#to still be denied by fifa itself

[thespoonisvictory]

I wanna enjoy the world cup and talk about football etc etc but knowing that fifa stopped recognizing the afghanistan women’s team because of taliban control is making it real hard

[rmfantasysetpieces1]

F1 is an engineering sport

The problem here is automotive sport is not like other sports. Adding an F1 team from cadillac, who hasn't made a good car in decades, and definitely not a great engine, will not improve the league. Cadillac can't make a better car than mercedes or ferrari. And Redbulls is uisng ford motor engines soon. Renault is an economy class car company. I concur to the assessment. Andretti + Cadillac want the f1 brand to help them. But they will not compete. People don't comprehend , automotive sport is not just about drivers, it is about engineering, and the costly nature of engineering. An F1 car's engine first and foremost is not something you see on the street, the design, the materials, the design is particular. I only know one firm that makes a car that is open wheel and legal to race in the street. I am not convinced. And besides, why can't andretti make their team for indy car? or better for the super formula series based in japan? They can easily prove their quality by dominating indy and superformula but they can't cause you can't hype your way in motorsport. Your car's quality will be exposed , especially that engine.

Lastly, this is the price of being sold to a USA firm. From FIFA and the world cup to FIA and F1 it seems the USA wants a greater role or influence in these sports absent quality or merit in the field itself, just using its power outside the sport to bully its way in.

What do you think?

THE ARTICLE Liberty Media is under investgation over anti-trust violations after denying Andretti F1 bid nathan brown, indianapolis star Fri, Aug 9, 2024, 11:01 AM EDT

Three months after receiving letters from members of the U.S. Congress -- including one from Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee -- scolding and questioning their decision to deny Andretti Global and Cadillac the chance to join the Formula 1 grid in 2025 or 2026, Libery Media noted in a quarterly earnings call Thursday that it is facing an investigation from the U.S. Department of Justice for related anti-trust violations.

Greg Maffei, the CEO of the Colorado-based company that, through its subsidiary Formula One Management owns the commercial rights to the F1 World Championship, noted on the call that Liberty Media would cooperate with the DOJ and was confident Liberty hadn't run afoul of any regulations regarding its Andretti decision.

"We believe our determination, F1's determination, was in compliance with all applicated U.S. antitrust laws, and we've detailed the rationale for our decision vis-a-vis Andrett in prior statements," Maffei told Wall Street business analysts. "We are certainly not against the idea that any expansion is wrong. There is a methodology for expansion that requires approval of the FIA and the F1, and both groups have to find the criteria met.

"We're certainly open to new entrants making applications and potentially being approved if those requirements are met."

The years-long process began in 2021 with Michael Andretti losing out on an 11th-hour deal with Sauber to purchase a controlling interest in its F1 outfit that soon will be controlled outright by Audi. In February of the next year, Mario Andretti announced that his son had filed paperwork with F1 officials to inquire about joining the grid as an expansion franchise, first revealing to IndyStar that Andretti would plan to build its cars out of its now-under-construction sprawling headquarters in Fishers.

After a series of testy, public back-and-forths with Libery and F1 series officials, as well as many of the team owners -- most of whom have been vehemently against expansion to protect the financial solvency of the 10 current teams and their sky-rocketing valuations -- through much of 2022, the FIA in early 2023 announced it would open an 'expressions of interest' process where prospective new team owners could apply for clearance to join the F1 grid. After receiving the support of General Motors and its luxury racing brand Cadillac to run tandem in the project, Andretti would be the only team given the green light by the FIA in October of last year.

"Andretti Formula Racing LLC was the only entity which fulfills the selection criteria that was set in all material respects," FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem said at the time, regarding the FIA's "robust" due diligence process. "I congratulate Michael Andretti and his team on a thorough submission.”

Andretti and GM's application was then passed on to Libery Media and FOM for further review, as any new entrants to the F1 grid have to be jointly agreed upon by both the sporting and commercial sides in order to gain full clearance. Four months later, F1 dressed down Andretti's application in a thorough denial, stating the entry was unlikely to be competitive; that its stakeholders likely didn't understand the scope and difficulty of the project; that it was unlikely to add value to the sport and its current 10 teams; and that the Andretti brand was more likely to gain from admission than vice versa.

"Our assessment process has established that the presence of an 11th team would not, on its own, provide value to the Championship," F1's wrote in a three-page decision letter sent to Andretti officials. "The most significant way in which a new entrant would bring value is by being competitive. We do not believe that the Applicant would be a competitive participant.

"While the Andretti name carries some recognition for F1 fans, our research indicates that F1 would bring value to the Andretti brand rather than the other way around. … We do not believe that the applicant has shown that it would add value to the Championship. We conclude that the Applicant's application to participate in the Championship should not be successful."

In a statement in response that same day in January, the team said in a statement that it "strongly disagreed" with F1's findings. "Andretti and Cadillac are two successful global motorsports organizations committed to placing a genuine American works team in F1, competing alongside the world's best," the pair said in the statement. "We are proud of the significant progress we have already made on developing a highly competitive car and power unit with an experienced team behind it, and our work continues at pace."

In April of this year, the team opened a new nearly 50,000-square-foot facility near the legendary Silverstone race track in the U.K. out of which its more than 100 F1 project-focused employees would work out of moving forward. According to Mario Andretti, Michael's famous father and the 1978 F1 champion, all the work of the last several years boils down to the next year or so. Despite F1 and Liberty saying they'd be willing to potentially reconsider Andretti Global's bid once Cadillac can produce its own power unit for the project in 2028, the elder Andretti told reporters in April at Long Beach that the team's F1 prospects were boom-or-bust for a 2026 entry point, so as not to be forced to pay hundreds of millions more in a steep entry fee that would be split among the 10 current teams to offset their losses as F1's marketing dollars would begin to be split 11 ways instead of 10.

“The point is, right now, the Concorde Agreement that’s in place, that’s the valid one. They want to come up with a different one after the end of 2025, but we started this process over two years ago, and we’re going under the current Concorde Agreement,” Andretti said. “We didn’t build, we didn’t do everything, we didn’t invest to be here in 2030.

“The objective was to be on the grid in 2024 when we started. Then it’s 2025, and now it’s 2026. But this has got to happen. We’ve invested knowing that we’re going by the book, and I don’t want to hear about the new one. Throw everything you want around, but that’s a different story. We’re going by what’s in place now.”

Less than two weeks later -- and just days ahead of a planned meeting with F1 officials at the Miami Grand Prix to further discuss the issues at hand -- the elder Andretti was on Capitol Hill with Rep. John James (R-Mich.) to meet with various members of Congress to discuss Liberty's purported anti-trust violations. That day, a bipartisan group of a dozen politicians sent a letter to Maffei expressing "concerns with apparent anti-competitive actions" related to Liberty's denial of Andretti during the potential expansion process. In asking for a quick response and answer to three pointed questions about its stonewalling of Andretti's bid, the signees also said that "participation of all Formula 1 teams -- including any American teams -- should be based on merit and not just limited to protecting the current lineup of race teams."

The initial letter, which went public May 1, was then followed by one penned by Jordan six days later that requested a trove of documents from F1 officials related to its decision to block Andretti's bid for the grid, poked holes in its argument against Andretti's admission and requested a "staff-level briefing" on the decision.

"Weak teams want to be protected from competition to the detriment of consumers and an additional team (that) would compete for prize money and sponsorships. If Formula One must hinder competition and harm consumers to protect failing competitors, then the entire Formula One model may be broken, and the entity cannot hide behind the necessity of a sports league to pursue anticompetitive conduct," Jordan wrote.

"Delaying Andretti Cadilla's entry into Formula One for even one year will harm American consumers to benefit failing Formula One teams."

On May 21, a bipartisan group of seven U.S. senators -- including both from Indiana -- published and sent a third related letter, this one sent to members of the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission, to share concerns that Liberty and F1 were "acting at the behest of its independent teams and other key stakeholders…to exclude the team formed by (Andretti Global's) partnership with General Motors from entering (F1)."

"It is possible that such a refusal to deal -- especially if orchestrated through a gropu boycott -- could violate U.S. antitrust laws," the letter read, going on to point out that F1 had run with 11 teams in 2016 and 12 in 2012 and that Andretti endeavored to be the only member on the grid with an American-made car, American-made components and an American driver. The letter also pushed back at F1's claims that Andretti wouldn't be competitive straight away, referring to Red Bull having won all but one race in 2024 and that half the grid went without a single win combined the previous four seasons.

Further, it noted the rise of American interest in the sport, adding that "clearly there is a financial incentive to adding an American team to F1's roster, and there is no reason Team Andretti-Cadillac should be blocked unless FOM is trying to insulate its current partners from competition."

"We have serious concerns that the rejection of Team Andretti-Cadillac was based on a desire to exclude a rival from the racetrack. marketing opportunities and prestige that competing in F1 can lend to a car manufacturer competing to sell cars across the globe," the letter closed. "That F1 stakeholders may have engaged in concerted action to exclude Team Andretti-Cadillac -- especially after it met all technical requirements to join F1 -- that merits investigation."

Andretti Global declined to comment on the news of the DOJ's investigation of Liberty Media.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: U.S. DOJ investigating Liberty Media for denying Andretti F1 bid

URL https://sports.yahoo.com/liberty-media-under-investgation-over-150109731.html

#rmsoccer

[allfifaworldcup]

Cristiano Ronaldo relegated to supporting role as Bruno Fernandes and Joao Felix thrive for Portugal-FIFA WORLD CUP

Cristiano Ronaldo relegated to supporting role as Bruno Fernandes and Joao Felix thrive for Portugal-FIFA WORLD CUP

Ahead of their quarter-final, Ronaldo is still the talk of the town in Qatar. The Portuguese Football Federation yesterday denied a report in Portugal that Ronaldo threatened to leave the World Cup after he was benched for Tuesday’s win over Switzerland. After they released a statement, Ronaldo tweeted: “A group too close to be broken by outside forces. A nation too brave to let itself be…

[myjunkisyuzuruhanyu]

Can I vent you a bit?

Now that Yuzuru retired all I can read everywhere that now FS is not the same without him, it’s dead, they won’t attend competitions, won’t watch it on TV anymore and I just feel it’s so unfair and unrespectful towards the still competing skaters. All of them work hard every day to show their best, everyone has something to show. Yes Hanyu was one of a kind, a very talented, charismatic athlete. I have to admit the reason I never had a bond towards him is mostly his fans cos they are just so LOUD, toxic&overwhelming. They created an idol/god for themselves and have the misconception that they need to protect&save him from..exactly what? He is a grown up man and can handle life I’m sure. Maybe their intentions were good but they just made everything worse so far. So long blahblah short I’m sick of this drama and can we just pleeeeeease focus on the upcoming season and cheer for the athletes of this beautiful sport? Because it’s still beautiful.

This is going to be long...and salty probably....maybe I should not answer this in a heated moment but I did anyway...

One thing is true that this season won't be the same without Yuzu. I mean Yuzu has competed for 11 years in seniors. He is 27 years old and has been in this circus for all of his life. During the years he competed he definitely had a huge impact on the sport, he technically drove the sport to others spheres, but he also always had strong rivals to fight along. His results are one of a kind and maybe he is the best male skater there ever was - I would say so. Yuzu was a skater that has drawn ppl towards the sport, so his influence is not to be underestimated. So I agree with Fanyus who say that this sport won't be the same without him because it won't be. The question is if for good or bad. I don't think you can yet say that and I am not sure you will ever be able to say so, because each aera is different. There will be ppl who don't like it and there will be new ppl who will. (look I for one could never get into the skaters or skating of the 80s or 90s though in my country it was the time the sport was widely known and most popular. In Germany if you ask about figure skaters, the skater normal ppl could name is still Katarina Witt. No one here who has no interest in the sport knows any other figure skater not even Yuzu, maybe if you follow the Olympics. Katarina Witt however is still a name present for most ppl.)

I think it's exaggerated that no one will watch the sport now. I mean I am not "no one" 😅Yuzu has a big fan base, but Yuzu is not the sport itself. Figure skating was there before Yuzu and will be there after Yuzu, that's life of a sport. In what amount it will be present we can only speculate. There have always been plenty of competitions Yuzu did never enter like Europeans for example or well Yuzu didn't compete in ladies, ice dance or pairs ever 😅There were seasons Yuzu wasn't able to compete much and still ppl watched the sport. Arenas are still full despite high prices and Yuzu not attending. Yes I don't deny that competitions with Yuzu had a higher level of attendance and tickets were sold better. The Fanyus who are only interested in Yuzu only were never a fan of the sport, but foremost of Yuzu, which is fine to each their own, but ofc those kind of ppl won't stay watching but I doubt they ever watched when Yuzu didn't compete. But a lot of Fanyus do like other skaters too and will still watch and support as many already said on their respective fan accounts. What I think is really unnecessary is that some Fanyus try to police other fans in not watching the sport anymore too. I mean what is that for? To show that you are right and the sport is really dead without Yuzu? Is this really about Yuzu then or only about yourself being right?

I think most embarrassing are the ppl who say they wouldn't want to give ISU clicks and views because of how corrupt they are but are extremely entertained by the fact that the FIFA World Cup happens during the GP series and they will rather watch this than give ISU their views...wait a moment is FIFA not a big fat company that supports human rights being treated like trash for the World Cup to build the arena, where the host was bought for a fact? Hm sure give the FIFA your money and views...how much exactly do you care for corruption then? ISU is by no means a saint but of all sport organizations you chose to throw your support behind FIFA...don't you think that's hypocritical? (yes there were tweets like this with huge amount of likes)

I don't deny that figure skating views and ratings may take a hit without Yuzu because of his amount of fans, but also one other big problem is not to be underestimated. The Russians won't compete either internationally. In Russia figure skating is just as popular as in Japan, so without their skaters and fans, ratings and views especially for ladies will drop without them. These are two effects happening at the same time. How much is Yuzu's fans missing or Russian fans missing I am not sure you can differ that. Both will have an impact, but will arenas be empty now? I don't think so.

And there is one other thing. Always after the Olympics things change. Skaters retire, fans go and new fans come. The Olympic season usually has higher ratings and more exposure in the media than the season after the Olympics. Also new skaters turn senior, new stars evolve, this needs time. So can we really compare this season with the last season?

I think all this obsession with ratings, views and numbers pretty exhausting. Yes Yuzu's videos have higher views and ratings, but are other skaters efforts less worth because they don't have the same amount of views? Are their medals less worth? I thought this is a sport not a popularity contest...Popularity contenst Yuzu is definetly the winner no one denies that.

I said it before I think it's sad that Yuzu is celebrated as a "thomb stone" for the sport, because Yuzu loves this sport so much, just see how seriously he still takes his training in the livestream and how it didn't collide with any competition or ice show of others. I think it's disrespectful towards other skaters and even Yuzu himself to want the sport to die. (some only mean the ISU but you cannot unravel the complete ISU and not destroy the life of other skaters along, when there is no sport corporation the sport is indeed dead at least internationally - ISU does need reforms I am all in for it, but don't take it out on the skaters by retreating any kind of support for something they have no influence in.)

Yuzu is for sure not the one who wants the sport to be dead.

Everyone should do what is best for them. No one is forced to remain in the sport, to watch it, whatever their reasons for leaving the sport are, it's fine. Watching this sport should be fun and if you don't enjoy it anymore, then go! Others will come, things will be different, maybe the fanbase will be smaller, maybe views will take a hit, but the sport won't disappear I promise.

I will still watch this sport and still be here. 😊 And I am all in for cheering and supporting the still competing skaters! Screw the drama and look ahead!

___

It's sad, but you're sadly not the only one who couldn't get into Yuzu because of some fans.

I have often enough tried emphasize that not every Yuzu fan is toxic and mean. Most of them are quite normal and kind and got forbid they even like other skaters and don't wish ill on anyone else. Some very vocal loud fans thrive in being toxic and I really see when you only encounter fans like that you're kinda taken aback by it. I get it, but it's sad because Yuzu is such an amazing athlete and he deserves the best in the world.

Once again how Fanyus behave is not Yuzu's fault. If you have many fans, you also have many bad apples in it. Simple as that. And sad as it is, the loudest ppl always get the most attention - negative and positive. This isn't different irl than online.

[sweetsubharry]

hi! can you give me your hottest, dirtiest, filthiest bottom harry fics?

