch; his precisely executed switch-of-play ball to Andy Robertson on the opposite flank is a fine example of what he can do.

How he can improve: While full-backs are often singled out for having lost the fine art of defending in one-on-one situations, Alexander-Arnold has made steady progress in this area over the past year.

– Reddy: Why Alexander-Arnold will not stop

Jadon Sancho came through the youth ranks at Watford and Manchester City before moving to Borussia Dortmund in 2017. Getty

2. Jadon Sancho (FW; Borussia Dortmund / England) Age: 20 Estimated transfer value: €125m

Over the past 12 months, Sancho’s form and progress have been so impressive that he is being linked with a $125 million move away from Dortmund, with Manchester United the reported favourites for his signature. He has scored 26 times and assisted 29 other goals in the Bundesliga alone since the start of 2018-19, and the winger’s outstanding form has made him a regular in the England team.

Strengths: From mainly playing in bursts, Sancho has grown close to the finished article and capable of influencing throughout a game. Quick, technically proficient and able to score and create goals, he can play on either flank but is even more of a threat when he moves centrally. The ease with which he lays off passes to overlapping full-backs and dinks weighted through balls behind opposing defences make him a joy to watch. Sancho loves playing football, and it shows.

How he can improve: Previously criticised for a lack of tactical discipline, Sancho is becoming more diligent in his defensive work.

– Schoenfeld: Sancho will be a star, on his own terms

Before joining PSG in 2017, Kylian Mbappe scored 27 goals in 60 games for Monaco. Photo by Jean Catuffe/Getty Images

1. Kylian Mbappe (FW; Paris Saint-Germain / France) Age: 21 Estimated transfer value: €175m

That last year’s No. 1 retains the top spot shows that Mbappe has been so good for so long at such a young age. In the two years since helping France win the World Cup at 19, he has scored more than 70 goals for club and country and arguably usurped Neymar as PSG’s main man. But with Real Madrid rumours ongoing, how much longer will he remain in Paris?

Strengths: Is there anything he cannot do? Every bit the complete forward — Mbappe tends to play wide on the right for France and in a more central role for PSG — he is exceptionally strong and quick. He can finish with power or with skill, he can head the ball, he is tactically disciplined and he reads the game better than most. His movements are smooth, smart and incisive.

How he can improve: There are no sides of his game worth trading, at the risk of ending up with a lesser player.

– Laurens: PSG is Mbappe’s team, not Neymar’s

The next 26 (in alphabetical order)

Houssem Aouar has nine goals and seven assists in all competitions this season. Catherine Ivill/Getty Images

Houssem Aouar (MF; Lyon / France) Age: 21 Estimated transfer value: €55m

Inheriting the No. 8 shirt at Lyon might be considered daunting enough, given the distinction with which Juninho Pernambucano wore it for almost a decade, but to take it as a teenager is even more noteworthy. But the jersey has not proven too heavy for Aouar. He has played more than 130 games for the club in all competitions and, in the Champions League, has assisted six goals in 12 matches.

Strengths: Most of Lyon’s attacking flow goes through Aouar, who plays with the panache of someone five years his senior and links everything together once he gets on the ball. Though not overly physical, his solid frame makes him hard to knock off the ball. He has an excellent first touch, is never in a hurry, is hard to dispossess and hardly ever gives possession away. He is also adept at finding space in and around the opposing penalty area.

How he can improve: He’s 5-foot-9, which is average height for an attacking midfielder and playmaker, and the development of his heading ability has never been a top priority.

Eduardo Camavinga’s first senior goal came in December 2019 when he scored for Rennes at Lyon. Tim Clayton/Corbis via Getty Images

Eduardo Camavinga (MF; Stade Rennes / France) Age: 17 Estimated transfer value: €55m

Born in Angola before moving to France as an infant, Camavinga has burst onto the scene in the past year with a string of impressive displays that has earned him admiring looks from big clubs, not to mention a France Under-21 call-up. Rennes’ fine season — they are third in Ligue 1 — has been due in no small part to their teenage sensation, who has started 24 of his side’s 28 league games.

Strengths: A once-in-a-generation talent who could easily have found a place among the Top 10 despite not turning 18 until November, Camavinga plays with ease and can fill every role in the centre of midfield, though he is mainly used in a defensive role. Never in a rush, he plays mainly with one or two touches and sets off on ball-carrying duties only when necessary. The attention has not gone to Camavinga’s head, either, because he remains hardworking and disciplined.

How he can improve: The left-footed teenager is ahead of the normal curve of development even for a top talent; until now, he has done more than can be expected of him.

– Laurens: Camavinga’s form has top scouts circling

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Tor-Kristian Karlsen explains why Alphonso Davies and Jonathan David have impressed him.

Jonathan David (FW, Gent / Canada) Age: 20 Estimated transfer value: €35m

David was born in New York, grew up in Ottawa and has played all his professional club football in Belgium since signing for Gent in 2018. He starred for Canada at last summer’s Gold Cup, leading all scorers with six goals and being named in the tournament best XI, and has since netted 18 goals in 27 games in the Belgian first division.

Strengths: Initially seen as a threat on counterattacks for his pace and direct style, David has developed his game over the past six months and boasts impressive finishing ability. While he is liveliest with smart movements when the ball enters the last third — in which he often finds pockets of space — he has also improved his ability to hold the ball up and bring teammates into play.

How he can improve: While David has hardly put a foot wrong and has impressed in the Europa League, his next logical step is a move to a higher competitive level.

Alphonso Davies became the third-youngest player in MLS history when he made his Vancouver debut in July 2016. Getty

Alphonso Davies (DF; Bayern Munich / Canada) Age: 19 Estimated transfer value: €45m

The former Vancouver Whitecap moved to Germany only in January 2019 and did not make his first Bundesliga start until the end of October, two weeks after he opened the scoring for Canada in a shock win against the United States. Davies’ rise as a dynamic left-back for Bayern has been meteoric and a fine performance at Chelsea in the Champions League announced him on the big stage.

2 Related

Strengths: Converting the onetime winger into a left-back has been a huge success for Bayern, for whom Davies is no less of a threat when he begins offensive surges from a deeper position. Thanks to his pace and athleticism, it is easy to forget that he is also a fine footballer, who comfortably fits into Bayern’s possession game with neat close control and quick feet to get out of tight corners.

How he can improve: Davies is learning fast and shows no lack of willingness adapting to the ins and outs of his new role. That said, he is very much reliant on pace to resolve defensive situations, rather than conventional defending.

– Marshall, Bell: Is Davies the best player in CONCACAF?

Ansu Fati scored his first Barcelona goal against Osasuna in August 2019. Xavier Bonilla/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Ansu Fati (FW; Barcelona / Spain) Age: 17 Estimated transfer value: €50m

Fati was the second-youngest player in Barcelona history when he made his debut at age 16 years and 298 days last August, and just 23 days later, he became the third-youngest in competition history to make a Champions League appearance. Spanish Under-21 honours followed, while no less a judge than Lionel Messi has said that Fati “is a fantastic player and has what it takes to succeed.”

Strengths: Equipped with exceptional pace and close control, he is almost impossible to stop when there’s space to take on defenders in one-on-one situations. Though mostly recognised for his qualities on the ball, he has already scored a headed goal, and his movement when not in possession is remarkably developed for a player of his age. He does not seem fazed by expectation or the attention he has attracted.

How he can improve: Because he has such faith in his quick feet and ability to take on opponents, he can be caught in possession and give away the ball unnecessarily.

– Lowe: Is Fati the answer for Barcelona, post-Messi?

In December 2017, 17-year-old Phil Foden became the youngest Englishman to start a Champions League game. Matt McNulty – Manchester City/Manchester City FC via Getty Images

Phil Foden (MF; Manchester City / England) Age: 19 Estimated transfer value: €30m

Foden has been a future star since he was named best player at the 2017 Under-17 World Cup and broke into Man City’s first-team squad. He has been used sparingly by Pep Guardiola but has Premier League and cup winners’ medals. With David Silva leaving the club, Foden should be set for an integral role at the Etihad Stadium. He might come to be equally important for England.

Strengths: Blessed with a highly advanced footballing brain and wonderful abilities on the ball, Foden is perfectly suited to the patient, sophisticated possession game favoured by Guardiola and most other top European clubs. He might have featured more regularly, but starting at Manchester United in the Premier League was a sign of the regard in which he is held.

How he can improve: Foden’s next challenge is to make the permanent transition from an outstanding talent to a fully fledged senior player who can make a 90-minute impact on games.

Mason Greenwood scored his first Manchester United goal 12 days before his 18th birthday. OLI SCARFF/AFP/Getty Images

Mason Greenwood (FW; Manchester United / England) Age: 18 Estimated transfer value: €30m

When Man United’s incredible Champions League win at Paris Saint-Germain is recalled, it might be most significant as Greenwood’s debut. In the year since, he has hit double digits for goals, made his England under-21 debut and been called a more natural finisher than Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial by United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who compared the teenager to Robin van Persie.

