#and then he went off for a month to the netherlands and we lost touch

[melanieph321]

Super Sancho (Part 10)

The end 🥺

Summary - A 10 part series where we follow Jadon Sancho on his journey to the Netherlands in hopes of improving his football performance.

Enjoy, I did!

It was good to be back in England, it really was. Jadon was finally reunited with the people that he loved, his family and his friends. He was wise not to settle down too quick though, he wanted to make it clear to the world that his trip to the Netherlands had not been for a vacation. He was to pick up where he left off at United as soon as possible.

"Sancho!"

"Look who it is, Jadon!"

His teammates made it easy for him, welcoming him back to the squad like he never left.

"Or what did they call you over there?" Luke Shaw teased.

Bruno Fernades jumped in on the banter. "I think they called him Super Sancho, no?"

"Ha ha, very funny guys."

"Super Sancho, Super Sancho!" Some of his teammates started chanting. The teasing went on for weeks.

Although Jadon felt it much better shape than when he left for the Neatherlands he was in no way near the shape he needed to be to keep up with the other guys in the team, let alone their opponents.

Ten Hag had him benched for a handful a games. Jadon hated to admit that he was a bit terrified to get back into the game. Training was fine, but the big games were a no, no. It fueld his reoccurring nightmares of a booing crowds and chickens plucking up the fields.

"Okay Jadon, you're up."

But the day had to come someday. It came in a home game against Nottingham Forest. Sancho was traded in during the second half of the match with the fans in the crowd chanting his name. "Sancho, Sancho, Sancho!"

He had mistaken it for boo's rather than cheers m, causing him to stumble on to the pitch. But once Jadon realized that the reds in the crowd were actually cheering him on he couldn't help to smile with his whole face.

"Coach gave me a thumbs up after the game." Jadon said, during his weekly call with Hendrik. They had agreed to stay in touch at least during his first month back. Somthing that Jadon appreachiated more than anything.

"A thumbs up is good." Hendrik said.

"Very good!" Jadon exclaimed. "I think coach is gonna let me start the next game." It was strange to call somone else coach, however Jadon had to remember that Hendrik was just his mentor and friend now.

"I've heard of your good work son, just keep it up."

"Thank you Hendrik. Tell Dennis and Jenni I said hi."

"I will, goodnight son."

"Goodnight."

Jadon found it a bit difficult to sleep at night. Not because his bed was uncomfortable, in fact it was a thousand times more comfortable than his bed in Ursem. What made sleep the most difficult was the silent nights. Jadon lived in a gated neighborhood and so there were no sounds of traffic, there were no sounds at all. He missed falling asleep to the sounds of crickets lurking in the tall grass and the light breeze of the wind swooping past the rooftop of the farmhouse. It somewhat silenced his many thoughts, these sounds. Now all his thoughts and worries kept him up late at night, somthing he had to work on.

"Okay Jadon, your up!"

It was during a home game against Leeds that it finally happened, they day Jadon got back to his winning ways. The team was down bad, 0-2 against Leeds at Old Trafford. The sounds of the displeased crowd made Jadon want to hide his face as he sat on the bench. But when coach told him that his time was up, Jadon was in no doubt of what he had to do.

"So what if he had temporally lost his way, all humans do. The most important thing is that we find our way back." Those were Hendrik words, Jadon thought. The thought of Hendrik, Dennis and Jenni is what fuled him to run onto the pitch with his head held high.

"Sancho, Sancho, Sancho!" The crowd still found the strength to shout his name. It was a shout of hope, he thought. Hope later came with an assist from Dalot to Marcus Rushford who scored 1-2. The energy at Old Trafford changed after that and the team knew exactly what to do, keeping the pressure onto the opponents half of the pitch. Luke Shaw made an impressive pass into the box, failing to put the ball into the net himself. Jadon saw the return come to him and acted upon instinct. He regained consciousness of the heroic act when the ear numbing roars of the crowd shook the hole stadium. He had done it, he had scored again.

"Sancho,  Sancho, Sancho!"

There were people that were never in doubt that he would find himself and get back to playing with the big boys. To those people Jadon would remain forever grateful.

- The End

[queen-mabs-revenge]

No. I’m too young to have memories from less than 10 years ago sneak up like that and convince me they’re not real.

[ourloveisforthelovely]

At Last (oneshot)

Harry Potter Marauders Era 

Request: hi! can i request a regulus x reader childhood friends to lovers? 

Pairings: Regulus Black x Reader 

Rating: T

_______

“So are you going to finally ask her out?’ 

Evan asked as he stood with Regulus at King’s Cross station. You were coming back from a month’s long visit to your grandma’s that left Regulus, in Evan’s mind, an abandoned wreck. Evan had been watching for the past 8 years as Regulus fawned over you (his best friend) helplessly and you were blind as a damned bat to the whole thing. 

Regulus crossed his arms over his chest wanting to ignore Evan’s question. The less that he had to talk to Evan about his lack of a relationship the better. Regulus wanted nothing more than to ask you to be his girlfriend. He had wanted this since 1st year at Hogwarts. Every time he came close to asking you out, he panicked. Panicked was putting it lightly. Regulus was about two stones short of a panic attack anytime that he came close. 

It didn’t matter that you were the perfect girl for him or that the two of you had been best friends since childhood. He always chickened out. Evan decided to make it his civic duty to try to give Regulus non stop pep talks on trying to get with you.

“I’m hoping to.” 

Regulus finally replied. Evan smirked, knowing that this was probably a bunch of shit that Regulus was saying. If Regulus Black asked you out, Evan would eat his own hat. 

“Well, Barty and I hope you do because you get all emo whenever she goes on a date with a new guy.” 

Regulus’ dark eyes rolled over in his direction with a displeased scowl. 

“Shut up, Evan.” 

Shutting up was something that Evan Rosier wasn’t good at and Regulus was crazy if he thought that he was going to get off of the hook that easy! 

“Repeat after me, Y/n will you go out with me. I’m a wreck without you.” 

Regulus aimed a kick at Evan’s shin making the other boy shriek in pain. 

“Shut up Evan!” 

Evan sighed, his voice becoming a bit more gentle. Apparently, this was what it was going to take. Regulus apparently didn’t understand that Evan only wanted him to be happy. He was tired of seeing Regulus so gloomy whenever you went out with some new mistake that didn’t last long. 

“Dude you need to practice. Whenever you try to ask Y/n out you just make a squeaking noise and she thinks you're catching a cold and tries to take care of you.” 

Regulus again gave Evan a dark “Black family scowl.” Evan didn’t seem to realize just how difficult this was for Regulus. It wasn’t just asking a girl out. It was asking you, his best friend, out. This was huge! What if the relationship failed and Regulus lost his best friend in the world? You were the only person that really understood him. You were the one that comforted him when Sirius ran away. Was Regulus really prepared to potentially lose the one person that he could really be himself with? 

The question that Regulus should have been asking himself was would he be able to handle it if you married someone else? Regulus wasn’t ready to think of “that” step yet but what if some fucker asked you and you said yes? Would he be able to stand there and watch you pledge undying love to some fucker who could never love as he could? 

“I kind of want to kill you Evan.”

Evan didn’t have to ask Regulus what was going through his mind, he knew. He had seen Regulus get super depressed every time you dated someone else. Now that the lot of you were getting older there was a good chance that someone would eventually propose and you would eventually say yes. Regulus would fall apart when that happened. 

“Eh. Who would you bitch to?” 

Before Regulus could reply, he spotted you stepping off of a train. 

“Enough, Evan. Here she comes.” 

You waived the moment that you saw your two best friends standing away from all of the other muggles. 

“Hey!”

You called before running over and throwing your arms around Regulus’ shoulders. He wrapped his arms around you and placed a kiss on your head. 

“Did you have a nice trip?”

Regulus asked as he gently sat you down. You laughed before hugging Evan, who for whatever reason, was looking extra smug about something. Knowing Evan, it was probably something stupid. 

“If you consider going to bingo every other night, eating a shit ton of jello, and being hugged by random old people at the rest home, fun...I had a blast. Every old person thought that I was their granddaughter.” 

You didn’t want to go on the trip to begin with but you parents talked you into it. They used the whole “your grandmother is getting old and won't be around much longer” comment and you agreed to go on month’s long roadshow to visit your granny. 

Looking at Regulus, you realized just how much that you had missed your best friend. Best friend...you sighed at the word. You wanted it to be a lot more than best friends but he didn’t seem interested in that. It didn’t matter how many times that you send signals his way, Regulus seemed oblivious to it all. The best that you could come up with was Regulus didn’t have any interest in any relationship with anyone. He had his head too far in his own role in the war. 

“Yum, jello.” 

Evan said, pulling you from your thoughts. Both Regulus and yourself gave Evan an annoyed expression. 

“If you like jello, you should go visit with me next time. They will want to keep you with your blue eyes and dimples. All the little old ladies will want to say that you are their doll baby grandson.” 

Evan’s smile faded. He didn’t like people touching him as it was and he knew the moment that he stepped foot in that rest home every stranger would be hugging him nonstop. 

“On second thought, no thanks. Well, I came to see you now I have to go get ready for a hot date.” 

Evan focused his attention on Regulus before emphasizing. 

“Get. Ready. For. A. Hot. Date.” 

You had wrapped your arm through Regulus’ and watched as he gave Evan a huge go-to-hell look. 

“Make sure to not wear that muggle Old Spice cologne. You’ll smell like a grandpa.” 

You said, earning a smile from Regulus. Evan, meanwhile, shook his head. 

“You two behave. Oh wait, look who I’m talking to. Later.” 

Evan turned and disappeared into the crowd, leaving both Regulus and yourself with matching frowns. You were the first to speak as you looked up at Regulus. 

“Something is wrong with that boy.” 

Regulus nodded. 

“He was dropped on his head a few times. That’s the best that I can come up with.” 

You spent the rest of the day with Regulus. After Walburga got on her youngest son’s nerves enough, Regulus conned you into going upstairs to his bedroom. Regulus lay back on the bed putting his hands behind his head as you sat down beside him. His curls framed his perfectly handsome face and you wanted nothing more than to reach out and touch him. The two of you hadn’t “cuddled” in sometime and at the moment, you would love to curl up in his arms. It didn’t matter how many guys you dated, none of them made you feel the way Regulus did.

“So what else did you do on your trip other than be everyone’s granddaughter?”

Regulus asked. 

“I went on a few dates with this guy from the Netherlands.” 

The moment those words left your lips, Regulus’ eyes snapped open and he glared up at the ceiling. He snorted before sitting up and shaking his head. 

“Of course.” 

You blinked from your place on his bed. 

“What?”

Regulus stood up and stormed over to the window to glare out. If some poor soul on the street suddenly caught on fire, Regulus wouldn’t have been surprised. 

“Nothing.”

You didn’t move nor was you about to back down. Regulus liked to “shut down” when he was mad but you were not a “shut down” kind of person. You wanted to talk about it. 

“Talk to me, Regulus.” 

When Regulus didn’t speak, you finally got off of his bed and went to join him at the window. Wrapping your arms around him from behind, you weren't about to let him get away from you. The two of you were going to talk whether Regulus wanted to or not.

Snuggling your face into his back, you breathed in his scent. How were you supposed to tell Regulus that it was his scent that you smelled when brewing an amortentia potion? How were you supposed to say, “Let's throw away our friendship and  risk it all for love?” 

“I swear, Reg you act like you are jeal…”

BAM! It hit you like a bag of bricks to the stomach. Regulus was jealous! He was just too good or too proud of a man to say it. 

“Thank you for finally seeing things my way.”

Regulus finally commented. His voice was soft but had a hard edge to it that told you how angry he was. Regulus didn’t care to yell at Evan, if he had to. Yelling at Barty was like breathing. Raising his voice at you, however, never happened. You were the person that Regulus would never raise his voice to or put an unloving hand on. There was the one time when the two of you were five and he accidentally knocked you down the front steps and he felt awful for weeks. He sobbed until Walburga fixed up your skinned knees and told Regulus to get a grip on himself. 

She is just fine, son. Now stop this nonsense. 

You smiled at the memory before reaching out and forcing Regulus to look at you.

“How long?” 

“How long what?”

Regulus asked, trying to be stubborn. You rolled your eyes. 

“Regulus Arcturus Black, stop this nonsense. You know what I mean...how long have you felt this way?”

Regulus sighed. 

“Not long...a while...since 1st year at school. I want to be with you but you keep getting with these fucking twats that no nothing about you. They don’t even know what way is up.” 

Your mouth dropped before smiling. Regulus wanted you. He wanted you like you wanted him. Bless him, he had been feeling this way for so many years. There were so many years that the two of you could have been happy together and you wouldn't have dated any of the clowns that you were fixed up with. You could have the boy that you wanted from day 1. 

“No, they don’t. They also are not you.” 

Regulus looked at you with wide eyes as he got the meaning of what you were saying. 

“What if we fuck it all up? Everything that we have...I wouldn’t want to live without you in my life.”

Regulus said, looking down. You quickly moved to wrap your arms around his shoulders. Snuggling your face into his shoulder, you breathed him in again. 

“We wouldn’t fuck it up. It's something that we both want and we both know each other. Like, you know when I am getting my big dick energy and can talk me down…” 

“And you know when I'm getting too dark and can lighten me up.” 

Regulus interrupted before giving you a small smile. You eagerly nodded, cupping his face.

 “See, we have what we need. You’re what I smell in an amortentia potion. You’re what I need, Reg.” 

Regulus wrapped his arms around you holding on tightly. He wasn’t about to let go. If anyone tried to get in the way now, they would be hurting! You were his girl and his alone. Regulus’ days of watching some poor useless fucker flirt with you were over. Those pretty lips were all his now...as they should have been from day one. 

“Funny, you’re what I smell in one too. Your perfume, your shampoo...everything about you. I need you too, Y/n...more than you know.” 

“I’m right here and I’m not going anywhere.”

Regulus gently titled your face up to his. The first kiss was everything that you expected and more. All of the years of mutual pining, desperation, and jealousy were paying off. Both of you were finally getting what you wanted and nothing else would ever get in the way. 

“I love you.”

Regulus said as he pulled away and nuzzled his forehead against yours. 

“I love you and no one will ever get in the way of my feelings for you again.” 

Wrapping your hands in Regulus’ shirt you pulled him down for another kiss. As soon as his tongue slipped into your mouth, a clapping sound filled the room. Both of you looked up quickly to see Evan perched on Regulus’ bed with a gleeful smile on his face. 

“Oh thank Merlin! Finally! I swear, I thought that I was going to have to tape you two together or something.” 

You turned to Regulus who was scowling at his best male friend. 

“Regulus, why is he here?” 

Regulus didn’t remove his gaze from Evan for a moment before wrapping his arms around your waist ready to apparate elsewhere. 

“No idea, let’s leave.” 

Evan, meanwhile, was still going on and on about how happy he was that the two of you finally got your heads out of your asses and joined the rest of society. You nodded returning your arms to Regulus’ shoulders. 

“Great idea. Let’s go  somewhere...anywhere else so we can be alone.”

Regulus nodded. 

“At last.” 

_________

@amelie-black @truly-insatiable @fandomsxxregulus @regulusheadcanons @realgaytrash @lucasfilms77 @exhsle @spiderxalmighty @teletubiswszpilkach @whymyparentscheckmyphone @jessyballet @knreidy1 @acciosiriusblack @mimisparkle12 @fific7 @rubyroscoe1 @hazncalsgal @quuenofblacks @bennyberry @criminalyetminimal @brokencasbutt67-writer @authoressskr @fandom-trash-worth-it @hankypranky @summer-novak @emiwrites3reads @shaylybaby2032 @knight-of-gleefulness @shadows-and-padlocked-hearts @stuckinsaudi1 @untoldshortsofthefandoms @wontlookaway @mycuddlycorner @deanwherescas @mycuddlycorner

[pizzaapplecheese]

2p Romano

So I made a 2p Italy post a while ago and got an ask to do one for Romano so here it is! before I type anything I recommend looking at the one I did for Italy to get an idea of this ( link ) anyways back on topic, lets talk about my version of 2p Romano.

