#i did go Camden market briefly when I was there I just didn’t get much but I’m doing a shit ton of overtime and I gave myself a strict budge

[zibah-ho]

decided when I see mitski I’m also going to go cross a bunch of stuff off my ‘food I should have got in london when I was living there as a starving student’ list

[misssophiachase]

You and Me

25 Days of Klaroline + Favourite Song

I have MANY favourite songs that scream Klaroline, here is just one. The tempo suits a waltz perfectly, hence the theme. All lyrics by Lifehouse.

Ahead of his coronation, Prince Klaus has to polish his waltzing skills, enter dance teacher extraordinaire Caroline Forbes to whip him into shape. 

What day is it. And in what month? This clock never seemed so alive. I can't keep up, and I can't back down. I've been losing so much time.

His eyes flickered to the corner of the palace ballroom consulting the impressive, grandfather clock. It was at that point, Klaus decided that his childhood, superhero dream of flying had suddenly been overtaken by an intense desire to stop time. If only just to breathe and take everything in for a few extra minutes.   

“Ouch,” she muttered, bringing him well and truly back to the present, rubbing her big toe as she did it.

“Your Highness,” it was thinly veiled judgment, more than a polite address. Klaus knew that particular tone all too well since their lessons had begun. “It’s left foot then right.”

“That’s what I was doing.”

“Trust me, you weren’t,” she offered, looking briefly over at his heavyset bodyguard standing in the doorway ominously, a slight smile tugging at his lips although the rest of his face remained impressively stoic. “My left toe can testify to that very fact.”

“Fine,” he huffed, moving to the nearest table and grabbing a water bottle then taking a long swig. “I suppose I was…” 

“Distracted?” 

His beautiful but opinionated, dance teacher knew him too well. It should have scared him after such a short time together but it didn’t. When his mother had insisted he take classes ahead of his coronation next month he’d tried everything to avoid it but to no avail. Esther Mikaelson was a stickler for tradition, even if other members of the family didn’t always follow suit.

Klaus never wanted to be King, he always thought it impossible anyway. He liked the title but he was always the fun loving Prince. It was Elijah that was the perfect epitome of a future King, until tragedy had struck and he’d passed away unexpectedly from a rare form of cancer. His ascension to the throne was then a forgone conclusion but his grief had kept that fact at bay, for a few months at least.

It was something he’d begrudgingly and slowly accepted over time but this circus of a coronation, including dance classes, wasn’t what he signed up for.

“Yes, distracted.”

“I can only imagine given the upcoming coronation. Dancing is probably the last thing on your mind.” That was true but it was after the coronation part that scared him most. “Well and the whole becoming King part.” It was as if she had jumped into his head and rifled through his inner most insecurities. “I mean when you include the Commonwealth countries as well as Great Britain, that’s a lot of people to...” 

“Do you always talk a lot?” He interrupted, choosing not to let her finish that frightening sentence.

“Not when I’m dancing,” she shot back cheekily. “But someone in this room is being a little difficult, and I’m not talking about Ahmed.” She looked over noticing his smile had slightly grown in the last few minutes. Caroline had every intention of making him laugh aloud one day.  

“You know, people don’t usually talk to me like this…”

“I tend to get bossier when I’m overwhelmed by castles, corgis and royalty,” she admitted, somewhat sheepishly. “Your Highness if…”

“I like it,” he soothed, leaning over to place a hand over hers comfortingly. His heartbeat quickened slightly, Klaus usually blamed it on the cardio workout but didn’t have that excuse this time. “But there’s nothing to be overwhelmed about, Caroline.” 

“Nothing to be overwhelmed about? Are you kidding me?”

“You are a highly, accomplished woman. You’re well travelled and…”

“How exactly do you know that?” She asked curiously, her left eyebrow cocked. “Have you been checking up on me?”

“You are working in our employ which makes a security check compulsory. The file MI5 and your CIA gave my personal secretary was a lot more dense than you thought, I guess you could say.”

“I only stole that candy bar because Katherine dared me,” Caroline rambled. The way she scrunched up her nose defensively was the the most adorable thing he’d seen. “And that whole sorority incident was totally blown out of proportion.”

“You broke into a dorm room to steal someone’s knickers,” he smiled knowingly, actually enjoying their dance practice for the very first time.

“I was pledging,” she scoffed. “It’s not my fault the guy happened to be the Dean’s son.”