Strengths: In a short sample size, Greenwood, who can play as a central striker or on the right wing, has demonstrated the force and venom of his left foot by scoring some outstanding efforts in the Premier League and in Europe. He is a natural, instinctive footballer, not just for his nonchalant finishing skills but also for his remarkable balance and sublime ball skills.

How he can improve: He has hardly put a foot wrong, but when being played as a centre-forward — and especially considering his size and athleticism — he will be expected to pose a greater threat in the air.

Matteo Guendouzi was eligible to represent Morocco, but has pledged his future to France. Photo by James Baylis – AMA/Getty Images

Matteo Guendouzi (MF; Arsenal / France) Age: 21 Estimated transfer value: €30m

It was a baptism of fire for Guendouzi at the Emirates Stadium, where he made his Arsenal debut against Manchester City a month after arriving at the club. Since then, the former Lorient player has featured in 55 of 66 Premier League games for the Gunners, scored his first senior goal in a Europa League tie and been called into the full France squad, although he has yet to debut.

Strengths: Guendouzi has found things challenging under Mikel Arteta’s management, but his potential is still evident. Good at recovering balls from defensive midfield, he takes up smart positions and has a relatively high pass-completion rate: 88% overall in the Premier League, and 81% in the opposition defensive third. At his best, he is an efficient player who is physically strong and covers a lot of midfield ground.

How he can improve: He could benefit from breaking forward from midfield more often and being even more assertive in his pressing game.

At age 19, Achraf Hakimi started all three of Morocco’s games at the 2018 World Cup. Alex Gottschalk/DeFodi Images via Getty Images

Achraf Hakimi (DF; Borussia Dortmund, on loan from Real Madrid / Morocco) Age: 21 Estimated transfer value: €50m

He came through the youth ranks at Real Madrid and remains on the Bernabeu books, but it has been in Dortmund that Hakimi established himself over the past two seasons. A regular creator of chances from his position at right-back, the Moroccan international has 10 assists in 25 Bundesliga games this season, while his four Champions League goals have shown his finishing prowess.

Strengths: His forward runs are full of pace, timing and conviction; indeed, there are few more productive right-backs in European football. During a season in which he has established himself as one of the most exciting players in his position, plenty of top clubs are monitoring Hakimi and wondering whether he will get playing time at Real Madrid.

How he can improve: His tremendous attacking potential means he can leave too much space when charging forward and get caught high up the pitch against teams playing on the break.

At 18 years and 135 days, Callum Hudson-Odoi set a record as the youngest Englishman to play a competitive international. Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images

Callum Hudson-Odoi (FW; Chelsea / England) Age: 19 Estimated transfer value: €45m

Not 20 until November, Hudson-Odoi has packed plenty in to his career. He was part of England’s Under-17 World Cup-winning squad in 2017 and has since risen through the ranks to represent the senior side. At Chelsea, meanwhile, he impressed to the extent that Bayern Munich tried to sign him, only for him to suffer an Achilles injury before committing his future to the Stamford Bridge club.

Top players under 21: Nationality

England 8 France 6 Brazil 3 Italy 3 Canada 2 Netherlands 2 Norway 2 Spain 2 Sweden 2 Six countries 1

Strengths: The unpredictable winger, who loves setting off down the left before cutting inside on his favoured right foot, is one of the game’s most exciting wide players. Beyond striking characteristics that include a change of pace, quick footwork and being hard to mark in one-on-one situations, he also understands and reads the game, often working out opposing defenders as games develop.

How he can improve: Hudson-Odoi must learn to be more consistent, rather than showing his undeniable ability in patches. He should also add more goals, assists and chances created to his game.

– Williams: Hudson-Odoi repays Chelsea’s faith

In a January Copa del Rey win against Real Madrid, Alexander Isak scored two goals and assisted another. Quality Sport Images/Getty Images

Alexander Isak (FW; Real Sociedad / Sweden) Age: 20 Estimated transfer value: €20m

Isak’s story is an example of a next big thing who bounced back after overcoming challenges early in his professional career. Success in Sweden led to a high-profile move to Borussia Dortmund in 2017, but Isak struggled to make an impact. After a goal-laden loan spell at Willem II, he joined Real Sociedad, where he has impressed, often as a substitute.

Strengths: Standing at almost 6-foot-3, the powerful centre-forward is deceptively quick, can finish with both feet and is hard to stop in one-on-one situations. Only 20, he is fast becoming indispensable for Sweden and is finally beginning to realise the undoubted potential that was evident when he emerged several years ago.

How he can improve: Isak tends to score in streaks, and his great runs of form are often followed by lean spells. Though not uncommon for a young forward, it might be a sign that he needs to develop more confidence in his abilities.

Dejan Kulusevski made his Sweden debut in a European Championship qualifier against Faroe Islands in November. Andrea Staccioli/LightRocket via Getty Images

Dejan Kulusevski (MF; Parma, on loan from Juventus / Sweden) Age: 19 Estimated transfer value: €35m

On loan at Parma from Atalanta during the first half of this season, Kulusevski’s form was so impressive that Juventus signed him in January, less than a year after his Serie A debut. He has since been sent back to Parma, where he has five goals and seven assists in 22 league games. That form also saw him earn his first cap for Sweden, against the Faroe Islands in November.

Strengths: A strong-running wide midfielder or forward with power, an intense pressing game and pace to match an excellent left foot, Kulusevski has been compared to Arjen Robben. However, in contrast to the Dutchman, who was initially more of an out-and-out winger with the ability to turn opposing full-backs inside out, the Swede is more about work ethic and strength than finesse, though he does enjoy a touch off his heel and a perfectly weighted through ball.

How he can improve: Not unlike other supremely talented left-footed players, developing his right foot is on his to-do list. Kulusevski also needs to work on how to keep possession in tight spaces.

Last September, Donyell Malen scored all of PSV’s goals in a 5-0 win against Vitesse. Photo Prestige/Soccrates/Getty Images

Donyell Malen (FW; PSV Eindhoven / Netherlands) Age: 21 Estimated transfer value: €35m

One that got away for Arsenal? Malen was on the Gunners’ books as a teenager, but moved to PSV in 2017 and has been a prolific scorer ever since; he hit double figures last season and has 17 goals in 25 games in 2019-20. He has also broken into Ronald Koeman’s promising Netherlands squad, marking his international debut with the winning goal against Germany.

Strengths: Malen’s development over the past year has made many scouts believe he is in the process of outgrowing the Eredivisie. His profile certainly fits the bill for a top European club: He is direct, always looking for the shortest way to goal and quick off the mark. Additionally, he has a sharp finishing technique, possesses excellent dribbling skills and makes incisive runs.

How he can improve: As a confident and goal-fixated striker, he often looks for a hopeful finish rather than showing more selflessness and passing to a better-placed teammate.

As well as Brazil, Gabriel Martinelli is eligible to play for Italy. Photo by DANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS/AFP via Getty Images

Gabriel Martinelli (FW; Arsenal / Brazil) Age: 18 Estimated transfer value: €20m

The past year has been a whirlwind for Martinelli, who has gone from the lower tiers in Brazil with Ituano to starting for Arsenal in the Premier League. He was a regular in squads under Unai Emery before the Spaniard was sacked, and has continued to feature for Mikel Arteta. Playing mainly as a left-sided forward, Martinelli has scored 10 goals in 26 games in all competitions.

Strengths: Martinelli’s improbable jump from Ituano to Arsenal is credit to him and the English club’s scouting department. His pace, unpredictability and intensity have seen him make a real impression, but you wonder whether the energetic forward, who doesn’t mind doing a shift defensively, can maintain this speed of development.

How he can improve: Still rough around the edges, he must improve his passing to reach the next level. His ability in the air also leaves a lot to be desired.

Mason Mount has six goals and four assists in the Premier League this season. Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images

Mason Mount (MF; Chelsea / England) Age: 21 Estimated transfer value: €35m

After a year on loan at Dutch club Vitesse, Mount impressed last season at Derby under Frank Lampard and has since made the breakthrough at Chelsea — he first joined the club as a 6-year-old — after Lampard took over at Stamford Bridge. Mount has also become a regular in Gareth Southgate’s England squad, scoring his first international goal against Kosovo in November.

Strengths: The busy, mobile central midfielder is never afraid to ask for the ball and thinks ahead for his next move before receiving it. Mount is creative, plays with intuition and can spot an early switch of play. He has repaid Lampard’s confidence with some stunning performances and is one of the most impressive Premier League newcomers this season.

How he can improve: While he does appear very bright and full of spark early on in games, his impact can drop toward the end of the 90 minutes.

– Marcotti: Mount among Chelsea’s impressive kids

play

1:35

Tor-Kristian Karlsen explains why Martin Odegaard nearly didn’t make it into the top 30 players under 21.

Martin Odegaard (FW; Real Sociedad, on loan from Real Madrid / Norway) Age: 21 Estimated transfer value: €50m

It looked as if the promise that led Odegaard to earn his professional debut at 15 might go unfulfilled, but while he has not done enough to feature regularly for Real Madrid, loans in Netherlands brought valuable playing time and this season has seen him play a key role in La Real’s quest for Champions League qualification. He also scored against his parent club in a surprise Copa del Rey win.