Romano’s childhood is kind of different from the canon one. most notably Spain made it his goal to avoid Romano. Belgium was usually busy helping Spain; the only person left to look after Romano was Netherlands. Netherlands usually isn’t the warmest of people, he is still blunt and sometimes harsh times. Romano liked how transparent Netherlands and how truthful he is, so naturally he just clinged on to him easier than anyone else in the entire building. Unlike the canon Romano who had at least 3 people to look up to my version only have one and being the attention starved child he was he kind of lowkey attached to him. Netherlands did find it strange how this child looked up to him since there is literally so many people in this entire building and out of all people he chooses him, but Romano did grow on him. Netherlands did feel pitiful towards Romano since no one was giving “her” any attention especially since this castle is a new environment in which it is easy to get lost from. Ned did missed having a younger sibling around. You could be asking about belgium, but keep in mind she is busy with Spain which also translated onto the fact that to Netherlands Belgium practically isn’t here anymore. They hanged out when Romano is having his break from not doing any work and their personalities did rub off on each other a bit. Spain had to leave one day saying he was visiting someone (Italy who got at that time recently amnesia). Romano found that strange, but continued with whatever he was doing. Netherlands found a box full of crochet equipment and went to Romano like “hey, look what i found, do you want to learn how to do this” and since there is nothing to do he tries it and at first he was bad at it and got frustrated, but Netherlands kept pushing him to at least try making 5 squares and if he still thinks it looks bad then he will allow him to quit. The squares did slowly became better and better and Romano in his head was like “wow i did this??????This is actually fun!” and made more even when Netherlands wasn’t there. It was his hobby and later a way for him to vent and somewhat cope to the news. Romano got a letter from Austria/Spain about Italy a few months after Spain left, Romano being a hot headed kid that he is believed that letter was a joke and decided to travel to Austria’s place alone without anyone knowing (which looking back at it as an adult Romano realized that was a stupid thing to do) and when he finally arrived Spain Austria and Hungary tried to stop Romano from entering not knowing that behind that door was someone different, he looked and sounded like Italy, but he is obviously not Italy. Romano saw a stranger. Anyway Romano blows up when Italy acts like he can’t remember the many recent things that happens and after finding that talking to Italy about it was useless he goes towards the adults who tried to not be clear on it except for Hungary who told him what happened with Italy and boy did Romano exploded. No one under any circumstances is allowed to hurt his brother other the only person who is allowed to do it is him. Sadly he was dragged home and needed to wait for a long long time until he could see his brother again.

okay so now let’s talk about Adult Romano of my universe. Where do I begin? the dude is an attention wh*re. Even if someone took a glance at him that is enough to make him feel happy. He loves creating his own clothes and designs and will not stop talking about it and will somehow shift the conversation towards his clothes. Romano is very overbearing to the people he is close to and over dramatic and annoying to everyone else. He worries and cares for Vene a lot and Seborga as well as much as they appreciate it it can be too much. His relationship with the Tomato gang as an adult is petty complicated (almost like in canon lol) He is very close to Netherlands and they would trust each other with secrets so strong that that they won’t tell anyone else with, he is neutral about Belgium (he does find her pretty though), Luxemburg seems cool, He doesn’t know how to feel about Spain considering that Spain did try to stay away from him he still wonders what their friendship could have been like if they were more open, he find Portugal strange. Then we have the Axis, we already spoke about Italy so let's go to Germany. Just like in the canon he is jealous of Germany because of how close his brother is compared to him in here he will go out of his way to make Germany like his servant and will call him to help him when the smallest inconvenience happens as his way of revenge. Their convos are usually like “hey Ger-man I have a question!”  “huh yah what is it?”   “how do I put a book on a shelf again? I seem to forget”  “please tell me you are joking”  “wow rude, I always knew you were a brat from childhood, but this a whole new low”  “fine I will come over and show you”  “thanks!”. Strange thing here is that he is pretty kind to Japan although it have to do with China, Romano would buy Japan small gifts which confuses the hell out of Japan (now typing it I feel like China is the divorce parent of Japan and Romano is trying to win Japan’s approval to marry him-). Now we have the strange 3. I will start on China to fix any confusion on the Japan part. Romano is friends with China, but they are not really that close it is more of them teasingly annoy each other just for fun, like Romano touching China’s Jewelry (China hates when people touch his stuff especially when they are “too poor” for it, but he considers everyone that so eh) and China would pay him money telling him “I am sorry that this the only thing you can live off for the month, but i hope it helps” and it is just counterfeit money. Next we have America who loves to make videos of himself doing stupidly dumb stuff and Romano likes to join in because he likes getting the attention even if it is from strangers online, everyone's surprise why there isn’t a law about leaving these 2 alone together considering the whole bank incident (you guys shall never know what happened). Last but not least we have Lithuania, Romano deeply cares for him and is usually concerned with the guy, but he have no idea what to do so he usually just tries to hang out with him and refuses to talk about anything slightly negative worrying that it will hurt his mood (Lithuania doesn’t really care at this point, but still appreciate Romano’s efforts) they are tea/coffee drinking buddies.

oh my gosh this took so long to do, I am sorry. I had a test so it took longer to make this than expected.

[michelleleisureblogs]

Historical Facts About Two African Countries

Hidden Truth Behind Madagascar

If you’ve watched any kind of documentary, or show, or incredibly accurate cartoon depiction of “Madagascar” I’m sure you are fully aware of how unique and distinct the country is when it comes to nature. The Malagasy have quite a unique story too when it comes to the history of the people. The people of Madagascar had trade agreements with the rest of the continent of Africa during the pre-colonial times, most of their trade was with people in modern-day Mozambique, this marina rulers of Madagascar welcomed the English missionaries and soon the island had converted to the Christian faith. 

This conversion to Christianity led to the modernization of Madagascar society which led to the development of schools, medical center, and industries, the Malagasy people believed that their embrace of Christianity and modernity would save them from colonialism but unfortunately, these Africans did not understand that this arm of Christianity was into empire building and not in the sole business. Fast-forward to 1884 the French army launched their attack on the Malagasy people to expand the French empire but the Malagasy people fought a good fight and the war ended in a stalemate. However, in 1895 the French came back twice as tall to burn the country down which utterly destroyed the nearest marina rulership and the wolf of French colonialism was established in place across the island. The French war brought devastation as they mutated the resources and they did not invest in infrastructural development and only split resources out to France. The Malagasy who had strived to stay independent were now French citizens or French subjects until the 1960s when they eventually won their political independence.

Evil Queen of Madagascar

Queen Ranavalona, the Mad Queen of Madagascar was responsible for the killing of 75 percent of her subjects. Whenever she questioned the loyalty of her members of the Madagascar military, she arranged a “fair” and “just” way to allow them to prove their loyalty, by simply telling them to eat three raw chicken skins, no trial, no evidence, no jury, they just have to eat three raw chicken skins to prove their loyalty to the Queen and they will be free to go. After wolfing down the first skin, followed by the second, and finally after a few nauseous gulps, the last, the raw skins slide down their throat covered in slime and they get the urge to vomit. They can’t help it and vomit two of the chicken skins and fail her test and are then pronounced guilty and sentenced to death by the Queen. A strict traditionalist, Queen Ranavalona believed in the old ways of her people and for her accession ceremony had her naked body anointed with the blood of a freshly slain bull, which was fitting for a woman who would spill the blood of millions. After which, she put the royal family to death in a variety of ways. She was responsible for the murder of several Christians, who were sometimes hung over a ravine or cliff’s edge with ropes, and left there without food and water, while their friends and family would be forced to watch until at last the ropes frayed and sent the condemned to their quick death on the rocks below.

Incredible Facts about Madagascar

According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, almost one in ten Malagasies smoke weed, which’s a higher percentage than they do in the Netherlands, making it an ideal place (to avoid) when looking for a good vacation.

The North-Eastern part of Madagascar is known to produce close to 80% of the world’s vanilla, which is one of the most expensive flavours. A kind of large wrap made of various kinds of fabrics in patterns and colours usually worn by the Malagasy people.

The behaviour of the Malagasy people is seriously governed by thousands of cultural taboos, or fady, many of which include no funerals or farming on Tuesdays, no use of shovels with firm handles to bury the dead, or no eating of eels and goats.

It has become one of the most recent countries to abolish capital punishment but surprisingly is still the 14th least happy country according to the World Happiness Report.

Despite the poverty, Madagascar is home to some top-notch luxurious tourist sites and spas. Start saving up though, doubles cost from £3,220 a night.

Lamba is a traditional garment worn by Malagasies, both men and women. 

Bare-knuckle fighting, called moraingy, is a very popular sport throughout the island, as well as in Reunion, 300 miles to the east.

 TANZANIA; BEYOND TANGA IN THE LAND OF THE BLACKS

Tanzania, a well-known East African country, home to the tallest mountain in Africa, Mount Kilimanjaro, was formed in 1964 as Tanganyika united with Zanzibar to form the United Republic of Tanganyika and Zanzibar, then after 6 months, it was changed to Tanzania. But before we take a journey about Tanzania let’s talk a bit about Tanganyika and Zanzibar.

Tanganyika, a geographical entity that comprises a large part of the mainland of Tanzania was a sovereign state from 1961 to 1964. During the 1880s, the German colonists took over the area and in 1891 was declared a protectorate as part of German East Africa. After World-War I, Britain took over the protectorate and gave it the name Tanganyika under the league-of nations mandate in 1922 which means “what is beyond Tanga”, later it was turned into a United Nations Trust Territory after World War II due to its wonderful qualities in its geography, topography, climate, geopolitics, etc. Interesting to note, Tanganyika was instrumental in World war II as 100, 000 People joined the Allied Forces (Countries that opposed the Axis powers during world war II) and also were part of the 375,000 British colonial troops who fought against Germany and Japan. In 1957, there only 15 towns with over 5000 inhabitants with the former capital of Tanzania having the highest population at the time of more than 125,000 people. During this time, the British had a problem which was the Tanganyika’s ethnic and economic makeup which created issues for them in as much they had a policy which was focused on the continuation of the European presence but they still had to be responsive to the political demands of the Africans there. On route to independence, five UN missions visited the country and received hundreds of written petitions as well as oral presentations made in New York City. All these as the Africans who used the UN to achieve their purposes were key in driving the country towards independence. And in 1961, Tanganyika became an independent state. Now to our neighbor, Zanzibar

Zanzibar, an island located in the Indian Ocean off the east coast of Africa. Interesting to note Zanzibar means land of the blacks. Going as far back as the 16th century, the island was under the domination of the Portuguese but was taken over by Omani Arabs in the 18th century. After taking over, Sultan Seyyid decided to move his capital from Muscat (which is the most populated and popular city in Oman) to Zanzibar. This decision made the island to be at the center of trade for spices. Did you know that in the early 20th century, the island produced nearly 90% of the world’s supply of Spices. Also, the island became a major transit point for the slave trade in the Indian Ocean. But as you know, “When men have ambition, with no limit, they fall”, this is exactly what happened to the Oman Empire, in 1890, the island became a British protectorate. Although it was a British Protectorate, the British ruled through the sultan. Zanzibar, on the path to independence, got theirs from the United Kingdom in 1963, making the nation to be a Constitutional monarchy ruled by its Sultan. Then in 1964, there was a revolt against the sultan, and a new government was formed with Abeid Karume, who was the president and chairman of the Revolutionary Council. During the few days of revolt known as the Zanzibar Revolution, thousands of people lost their lives, comprising mostly Arabs and Indians. Also during this time, the Tanganyika army took part in the revolt then Julius Kambarage Nyerere who was a Tanzanian anti-colonial activist asked Britain to send troops. The troops came ashore from aircraft carriers. The troops’ operations were successful in the disbanding of the military, after the whole operation, the Britain troops left and were replaced with Canadian troops. After some time, on 26th April 1964 Zanzibar united with Tanganyika to form the United Republic of Tanganyika and Zanzibar which is also Tanzania.

Now that we have a clearer view of Tanzania, we can have a touch of its history. After the union of the two states, the two ruling parties in each state merged to form the Chama cha Mapinduzi Revolutionary Party in 1977. The merge occurred due to the belief of Nyerere which was that, multiple political parties, in a nation with diverse or multiple ethnic groups won’t support national unity but will jeopardize it. Also, to promote unity he established Kiswahili as the national language. As time went by, every sector of the state expanded rapidly and nationalizations transformed the government into the largest employer in the country as it was involved in all aspects from retailing to trade to banking thereby making the stage set for corruption. As more complex bureaucratic procedures evolved and a huge increase in tax rates set by officials caused harm to the economy, enormous amounts of public funds were misappropriated and put to ineffective use and the purchasing power continued to decline at a fast rate which all lead to a decline in the economy.

On 19th March 2021, following the sudden death of John Magufuli, Vice President Samia Suluhu Hassan became the new president. Still, being the Unitary Presidential Democratic Republic, Tanzania hopes to progress in the oneness of people, in heart and mind.

References

Anon., 2020. Most Evil Queen - Killed 75% Of Her  Subjects. [Online]  Available at: https://www.voicetube.com/v3/videos/141662  [Accessed 17 March 2021].

Chiteji, F.  M. ,. B. D. F. ,. M. A. C. a. I. K., 2021. "Tanzania".  Encyclopedia Britannica. [Online]  Available at: https://www.britannica.com/place/Tanzania  [Accessed 19 March 2021].

GONCHAR, M.,  2019. The New York Times. [Online]  Available at: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/02/25/learning/25MadagascarGeographyQuiz.html  [Accessed 19 March 2021].

 Authors:

Moronkeji AgbaraOluwa

Nemieboka Boma

Ilechukwu Michelle

[liaincursives]

These feelings I got/Lucas’ season

previous part / all parts together on ao3

Enjoy it ppl <3. 

Friday 22:47

Lucas looked at the sketch on his graphic tablet. A few months ago, he started to be interested in interior design and architecture after a random youtube documentation about Alex Vervoordt had popped up in his recommendations and since then he knew exactly what he wanted to do in his future and a ton of sketches was piling up in his room and the storage of his tablet was filling up faster than he wanted it to. Todays sketch was basically the interior of the little grocery store he had visited on Tuesday and Lucas had gotten completely lost in it. With the soft beats from one of his favourite albums playing in the back, he had lost the feeling of time. 

The screen of  his phone lit up and he could see a message from Kes and little blue instagram icon. Confused, he raised one eyebrow and unlocked his phone.  Why would someone write him on instagram on a Friday night?

Sterkerdanijzer has sent sent you a message. The notification was already three hours old and Lucas was surprised by himself. Did time really pass by that fast? He usually didn’t get that lost in something. With curiosity, he opened Robbes message. 

Hey, so I talked to my friends and we are meeting up on Monday to just chill and skate and they would be okay if you want join us.

Lucas face turned into a smile and his fingers were flying over the keys of his phone. 

That sounds pretty chill, where are you guys meeting up?

Since he had finished his sketch, he started clicking through the insta stories of his friend. Kes and Jayden both had posted video from party and Lucas. couldn’t help but feel left out. He recognised the flat share in the background and all of his dutch friends seemed to be at the party. The story Kes uploaded showed him and Jayden sitting the kitchen counter, sharing a joint with a girl with short brown curls. Jaydens story showed Liv singing. Lucas tapped on the message had sent him and a shaky image of Jayden kissing the girl with brown curls and a u are missing popped up on the screen. 

Lucas swallowed down the bitter feeling that was creeping up his throat. His friends seemed like they were having fun without him, it didn’t even seem like they were really missing him. Inside of Lucas, something was telling him that it just seemed like that and that Kes text about missing him was true, but Lucas just felt so left out and lonely right now, seeing his friends continue living and having fun while he was laying on his bed, drawing. On a Friday evening. What was he doing? What were his friends doing? Was he so unimportant that they would just continue on partying without him? 

He turned onto his stomach, trying to get those thoughts out of his head. He knew that there was no reason thinking like this. It was okay to be alone, even if all his friends were getting wasted and stoned right now. And it was okay feeling awkward seeing his friends without him. But why was it so hard accepting this then? 

He went back on his instagram, knowing he would regret it, but he was curious and wanted check out what the Belgians were doing. He saw that Robbe had posted a new story, which he opened immediately. Robbe seemed to be at a party too, Lucas guessed it was the farewell party for that Jana-girl they were talking about it on Monday. Lucas could see Noor in the short video, she seemed extremely happy dancing with Britt and holding a bottle of white wine in her left hand. Britts eyes ware fixed on a peroxide blonde boy that was talking with Robbe behind the phone, which Lucas. recognised as Sander, the boy that almost had hit him with the skateboard on Sunday. Behind these three teenagers, Lucas could see him. Again, as the image of him was following him, not letting him not think about him or the way they looked at each other yesterday. Lucas stared at his phone and what he saw made his stomach turn, like someone has pressed all hope out of it. 

Jens and the girl from yesterday morning were sitting next to each other, she was leaning over his shoulder, almost sitting on his lap and was doing something on the boys phone. Their faces were close, she was saying. something to him and it seemed like their lips were about to touch. 

Lucas wouldn’t even question it, the two were dating. What  had he. expected. anyways?  That the first guy that was his type would be gay and fall for. him immediately?He knew that that was not the way things worked.  

He turned off the screen of his phone, and with a dull sound, it dropped down on the floor.  Frustrated, not knowing what was going on in his mind, he buried his head in the white pillow he was laying on, trying to think of something different than the boy and his friends in the Netherlands.

Next part

[cosmichoneyedblossoms]

Poco A Poco

Pairing: Sehun x Reader

Genre: Incubus!au | Luthier!au | Fluff | Angst | Smut

Word count: 4.6 K

A/N: This is part of a collab with 12 Days of Lust. I was supposed to be day two, but with life I’m posting this late! I hope y’all like it.

Summary: He met you in the summer of the first year of your apprenticeship after your father hired him as a new luthier. Spending time with you in close quarters and teaching you the ways of the craft, he fell for you in the same manner of a person with insomnia—his thoughts dwelled on you, he tossed and turned, writhing for you. When he finally got a taste of you he couldn’t help but drown in you, he couldn’t get enough of you.

One day his life changed. Your father passed away and you were distraught, devastated like his passing put a real pothole in the curating of your life. Picking up and traveling abroad, Sehun began to fall back into the normalcy of his previous life with every second you weren’t next to him. What happens years later when you appear in front of him?

Through the fog blanketed city, soft pinks and lavenders leaked past the dirty windows of the lutherie. He didn’t even notice that he had worked through the midnight blue into the warmth of the morning sun; in between waiting for the ribs to hold their warmed bend and the sawing of the unmistakable shape into the aged spruce, his creation began to come to life. He couldn’t get enough of watching the blocks of wood he touched turned into magnificent instruments that would be in the hands of musicians.

“Sehun?” A familiar soft voice radiated from behind him, “Did you just get down here or were you down here all night?” He turned on his stool to meet the dark eyes of Lucrezia, one of the original luthiers of the shop.

“What can I say? Once I get going, I can’t stop.” Sehun sighed standing up, he needed either a nap or a cup of—

“Coffee?” She lifted her hands, offering him a white mug with a tan liquid, steaming from the inside.

“If I didn’t know any better, you were a mind reader, Luca.” Taking the mug from her, he brought it up to his lips and took a long sip from it; the hazelnut flavor sank into his taste buds—there was nothing better than caffeine to perk him up.

“Well, if I was, I would be able to know how you would react to the next thing I’m going to tell you.” Her voice was a little more timid than usual and her eyes strayed away from him.

“Which is?”

“One of our students is coming back.” Sitting down his mug, he let his mind wander to the handful of students that had to leave.

“Is it Merida? I know the last time we talked to her sister just had her baby—”

“No, it’s not Merida. She’s prolonging her stay in Scotland.”

“Paulo?”

“Not him either.” Sehun furrowed his brow, the number of students he could think of dwindled.