“I’m extremely interested in this former life as a underwear thief, please tell me more,” he smirked. She didn’t respond immediately just rolled her eyes. 

“Looks like the future King of England is just another guy,” she alluded. Before Elijah’s death, Klaus would have worn that reputation like a badge of honour but her words hurt. He wasn’t quite sure if it was the words or the woman saying them that affected him the most.

“How about we get back to practice?” He asked, not bothering to look at her before resuming his place mid dance floor. She seemed a little taken aback, her blue eyes searching his curiously. He didn’t mean to be so harsh but it was all becoming too familiar and being a future King, Klaus knew that emotion was something he couldn’t afford to betray. “I promise I won’t step on your toes again.”

“Famous last words,” she murmured, stepping into his frame, that delicious, vaniall scent wafting into his nostirls. Klaus closed his eyes momentarily, telling himself that it would all be over soon.    

Why are the things that I want to say, just aren't coming out right? I'm tripping on words. You got my head spinning. I don't know where to go from here.

Caroline Forbes was usually calm and collected. She paid her bills on time, her dentist appointments were scheduled like clockwork and every single day was planned out from start to finish.

The day that her perfectly planned life came undone was an unexpected call to her dance studio in Chelsea. Caroline had moved to London five years earlier from New York, ready for the next challenge in her life. She’d studied diligently at university, earning her Masters in Art History but dancing would prove to be her true passion.  

She’d befriended her cocky, best friend at the Camden Markets one dreary Sunday not long after her move. They’d fought over an antique figurine at one of the smaller stalls. Caroline’s grandmother collected them and he’d been insistent about having it until the end when he’d admitted he was just playing her. She would have killed him but he paid for it himself and shouted her a coffee. The rest, as they say, was history. 

“How’s Prince Hottie?” Enzo had decided to bestow his own nickname. She was fairly certain that he was still hoping the soon-to-be King would decide he would fall in love with him.  

“Shhhh,” she chided, looking around at their fellow patrons anxiously.

“I could be referring to anyone, darling,” he chuckled, taking a sip from his vodka martini. “And we’re in Brixton. I’m pretty sure the Royals don’t frequent this part of town or even know it exists to be honest.”

Caroline had to admit he was right as they enjoyed a drink at Three Eight Four Bar but for some reason every time he mentioned her latest and high profile dance student she became extremely defensive. Maybe it had something to do with the dense CIA file Klaus had alluded to and what might happen if she revealed too much information about said Prince. 

They’d been training together for eleven weeks now. Yes, he was still stubborn and offered his opinion all too freely but over their time together she’d sensed some vulnerability in the man the media dubbed the ‘fun loving Prince.’   

“Earth to Blondie?” Enzo interrupted, throwing a potato crisp in her direction for extra effect. “I was only telling you about my latest date with Josh.”

“And? Are we in love yet, Lorenzo?”

“I’ll keep you posted, but it’s looking promising,” he grinned. “But let’s get back to you and your issues.”

“My issues?” Caroline hissed. If there was anything Caroline didn’t have, it was issues. Her life was perfectly structured, no dangerous icebergs in sight.

“You like him.” 

“Excuse me?”

“I’d name him but I know how protective you are about His Royal Hotness,” he whispered, leaning over his glass and pretending to be discreet as only Enzo could. “It’s okay gorgeous, we’ve all had our celebrity crushes and I can understand being in such close proximity.” 

“I don’t have a crush,” she growled, feeling the heat creep across her cheeks. Damn that royal idiot for messing with her. Caroline’s emotions were always well and truly intact.  Her cell buzzed, she consulted the screen, her heart momentarily stopping at the text displayed. 

They’d been mucking around during break about nicknames and he’d momentarily stolen her cell. She’d assumed he had taken an unsolicited photo during rehearsal but he’d been messing in her contacts. “Who is this Fraser? Looks like a complete idiot to me.”

“Give that back!” She demanded, noticing that Ahmed seemed silently amused by their exchange. Caroline made a mental note that he was going to crack sooner rather than later. 

“Oooh, I’m sensing you like said idiot.” 

“That’s none of your business,” she hissed, snatching it back hoping he hadn’t read any of their texts. Fraser was an idiot but she didn’t want to prove his point given her recent rejection. He was cocky enough as it was. Caroline knew she needed to change the subject and fast.     

“The last thing I would ever want to do is inflate that annoying ego but between you and me, girls love a guy that can dance.”