Top players under 21: League

Premier League (England) 10 La Liga (Spain) 8 Bundesliga (Germany) 6 Ligue 1 (France) 5 Serie A (Italy) 5 Eredivisie (Netherlands) 1 First Division A (Belgium) 1

Strengths: The silky touch, the high football intelligence, the brilliant left foot, the ability to weight a defence-splitting pass and the elegant turns have always been in Odegaard’s toolkit, but this season he has added greater consistency, end product in front of goal and maturity. Though sometimes fielded on the right wing, he is arguably more efficient as a typical No. 10.

How he can improve: To make it in Madrid, Odegaard must demonstrate more presence on the pitch and ensure the breaks between his constructive involvements become even shorter. He still appears slightly less concerned about the nuts and bolts of the game than its art and beauty.

– Hamilton, Fernandez-Abascal: Odegaard is more than a trivia answer

Victor Osimhen’s club career began with Wolfsburg in Germany, before he moved to Charleroi in Belgium, then Lille in France. Getty

Victor Osimhen (FW; Lille / Nigeria) Age: 21 Estimated transfer value: €30m

Osimhen was one of the stars of Nigeria’s Under-17 World Cup triumph in 2015, when he was top scorer with 10 goals — including the winner against Mali in the final — and won the tournament’s Silver Ball. His subsequent club form was inconsistent, but a move last year to Lille proved a catalyst; only three players have scored more than his 13 goals in Ligue 1 this season.

Strengths: Osimhen is a no-frills centre-forward, who will run and chase a lost cause knowing that his impressive pace, intense pressing and alert mind often give him the chance to make something out of nothing. At a time when many strikers want the ball to their feet, he prefers running behind defences. He is direct, sharp and clinical in his finishing.

How he can improve: At times, he is so eager to make runs behind opposing defenders that he does not even consider the option of retaining possession to allow his team to move higher up the pitch.

Christian Pulisic is one of only two Americans to score a Premier League hat trick. Getty

Christian Pulisic (FW; Chelsea / U.S.) Age: 21 Estimated transfer value: €55m

Pulisic has been a U.S. international for four years and made more than 120 appearances for Borussia Dortmund, but in the past year has taken the next step in his career with a $70 million move to Chelsea. Early returns included a hat trick at Burnley before injury slowed his progress. The face of his national team, the Pennsylvania native remains a top prospect.

Strengths: Though he tends to look most comfortable as an inverted winger on the left, Pulisic can comfortably slot into any position behind a striker. An intelligent, modern player with excellent close control and a magnificent first touch, his low centre of gravity and ability to turn either way with the ball mean one thing: He is a nightmare to mark.

How he can improve: Very similar to other young, creative players, he mainly comes to life when he gets on the ball, giving room for improvement when he is not in possession.

– Burley: Pulisic has shown Lampard he is good enough

Declan Rice scored his first West Ham goal in a January 2019 win against Arsenal. Rob Newell – CameraSport via Getty Images

Declan Rice (MF; West Ham / England) Age: 21 Estimated transfer value: €65m

After being released by Chelsea at 14, Rice broke through across London at West Ham, where he has played in central defence but predominantly as a midfielder. He earned international honours initially for the Republic of Ireland before switching allegiance to England in 2019, a year in which he was also nominated for the PFA Young Player of the Year award.

Strengths: In modern football, there are few disciplined, tidy defensive midfielders who enjoy mopping up loose balls and keeping things simple in possession. Rice, though, does just that, and very well; he is the kind of reliable linchpin that most teams could use. He is a dependable, efficient performer who can play with both feet and has a range of passing that keeps improving.

How he can improve: The beauty of Rice is that he just does his job. You do not necessarily want him to be more adventurous going forward or to try stuff he has not yet mastered; his role is to keep things solid, so more creative teammates can benefit.

Rodrygo made his debut for Brazil against Argentina in November 2019. Burak Akbulut/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

Rodrygo (FW; Real Madrid / Brazil) Age: 19 Estimated transfer value: €50m

Six months younger than his fellow countryman and Madrid teammate Vinicius Jr., Rodrygo is another young player to have followed the well-trodden path from Brazil to the Bernabeu. His early impressions have been positive for Los Blancos: Rodrygo scored within a minute after coming on for his debut in September, and then notched a Champions League hat trick six weeks later.

Strengths: If solely down to natural talent and potential, Rodrygo would be near the top of the ranked section. However, he remains a work in progress, and despite flashes of brilliance, his Real Madrid career has yet to properly take off. At his best, this is an incredibly talented forward who is probably most efficient when cutting in from the left — he does it pretty well from the right, too — utilising close control, technical skills and speed on the break.

How he can improve: After a promising spell in the first team at the end of 2019, he was demoted to Real Madrid Castilla. That leads to the question of whether manager Zinedine Zidane has been unimpressed with his attitude in training. Rodrygo also needs to build his upper-body strength to cope better with the European game’s physicality.

Bukayo Saka was a substitute for the 2019 Europa League final at the age of 17. David Price/Arsenal FC via Getty Images

Bukayo Saka (DF; Arsenal / England) Age: 18 Estimated transfer value: €50m

Since debuting in November 2018 for Arsenal, Saka has made a meteoric rise and this season has seen him established as a regular in the Gunners’ starting lineup under Mikel Arteta. He has begun to chip in with goals, but his most consistent threat comes with the quality and precision of his crosses from the left side, which have led to nine assists in all competitions in the 2019-20 campaign.

Strengths: Already a hit at the youth level for England, Saka has become one of Arteta’s most trusted performers. Reinvented as a left-back from an out-and-out winger, the pacy and tricky Saka is Arsenal’s main outlet on the left, offering width and a constant option to switch play. Never short of effort, he catches the eyes with his eagerness to run at defenders and wholehearted application to defending and attacking.

How he can improve: Saka is still a learner when it comes to direct defending against an opponent and taking up the right positions. There is also work to be done on his upper-body strength — he can get brushed off the ball too easily — while his crossing game also needs to improve.

Boubakary Soumare’s first professional club game was for Lille against Metz in November 2017. David Aliaga/MB Media/Getty Images

Boubakary Soumare (MF; Lille / France) Age: 21 Estimated transfer value: €30m

After coming through the youth ranks at Paris Saint-Germain, Soumare opted to leave the Ligue 1 giants at 18 in order to find more playing opportunities with Lille. The move worked out for the 6-foot-2 midfielder, whose displays this season at home and in the Champions League have earned him France under-21 honours and drawn attention from clubs across Europe.

Strengths: Through his outstanding physique, agility and work ethic, Soumare has developed spatial understanding and, matched with fine tactical sense, is often well positioned to pick up second balls. He also features two good feet, from which he is able to execute a wide variety of passing.

How he can improve: Given his strength and excellent progression in possession, he could become more of a goal-scoring threat if given the license to roam.

Sandro Tonali was part of the Italy squad that reached the 2018 European Under-19 Championship final. Alessandro Sabattini/Getty Images

Sandro Tonali (MF; Brescia / Italy) Age: Estimated transfer value: €40m

When Andrea Pirlo says a 19-year-old is the best player in Serie A, you know you are watching a serious talent. Tonali has been a key player for Brescia for several years, but after helping his club win promotion last season he has taken his game to a new level in Italy’s top flight. He is a full Italian international and will surely be snapped up by one of the big clubs very soon.

Read all of the columns written by former scout and sporting director Tor-Kristian Karlsen.

Strengths: He combines playmaking abilities with an energetic, all-action style of play; one minute he can be organising from a deep regista role, while the next he is rolling up his sleeves to do some dirty work. Because of his club allegiance, comparisons have been drawn to Pirlo, but while there are similarities, Tonali is more of a grinder. What they have in common, however, is an excellent right foot, with which they can pick a pinpoint forward pass, almost without looking.

How he can improve: One criticism is that he sometimes tries too hard and, instead of letting the game settle, is prone to forcing the forward pass when more caution is needed. And though not fundamental to his position, there is room for improvement in his aerial game.

Ferran Torres collected his first winners’ medal in club football when Valencia won the 2019 Copa del Rey. Silvestre Szpylma/Quality Sport Images/Getty Images

Ferran Torres (FW; Valencia / Spain) Age: 20 Estimated transfer value: €55m

Previous Valencia youth players to reach the highest level include David Silva and Isco, and Torres might also have what it takes. He was the first player born in the 2000s to play in La Liga, and among the club records he owns is youngest Champions League goal scorer. He was part of Spain’s Under-17 and Under-19 European Championship-winning teams in 2017 and 2019, respectively.

Strengths: Extraordinarily these days, Torres is a right-footed forward who prefers playing on the right wing. He is one of the best crossers in Europe, and when being doubled up by defenders, his favourite move involves evading two markers by going right between them while nutmegging one! Atypically for an easy-on-the-eye wide forward, he has the physique and size to go with delightful skills. His superb technique also means he brings first-class playmaking abilities when moving infield.

How he can improve: One scout I spoke to recently, who is a big fan, pointed out that he would like to see Torres be a bit more “aggressive” and “cynical” in his style of play.