“Well, the only other one I could think of is Guin—”

“It’s her, Sehun.” Lucrezia’s voice dropped as her gaze came back to meet his, “She called a few days ago to let me know that she would be back within the week.”

“And you’re letting me know now?” He mumbled; the feelings that he used to feel awakened the butterflies that had laid dormant in his stomach, “After all these years, she’s just coming back? Why? Wasn’t she happy in the Netherlands with her mother? Why does she think she can just come back into our lives as if she never disappeared—”

“Sehun…” Lucrezia whispered, stopping his harsh words, “She lost her mother soon after her father… She has no one, the only thing she has of them is her memories and this shop. Whether you like it or not, she is coming back here to carry the family business and you will help her on her path.” She was leaving no room for him to refuse. When you arrived—you were to be in his hands.

The warm air in Rome filled your lungs differently than the cool Netherlands breeze. It was odd to be back in your hometown after years away, how was the city holding up without you roaming its artistic alleyways?

Nothing brought back memories more than the aged yellow wood of the shop, the years that you spent sitting inside its sawdust-covered floors watching your parents work on the bodies of classical stringed instruments, listening to the melodies that they made when the strings were added to the varnished wood, the smiles that came to their lips when their creations sang for them—you remembered it all, and it only made you miss them more. The carved sky blue “Lutherie” wood sign still looked the same, but maybe had a new coat of paint added to it; you were only ten when they opened the lutherie, you remembered the smell of the paint as you helped paint the sign. Every brush stroke distilled the scent in your mind, but not as well as the one that welcomed you when you opened the matching blue door; the linseed oil filled your nose as you stepped foot onto the sawdust dusted floor. It had a heavy, pungent oily smell. Not like petroleum, but more like olive oil that was poured into the hot pan for morning’s breakfast, or the old fashioned window putty your father accidentally smeared over the glass panes when he was attempting to fix the leaky windows.

“You never change do you?” You hummed, walking back to the workshop of the store and then it hit you, you were actually home, not in some lutherie that your mother found a job in, but the family shop. Your eyes darted to the workbench that used to be your fathers, the tabletop was clean, his tools looked as if they were never moved, never touched, just as he left them before the accident.

“Excuse me, you shouldn’t be back here—” You turned around at the deep voice that seemed to be reprimanding you to meet his gaze, one that you knew so well, one that you fell in love with before everything hit the fan, “Y/N…”

“Sehun…” His name leaving your lips was like a dream, he never had imagined that you would be standing in front of him again. The last time he saw you your eyes were red from the rivers you cried, your mind was torn to shreds, your heart shattered from the loss of your best friend—your father. He thought that you would never come back from it, never see the lively glow your eyes used to hold, but here you were—standing tall, your soul rebuilt, your eyes brighter than ever.

“Welcome back home…” He offered a calm smile on the outside, but on the inside, his heart was running around frantic, all the old feelings that were buried long ago were now rising to the surface.

“Thank you…” The look in his eyes didn’t quite tell you that he was happy to see you or in sheer agony in your presence, all you knew that this was your home, regardless of the past memories that were made in it. Everything that was keeping you together was the memories of home, but the ones that stuck out the most were the ones that included him. He may have just seen you just as a friend, but he held you down when you felt like you were floating away into the abyss.

“I heard that you wanted to continue your apprenticeship.” His voice was smooth but raspy, “You’re more than welcome to choose between me and Luca, but as I heard it you want to train under me.”

“That’s correct. My father thought you were an amazing luthier, so it would be an honor to train under you, Sehun.” The you he knew would beat around the bush to get to what you wanted, but the you now said what she wanted, no longer shy about the things she wanted. With a nod of his head, he walked toward you, each step he took, your heart pounded in your ears.

“You’ll start tomorrow, seven o’clock sharp.” Walking past you, he grabbed the cream-colored apron from the workbench next to your father’s, “As for today, go get settled in and unpack. Luca is dying to see you.” You turned around to look at him, the back of his head hid the expression he was wearing, was he mad you were here or was he happy?

“You know you’re the one I want… always have been…” Sehun whispered, his voice getting tangled in the sea salt tainted breeze. He knew that falling for a human was against the code, but right now, as he caught your sunset eyes through the messiest hair—he didn’t care what the code was, he needed you.

“My dad would kill us.” You giggled, turning your back to the sun to face him.

“That just means we can’t get caught…” He hummed, reaching for your waist to pull you close. This relationship was no longer about keeping himself alive, it was about keeping you all to himself.

The creak of the bed frame bounced off the walls as your back met the mattress of Sehun’s bed; slick lips pressed their plushness against yours, indulging in your taste. All those lingering thoughts that haunted him like the ghost were blossoming into life, into the purest moans of pleasure as he peppered kisses over your warm skin. Nervous fingers glided down your body, effortlessly removing articles of clothing that were keeping his eyes from drinking in every curve of your frame. Did you feel it deep when he touched your skin? Did you crave more of him even when it felt like too much?

“Sehun…” You breathed as he placed himself between your legs, ready to lose himself in the one body he craved. Looking up at you, your face went pale like you’d seen a monster.

“What’s wrong…?”

For months since you started, the sweet memories that he used to envision you in were now melting into nightmares that he couldn’t escape from. The fear your eyes held when the realization that he was not of your world made his heart sink into his stomach.

He was deep in his thoughts as he attempted to carve the shape of a cello into large pieces of wood, his mind not focusing on the gouge that was digging into the soft wood until it slipped; the force he was pushing it with caused the gouge to slice into his hand, “Fuck…” He hissed, quickly scrambling to grab a cloth to wrap around his bleeding wound.

“I see that you’re not paying attention to your work, Mr. Oh.” A deep voice startled him as he whipped around to see a man standing in the entryway of the workshop, dressed in a gray suit with a white button-down underneath the gray suit coat.

“Why are you here, Siwon? Shouldn’t you be in Paris or something?” He grumbled, clamping his hand around the blood stained fabric.

“How am I supposed to just leave you here knowing that you’re killing yourself?” The heavy tapping of his feet over the wood flooring rang in his ears.

“What do you mean ‘killing myself’? I’m doing just fine—”

“You haven’t fed in a long time. I can tell.” Siwon wasn’t one to beat around the bush, he spoke his mind, but he was right. Sehun had avoided sleeping with anyone since you left town, he was in love with you so, why would he sleep around when you could possibly return to his side.

“I’m fine.”

“No, you’re not.” He gripped Sehun’s chin and tilted his head to the side, “Your skin isn’t as vibrant, you’ve got dark bags under your eyes, your eyes are dark—no woman would want to touch you like this, but you, my friend. Need. To. Get. Laid.”

“Who needs to get laid?” The sound of your voice rang out into the workshop; Siwon turned around to meet your bright eyes, semi familiar ones that he used to know. It’s been years, but there was no way you could forget a face like that.

“Ah, Y/N? You’re back here?” His husky voice brought a smile to your lips.

“You’re not trying to use your incubus charm on me? Even Sehun hasn’t tried to do that to me in a long time.”

“I would never.” He hummed, watching you make your way to your workbench, “Even though I would love to have a chance with you…” Sehun shot him a glare to which Siwon was already expecting, but he couldn’t help but tease him.

“Would you now?” You turned around to come face to face with Siwon’s swirling black irises. You piqued his interest, from day one he had his eyes on you, but Sehun reached you first. The warmed vanilla scent that drifted from you filled his senses turning his little game from teasing to the real thing.

“Anything to taste someone as sweet as you.” He placed his hands onto the workbench, trapping you in his hold, “What do you say, Y/N?” Sehun watched as your playful gaze dropped as soon as Siwon’s eyes looked into yours. He was such a smooth talker that he usually didn’t have to persuade the woman in question, but with you—you were a lot harder to seduce, “Let an experienced demon show you how amazing it feels to be with—”

“That’s enough, Siwon!” Sehun yanked Siwon away from you; Siwon stumbled as he ran into another workbench, the tools on it clattered down onto the floor with the force that shook it.

“What the hell, Sehun?” Siwon hissed, regaining his composure, “I thought you said you were over her? What’s so wrong with me taking her? Enjoying your “sloppy seconds” as they say?” Hearing Siwon talk so poorly of you made his blood boil, what gave him the right to talk about you like that?

“I think that it’s time you took your leave…” Sehun stood in front of you, blocking you from Siwon’s sight.

“I’ll leave when Y/N tells me to leave… She’s the legitimate owner of the lutherie, right?” Siwon stepped towards him, closing the space between them, turning the already thick air in the shop into something unbreathable, “So if she’s the owner, that just makes you her bitch, or is she your bitch since you’re getting so upset about me getting near her?”

“Hey!” You yelled as Sehun shoved Siwon hard, knocking him down to the ground; he knew very well what he was doing, but couldn’t stop himself. Before he even heard you yelling his name, he was on top of him and had one of the large gouging tools pressed up to Siwon’s neck.

“Siwon! Sehun!” Lucrezia’s voice boomed through the workshop as she stormed into it to pick up a shattered mold of a violin, “If you’re going to fight, take it outside!” You pulled the gouge from Sehun’s hand and Siwon shoved Sehun off of him, finally getting up from the floor.

“You’re still a child—”

“Me?! I’m the child?!” Sehun lunged at Siwon and you stood between them, keeping Sehun from getting any closer.

“Siwon, I think it’s time that you leave. You’ve well worn out your welcome.” Your eyes connected with his, a darkness that he’d never witnessed for himself swirled around your dark irises. Something about you was off and he couldn’t put his finger on it, but he decided to take his leave before he made you even angrier.

“I’m sorry I’ve caused such a ruckus in your store, if you need compensating in any way, please reach out to me.” Siwon bowed and came back up with a smile on his face, “I’m also sorry that Sehun couldn’t take a joke.”

“Siwon.” Your voice fell deeply as opposed to your normal tone, “I hope I never have to come across you ever again. Now, please, leave.” Sehun glared at Siwon as he nodded and walked out of the workshop with the door slamming hard behind him.

“Y/N…” Sehun could tell you were mad, why wouldn’t you be? He practically just started a fight in your shop with another demon, of course you would be—

“Clean up this mess and remake the mold. Once you’re done, I need to talk to you.” You didn’t even turn back to look at him, you just walked out of the workshop without any other words—he knew he fucked up, big time.

It took him hours to get the mold back to where it was before he broke it, it wasn’t even his mold and yet he broke it. He cursed himself the entire time he was reassembling it, how could he start a fight in the store? How could he let his emotions get the better of him—but how could he not… you’re the love of his life and every little second he spent with you, it showed him that he couldn’t live without you.

Sehun stepped out of the workshop into the darkness of the city, it was light out when he started and now it was nearing midnight. Walking into the house, he caught Lucrezia’s eyes as he walked into the kitchen, “Luca…”

“You know, Sehun… I remember when you first started here under her father. You were such a quiet kid, kept to yourself, and focused on nothing but your job… and then you met Y/N and you changed. You were happier and more outgoing, she opened you up and you found love—”

“Luca—” She slammed her hand down onto the counter, causing him to jump.

“Don’t interrupt me.” She growled, “Now, I don’t know what happened between you two after she left, but you need to fix it. I know you still like her and she still likes you, but if I have to go another day with this hanging tension, I will probably murder both of you.” Lucrezia’s hissed words sunk into him deeply, he didn’t think he was acting any different than usual, but then again, he was avoiding you most of the time.

“Luca… you know we won’t work. You know that—”

“Demon or not, it’s not right to keep someone from love. I know you came here to escape your past, but that doesn’t mean you can’t have a future with someone you love.” Sehun sighed, her words speaking to the part of him that would kill to be with you, but there was another side of him that could easily destroy you, “Now, go up there and talk to her.” He nodded and scuffed his feet all the way to the stairs and slowly made his way up them. The butterflies in his stomach had his skin crawling as he approached your door, distant memories of past times began to take over his thoughts, but as he knocked on the door, they faded away.

“Come in.” Your voice hummed behind the door. He opened the doors and stepped inside to see you sitting at your desk, your fingers working a calculator as your eyes stayed on the book in front of you. Closing the door behind him, he cleared his throat, trying to calm his nerves, “Did you fix the mold?”

“Yes, and I called the customer to let them know that there will be a little bit of a delay on finishing his violin.”

“Good.” Your fingers stopped to grab a pen, the quick scratching of a number into the book sent chills up his spine. He felt like every sense he had was heightened from entering a room he hadn’t been in for years— he could smell the cinnamon maple lotion from your skin, he could hear your heart thrumming away in your chest, feel the heat coming from your body; everything in your room was creating a feeling that he could no longer control.

“I wanted to apologize for what happened today—”

“Listen.” You turned in your seat to face him, your eyes connecting with his, “I don’t care about what happened in the shop. The violin? We can always make more, we can always compensate for our mistakes, but the talk I needed to have with you, does not even pertain to work, at all.” Sehun furrowed his brow, confused about what you would want to talk about if it wasn’t about the shop—

“Oh…” It hit him like a ton of bricks.

“You’ve been avoiding me for months… why?” He sighed quietly at your question before walking around your bed to plop down into the soft mattress.

“Why? Why do you think?” He whispered, avoiding your eyes as he looked down at the ground, “You left here after I confessed my feelings to you. After I not only lost a mentor but a man I closely considered my family.”

“He was my father.” You hummed, “I lost my everything, Sehun. Everywhere I looked, he was there and I couldn’t handle it. I needed time to heal, but when we moved, my mother passed not too long after… I lost everything in a span of a few months… If I faced you, I knew you would soon leave, so I did it first.” Your blunt answer had him flicking his eyes up to yours, your unwavering eyes told him that you believed the thought that had been put into your head.

“Why did you think I would leave? I told you that I was willing to break the code to be with you and you left. You were the one to leave, not me.” He could feel the anger he held inside for so long start to bubble under his skin. You were the one to leave him, so why were you here thinking that he was going to leave you, “I was here, ready to take care of you and help you heal, but you thought space was more helpful than the one person in this world who loved you more than anything!” His voice grew louder with every point he was making, hiding his feelings was no longer an option, he had to tell you the turmoil you put his mind through.

“Sehun—”

“No, I’m not finished—” Smooth lips captured his, stopping his protesting. The warmth from your skin melted into him as your hands caressed his face; the feeling of your fingertips burying themselves into his hair sent chills down his spine. He hummed into the kiss, his instinct beginning to take over; his hands gripped the curve of your hips and pulled you into his lap, having your legs straddle him. Your fingers gripped his hair as you pulled away from him, his lips didn’t leave your body for long—smoldering kisses seared your sensitive skin as they trailed down your neck. The whisper of his name near his ear flipped his switch, there was no way you were escaping his hold.

“Sehun…” You breathed once more, the cold feeling of his hands sliding under your shirt over your skin sent chills down your spine. You had forgotten how good it felt when he touched you like this—every brush of his lips over your skin sent the butterflies in your stomach into a craze, his fingers digging into your skin sent your nerves aflame, the deep moans that left him were enough to have you melting into his hands. He flipped you onto the mattress, his body no longer able to hold back, he needed to taste you, feel you against him.

“I hope you don‘t think I’m going to go easy on you…” He rasped, tugging the button of your pants open. Pulling down your pants, he noticed the black lace clinging to your body, you knew he liked seeing you in these kinds of things, he thought you looked amazing all dressed up in the darkest of colors and the prettiest of fabrics. What he loved even more than seeing you in it was seeing you out of it; he stalled as he stared at your half-dressed figure, he could trace your body under the loose-fitting shirt, easily making out the hardening of your buds as your chest rose and fell. Slipping his hands up your shirt once more, your breath hitched when his fingers gently pinched your nipples; you mewled as he rolled them between his fingers tips, he knew that they were your weakness, especially when he was teasing them.

“D-don’t tease them…” You whined, wrapping your legs around his waist and pulling his hips closer to your aching heat. A growl escaped him as you raised your hips and ground your pussy against his bulge; he could hear your heart thrashing about in your chest, feel your heat soaking through his pants—he couldn’t take it anymore. Quickly undoing the button on his pants, he barely got them down to his thighs before pulling your soaked panties to the side and shoving his cock all the way down to the base. Your back arched from the bed as the tip of his cock kissed your cervix, he hissed in pleasure as you clamped down on him.

“God, your tightness is amazing…” Slowly rolling his hips into you, your quiet moans were music to his ears, his favorite song that he hadn’t heard in years. You reached down to grip his wrists and he looked up at you, catching your eyes rolling back with every pointed stroke to your sensitive nerves. Hearing your moans of bliss and watching you lose yourself to the pleasure he was granting you brought him to his end, “I can’t take it… I’m gonna cum…” He grunted as he buried his length deep inside you, filling you to the brim. Pulling out of you, his cock stood still hard as he watched his cum run from your pussy, “Hands and knees, Y/N.” You rolled over and got onto your hands and knees while pushing your ass out to put the mess he made on full display.

“You never used to cum that quickly… are you losing your touch?” You teased, swinging your hips side to side. Reaching down, he grabbed a fist full of your hair and yanked your head back as he plunged into your wet heat. A strangled scream left your lips as he pounded into you, ravaging all of your weak spots.

“Don’t get too cocky there, Y/N.” He hummed releasing your hair from his grip. Every thrust set your nerves aflame, your mind fuzzed over as a tingling sensation surged through your body. He could feel your walls coil around him, it was all too familiar to him, he could tell that you were reaching your own high, “You’ve gotten so tight, are you about to cum for me?” He rasped, not slowing his pace. You groaned in response, the knot in your stomach beginning to unravel, “Use your words, otherwise, I’m going to—”

“No! Don’t stop!” You whined, “I want to cum, please, don’t stop!” A devilish smile came to his lips as your body unraveled around him, your juices dripped down your thighs as he rammed his hips into you, reaching his high for the second time.