Hiya!! Yes I can! ^-^

Now there are 41 different fics under this list, so it’s quite long! Obviously what people find dirty/filthy can be a large range, so if you ever want to narrow it down just send another message like ‘no plot’ for example :) and then I can make it more suited to your taste if this one isn’t! I hope you enjoy this though love ❤

In case no one gets to the bottom of the page I’ll say it again here too! Please make sure to stay safe and read the tags!! ❤ ❤

you're my favorite ride by louislovesharry

no summary 

At Least As Deep As the Pacific Ocean (I wanna be yours) by babylouis

Louis can’t help but stop and watch him for a moment, how beautiful he looks, sprawled out on the bed, his cock red and hard against his tummy, collar snug against his neck and the bow still placed neatly in his curls to keep them back from Harry’s face.

His boy may be the most beautiful creature on the planet.

Especially tied up like this, body begging to be fucked. Begging to be destoryed.

or

Louis likes to push boundaries, and Harry takes what he gets. Lots of subspace Harry and fonding Louis ensues.

redder than the devil by mercutionotromeo

It's half past 9, and all Harry wants is for Louis to touch him. Preferably after a good spanking.

If you combine a lazy Saturday afternoon with a distracting, pouty Harry, you'll end up with Louis spanking his baby over his knee in the middle of a paused FIFA match.

Pretty please, take care of me ? by kurtcobain

Louis is stressed. Harry wants to help.

Step into the Light by Smolbeanandhisqween

Harry is on the set of his new music video "Lights Up". His husband, Louis, is watching him film the video. He gets jealous of all of the people touching Harry and teaches him a lesson.

Destroy Me, King by stylinsexualxo

After SNL, jealous Louis has a little surprise for Harry when he arrives home.

Can We Pretend (honestly reality bores me) by SadaVeniren

He felt Louis chuckle. “Dreaming of being my supportive, no-name boyfriend again?”

“Always,” Harry whispered. It was true. After all this time together there was no point in hiding any of his fantasies from Louis, no matter how innocent they were. So Louis was well aware of Harry’s desire to be anonymous sometimes - the “no-name” as Louis called him - loyal, a constant presence at Louis’ side.

aka Harry comes and supports Louis at his Scala concert

Let Me Be Good For You by onlyhuman for haroldtbh

His distress over the bun is nothing compared to the thrill Louis feels shoot up his spine at the outfit Harry’s donned. He’s changed into leather jeans that cling to his legs, hugging his thighs snugly. On top of it, a floaty, black sheer shirt is contouring his frame, doing absolutely nothing to hide his puffy nipples or the endless array of tattoos scattered across his torso. It’s Louis’ favourite outfit in the entire world.

Or, Niall's only birthday wish is to go clubbing with his boys in Vegas. Harry ruins it all by wearing that god forsaken black sheer shirt.

You Like Playing Games by orphan_account

Louis knows Harry likes to flirt and tease. Louis knows that he doesn’t particularly like when Harry flirts and teases. Louis knows that Harry knows that Louis doesn’t particularly like it.

But what Louis doesn’t quite know is why, despite that, Harry’s decided to grind against 5 Seconds of Summer’s Luke Hemmings during “Teenage Dirtbag” in the last show in Melbourne.

Basically pure smut.

Do Not Disturb (kiss me beneath the milky twilight) by SadaVeniren

“I was talking with Nick a couple months back and he was saying how our sex life seemed boring and we’d need to keep doing new and interesting things to keep it exciting or else we’d become boring and heterosexual and I defended us of course but then work picked up and we started living off of studio handjobs and missionary position sex in the dark and so I panicked. I googled BDSM and after looking into it I really want to try some of it because I think we’d enjoy it but we just don’t have the time.”

aka Harry doesn't want to become a boring old married couple a year into their relationship and tries to spice up their sex life.

Forgetting Frisco by iwillpaintasongforlou

Harry probably knew when he decided to wear that goddamn sheer shirt onstage in Toronto that it was going to drive Louis absolutely insane with want. He probably didn't know that Louis was going to proceed to fuck him so good he had flashbacks for years to come just like Frisco, but then again, you won't hear him complaining.

(Basically 6k of Louis worshipping Harry's body and doing it all in front of a mirror so Harry can worship, too.)

Mon Petit by coffinofachimera

Harry wears the 'Mon Petit' sweater while Louis records them on their private 

falling for you, i can't keep away by hegotthedagger plane

Harry wants Louis really bad and Louis might want him just as much.

Always In My Heart by sweaterpawstyles

The tweet itself was not startling at all. Harry saw people retweet it nearly every day for years now. It always made him smile to see how many people had retweeting Louis showing his love for Harry on that day.

What was startling was underneath where the fan had retweeted it, Harry saw the small number 1M written on it.

Harry froze, completely unable to move anything in his body. He knew Louis had the second most retweeted tweet of all time, but it reached a million retweets. One million people believed in Louis' love for Harry. Or AIMH hits 1 million & facetime sex ensues

You and Me by louisgrindsonharry

Harry and Louis have dabbled in the idea of BDSM but Harry finally wants to take it farther and Louis has to figure out how to take care of his boy.

they shake, you conquer (and I'm left to their devices) by butidontreallycare

smut. a little love for Harry's thighs, but mostly just smut. I am not ashamed

Daddy Came Home by RuinedBy5Guys

“You got yourself off.” He says quietly, his eyes locked on Harry’s. Harry’s face flushes and he tries to cover it, shoving himself towards Louis. He drops to his knees, leaning close between his husbands spread thighs. He puts his hands on his dress pants, carefully feeling the material at his knees.

“How did you know?” He asks quietly. Louis drops his face, grabbing over Harry’s hands with his own. Harry lowers his gaze, staring at the carpet underneath him.

“You were asleep. You always get tired after an orgasm. Not to mention how flushed you are.” He says quietly, raking his eyes over Harry’s body. Harry glances up at him, his actions becoming more clear to him now that Louis was home.

“I’m sorry.” He whispers, dropping his eyes again.

“What was that?” Louis snaps, reaching to bring Harry’s face up again. Harry gulps, shuffling closer on his knees, the joints aching already.

“I’m sorry, Daddy.” Harry says, his green eyes locked on Louis’ blue ones. Louis smiles slightly, stroking his fingers over his husbands cheeks softly.

“Just gonna have to spank you now, aren’t I?”

OR... Harry teases and Daddy punishes him in the best ways possible

take me into your loving arms by blankiehxrry

twas the night of the brit awards

I Wanna Do What Bunnies Do With You by MoreThanTonight

“Lou.. Not here?” Harry pulled off with a gasp. “There are people in the next room. What if they hear us?“

“Then I guess you’ll just have to be quiet, won’t you, love?” Louis winked.

It's Harry's birthday and Louis wants to make it a birthday he won't forget. Louis is an art student, Harry is his boyfriend and muse.

if they find out, will it all go wrong? by blankiehxrry

madison square garden shenanigans

Happy Birthday by sleepingalone

“You wanna use that right now?” he asked incredulously, wondering how horny Louis must be. They had just fucked a few hours ago, before falling asleep. Surely he didn’t want to use it already.

“You said we had to wait till my birthday, and it’s my birthday,” Louis said cheekily, throwing Harry a small grin. Harry groaned into the pillow, burying his head in it.

“But I’m tired, Lou. I need my beauty rest.”

“I already undid the packaging,” Louis whined. “Please, can we just do it real quick? It would really make my day. My birthday,” he added. “You can go to sleep afterwards, Sleeping Beauty.”

or

Louis just really wants to use his new vibrating butt plug on Harry and turn him into a broken mess.

I Knew Right From the Beginning That You Would End Up Winning by aalexandravictoriaa

"I remember the first day I met you," Louis says, using his thumbs to make Harry open up to him even more. "I remember wanting to take you right there on the fucking street. I wanted to bend you over and bury myself in you over and over again. I couldn't then, but I'm going to now, baby. First with my tongue, then with my cock."

OR

Harry is Louis' favorite camboy and Louis becomes his Daddy.

In Motion by FictitiousFanatisch (orphan_account)

They'd only talked about it once a few weeks ago. Harry always liked it when Louis was in control and he said there was something about being denied constantly that made him even more turned on.

or

It's a lazy day and Harry wants Louis to edge him. (That's literally it.)

I'm Gonna Love You (Until You Hate me) by sweaterpawstyles

As if reading his mind, Louis glanced over his glasses at Harry, presumably because Harry didn't reply to his statement earlier.

"I decided to get my glasses out again," he chuckled, winking at Harry. "Do you like them?"

Harry felt his face heat up. No, he didn't just like them. He fucking loved them and wanted to ride Louis and call him daddy while he wore them. But he didn't want to just tell Louis this.

Or

Louis wears glasses and Harry doesn't like to be teased

I have often prayed for an angel by orphan_account

“Daddy,” he whines, voice already growing high in pitch. “Can I? Please?” “Of course angel,” Louis whispers fondly, hand tangling in Harry’s hair as he brushes it back. He loves Harry’s long strands, maybe even more than Harry does himself. “You look so beautiful on your knees like that, so eager to suck my cock.” “Mhm,” Harry hums, already licking at Louis’ slit. He begins to suckle softly at the head, peering up at Louis with wide eyes. The angel wings stretch on either side of him, and it’s so obscene, how filthy the act they’re doing is in contrast to the white feathers adorning Harry’s back. “Love your cock Daddy.” Or, the one in which Louis fucks Harry in the VS wings after he wears them onstage.

down and dirty, you're loving me so loud by orphan_account

Harry's finally twenty and there's a few things he wants.

feels so good getting what i want. by stylescantstop

Harry is a slutty yoga teacher with his sights set on Louis and Louis wants to pull that long hair of his while he fucks him really hard from behind.

Empyrean, You Fool by becauseitrhymes

Louis only realized it was actually happening once the reality of getting to carry boxes to his new flat settled in. He’d moved out of his parent’s just two days prior, with a stomach full of butterflies and no knowledge of how to do anything remotely adult, like, at all.

He’s only twenty-three years old, too, and he thinks he’s done pretty well for such a young age, considering he’s bought a flat with his money and had driven his car to get there and hadn’t cried (much) when leaving his parents. All in all, Louis thinks it’s pretty cool.

And then he’s sitting on his couch watching football in his lounge in his flat and hell yeah, it’s pretty cool.

AU where Louis moves next door to Harry, Louis falls in love with Harry, sex ensues.

Love Me Like You Do by sweaterpawstyles

Of all of the things Louis had imagined, never did he expect to become a chief editor for a magazine and to date the world-famous model Harry Styles. But he certainly never imagined one day that he would be anxiously awaiting a phone call from the top floor of an office building to tell the Harry Styles to get himself dolled up and ready to wait for his Daddy to come home before he got fucked into the mattress.

Or

Harry is a famous model and Louis is a quiet writer who may or may not be his Dom

A Hard Day's Work by louisruinedlife (orphan_account)

A bad day at work for Harry usually means turning in early. A bad day at work for Louis leads to something else entirely.

*Can be read as a stand alone.

the big idea by orphan_account

University students Harry and Zayn are filming a prank for YouTube that requires Harry to walk around campus asking random men if he could suck their dick. One of the guys, Louis, who agrees to such offer is too attractive for Harry to pass down.

He doesn't think its much of a prank anymore after that.

throw me in the deep end, watch me drown by orphan_account

“That's why you were late, eh?” he teases as Harry frantically tries to hide the dildos and the collar in the drawer. “Having too much fun to think about good ole Louis?”

“You were having fun too,” Harry replies weakly. Louis honestly has never seen a person be in such a shade of red.

“Yeah, but my fun didn't involve colourful dildos and nipple clamps.”

or the one where louis really needs to pass his a-levels and harry is his tutor who doesn’t really own a dog.

Give It To Me (I'm Worth It) by sweaterpawstyles

"Who the hell puts lube packets in their sock?"

"A boy who wanted to get fucked in the locker room by his daddy," Harry said innocently. "I have my good intentions, Lou."

or

Louis can't resist Harry in the red shorts that he wore during the James Corden skit. Featuring locker room sex.

don't let nobody touch it (unless that somebody's me) by stylescantstop

written for this prompt:

"louis knows Harry gets handsy when he's drunk, but that doesn't stop him from showing harry who he belongs to."

or the one where harry dances with other men and a jealous louis reminds him he's the only one who can make him come completely apart.

causing trouble up in hotel rooms (baby, I'm perfect) by felixandtae

A fan threw a Green Bay Packers crop top on stage and Harry kept it. We all know what happened after that.

sweet like cinnamon by brainwaves for SuburbanWarrior

It all started with bumping into Louis at Gemma’s mate’s wedding. Well, maybe it really started with Harry making heart eyes at the boy in jersey number 17 all those years ago. Now all he can think about is getting into Louis’ pants and maybe staying there for a really, really long time.

Or the one where Harry calls Louis daddy and it all spirals out of control from there.

Fulfilling Your Needs by unmeshed

“You want to be messy, baby? Filled with Daddy’s come? So much that you can barely hold it all in?"

Harry nods softly and Louis leans in to kiss him on the lips with a smile. “Want Daddy to plug you up after? Keep it inside of you all day?"

“Lou,” Harry whines, softly rubbing himself against his boyfriend, biting down on Louis’ bottom lip before he deepens the kiss, sneaking his tongue inside.

Louis’ll be damned if he can’t make Harry’s dreams come true.

or

Louis buys Harry an ejaculating dildo because Harry wants to feel full.

Like a Kitten by peaceloveandlarry

"Erm, I, uh, well, I think... I think you're really pretty, and I, um, I want to fuck you- I mean! Oh god. I- I want to go out? Yea! I want to go out."

Or Harry likes to wear kitten ears, and Louis happens to think Harry looks nice with them.

into another serotonin overflow by mercutionotromeo

Harry's the yearbook photographer who's been assigned to take pictures of Louis, the new captain of the football team. Harry's got a massive, obvious crush on Louis and somehow, Louis feels the same way.

Sweet first time sex wherein Harry's adorably awkward, Louis is achingly cool, and Harry rides Louis wearing his jersey.

need a little sweetness in my life by mercutionotromeo

Harry's always liked feeling desperate and small when Louis touches him, but when he sucks Harry off...it’s fucking otherworldly. Desperate’s not really the word at that point - it’s helpless. Like… like the fucking world could stop spinning and Harry wouldn’t be able to do anything about it until Louis finished him off with his lips and his tongue.

Or, Harry and Louis go to university together. Harry really likes it when Louis sucks him off, and Louis really likes it when Harry calls him Daddy.

(Sequel to "into another serotonin overflow")

Cheeky Princess by Noelle1224

Harry and panties. What more is there to explain?

I'm Tired Of Using Technology, I Need You Right In Front Of Me by Phillipa19

Louis goes away on yet another business trip, but when he stops calling Harry to check in, Harry decides to take matters into his own hands.

OR- Louis is Harry's sugardaddy who has gone away on business and Harry feels neglected. Louis is possessive and gets a camera installed in their bedroom so he can check up on Harry, so Harry decides to use the camera to his advantage.

Got A Lot You Wanna Show Off Baby by Phillipa19

Louis had been in meetings all day, he should have known that Harry wouldn't be ignored for much longer.

-OR-

Louis is Harry's sugardaddy and his younger boyfriend is definitely not happy being ignored whilst Louis holds meetings in his home office. There may also be Harry in lacy knickers involved.

As always please make sure to stay safe and read the tags!! ❤ ❤

[anarchist-soupkitchen]

FIFA'S GAY!! (but not in a good way)

At the time of writing FIFA 2020 was not cancelled yet. But for the sake of this essay ignore that. This is an essay a persuasive one that will convince you why FIFA is not doing enough for queer rights. This was of course written about a month ago so I don't think any of it will be out of date. Its not as good as I would of liked so, the third paragraph is a bit choppy so be warned.

LGBT+ and FIFA’s questionable relationship with the community

“FIFA claims that football can unite the world… anti-LGBT+ policies don’t.” -Human Rights Watch. The last decade has been a staple for LGBT+ activism, but we are also seeing an unsettling uprise in crime against LGBT+ people. 1 out of 3 gay men do not feel safe in their homes. Mexico is reporting its deadliest year for LGBT+ individuals. Then FIFA- Federation of International Football Association- decided to let a notoriously homophobic country host the biggest sporting event in the world: Russia 2018. FIFA not only contributes to prejudice against the LGBT+ people, but they also continuously promote that they are a “safe space” for people who identify as such. Not surprisingly they are abysmal when it comes to protecting the rights for LGBT+ people. I propose that FIFA bans countries from hosting events where it is unsafe or illegal to exist as a LGBT+ person.

Some might argue that if FIFA bans countries that do not support LGBT+ rights from hosting events, then we are denying the people of that country the opportunity to go to one of the best sporting events of our time. Preposterous; we need to value the players and the people’s rights more than an unsafe football event. Some other people might argue that by banning a country which is unsafe for LGBT+ people, that the country is missing out in a great source of income. Disgusting to think anyone could value money over people’s basic human rights. None of these could be a plausible argument, and no compassionate being would agree with these viewpoints.