Dayot Upamecano was named to the team of the tournament at the 2015 European Under-17 Championship. Oliver Hardt/Bongarts/Getty Images

Dayot Upamecano (DF; RB Leipzig / France) Age: 21 Estimated transfer value: €40m

A key part of Leipzig’s impressive form in the Bundesliga and Champions League, Upamecano has logged consistent displays in central defence and been linked with Europe’s biggest clubs. He has played at every age group level since under-16 for France and, with the European Championship delayed by 12 months, has extra time to force his way into Didier Deschamps’ plans for next summer.

Strengths: Few players stir up more debate within the scouting community than Upamecano, who emerged at Leipzig after Ibrahima Konate — another candidate for this list — was injured. Those defending him point to presence beyond his age, willingness to sacrifice in duels and eye-catching physical attributes, whereas those unconvinced refer to a catalogue of costly errors, a tendency to play aimless long balls and his propensity to give away unnecessary fouls.

How he can improve: With understanding of the game such an important component of the role, centre-backs peak later than those in other positions, so Upamecano has time on his side to become more consistent and less reckless.

Nicolo Zaniolo was included in a senior Italy squad before he had played in Serie A. Andrea Staccioli/LightRocket via Getty Images

Nicolo Zaniolo (MF; Roma / Italy) Age: 20 Estimated transfer value: €50m

After moving to Roma from Inter in the summer of 2018, Zaniolo was thrust into the limelight when he made his Giallorossi debut at Real Madrid in the Champions League. His Serie A bow followed and consistently good performances resulted in a call-up to the Italian national team. Unfortunately, he tore his ACL in January, slowing his progress.

Strengths: He can seem deceptively uncoordinated and gangly at first glance, but behind the lanky appearance hides a near-complete, modern footballer. The versatile attacking midfielder with a sweet left foot has the intelligence and playmaking brain to be fielded as a trequartista — linking midfield or attack — as well as the smooth one-on-one skills to drive opposing full-backs dizzy from a wide-right position.

How he can improve: The immediate priority is for Zaniolo to completely recover from injury, then it is a matter of fine-tuning his physical attributes to become more explosive and resistant to heavy challenges.

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sseanight · 5 years ago

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Park Jimin Fics Recommendation

Recent update 200125

[ ❥ ] = Favorite

Kim Namjoon — Kim Seokjin — Min Yoongi — Jung Hoseok — Kim Taehyung — Jeon Jungkook

[ ❥ ] Our Little Family; parent!au, fluff, angst

You were just a pre-school teacher, a simple dream that came true as you always adored children. But what you didn’t know, was how one child and her very special father would change you dream forever.

♠ The Unfaithful Wife; angst

He never believes you. Never.

♠ Will You; angst

part 1 | part 2 finale

Park Jimin, your boyfriend, was nothing but the cutest boyfriend on earth. No one could ever compare to him. He was your prince charming, your favorite superman and your Mickey Mouse. That was until he started to show his other side. The not so good side. A very jealous side, which from the start was kind of adorable but it soon became a big problem in your relationship.

♠ Because of Love; angst

One day, Jimin picks up his wife at the office.

♠ Dress Code; ceo! au, smut

Jimin takes it upon himself to discipline you when your attire doesn’t exactly adhere to HR regulations.

♠ Mistake; angst

part 1 | part 2 finale

One stupid mistake can change everything.

♠ Hidden Tears; angst

part 1 | part 2 finale

A smile can hide millions of tears.

♠ Power Play; porn star!au, smut

You know him as the A lister of all porn stars; a man who sits pretty in his place at the top of the food chain. But you also know him as the Park Jimin who single handedly humiliated you and ruined your own career as a rookie just starting out, the epitome of the biggest dick in the entire industry… and you’re not talking about his assets. But when Park Jimin comes to you, saying he’s in a slump that only you can get him out of and begs you to sign an exclusive contract with him; things get messy… in more ways than one.

♠ Tease; idol!au, smut

You miss your boyfriend Jimin very much, especially when he’s on tour, so you decide to tease him slightly. However, you learn very quickly that Park Jimin does not like to be teased.

♠ Ribbons (ft. Jeon Jungkook); smut

Your boyfriend, jimin, arranges the best birthday present you could have ever asked for.

[ ❥ ] Blue Blood; royalty!au, smut, angst

Prince Jimin was born with blue blood. His coronation is rapidly approaching, but there are two requirements he must fulfil before becoming a king. He must have the skills to fight in battle, and he must have a Queen with blood as blue as his. You, a member of the royal guard, are assigned to teach Jimin the ins and outs of combat. You are not scared of death, of blood, or of battle. What you are scared of however, is falling in love with Jimin, the one man your blood decrees you can never have.

♠ Just Sayin / I Tired; angst, fluff, smut

Sometimes love isn’t enough.

♠ Body Party; smut, fluff

It’s your birthday and Jimin decides to throw you a private party.

♠ Sin City; smut

After a run of bad luck, you can go back home and admit defeat or step out of your comfort zone and look for a job at Sin City.

♠ Sated (ft. BTS); heavy smut

Sin. There’s nothing more.

♠ Beholden; royal!au, smut

As the rightful Queen to your nation, you have always known you one day must marry. Each time the question has arisen in the past, you have found legitimate reasons to turn the men down. Until now, that is. Until the proposal of a distant King, one whose union would only bring benefit to your people. Except for the fact, that your heart has already been taken by his proposer.

♠ No Strings; fwb!au, smut, slightly angst

It started off as such a simple question. How to know if you’re bad in bed? Of course when you asked, you didn’t imagine Jimin would actually answer.

♠ Stress Relief; smut

Jimin keeps working late. He decides to wake you up in a way you can’t refuse.

♠ Like I Would (ft. Jung Hoseok); angst, smut, slightly fluff

Sometimes, a shoulder to cry on can be the most dangerous thing of all.

♠ Tease; smut

part 1 | part 2 finale

Your best friend gets a new job, but tries to keep it a secret from you. You manage to find the address to his work, but why did it lead you to a strip club?

♠ The Rules of Heaven; angel!au, angst

Jimin is in love and Heaven doesn’t allow for it.

♠ Hurting Hearts; angst

“It’s not what it looks like”. But guess what? It is what it looks like.

♠ You; angst, fluff

You are his gf but totally not his ideal type, then Jimin’s childhood friend is perfect.

♠ Excuses; angst, fluff

part 1 | part 2 finale

Busy. You hated that word.

[ ❥ ] Partiality; parent!au, angst. fluff

You and Jimin argue about your kids not loving you two equally.

[ ❥ ] Charity; prince!au, angst, fluff, smut

You’re a maid for the Crowned Prince of Busan, you’re in love with him, but you think he only uses you for charity, so one night at the new karaoke bar, you try your best to forget him, with the help of a stranger.

♠ Part of Your World; merman!au, angst, fluff

Jimin has always longed for the wide-open skies of the Above Sea. After saving the life of a beautiful human woman, he seeks to find her and finally live in his dream world. But young mermen should be careful what they wish for.

♠ Runaway Love; fluff, angst

Hoseok is panicking because his two best friends are getting married and he kind of lost the groom.

♠ Misunderstanding; angst, fluff

It was a mistake. A total misunderstanding.

♠ Promise; angst, fluff

In which Jimin attempted to fix all the mess he had done.

♠ Mermaid Melodies; mermaid!au, fluff

After you meet Park Jimin, you start to think that humans are not that bad as the Tribe said.

[ ❥ ] Faded Love; married couple!au, angst

He doesn’t need to say it. because you can feel your husband, park jimin, falling out of love with you.

♠ Trying Something New; smut, romance

Your boyfriend accidentally stumbles upon your porn stash and decides to make your fantasies reality.

♠ Cutie; angst, fluff

He has been out late at night, and you didn’t know why…until someone had texted him.

♠ Spring Day; idol!au, angst, fluff

part 1 | part 2 | part 3 | part 4 | part 5

You knew that married life with an idol would be challenging. You just didn’t know that it would be this challenging.

♠ Betray (ft. Kim Taehyung); angst

In which taehyung leaves you on the day of your wedding to run off with your best friend and you finding out about their secret.

[ ❥ ] About Time (ft. Jeon Jungkook); time travel!au, angst

Be careful for what you wish for, because you may never know how to deal with them once it comes true. What would you do when your wish for a second chance actually came true? But was it really a fulfilled wish? Too many questions lie when it actually happened. Were they real memories? Or perhaps a part of a past life? Was it only a dream all along? Will everything be different this time?

♠ 2 PM; fluff

Long-distance relationship are hard.

♠ One Year; smut

In which jimin really just wants to enjoy dinner but his jealousy gets the better of him.

♠ Heartbreak Insurance; fluff

The average person falls in love 4 to 7 times before marriages and 40% to 50% of all marriages end in divorce. 85% of all relationship end with a breakup. Don’t just be a statistics! At Heartbreak Insurance, we are committed to be there when you need it most. Affordable and comprehensible solutions to meet your needs today! With our Heartbreak Insurance, you can find a plan that fits your needs. We cover and care for you in most vulnerable times, offering paid times off, therapy sessions, and care packages. Because heartbreak is pain too.