“Oh do they?” He smirked curiously. “So, you’re saying I can dance?”

“Woah, hold up Fred Astaire, not yet,” she teased, gathering her golden waves into a ponytail to help ward off the Summer heat. “You get this right; all high society women are going to be lining up to dance with you.” 

“Maybe so but it’s not my thing, Caroline.”

“Not your thing? Oh I get it, you’re more into crumping than waltz?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about but I’m game to try that at the coronation. I have a feeling that it might actually spice things up.”

“I may be taking my life into my hands but how about we try that step again? Then I’ll teach you how to crump.”

“Whatever you say but I think it’s best we keep this arrangement from Fraser, wouldn’t want him getting too jealous.”

Enzo yanked at her stray blonde wave, the constant ringing of her cell not only annoying her obviously. “I’m cutting you off after this drink, dreamy.”

“If it isn’t the best dancer on earth,” she drawled after connecting. Trust his arrogant ass to make that his name in her contacts. “Not sure what you need me for then.”

“We all have our talents, love,” he chuckled, his deep voice causing a few unwelcome flutters down below. “I need an urgent lesson though.”

“What? Now? Tonight?”

“Apparently my frame leaves a lot to be desired,” he said repeating her earlier critique. “And I can’t sleep until it’s rectified.”

“Well, it’s going to have to wait,” she hissed, her anger rising with each word. How dare he try and pull royal rank? “I’m actually busy.”

“You must be Fraser?” A voice enquired, interrupting their drink. Caroline’s head whipped around, not immediately recognizing the Prince in a baseball cap and dark jeans.

“Well, that’s just all levels of offensive,” Enzo growled. “I may be gay but know how to treat a woman right.” 

“Ah, the best friend?” He asked, shaking his hand heartily. “Great to meet you mate, and couldn’t agree more about that idiot. He was never good enough for our Caroline.” 

“Our Caroline?” She hissed, wanting to yell every insult in his direction for his sudden appearance and subsequent behavior. Enzo didn’t seem so upset, his long, brown eyelashes fluttering a little faster than usual.  

“I told you, my frame isn’t what it should be,” he offered, sending Enzo another smile.

“And I told you I am busy,” she growled, through gritted teeth.

“She’s not busy,” Enzo shared, looking between the two. “I was just leaving, HRH.” Before she could argue, her best friend with his cute ass wiggling from side to side was gone. Traitor.

“Nice of him to be so formal,” Klaus offered, taking a seat at their table and gesturing towards the waitress. “Next round is on me.”

“But apparently your dance tuition was of the upmost urgency, brooding, bad dancer,” she huffed.

“Brooding, bad dancer?”

“Oh didn’t you know? That’s your name in my contacts,” she argued. “I don’t really appreciate your interfering.” 

“I had a dance emergency,” he insisted. 

“And what exactly was that?” Klaus looked at her sincerely before explaining.

“You’re going to be leaving me soon,” he explained, his blue eyes staring into hers earnestly. “And someone promised me some crumping lessons.”

“What? Tonight?”

“No time like the present,” he smiled, taking the drink from the waitress gratefully.

“Do they know you’re here? The coronation is in two weeks,” she whispered looking around the room. “Where is Ahmed?”

“You always liked him more than me, didn’t you?”

“Have you been drinking?” She hissed. Klaus didn’t respond just sent her a pair of his disarming dimples. There was no doubting the future King of England was drunk and in her presence. He’d been struggling since his brother’s death and sudden ascension to the throne that much was obvious, not that she blamed him. She needed to act fast.

“How about salsa instead? I know this great class.” She lied. In his current state it didn’t take much for her to convince him and they left the bar without anyone recognising him.  

Ahmed appeared from the shadows as they walked down the abandoned street at the back of the establishment. Caroline was relieved, no doubt he’d insisted he keep his distance. “Take him home.”

Ahmed’s eyes were telling her he wanted that but the future King had other plans. “You promised.” Caroline wanted to refuse but she had to get him home before his family or the press noticed. 

“Let’s go back to the Palace,” Ahmed nodded and led them to the waiting car. Klaus seemed pleased that she was sitting by his side and that was all that mattered.    

“Cause it's you and me and all of the people with nothing to do. Nothing to lose. And I don't know why, I can't keep my eyes off of you.”