By FIFA supporting these countries, they are only enabling the suffering of many LGBT+ individuals and supporting countries that brake human rights. The most recent World Cup has, or will, be hosted in countries with appalling human rights: in Russia, if you are an LGBT+ individual, your name could be put on a murder site, promoted itself as a welcoming space for LGBT+ fans during the tournament. Qatar a country known for censoring LGBT+ media since 2018 and has a three-year prison sentence for LGBT+ people, said, “any fan, of any gender, [sexual] orientation, religion, race, [should] rest assured that Qatar is one of the most [safest] countries in the world — and they’ll all be welcome here.”- the Chief executive of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Nasser al-Khater. Nobody can take away your human rights – article 30, the following rights that have been routinely taken away from marginalised individuals such as LGBT+ people. Article 14 – Protection from discrimination. According to equaldex.com, there is no protection of LGBT+ individuals agents’ discrimination in Russia and Qatar. Article 16, in both Qatar and Russia its illegal for LGBT+ people to get married. Article 2– the right to life, on April the 17th 2017 the Russian state of Chechnya started a mass prosecution of gay men at least 40 people were detained, and 2 people were killed by gunshots to the back of the head. as a reminder, we are at the most advanced time in technology and civilisation in history, but there are still more than 75 countries where homosexuality is illegal. More than 30% of are UN member states. It is not a shocker to see that FIFA is turning a blind eye to Russia’s and Qatar’s human rights standards. Even in Brazil when fans where shouting gay slurs at an opposition team member, it took them some time to launch an investigation on the incident. Then, out of nowhere they dropped all charges. FIFA needs to step up and kick the ball out of the field and unite everyone over football, like they claim they can. By scoring countries not safe for LGBT+ fans off the list, that will be a step forward.

Moreover, FIFA fails to properly ensure the safety of LGBT+ individuals at their games. It was not very surprising to see that a gay man, O. Davrius, was beaten up in the heat of Russia 2018 at Moscow, when he was going to catch a taxi with his boyfriend. Before he could get into that taxi, he and his boyfriend were beaten up by a group of Russian men who left him with a brain injury and a broken jaw. This is all but one of the incidents in FIFA’s lousy track record of ‘keeping LGBT+ fans safe’. In fact, also in Russia 2018, a safe space was shut down just a day before its expected opening, and FIFA did not even bother to get off their backsides and launch an investigation into the incident. An organiser of the safe space said to the BBC "[the landowners] asked us to leave the place very rudely, switched off the electricity and explained nothing to us,” Why is FIFA rewarding this behaviour with hosting rights to a so-called progressive tournament? It is like if one player decided to discreetly punch the opposition team member in the face. FIFA is that dreadful referee that cannot see that. Or to put it simply, maybe that referee has been paid off. FIFA must not hesitate in making their tournament safer for all fans and athletes including LGBT+ ones. It is a no brainer FIFA: ban those countries for even being on the list as a possible hosting location.

Furthermore, by FIFA choosing homophobic venues, they are impacting on LGBT+ athletes mental and physical health. FIFA’s male world cups already promote a hyper-masculine and a homophobic culture, so it is no surprise that they would choose a homophobic hosting location as well. It is a known fact your mental health can impact your physical health A quote form psychology today estimates that “20 to 25 percent of LGBT+ people experience criminal victimization because of their adult sexual orientation” that jumps up to a staggering “42 percent” in the workplace. An effect of homophobia is an increased chance of suicide and heart disease - - Huffington post. When a male LGBT+ athlete that must be subjected to homophobic rhetoric because they must go to a country like Russia or Qatar to play for their team, it can be overwhelming. Being an athlete comes with an extreme physical demand and if you are LGBT+ you will be scared for your life. The anxiety that comes with playing big football games, wondering if it will be safe to go outside or to kiss your partner is all too overwhelming for LGBT+ athletes. Athletes in the top tiers like FIFA should only have one concern: to be in the best shape physically and mentally so they can play their best. Add staying in a homophobic country for a full tournament? You have got a recipe for disaster. FIFA should not be actively participating in destroying LGBT+ athletes mental and physical health, just for monetary gain. This also impacts FIFA’s earnings. If you were attending an event and were to see your beloved football team being decimated- due to some athletes being in a homophobic country and that wanes on their health- you would seriously reconsider supporting your current team. If you would want to see people being sub-par at football, then you would go to your local park. Why pay money to support a kid’s football team? Forcing LGBT+ athletes to play in a homophobic country will make FIFA lose money, and a simple way to solve this would be to eliminate the possibility of homophobic countries being chosen to host the world cup.

In conclusion, we need to pressure FIFA in to support LGBT+ peoples rights; we need to pressure FIFA in to putting in more precautions to keep LGBT+ people safe, we need to pressure FIFA into removing unsuitable and hostile countries, we also need to consider if their ideals make it unsafe for LGBT+ people to attend and participate at these venues. Saying it plainly and straight to the point, this must be done for the good of all people. [insert witty remark here]

Sources in the comments:

[2bstudioblog]

Konami’s wheels are turning... slowly

Lot’s of interesting news heading to our heads this Monday from what I heard from Yong Yea’s video about Konami wanting to outsource their IP’s to 3rd parties.

Obviously, Akira Yamaoka has kinda given away a strong hint that he’s working on a project with Bloober which in this case would be the long awaited SH remake or the direction they had with PT before it got cancelled. Akira Yamaoka also decided that (too late) he wanted to amend the article from his interview and release it later down the line. It’s very unusual that these news happen, but we all know Yamaoka is most famous for his music in Silent Hill.

Which brings me to a funny story about my own involvement of a Silent Hill game. I mentioned this on a podcast that I was part of 2 Konami-owned IP’s that went into another direction and killing off their franchises which have been like dead bodies in a morgue for the last 7 years.

I got the request to write industrial-metal music for a Silent Hill (of course at this time I only knew the IP and their most famous version of the game has been Silent Hill 2.) game. First I was of course very excited to be part of the series, but I jumped to early until I found out it was a Pachinko-machine (A japanese style pinball-game mixed with a touch-screen and a one-armed bandit and a slot-machine in one.), and my heart sank a little. I think I produced 4-5 cues for the machine, but I’m glad that nobody will be able to hear my “mediocre” masterpieces because all you would hear are metal-balls falling into a tray. But the thing about this machine, it had taken cut-scenes from Silent Hill 2, upscaled or even re-mastered/remade the graphics which would have looked great if it was its own game. But it was the same thing they’ve done with all their other IPs when those transfer over to this kind of entertainment. All what was left of it, Jim Sterling turned the game into a Meme and all I can hear is the -”HIT THE LEVER!” and the effects overpowering the music behind it. But I’m glad it didn’t go further then that. Technically here, Silent Hill(s) died with the arrival of the pachinko-slot machine and the series have tried to re-establish itself ever since.

Another game I was a part of was a Castlevania (Dracula in Japan) themed Pachinko-slot machine, with the revolutionary phrase “Erotic Violence” in it’s PR material and video-commercial. I mean, they took the music production part of this machine very seriously because I wasn’t aware of the “EV” part. I just thought it would be a machine praising the history of Castlevania. I was assigned to re-write and re-orchestrate a few songs from Neo-classical Metal music into more Progressive Metal style, and I was super-proud of this one because they had the sheet-music already available for me. All I had to do was re-arrange some parts for a string-quartet (1 cello, 2 violins and 1 viola) and I believe it was engineered and recorded by famed engineer Kenji Nakai who was under and working with famed engineer Mr Bruce Swedien (Michael Jackson, Quincy Jones).

From that moment me and Mr. Nakai stroke a friendship because he has a passion for Progressive Metal and he asked me if I could send more songs his way. From this we both have been incredibly busy on both of our ends, but I hope we can be able to work on something in the future. I have a feeling that might be soon.

So a long story short, Konami spent a lot of money for recording, they approved everything and we were done. But when it turned out to be a pachinko-machine and not a world-wide videogame release, I just had to facepalm myself, asking the question why they keep doing so many poor decisions. Why leaving all those fans out in the cold and really start making Castlevania mean something. This void of “lots of fancy things, but no substance” started right here...

Konami are turning their wheels a little bit too late and too slow until now. After they got rid of Hideo Kojima (Who I believe was thinking of the international-market rather than the domestic one), Konami had only one thing on their minds: Making money quick and domestically. No more wasted time on translations, straight for the gambling crowd. No need to write interesting stories. No need to introduce kids to this adult material. They wanted to earn it back as fast as possible. But we all see their decisions put them on the map as a “black-company”, who mistreat their staff, shaming them out in the office for overstaying their lunch-breaks. Moving staff from one business to another, from a programmer to a Konami-fitness Center-staff, or as a toilet-cleaner at a Konami-owned pachinko-slot gambling hall. The management of the company has been horrendous for the full-time employee. I’m glad I was not part of these later projects and only wrote stuff for them for Pro Evolution Soccer series from 2009-2012. (My work on 2010-2012 was unfortunately un-credited work. :(

Metal Gear Solid V - The Phantom Pain In My Ass

When the playable teaser called Metal Gear Solid - Ground Zeroes, came out on the PS3 and later on the PS4, it was an introduction for the new graphics engine designed by Hideo Kojima’s team, simply called The FOX-Engine. Basically this “game” was more of a demo rather than a full-product. But it looked great and with a fantastic score by Akihiro Honda, Ludvig Forssell and Harry Gregson-Williams, it had everything going for it to become something really awesome. It became a standard approach from Hideo Kojima now to produce “Playable Teasers” to show a great concept while offering a 3-4 hour short campaign, showing off the engine’s graphical capabilities.

Still, the story was under progress and I knew early on that Hideo Kojima really didn’t want to do it after he always felt that Metal Gear Solid 4 was final. But here is the curse of the die-hard fans, and I’m sorry to say it. No matter how many Iron Man movies Marvel crams out, at the 3rd movie, I started to feel “This does not feel like Iron Man anymore”. But that’s what the fans wanted and is a standard in the movie industry. Always produce a trilogy. Indiana Jones has always been the 3 movies from 1981-1989. The 4th one doesn’t really need to be called Indiana Jones at all. It was there I felt, just like with Metal Gear Solid V, they were beating a DEAD RACE HORSE.

I can’t deny the talents on display for Metal Gear Solid - Ground Zeroes. It laid down some really cool foundations for the gameplay, but I still believe the better game-series for stealth was beaten by the likes of Splinter Cell and most recently Thief. Stealth in MGS has always felt a little bit childish and I only really enjoyed MGS 1, MGS 2, tried to play MGS 3 (still have it one my Vita!) and will try to finish it. MGS 3 has felt like the TRUE Zeroes experience, with the inception of the story and lore behind the cloning of Big Boss. MGS 4 finally brought it all to a great finale and I felt, there is NOTHING more to tell. MGS 1, 2 and 4 is the Trilogy, MGS 3 serves as the Prequel and I see nothing wrong with that.

Mission - Erase Kojima’s Legacy

The making of MGS V - The Phantom Pain is kinda true to it’s title. Can you feel the nostalgia? Or are we just imagining the sensation of a Metal Gear Solid game past it’s prime? The missing link? The missing limb? And with the worlds biggest cop-out  of everything that had to do with story was completely missing.

Each mission is playing out every time the same, with an intro to a TV-show, giving away massive spoilers to who would appear in the mission, you do your thing (not so much of story, just a “go-here, do that approach, sneak back out, head to pick-up) rinse and repeat. I wonder how much of this was Kojima’s fault? I don’t think he was up to it. I’m sure he fought for more story but the big heads didn’t want to listen to what makes a MGS game a MGS game. The new management had now already played the hand to disown the man who put Konami on the map for games since the mid 80s.

The game is no longer marketed like before. The tagline “A Hideo Kojima Game” no longer exists and will never be part of Konami’s mission of erasing the person who gave them their fame and the recognition that a game carrying the name Konami was a brand of quality for any gamer out there. Me myself, personally only played PES because of the stellar animations, but its recently since 2012, I stopped playing the series. FIFA had already cheapened itself, PES likewise. Updating the graphics, but the same old animations have been recycled back to the PES3 days. Maybe there’s been an update in the collision engine, but otherwise everything stayed the same, with the huge amount of data collected from previous years of motion-capture, why do it all over when its all about the brand recognition? Saving money on processes wherever possible. Simple Math. And here it is. MGS V is not a MGS game.

We already knew it was going to be a massive budget behind the game of MGS V. But what can Konami do to save money on MGS V? They already have the Fox Engine running from Ground Zeroes. The assets for “Snake” (I’ll let you know why I put quotation-marks around it) and standard models will extend somewhat. Oh, yes, let’s save money on a character that doesn’t speak (Quiet), over-sexualize the character to start a fan-base of people who just dig character design, animated a sexy “shower” routine for the character for boys to go nuts over. What about voice? Let’s not really try to sync the voices to the mouths. Let’s have the guy from “24″ record his performances onto tape-logs. Kiefer Sutherland would have been a good “Snake”, but I understand now that you are not “SNAKE”. The game explains pretty soon at the end that you are just a Medic and all the tapes you’ve been listening to is the original Big Boss. You never where the character of Snake. Even though this all could have been handled better, Konami wanted to save money wherever possible. We also knew David Hayter was not asked or put forward to return as “The Voice of Snake”. But in this case I start to wonder myself, David Hayter might have dodged the biggest bullet in the most expensive, commercial and very controversial game of all time once Konami decided to kill everything that built up their reputation.

Even during production Kojima managed to start working on PT. The game Konami “silenced” after it was released on the PS-store. Guillermo Del Toro and his friendship with Hideo Kojima’s dream-game was put on ice. All because Kojima was about to get frozen out of the company that was according to Konami “Wasting too much bloody money”. I might get blacklisted for saying this, but once the new management started to mess with the other IPs for just domestic/gambling market, that’s where everything went sideways. Konami wasn’t treating their heritage with respect.

It took them 7 years to realize their mistake! And now, for those who wants to be part of 3rd party developers who would get a crack at a new Castlevania, a new Metal Gear Solid (remake I hope), Konami has realized that the only way they will survive (Yeah, Metal Gear Solid Survive killed them HARD) is to let other’s take over. Maybe my dream of scoring a Metal Gear Solid game would be somewhat more possible now rather than working in the confined space of limitations posed by the higher ups at Konami. Let 3rd party developers breathe life into the IPs because I know there are smarter ways to tell a story and I would gladly like to see the return of David Hayter in the seat, without having to deal with the blank-face approach that he was faced with every time he had to audition for Snake in MGS 2, 3 and 4! David Hayter is a fantastic writer, actor and voice-actor. He has the chops and I think we are all ready for either a re-make or a better follow up to MGS 2 and the time between that one and MGS 4.

[travellvogue]

Meant To Be

Chapter 3- The Beginning of the End

Re-reading the text from Marcus over and over again, wondering where the hell Jesse could be. Something in your gut told you that you should be worried. What if somethings happened to him? What if he’s hurt? All the worst possibilities run through your head as you pace around the house. Feet moving around for hours on end as you check the window out looking the driveway, begging he gets home right now, mind not at rest until he walks through the door. And that’s exactly what he does three hours later, perky little smile as he throws his bag down, a different top on then what he’d left in, a peaceful serenity on his face that caused your blood to boil.

 “Where the fuck have you been?” you spit at him instantly, not even giving him a chance to take his shoes off. His eyes are wide, as if you don’t have a reason to be annoyed at him. It’s almost  like his brain is taking a few seconds to think before answering your question, an uncertainty in his tone as he answers the question. “At beans?” he’s speaks, the nickname you once loved now making you cringe, his answer almost sounding like a question as you scoff. “Oh really?” you spit back, one eyebrow raised as you wait for his bullshit answer, clearly he was chatting shit because there was no reason for Marcus to lie about him not being at his house. “Yeah. Really” he retaliates, a smug tone in his voice that catches you off guard, the spiteful look in his eyes almost scaring as you swallow down an unfamiliar lump forming in your throat, not the frequent one that made itself apart when you were close to tears- the one that was there almost every night when you cried in the shower because the person you loved was now a figment of your imagination. This lump was different, like your throat was closing up, one of fear, nerves, a simple look from his eyes and you wanted to curl up in a ball and beg for his forgiveness. “That’s not what Marcus said” you simple whispered as he frowned at the low volume of your voice, processing your words quickly enough to make it seem as though he wasn’t shocked at your answer. Before he can reply your showing him your phone, your text conversation with Marcus lit up the screen as he eyes fluttered across the phone, reading the words as he nibbles at his lip.