♠ One Time Thing; bestfriend’s-boyfriend!au. fluff, angst, smut

part 1 | part 2 | part 3 | part 4

What are you going to do when your best friend asks you to have a sex with her boyfriend?

♠ Instincts; hybrid!au, fluff, smut

Who wants a snow leopard as a pet? No one, and you don’t want to be a pet, but the day before you’re supposed to be euthanized you’ll take what you can get; a nice enough man, but something about him seems off.

[ ❥ ] Strip; stripper!au, fluff, angst, smut

Everything you have done has always been about surviving life and raising your child on your own. Having someone else caring about you was the last thing you had expected. Especially when that someone is the same man you have watched performing every night on stage and secretly admired. But will he run the moment he finds out about your little secret waiting at home?

♠ Sweeter Than Sweet; vampire!au, smut, angst, fluff

You never would have expected someone like Park Jimin to notice you. As handsome and beguiling as he is deadly, you’re enthralled from the very moment you meet. Addicted to his kiss and his bite, Jimin opens up your eyes to a whole new world of love, lust and seduction.

♠ Confession; angst

When your idol boyfriend Park Jimin video calls you one night, the confession he tells you turns your world upside down.

[ ❥ ] Touched by a Fallen Star; prince!au, fantasy, angst, smut

You know he doesn’t belong to you. It’s pure science, physics. The stars have always belonged to the night sky, but since when has the night sky belonged to one of its insignificant stars?

♠ Thank You, Next; best friends to lovers!au, fluff, slight angst, smut

In high school you weren’t very popular, ten years later you travel to a class reunion of your old class. What could go wrong?

♠ Vlive Blowjob; smut

You and Jimin make a bet: If he loses, he has to buy a purse of the new Gucci collection for you, but if you lose, you have to make him a blowjob… while he makes a Live. None of this makes sense, but he was drunk when he proposed and you were drunk when you accepted. That explains everything.

#bts #bts jimin #jimin #park jimin #bts x reader #bts smut #bts fluff #smut #bts angst

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liamhaydn-blog · 5 years ago

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The Argentina Problem & The need for Dictator Messi

Lionel Messi uses week old babies to do kickups with, he spits in the face of elderly women and burns money infront of the homeless. These are all headlines you won’t ever see, and that’s because they aren’t things that have ever or will ever happen, but he must have done something.

Something morally wrong, something really corruptible for otherwise there is no fair reason why a simple humble guy who has done nothing other than raise a family with his one true love and entertain us with breathtakingly consistent talent with a football should be forced to play in the Argentina national side.

On Saturday night Argentina began their Copa America campaign. The first step towards ending their 26 year wait for a major trophy. For Messi, it is his ninth major international tournament for the Argies, and his 5th Copa America.

It’s hard to recall a time Argentina had gone into a Copa America less fancied (it didn’t take long to see why). There was some fleeting hope among the more optimistic Messi/Argentina supporters that maybe these low expectations would work in the teams favour. After the huge pressure of going into the last two Copas expecting themselves to win, maybe the lack of expectation this time would allow them to play with less pressure and they could end up surprising a few people.

As it turned out, no one was surprised with Argentina on Saturday night. The only slight surprise maybe, is that somehow they’ve managed to get worse from the World Cup last summer.

It was a match we’ve seen Argentina involved in time and time again over the last several years. The defence and midfield too poor with the ball to regularly involve the teams star attackers (not just Messi, the team also has Aguero and Di Maria who play for two of the best teams of the world, but you would be forgiven for forgetting as they’re rarely spotted for the Albiceleste), then the forwards when they do receive the ball usually only have one player ahead or level with them with no sign of the Argentine full backs being anywhere near the opposition final 3rd (atleast they make up for it with their defending right...Right!?..)

Regarding Lionel Messi, apart from big players who have represented proper minnow nations (George Weah with Liberia for example) it is hard to imagine any player having to deal with more of a stark contrast between their current club side and international side.

But this is not a minnow nation, this is Argentina, one of the most formidable powerhouses in International Football. 14 time champions of South America and since they made the final of the inaugural World Cup in 1930, they’ve been back in the showpiece final 4 more times twice winning the greatest prize of them all.

And yet for the last few years the difference between Argentina and FC Barcelona has been the difference between night and day. That’s not to say it’s been all plain sailing at Barca, just one Champions League semi final appearance since they lifted the trophy in 2015 is underachieving by their standards, and the Roma and Liverpool defeats were unforgivable.

Barca’s hysterical fanbase have been relentless in their insistence that their club is in a real crisis and whilst undoubtedly they are not without issues, in the real world they’ve won a major trophy in 10 out of the last 11 seasons and they’ve claimed the domestic crown (in the opinion of many including me the strongest league in the world) 5 out of the last 7 seasons.

In 10 games Barca will win 8 of them, Messi will score 9 and assist another 4. Some crisis. It seems as though Messi sees more of the ball and is involved in more openings in the first 10 minutes of a Barcelona game at the Nou Camp than in 90 minutes of an Argentina game.

Watching Messi in an Argentina match has a strange effect. Simultaneously the 90 minutes drags along, time crawls by whilst also feeling nowhere near long enough for Messi to impact the game. It feels like only by extending Argentina matches to 4 hours long could we hope to see Messi do half of what he does in a game for Barcelona, in an Argentina shirt.

With just the standard 90 minutes, Messi is usually limited to one good piece of play per Argentina game (be it one good dribble, pass, shot etc.) and one half chance (usually a free kick from a long way out).

Compared to the dramatic transformation of the European game, South American football feels like a throwback to the game of old, it doesn’t appear to have changed that much since the days of Diego Maradona. The pitches aren’t perfect, the games are very rough, physical, often even ugly. To highlight the difference in style and approach between Football’s two most successful continents, take this statistic: in 51 games at Euro 2016, there were 3 red cards. After 5 matches at this years Copa America, two red cards had already been shown.

Most South American teams seem to take a very conservative, defence first approach. The number of players teams put between the ball and their goal only serves to highlight further just how isolating it is playing as an attacking player in this Argentina team. They’re regularly attacking with just 3 or 4 bodies with 7 opposition players back defending their goal. Of course the only South American team bar the minnows who don’t have a solid defence in place is...Argentina. Nicolas Otamendi? How did this guy actually convince people he can defend? All over the show.

Though the problem has undoubtedly got worse in recent years, in this ‘Messi Era’ Argentina have often had issues scoring against South American opposition in competitive football. Messi’s combined Copa America and World Cup Qualifier record is 29 goals in 67 games which is by no means a disgrace, but this is a player who at his scoring peak scored 91 goals in a calendar year, who has scored over 40 goals a season for 10(!) consecutive seasons.

Sergio Aguero has 16 Copa America + WCQ goals and Angel Di Maria just 9. In comparison, 22 of Chile International Eduardo Vargas’ 38 international goals have been scored at either the Copa America or in a WCQ.

These problems in finding the net will likely continue for the Argies against Paraguay and if not, the respite will only be a short one, resuming as soon as they face above mediocre opposition in the next stage. That is assuming they get that far, as failing to get the right results against Paraguay and Qatar would be their first group stage exit at the tournament since 1983 and would surely be one of the lowest moments in the history of Argentinian football.

So what can Argentina do about it? well there’s lot they could do about it, lots they could try, but what *will* they do about it? what are they willing to do about it? very little would be my guess.

All hope of change from the fairly disastrous 2018 World Cup had been pinned on the introduction of Lo Celso into the side and how he would be able to link the midfield to the attack and establish a good partnership with Leo Messi. If Saturday night is anything to go by, this one player will not be enough to remotely come close to lifting Argentina’s fortunes.

So it appears Argentina will insist on plodding on with the same tried and failed formula, perhaps doing enough to scrape past Paraguay and Qatar before succumbing against the next above mediocre team they face.

It is maddening how little Argentina seem to be willing to change, and whenever they do make a change it always seems like such a random throwaway selection of personnel, done without any real conviction or hope it will bring about improvement.

For arguments sake here’s how I would look to address The Argentina Problem. First I would move Messi into Midfield. It’s maybe a bit bold to move a player into a position he’s never played before in the middle of a tournament and I can’t understand why its never been experimented with before in friendlies.

Desperate times call for desperate measures. Messi is the best footballer Argentina have, the best footballer anyone has, there is zero benefit to having him play in a forward position at the moment where he is so isolated and seeing the ball so rarely. He is the best passer in the world, he will be able to keep the ball better than any of their other midfield options and can hit passes that few can see, but as well he is also a calm player with a cool head who can steady Argentina from the middle and allow them to keep the ball for a while, which at the moment they are completely unable to do.

This also gives Messi the opportunity to dribble from deep and have options infront of him, he will attract many opposition players when he has the ball which should free up more space for the attackers. It’s long been thought that Messi would flourish in centre midfield when his pace left him and though we’re not at that stage yet, with Messi’s passing range and football intelligence combined with his current ineffectiveness in the side I believe the time is now here to try Messi in centre midfield for these final 2 group games.