The heavy scent of coffee mixed with the greasy bacon smell filled the kitchen as you and Sehun sat at the breakfast bar in complete silence. Already bruising hickeys bloomed over your exposed skin, your hair was a mess, and the makeup from the day before was still present in some areas. Sehun’s arms were covered in little crescent moons from your nails digging into his skin as well as teeth marks leading down from his neck under his shirt. It was a big house, sure, but the walls were practically made of paper and the way he had you screaming his name in the previous hours, Lucrezia was bound to hear it, “So…” She hummed, looking over her shoulder towards you and Sehun, “How was your night?”

“It was… okay…” You whispered and Sehun nodded with your answer while lifting up his mug to take a drink of the warm coffee.

“Are you sure it was just okay? If I remember correctly it was amazing and Y/N didn’t want it to stop.” Sehun spit his coffee out as she re-enacted the way your voice sounded through breathy moans.

“Luca!” You squealed, your face turned a bright shade of red as you met Sehun’s eyes.

“Hey, it’s not a bad thing. I’m just glad that you guys got it figured out.”

“Not completely…” Sehun mumbled.

“But we’re getting there.” You added as you watched a shy smile come to Sehun’s lips.

[caitlinclark]

Maitane López: «We are more tactical and therefore we play a very different football»

Our first 'C' in this tremendous trident is Maitane López Millán or also known as “the smile of the Liga Iberdrola” or “Mai”.

She says that it is something natural but unconsciously gives off that 'good vibes' energy that makes the interviewer (in my case) feel like being with a friend drinking something.

And before you start it is important that you understand that ...

For this and subsequent occasions, I have decided that my interviews can be taken as a souvenir home. For Maitane I drew half a soccer field on an A4 sheet and put 11 representative photographs of the player in question, symbolizing the number of components of a team. Her name also appeared in large print, a drawing of a book (later you will understand why), an orange and a star. Once the rules of the game have been explained, I give it to her and when she sees it, she smiles and immediately says, "Very original, really." And with an Aquarius in each hand, Mai begins uncovering the first photograph and ...

Photograph 1 (Maitane as a child) M: Oh! (She laughs). My beginnings, right? I started with 4 or 5 years, all my paternal family was related to football my father, José Ignacio López Rekarte, my uncles, Luis María and Aitor López Rekarte and my grandfather, Luis López. Until one day I came home and told my mother to sign me up. And of course, my mother didn't know anything about women's football in Mallorca because we had just moved from Murcia, and she decided on the Son Cotoner club, which was later renamed Sporting Ciutat de Palma. (Laughs) This anecdote is very funny because with 4-5 years I went to train, and my poor mother told me "don't be sad if they don't pick you", and on the first day, I went up two categories!

ESF: Did you play with boys? M: Yes, until there was a moment that another girl came who became my best friend. At age 12 I was beginning to notice inequalities between men and women because we are biologically different. But I never had problems with any teammates, they were more screams from the stands than anything else. In fact, I keep in touch with some of them.

Photograph 2 (Maitane with her uncle, Luis María López Rekarte) M: My uncle ... has always been my role model (snorts). I still remember this picture, I can see the smile on my face ... It was radiant. Imagine, thanks to him I could have access to my idols, that is, I was next to Kovacevic, Nihat, Xabi Alonso etc.

Really, I had devotion to him, when he came to play against Mallorca, I brought all my friends and they freaked out, for me he was my idol and he was the one who pushed me to continue.

ESF: Is your uncle going to see you at the matches? M: Yes, and my whole family when we play in Zubieta.

Photograph 3 (In his second football team: UD Collerense) M: Colle ... I was in Sporting Ciutat de Palma until the second division and then I went to Collerense for three years and I was a little scared of the reception because they are rivals to death, but nothing, everything was great (smiles). This club has been my trampoline, a super humble team with very few resources that gave me the opportunity to play in the first division and over at home. I think it is worth considering that the club has been 5 years in the first division (seasons 2011-2016). I take great friendships, in fact the day after tomorrow I will stay with them. But for me Sporting is special because I entered with 4 and left at 15-16 years of age there.

Photograph 4 (Studies) M: I am currently finishing the Primary Education career with a mention in Therapeutic Pedagogy, now I am doing an internship at a Special Education center in Cheste. I've searched for it near Bunyol to get everything on time. The truth is that I've been trying to get my degree for 7 years (she laughs). No, I have not suspended any exams, the thing is that because of football I could not do the practices. And now yes, I have TFG, practices and memory, and that's it.

ESF: And that's it? M: Yes!!! (Smile from ear to ear). I've been doing this for 7 years, but it seems normal, but it's good to combine studies and be a professional football player. Although I have always been clear that I wanted to do both for what could happen, I also believe that when I leave this sport, I would like to dedicate myself to what I have studied, since it has nothing to do with football.

Photograph 5 (First day in the east) M: Incredible... Levante UD has given me everything, Colle was the springboard, but in this club I have evolved both personally and professionally. In addition, I had never lived alone outside home but this team welcomes you and takes care of you so much that I adapted very quickly. And it’s that (laughs) I'm still hallucinating that they iron our clothes and leave us folded in the locker room, really, I’m grateful for everything and I feel immensely happy in Levante UD.

Photograph 6 (Selection) M: I did freak out there, in fact I was with my partner on a off weekend in Salamanca and I was in a bad mood, Jorge called me and asked me how I was and I told him that great, and he told me that I was going with the National Team to Prague. It was a dream for me, to train with them, some of them were already friends ... Now they are in the United States and I wish them the best of luck. 

Photograph 7 (Maitane smile) ESF: A lot of people say you're always smiling ... M: (laughs) Yeah, it's true ... (laughs again) Obviously I don't realize it and although it sounds like a cliche I think you have a better life smiling than crying. Also in the team along with Rocío we are the ones who pull pranks... and Lucia and ... Eva (laughs). And nothing, you just have to enjoy everything you do.

Photograph 8 (Eva Navarro, Ona Batlle and Maitane) M: My gorritis !!! They are Eva Navarro and Ona Batlle, they are not my friends, they are like my daughters (laughs). Although Ona is not so much now because she has already grown but Eva is... And I love having them on my team and having met them, it is one of the most beautiful things that football gives you and I am very grateful for it. I love them a lot.

Photograph 9 (Maitane playing the guitar) M: It's one of the things that disinhibits me from football ... I am very much the kind of person who goes with a book to read sitting alone in the street (stares at me and smiles) don’t think it’s weird if you see me one day out there or on the beach giving a walk… In addition, whenever I am a little sad, I feel immense desire to play the guitar and I think… (raises her index finger) “What's wrong with you? You have been playing for half an hour, two hours… ” (Laughs) It is true that my 'gorritis' suffer a lot, although many times it is them who ask me for songs, and we start singing and dancing all three. We have a lot of videos being dumb together (laughs).

ESF: Favorite singer? M: Ainoa Buitrago! (she doesn't doubt a minute)

Photograph 10 (Stadium) M: From the final of the U19 European we lost, I think that defeat has helped me a lot to mature as a footballer. A few years later, you value being a starter in a final. In addition, we faced the Netherlands with some very good players, moreover, the one that scored a goal was the now Arsenal striker and an undisputed starter of the Dutch national team, Vivienne Mediema. And I think about it and I still hallucinate having played that final.

Photograph 11 (The British Ladies Football Club team) ESF: Do they sound like you? M: (Stares) Mmmm… no.

ESF: Do not worry, it is a very old photograph and almost nothing differs. They are the British Ladies Football Club, the components of the first women's soccer team on March 23, 1895 in England. What do you think? M: In the end I think they were the first to open the doors. It is true that now we are being given more visibility and I think we are collecting the reward of all the work not only ours, but since that March 23, 1895. And in the end, we are so grateful to them that they were the first as to all those who have fought for equality both inside and outside the football field. For example, to me past generations like Sandra Vilanova, Melisa Nicolau etc. All of them have opened the door for us here in Spain in many things.

ESF: What do you think of the collective agreement? M: Every step is important. Everything is improving, now there is a sub-20, sub-15 and before it did not exist, I think it is progressing a lot and faster and faster, although there is still much to improve.

ESF: And about future generations? M: I think we have to keep working so that in the future, girls can get to live football as boys do.

ESF: What do you think of the phrase 'girls don't entertain? M: Well (snorts) it's football and it's another kind of show, you don't have to compare men’s football with women’s football because I've said it before, we're biologically different and therefore, we play differently. We don't have as much speed, aggressiveness as they do… We are more tactical and that is why we play a very different football. That’s it.

Female football star M: The best player in the Liga Iberdrola is ...? (sound of drums) Jennifer Hermoso. And the one that is very good but is not given media hype… Mariona. (She laughs)

Favorite book M: I love reading and this question is always a problem for me but ... ' Contra el viento del norte’ by Daniel Glattauer oe ‘La mecánica del corazón' by Mathias Malzieu.

Food ESF: Star dish, favorite ... M: Well, let's see ... (laughs) If you like to eat well, you have to know how to cook. And I know! I love to eat, really, but for football I have to reduce certain foods. For example, my star dish, which is to suck your fingers is: crusty bread, with a layer of provolone cheese and another of hot foie. (close your eyes) Mmmmmm. Really, great. But this I can only allow once every two months (she smiles) that then you have to go out play.

ESF: Thank you very much Maitane, really, ESF thanks you for your time and your sympathy. M: Thanks to you and ESF that I get along great with many of that media. Goodbye, see you soon (smiles and leaves).

And I hit the pause button. I hope you never forget this interview, take a little piece of ESF home and we smile and closeness. Maitane from ESF we wish you all the luck wherever you go and we will always be grateful for these times you give us. Really, do not lose that illusion and desire to live the life that has led you to achieve so much. And we also want to thank Levante UD Feminine for their willingness.

Interview conducted and written by Cristina Brull. Original photographs by Juanfra Galindo for «They Are Soccer»

[accidentally-logince]

Partners in Crime [1]

Finally finished the first chapter!

Warnings for mentions of alcohol, panic attacks, implied abuse, and mentions of racism

Chapter 2 Chapter 3

Winter's dad was going to kill him.    He paced his room, biting at his fingernails, and, when those had all been worn down to raw skin, worrying his bottom lip. Winter had a crush. And what was worse, he had a crush on a boy.    In the past, he'd seen guys that he thought were cute. But he'd written that off as aesthetic appreciation. Anyone could tel if someone was objectively attractive, right? But Winter wasn't gay. Of course he wasn't.    Although, that was harder to dispute when the mere thought of him made a smile tug at the edges of Winter's mouth.    A huff escaped him as he fell back onto his bed, grateful that it didn't creak under his weight. He wanted to sleep. He wanted to just forget about him. But now that he's even crossed Winter's mind, it takes all of his strength not to pick up his phone and text him, to talk about anything, not to sneak out and run to him.        They'd met nearly a month ago--only a month, it took for Winter to fall for him--amidst blaring music and lights that had been positioned just so, that whenever Winter rose his head to look away from the cup in his white-knuckled grip he would flinch and his eyes would dart back down.    Winter didn't even know why he'd come. His friends had pulled him along with little regard to his protests, and as soon as he'd stepped through the door, the group had scattered and a cup of some sort of alcohol--he could tell from the smell--had been thrust into his hand. He'd quickly gotten lost in the sea of people, unable to hear himself think over the song blasting through the speakers in what he assumed was the living room.    He didn't even know anyone. He didn't even think his friends had, either. They'd just seen an opportunity to get booze and had waltzed in like they'd known the host for years. There were too many risks that came with being in this house. Winter shouldn't have a cup of alcohol in his hand, he's fourteen. Though, it wasn't like he was planning on drinking any.    As much as he wanted to leave, his feet wouldn't listen to him. His legs disobeyed all the urges that told him to find the door, instead carrying him farther into the house, through the mass of strangers, searching for... something. He didn't really know.    He wandered up the stairs, then. At this point his brain was shutting down. Winter couldn't believe he'd let himself get dragged here. Of course he had. He was a pushover. He could feel his blood rushing, his head pounding with the noise. He ducked into the first bedroom he could find, glad that no couples were inside.    Then, Winter sat on the bed, pulled his legs up to his chest, and started to cry.    The pressure in his chest, and the tightening of his throat wasn't a foreign feeling, but that made it no less scary. His breathing wouldn't come in steadily, and it felt like his tears were going to choke him. His trembling hands made their way into his hair and tugged at the strands, needing to hold on to something.    With his head pounding and his hearing quickly going shallow, Winter didn't hear the door opening, didn't realize anyone had come in until there was another weight on the mattress next to him. Winter's head shot up, eyes wide with fear.    Sitting on the bed in front of him was a boy with black hair, his face twisted in concern as he searched Winter's face. Winter noticed that one of his eyebrows was pierced as it pulled up in a frown. The boy's lips moved, but Winter wasn't paying attention. When he realized the boy had spoken, he tried to ask him to repeat himself, only to find that his lips wouldn't move, and he began to shake again.    "Hey," the boy said gently. Winter could hear what he was saying now. "Are you okay? Why are you up here alone?"    Winter just shook his head. He couldn't speak. Realization flickered in the boy's eyes--Winter learned later that his brother experienced the same thing Winter did--and he inched closer. "Can I touch you?" he asked. Winter's eyes widened, flinching away. "Not like... sexually," the boy added quickly. "I just want to hold your hand, if that's okay. It might help you calm down a bit."    After searching the boy's face and finding no hint of deceit--though, with how fuzzy his brain was, maybe Winter misjudged his expression--he carefully held out a shaky hand. The boy took it in his own, rubbing his thumb over Winter's knuckles. He had to admit, it was comforting.    "Just try to focus on keeping your breathing steady. It's gonna be easier to calm down if you have oxygen in your body."    Winter tried to breathe, but his chest stuttered as he struggled not to cry. It isn't working, he wanted to say, but he looked up at the boy's concerned expression again and tried another breath. That one came a little easier.     A few minutes went by in silence, and Winter was able to bring in a breath without trembling. His hands had slowly stopped shaking, too.    "Are you feeling a little calmer?"    "Yeah," Winter said, and a wave of relief washed over him when his voice came out. The boy seemed happy too.    "Do you usually go nonverbal when you have panic attacks?" he asked.    Panic attack? Is that was that had been? Winter had definitely had them before, but he thought it was just normal stress, maybe anxiety. There was a name for it?    "Uh, yeah," he answered. "I think so."    The boy smiled, and something lit up in Winter's chest. At the time, he'd chalked it up to being grateful that he'd helped Winter calm down. But, looking back, the sight had definitely made his heart jump. Even on that night, he'd thought the boy was pretty, but brushed it off like he usually did.    "My name is Winter."    He didn't know why he'd said it, but the boy's smile had grown warmer. "Ronen," he'd answered simply.    "That's... Hebrew, right?" Winter asked.    Ronen shrugged. "Yeah. I mean, I was born here, and I don't know the language because of America's whole monolingual bullshit, but uh... yeah, my Mom is Hebrew. Dad's from the Netherlands."    "Monolingual?" Winter asked. "They teach us Spanish in school."    Ronen scoffs, a smile pushing onto his face. "Barely. No one is fluent just from those half-assed lessons. Everything's English here."    It felt surprisingly natural to talk to Ronen. As they continued, Winter felt the tightness of anxiety in his chest melting away. It would be so nice to have someone to talk to like this most of the time.    Speaking of most of the time...    "Shit," Winter said. "I... I have to get home, my dad's gonna kill me."    Ronen frowned, but didn't pry, instead asking, "do you have a ride?"    Winter shook his head. "No, my friends dragged me here. I'm pretty sure they intended to stay all night. Plus, they're probably shitfaced right now."    "Why would you let them bring you here if you knew they couldn't bring you home on time?"    That had been the first time Winter had questioned the friends he hung out with. They'd never really acknowledged Winter, just kind of dragged him around. But with the panic and worry bubbling up in his chest, Winter just said, "because I'm an idiot."    "Woah, hey," Ronen said, his eyebrows pulling together. "Don't say that, you just made a little mistake, it's fine. I can drive you home if you want."    "You can drive?" Winter asked. "How old are you?"    "Oh, I'm fourteen. I only have my learner's, but I mean, as long as I don't break any laws, I'll be fine. I'm not really the criminal type anyways."    Winter hesitated for a moment. On one hand, he needed to get home. Possibly before his dad, if he could. On the other hand, he just met Ronen. But a vague feeling in his chest made Winter want to trust him.    "Okay."    Winter was worried when he saw that Ronen's vehicle was more of a motorized bike than anything. Not quite a full-fledged motorcycle--Ronen was too small for that--but it definitely wasn't a car.    "Here. Gotta put this on." Ronen tossed him a helmet, that Winter fumbled with as he struggled not to drop it. Ronen swung his leg over the seat and motioned for Winter to sit on the open space behind him.    Winter sat, looking around. "Doesn't this thing have anything to hold onto?" he asked.    "Other than the front handlebars, no," Ronen answered. "Just hold onto me."    Hesitantly, Winter wrapped his arms around Ronen's waist. It was definitely strange, holding on to a stranger, but if the alternative was walking and getting home late, he had no problem with it. At least Ronen was warm.    "Where do you live?" Ronen asked, his voice muffled behind the two visors between them.    "Mastic Beach."    "Huh," Ronen said. "That's kinda close to where I live."    "Maybe we could hang out sometime, then." There Winter goes again, running his mouth without thinking. Ronen offered to drive him home and now Winter is suggesting that they seek each other out again? Not to mention that Winter's dad wasn't really the type to let him go out all the time. And the colour of Ronen's skin might elicit a few slurs.    Winter is about to take back his words, but Ronen says, "yeah, maybe we could," and then they were driving.    It was better than Winter thought it would be. He'd expected to feel the bike teetering every time they turned a corner or changed lanes, but having someone to hold onto made it feel less shaky. When they got to Winter's house, he's relieved to see that his Dad's car isn't there. Now he just has to hope that he doesn't smell like alcohol. Maybe he could take a quick shower before his dad got home.    "Do you have a phone?" Ronen asked.    "Um, yeah," Winter answered.    "C'mere a sec."    Winter stepped forward and Ronen grabbed his arm. "Don't have any paper, y'know?" he said, before pulling out a pen and scribbling his number on Winter's skin. (Looking back, though, hadn't Ronen had his phone with him? Couldn't he have just asked Winter for his number?)    Distracted by the feeling of Ronen's skin against his own--probably just because he never got much contact in general, he was not flustered--Winter forgot that his dad would be able to see the writing on his arm. Oh well. He would just have to wear long sleeves for awhile until it washed off.    "I'll text you," Ronen said. "And, uh, maybe let your friends know that you left, right? In case they're looking for you in the morning."    They weren't going to, but Winter still nodded and watched Ronen drive away until his bike disappeared in the trees that lined the sides of the road. And the feeling in his chest was definitely just because Winter had found someone who cared. Ronen was nothing other than a friend.    Though, having that same thought now made Winter's heart ache.