“Why do we always have to waltz? You promised me crumping then salsa and god knows what else,” Klaus accused his lips barely moving, holding her close while they waltzed around the Kensington Palace ballroom with all eyes on them. 

“I’m saving you from a public relations disaster, you’ll thank me afterwards,” she grinned, her eyes settling on his. Once the formalities were through they both knew what they’d be doing.

It had been five years earlier when she’d been his dance tutor and now they were husband and wife. Her Royal Highness, Princess Niklaus of Wales in fact. Klaus had been equal parts adorable and insistent. She’d usually tell someone that indignant to get lost but unfortunately he had stolen her heart long before even if his dance moves still left a lot to be desired.  

[flauntpage]

Opinion: I Find it Hard to Root Against Villanova

I know what you’re thinking; this is a stunner.

It’s just stunning that Crossing Broad, a website started by a Villanova alumnus, would publish a pro-Villanova article.

But Kyle isn’t writing this story from an insider’s perspective. I’m writing it as an outsider whose team was booted from the NCAA Tournament by the Wildcats two weeks ago.

Common knowledge says I should be angry about that. Woe is me! I can’t cheer for Villanova since they dropped 13 three-pointers on us and finished the game on a 43-26 run. I have to hate the Wildcats, or whatever.

I don’t hate them, not one bit.

I like Nova. I was pulling for them to beat the brakes off of Texas Tech and Kansas, which they did. And I’ll be pulling for them against Michigan tonight, because there’s just nothing to dislike about Villanova. It’s a classy program run by a classy coach with a group of players that stay out of trouble and do things the right way.

The coach

When I worked at Eyewitness News, Selection Sunday was always a bear, just a tough day with a lot of work to do – a lot of highlights to edit, a lot of interviews to conduct, and a lot of graphics for the art department to build.

You’ve got coaches coming off of Saturday conference tournament games who sleep about four hours before joining their team on campus to watch the national broadcast and find out when and where they’re playing. Then, they do a BARRAGE of media with some folks on-site, and some folks off-site.

To that point, I can’t remember a time when Jay Wright ever said no to an interview. He would get back from the Big East tournament late on a Saturday night, do the selection thing with his team on Sunday, talk to reporters in person, then walk over to a separate room to do four separate interviews with Action News, NBC 10, FOX 29, and us. And it’s not like the television stations were major players in the sports market. We weren’t the Inquirer or Comcast SportsNet, and we didn’t cover Villanova the same way we covered the Eagles, Phillies, Flyers, and Sixers, but here’s Jay Wright, looking totally exhausted on more than one occasion, always willing to make time for Lesley Van Arsdall and our 11:35 p.m. sports special. It was never coach speak or cliches, either, he always acted like he gave a shit and took time to consider the questions we asked, questions he had probably answered 15 times already.

I can respect that, for sure. Here’s a guy who has always exuded class and been a fine ambassador for the region:

Much respect to @CoachBeardTTU and @TexasTechMBB – best defensive team we have played all year ! Congrats on a great season !

— Jay Wright (@VUCoachJWright) March 25, 2018

We are incredibly honored to have shared the court with that physically and mentally tough @WVUhoops team – Much respect to @CoachHuggs and the Mountaineers

— Jay Wright (@VUCoachJWright) March 24, 2018

When it comes to blemishes on Wright and his program, there’s pretty much nothing out there. There was a phone card “scandal” way back in 2003 where a bunch of guys made calls using someone else’s telephone access code.

Big deal!

Nova was mentioned briefly in the big NCAA report from a few months back, with three former players alleged to have received loan payments after they left the program. From what I understand, it’s another “nothing burger,” as that guy on CNN once said.

That’s about it. I can’t find anything else, nor do I remember anything else they’ve done wrong.

The players

Let’s take a look at recent rosters to see if we can find any Grayson Allen types:

Jalen Brunson – nah

Ryan Arcidiacono – nah

Kyle Lowry – nah

Randy Foye – nah

Scottie Reynolds – nah

I think back to the last 10 or 15 years of Big East basketball and a lot of villains come to mind – Carl Krauser, Eric Devendorf, Herb Pope – the list goes on and on.

But not once during that time period did I really dislike anyone from Nova. Allan Ray? Mike Nardi? Dante Cunningham? Darrun Hilliard? I didn’t hate any of those guys, not nearly as much as whoever Pitt or UConn or Georgetown was rolling out. Every time you saw Villanova on the schedule it was like, “ah, these guys are good, they’re a pain in the ass,” but playing the Wildcats never brought forth the abhorrence I felt when going up against Rick Pitino or Jim Calhoun or DeJuan Blair.