And then a laugh. What the fuck is so funny? “You silly girl” he chuckles, a bitter patronising tone to his voice, taking your phone and chucking it onto the side table next to him, the unintentional force of the throw causing the corner to crack, but by the look on his face he couldn’t seem to care less. “Should’ve let Marcus in on the plan” he giggles, your heart beat increasing, the lump in your throat now threatening to make you sick, no inch of you expecting something good to come of this situation. What plan? “What p-“ you begin to ask but he cuts you off, bending down to rustle around in his bag, hands pulling out a small black box as you watch him carefully, a slight shake to his fingers as he opens it. His eyes burning onto you as he waits for a reaction, “went out and bought you this, had to treat my one and only” he smiles, but the smile is not quite reaching his eyes as you stare at the box, a thin silver chain bracelet, delicate detail to the clasps, evenly in the middle of the chain laid an ‘L’ pendant, small and encrusted with tiny diamonds, the jewels flickering under the light as he walked over to you with the box, taking the bracelet and clipping it around you wrist. “Why an ‘L’?” you question, confused as to why he wouldn’t get your initial, your name didn’t start with an L. He takes a moment to think, and if you waited a few more seconds you would say he was panicking, but then he quickly gives you an answer. “For Lingard, silly” he chuckles as if it were obvious, you’re only nodding once as you look down at the bracelet, it was beautiful you couldn’t deny that, but something about it didn’t feel right and you couldn’t quite put your finger on it, “you gonna say thank you or what?” the controlling tone in his voice has returned as you looked up at him, a timid nod as you mutter out a “thank you” a satisfied nod of his head as he kisses you on the lips, a forced harshness to the kiss causing his chin the bash with yours. 

And that was it, the conversation done with as he brushes shoulders with you as he walks past, footsteps making their way up the stairs as you listen to each one, fingers still playing with the chain of the bracelet, but then his footsteps so stop. A brief silence before he shouts down the stairs, “I’m going to Dubai, by the way” he spoke so casually as you choked out a reaction, shocked was an understatement, no plans of any holiday where previously discussed between the two of you, in-fact There had been no mention of any type of holiday, letting alone going all the way to Dubai, and this sudden. Moving your body to the bottom of the stairs, arching your neck to look up at him. “You’re what?” you were beyond confused as you watched him nod smugly, something about his reaction making you want to scream. He hums and nods, “yep, just for a week, get away with the lads ya know?” his mouth forms as smile as you look up at him. You desperately wanted to tell him his plans made no sense, that of course you didn’t know what he was on about, his sudden rush of plan making no sense to you, the casual awareness of letting you know his plans making you feel so worthless.  You didn’t know why it was necessary to fly all the way to Dubai for a ‘recovery holiday’, a sudden need to go on holiday, the season had literally ended yesterday and you were hoping now that ‘i’m going training’ wasn’t an excuse for him to leave the house that you’d get to spend more time with him, but you weren’t going to argue his point, energy you didn’t want to waste, because in reality whatever you said to him he would find a way to make sure he was in the right... like always. A few months ago and he would’ve been begging you to come, now it just felt like a beg for freedom. To escape you, escape the life he has with you. He’s not waiting for a reply, getting bored of standing on the same step and looking down at you, no part of his brain registering your broken reaction, the pain in your eyes as you looked up at him. Walking up the remainder of the last few stairs and into the games room, where he stayed for the rest of the night, his screams echoing through the house as he shouted at Marcus to pass him the ball on Fifa, the noise giving you a headache, trying to cure it by stepping in the shower, praying the warm water relieved you of some tension, praying it drowned away your emotions, wishing your hurt would was down the drain so you could smile again, a genuine smile, not a forced one that didn’t make your eyes light up simultaneously- a smile you hadn’t experience in weeks now. 

And then the tears begin, the all too familiar stinging sensation in your eyeballs as the salty water runs down your cheeks, puffy lips and swollen under-eyes as sobs rake through your body, thankful that the sound of the water hitting the tiled floor muffles out the volume of your unsteady breathing, short pants as you desperately try to regain a steady breathing pattern, at least Jesse can’t see you in this state... not that he’d care. Eventually turning the shower off but your own waterworks don’t stop, the constant string of tears continuing as you dry your body with a warm towel, the only warmth you ever receive anymore, the warm feeling your heart would feel when Jesse wrapped his arms around you now stone cold. Cry’s breaking up your breathing pattern as you crawl into bed, an attempt at forcing yourself to try and breathe as steady as possible, sobs rocking your body as you find yourself alone once again, crying yourself to sleep, no sign of Jesse, his body not crawling into the bed next to you as you hear the faint noise of him logging off the X-Box and getting comfy in the guest bedroom.

[newsfact]

Brazil vs. Uruguay result: Neymar, Raphinha put on a show in World Cup qualifier

What could the No. 1 team in the South American World Cup standings and No. 2 in the FIFA world ranking really use right now? How about another attacker? It found one in Raphinha, who scored two goals in his first start for the senior men’s team, helping Brazi log its 10th win in 11 qualifying matches, 4-1 over Uruguay.

The matchup between the two traditional South American powers was supposed to be the marquee matchup with the Uruguayans fielding big names Luis Suarez and Edinson Cavani together in a bid to come away with points from the Arena da Amazonia in Manaus. But the visitors were thoroughly outclassed by the skill, speed and fluidity of the Brazilians, whose attacks were often spectacular in nature.

Brazil barely broke a sweat by the time it found itself 2-0 up after 18 minutes. First Neymar latched onto a floated ball into the box over the top of the defense. He worked his magic and found a seam in the defensive cover on the goal line for the 1-0 lead. The Raphinha scored his two goals. The first one was a simple putback, but the second one capped a sweeping attack that started just outside Brazil’s penalty area.  

UPDATED STANDINGS:  Table, results & upcoming matches

Brazil vs. Uruguay final score

  1H 2H Final Brazil 2 2 4 Uruguay 0 1 1

Goals: BRA – Neymar (Fred) – 10th min. BRA – Raphinha – 18th min. BRA – Raphinha (Neymar) – 58th min. URU – Luis Suarez – 77th min. BRA – Gabriel Barbosa (Neymar) – 83rd min.

Brazil vs. Uruguay live updates, highlights from World Cup qualifier

Standings & results: Updated World Cup qualifying table

(All times Eastern)

Final: Brazil 4, Uruguay 1

83rd min.: Goal Brazil! It’s 4-1 thanks to a header finish from Gabriel Barbosa on a sensational ball from Neymar. The referee needed the VAR to verify that Gabigol wasn’t offside and the thumbs-up finally came through.

77th min.: Luis Suarez scores! It was a free kick and he finishes it with relative ease. With 13 minutes left, there’s still hope. First, a hydration break and a talking to from the coach. That was only the fourth goal conceded by Brazil during qualifying.

73rd min.: Neymar creates another chance, feeding Gabigol in the box and his shot is stopped.

71st min.: SUBS – Fabinho and Raphinha come off. Douglas Luiz and Everton Ribeiro take their place. Like-for-like subs.

66th min.: SUB – Uruguay bring on Facundo Torres for Matias Vecino. Moments later it was Brazil attacker Antony making the defensive play deep in his own end. If Brazil’s attackers defend like that, who has a shot against them?

65th min.: And the two Brazil subs combine in the box and nearly score. Antony pokes the ball to Gabigol whose first-time shot is tipped over the bar by Muslera. Great save.

61st min.: SUBS – With the result out of reach, the subs begin. Gabriel Jesus does not get his goal and he comes off for Gabigol. Lucas Paqueta also gets a round of applause with Antony coming in. Those are some quality subs to bring on. It’s going to be a long 30 minutes for Uruguay.

58th min.: Goal Brazil! In five passes, Brazil went from their own penalty area to Uruguay’s. Neymar fed Raphinha in stride and he buried it. Fantastic move, fantastic finish. Brazil has been brilliant.

51st min.: Again Gabriel Jesus! His teammates are trying to find him, but Muslera denied him again. It was a predictable shot and Muslera read it the entire way.

49th min.: Gabriel Jesus with a shot on goal and Muslera has to punch away. He wants to get in on the act.

46th min.: Second half is underway and Uruguay make three changes: Caceres, Piquerez and Torreira are on for De La Cruz, Vina and Nandez. No changes for Brazil.

Halftime: Brazil 2, Uruguay 0

Halftime: Deserved lead for Brazil. Whenever its attacking stars were on the ball — Neymar, Raphinha and Lucas Paqueta — they are just dancing past the Uruguayans. They’re on another level of skill and it shows. The goals were examples of that superiority. Uruguay needs a miracle to get something out of this game.

43rd min.: Fabinho gets a yellow and concedes a free kick to Uruguay. Brazil manage the danger.

39th min.: What a chance for Brazil! Raphinha is putting on a show with Neymar. The two combine in the box and Uruguay’s Muslera needs to make a save on a point-blank Neymar shot or it could’ve been 3-0.

28th min.: Paqueta having himself a game. He nutmegs a defender and his ball in the box goes out to Fabinho who fires way high.

18th min.: Another goal for Brazil! It’s Raphinha. He’s at the far right post to pick up the pieces on a shot that was saved and he puts it home for the easy finish. Brazil barely breaking a sweat.

10th min.: Goal Brazil! It’s Neymar! What a goal it was. Fred floats the ball into the penalty area for Neymar’s run. The PSG man rounds the ‘keeper and fires the ball past the defenders waiting on the line. Well-worked goal.

7th min.: Neymar goes down just outside the penalty area, but the referee wasn’t in the penalty-giving mood. Neymar didn’t complain much on that one.

4th min.: Calm start to this match. Teams are not really attacking each other just yet. The crowd is not into it. They’re waiting for the players to make the first move.

1st min.: After a moment of silence for COVID-19 victims, we’re off.

8:29 p.m.: We’re just about ready to kick off here:

Brazil vs. Uruguay: Lineups

Tite makes five changes to his lineup with Ederson manning the nets and Tottenham right back Emerson Royal getting the start. Lucas Verissimo will step in to give Marquinhos a breather and Raphinha will get the start wide right. Real Madrid central defender Eder Militao is out injured.

Brazil starting lineup (4-3-3, left to right): 23-Ederson-GK — 6-Alex Sandro, 22-Lucas Verissimo, 3-Thiago Silva, 13-Emerson Royal — 8-Fred, 5-Fabinho, 17-Lucas Paqueta — 10-Neymar, 9-Gabriel Jesus, 19-Raphinha

Brazil subs: 1-Alisson-GK, 12-Weverton-GK, 16-Guilherme Arana, 4-Marquinhos, 2-Danilo, 15-Edenilson, 7-Gerson, 14-Douglas Luiz, 20-Antony, 11-Everton Ribeiro, 18-Vinicius Junior, 21-Gabriel Barbosa

(Not in squad: Arthur Cabral, Eder Militao)

Uruguay are pairing up Luis Suarez and Edinson Cavani at forward. The Celeste will be missing center backs Jose Maria Gimenez and Ronaldo Araujo along with Giorgian de Arrascaeta, but Rodrigo Betancur is back from a suspension for yellow card accumulation.

Uruguay starting lineup (4-4-2, left to right): 1-Fernando Muslera-GK — 17-Matias Vina, 3-Diego Godin, 19-Sebastian Coates, 8-Nahitan Nandez — 7-Nicolas De La Cruz, 15-Federico Valverde, 5-Matias Vecino, 6-Rodrigo Betancur — 9-Luis Suarez, 21-Edinson Cavani

Uruguay subs: 23-Sergio Rochet-GK, 12-Martin Campana-GK, 22-Martin Caceres, 2-Joaquin Piquerez, 13-Giovanni Gonzalez, 20-Facundo Torres, 14-Lucas Torreira, 11-Gaston Pereiro, 18-Darwin Nunez, 4-Fernando Gorriaran, 10-Augustin Alvarez Martinez, 16-Brian Rodriguez

How to watch Brazil vs. Uruguay

Date: Thursday, Oct. 14

Time: 8:30 p.m. ET

Streaming: fuboTV

Brazil vs. Uruguay and every World Cup qualifying match in South America can be streamed exclusively on fuboTV  in English and Spanish.

WATCH: South American World Cup qualifiers on fuboTV (stream live)

The matches are also available on a pay-per-view basis via cable and satellite TV providers. 

Brazil vs. Uruguay: Betting odds & prediction

Odds courtesy of DraftKings

Pick: Brazil -1 Asian Handicap (-115)

Although Uruguay had its chances against Argentina on Sunday, the 3-0 loss was an accurate reflection of the difference in talent between the two sides. It will be the same case in Manaus, and while the result may not turn out to be quite as lopsided, Brazil should at least be one goal better. Brazil also has the best team defense in the tournament — three goals allowed in 10 games — and won’t get scored on easily.

The Brazil -1 Asian Handicap may not be wildly adventurous, but neither is the play we’ll see between these two teams. It’s decent protection if the Selecao have an off day in front of goal.

Prediction: Brazil 2, Uruguay 0

Moneyline: Brazil -210 / Draw +310 / Uruguay +750

Spread (Asian Handicap): Brazil -1 (-110) / Uruguay +1 (+100)

O/U 2.5 total goals: Over +130 / Under -160

Both teams to score: Yes +155 / No -205

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[ssportsnews]

"A striker who reached the world class"... Heung-Min Son selected as the best 11 from Hamburg 먹튀검증

먹튀검증먹튀사이트먹튀검증사이트먹튀 검증  먹튀 사이트 먹튀 검증 사이트

Heung-min Son (29, Tottenham)'s Hamburg days were highlighted.

Germany's 'Pusval Transfer' selected the best eleven from Hamburg on the 28th (Korean time) based on active players. Hamburg is Germany's most prestigious team, winning the First Division as well as the UEFA Champions League (UCL). They were the only team not to have been relegated from the Bundesliga, but suffered humiliation when they were dropped to the second division after 54 years in the 2017-18 season. Hamburg is still in Division 2.

Son Heung-min was included in the list. Heung-min Son, who joined the Hamburg Youth in 2008, was evaluated as a promising prospect with tremendous talent. His legendary striker Ruud van Nistelrooy was praised for it. Bombing his youth stage, Son Heung-min made his first professional debut in Hamburg in the 2010-11 season. Since his debut season, he has made his presence known by playing 14 official matches and scoring three goals.

Heung-Min Son, who gained experience, showed a better appearance. He scored 5 goals in 27 Bundesliga games in the 2011-12 season and 12 goals in 33 games in the 2012-13 season. Heung-Min Son's performance at the time was a sensation itself. Applause followed for his foot skills and goal-determination that went beyond the level of his age group. German local media nicknamed Son Heung-min 'Son Sasional' for a very active player.

Son Heung-min, who boosted his stock price in Hamburg, made a new nest in Leverkusen. He scored 29 goals in 87 official matches, showing his improvement over Hamburg. He joined Tottenham Hotspur in 2015. Although he did not adapt to the English Premier League (EPL) in his first season, Tottenham showed off an overwhelming influence from his sophomore year.

Currently, Son Heung-min is in the world class rank that no one can deny. He is being called the best winger in the EPL beyond Tottenham. In 287 appearances for Tottenham alone, he scored 110 goals and provided 64 assists, leaving a great achievement of 10-10 for the second season in a row. He has been consistently listed in the Ballon d'Or, FIFA World Best Nominations, and was also listed as the English Professional Footballers Association (PFA) Team of the Year.

'Pusbal Transfer' said, "Heung-Min Son is a striker from Hamburg who has reached the world-class level. He is gaining fame at Tottenham, but he has not been able to obtain the trophy." Together with Heung-Min Son, Maxim Chupo Moting, Lucas Waldschmidt, Hakan Chalhanoglu, Philip Kostich, Kerem Demirbay, Amadou Onana, Douglas Santos, Jonathan Ta, Jerome Boateng, and Julian Polusbeck were selected for Best Eleven. .

[hauntedcreatorkingdom]

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[bornoffside]

Come Home - Cristiano Ronaldo

For the Anon who requested CR7, I hope you like it! I got a little carried away with the length (as usual). 

“Cris, you know I have nothing to hide from you. If you want to say something, just say it.” She was exasperated because he clearly had something on his mind, but he wouldn’t spit it out.

“Do you have feelings for Antoine?” She was stunned by the question, definitely not expecting it.

When they had first met, Genevieve was at the Santiago Bernabéu as Antoine’s guest. The two had been best friends since her father got her a job with the legal team in Atletico, 4 years ago. Her father -Laurent- was a well known lawyer in Europe, and she was trying to follow in his footsteps. When she met Antoine they had instantly bonded, with her family being from Lyon itself.

However, her nephew (much to her dismay) was a die-hard Madridista. So when he had begged her to take him to watch the famous derby, she couldn’t say ‘no’. She met Cristiano after the game. Junior had been sitting alone that day because Dolores had returned to Portugal for a funeral, and even though Cristiano knew it was a risk, he had trusted security with his son’s safety because there was no one else who could look after him at the time.