---

Taglist: @roman-sing-despacito @lovesupportandcookies @actiongirl2005 @ab-artist @internetwhy @obsessedwith83514 @zorakaseko @book-r-the-best @lee-knows-it @intrurality-fusion @thekeytohappiness-is-you @daenerysblackriddle @friendlyfatherfigment @sunflower-shitposts @brownie-aunt @dra-logan-w @superwholocked-for-life @ananonsplace @kcthestarkid @imforeveranoob @ts-famderartist @spellboundnora @deceitifullies101 @porcelain-dionysus @that-smol-tired-gay @king-cookiex @kristincarstairs09 @cjisfandomtrash

[maandags]

What One Night Can Do (Shiro x reader)

hey everyone!! how have y’all been? this week has been hectic as all fuck for me, and I’m leaving to see my family in the Netherlands in 2 days (and there’s a new member to my family!!!!), so i’m excited about that!!

-- -- --

Summary: You and Shiro haven’t seen each other in years--not since you had been hired at G. Empire Laboratories, where the working conditions were mediocre, at best. But your boss just fired you--which causes you to lose your engineering license--and when you hit a bar to forget about your troubles, you run into him again.

Word count: 9K

Genre: angst/fluff

Notes: masterlist - this one was very loosely based on that one scene in How To Get Away With Murder. you know the one. and it was also supposed to be way angstier but idk what happened,,, im not complaining

-- -- -- 

You're fired.

The words looped in your head over and over as you swirled your drink in its glass, letting the alcohol and the thumping of the music around you soothe the burning feeling that those three words left behind.

You are fired.

And just like that, you'd lost your job and your only source of income. Oh, and also your home. No big deal. How long had you not shared a flat with Lotor? Years. Three, four–the exact number had slipped your mind. You had done everything together: working as researchers in the labs, working out, having breakfast, lunch, dinner... Lotor--the entirety of G. Empire Laboratories--had become such a big part of your life that now that they weren’t anymore, you felt a bit lost.

You had only been allowed out once a month–and that included phone calls, text messages, any contact to the outside world. You never went to the same places as neither of you were supposed to get recognized by anyone. That was harder on Lotor, with his flowing silver hair, than it was on you, an average-looking person but always by his side.

Besides, Zarkon monitored your every step. You had never even been tempted to defy his orders and go to the same place twice.

Tonight, though, you looked like a regular sod in an old t-shirt and jeans drinking their sorrows away. Beckoning over the bargirl, you asked for a refill, already feeling the alcohol take effect and making you feel deliciously numb.

You'd try and spend the night with the Holts. They lived nearby and you always made sure to give them your monthly allowed call, catching up and assuring them you were doing fine, which was mostly the case. Matt and Pidge surely would be happy to see you. They'd probably let you stay until you had somewhere else to go.

Right now, you could probably survive on your–admittedly meagre–savings, but you'd have to find a job, and quickly. You'd scour the local supermarkets and cafés to see if they were in need of a cashier or a waiter or something. You'd just have to manage.

And then you almost choked on your drink, because Takashi Shirogane was walking towards you and he was grinning.

Oh, fuck. You were suddenly very aware of the fact that your hair resembled a bird's nest and your worn clothes, and of the fact that Shiro still looked handsome as ever–better, even. There was so much life in his eyes, your chest grew warm.

"Y/N? Is that really you?"

You tried for a smile, hoping you weren't too drunk for a proper conversation yet. "In the flesh."

He pointed to a barstool next to you and raised a questioning eyebrow. You nodded. "Go ahead. I could sure use the company."

"It's really good seeing you again," Shiro said, fingering his own glass. "I thought you weren't allowed to go out on your job?"

Your insides turned to ice and you stiffened briefly, but you weren't about to ruin your–and Shiro's–night by talking about your life problems. It had been almost four years since you'd last seen him. You didn't want to bother him with it, even though you had come to the bar in the first place to mope. Right now–you were grateful for the strange twist in your fate that had led you to Shiro, and you intended to make the most out of it.

"We got the evening off. Good–good work results, and all. Like a reward."

"That's great," he smiled, casting you a soft look that had your insides melt. "In any case. It's been way too long."

"Yeah," you laughed, "the last time we properly saw each other must have been, what? Four years ago?"

"Something like that."

You took another sip of your drink to give your hands something to do and shot him a genuinely curious look. "So, what have you been up to?"

As he talked, you hung off his lips, your eyes raking across his features and drinking in every detail, every word that passed his lips, every look he threw your way and every smile that made your knees weak. Oh, how you had missed those beautiful grey eyes.

Shiro and you had been close all through high school, and during that time you had developed feelings for him–feelings that you at first had dismissed as being a silly high school crush, but had turned out to be much more complicated than that and had cost you many a sleepless night.

The contact between the two of you had somewhat broken off after you'd graduated. Most of it was through texting, the occasional phone call or video chat here and there–just talks about the silliest things, sometimes until deep into the night, and you wouldn't have traded them for the world.

And then you'd gotten your job at G. Empire Laboratories, and you'd had to say a very abrupt goodbye to the life you knew.

Shiro had understood–he knew how long you'd been waiting for the green light on this job and how anxious you had been, and he'd been nothing but supportive, even though he'd admitted that it did hurt, knowing that he wasn't going to be seeing you for a good while.

And that had been the last you'd heard of him. It stung, of course–but you found that you couldn't blame him, as much as you maybe wanted to.

And besides, you were seeing him now, right? The two of you seemed to get along better than ever. The only thing was that those feelings, those damned feelings were coming back in full force and you had to struggle to keep a straight face, keep those emotions down and not let Shiro know what exactly seeing him again was doing to you.

He worked at the Galaxy Garrison, now. Pilot. Teacher. You smiled, recalling how he'd use to talk your ears off about the Garrison, how his face would light up a and how he seemed to be living towards the day he would finally get accepted–which he did, calling you up in the middle of the night to scream in your tired ears that he'd got in, Y/N, he'd done it.

You had been seventeen back then. Shiro had applied a year early and his senior year had been about the Garrison, and he'd often tell you how much he just wanted to go now. But he still had to graduate, which he did as an honour student, and he'd dragged you along to the end of the year ceremony, even though you had made it very clear you had made no plans to attend.

I'm spending my last day in this hellhole with my best friend, he'd said matter-of-factly, and you'd rolled your eyes, unable to hold back a smile of your own.

Neither of you were the same, now. Both of you had changed, experienced new things, grown up. Still young, yet feeling so, so old.

Then how come you felt so much lighter, so much livelier whenever Shiro looked at you?

"I missed you," you blurted, no doubt a side effect of the alcohol currently coursing through your veins–you usually knew when to hold your tongue. Zarkon had made sure to teach you. "I missed–this. Us."

Shiro reached over, taking your hand and entwining his fingers with yours as if to make sure you wouldn't disappear. "Me too." His smile lighted a fire in your chest. You'd almost forgotten what it felt like.

––

You woke with a strange feeling of contentment. Safety. Warmth.

Then you registered the arms wrapped around you and you sucked in a breath through your teeth, feeling your muscles tense up, and the events of the night before crashed into you with full force, leaving you squeezing your eyes shut and bunching your hands in the sheets draped over your form.

Shiro was still fast asleep beside you, his chest rising and falling steadily and you felt his warm breath wash over the skin of your neck every time he exhaled, making goosebumps appear all over your bare arms.

You wore a shirt that wasn't yours, the fabric falling to well over your hips. Taking a deep breath, you felt sickness arise in your throat–you'd have one hell of a hangover. You had been positively drunk the previous night.

Not drunk enough for you to forget what had happened, apparently. Not entirely. It was muddy, but the memories were there–the crash of his lips on yours, the cab Shiro had hauled to bring the two of you back to his apartment, the way he'd run his hands over your skin almost desperately. You scanned the floor, careful not to move and wake Shiro, and sure enough, there were the lumps you vaguely recognised as your jeans and dirty t-shirt, your jacket no doubt discarded somewhere on the floor in the hallway.

You closed your eyes again, willing the tears back and drawing a shaky breath. Right.

You had done something absolutely, completely, incredibly stupid, and you would pay for it one way or another.

So you bit your tongue and slipped slowly, cautiously, out of Shiro's embrace, careful not to wake him and hating the way your body immediately yearned for his touch as soon as you'd left it. You hated, hated, hated it.

You could just slip back into bed, go back to sleep and pretend everything was fine when you woke up again. Deal with this in the morning. You could just... see where this lead you. But you pushed the thought–strange, irrational thought–back in its place immediately, snatching up your clothes and working yourself out of the shirt you wore, sucking in a breath through gritted teeth when you caught a whiff of Shiro's cologne lingering on the fabric.

Bag, phone, wallet. You had everything. Slipping into your shoes, not bothering to tie the laces, you carefully lowered the door handle and flinched at the slight creak before stepping outside, leaving the door ajar and swiftly making your way down the stairs. Checking the time on your phone, you bit back a curse–it was 3.46 A.M, surely way too early for you to knock on the Holts' door. You'd have to wait.

As you opened the front door to Shiro's apartment and slung your bag over your shoulder, you let the first tear fall.

You were glad for the little coffee shop's 24-hour policy, and you sniffed as you stirred your latte listlessly, your chin resting in your hand. The scent of coffee and bright neon lights had somewhat woken you up but did nothing to lessen the headache that was gradually building up in the far back side of your skull and you asked a waitress for an aspirin. She gave you a pitying look and asked, "Rough night?"

"Something like that," you muttered, keeping your gaze firm on the plastic green stirrer as your fingers fiddled with it. She gave you a sympathetic smile and assured you the aspirin would come right up. You'd have to keep this address in mind; a place where a 24-hour policy actually meant 24 hours. You had a feeling this would be the first of many middle-of-the-night trips.

Your brain was too muddy, too tired to think about what you'd do when you finally did get to the Holt's. What you'd tell them, what you wouldn't tell them. You didn't know, and you were too confused and your mind was too murky for you to care. You sipped your coffee, wincing slightly at the heat of it burning on your tongue.

The doorbell chimed. You cringed, for just a second thinking that it was Shiro who'd woken up and come after you--but the guy taking a seat at the bar beside you was greeted by the waitress with a "Hey, Kyle." Kyle responded with a wave and a whispered greeting, and you felt your body deflate, the tension leaking from your shoulders. You ran a hand over your face, squeezing your eyes shut, and downed the last of your coffee, leaving a couple of coins on the shiny wood and muttering that they could keep the change.

It was dark out, but the streetlights were on and a big city like yours never truly slept. The night air was chilly and bit at your skin, the wind rippling through your clothes and you buried your hands in the pockets of your denim jacket, ducking your head down and staring at your feet, wandering around aimlessly for a while before you sank down on a bench. You took out your phone. Half past four A.M. Still a couple of hours to kill, then.

You thumbed through WhatsApp, checking your messages when you came across Matt's icon and you raised a brow. Online, the small grey script beneath his profile picture stated. You bit your lip, debating whether to send him a message–he might not even reply, for all you knew. Maybe he wasn't even in town. You decided to take your chances and shot him a quick message.

You: hey. you up?

To your surprise, you received a reply almost immediately.

Matt: yeah

Matt: why?

Matt: you okay?

You pointedly ignored the last question.

You: why the fuck are you up at half 4 AM???

Matt: i'm a college student, Y/N.

You: that's fair

It was silent for a bit, then the little speech bubble filled with three dots appeared again, signalling Matt was typing something.

Matt: why are YOU up at half 4 AM?

You pulled a face as you tapped out a reply.

You: hahahaha

You: funny story, actually

You: i kinda got fired from my job and lost my license

You waited anxiously for his response, biting your nails.

Matt: ...

Matt: wait

Matt: are you for real

Matt: did you seriously get fired

You: *jazz hands emoji*

You: surprise

Matt: but didn't you live there and shit???

Matt: where are you staying??

Matt: wait

Matt: where are u right now??

You gave a humourless chuckle, bringing your knees up to your chest and squinting at your phone's screen, imagining Matt curse softly and run his hands through his hair the way he used to do when he got upset.

You: well, right now i'm on a bench. somewhere. in a park? idk

You: as for where i'm staying... i was actually kinda hoping i could crash at yours for a little while?

You: just as i get my life back on track a bit

Matt: yes of course

Matt: i'll ask mum and dad but it should be no problem

Matt: u can use the guest room

You: thanks man

You heaved a sigh, leaning back on your bench and closing your eyes. You wondered when the sun would come up, and if you should start heading towards the Holt's house. Your phone vibrated with another text.

Matt: shit, Y/N.

You: yeah, that pretty much sums it up

After some texting back and forth, Matt told you to get to their house as soon as you could–you could haul a cab, take the underground. Whatever brought you where you needed to go the quickest. Matt would stay up to let you in and let his parents know that you were coming. If you'd just give a call when you were on your way?

You ended up taking the underground, the guy in the ticket booth casting you an irritated look when you cleared your throat, pointedly clapping his book shut before saying in a tired voice, "How can I help you?". He looked like he would rather be doing literally anything else than helping you.

Half an hour later you knocked on the Holt's door and only had to wait a few moments before footsteps came barging down the hallway and the door was thrown open. A dishevelled Matt stood in the doorway, his expression a concerned frown, and you raised a hand in a weak wave.

"Hey, man. It's been a while." You tried for a smile, but you were exhausted, and frankly, on the brink of tears. What you needed were a good long shower and some sleep. Matt seemed to catch onto it, and he beckoned for you to come inside, quietly shutting the door behind you.

The lights weren't on. Of course they weren't; it was still early, way too early to flick on all the lights and potentially wake all the other residents of the house. So Matt guided you to the kitchen, where a mug of tea was waiting for you and you cast him a grateful smile as you picked it up and curled your fingers around it, finally crashing on a chair and allowing yourself to relax.

"Thought you might want something warm to drink," Matt whispered, taking a seat in front of you. "For how long had you been outside?"

You hesitated, the edge of the cup almost grazing your lips. You knew you weren't ready to admit to Matt where you'd spent the first part of your night. "Since about three. I was–I was in a bar. Got drunk. Stayed there until I got kicked out." You sniffed, taking a sip. "Not a very glorious night for me, I'm afraid."

Matt sighed, running a hand down his face. As you eyed him from behind your teacup, you noticed the shagginess of his hair and the big bags under his eyes, the paleness of his skin. He looked about as exhausted as you felt. I'm a college student, Y/N. Right.

"Y/N?"

You turned to see Sam and Colleen Holt in the kitchen doorway, both dressed in bathrobes but looking a lot more awake than you felt. A tired smile made its way onto your lips--no matter how exhausted you were, the mere sight of them always was enough to make you smile. You stood, walking up to them and leaning your head on Colleen's shoulder, the way you used to do back when you'd spend half your life at the Holt's and you needed a hug. It seemed Colleen hadn't forgotten about them either, as she sighed and wrapped her arms around you, tugging you into her chest and stroking your hair. Silent tears rolled onto your cheeks.

"Oh, love..."

Sam patted you on the shoulder, and you blindly reached for him, yanking him down and hugging him too. "I missed you guys so, so much," you whispered into their shoulders, voice shaky with sobs. Colleen pulled back, her own eyes shiny with tears, her thumb stroking away the wetness the tears had left on your cheeks. She tugged off your denim jacket and told you to get changed, she'd wash your clothes for you. There was a pair of pyjamas in the guest room. You thanked her and Sam, shooting one more weak grin Matt's way before dragging yourself up the stairs, changing into the pyjamas–not bothering to fold your other clothes, instead dumping them in a heap on the floor–and crashing on the bed. You were out before your head even touched the pillow.

The next morning, you woke with a start and a screaming girl launching herself onto your bed. She crashed into you, yelling incoherent things in your ears and wrapping her arms around your neck in an embrace that left you almost gasping for air and repeatedly slapping her arm while telling her to Let go! Let go, you weirdo!

She sat back on your legs, a huge grin adorning her face, and you shot her a murderous look as you pushed yourself up, your hair a mess and falling into your face and your pyjamas crooked from the early-morning attack you'd just suffered. "Jesus Christ, Pidge. Is that how you usually wake up your guests? By literally choking them to death?"

Pidge's grin widened. "Not usually, no. But you're not usually said guest."

"Touché."

"Anyway," she pulled her knees up to her chest and rested her chin on them, "what brings you here? I mean, what about your job? I thought you weren't allowed to go out and see people and stuff?"

Your face fell slightly. "Matt... Matt didn't tell you?"

Frowning, Pidge straightened and said cautiously, "I didn't give him a chance to say anything. I got so excited when he said you were here..." Her eyes filled with worry. "Why? Is something wrong?"

You were suddenly very interested in the quilt covering your legs, and you picked at a loose thread. "I got fired, Pidge," you muttered at last, refusing to meet her eyes.

"Wait–what? Why?" Her jaw had dropped.

You pulled a face. Zarkon hadn't exactly given you an actual proper reason as to why you got fired, unless "giving him trouble" was one. Which you highly doubted, but you weren't about to tell him that. You hadn't even tried to protest, his icy stare numbing paralyzing your limbs and all you had done was stare at him until he'd impatiently waved you out of his office.