Ahead of Messi, I would make Dybala a starter in the side. At the moment he doesn’t ever even feature off the bench. Imagine that, a team struggling as much as this one for goals and for quality completely ignores a man who can give them both in abundance if his Juventus career is anything to go by. He’s 25 years old, not a kid and only has 1 goal for his national side due to opportunities being so stark.

Unless they want another Carlos Tevez on their hands (a world class player whose international career was wasted, scoring just 13 goals over 11 years due to being in and out of the side) Argentina must trust Dybala sooner rather than later and give him the opportunity to prove himself. It was ridiculous that at last years World Cup he was behind Higuaín in the pecking order and its ridiculous that he still now isn't getting a look-in.

Adding another top class attacker into this side would also give defences more to think about and give the current attackers so much needed support. There needs to be much more fluidity and movement in the Argentine attack, Di Maria is allowing games to pass him by whilst he stands out wide not doing anything. Dybala and Di Maria could switch positions during games, drifting all over.

Argentina’s defence are appalling so the best way to combat that in the short term could be to just go top heavy, try to outscore teams and hope that by stacking their attack with the best players they have, teams are more wary and respectful of them. Because at the moment they are causing zero fear or worry for the opposition.

Looking past this tournament, I would also ensure Mauro Icardi is included in every squad from now on, playing as much as possible. I get that he’s a dick and has a bad attitude which may prevent him from hitting the heights he could hit in football, but he’s a brilliant goalscorer. He only needs one chance, one touch. He scored 55 goals in 77 games in 2 seasons for Inter before souring his relationship with the fans. He has been awarded just 8 international caps. 8. He’s 26 years old and Argentina look set to waste having another top striker. And for what? what are they possibly gaining from completely freezing him out.

Looking to the 2022 World Cup, there is only one man who can make Argentina from also rans to serious contenders. Diego Cholo Simeone.

Simeone took control of Atletico in December 2011 days after the team had lost 3-0 at home to a 3rd division team in the cup. They were in 10th place. By May 2014 Atletico had won La Liga in doing so breaking the longest duopoly in Spanish Football since the last time they won it in 1996 when Cholo was a player for them.

The same season they were literal seconds away from winning their first ever European Cup, this was all achieved with a starting 11 costing 35M pounds. In 8 full seasons at the club Simeone has won La Liga at the Nou Camp against Barca, The Copa Del Rey at the Bernabeu against Real, the Spanish Super Cup, 2 Europa Leagues and 2 Uefa Super Cups. He has made 2 Champions League Finals, and finished in the top 3 for 7 straight years. He has transitioned the club into a new era with a new modern stadium and he has done all of this whilst regularly losing big players and having to rebuild. Prior to taking the Atleti job he was also at the helm of Estudiantes de la Plata when they won their first Argentine league title for 23 years.

Basically, if anyone is going to fix Argentina, it’s going to be him. It has to be him. One day it inevitably will be. The proud Argentine who made 106 appearances for his country will undoubtedly one day fall to the temptation of managing his beloved nation at the FIFA World Cup.

And the way I see it, if you’re going to do it what better time to do it than at the 2022 World Cup where you’ll have a 29 year old Dybala, 30 year old Icardi and the greatest player of all time playing in his last ever World Cup.

Messi has scored 67 goals in 131 caps for Argentina, better than 1 in 2 which is a solid return if not as mind-blowing as his 603 in 687 games for Barcelona (though given the context of the Argentina team he’s scored 67 in, who knows maybe it is) and though in recent times he’s seemingly grown tired and less able of carrying Argentina on his back, no one should deny that for many years that’s exactly what he did.

Argentina reached extra time of the World Cup Final and 2 Copa America finals in 3 years (Where they was only Higuaín not being shit away from glory. How they must long for them days now). Without Messi that wouldn’t have been possible. He dragged those average teams to touching distance of silverware, and that’s why I hope he is given the chance to play his final World Cup with a truly world class manager in charge.

Just give Messi a chance of winning the biggest prize of all, just a chance. Get Simeone in to coach the defence, get everyone running through brick walls for the shirt and for him and get Messi playing behind Dybala and Icardi, knowing that it’s a collective team effort now and all the responsibility is no longer his.

It’s what the greatest player of all time deserves and for that reason I hope he picks up the phone soon and calls Simeone. And tells him personally how much he wants him to take the job for the World Cup. It’s hard to imagine that wouldn’t have an effect on Cholo, such a big legend of the game asking personally for you. Then after he’s had time to think on it, I would leak the call to the world, so huge pressure builds on him to accept and he can see the huge fanfare from Argentina fans for him.

Whether Messi the dictator is real or fake, he needs to come out now and take action to save his international career.

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dorukbaski123 · 3 years ago

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Soccer Prediction, Bet lines and tips for Today's matches. | Betting Hits

Soccer Prediction, Bet lines, and tips on Soccer Games being played today. We cover most of the popular games including top leagues...

Soccer Prediction, Bet lines, and tips – Do you love free tips? I sure do, which is why I curate the top football betting tips every day and offer them to you for free.

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The Top Soccer Prediction, Bet lines and tips for today

Below are some of the most popular soccer tips for today and how to bet them.

1X2 betting tips

soccer Accumulator tips

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BTTS and win tips

Over / Under

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Combo bets

MLS betting tips

Premier League betting tips

La Liga Betting tips

Bundesliga Betting tips

French Ligue one betting tips

Series A betting tips

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Soccer Props

1. 1X2 Betting tips

This is the most common of wagers which is used to predict the match-winner after 90 minutes excluding extra time. Basically one predicts if the home team (1) will win or the visiting team will win (2) or the match will end in a draw (X). For a bet, nothing could be more simple.

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The Accumulator bet is the most lucrative in soccer betting due to its nature of having high odds, one only has to invest a small amount to hit big on their bets. Below is a good example of an accumulator ticket. This is a 10 match premier league accumulator that would yield $2448 from a $20 investment.

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A BBTS wager is a prediction on if both teams will score in a match. it does not take into account wins or losses, just the scores.

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So the question being asked here is will both teams score (GG) and if the answer is yes then the odds given are 1.59. If the answer is no (NG) then the odds given are 2.16.

The BBTS Yes odds are lesser because both these teams have terrific offenses and while Liverpool is clearly the better team this season, and thus might win this game, Chelsea plays very well at home and score often which means there is a high probability of them scoring in this game.

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BTTS and Win wagers are a combination of both BTTS and Win, the wager comes in two combinations.

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The over-under wager predicts how many goals will be scored in a match and the tipster bets the over or under amount. Since even numbers make it difficult for bookmakers to determine the odds, a half-point was added to each margin which why you will see these bets showing a .5 at the selection for example over 0.5 represents 1 goal, Over 1.5 represents 2 goals, and so on as seen in the diagram below.

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As the title suggests, this wager determines the correct score of a particular match which is no easy feat and which is why this bet is very lucrative for the punter. It is the most exciting bet to entertain.

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8. MLS betting tips

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The MLS is gaining more popularity in the US and so is the MLS betting craze, we offer MLS betting tips on all the league games and other competitions during the season and offseason friendlies.

9. Premier League betting tips

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Get the top betting tips on the premier league throughout the season. With the best odds and outcomes from our betting experts. The premier league is a different type of animal to bet on so check out our tips from people who understand this league well.

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Nothing is more exciting than betting on Barcelona, Real Madrid, El Classico, Lionel Messi, and the other stars of the Spanish league La Liga. Would you like futures to bet on how many goals Messi will score in a season or who will win the Balon?. You have come to the right place for that.

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Bayern has been dominant in the Bundesliga for a long time but the past few years they seem to be on the decline and some of the other teams are making a run for the title, teams to look out for are Leipzig and Borussia Dortmund. With 4 losses already this season, this might be the year the king gets knocked off the crown and we are here to share it all with you.

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The dynamic duo that is Neymar and Mbappe lead the stars of the French Ligue as they seek relevancy in the champions league and the respect of their peers. This motivation leads to terrific bet opportunities for these clubs and players.

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All these stars of all these top leagues only get to play against each other in the Champions league which creates a lot of fireworks. We are here to provide betting tips for each and every champions league match from the group stages to the playoffs and the elimination rounds.

15. Soccer Props betting tips

Betting on individual players’ accomplishments has become a very entertaining and profitable affair. Our prop bets cover all the top players within gameplay and futures bets like the golden boot winners and scoring champions. The in-game bets would be Messi scoring at any time for example in the anytime goalscorer accumulator.

Free Soccer prediction, bet lines for Today matches

as we said earlier all our soccer tips for today are free and will always be free, we have no intention of charging you a single cent so don’t worry and enjoy our tips for your benefit and profitability.

Best Soccer Prediction, Bet lines for today

The best and easiest soccer tip we would like to offer today is this. each sportsbook has its own internal mechanisms of determining how they produce odds and one should never be married to just one of these guys. To find value and profitability, one has to shop around for the best deal. do that and you will come out a winner more times than not.

In fact, one of the surest ways of winning a bet is called arbitrage betting which is rooted in the fact that you have to shop around to various sportsbooks.

Soccer prediction and Bet lines for Tomorrow matches

We don’t just offer today’s matches, but we offer tomorrow’s matches as well so you don’t need to be stuck checking our today matches when you can plan ahead for a multiday Acca if that’s the bet that you are interested in making.