That ended up being a mistake, or a blessing depending on how you looked at it, because in the rush to leave the stadium after the match, Junior got lost in the crowd. Genevieve and her nephew -Michel- had been the ones to find him, and even though he was wary of the stranger asking to help him, he had accepted her hand as she weaved them through the crowd. He got along well with Michel and had easily led them to the change rooms - he had been there so many times that he knew the stadium better than most grown men.

So Genevieve had met Cristiano, and the two boys became close friends. The more they saw each other, the more often Cristiano would see Via (as Junior had nicknamed her) and the closer they became as well. It didn’t take long for him to ask her on a date, and they seemed to understand each other perfectly.

But when it came to her friendship with Antoine, the two were inseparable, and that was something Cristiano did not like. She had reassured Cristiano many times, but he had always been jealous that the Frenchman knew more about his own girlfriend than he did.

“He’s my best friend, but that’s all he is. There’s no romantic feelings between us at all. You already know that.” She was honest, and it bothered her that he kept questioning this.

“And in the past?” He clenched his fists when he noticed her brows twitch down. She usually did it when she was thinking about how to approach a certain situation.

“Does it honestly matter?” She nervously bit her lip, and he knew straight away that there had been something there, if there wasn’t still something there.

“It does to me.”

“Okay, well…we slept together once.”

“What?”

She sighed at his surprised and borderline enraged tone.

“I said-”

“I know what you said.” He snapped, interrupting her. “Why am I only just hearing about it now?”

He was beyond angry at the revelation, mentally cursing the Frenchman to the deepest pits of hell. But at the moment there was only one person to take that anger out on, and seeing as she was partly at fault, he had no problem doing so.

“I didn’t think it was relevant. It was only once, and over four years ago-”

“You didn’t think it was relevant?” He chuckled without humour, and she winced at how condescending it sounded. “My girlfriend spends most of her time hanging around a man she’s had sex with, and you think that’s okay?”

“Wait a minute, do you think I’m cheating on you? With Antoine?” She asked incredulously. It was an insinuation that hurt more than anything, if there was one thing she’d never condone no matter the circumstances, it was cheating.

“What else am I supposed to think?”

“Are you out of your mind? I would never-” Their shouting match was cut short when she noticed movement behind Cristiano. Her face soften when she saw Junior’s frightened face, and watery eyes.

“Junior, mon petit chou…why don’t you go back to bed, your papai will be up in a minute.” Junior hesitantly nodded and quickly ran away.

Cristiano didn’t know why it made him angry to hear how considerate and soothing she was being with his son, but he lashed out anyway.

“Don’t tell him what to do, you’re not his mother.” She looked as though he had physically struck her, and stepped back away from him.

It was a combination of factors that had hit her.

Thoughts of her own mother being the most dominant. Her family was torn apart because of her mother’s infidelity, and that was the prime reason she hated cheaters. That’s not to say that she hated her mother, she had never met the woman after all, but she knew that Cristiano was unknowingly putting them both in the same category by labelling her a 'cheater’.

Then there was the fact that he apparently thought she wasn’t even allowed to talk to his son. She had been looking after him whenever she could. She had taken him to matches, both his own and to watch his father play, she had taken him shopping, to the park, anywhere and everywhere that the boy had wanted to go, she even picked him up from school whenever Cris couldn’t. She would have literally done anything for him.

She had done more for the little boy in 4 months, than his last 3 girlfriends combined, and she wouldn’t deny that she had come to love him in that time. No, he wasn’t her own child, but she didn’t think that Cris would so blatantly disregard all she had done for him.

He was still mad, but seeing the hurt expression on her face forced him to turn his back to her. He didn’t enjoy seeing it on her face, and knowing it was his fault made it even worse. So he did the only thing he could think of, and only later would he realise how stupid it had been.

“Just go. Leave.”

With the tears finally spilling onto her cheeks, and Cristiano still not facing her, Gen had grabbed her handbag off of the sofa, and quickly made her way out the front door without a sound. His eyes clamped shut beneath his furrowed brows as soon as he heard the familiar engine start.

And then she was gone.

It was almost 10 o’clock at night when a frantic knock came from Antoine’s door. His dark brows furrowed in confusion, wondering who would be around at this time of night. He paused his game of FIFA, and walked over to the entrance.

The moment the door swung open, he was attacked.

Well, not attacked. But his visitor had practically thrown herself at him, her arms wrapping around his neck tightly as if he’d disappear at any moment. It only took a moment to realise it was Gen, and he held her tight when he heard the gasping sound of her breathing and the sniffles as her face burrowed into his neck.

He had no idea what was going on, but he had never seen her like this. Her body was shaking in his arms, and the protective instinct within him hit full force. Who in their right mind had hurt her this way? Who ever it was would be dying a painful death, that was for sure.

Anto loosened his hold on her, bringing his hands up to cup the sides of her face and tilting it back so that he could finally inspect her. He would have cringed at the red puffiness of her eyes, the few strands of hair that stuck to her wet face, and the way her lips wobbled -but he was far too angry for that.

“Genevieve, ma belle…who did this to you?” He had kept his tone quiet and calm, but he was raging beneath the surface. Still, he knew that if he made his anger known, she’d be hesitant to tell him what had happened. She wouldn’t want him to do anything, and they both knew he would get in trouble for his impulsiveness if he did.

“H-he said…he th-thought I,” she sniffled loudly, exhaling a shaky breath before continuing. “I would never…I’m not like her…I’m not.” She broke down after that, and he let go of her crumpling face so that she could return it to the crook of his neck, gently stroking her hair.

It wasn’t difficult to figure out who ‘he’ was, and it was even easier to figure out who ‘her’ was. He knew it was only a matter of time before the Portuguese forward hurt her. It wasn’t in his nature to hold onto the same woman for long, but Antoine had genuinely thought he had grown to love Genevieve.

“Shhh…it’s okay. I promise, it’ll be okay.”

“H-he s-said-“

“I know, Gen…and if he honestly thinks so little of you, then he can stay as far away as possible.”

“B-but I, I love h-him…”

Antoine's heart broke for his best friend.

Although it pained him to see her like this, he was slightly glad it had happened sooner rather than later. He already knew that Gen was in love with the man, but he really didn’t deserve her. Cristiano hardly knew how to hold onto a serious relationship, but Anto hadn’t wanted to ruin it for her by telling her of the man’s obvious commitment issues.

Seriously though? Genevieve cheating? It was a ridiculous idea. It was as if Cristiano was looking for any old reason to end his relationship with her, and he had used the stupidest one. Did he not know her at all?

So the Atlético forward stood there for another ten minutes until she became sleepy, stroking his best friend’s hair soothingly, and promising himself that he’d never let the man hurt her like this again.

Never.

As per usual, the media had instantly jumped at the opportunity to gossip when they realised that Gen hadn’t been to one of his games in weeks, nor had they been seen together in just as long. Everyone was questioning whether or not they were still together, or whether they had moved on to other people. It was something that hurt him to even think about.

But that wasn’t the worst part of it.

Junior had been asking when 'Via' would be 'coming home’. He had probably missed the woman more than his father, which was saying something. There was no one else -other than his grandmother- who he liked to spend time with.

Ah yes, his grandmother.

Maria Dolores dos Santos Aveiro was not happy with him. She had called him after seeing an article speculating the shattering of his relationship with Genevieve, and he could tell that she was unhappy with the thought.

So he had lied to her. He lied to his mother…the most important woman in his life.

“Cristiano? What is this I hear about you and Genevieve? Why are they saying you are no longer together?”

Cris shrugged, even though she couldn’t see him through the phone.

“I don’t know, mãe. She is a busy woman, and I can’t always see her when I want. The media is being dramatic again.” He bit his lip, struggling to force the lie past his lips. The line was silent for a moment, and he almost sighed in relief when she didn’t interrogate him further.

“Okay…well then, how about my grandson? Hand him the phone, I want to talk to my little man.” She always sounded so excited to hear from the boy, and it brought a genuine smile to his face.

Of course, things had gone downhill from there.

Cristiano should have known that his mother wouldn’t have left it alone. Instead she had used Junior’s sweet naivety to find out whether or not Gen had been around. The boy had told her about the yelling he had heard, before Gen told him to head upstairs, and then his grandma had politely asked him to hand the phone back to his father.

She proceeded to not-so-politely ask Cristiano what was going on, settling for using his full name in order to emphasise just how mad she was.

“Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro! How dare you lie to your mother!” He cringed at the tone of her voice.

“You tell me what happened, right now!”

And he did. He told her exactly what had happened, and Dolores rolled her eyes when she realised that her son was more of a caveman than a 21st century footballer. She knew he was possessive and that he was impulsive, but she had expected him to be more understanding by this age.

He was 31 now, and even though Irina had been his longest relationship, Dolores had a good feeling about Genevieve. The girl had a good head on her shoulders, and she made both her son and grandson very happy. She could see the way Junior lit up whenever his Via visited him, and seeing the same happiness on the French woman’s face was enough to reassure Dolores that she would make a wonderful mother one day.

Something that she hadn’t truly seen in Cristiano’s previous girlfriends. That’s not to say that Irina hadn’t liked Junior. She definitely did…but it sometimes seemed as if she was forcing herself to spend time with him, not because she wanted to, but because it was expected of her.

Gen just loved the boy.

So maybe Dolores had hoped that this relationship would be a little more…permanent. Cristiano needed a good woman in his life and Junior needed a mother.  

But 3 weeks had passed by, and Cristiano hadn’t even made an attempt to approach his now ex-girlfriend. He didn’t know what he was expecting. He’d sit at home with Junior, wallowing in self-pity and waiting for her to burst through the door with a grand apology.

But he knew that was a ridiculous thing to be waiting for, for multiple reasons.

Firstly, after thinking for a long while, he had realised that she didn’t really have anything to apologise for. Sure, she slept with Antoine once upon a time -it still pissed him off to even think about the French pretty boy seeing her so exposed…and not just seeing-ugh. Disgusting.

Back to the point. She had sex with Antoine. But it was so long before they had started dating that it probably shouldn’t have bothered him so much, not to mention that he himself had a long list of past lovers. It still would have been nice to know. But Cristiano knew he was possessive, and the green-eyed monster had reared its ugly head and he couldn’t see past it. It ate him alive, knowing she was still spending time with the Frenchman, while he didn’t know the other man’s motives. He knew that for some reason women adored Antoine Griezmann, and Genevieve was no exception.

What if Antoine didn’t want to be 'just friends’? What if he wanted more, and what if she realised it and ended up wanting the same thing?

Cristiano knew it was a foolish thought. She loved him, he could see it. It was clear in the way she looked at him -because yes, he did pay attention to the little things- with an adoration that he hadn’t seen before. It wasn’t the typical lustful and sultry glance he was used to. It was a look so soft and full of love that he doubted he’d ever need to hear those words come out of her mouth. He knew.

Genevieve didn’t look at anyone like that. Not Antoine, only him.

He’d see it in the way she’d jump through hoops to make his son happy. Junior was more shy than most children, and maybe that was because he was so isolated from the world, considering Cris didn’t want the media bothering him. But he had never seen the boy take to anyone as quickly as he had taken to Genevieve.

Even the first time they had met, when Cristiano was losing his mind thinking the boy had gone missing, Junior had allowed the woman to hold his hand as she led him to his father. That in itself showed he had trusted her, because he knew very well to never trust a stranger. But Cris was grateful that he had in that instance.

And then of course, he could see it in the way she tried to make him happy, as if everything she already did for him wasn’t enough. She’d go to his games as often as she could, and had even -very reluctantly- donned a Real Madrid shirt with his name on it, despite being a rival fan. He knew that was sinful in her opinion, but it only showed him how supportive she was of him. She would babysit Junior while he was at training, and even spent time with his mother.

He counted a grand total of ex-girlfriends who had willingly gone out of their way to spend time with his mother. Zero.

Yes, he knew that she loved him, and that she would never intentionally do anything to hurt him.

So why hadn’t he approached her yet?

Because he was -for the first time- terrified of what she would say to him. What if his harsh words had been enough to drive her away permanently? What if she no longer wanted anything to do with him? Or what if, god forbid, someone else had already swooped in on a newly single Genevieve and she was moving on from him.

Hmm…no. He had doubted that was possible after only 3 weeks, but she was too good to go unnoticed.

Still, he was being a coward, and that had never happened before. So he had wracked his brain, wondering why he was all of a sudden acting like a fool and waiting around for her, and he could only come up with one answer.

He was scared to lose her for good.

Why?

Because he loved her…and he was done waiting.

Antoine didn’t bother suppressing the annoyed groan that left his throat as soon as he noticed who was at the door. His pale eyes glared at the older man, earning an eye roll in return.

“I get it...you don’t like me. I don’t like you either, but I’m not here for you.”

The Frenchman scoffed at his rudeness, but understood that Cristiano was probably still a little bitter about a certain revelation. They had never liked each other, but it was more than that now.

“What do you want?” His tone was a mix of bored and angry, and it reassured Cris that this wouldn’t be an easy conversation.

“I want to talk to Genevieve.”

“Why?”

“I want to apologise…I’ve come to terms with it."

“Really?” Antoine cocked a disbelieving brow. “So you’re okay with the fact that I had sex with your girlfriend? Took her virginity, in fact.”

Cristiano’s jaw clenched in time with his fists. “Why are you doing this?”

He truly couldn’t tell why Antoine was intentionally trying to provoke him. Did he enjoy rubbing it in his face? The virginity fact was new, and it only added fuel to the fire.

“Because I want to hurt you. I want to hurt you, just like you hurt her.”

“I didn’t mean-”

“I don’t care.” Cristiano looked surprised that he interrupted him, Antoine wasn’t usually one for confrontation. “I don’t care if you didn’t mean it, or that it was said in the heat of the moment.” He shook his head, raking a hand through his fluffy hair as he remembered his best friend coming to him in tears.

“Have you ever wondered why Gen doesn’t speak about her mother?”

Cristiano’s brows twitched down for a second in thought. He had never paid much attention to it before, but now that Antoine mentioned it, he had only ever heard of her father -Laurent.

“Her mother cheated on Laurent. When he found out, he made sure that she would never see Genevieve again…she tore their family apart, and Gen will never forgive her for that.”

It felt as if a stone had settled in Cristiano’s stomach, and he guiltily looked away from Antoine’s judgemental stare.

“You accused her of being the type of person she’s spent her whole life hating.” Antoine’s teeth ground together, before he spoke up once more.

“So, no. I don’t care that you got jealous over a drunken one-night stand that happened before we even became friends. I do care about my best friend coming home in tears, as if someone had ripped the heart out of her chest."

“I love her.”

“What?”

“I said, I love her. It’s why I am here…to tell her.”

“You’ve never told her that before.” Antoine mused quietly, he sounded like he was thinking aloud.

“How do you even know that?”

“I’m her best friend, she tells me things.” The Frenchman shrugged, as if that was all the explanation he needed to give.  

“Okay, whatever.” Cristiano shook his head in exasperation. “Is she here?”

Antoine shook his head negatively, still deciding whether or not to trust the older man with his best friend’s heart. It hadn’t really worked out too well the first time. Sensing that Antoine wasn’t going to help him much, Cristiano sighed in annoyance.

“Look, if you want me to beg, fine. I need to see her, Antoine. I need her. Please.”

Antoine huffed out a breath, clenching his jaw as his pale eyes studied the desperate look on Cristiano’s face. He never thought he would see the -usually confident- man reduced to this. But it reassured him that maybe he was being genuine.

“She’s not here.”

“Then where is she?” Cris was getting sick of this. But he had misunderstood Antoine’s meaning, and the Frenchman quickly cleared it up when he realised.

“No, I meant that she’s not in Spain.”

Cris shook his head in confusion. He hoped to god that she hadn’t left the country because of his mistake. But she was too strong for that. She wouldn’t let some man come between her life like that.

“She’s in Paris.” Antoine frowned deeply as he continued, and was surprised to see Cristiano’s expression mirroring his own. “Her father is in hospital, they don’t know what the problem is yet but she landed two days ago.”

Cris nodded slowly at the information, wondering how he could get to Paris, especially considering he had a flight in a few hours and a match the next day. Not just any match too, the Champions League final - against the man who was currently glaring at him.

“Thank you…for telling me.” Antoine’s furrowed brows relaxed, but he pinned Cristiano with a hard glare.

“If you hurt her again-”

“I won’t-”

“If you do…I’ll make sure she hates you for the rest of her life. And Cristiano? The only other person to hurt her like this was her mother. She hasn’t seen her in 23 years. You hurt her this time, and neither will you.”  