You hadn't even gotten to say goodbye to your friends– or to Lotor. Security had already taken care of collecting your stuff–the backpack you currently carried with you and counted exactly one spare shirt, one old pocket watch that had belonged to your father, your phone, and two books. Two and a half seconds later, you stood outside the Empire gates, shaken, about one minor inconvenience away from breaking down into sobs, unemployed and licenseless.

You shrugged. "I guess... I wasn't good enough for him–them anymore."

Pidge pursed her lips, her eyes stormy and her mind racing a million miles an hour. "That makes no sense. You're brilliant."

"Well, not to them, apparently. Not brilliant enough, at least," you snapped, the words stinging more than you meant them to. "Sorry."

"No, it's okay." Pidge hugged you again. "Well, your boss is a dick. I'd beat them up if I could."

"Oh, lord, please don't," you laughed, swatting her away, but apparently she'd succeeded in her mission to make you feel better because she pulled you into one more hug and then bounded for the door.

"Get into the shower. You smell. Breakfast's in half an hour."

"Wow. All right."

– – –

"So... what are you going to do now?" Colleen asked, leaning back in her chair and sizing you up with a critical gaze. You liked how she did that–immediately went to the subject that danced around in everyone's minds, without tiptoeing around it or treating you like you were something fragile and made out of glass. You brushed the crumbs off your hands, munching the last of your eggs thoughtfully.

"Honestly," you swallowed, "I'm not really sure. I'm going to try and find a job as soon as possible, like at a café or restaurant or something. Hell, I'd take a cashier job right now. Anything that makes me money, because that's something I sorely need."

"How much do you have saved up?" Matt asked over his own breakfast.

"Not much. I've never needed to–most Empire employees work there until they retire. Once you've been accepted, nobody would think of quitting. I mean, it's Empire. And there's little you can do to get fired–" You flinched, your hands balling themselves to fists at your sides. Coughing, you folded your arms to hide them, flexing your fingers a few times. "Besides, the paycheck isn't as high as you might believe."

But that wasn't the complete truth.

Galra Empire Labs–the dream for every respected scientist, researcher, engineer. Having a job there was the pinnacle of achievement. You'd thought so too, once upon a time–back when you were innocent and full of dreams and hopes for your future. Yet you knew how secretly fucked up the whole company was.

Employees weren't allowed to do basically anything outside of work, and certainly not without the leading board knowing. Haggar, a terrifyingly intelligent scientist and Zarkon's second in command, somehow always knew where everyone was and what they were doing. You knew that the dorms were bugged, and harboured secret cameras, though you hadn't ever been able to do anything about it because Haggar would know, and if Haggar knew, Zarkon knew, and the one thing you wanted to avoid at all costs was Zarkon knowing.

Employees were granted absolutely no freedom. Breakfast was between six and seven A.M, lunch between noon and one P.M, dinner between six and seven P.M, curfew at ten thirty P.M. Everyone worked from seven to six, one half hour break in the mornings and the afternoons, the working conditions mediocre at best even though the company was able to afford the most expensive equipment. You'd grown up more quickly in your first week working at Empire than you had in your entire life.

The only reason you'd lasted as long as you did was Lotor, probably.

While he was a biochemist and you were an engineer, you shared a room, and spent every moment that you weren't confined to your respective labs together. Grown close, developed an alliance that blossomed into friendship. You and he hadn't talked that much, knowing that every word you said was probably recorded, and the last thing either of you wanted was for Zarkon to find out and separate you. So you kept silent, communicating almost solely through looks and sometimes holding hands, just because you craved the physical contact.

But even with him to keep you company, you got lonely–and it would be a lie to claim you weren't the tiniest bit relieved to be out of G. Empire Labs.

"But–I don't know. I'll figure it out."

Colleen rested a hand on yours. "And we'll help you with it, all the way through."

– –

You had to be honest–if someone had asked you five years ago where you'd be seeing yourself in five years' time, your answer would certainly not have been "working as a coffee-shop barista for minimum wage". Not that there was anything wrong with working as a coffee-shop barista for a minimum wage, you just had never expected to end up here, especially after having a job at Empire.

But here you were, taking customers' orders and scribbling their names on paper cups before passing them over to your co-worker Lance, who was in charge of actually making the drinks. Lance was nice. You liked him. Maybe he was a bit too loud and overbearing for your taste, but at least days at work with him were never dull. He had a good music taste as well, and in no time you were tapping your feet to the beat and humming along with the lyrics.

You handed him another cup and he frowned. "Satan? For real?"

Sniffing, you whipped out a new sharpie–the other one was starting to dry out–and doodled a little flower next to the name Juliet, winking at the little girl standing in front of the bar and flashing you a toothed grin. "What can I say. Some people never really grow out of it, and I don't think we have a right to judge."

"You have obviously never worked as a barista before. All we do is judge. We're judgemental motherfuckers."

"Oh, but I judge. I just judge you. There's so much to judge."

"Fuck off, Y/N."

"Just make the damn coffee, boy," you chuckled, spinning on your heel to lightly whack him on the head.

He squinted at you, finished making his drink and called out cheerfully, "Satan!"

When Satan had come up and retrieved his drink, giggling under her breath, Lance planted a hand on his hip and pointed the other at your face. "You've been here for, like, a week and a half, and you're already starting to take command of this place and I don't like it very much. Step down a notch."

"Excuse you? I'm the one keeping this place running and making sure you keep your job," you laughed, poking your sharpie in his chest. "Dork. Get back to work, we have customers waiting."

Lance turned around, mocking your words in a high-pitched voice and a fair amount of hand gestures, his eyes wide and sarcasm dripping from his expression.

"Hang on–Y/N?"

You whipped around, your heart leaping in your throat because you knew that voice. Your eyes widened when you saw him. "Keith." Shiro's adopted brother.

His eyes shone with confusion and he frowned. "Wait. Aren't you supposed to be an engineer?"

"Yes. I still–I'm still an engineer. Can we, uhh..." Your fingers already fumbled with the straps of your apron and you said, "I'm taking my break," not waiting for Lance's answer to slip out from behind the counter and grab Keith's wrist, leading him outside.

"Hold on a second. Does Shiro know you're here?" Keith asked, hoisting his bag up on his shoulders and pursing his lips at your choice of location–maybe a small alley wasn't ideal, but the last thing you wanted was being noticed. A small alley was, at least, inconspicuous.

"No." Keith's frown deepened and he opened his mouth, but you cut him off before he could say anything. "And I'd like to keep it that way," you added through gritted teeth, hugging your arms to your chest.

"Wait–why? Did anything happen between you two?" Keith looked genuinely confused and you understood why. It was a weird thing to want, for your best friend not to know you're back in town after not having seen each other for years.

You heaved a pained sigh. "No. It's just... I got fired from my job, and I lost my license, and I don't want Shiro to know. Yet," you added when Keith raised an eyebrow at you. "Not yet."

"Why?" Keith asked, a puzzled look on his face as if he couldn't figure out for the life of him why you wouldn't want Shiro to know.

"Because–it's a lot to process, okay? I got fired a month ago and I lost everything. I stay at the Holts' because I don't have enough money to get an apartment of my own. I work as a damn barista because I can't get a job as an engineer anywhere because I lost my license."

"Hang on a sec. Why's that?" A sharp glint appeared in Keith's eyes.

Another sigh made its way past your lips. "My old boss–Zarkon–he made sure of it. Listen, there aren't a lot of people who get fired from Empire. When they do, it's hard to get a job anywhere, because when you get hired you basically turn your entire self over to the company, right? And when you get fired, you lose your license as an engineer or biochemist or whatever," you mumbled, fiddling with the hem of your shirt and shifting your weight from one leg to another.

"And you don't want Shiro to know because..."

You threw your hands in the air. "Is it so hard to do this one thing for me, Keith? I'll tell him. I promise! Eventually. Just... not yet." You didn't tell him that another reason why you didn't want to see him just yet was that you weren't really in the mood for the conversation that would inevitably follow.

Keith put a hand on his hip, narrowing his eyes at you. "Fine. You get two weeks. Then I'll tell him, because he'll kill me if I don't." He stuck out his hand. "Deal?"

"Fine," you grumbled, and shook his hand.

The two of you exchanged phone numbers, and then you were back behind the counter and taking his order, purposely misspelling his name on the cup. He cast you an unimpressed look when he finally took the drink, flipping you the bird as he made his way out of the shop. You responded with a blown kiss and a wave of your own, ignoring Lance's pointed look.

"How do you know Keith?" he asked over the sound of the coffee machine. "I've never heard him talk about you."

"I was good friends with his brother for a while," you said vaguely, ducking your head down and trying to stop your hand from trembling. The name you were writing–Janet–came out looking more like Jenit. "So we were bound to see each other often."

"No way. You were friends with Shiro?"

You spun on your heel, narrowing your eyes at the incredulous tone Lance's voice had taken on. "Yes. We've known each other since we were about ten." You paused. "That surprise you?"

"I mean–I guess. A bit. He's never talked about you before, and, well... I guess I didn't peg you the type."

"Do I have to be a certain type to be friends with Shiro?" You tried not to let your voice sound too defensive.

"No! That's not what I meant! It's just... most of his friends are from work, and you work–well, here." Lance's face had grown bright red. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to offend you–"

"No, it's fine," you muttered, ripping the cap off a new Sharpie with more force than necessary. "It was a while ago, anyway. Haven't seen him in years."

"I'm sorry, Y/N."

"Lance. Drop it."

You heard him sigh behind you. "All right."

As you took people's orders, a fake smile stretched across your face, you tried not to linger too much on Lance's words. He's never talked about you before. You set your jaw. I didn't peg you the type. It's been four years, you reminded yourself. Don't let it get to you. Besides, you'll see him again soon. Relax.

Yeah, you thought bitterly. Just relax.

– – –

You were draped on your bed, your phone on your chest, staring at the ceiling with a frown on your face when Matt knocked on the door. "Yo. Can I come in?"

You sniffed. "Sure."

He plopped down on the edge of your bed, pulling his feet up and sitting cross-legged. "Are you okay, Y/N? You've been in a nasty mood for days now."

"I'm fine," you snapped, but flinched as soon as you said it because you knew it was a lie. "Sorry. I'm just–a bit tense, is all." Your two-week deadline was approaching with a speed you did not like at all. You had two days left to make the call, and Keith was reminding you of it every half hour. He was getting impatient.

"Shiro's been sulking in his room for days. It's really starting to piss me off. He could use some good news," he'd said last time you were on the phone with him.

"So now getting fired and losing my license is good news?" you'd bit back.

"Maybe not that specific part," he'd admitted. "But you're back in town! That should be enough to cheer him up at least a little bit. I haven't seen him like this since you left for Empire." He'd chuckled. "Ironic."

Matt shot you an unimpressed look. "Right."

Suddenly you were overcome with an urge to tell him everything. It was eating at you. You didn't know what to do. You didn't want to confront Shiro just yet–but you also didn't want him to hear it from someone else; in this case, Keith. "Hey, can you close the door?"

He raised an eyebrow. "Why? Should I be worried?"

Rolling your eyes, you pushed him off the bed with your feet. "Just do it, moron."

He did it, then sat back down and crossed his arms. "What?"

You pursed your lips, trying to gauge what the best way to tell him would be. "I lied to you."

His eyebrow crept further into his hairline. "... Okay. And?"

"When I showed up on your doorstep. When I texted you. I hadn't been on the streets the whole evening." You grimaced, slapping your hands onto your face. "I slept with Shiro," you mumbled through your fingers.

"What?"

"I know, I know, stupid–"

"No, that's not–you slept with him." Matt ran a hand down his face.

"Yes."

"In his apartment?"

"Yes."

"Then why did you–" his eyes widened and he covered his mouth with his hand. "Y/N, tell me you didn't run off at 3 A.M. without Shiro knowing."

When you stayed silent, Matt whacked your leg. "Oh my god, you absolute moron! Why would you do that?"

"I was drunk! So was he! And I'd just gotten fired from my job, I wasn't thinking straight! What if it ruined our friendship, Matt? Hell, it would have. We hadn't seen or spoken to each other in years, and the first thing we do when we're reunited is have sex. How could I possibly face him after that?"

Matt opened his mouth, but you sat up and threw your hands in the air. "He doesn't know I got fired from Empire. And Keith's gonna tell him in two days that I'm here unless I do it but I'm not ready yet, but I also don't want him to hear it from someone else because he's still my best friend and I know how much it'd hurt him, but I just don't really know what to do." You let yourself fall back onto the mattress and flung an arm across your face.

"Wow. What a mess."

"No shit," you said, your voice muffled by your arm. There was a pause and the bedsheets ruffled as Matt shifted on the mattress.

"You know what you gotta do, right?"

"Move to Alaska and go into hiding?" you suggested half-heartedly, curling into yourself.

"No," said Matt pointedly, snatching up your phone and chucking it at your face–you only barely managed to catch it–ignoring your startled Hey! "You gotta call him. Now."

"Now?" You sounded like a whiny child throwing a temper tantrum.

"Yes. Now." You pouted, but his expression didn't change. "Go on."

You mumbled curses under your breath as you tapped your phone's screen, pulling up Shiro's phone number and staring at it for a solid minute before shifting your gaze back to Matt. "So, about Alaska–"

"Jesus, Y/N," he said, plucking your phone from your hands and pressing the call button. Your eyes widened and you grabbed it back, silently panicking and whisper-fighting with Matt, including phrases like "Oh my god, I'll kill you", "I'd like to see you try, bitch", "You are evil. Evil" and "I did you a fucking favour" until you heard a click and Shiro's voice saying, "Hello?"

Matt got up with a grin and blew you a kiss before skipping out of your room. You flipped him off.

"Hello?" came Shiro's voice again, slightly irritated.

"Yes, hi, Shiro, it's me," you quickly answered, switching your phone to your other ear and jumping up, not quite sure what to do with your hands. "It's Y/N."

"Y/N, hey," he said, surprise clear in his voice and despite everything, you smiled, because your heart still couldn't behave normally whenever you spoke with him. "How've you been?" he asked quietly.

"I've–you know–been," you said with a laugh, reaching up with one hand to rub the back of your neck. "But, um, I was actually wondering–could we meet up soon? I'd like to talk to you, and I'd rather do it in person. I'm fine, don't worry," you added quickly, knowing what he was thinking, "but there's a lot to talk about. Last time–" you cringed, internally screaming curses at yourself and resisting the urge to eat your phone like a potato crisp. "Anyway." You thought you did a pretty decent job keeping your voice level. "Meet up?"

"All right," Shiro said after a pause. "Sure. Say when and where."

The little bakery gave off a quiet air of peace and calm. The scent of fresh bread and sweet pastries relaxed you and you ordered a cup of tea at the counter. You were early, you knew, but your nerves hadn't let themselves be tamed this morning and Matt had gotten so irritated with you that he'd kicked you out.

You'd only just started sipping your tea when the bell above the doorway rang, and Shiro walked in. His eyes widened when he spotted you and he made a beeline for your table, carefully taking a seat in front of you. "And here I thought I was early."

You gave him a sheepish smile in return. It was silent for a moment, and you'd be lying if you said that you didn't feel the tension crackling in the air. But if it was good or bad tension... that, you weren't sure of yet.

"So, you wanted to talk?" he finally said, and you fiddled with your fingers, trying to avoid looking him in the eye and thinking about how to best start.

"Yeah. First, though, I figure I owe you an apology." He pulled up an eyebrow and you pursed your lips, sagging in your seat. "You know what for," you said quietly.

He rubbed the back of his neck, his cheeks tinted slightly pink. "But that's not what you wanted to talk about."

"No." You bit the inside of your cheek. "I've been back in town for over a month. Since that very night, actually. And I didn't tell you."

Now Shiro pulled up his other eyebrow and you pretended not to notice the hurt flashing in his eyes.

"I got fired, Shiro. From Empire."

His jaw fell. "Oh."

"Yeah." You fingered your cup listlessly, taking a deep breath and blinking back the tears forming in your eyes. Why were you crying? There was absolutely no reason why you should be crying. You'd already established that you were so much better off outside of Empire. So then why did you still feel like a failure?

"Hey," Shiro said, frowning and grabbing your hand when the first tear fell, and you barked a laugh, wiping at your eyes. "Hey. It's not your fault."

"Probably not," you mumbled, "but it still sucks. You know what happens to fired employees?" You didn't wait for an answer. "I work as a barista now. I lost my engineering license. That's how much power and influence Empire has."

"Hold on–you lost your license? How?"

"It's in the contract, Shiro. Fine print and whatnot, that I didn't read over because I'm a moron." You sighed. "Do you ever make a choice so stupid you regret it for the rest of your life?"

He smiled faintly. "I know the feeling."

You straightened in your seat. "You do?"

He didn't elaborate and you got the feeling he wouldn't, even if you kept asking. It was silent again as he looked at you, chewing his cheek in thought. The tension in the air reached a peak. Then Shiro laughed and the tension broke. He shook his head, chuckling. "Look at the two of us. Absolute messes, ain't we?"

"I guess," you said with a laugh of your own, downing the last of your tea and decisively plopping down the mug on its saucer. "I'm sorry for not telling you."

"It's okay. I understand. I probably would have done the same thing."

"Would you have, though?" you mused, cocking your head. "Keeping secrets isn't like you."

Shiro arched an eyebrow and looked at you in a way that had you positive that had you been standing, your knees would have buckled right from underneath you. "I've got my fair share of secrets," he said quietly, his voice hoarse.

You exhaled sharply, fighting down the blush threatening to creep up your cheeks. Would you ever be able to see him–just see him–and not immediately want to plant one right on his mouth? At the rate where things were going, you didn't think so. If anything, your feelings had only intensified in the years that you hadn't seen him.

"But," he suddenly said, and he straightened, "I'm gonna need you to promise one thing."

You nodded for him to continue, wary.

Shiro smiled. "Don't ever do it again."

– – –

"Are you sure about this?" you hissed, your grip on Shiro's arm so tight you wouldn't have been surprised if you'd cut off his circulation. The white walls of the Galaxy Garrison vaguely reminded you of the ones that had encircled you at Empire, and it made you feel so very small.