Some people wanna point to Nova as being a snooty Main Line school with entitled undergrads or something, but is it even really that bad? Yea, tuition is $52,000, but Penn ain’t much different. Yea, some Villanova types are rich, boat-shoe wearing Avalon vacationers, but so what? There are plenty of places to find elitists in this area. Take a drive over to Society Hill or Moorestown or Alapocas and it’s the same thing. I’ve lived long enough to know that douchebags come in all shapes, sizes, colors, and comments sections.

Now, some people like to go down the road of, “well, Villanova isn’t in Philadelphia, so it’s not a Philadelphia school!”

Right, so let’s do some geography.

Using City Hall as a central location, Nova’s campus is about 13 to 14 miles from center city if you’re taking a straight-ish shot down Lancaster Avenue:

Yea, it’s outside the city limits, but it’s really not that far. Saint Joe’s and La Salle are six miles from City Hall, so we’re really going to split hairs over a difference of eight whole miles?

Plus, when you go down the list of professional and college sports teams, you find all sorts of similar geographic snafus:

The New York Giants and New York Jets do not play in New York

The Buffalo Bills don’t play in Buffalo

The Washington Redskins don’t play in Washington

The Philadelphia Union don’t play in Philadelphia

The Dallas Cowboys don’t play in Dallas

The Detroit Pistons don’t play in Detroit

And the San Francisco 49ers sure as hell don’t play in San Francisco:

If you want to be more technical about it, the United States government’s Office of Management and Budget divides the country into 382 metropolitan statistical areas, defined by “one or more adjacent counties or county equivalents that have at least one urban core area of at least 50,000 population, plus adjacent territory that has a high degree of social and economic integration with the core as measured by commuting ties.”

Philly-Camden-Wilmington is the 7th largest MSA in the United States and is known to us… uh… the Delaware Valley, a region extending from Elkton all the way up to the Trenton border. Villanova University, Talen Energy Stadium, the new Sixers Field House, and pretty much everything “Philly sports” related falls into that greater catchment area.

So, no, Villanova is not “in Philadelphia,” but there are plenty of Eagles fans from Norristown, Medford, and Hockessin. Are they not qualified to be Eagle fans? The whole thing is DUMB.

North Philly native Kyle Lowry agrees, and touches on the topic in a recent Players’ Tribune story:

“Loyalty is everything in Philadelphia. I’m always going to be proud to be a Philadelphia native. Fly Eagles Fly. Let’s go Phillies. Let’s go Flyers. The 76ers … I mean, I’m obviously not rooting for them. But the point still stands.

It’s a great feeling to be able to represent your college and your city in big games. It’s great to have been a part of a program that changed the culture of the entire university. We worked hard, and we earned our place among the NCAA’s elite a long time ago. We’re not letting go anytime soon.

Some people will just never accept it. Some people will keep telling you that even though the perception might have changed, the geography is always going to be the same.”

And even if you’re resigned to the idea that Nova is some elite Main Line school, look at the guys on their roster. You’ve got kids from Archbishop Wood, Salesianum, and Neumann-Goretti wearing the jersey. Mikal Bridges went to public school at Great Valley. The son of the 76ers President earned a roster spot as a walk-on. I can get behind that.

I would hope that other Philadelphia sports fans can cheer for those guys and those stories. And I’d hope that Villanova fans would reciprocate if the tables were turned. I’d hope Lamarr Kimble and Shizz Alston and Darnell Foreman would get some love from Wildcat nation if they were playing for a national title.

If you went to Temple or Saint Joe’s or whatever, I get it. I wouldn’t go gung-ho for the Marshall Thundering Herd in the Poulan Weedeater Bowl, but I’d like to see West Virginia native John Holliday win it. For the same reason, I wouldn’t mind seeing Lowry win a ring with the Raptors.

And I’d prefer to see Villanova win it all tonight, again. I don’t think it matters if you went to Nova or didn’t go to Nova, or whether or not the school is in Philly or outside of Philly. I see an elite program with a classy coach and classy players who do things the right way and play lights-out basketball.

I find it hard to root against that.

Opinion: I Find it Hard to Root Against Villanova published first on https://footballhighlightseurope.tumblr.com/