With that said, he practically slammed the door shut in Cristiano’s face for dramatic effect. He froze momentarily, feeling a little proud at his defence of his friend, but he had no doubt that Cristiano could kick down the door and beat him up for slamming it in his face.

Anto smirked triumphantly when he heard the older man’s footsteps retreating from his door.

The flight to Paris was a blur.

Not 24 hours ago he was hoisting the Champions League trophy in the air, and now he was on his way to see if he could salvage the most important relationship he had ever been involved in. The lady at the reception had stared at him with wide eyes, and despite not being allowed to reveal patient information to someone who wasn’t directly related, he had managed to nag her into telling him what room Laurent was in.

He didn’t even know if Genevieve was there in the first place, but he knew she loved her father too much to leave his bedside.

And there she was, asleep on the small couch that sat adjacent to Laurent’s bed. Had he been paying more attention to anyone but Via, he would have noticed that the older man was in fact awake. Instead, he gently scooped her up and out of her uncomfortable position, cradling her to his chest as he sat down. She groaned quietly at the disruption, but was quick to settle and rest her head on his chest comfortably.

“You hurt her.”

Cristiano almost flinched when Laurent’s voice cut through the quiet rhythmic beeping of machines. It wasn’t a question, and Cristiano was honest with the man. He had never met Laurent before and this was technically his first impression, so he knew it was best to be honest.

“I did.” He nodded, his gaze dropping to the floor in shame.

“But you love her.”

“I do.” He paused for a moment, knowing that if anyone knew the answer to his next question, it would be the man before him. “Will she forgive me?” It was asked quietly, and Laurent could hear the carefully masked fear in the footballer’s voice.

“That is a question only she can answer.” Cris gnawed at his lip nervously, staring down at her tired features. She was still so beautiful, even without the care she usually took on her own appearance. “But, if it makes you feel better…I think she will.”

Cristiano’s brown orbs shot back up to her father, and the Frenchman could see the spark of hope in them. “Really?”

Laurent nodded slightly before elaborating. “When she was old enough to understand why her mother had ‘left’, Genevieve vowed to never see the woman again. She never wanted to meet her, or know her. When my daughter is hurt, as childish as it may be, she will do whatever it takes to avoid whoever hurt her.”

“Sir…sorry, but how is that meant to make me feel better?” He felt awkward talking to Laurent. The man was intimidating and more importantly, he was Gen’s dad. Cris tried remaining as respectful as possible, knowing that Gen care for her father’s opinion just as much as he cared for his own mother’s.

Laurent chuckled tiredly.

“In all the time I have known my daughter, I’ve never seen her happier to watch Real Madrid play, than she was last night when you lifted that Champions League trophy.”

Cristiano perked up, hope swelling in him at the news that she had watched the game, and was happy for him. They had played against Atlético after all, her favourite team and her best friend.

“She loves you, Cristiano. That much I do know.” The footballer nodded slowly, and he could tell by Laurent’s hushed voice and slow response, that he was about to fall asleep. But before his medicine induced nap hit him, he managed to squeeze out a few final words.

“But if you hurt her again…you’ll be dealing with me…”

He tried not to jerk away when her nose bumped into his neck, tickling him and inhaling deeply at the same time. He felt her still for a moment, and his stomach shook in silent laughter while she sniffed him making the same rapid sounds his dog usually would. Surely she couldn’t identify him by scent alone…

“Nnuugh…Cris.” He grinned with a small blush as she pulled her head back to meet his gaze with squinting eyes. She smiled dreamily at him, and burrowed her head back into the crook of his neck like a small child.

His fingers gently raked through her hair, knowing that she loved the feeling. She sighed happily at his actions and pressed a small kiss to his neck that did nothing to help the new problem in his pants. It had been almost 4 weeks without her, and just holding her close was enough to make desire shoot through him.

“That feels nice…” He almost cocked a brow, but then he realised she wasn’t talking about that, but rather the hand stroking her hair. “But I’m still yelling at you later.”

He chuckled quietly. “As long as you come back home, that’s okay with me.”

[5hfanfiction]

LJ10 - Epilogue

Epilogue

Like most mornings, I was up first. Most people didn’t understand why I enjoyed waking up early but I had always loved mornings. The idea that every new day was a new chance was corny to some, however true to me. There were few things that were certain in life, the sun rising every morning anew was one them. Perhaps that was the reason I always made sure to watch the sunrise if I could. It was a symbol of hope to me.

And like almost every morning, I took a shower to start the day. I gathered my clothes and put them on while searching for my watch. Looking around the bedroom, I saw the accessory on the nightstand. Quietly walking over, it was my intention not to wake up my wife who was the opposite of a morning person.

Camila looked perfectly asleep. I couldn’t help myself but watch her peaceful facial features as I put on the watch. Smiling to myself, I bent down afterwards and very softly kissed the brunette’s forehead. Almost walking away, I felt a hand grab mine and turned around again.

“Where are you going?” Camila’s sleepy voice appeared.

“I didn’t mean to wake you,” I whispered quietly. “Go back to sleep, babe.”

“Why are you even up?” she asked clearly confused all while her eyes were still closed, only her hand holding on to mine.

“I just wanted to check on something. I’ll be back soon.”

“Hold on,” Camila’s grip on my hand strengthened.   “What could you possibly be doing on a Sunday morning at…” her eyes finally opened to take a look at the watch on my wrist before she whined,” not even 7 in the morning?”

“I wanted to go by the house and take some measurements,” I explained.

“You’re crazy,” she sighed deeply.

“I think the word you’re looking for is dedicated,” I chuckled in amusement.

“No,” Camila mumbled drowsily.

“The house is not going to build itself. It’s not like I’m doing it for myself. I’m doing it for us,” I continued in a quiet tone.

“Yes but…Sunday is the day of rest,” my wife argued.

“And I’m rested. It won’t take long, I promise,” I assured and wanted to free my hand.

“Noooo,” Camila whined once more. “Come back to bed.”

“Camila,” I sighed quietly. “Don’t make me feel bad, please.”

“Just ten minutes of cuddling,” she wanted to bargain now.

“It won’t be ten minutes and you know it,” I answered with a grin.

“Why not?”

“Because you’ll drape yourself all over me as usual so I can’t move let alone escape,” I returned quickly. Camila was now smiling for the first time and therefore acknowledged I was right. I assumed this was her way of saying I could go and let go of her hand.

“Are you really not going to come back to bed to cuddle with your wife for ten minutes because of a stupid house?” her tone was a mixture of offense and playfulness. I was very aware of what she was doing and that she wasn’t genuinely upset but it worked every time.

“Alright, scoot over,” I said with another deep sigh. Camila’s lips formed a big smile as she made room for me to get into bed again. She didn’t hesitate and immediately cuddled up to my side as soon as I was lying down. “You’re so pleased with yourself now, aren’t you?”

“Maybe,” she smirked.

“It’s not a stupid house, by the way,” I interjected. “It’s our future home that I’ve been working on for months now.”

“I know,” Camila mumbled as her head rested on my shoulder. “And you know I love the house. Just not as much as cuddling with you.”

“Well, I can accept that,” I smiled happily.

“How much do you love me? More than the house?” the slightly shorter woman asked.

“More than anything,” I responded swiftly.

“That means enough to kiss me despite morning breath,” Camila said and I groaned lightly.

“Babe, we had this discussion,” I hesitated as she clearly knew about my disdain for what she was asking.

“You won’t kiss me?” her voice was low but playful again.

We both knew I would never deny a kiss from her so I readjusted myself, leaning in closer to seal her lips with mine. I placed a gentle but affectionate kiss on her lips, earning a sigh of pleasure from her.

“You know, there is way to avoid this problem?” I said and noticed her eyebrow lifting in interest.

“Yeah?”

“I can kiss you,” I continued in a whisper,” just not on the lips.”

“That’s true,” Camila made a chuckling sound. The sound was quickly replaced by a heavy breath as I kissed her neck unexpectedly. Her arms folded around my waist with no hesitation. My lips lingered on the sensitive skin long enough to tease her before gently sucking on the right spot. She released one more heavy breath that morphed into a moan as I let my tongue trace the smooth skin.

“You need to go now,” Camila suddenly pushed me off and I looked at her in astonishment.

“What? Why?”

“Because otherwise it won’t be ten minutes like I promised,” she explained her sudden change of approach.

“I actually don’t mind,” I breathed seductively and leaned in again.

“But I do,” she objected. “You might not like sleeping in on a Sunday but I do.”

“You’re mean,” I glared at her playfully. “I’m not allowed to love anything more than you but you’re allowed to love sleep more than me?”

“I’ll make up for it,” Camila smiled suggestively.

“You better,” I responded but gave her one more kiss to reassure that everything was alright. “So, I’m free to go now?”

“Yes,” she whispered and I noticed how happy she looked. I realized that I must have looked just as happy because I was. The genuine joy on her face, emanating from her eyes and smile made my heart swell. “What?” Camila’s soft voice snapped me out of my thoughts.

“Nothing,” I shook my head while still smiling to myself.

Camila tilted her head in curiosity as I got out of bed. Once more she grabbed my hand and I turned around, expecting her to engage in more banter or say something. She didn’t but instead placed a tender kiss on my hand before letting it go. The smile on my lips widened which she reciprocated before I left.

-

I got out of the bus and saw dozens of fans greeting us in front of the hotel. As I walked down the small steps, I heard several people screaming for Camila which made me smile internally. It wasn’t a secret that my wife was one of the most known and popular soccer players out there. The only difference was, that her popularity wasn’t just national but global. While the US women’s team held much power and recognition all over the world, she was the breakout star and I couldn’t have been prouder.

After everything life had thrown her way, she had made it. Seeing her in the national team attire, signing autographs and taking pictures never got old. And this was special. We just arrived in France for the FIFA Women’s World Cup. It was the first World Cup for both of us – except for the youth team one which we had won years ago. I had been called back to the national team and Camila had been the leading force for them to qualify.

The fact that the tournament was taking place in France made it even more special. Obviously, Paris had been a factor in our journey and I was happy to be back. Although Camila’s time with the Parisian team had been difficult for us at the time, I saw how much the French fans still adored her. Many of them still wore the number 7 jersey with her name on it.

“Stop staring,” I heard Dinah behind me as she nudged me. “Time to take some pictures,” she reminded me that I wasn’t just here to look at Camila but greet fans as well. I felt myself blushing lightly since she had caught me blatantly staring but quickly walked up to some fans to do what everyone else was doing.

Only two hours after arriving at the hotel, we had our first training session. The pressure was high since a lot of people expected us to win. But no one wanted the title more than the team itself. Everyone was hungry for the championship. As I looked around the women surrounding me on the field, I saw it in every single one of them. I was reminded of the time I had won the youth title and the energy had been very similar. Maybe we were older now, but the desire and dedication were the same.

Like most training sessions, we ended with a practice match. We took those matches seriously, but no one took them more seriously than Camila. Seeing my wife sprint all over the place wasn’t a new sight to me since we were on the same team in New York, but the national team also brought out the most competitive version of her.

I’d probably never understand what happened to the brunette once she got on the soccer field because her entire demeanor changed.  She had grown into a different person in many aspects but her personality on the field had never wavered. That’s what made her the best; it’s what made her CC7.

She was making one of her infamous runs down the left side of the field while I sprinted with her more centrally. Waving my hand to signal that she should pass the ball, Camila used a different approach and lost the ball in the end. It wasn’t unusual until she did it again and I started wondering what was going on.

“Camila!” I yelled from behind when she was once more in possession of the ball but yet again she went forward on her own instead of playing it safe. Growing somewhat frustrated, I approached her. “I know you want to score but they know what you’re doing. Give me the ball if you don’t think you can get through next time,” I offered.

“I’m good,” Camila answered shortly and nodded.

“Maybe you’re good but we’re not because the other team is ahead,” I furrowed m eyebrows.

“Then why don’t you let me do what I do so I can score a goal?” the woman wearing the number 7 on her back remarked and I was transported into the past it seemed.

“I’m not saying you can’t score-“

“Alright then,” she cut me off, smiled and ran off while I stood there for a moment in disbelief. Looking over at Normani, my close friend came up to me and shrugged her shoulders.

“CC7 is here,” Normani chuckled before giving me a pat on the back and running past me.

“Oh yes, she is,” I mumbled to myself but reminded me to focus on the match again.

And just like it used to be many years ago, Camila did what Camila did, and it worked. Maybe it wasn’t my style of play, but she ended up scoring two goals for us and winning the practice match. Afterwards, our coaches gave us a few pointers.

“Lauren, you have to be more present on the pitch,” the head coach addressed me. “We need you as the person with the most passes and possession. The other teams are going to have you on their radar as the playmaker, but you have to make sure you outsmart them anyway.”

“I understand,” I nodded and looked over to Camila who drank from her bottle of water. She caught my glance and winked at me as reassurance. After practice was over, she came over and offered me another water bottle.

“Here,” she smiled happily and suddenly she was back to ‘normal’. I couldn’t help but laugh mildly as I took the bottle from her. “What?” she asked clearly confused while her smile widened.

“What happens to you when you’re on the field?” I questioned directly.

“What do you mean?” Camila laughed as well.

“You become a different person,” I explained but saw her grinning.

“No, I don’t,” she disagreed.

“You do,” I insisted. “I seriously felt like I was sixteen again, afraid you’re going to push me any moment.”

“Oh come on,” the younger woman appeased. “It’s not that bad. I just want to win.”

“Maybe but if I’m scared of you, I can only imagine what the other teams must feel like,” I started teasing her a bit.

“You’re scared of me? Really?” Camila smirked.

“And a little turned on maybe,” I added more quietly although no one was around. The left midfielder laughed out loud and shook her head.

“I guess, some things never change,” she said with a smile. “Perhaps I’ll always be scary on the field and you’ll always be a perv.”

“Sounds about right,” I answered to hear her laugh more loudly.

-

The following days and weeks were strictly about the championship. The tournament had taken its course and all the hard work had brought us to where we wanted to be: the final. With the French team as our opponent, they clearly had the home advantage and had played a phenomenal tournament. It was the game everyone was waiting for.

Personally, I had needed a few games to get back into the rhythm of such high-quality games back to back. You barely had any recovery time before having to play again. But now I was where I wanted and needed to be. The whole purpose of being here, winning the championship was so close. A part of me couldn’t believe I had made it. As I looked around the filled stadium of people chanting, my nerves definitely kicked in. I was on the field, possibly ninety minutes away from winning the World Cup title as soon as the referee whistled for kick-off.

I closed my eyes for a moment, took a very deep breath and focused on the task at hand. Looking to my left side, I saw Camila doing the same before the game started.

Perhaps the French had the home advantage, but we had Camila. Her and Dinah had played in France long enough to understand their strategy and style of playing better than anyone else. It became obvious very quickly that the two best friends were important today. Dinah was leading the defense, making sure none of the technically highly-gifted French attackers would get through. It was incredible to see the growth in her. No one was getting past her and every time she picked up the ball, Normani was there, in defensive midfield to secure it.

Then it was up to me to shift into offense. I had a particularly hard time today because I had at least one French player around me at all times. Obviously it was their strategy to have someone guard me nonstop. As frustrating as it was, I held my own and distributed the ball as best as I could. With Camila on the left side, my wife was frustrating her opponent a lot more than anyone else.

The woman wearing the number 7 jersey pulled out all the tricks. We all heard the gasps around the stadium whenever she would start running in incredulous speed, move her feet quicker than most of us were able to catch on to and therefore almost humiliate the other players. I was trying to make sure I stayed more defensive because we had been warned how quickly the French could counter-attack. And they did.

Camila lost the ball and suddenly there were five French players storming our side of the field. It happened it merely seconds, but they outnumbered us quickly, using their quick passes to pass Dinah and scored a minute before halftime. Cursing under my breath, I looked to Camila who was clearly enraged. She was blaming herself for losing the ball but it wasn’t her fault.

“Come on, girls!” Normani shouted and clapped her hands in motivation. “We got this!”

Half time was here, and our coaches gave us the necessary pointers to turn the game around. Most importantly, they gave me permission to be more on the offense. I wasn’t an attacking player like my wife, but I felt more comfortable with their new strategy. Catching a glimpse of Camila, she smiled hearing that I was able to support her more on the attack.

The second half started well. We came out with everything we had. It was strategy to catch the French somewhat off-guard. During the first five minutes, we attacked them several times, giving them very little time to recover. I had the ball at my feet, looking for an in when I saw Dinah sprinting forward all of a sudden. Without even thinking about it, I passed the ball to Camila on the left side who outran her opponent once more and did what I had thought of without having to say it. She crossed the ball into the penalty box where Dinah was waiting for exactly that ball. The tall woman jumped at the perfect time and headed the ball towards the goal.