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Most leagues play matches on weekends and that’s when most betting takes place so we have you covered with our weekend betting tips that will help you win your money back, so stay tuned because we have you covered 7 days a week.

Rubah4d kini hadir dengan menyajikan diskon untuk pemasangan togel terbesar yang berlaku untuk semua pasaran togel yang pernah ada dan ternama masa kini.

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cruximpetus · 7 years ago

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Doki Doki Literature Club Sentence Starters - Act I, Day II

GENERAL / MONIKA

“Glad to see you didn’t run away on us.”

“This might be a little strange for me, but I at least keep my word.”

“I hope this isn’t too overwhelming of a commitment for you.”

“Like he deserves any slack.”

“Manga is literature!”

“...your room is so messy it’s distracting.”

“And you almost set your house on fire once.”

“I might be a little jealous...”

“Hey, don’t worry about it.”

“First of all, I wasn’t expecting anything in the first place.”

“It’ll make me happy no matter what.”

“I won’t make it a big deal if you don’t want it to be.”

“I didn’t want you to feel left out...”

“I look forward to hearing what you think.”

“Having a good time so far?”

“I’m always listening!”

“Don’t be afraid to bring things up, okay?”

“It’s kind of embarrassing, but I guess I have to.”

“We’re all a little embarrassed today, you know?”

“But it’s that sort of barrier that we’ll all learn to get past soon.��

“So take that as a compliment!”

“I’m sure I’ll end up trying different things a lot.”

“It could take a while before I feel comfortable doing this.”

“That’s okay!”

“I’d love to see you try new things.”

“But I’ll always help you find what suits you the most!”

“It’s not like you have to worry about impressing them or anything.”

“You sound pretty confident for someone who claims to not be very good.”

“Well...that’s ‘cause I have to sound confident. That doesn’t mean I always feel that way, you know?”

“So...what do you think?”

“When performed out loud, it can be really powerful.”

“I guess you could say that I had some kind of epiphany recently.”

“An epiphany?”

“I’m kind of nervous to talk about deep stuff like that, because it’s kind of coming on strongly...”

“Maybe after everyone is better friends with each other.”

“If you try so hard to make it perfect, then you’ll never make any progress.”

“So just move your hand, and go with the flow!”

“...That’s my advice for today!”

“How can that be cute?”

“I was trying to say something nice...”

“Are you that full of yourself?”

“This doesn’t involve you!”

“That’s not true!”

“She started it!”

“Shows how much you know!”

“Even small criticism can lead to something heated.”

“You don’t need to feel threatened.”

“...Thanks for noticing.”

“It’s not like you need to apologize for me, [ insert character’s name here ].”

“Would everyone stop staring at me?”

“The thing about your boobs, I didn’t mean it, okay?”

“The most important thing... Is having fun!”

“Okay, everyone!”

“Does that kind of thing happen often?”

“I jut wanted your opinion, that’s all.”

“We’ll just have to see what the future holds, [ insert character name here ].”

POEMS

People can try / But that’s about it.

It couldn’t have been me.

I’ll never know. I wasn’t home.

No! I can’t see.

But it’s too late.

It’s just a little hole. It wasn’t too bright.

It was too deep. / Stretching forever into everything. / A hole of infinite choices.

I realize, now, that I wasn’t looking in. / I was looking out.

It makes me feel like you missed me. / Kissing my forehead to help me out of bed.

Are you asking me to come out and play?

Are you trusting me to wish away a rainy day?

It’s a secret, but I trust you too.

If it wasn’t for you, I could sleep forever. / But I’m not mad.

I want breakfast.

It must be this one. / The last remaining streetlight to have withstood the test of time.

I bathe. Calm, breathing air of the present but living in the past.

The light flickers. / I flicker back.

NATSUKI ROUTE

“Ugh...!”

“You looking for something in there?”

“What’s the point in keeping your collection organized if someone else is just gonna mess it up?”

“You read manga, right?”

“Seeing a box set with one book missing is probably the most irritating sight in the world.”

“If you’re gonna judge, you can do it through the glass on that door.”

“I didn’t even say anything.”

“It was the tone of your voice.”

“Don’t just stand there!”

“Wouldn’t chairs be more comfortable...?”

“Chair wouldn’t work.”

“Ah...I guess it’s easier to be close together like this...”

“Hey, are you paying attention?”

“What should I expect from this?”

“It sounds like you really know what you’re talking about.”

“Maybe I underestimated you.”

“Hmph. Good save.”

“Like I would ever get into anything because it’s in a manga.”

“I feel bad for anyone that impressionable.”

“...Are you sure this isn’t boring for you?”

“...I guess it’s fun sharing something you like with someone else.”

“Could you not rub it in?”

“Makes me want to punch them in the face...”

“I’m already kind of a loser, so I guess I gravitated toward the other losers over time.”

“I don’t even know what my dad would do if he found this.”

“Ugh! I just can’t win, can I?”

“I totally forgot that happens!”

“I shouldn’t be talking about that yet.”

“Could your timing be any worse?”

“Don’t be dumb.”

“And if it gets bent, I’ll kill you.”

“I want to help you feel comfortable enough to share yours.”

“And you went and ruined it!”

“I hope you’re happy!”

“Pretty sure you never actually said that...”

“I told you that you weren’t going to like it...”

“Just be honest.”

“Seeing everyone around you do great things can be really disheartening...”

“I guess more went into it than I realized.”

“That’s what it means to be a pro!”

SAYORI ROUTE

I could probably fall asleep right now.

“Well, we can’t give up.”

“But it’s not like that at all, you know?”

“That doesn’t solve the problem, though!”

“Huh, that’s a good point...”

“In that case, do you think food will do the trick?”

“Cupcakes!”

“That wasn’t why you suggested it...?”

“I’m hungry...”

“Actually, I’m not sorry at all!”

“Does our school have a napping club...?”

“You’re staying up late again, aren’t you?”

“Don’t say that so loud...!”

“You’re always looking out for me, [ insert character name here ].”

“It’s what I do best!”

“You look out for me better than you look out for yourself.”

“You’re still oversleeping every day, aren’t you?”

“How many days this past week have you gotten up on time?”

“...It’s a secret!”

“At least give me the benefit of the doubt...”

“How is it written all over me?”

“Look, your hair is sticking out all around here.”

“Man, you really need a brush for this...”

“I won’t fall for that.”

“And there’s a toothpaste stain on your collar right here.”

“Nobody’s gonna tell you about it because they don’t want to embarrass you.”

“Why do you think you don’t have a boyfriend yet?”

“This is so funny.”

“I’m happy we’re like this.”

“The button might come off!”

“Does this thing even fit you properly?”

“What are you smiling about?”

“It means my boobs got bigger again!”

“It’s not worth it at all!”

“What kind of logic is that?”

“And why are you saying that like it’s a good thing?”

“...If I had a boyfriend, then he wouldn’t even let you do things like this!”

“And you take care of me better than anyone else would, anyway...”

“I guess we really are better at taking care of each other than we are at taking care of ourselves.”

“So maybe you should come wake me up in the morning!”

I can’t believe I agreed to do something so embarrassing.

“...Oh my goodness!”

“You must be seriously overreacting.”

“I honestly have no idea what I’m doing.”

“I think I understand you better than a lot of people, you know?”

“And that makes it feel extra special!”

“Deep down, you’re not selfish at all, you know?”

“Trying new things like this for other people... That’s something that only really good people do!”

“Don’t worry, I’m really bad at this.”

“You can’t answer ‘just a little bit’ to a yes or no question...”

“Don’t be mean!”

“It sounds just like you.”

“I made eggs and toast!”

“It’s bad to skip breakfast!”

“I get all cranky...”

“This was so much fun!”

“But next time, I won’t forget.”

YURI ROUTE

“I was just spacing out...”

“If I was focused, then I probably wouldn’t have noticed in the first place.”

“Just curious, how come you have two copies of the same book?”

“I just wanted to make sure I don’t accidentally give anything away.”

That’s kind of dark, isn’t it?

“Are you not a fan of that sort of thing, [ insert character name here ]?”

“They challenge you to look at life from a different perspective.”

“When horrible things happen not just because someone wants to be evil... But because they have their own goals, or their own philosophy that they believe in.”

“I’m...I’m rambling, aren’t I...?”

“I haven’t lost interest or anything.”

“But I feel like I should let you know that I have this problem...”

“I kind of forget to pay attention to other people...”

“So I’m sorry if I end up saying something strange!”

“And please stop me if I start talking too much!”

“The least I can do is listen.”

“Alright...it’s fine if I sit here, right?”

“It’s not that I don’t want you to!”

“It’s just something I’m not used to...”

“[ insert character name here ], you really apologize a lot, don’t you?”

“Here, this should work, right?”

“...Are you ready?”

“I think I got a bit distracted for a second...”

“I don’t mind being patient if it takes you a bit longer...”

“Since you’ve been so patient with me...”

“It’s not like I can see into your head or anything.”

“I guess I more meant that it’s kind of cute...”

“What are you saying all of a sudden...?”

“I’m sorry if you haven’t been looking forward to this...”