People bustled around you, running this way and that, some in heated conversations on their phones, others scribbling on clipboards, even others jogging a few steps to catch up with someone before engaging in conversation with them. While the walls may have reminded you of Empire, the people within them could not have been more different.

Some of them cast you curious looks when they saw who you were accompanied by–Shiro was just shy of a legend at the Garrison, and he always seemed to walk a bit straighter and keep his chin a bit higher whenever someone told him hello or good morning, nodding and smiling in return.

"You'll be fine," he assured you easily, untangling your hands from his arm and giving them a squeeze. "I've been discussing it with Sam and Iverson for months. They've basically already hired you."

He'd first mentioned it to you a few weeks ago–you'd been casually strolling through the park when he told you that he and Sam Holt had been trying to find a way around your license suspension, maybe even getting you a job at the Garrison. You'd almost walked straight into the little lake where you always fed the ducks.

Now you were headed for an interview–the outcome of which would decide whether you'd be able to work as an engineer ever again. Shiro had faith in you, confident that you'd nail it. You weren't so sure yet, your racing mind and shaking legs proof of that.

"Right," you squeaked, trying to keep your hands from trembling. "That's supposed to calm me down? What if I'm not what they expected? They could take one look at me and promptly decide that I'm not the person for the job after all, you know."

"Relax, Y/N."

"Hm. Relax. Yes. I'm perfectly relaxed."

The rest of the walk was spent in silence, and you had to resist the urge to scoot closer to him with every step. You wanted to grab his hand. But you were a coward, so you didn't. Then Shiro halted in front of a door that said "Commander Iverson," and you felt like all the oxygen was being drained from your lungs.

"Go on. You'll do great." He nudged you towards the door.

"Hold on–wait, wait, you're not coming with me?" you stuttered, gaze flickering from him to the door.

"This is a job interview, Y/N, not a parent-teacher meeting," Shiro hissed with a grin. He briefly touched your hand, and heat seared up your arm. "You can do this, all right?"

Nodding, you flexed your fingers, bouncing on your toes. Now or never. You knocked.

The man you assumed was Iverson almost immediately opened the door, and you were immensely relieved to see Sam standing just behind him. Iverson stuck out his hand and gave you a crude smile. "Y/N L/N, right? Iverson."

You shook his hand. "Pleased to meet you."

His eyes sized you up critically and there was a spark of interest in them. He gestured towards his office. "Shall we take this conversation inside?"

Just as you stepped through the doorway, you managed to catch a glimpse of Shiro's encouraging grin and raised thumbs over your shoulder. It calmed your thumping heart, if only slightly, and as you turned back to Iverson, you felt something in your chest that you hadn't thought you'd feel in a million years–a burst of confidence.

Half an hour later you stumbled back outside, still slightly dazed from the conversation you'd just had. Your eyes were wide and you were clutching the little bundle in your arms as if your life depended on it. To your right, Shiro pushed off the wall he'd been leaning against and arched an eyebrow at you expectantly. "So? How'd it go?"

You stared at him for a moment, face lax, before you breathed a laugh and showed him the Garrison uniform in your arms. "I got the job."

The smile that lit up his face could have illuminated the dark side of the moon and before you knew it he'd wrapped his arms around your waist and lifted you off your feet, twirling you around. You yelped in surprise, your hands crashing against his shoulders to keep your balance and you laughed too. In between giggles, you told him to Put me down! Put me down, weirdo, people are looking.

Shiro obliged, though he kept his arms firmly around your waist. "Let them look."

And he looked at you, and you looked at him, and the rest of the world seemed to fall away around you. A beat of silence passed, and heat coursed through your entire body and you were positive that you were on fire at that very moment, and then Iverson opened the door to his office and grunted, "If you two could just–not do that in front of my office. Please," and you leapt out of Shiro's arms like they'd given you an electric shock.

"Right, sir, yes, sir," Shiro said–maybe a bit louder than necessary–trying to keep a straight face, even though his cheeks were the shade of an overripe tomato and he blindly reached for your hand. You took it, grateful for the anchor, and the two of you all but sprinted out of there.

The Garrison parks were nice. Way nicer than you'd expected, and Shiro guided you to a somewhat private spot underneath an oak tree, its canopy providing shade in the warm afternoon sun. He plopped down at the base of the trunk, burying his face in his hands and you joined him, pulling your knees up to your chest and resting your chin on them, gazing into the distance.

"Well. That was probably the most embarrassing thing that's ever happened to me."

"That's my new boss," you said dryly. "What an impression I must've made."

"Hey." Shiro shot upright, grabbing your shoulders and shaking you back and forth. "You did! You got the job! I told you!"

"Yeah," you said, fingering the smooth fabric of the white and orange uniform. "Yeah, I did."

Shiro let himself fall back on the grass and he put his hands behind his neck, closing his eyes. You watched him, the way his face relaxed in the soft sunlight filtering through the tree's canopy, one cheek pressed against your knees. He cracked open an eye. "I have a question."

"Shoot."

"Why'd you leave that night?"

Your cheeks and neck heated up and you shot upright. "What?"

He sat up, crossing his legs. "You know what I mean."

You did. Somewhere, a selfish part of you had hoped he'd never bring it up and that you could just pretend it never happened in the first place, but that wasn't like him, and there had been tension between the two of you ever since that afternoon in the bakery. You figured maybe it was time to clear that up.

"I don't know," you muttered, raking your fingers through the grass beneath you. "I guess–I was confused, and my boss had just fired me, and–well–" You snuck him a glance, slightly turning away from him. "I was scared."

Shiro cocked his head. "Of what?"

You shrugged, averting your eyes and hiding your face behind your knees again. What you were about to admit felt stupid–childish, naive even–but you felt like he deserved to know the truth of what had gone on in your head that night. "I was scared that it hadn't meant as much to you as it did to me."

Shiro's eyes widened, but you didn't let him talk, feeling the sudden need to elaborate, explain yourself. "I mean–I was afraid that had I stayed, things would be awkward in the morning and it'd ruin our friendship and everything and I didn't want that, but leaving would also put me in a weird position because I'd have to explain later, and I didn't want that either, so that's also one of the reasons why I ghosted you for a month and a half, so neither options were perfect, and I probably chose the wrong one anyway but–"

"Whoa, hey, slow down," Shiro laughed, scooting over in front of you and gently tugging your arms away from in front of your face, forcing you to meet his eyes. The confusion or even annoyance you'd expected to see weren't there. He only looked at you with tenderness and affection and his gaze was warmer than ever. "I get it."

Gulping, you asked, "You do?"

He nodded with a grin. "I do. I get why you were scared because I felt the same way–have been for a long time, now."

You could only stare at him, dumbfounded.

"You mean the world to me, Y/N. You always have. I never thought we could be anything more than friends, even though I hoped it–and then graduation happened, and you got hired at Empire and I got accepted at the Garrison..." He shrugged, linking your fingers together. "And now you're back! And I know we probably shouldn't have done what we did a month ago, but I just can't find it within me to regret it even the slightest bit."

And before you knew it you were rushing forward and crashing your lips on his.

Your hands were cupping his cheeks, and his own were slowly coming up to trace your own cheeks before winding to the back of your neck and lacing through your hair, tilting your head up and closer to him. He pulled away for only a fraction of a second but you had gotten a taste and wanted it more, more, more until you drowned in it, so you chased his lips and kissed him again. You felt him smile against your lips but he finally gave in, a small sigh travelling from his mouth to yours.

And you kissed for what felt like hours, sitting underneath that big oak tree and whispering sweet nothings to each other in between pecks, fingers entwined, and your heart finally felt whole again.

[chilly-me-softly]

Miss You • James Maddison/Ben Chilwell

I tried something, hope you like it. Sorry for any mistakes. Also I’m sorry if you read on the phone probably it’s all a mess  -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

‘Miss you Ben x’

He didn't make it, he had pressed send without thinking twice. He wanted nothing more than to hug him, screw the bet he thinks sinking into the cushions of the villa in which he is in LA. He really must learn to connect his mouth and brain before saying or doing things that could get him in trouble.

It all started a few months ago. The last evening together before their various commitments took over in their lives and then led them to separate, James had come up with the brilliant idea of making a bet with Ben. The first to admit that he misses the other would have lost and the winner could have chosen penance. No limits.

Ben had been a little hesitant in accepting knowing that he was the most sensitive one, the one who was likely to lose, seeing that only the thought that they soon should be separated already knot in his stomach. But he had accepted, James always brought him to do what he wanted. But this time he would have fought, so much as possible. James could be sure of himself, sure of winning, but when Ben put in his head something hardly didn't carry it out.

*

It’s been a good summer for me. The experience of being away with England was good for me. All the games you play for England are important, but that was the first one where it was a semi-final that I’d been involved in.

 The missed call-up to the team for the Nations League's final still hurt him. He had been overjoyed that Ben had slowly earned his place, but he couldn't help thinking when his time would come. But to console him that year there was fortunately the commitment with the U21, his place at the moment, and he would have committed himself everywhere until he would have had the opportunity to play football. It didn't matter under what division, the important thing was to make the nation proud as always and have fun. His time to shine on the upper side would come soon, he was sure of it.

In his head he had already plan everything: he would have been in Italy to try to bring home the victory of the tournament, then on vacation with some friends and then straight to train for the new season. They would have text and called each other in their free time and those months would have flown, there wouldn't have been time to feel his physical lack. He practically had the victory in his hand.

But in Italy it hadn't gone as he had hoped. The special boots he had received had helped to increase the flame that burned inside him. He was ready. He was ready to have fun, he was ready to prove to Gareth that the senior national team was his place, he was ready to prove his worth, he was ready. What he was not prepared for, however, were the last-minute defeats in the first two games that had automatically destroyed the possibility of going ahead in the tournament. And so they returned home earlier than expected and a few days early in his mental schedule.

Miss you B

 After we played the Netherlands and Switzerland, I went away with a few of my mates to Ibiza and then went to LA. I did some training in LA for a week and since then I’ve been in England. I went back to where my mum and dad both live in Milton Keyens, and spent 10 or 11 days with them there. That’s where all my mates live too.

 He trained for the Euro U21, Ben for the Nation League's final. Ben was on vacation in LA, he in Italy committed to the tournament. He had come home for a few days after their sensational defeat, Ben was away at his parents miles away. In his mind he was truly convinced that he would last two months without touching or feeling Ben's perfume. Well he stolen his scent a long time ago so it wasn't a problem, but the last time they saw each other and looked into each other's eyes without a screen to divide them was when the Three Lions and Young Lions met for a workout in waiting for the Champions League final and then for almost half the team to return to St. George's Park. He still remembers how he slipped into Ben's room to enjoy those few moments together and how he remembered the bet still in play, so self-confident. The truth is that he is stubborn and wouldn't have gave in first. Indeed, he wonders how Ben has not yet pleaded to put an end to that stupid bet. Perhaps good company keeps his mind occupied or he doesn't miss him so much.

But then just a video call, a "Madders! I was just thinking of you" from the dark-haired to make him shake his head and give himself a fool because the things that they have lived up to that moment really happened. Ben is just good at playing his own game and he must acknowledge this. But it will give in eventually.

Miss you

 It's an amazing resort here, from the hotel to even just the training pitches, which are really good. The weather is amazing and it’s a lovely area, the view is wicked. It’s good to be away with a bunch of people that you get on with. It’s a quiet, secluded area, which is the best place to come to because there’s no outside noise or distractions. You just come here to train and get on with what you have to do.

 He swears he's going crazy. He misses him to death but he won't be the one to give up. No. It has been clear to him for days that the boy, now training in the French Alps, is playing dirty. The hair that he can't wait to see live, the ice bath, the photos he sends to him that he must now see away from prying eyes. He still remembers the mini heart attack that came to him when he opened a photo and found him, with his usual angel face, without a shirt and with his abs on display and even something else. He had jumped from the deck chair he was sunbathing on, as if he had getting shocked, catching the attention of his friends around him. And he had made a fool of himself by babbling an excuse to justify him and take the decision to give him a taste of his own medicine. He verifies that in every photo that will be published, he wears glasses that make him go crazy or that is without a shirt or in the pool. War it is.

And then he kept himself busy thinking of what penance he could have him do. His list goes from making him sing something to make him a fool on the internet to something forbidden to minors. Who knows. What is certain is that among some other cold showers they will be together again, on and off the pitch, so he will do everything not to give in.

*

‘Miss you too James x’

He is incredulous when he presses send to reply that message. The truth is he already saw himself pleading on his knees to forget everything. He could imagine the grin that James would constantly have on his face for at least next month, reminding him whenever he has the opportunity that he couldn't be without him. But he and Dele had found themselves in more or less the same situation and had hidden each other's phones so as not to succumb to temptation. And yes, he had cheated but no harm no foul isn't it?

 When they had seen each other again after forty-seven days and forty minutes -he doesn't have a calendar in which to mark with an x every day that separated him from James, he swears so- it was like breathing again. Touching each other again, inspiring the perfume of the other, breathing the same air are things that up to almost fifty days before took for granted. There are so many emotions he feels that he can't stand still. He prepares a tea for him, sits down, gets up again to turn off the lights in the living room but just can't stop himself. So much so that the blond one is forced to hug him and trap him in his arms, his body seems to relax instantly.

"So ... did you miss me?" he asks with a grin in his face, taking his five minutes of fame, seeing James rolls his eyes as an answer before snorting imperceptibly. A smile always on his face though.

"Come on, tell me what my penance is so we can forget about it"

"You know, I was so convinced that I wouldn't have made it that I didn't think about it" he confesses shrugging as much as he can and James chuckles squeezing him closer, leaving him a kiss on the temple.

Then the dark-haired man turns to him and looks into his eyes. Those blue eyes look at him from below and almost close when James passes a hand through his hair -thank you so much for create a panic in me Chilly, I thought you were blond-.

“Just kiss me for now” and who is he to refuse his wish.

[uzumaki-rebellion]

Black Boys Bloom Thorns First: Volume 2 Chapter 20

Your girl, she go hard in the baste Swangin' on them, swangin' on them, swangin' on my ways Swangin' on my ways Swangin' on my ways I've been thinking like, "Ayy, yo" And I've been thinking like, "Ayy, yo" (Sound of rain helps me let go of the pain) And I've been thinking like, "Ayy, yo" (Sound of rain helps me let go of the pain)

Solange—"Sound of Rain"

Ungubani?

Who are you?

I asked this question of myself many times. Often times, I do not know. But I do know I am no longer the man my country knew. Maybe love? My son?

It has all changed me. T'Chaka must see what we can do, how we can change the course of time for the people who struggle so much in this land. Strangers to me, but my brothers and sisters still. How can I look at them, with the same skin as me, stolen from the same place I came from and not reach out to them? How can I sit idly by and watch in pain and return to Wakanda as if there was nothing to see at all?

Who am I?

A war dog who will not leave the lost tribe behind again. Who are you, my son? You will ask this one day and know the answer: N'Jadaka, son of N'Jobu.

My son.

###

My woman is in pain. We have been back home for a month since Lia's death, and I am set to leave for Wakanda and I am frightened. As a family, we have gone to three sessions with Dr. Davis. I thank Bast that children have the resilience to bounce back from tragedy. Our son struggles. He has good days and bad days, but most of his bad days come from his worry over Califia.

She is not faring well.

She has lost weight from not eating and she suffers from insomnia. She has taken leave from work and spends days in bed. The most that she allows me to do for her is to hold her at night and look after Erik. She self-medicates with edibles so that Erik won't smell marijuana smoke on her.

Lia's family has planned a private memorial for her, and I do not want Califia or Erik to go. She is furious with me, even though Lia's entire family and her own family agree that she and Erik should stay in the States for now. There are plans for a large public memorial next year. There have been protests and marches throughout Brazil and other parts of the world in solidarity with Lia's memory. Califia's pain and anger and lack of concern for her health make me question whether I can trust her to care for Erik when I am gone. Dante and Nana Jean have made plans to step in for me along with Rolita. Dante questions why I have to leave for a month when Califia needs me and the only thing that saves me from his questioning is that I tell him I must work to cover the bills since Califia isn't working. 

I have been bringing Erik over to my apartment to give him some semblance of a normal home life and to also give Califia privacy when her crying gets bad and she begs me to take our son away so he doesn't have to see her. On those days I call Rolita to watch her, and I make the time alone with my son the best that I can. James hangs with us a lot, and he has been a source of strength when I can't speak to Bakari. Erik is crazy about James, and they spend a lot of time playing video games together and streaming anime.

Erik is asleep in my apartment bedroom and I write this on my couch. Tomorrow we will go home to his mother and I will cook for both of them. I miss my woman so much. I miss touching her in that way. I miss kissing her. I miss her laughter. I miss her being that incredible mother to my son. I miss us.

###

This man Klaue will meet with me in the Netherlands. Sita has found a safe place for us to interact. A place that we can control access to. When I return to Wakanda I will know for sure who I can count on among the war dogs. I will also have to gain all access codes in order to lay my hands on the Vibranium I need. I have someone in place that I have turned who can help me. I just have to keep T'Chaka off of my back. He has been very open about keeping me close to him on this trip home. Zinzi has been cryptic about what's been happening, so I suspect she is being watched carefully too because of our closeness.

My meeting with Klaue has to go off without a hitch because my only chance to see him without surveillance right now is when I fly home. I made sure to choose a flight with a long layover in Northern Europe. I will have six hours to feel this man out. If I can use him, I will. Sita was right about him in one respect; he is a little whore for money. My research on him tells me he is willing to do anything for it.

###

N'Jobu dressed in warm layers and kept his dark glasses on when he entered the small villa in Amsterdam. He made sure to enter the country under an alias and not as Prince N'Jobu so he wouldn't have to bring any Doras with him. Sita came as his personal guard and even though she had secured the property and hired extra protection under her control, she was still wary of Klaue. Klaue was told to come alone and was watched and followed to make sure he did what he was told. N'Jobu gave orders to kill him on site if he did not acquiesce to all of his demands for secrecy. N'Jobu would not reveal his identity to the man. All that he was told was that some goods would need to be secretly couriered out of the country in the future and there was a handsome reward for his services if he should be used.