The ball hit the crossbar, the stadium sighing in relief for the French and frustration for us. However, the ball bounced back and I anticipated where it would land quicker than the others. Just outside of the penalty box, I didn’t wait for the ball to drop because then everyone else would be there but took a volley. Using all the strength and precision I had, I felt the ball connecting to just the right spot on my foot.

I barely saw the ball because it had such speed but I heard the stadium erupting into cheer and screams. As soon as I saw the ball hitting the back of the net in the top left corner, I felt a weight lifted off my shoulders figurately. However, I felt actual weight on my shoulders right after because my teammates basically jumped on top of me to celebrate. I fell over but used the few seconds to let it sink in before they picked me up again. Meeting the familiar brown eyes of my wife, she smiled widely and gave a me another quick hug.

This wasn’t over though. A tie didn’t amount to anything else but extra-time which none of us wanted. My goals seemed to invigorate the French team now. They were putting us under pressure for a the next ten to fifteen minutes. As much as we tried to fend them off, they were incredibly fast in their passes and one little error could cost us.

The French team had a corner kick and didn’t hesitate for a second. The ball came flying in before we had fully organized our defense. One of their defenders was very tall and next thing I saw was her heading the ball into our goal. Again, they scored leading with one goal 2-1. The disappointment on everyone’s face was evident but I did my best to keep everyone motivated.

One person didn’t need motivation apparently. Camila shifted up into another gear that I didn’t think existed after the opponent’s goal. Her ambition led to more tricks and perhaps it was one nutmeg too many. One of the French players grew agitated and suddenly slide tackled our number 7 in a brutal manner.

Camila’s cry of pain was excruciating to hear. My wife fell on the pitch, one hand holding her ankle, the other covering her face. Rushing over, I pushed everyone aside.

“Camila? Are you okay?” I asked completely out of breath, but she didn’t respond. All she did was sob quietly which agonized me to see. She had a high threshold of pain, so I knew she wasn’t playing this up. Our doctors came in but I knelt beside them to comfort her. Dinah was behind me, encouraging her best friend to stay strong. My heart was beating out of my chest since I had never seen the woman I loved in such physical pain.

When the stretcher was brought in, my heart sank. The doctors put her on it and I had no idea what was happening. Was she out? How badly was she hurt? The fear was probably evident in my eyes as I let go of my wife’s shoulder to see her being carried of the pitch. The entire stadium was standing and clapping for her while I felt paralyzed.

“She’ll be okay,” I heard Normani say to me. Dinah gave me a pat on the back which clearly indicated everyone saw how distraught I was.

The next few minutes were difficult to process. We continued playing while Camila was being treated on the sidelines. As long as she wasn’t subbed out, there was hope she wasn’t injured too badly. A part of me wanted to tackle the player that had fouled her, but I held my composure in order to make sure we had a chance to win. While I was attempting not to lose focus, Dinah was apparently thinking of another way of revenge: scoring a goal.

Once again, she was running forward, confusing the French players since she was a defender, and this time the cross that came from our right-midfielder, landed right at Dinah’s feet who quickly slid the ball past everyone else and into the net. I was in shock but also woken up again. Dinah cheered with everyone else as I looked to Camila who was suddenly standing and about to get back into the game. The two best friends met on the field and hugged tightly. I smiled watching and felt ultimate relief that my wife wasn’t injured severely.

Dinah’s goal and Camila’s persistence fueled all of us. With only minutes left and a 2-2 score, the French team was trying to keep the score the same whereas we tried to take a risk and take it all. Normani and I were passing the ball from left to right, trying to find an opening somewhere. Even though my back was turned to her, I knew Camila was making a run on the left side. After all, that’s what she did.

Without really looking, I passed the ball to where I thought Camila was running. It was instinct and a possible loss of the ball if I was wrong, but there was something that told me I was right. When I looked up to watch where my pass was heading, I saw the brunette sprinting and catching the ball perfectly. The entire stadium held their breath as she sidestepped the last defender and only had the goalkeeper left. My heart skipped a beat, but Camila held her own and curled the ball past the French goalkeeper and into the net.

All hell broke loose. I ran towards Camila just like every other US player. It all became a blur since we were relieved, ecstatic and still anxious at the same time. The following minutes seemed to go on forever until I heard the referee blowing the final whistle. All the noise from the stadium and around me was gone. I sank to my knees, exhausted and overwhelmed. Falling over, I covered my face in my hands because I felt tears of joy streaming down my face. I needed a minute to myself before I got up and looked for Camila.

She was also lying on the ground, heaving and trying to catch her breath while Dinah was dancing around her. Slowly walking up to them, several players and coaches hugged me on the way, but I only wanted to celebrate with one person right now. Wiping the tears, I stood beside Camila who opened her eyes and the brown orbs were teary similar to mine. Her face lit up instantly and I offered her my hand to help her up. Taking it, the brunette fell into my arms. Her body felt just as fatigued as mine but held on to me.

“I can’t believe it,” I mumbled while hugging her tightly.

“Me neither,” Camila panted. “We actually did it.”

Pulling away after a while, I couldn’t help but be concerned.

“How is your ankle? I didn’t think you’d come back,” I admitted honestly.

“It’s pretty beat up but nothing I can’t heal afterwards. I wouldn’t have missed this for the world,” she said with conviction.

“But you should take care of it,” I answered still worried.

“Ice bath?” she kinked an eyebrow and I laughed joyfully.

Next thing I felt was our teammates huddling around us to start the celebration. And we celebrated for sure for the rest of the night. This was what we had all worked towards for such a long time. The title was obviously flattering but for me it was more about reaching something I didn’t think was possible. After all, I had left the profession for a while and many personal obstacles had held me back from reaching my potential.

Now, that I was here, with the woman I loved more than anything, I didn’t feel accomplishment first; I felt at peace. No matter what would happen in the future, no matter if I never won or played again, this was the moment I wanted. Reaching something that Camila and I had both set out to do as teenagers and fulfilling that dream together.

I didn’t need the big trophy, medal or even party afterwards. As I walked down the hotel hallway to my room, after all the celebrations that had lasted until the middle of the night, I was happy knowing that I would go home the next day and go back to a life that was filled with love. Smiling to myself, I looked for my room key when I heard a familiar voice.

“Hey you,” Camila came up from behind me.

“Hey,” I said quietly. “I thought you wanted to stay a little longer with the girls.”

“I did but Dinah is too drunk and I just brought her back to our room,” my wife explained with a grin.

“That doesn’t surprise me because she was almost passed out the entire night,” I chuckled but noticed the brown eyes scrutinizing me intently. “What?”

“Nothing,” Camila whispered, biting her lower lip afterwards. “I was just thinking how…it’s kind of a shame that we don’t share a room.”

“We agreed that we wouldn’t so we could…focus,” I answered in a low voice but almost forgot to add the last word because the other woman’s eyes looked me up and down seductively.

“Right,” my wife barely breathed but stepped closer. “But the tournament is over now,” she suggested with a slight smirk while running her index finger down my torso.

“That’s true,” I nodded gently while holding her gaze.

“MILA!” the loud yell from Dinah startled both of us and I looked behind me to see Camila’s closest friend crawling out of their room.

“Oh Lord,” I giggled. “It’s time like these where I’m so happy to be sober.”

“I can understand that,” Camila agreed with a big smile. “Well, then we’ll celebrate tomorrow,” she added with a little wink.

“We will,” I approved. “Congratulations, CC7,” I said grinning and saw her face lighting up even more.

“Congratulations to you too, LJ10,” she whispered in a mixture of pure bliss and affection.

I expected a little kiss goodnight but suddenly felt her hands grabbing the collar of my jacket and pressing her lips against mine passionately. Slightly taken aback, I needed a second to catch a breath. The fervor of her lips and tight grip on my collar left me absolutely powerless but I did my best to reciprocate. She even bit my lower lip before letting go, my eyes meeting hers with surprise.

“Fuck you, Lauren,” Camila whispered quietly and pushed me against the doorframe as she walked off.

Leaning my head against the frame, I understood what she was doing and started laughing. She was reenacting our very first kiss and my heart felt as if it was about to explode. It reminded me of how far we had come.

“I love you too,” I called after her and received one last smile for the night before she brought Dinah back into their room.

Taking a deep breath, I remembered how confused I had been after that first kiss. How much it had rocked my world. How hard I had fallen for her. To know that the depth of that love had never wavered despite everything we had gone through made it all worthwhile. I wouldn’t take any of it back: the confusion, the hurt, the fights or the disappointment. They had all been lessons to bring us here. Where not only CC7 and LJ10 had reached what they wanted, but Lauren and Camila found what they needed.

—–

A/N: I’m sure many of you didn’t think the epilogue was ever going to come. I apologize for taking such a long time but it was hard to finish for many reasons.

These characters have been with me, and a part of me for over three years now. I started CC7 as a one-shot and didn’t think it would ever become this. The amount of feedback and appreciation I have received over the course of this story is unfathomable. I don’t know how to say it other than, thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Ending this story is particularly difficult because I’m saying goodbye to a very important part of my own journey. I remember writing and submitting the very first chapter of “Do I Wanna Know” on tumblr October 29th 2013, almost exactly four years ago. At the time, I was going through many things and the only thing that kept me going was writing these stories which I had never done before. I was accepted into a group of people who loved what I did. I’ll never be able to articulate how much that meant and still means to me.

After 50 chapters of DIWK, 28 chapters of CC7, 34 chapters of LJ10 and several one-shots, I found a lot of healing in the process of using hundreds of thousands of words to express how I feel. Yet, I have many other things to concur and I don’t know how to do it, just like I didn’t know then when I started writing these stories. All I know at this point is, that I don’t know what, when or if I’ll continue writing. It’s been a wonderful journey and I’ve met great people along the way. This fandom, as divisive and frustrating it can be at times, has given me a lot. 5h has given me a lot. But I find myself at a place where I want and need different things. That doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate what this has done for me and I hope you know that.

I’ll do my best to stay somewhat active on social media although that’s not a strong suit of mine. I’m still considering self-publishing CC7 if that’s a welcomed idea by you but all I ask is time.

Thank you for your unwavering support, feedback and love. Take care of yourselves and know that this journey has taught me one thing: your feelings are valid and can open up a whole other world for you. Have a lovely Sunday – Jazmin 

[tipco613]

New Post has been published on https://cryptonewsuniverse.com/a-collision-course-ai-marketing-people-and-process/

A Collision Course: AI Marketing People and Process

A Collision Course: AI Marketing, People and Process

In many cases, AI marketing continues to obscure reality.

What is artificial intelligence? Is a smart speaker truly intelligent? And what makes a factory, building, or even a home for that matter smart?

As for the first question, there are three key pieces, said Marcia Walker, principal consultant at SAS. “AI can learn from experience, adjust to new inputs, and accomplish tasks without manual intervention,” Walker said.

The term AI itself dates back to at least 1955, when four researchers, two hailing from academia and two from industry, proposed a research project to investigate the thesis that “every aspect of learning or any other feature of intelligence can in principle be so precisely described that a machine can be made to simulate it.”

If people must be present to continually fine-tune a program’s algorithm, it, therefore, cannot be said to possess artificial intelligence in the classical sense of the term. Yet AI marketing often uses the phrase in ways that are more artificial than intelligent. “Many times, I think the term ‘artificial intelligence’ is aspirational,” Walker said.

  Smart in Name Only?

Is a smart speaker, which has become the prototypical smart home device, an example of artificial intelligence? Alas, no. At least not in the case of Amazon Alexa, which, according to Bloomberg, relies on a global team of thousands of people to listen to voice commands and help them fine-tune the assistant’s responses to specific queries in the future.

While Amazon describes Alexa as living “in the cloud” and “always getting smarter,” the voice assistant’s improved accuracy in understanding voice commands is at least partly a byproduct of manual intervention over time.

While the specific details about Alexa’s inner workings were new, that hasn’t stopped users from lamenting in recent years that the “smart speaker” didn’t live up to its name. “Amazon’s Alexa isn’t the future of AI — it’s a glorified radio clock,” wrote Quartz writer Alexander Aciman in 2017. Gartner observed in its AI Hype Cycle report last year that the majority of conversational user interfaces, of which smart speakers are an example, remain “primitive, and thus are not able to respond to complex queries.”

Conversational user interfaces such as smart speakers also represent a continuing blurring of the lines between the Internet of Things, which is a broad technology trend that has received its own share of hype, and artificial intelligence, a word often applied undeservedly.

Of course, voice assistants, including Alexa, have improved steadily over the years. The venture capital firm Loup Ventures asked prominent smart speakers hundreds of queries and found, in December 2018, that Alexa correctly answered 72.5% of the time, its accuracy improved 9% compared to 12 months prior. By comparison, Google Home had an accuracy rate of 87.9% in December 2018.

While a firm scientific definition of intelligence, or even consciousness or thought, may be elusive, smart speakers won’t be passing the Turing test any time soon. And while the smart speaker is but one example, it is a convenient microcosm reflecting the gap between AI marketing and reality.

  Looking for the “Invisible Hand of God”

While smart speakers may be an example of a technology that trails our expectations for intelligence, there is also a fear AI will have significant negative effects on at least some of humanity. While AI’s threat to automate jobs is likely the greatest social fear, Hollywood and a handful of public figures helped make the threat of an AI takeover famous, theorizing that advanced artificial intelligence poses an existential threat to society. The fact of the matter is: researchers widely disagree on when and if AI can develop an intelligence level matching or superseding human intelligence at large.

The computer scientist and AI researcher Jaron Lanier takes something of the opposite viewpoint. “The machines don’t mean a thing. They are barely even there without us,” Lanier said in one interview. “In order to support the fantasy of some kind of pure AI or freestanding AI, we are telling the people [who] supply the absolutely necessary data, that they are not needed.”  

While analytics is fundamental to artificial intelligence, Walker said “I would argue the real base is intelligence, period. If we are going to talk about AI, we have to decide what is real intelligence.”

Critics have long accused tech companies of misrepresenting systems reliant on human input as artificial intelligence, but obscuring that fact. Some chess fans alleged as much after the 1997 victory of IBM’s Deep Blue chess engine over champion Garry Kasparov. Grandmasters Miguel Illescas, John Fedorowicz and Nick de Firmian helped provide Deep Blue with a database of openings and thousands of board configurations and hundreds of thousands of grandmaster games.

Kasparov won the first game in 45 moves. Before the second game, IBM enlisted an additional grandmaster, Joel Benjamin, to help hone the chess engine, which was allowed under the rules. Kasparov lost the next round, even though the engine, at one point, made an apparent blunder. Kasparov accused IBM of manually intervening during the game, which the rules forbade. 

Referring to the famous human-machine matchup in a 2014 NPR interview, chess author Mig Greengard sympathized with Kasparov’s 1997 suspicions: “How could something play like God, then play like an idiot in the same game?” After the loss in the second game, Kasparov requested a summary of moves from Deep Blue’s recent games. He was denied access, although the Deep Blue team had access to hundreds of Kasparov’s games.

Deep Blue ultimately triumphed over Kasparov in game six of the match. While initially accusing IBM of cheating, he eventually accepted the chess engine’s superiority. “Deep Blue was intelligent the way your programmable alarm clock is intelligent. Not that losing to a $10 million alarm clock made me feel any better,” The Financial Times quotes him as saying. As for Deep Blue’s unwise move in the second game, IBM research scientist Murray Campbell explained it was a random glitch.

For IBM, Deep Blue was arguably its clearest AI marketing win until its Watson computer won Jeopardy in 2011. A number of chess buffs, however, continue to question Deep Blue’s victory, questioning the extent of human involvement in achieving that milestone. “They wonder if there was a sort of an ‘Invisible Hand of God,’ so to speak,” said Zulfikar Ramzan, chief technology officer or RSA, comparing the matchup to the controversial ‘Hand of God’ goal in the 1986 FIFA World Cup when Argentina defeated England. In that goal, the ball bounced off of Diego Maradona’s hand beforehand. A referee said he didn’t see the infringement.

The 1997 chess match between Kasparov and Deep Blue could have established a scientific precedent for artificial intelligence, but it didn’t. “We lost the opportunity to understand whether there was something novel about how chess was being played and whether you could apply these types of [computing] techniques to problems previously thought you couldn’t apply them to,” Ramzan said. “For a long time, people thought chess required human intuition.” But the collaboration between grandmasters and computer scientists over the years has resulted in even free chess engines such as Stockfish with scores considerably higher than those of the top-ranked human players of all time.