“D-Did I say that out loud...?”

“You really didn’t do anything wrong, [ insert character name here ]...”

“What am I getting so nervous for?”

“This is actually my first time, really.”

“...Well, I know that!”

“This is the reason I was able to tell.”

“Of course, that’s not something you can be blamed for.”

“I shouldn’t be talking about people like that...”

“It wasn’t too short?”

“I must have totally missed the point...”

“I was really nervous about doing all this.”

“But in the end, I enjoyed it.”

#rp sentence starters #rp sentence meme #[ meme ]#ddlc spoilers #[ HERE HAVE ANOTHER ONE ]#[ this one took longer to do because ]#[ all the routes ]#[ made the day longer ]#[ so the next one - there'll be a while before it? if i do it? ]#[ but yeah! ]#[ there's a lot more here too as far as options for sending things ]#[ and i think i'm going to do act II all on one and act III all on one ]#[ and then the epilogue(s) - of course - would be on one ]#[ but anyway! ]#[ here! ]

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gadgetsrevv · 5 years ago

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Zidane, Valverde show Real Madrid and Barcelona players who’s in charge as Neymar links continue

I hope it’s not a revelation to you that when it comes to football managers, the four apocalyptic horsemen are injuries, defeat, the sack and the transfer market.

The first will lead to the second. Injuries provoke an increase in dropped points. Accumulate enough defeats and the clattering hooves of the third will soon be heard. But the fourth, the transfer market, can look deceptively like he’s mounted on a friendly, exquisitely-groomed, well-tamed thoroughbred until the beast rears its forelegs and thumps unsuspecting football managers full in the face. That’s why it has been fascinating and uplifting to see how Zinedine Zidane and Ernesto Valverde trying to turn into horse-whisperers over the past 10 days, each of them actively battling the collateral damage the transfer market is trying to inflict on them.

The main actors in this theatre of defiance and risk, directed and produced by “Zizou” and Valverde, are Ansu Fati, Gareth Bale, Carles Aleña, James Rodriguez, Luka Jovic, Carles Perez, Vinicius Jr., Sergio Busquets and Sergi Roberto. Neither manager actually needs to lie in bed at night cold-sweating the arrival of the third horseman. They’re not immune to being sacked, but they’re also not currently in danger.

– Ansu Fati becomes Barca’s youngest debutant in 78 years – Lowe: Jose Antonio Reyes’ death casts shadow over new season – Krichko: Inaki Williams blazes a trail at Athletic Club

Valverde has his critics, but he looks safe until his contract ends in June 2020. Zidane? In theory, given his brilliant champions league legacy as a player and coach, he should be the unsackable coach. However, on Tuesday, Marca, a newspaper consistently drip-fed information by Florentino Perez, splashed its front page with the headline “Zidane Loses His Immunity.” Zidane and President Perez are in a battle of wills as to whether it should be Paul Pogba or Neymar shipped in before the transfer market closes next Monday.

If Marca plasters “Zidane Loses His Immunity” across their front page, to be seen or read by several million people around the world, it must be accepted as a rap across the knuckles from a higher office than merely the season ticket-holders. “Get your nose out of the Neymar affair, forget about Pogba and get the team playing better” — that sort of message.

The first two apocalyptic riders, the pale and the red horses of injury and defeat, have visited Zidane and Valverde from almost the minute their summer holidays ended.

Zinedine Zidane has handled his want-away or surplus stars well at Real Madrid since the tumult of preseason, helping reintegrate Gareth Bale to the first team while slowly introducing the players signed by Florentino Perez.

Madrid have been blighted by eight major injuries in 47 days, which crippled their preseason stamina-building, team understanding, sharpness and new-player induction. It was brutal for Ferland Mendy and Eden Hazard, new arrivals, while Real also bid goodbye to Marco Asensio for most of the season. Meanwhile, Barcelona lost Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Ousmane Dembele to a plague of muscle problems that would have sent many managers gibbering to a psychiatrists couch with claims that “life has got it in for me!”

These things, while either improved or worsened by a club’s fitness practices, are largely out of the control of football managers. That particular horseman will visit: it’s inevitable.

What about defeats? Madrid lost 7-3 to Atleti in New Jersey and Barça kicked off the season with a defeat for the first time since 2008. These things do damage managers, all of which means that studying Zidane and Valverde’s decisions of who to pick or drop in their four matches, has been riveting for anyone who likes to people-watch in football and try to get under the skin of the main on-stage actors.

We’ve seen serious, ambitious but overburdened men making it crystal clear that they will embrace risk, that they will enforce principles, that they will stand defiant against certain club wishes… if it helps them deflect the damage the fourth horseman can inflict. The transfer market can become a pestilence for these two elite, seemingly untouchable and vastly successful men because it’s a beast that they cannot outright control. No way. It leaves them fighting to become survivors, not victims.

Zidane wants Pogba this summer, though not only does it seem sure he’s not going to get Manchester United’s marquee player, but Perez doesn’t appear particularly interested in trying to force a deal through. Zidane neither wants nor needs Neymar, sentiments that are of little or no interest to his employer.

Up front, Luka Jovic is far from the finished article as a striker. Zidane’s assessment seems to be that Jovic has little in his locker beyond the fact that the young, burly Serb inarguably tucks away goals. But “suck it up, Zizou!” is the message from the big Bernabeu offices. This is who you’re getting, regarding Jovic, so Zidane drops him.

As for Valverde? He’d love to be able to rely on Ivan Rakitic, one of his “most-used” footballers since the Basque (himself nicknamed “the Worker Ant”) discovered the Croatian’s unselfish, team-oriented relentless “all for one and one for all” playing ethic. But Rakitic is one of the few transfer-market coins that cash-strapped Barca have at their disposal.

Barca coach Valverde has reasserted himself as the man in charge despite complaints from senior players about a lack of minutes.

The likeliest resolution is that Rakitic’s stubborn insistence on staying will win the day when the market shuts on Monday. Meantime, the club’s requirement that Ivan-the-terribly-good doesn’t get injured, thus scuppering any possibility at all of putting him in a deal to secure Neymar, has been dominant.

Of Barcelona’s 180 competitive minutes so far in 2019-20, Rakitic has only been given 45. Those only came while Suarez was already off injured and Messi was absent. In other words, in extremis. Valverde has had no choice. The point is this: when Valverde opted to deploy 16-year-old Ansu on Sunday he did so as if he was saying “I’m taking back control!”

The previous week at San Mames, he’d already ignored Sergio Busquets and Junior Firpo on the bench and given 21-year-old winger Carles Perez only his second-ever senior appearance. Then Valverde started the kid again at the Camp Nou in week 2.

Against Betis, when Ansu was made Barcelona’s second-youngest player in club history, Valverde left on the bench two big-reputation (and big salary) players, Samuel Umtiti and Arthur, on the bench despite each of them crying out for game time.

Ansu may well be an emerging phenomenon and Perez a confident, talented young buck. But this was quite clearly a series of very firm messages. To President Bartomeu: “I don’t need Neymar, I’ve got the super-kids and I’ll use them.” To the senior players who have been ignored: “It’s time to sharpen up.” To the unreliable Dembele: “Get professional or get ready to languish on the bench or in the stands.” To the fans, media and to young academy players, including Ricki Puig, who some Barça media personalities and fans think is a mercurial genius already worthy of an automatic first-team place: “Youth will be trusted when I think it’s time.”

Zidane’s decision-making in Madrid can be regarded as a little more pragmatic but like Valverde, it’s still heavily laden with important declarations of self-determination, independence and potential conflict to come.

In order to have any chance of raising the cash to buy Neymar, Madrid’s bean-counters would need to sell or trade James or Gareth Bale. Or both. Zidane may not have been terrifically keen on either man until now but the instant the Premier League market closed, he exercised some good old common sense and extended the olive branch of peace to the Welshman, who has since started both Liga matches and played all but fifteen minutes of the 180 available.

James, ripe to be sold or traded before the other major markets close next Monday, was picked on merit against Valladolid and played well; he wasn’t wrapped in cotton-wool as Valverde has felt forced to do with Rakitic. The result? A good performance, but an injury now removes the Colombian as a trading piece from Florentino Perez’s shopping basket.

Zidane took back control. The club haven’t benefitted, but perhaps the team has. Perhaps he, himself, has. The manager’s authority, his character and how he’s viewed by the rest of the squad: all of those things have been reinforced. More, Zidane’s decision to drop Jovic demonstrated his thoughts on the Serb’s current form and preseason performances.

Cost: €50 million. The amount Zidane cares about that? Zero. It’s a message to the striker, message to those who signed him. Oh, and as for Alvaro Odriozola, signed after Zidane quit Madrid in June 2018? He was dumped out of the squad altogether at the weekend.

Neither manager has won all his bets, and each has faced criticism. But both of them wrenched back the idea that “the buck stops with me and I’m not just flotsam or jetsam to be tossed around by the furies of the transfer market.”

I think each man burnished his reputation, reaffirmed his authority, won back self-respect and faced down the fourth horseman of the apocalypse for football managers. How they must yearn to hear those hooves echoing into the distance next week.

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