A game engine from Google known as AlphaGo also defeated a human in 1997, which was another game where at least some experts felt humans had the upper hand. “It may be a hundred years before a computer beats humans at Go — maybe even longer,” Piet Hut, Ph.D. an astrophysicist at the Institute for Advanced Study told The New York Times in 1997. “If a reasonably intelligent person learned to play Go, in a few months he could beat all existing computer programs. You don’t have to be a Kasparov.”

  Enough With the Games

But deploying artificial intelligence or related techniques such as machine learning, deep learning, and analytics to thorny real-world problems — for instance, predicting when complex machines will fail or how to make health care or a cluster of factories more efficient — can still be challenging. “Oftentimes, it’s not just a matter of deploying a technique to help solve a problem, but understanding the domain and all of the context around it,” Ramzan said. Hidden biases can also creep into algorithms, or they could be sabotaged by ill-willed humans.

The clear victories of AI-themed demonstrations such as Deep Blue’s victory in chess, AlphaGo’s victory in Go, and broader applications of machine learning to solve concrete specified problems helped fuel the imaginations of marketers promising their software can revolutionize any company’s business. Attending a trade show dedicated to the industrial sector highlights the sheer number of companies promising to help any company revolutionize your business with AI and other cutting edge technologies. “There’s a flurry of buzzwords that don’t mean anything,” said Saar Yoskovitz, co-founder and CEO of Augury, which uses a combination of hardware and algorithms to monitor the health of industrial machinery.

While the promise of implementing techniques like machine learning to drive transformation within industrial environments are well-founded, Yoskovitz laments many general industrial techniques used in the sector are old-fashioned. “The tools haven’t changed since the 1980s in some cases,”  Yoskovitz said. “There are flip charts, and maybe an earpiece system where you can log maintenance.”

Part of the challenge is that while leading industrial companies have experience in analytics, machine learning, and so forth, those techniques haven’t historically been a core focus. “They tend to be really good at making equipment to run big industrial processes, but that’s a different skill set than understanding big data and what it takes to do true advanced analytics,” Walker said. “It’s a parallel world.” In general, industrial companies pursuing projects under the artificial intelligence umbrella may struggle with basics such as preparing data for analytics.

A gradual change is underway, however, toward software-as-a-service applications that could potentially change how industrial environments are managed. “It should — I say should because it is not yet — be truly revolutionary,” Yoskovitz added. But in order to drive such a transformation, and to unleash the potential of AI, ML, and related techniques, requires changes to people and process. “I’ll give you one example of this from the software world. Look at what happened to sales organizations in the past decade,” Yoskovitz said. “It used to be that people looked at quarterly revenues. And today, you would call that a lagging indicator, not a leading indicator.”  SaaS for sales staff made it simpler to track how many phone calls sales reps make along with their conversion rates. Sales professionals can use that information to “tweak their messaging because whatever change we make today will affect revenue in six months,” Yoskovitz said. “So how do we, very similarly, in our industry go from lagging indicators — uptime, for instance, is a lagging indicator — to leading indicators?”

Organizations that can come up with firm answers to such questions, matched with a careful application of technologies will find themselves ahead of the vast majority of the competition. Doing so requires aligning the three elements of the people, process, and technology framework. Walker concluded: “And I think, for us to be really successful at AI, we also have to be really successful at looking at what it means to be human.”

  Written by Brian Buntz of IOT World Today

https://www.iotworldtoday.com/2019/05/02/a-collision-course-ai-marketing-people-and-process/

[evakfanficsrecs]

Hey lovelies! Just asking if you guys would be doing another fluff rec list this week?? Thank you so much, and hope you have a wonderful day! ❤️❤️❤️

Hi, dear!

We weren’t necessarily planning on it, but since you’ve asked… :) Here’s some fluff that I’ve recently (mostly in the past week or so) read and enjoyed! (Older lists can be found in our Fluff tag.) 

*

ONESHOTS:

The Boy Who Saved Me by smilewrightSummary: Isak has a plan for his five year anniversary, and it involves video editing.

kjære isak by atthebarricadeSummary: A love letter to Isak Valtersen in five parts. 

The Chance you Gave Me by justwhateverSummary: Even hasn’t been doing so well recently, and Isak thinks he knows what could cheer him up.

and so i happily concede, this is all i ask, this is all i need by lovedisakSummary: Even is fucking owning this marriage proposal thing. (With a little help.)

du og jeg for alltid by SabiduriaSummary: “Are you seriously going to make me sleep on the couch because I beat you in FIFA?!” Isak doesn’t like to lose.

yearn to live my love by mauedeSummary: “Hi,” Isak repeats, and his warm breath fans out over Even’s cheek. “Hi, baby.” Isak’s cheeks flush, and he glances down at Even’s lips, chasing the sound. Baby. * In which Isak really likes kissing Even and Even likes it quite a lot, too. 

The Notebook by TotallyTinkerbellSummary: Even notices Isak at the library and gets terribly distracted from the studying that he is meant to do. His notebook slowly fills itself with drawings of the boy rather than with his history notes. Even knows he should just go up to his crush, it’s a crush there is no point denying that, and say hi. 

let me whisper in your ear by grinsekaetzchen (Part 2 of our favorite parts are what we’ll keep series)  Summary: In which some of the cast of ‘Romeo and Juliet’ go to Stockholm Comic Con, the fans are loud and Isak manages to find a bit of quiet in-between all that.

love comes knocking by tarjeiandhenrik Summary: There’s a really cute boy living a floor above Isak’s flat and throwing up is usually not Isak’s ideal first meet but well.

The Same Morning by GayaIsANerdSummary: Morning softness. * The same morning, through both eyes.

that’s what friends are for by dobriksSummary: Even is desperate, Isak likes him, and Jonas listens to both of them rant about each other to him.

Everytime I look into your eyes I feel it by candyskySummary: Isak wasn’t even trying to hide the lust swimming in his eyes at the sight of his boyfriend looking almost criminally hot in his James Dean biker avatar. (Or, A one shot of an eventful day in the lives of Isak and Even where Even surprises Isak by riding up on a Harley, prompting a spontaneous road trip that takes them to interesting places.)

checking (you) out by everythingislove (narrylife)Summary: After being dumped via text, Isak goes on a late night run to the grocery store for some breakup comfort foods. Even is the cute clerk who happens to be working the checkout line.

i was busy thinkin’ bout boys (not like i had a choice) by BehindthecitiesSummary: In which Isak realizes he likes boys, falls for boys, and then ultimately loves a boy (and the boy loves him back). * A character study inspired by “Boys” by Charli XCX. 

CHAPTERED:

You’re a different kind of new by LostInAdmirationSummary: “But that still didn’t explain why Even was currently standing in a crowded house with the boy of his dreams pressed up against his side and a girl stood in front of them, looking bewildered as Isak told the girl excitedly how he and Even had met.” (Even has had a hopeless crush on Isak for months now, but has never been brave enough to talk to him. Luckily, Isak decides to make the first move by rescuing Even from unwanted attention at a party.) 

blue like the night in cuba by piccadillySummary: Isak and Even meet on a train and spend a night exploring Paris, losing themselves and finding each other. Or, a Before Sunrise AU.

keep it between us (just the two us) by bluetieSummary: boarding school!au; Boarding school is okay and all until Isak gets a new roommate who sings in the shower and watches shitty movies on Friday nights. 

The Balloon Intervention by lovelycarcassSummary: “Dropping hints,” Elias repeats incredulously. “This guy is about as subtle as a bull in a china shop. His crush was just painfully oblivious.” “Can you believe he’d emptied the fucking tissue dispenser just to get his attention?” Mutta snorts. Or, Even wants to get Isak’s attention and the Balloon Squad decide to take matters into their own hands.

relax, i’ve got you by thekalkSummary: childhood friends!au; “Isak’s too proud to admit it out loud but his ankle is actually in pain ‒ it’s nothing too bad but it definitely is hurting. Fortunately, Even plays along and pretends that he didn’t see Isak’s pained expression for Isak’s ‒ or more likely his pride’s ‒ sake and instead he leans down and presses a light kiss on the exposed skin on his ankle. Isak freezes at the touch of Even’s lips on his skin. This is definitely something new in their friendship.” Or: a childhood best friends AU where Isak is oblivious and Even has a catchphrase.

–A

[blondchronicles]

Qatar we love you. Qatar we hate you.

Qatar is today a pretty notorious state of our planet, extremely famous, if we were to judge in proportion to its tiny size. We know Qatar mainly for the crazy architecture of its capital, Doha, which rises more or less beautiful (matter of taste) but certainly impressive, in the middle of the desert.


The US (particularly the Obama Administration) have developed a strong alliance with the small emirate. The diplomatic relations are solid and the Al-Udeid air base hosts at least ten thousand US soldiers and a hundred US aircrafts. The connection is not merely military - there are at least six american universities in Qatar - and not only with the US but, more generally, with the global community. Just to give a couple of examples taken from the sports field: the FIFA World Cup will take place in Qatar in 2022 and a first Formula 1 Grand Prix in Lusail is long being discussed. And what to say about the role of Qatar Airlines in shaking the air transport market and allowing millions of western passengers to explore the Gulf and beyond?

Recently though, Qatar is often associated to terrorism or clearly pointed at as one of the major funders of the Islamic State and other terrorist organizations. How much of this is true? Is the recent ultimatum that Saudi Arabia, Bahrein, Egypt, and the UAE have issued to Doah a formal accusal? The document does in deed contain, among other demands, the request to stop supporting in any way terror organizations.

How can these two views on Qatar cohexist? As I will try to argue, the ambiguity lays in the definition of terror organizations.

When the so-called Qatar crisis started, it more ore less sounded like: „We all suspected that Qatar was funding IS, now the Arab states are confirming this thesis, isolating the bad boy and forcing him to stop misbehaving“. However, one could suppose that the use of an expression such as „terror organization“ is volunterily vague and represents the kernel of a probable mis-information on this crucial political fact, perpetrated by media and absorbed by common people.

With addressing this specific moment of the Gulf geo-politics dynamics, I will also try to expose a few contradictions that shore the whole story, in a reluctant attempt to dissipate some of the smoke around Qatar. 

Is Qatar a good country, an ally? Or is it an enemy? Can we trust Qatar? Why is the strongest partner of Nato in the Gulf, Saudi Arabia, threatening the small emirate? As mentioned above, the real meaning of the statements that accompany the „Qatar crisis“, all depend on the definition of the expression terrorist group.

My point here is that the whole tale is being „sold“ in a way that the Saudi appear as the „good ones“, the peace-holder force, while little Qatar takes all the blame. The terribily superficial level at which news are stored in our brains nowadays, together with the deliberate use of unclear and generic expressions by media, will end up delivering to most of us a basic idea like: “Qatar supports ISIL, they must stop. The Saudi will make them stop.”

First of all, in many occasions the Emir of Qatar denied having any involvement with ISIL and claimed having very efficient counter-terrorism policies in place. While he also pointed out quite clearly that there are other armed islamic groups, active in Lybia, Syria and Egypt, which others might consider terrorists while they don’t. (See video below).

Secondly and most important: the ultimatum does not mention the Islamic State in any way. Out of the ten orders that Qatar received from Kuwait on the behalf of Saudi Arabia, only one could allude to IS (again, in a very abstract way): Stop sponsoring or funding any terror groups in any way, shape or form. Here it comes again: terror organizations. Does this include ISIL? Other points in the document clearly describe Hezbollah, Hamas and the Muslim Brothers as enemies. So why not write ISIL, black on white?
 Does Saudi Arabia consider ISIL a terror group?

Hezbollah, as written, is clearly interpelled. At the GCC Trump said: „I applaud the GCC for blocking funders from using their countries as a financial base for terror, and designating Hezbollah as a terrorist organization last year. Saudi Arabia also joined us this week in placing sanctions on one of the most senior leaders of Hezbollah.“

Interesting. Some of the most informed will know that Hezbollah is currently fighting against ISIL in Syria! The recognized Hezbollah related groups active in Syria against ISIL are: Liwa al-Imam al-Mahdi, National Ideological Resistance, Imam Hujja Regiment, Al-Ghalibun, Al-Ridha Forces, Saryat al-Shaheed Abu Yasir, Saryat al-'Ishq and Kashafat al-Wilaya. But the Gulf must fight Hezbollah and Qatar must align. This is undoubtly a favor to IS and its strategic goals in Lybia and Syria.

Clearly, ISIL does not seem to represent any sort of urgent issue to the Saudi. Should this even surprise us, given that the men of the Caliphate share the same salafi root with the Wahhabbi dynasty, the same islamic political view of society, the same hate towards the shia devil Iran? 

Bottom line is: we don’t know if Qatar funds ISIL, but we know that those who supposedly warn Qatar not to do so, don't really ask Qatar not to do so, and possibly fund ISIL themselves.

One could argue that there are other terror firms to care about and that a joint GCC action in this direction can only be positive. Well, were I a citizen of Paris or Brussels, London or Dacca, Bamako or Berlin, Sousse or Tunis, I would be seriously wondering why such a powerful institution in the Area as GCC avoids to formally mention the Name of today’s most dangerous terror group.

What’s the real stake here? Why this Qatar crisis now? And what’s with this ambiguous representation or understanding of Qatar? Why this intricate connection with US (now apparently somewhat destabilized by Trump, or so it seems) and the global community?

Do we like Qatar or do we not like Qatar?

Qatar can actually be seen as a nice modern country. They are the only arabic country that allows a liberal tv news network such as Al Jazeera, able to reach the whole islamic community in the world with supposedly impartial information. Everything is free in Qatar: the school, the house, the transports. No taxes needed. There are american universities. And since 2007 there are elections, for what that counts.
 Democracy. Arab springs. Qatar and Al Jazeera  are considered to have been the main engine of all arab springs. The government and TV station representatives  don’t really deny it, they talk of a great cause: „What is wrong with helping the arab world rise? What is bad with supporting the development of democracy in countries oppressed by tyrans?“ 


What is bad about it?

Let us consider the role and approach to foreign politics that the Emirate has undertaken in the recent years: active in Egypt, Syria, Lybia, Yemen and other neighbour countries, Qatar indeed appears to have the intention to play as a sort of “moralizer-modernizer” for the area, ready to help “the arab countries” and “the arab people”* to free themselves from the despotism of Assad or Al-Sisi, Gheddafi or Ben Alí. Enthusiastically sending money to Gaza to support the palestinian cause (the leaders of Hamas, that is). Opening its doors to Iran.

Such activism, mixed with such a powerful and influential TV broadcasting, is certainly worrying the Saudi and has already been the object of warnings.

Now, the ultimatum. Stop relations with Iran, Hamas, the Muslim Brothers and other islamic groups, to sum it up. Plus the Al-jazeera points: the broadcaster must go off air and Doah must apologize in front of the GCC for the „lies“ that have been transmitted over the years. (Crazy, right?)

Again, not a word on IS. The reason the Saudi are upset seems to be more related to Iran. No country in the Gulf holds diplomatic relations with Iran, which is what Qatar is recently doing. The small emirate itself is easily controlled. An alliance with the Devil is a different story and the recent expressions of closeness to Iran that the Emir made, may indeed be a sort of calling for military protection in the event of a war. 
It already happened in the nineties, the qatarese know the color of the saudi tanks.


This all looks like a big giant going down a small, uncomfortable state and its government.


But on the other hand, how right is it that a country interferes in other sovereign states through bank transfers, weapons shipping and tv images, even if it is for a good cause?
 It’s an old and recurring question in our History. Wasn’t the NATO invasion of Iraq in 2003 a descent for freedom? Wasn’t the goal to „export democracy?“ And if it proved to be false in Iraq with NATO, why should it be true in Syria or Lybia with Qatar?
 These military actions sustained by a rethoric of „We are here to help“, happen all the time and our western democracies, led by the US, apply them in many scenarios. So who draws the moral line between good and bad? How violent can the method of exportation be? Supposing that exporting democracy is right.


So is there a Qatar agenda and, if so, should we trust it? Is it maybe the implementation of the Obama administration plan to redefine the levels of power between Iran and Saudi Arabia? Furthermore, where does Qatar really stands when it comes to a salafi-shaped idea of society? Could there not be a convergence with the dream of an Islamic Caliphate that reaches the bosphore? The Sharia is still well rooted in their constitution, no matter how modern the turn the country took about twenty years ago may be..
This can sound like fanta-politics, but what do we really know about them? When and where will they stop?

The Saudi in any case had enough. They want to put an end to it and show who’s the boss. Trump and the US seem to bless the decision. More than this: a 100 billion dollars weapons-trade has been signed in May by the US administration and the saudi princes.
 Given that I don’t like Qatar and I don’t trust Qatar, it appears clear to me that if a war is to start in Qatar it certainly has nothing to do with Isis and little to do with Syria.