The semi-detached modern-styled steel and glass villa had plenty of open space surrounding it to give N'Jobu's people eyes on the meeting at all times. Snipers were in position, and if the meeting went left, Klaue would be disposed of and N'Jobu would go home and find someone else to ferry the Vibranium out.

Sitting at a small table facing the main glass entrance, N'Jobu and Sita watched a lone brown Mercedes meander up the winding driveway and park.

A short messy brown-haired man in an ill-fitting suit stepped from the driver's door and scanned the villa. One of Sita's hired hands stepped forward and patted Klaue down while another kept a gun trained on him.

"Great welcome committee!" Klaue shouted out loud enough so that N'Jobu could hear him.

Stepping into the villa, Klaue had a nervous swagger about him that was more bravado and posturing rather than real confidence. The Black faces that stared at him as he stood before N'Jobu had the man second-guessing who he was fucking with.

Klaue smelled of an over-dosing of expensive Italian cologne and poor personal hygiene. His greasy-looking hair and body odor offended N'Jobu. The poor-fitting suit was expensive but not tailor-made and looking at the man from head to toe, the watery light eyes, the liver lips, and a hodge-podge of tattoos on his arms, he could tell the little man was new to expensive tastes. N'Jobu's nose crinkled and he pointed to the chair seated across from him. Klaue sat down.

"Well, I'm here. Let's talk," Klaue said, "Mind if I smoke?"

N'Jobu gave a slight nod.

"I'll take that as a yes then," Klaue said slowly reaching into his suit pocket. He lit up a spicy-smelling thin cigarette.

"Ashtray?" Klaue asked.

Sita placed a glass of water in front of him.

"Wakanda," Klaue said.

N'Jobu stayed silent. This made Klaue even more nervous.

He studied the Afrikaner a little more. The future of his immediate family, Califia and Erik, depended on this thin rat-looking thing sitting before him. The only way N'Jobu could help the Black diaspora was through getting his hands on enough Vibranium to support a world-wide revolution. And the irony of it all was that a racist White South African was going to help jumpstart that revolution. And unbeknownst to Klaue, helping N'Jobu would usher in his own demise, the end of White Supremacy and the end of all of those who supported it, even other Black and non-Black people of color.

Sita stepped forward and handed Klaue a small satchel. The man opened it. His eyes seemed impressed.

"Just for showing up? Twenty-Five thousand in U.S. dollars?" Klaue said.

N'Jobu nodded. When he felt the man was going to burst if he didn't speak soon, N'Jobu folded his hands in his lap.

"Your record is clean. And when things have gone awry, you disappear. I like that."

"He speaks!" Klaue exclaimed, holding his hands up and looking around the room smiling hard. Not one Black face gave him warmth.

"This is just part of a retainer. If I like what I hear, then you will receive another seventy-five thousand to help collect your team within the next year," N'Jobu said.

Klaue leaned forward while listening to N'Jobu's voice. He pointed to N'Jobu's face.

"You're…you're not just some radical. The way you talk…you are a higher up—"

"Who he is, that is not your business. You are here to listen and do what we ask," Sita hissed, moving closer to him, her hand on a gun holstered to her hip.

N'Jobu whispered to her in Wakandan to chill. The three other war dogs in the room along with the three hired hands stepped closer, letting Klaue know to watch his mouth.

"I get the feeling that what I am asked to retrieve aren't just some priceless artifacts," Klaue said, the smile sliding off of his face, "Human trafficking?"

This was the part of the conversation N'Jobu was waiting for. The part he wished he didn't have to divulge, but he had to because even though Vibranium was undetectable to outside modern metal detectors and such, it wasn't stable, and Klaue would have to be shown how to smuggle it out safely.

N'Jobu motioned with his fingers for Sita to bring forth the sample of Vibranium enclosed in a protective capsule.

The luminous electric blue glow mesmerized Klaue's eyes. The man's mouth slipped open.

"Fuck it to hell…" he said standing up when the phosphorescent capsule was placed in his hand, "is this really…is this-?"

"Vibranium," N'Jobu said watching Klaue closely.

"I'm in—"

"We still have to discuss my terms and timetable—" "I don't care! I am in. Whatever your terms or timetable. I already know you will pay me well."

Klaue regarded N'Jobu with gleaming eyes. Sita took the Vibranium from Klaue's fingers and he tracked the luminous glow as she placed it in N'Jobu's hand.

"That small amount right there is worth millions. How much more do you have?" Klaue asked.

"Let us speak about your operation. How quickly can you organize a retraction team?"

Klaue took the hint that he would not be told more about their holdings. It was all need to know moving forward.

"Three to four months tops."

"Understand, I will wipe out you and your people if at any time I suspect chicanery."

"I am a professional. I do thorough background checks on all my people. You've done your homework, I'm sure."

"Talk to me," N'Jobu said leaning back in his seat.

The greasy-haired man in the ill-fitting suit leaned forward, a full smile widening his mouth and showing the glint of cheap gold-rimmed teeth.

"I will tell you all that you want to know," Klaue said.

And he did.

###

On the ride to the airport in the secured SUV, Sita kept staring at N'Jobu's face.

"What do you think, Your Highness?" she asked.

"We should not trust him at all, but he has the juice to get what we need to be done completed."

"Will I see you again on your way back to the States?" she asked.

"Yes. D'Beke will join us and we can begin."

Sita's face looked pleased. She even gave him a smile.

"What is happening at home?"

Sita's smile faded.

"The King….your brother…he has been putting dissenters in jail."

"What?"

"There have been political protests taking place in several Birnans. There's a new spiritualist cult that has had some major growth in followers who have been causing problems. Some protests have become rather violent, and King T'Chaka has taken in leaders and incarcerated them."

"What are they protesting exactly?"

"The lack of democracy in a monarchy. What else? The lack of freedom they have to practice their religion—"

"The Udaku family has never shunned nor stopped religious freedom from marginal religions—"

"Maybe in the past. Maybe when your father was King. But King T'Chaka…he is not so tolerant these days. He claims it is an affront to the crown, a wedge issue to fracture the power of his throne."

"You believe this, Sita? Speak freely."

"I believe what I see, and I have seen even moderate dissenters vilified by your brother."

"But jail-?"

"There was talk that one of the incarcerated planned to assassinate the King."

N'Jobu's body jerked when he heard that. His kimoyo beads heated up and N'Jobu tapped his earbud.

"T'Chaka," N'Jobu said.

Sita remained quiet while he took the call by audio only.

###

Califia carefully flipped over the waffle she made for Erik onto a plate.

"JaJa!"

She heard her son's feet running down the stairs, and by the time he reached the kitchen, she had his plate on the kitchen table next to a glass of grape juice.

"Hot off the griddle," she said.

Erik studied her face and she gave him a healthy smile. His face relaxed and he sat at the table.

She passed him the butter and syrup and helped herself to a piece of sausage. Erik watched her plate.

"Got my appetite back," she said.

He gave her some dimples and she forced herself to eat even though she really didn't want to. She made up her mind to force herself through this pain. She was hurt when N'Jobu told her that he wasn't sure that she could handle their household while he was gone. She counted on him to care for Erik while she fell apart, but it fractured their relationship when he treated her like an irresponsible child. Calling people to watch her and Erik when he left the house. Each time she cried, the look on his face made her feel like he wished she could just get over what happened to Lia quickly so that she could cater to him once more.

Their last night together before he left for Wakanda was pleasant, almost their regular interaction as a family. She worked hard to show him that she was capable of being present for their son. It was also the first time they had sex together since Lia's death, and she only did it to please him, to make him feel like she was okay even when she didn't feel okay. It took her a long time to get self-lubricated, but their kissing took up a lot of time and allowed her body to ease into sex before he could notice that her senses were not in tune with his.

N'Jobu kissed her mouth for a long time before his hands even reached for her breasts or even tried to touch her between her legs. He was so happy and touch-starved for her that his focus was on sections of her. Her lips. Her tongue. Her throat. The tender spots behind her ears. The space between her breasts. Her nipples. Her belly. Her inner thigh and hips.

He kissed and licked her vulva as if it was his first time being down there, and by then, she was wet enough to accommodate his desperate erection. The moans and raspy grunts that fell inside her ear as he pumped in an out of her pleased her. She could still take care of him physically even if she wasn't really there emotionally for him. She opened her legs wide and when she looked up into his face, it was contorted in deep pleasure. His forehead creased tighter and he was exhaling hard pants.

"Califia…Califia…"

Back in Brazil she was depressed, anxious, and scared about his leaving, hungry for any physical contact with him. But now? She was ready for him to leave. She needed to grieve longer without the judgment in his eyes, without him making her feel guilty if she broke down in the middle of the day.

She put her pussy on him thrust for thrust and held his shoulders, her breath coming out faster as she felt him reaching his peak.

"Daddy—"

N'Jobu's lips thrust out when she said that.

"You ready for Daddy to cum?"

"Yeah—"

"Tell Daddy you want him to cum—"

"Jobu—"

"Tell me Califia…baby…tell me…"

He was gasping, twisting her leg to get leverage for more friction.

"…this pussy…" he growled in her ear.

"Yeah," she exhaled.

She could feel the solid fullness that his dick always filled her up with, but she wasn't really feeling anything, not in the way she wanted to but could not reach because of the trauma she was clinging to. She wished she could let go like him. Use sex to get a mental release. Her body wasn't giving her any signs of wanting to orgasm. And N'Jobu's dick was going at her hard as fuck. Their bed was shaking.

She wanted this to end before she started crying in the way that would upset him. She cradled his head and pressed her lips close to his ear.

"Cum in your pussy, Daddy…"

She dragged out the word Daddy so that it sounded reckless and raw and she felt her man seize up tight then thrust his hips into her hard, his voice gone. The swelled pulses coming from his dick only secured the knowledge that a flood of hot semen was coating her insides. She would still be dripping his seed even when he was flying across the Atlantic. And a nut that good to him would only encourage him to seek more.

He kissed her lips and along her neck, and when he pulled out of her, his mouth sought to eat her folds to make her cum. But she pulled him back up and hugged him. Once he realized she didn't want any more sexual contact, he held her tight and rocked her in his arms.

"You okay?" he asked, kissing her cheek.

"I'm fine. I just want to make you feel good."

"Let me take care of you, baby."

"You did," she said playing with the thick ejaculate spilling from her pussy. His eyes watched her fingers and he stroked his dick.

"I'm going to miss you," he said, his voice getting tight from seeing her shove her fingers inside her pussy.

"I'll miss you too," she said.

She played with her pussy lips for him until he lost it.

"Look how you make me nut!" he cried out, shooting cum on her fingers as she held her labia open for him. He had soaked up their sheets with his sweat and cum, but he held her on top of him until he fell asleep. When he was softly snoring, she crawled off of him and showered. Cleaning her body, she let her tears fall with the warm water flowing over her.

Her thoughts snapped back to Erik, and she surprised herself by eating more than she thought she would. Maybe her appetite had finally returned. Maybe she could get it together while N'Jobu was gone.

"We're going to see Grandpop and Nana Jean today," she said.

"Cool," Erik said stuffing his mouth with waffle.

"Baba, leave a voice message yet?" she asked.

"No. He texted that he made it to Atlanta. I missed the call on my phone," he said.

Califia had checked her phone, but nothing was there. He probably thought she was sleeping in again. At least he texted. She knew he was in Amsterdam for a layover. He always sent an email from a burner account when he made it to Wakanda.

Erik was watching her again.

"What?" she asked smiling at him.

"Nothin'. You look happy."

"I am happy."

Erik picked at his plate unsure of something.

"We're going to be okay, baby."

"I know you miss Auntie Lia, Mom. I miss her too."

The sound of her name still hurt and Califia felt her eyes prick with water. She fought to be strong. Their first day alone together and she didn't want her son to feel unsure of her. She crammed a sausage in her mouth and picked up a glass of orange juice.

"Nana wants to know what you want for dinner."

"Pizza—"

"Pizza? Nana said she was cooking and you want pizza? Boy, are you crazy!"

Erik giggled. He drank his juice and pushed back his plate.

"Enchiladas."

"That's better," she said.

After she cleaned up the kitchen, she drove them over to her grandmother's and as they walked up the hill to reach the house, they found Dante inside the garage working on his latest project; restoring a 1970 Chevrolet Chevelle, midnight black, a pure brute swinging 450-horsepower battle axe.

Dante was on a roller under the car when they saw him.

"Hey now!" he said.

"Grandpop!" Erik squealed.

Dante rolled out from under the car and picked Erik up. He gave Califia a kiss on her cheek and patted her shoulder.

"Looking good, Cali," he said.

"Thank you, Daddy."

"There's my baby!"

Nana Jean walked out from the front porch.

"Nana, stay up there, we'll come up," Califia said heading toward her grandmother.

Erik ran past her and hugged Nana Jean's waist.

"Dayclean make it okay?" she asked.

"Yes," Califia said.

"Good."

Nana Jean made Erik help her fold laundry while Califia cleaned up the kitchen for her grandmother to make her enchiladas later in the day. Keeping busy with her family kept her mind away from sadness and she felt good. Real good.

She went into the small family room to do some dusting of cobwebs and family photos and her eyes caught sight of an old picture on the fireplace mantle of her and N'Jobu on the porch holding Erik when he was a baby and Califia felt her chest grow tight.

Seeing N'Jobu's face took her breath away and she felt guilty. Guilty for not giving all of herself to him before he left. Not just her body and mind, but her spirit as well. Lia was about moving forward, no matter what, and Califia let herself get stuck because of the rage she still felt. Erik was so adorable as a baby and the memory of that day weighed on her. She had sent that exact picture to Lia and Soliel, and Lia had texted her the moment she received it and told her to raise her son up well and strong.

She pulled her cell from her jean pocket and called N'Jobu's burner phone. The voicemail picked up right away.

"N'Jobu…baby, I miss you. Call me when you make it there…when you can get privacy. We're over at Nana's and everything is good. I just…I want you to know that I'm here. I'm here for our son, and I'm here for myself. I'm here for you. I need to hear your voice, okay?"

She wiped away a tear and smiled, still looking at the picture and his beautiful face. Those gorgeous teeth. Those full lips. The lips he gave their little boy. Those eyes that Erik also had—

Her cell buzzed and she recognized the burner number. She swiped her screen.

"Califia."

His voice made her gasp. Erik walked up next to her.

"Mom…"

"It's Baba," she said, wrapping her arm around Erik's shoulder.

"I'm leaving for Wakanda soon. I'm so glad you called me," he said.

"Babe…I've been so lost since we came home. I know you have tried your best to be understanding. I was stuck—"

"I know, my love, I know—"

"I promise you that you can have faith in me getting through this—"

"If I made you feel—"

"I shut everything out and made you take care of everything. It wasn't right. I'm standing here in Nana's family room and she has the picture of you and me when we first brought Erik here. I saw your face, baby…I saw your face and I forgot that you need me too…"

She could hear his voice shuddering over the phone like she had made him cry. He exhaled hard.

"I love you," he said, his voice soft and full of longing.

"I love you too…hey, quickly, talk to Erik before you have to turn your phone off," she said.

She handed the phone to Erik.

"Baba…yes…yes. I will. Uh, huh. They are fine. I know…I will. I love you too. Okay…"

Erik handed the phone back to Califia. She wiped her eyes with her free hand. Her nose felt runny.

"My love. There are some potential problems back home. My brother has some political dissenters, so I may not be able to speak to you as often as you would like. But don't worry. I will text and email you when I can—"

"You'll be safe right?"

"I will be fine. My brother will need me around him more, and because of that, I won't have a lot of privacy for security reasons."

"Okay," she said. He had confidence in his voice, and she knew that once he was in Wakanda, he would have his Doras with him. And those sistas did not play.

"Tell me you love me again," he said.

"I love you…we both love you very much—"

"Bye, Baba!" Erik yelled into the phone.

"Until I see you both again. Be well, my love."

Her lip trembled a little when he was gone. She looked down at Erik.

"Shall we go help Grandpop with the car?"

Erik nodded. He threw his arms around her waist and pressed his head into her chest.

"Don't worry, Mom. Baba will be back soon."

She stroked his hair and kissed the top of his forehead.

###

For security precautions, N'Jobu was escorted into Wakanda over the border of Canaan inside a military Tusk Fighter aircraft instead of one of the Royal crafts. Once he was flown secretly into the country, he was driven by a super discreet convoy with Ometeko and Yejide by his side. His two faithful Doras were thrilled to see him, but also hyper vigilante in watching over him as they moved through several Birnans to get to the golden one of his birth.

His parents greeted him under the cover of darkness as he was ushered into the palace.

His mother could not stop touching him, exclaiming that he looked a bit worn. Lia's death and his family struggles hovered over him, but speaking to Califia and Erik earlier in the day made him feel confident that he could get through this check-in.

As he walked through the palace and headed up to his brother's private suite, he thought of Califia and how their last night together was so one-sided in affection. He wanted her so bad that night.

After he had put Erik to bed and joined Califia in their bedroom, she was fully naked under the covers. He hadn't seen or felt her nude body in so long that the moment he slipped under the covers and felt her naked thigh and hip touch him, the thickening of his penis didn't take long. When she had allowed him to penetrate her, it felt different. She was going through the motions but he couldn't quite get her to connect with his pleasure. They had always had the ability to create a mesmerizing feedback loop in their intimacy, but that time, it didn't happen. Instead of stopping, he became selfish and took what she gave because he missed her sexually. He needed her body. He needed to feel her tight ring of muscles surrounding his manhood. He needed to feel those big tits and see them bouncing. He needed to feel his semen spurting inside of her, his sack draining weeks of build-up. He let his desire for her override any reason to stop and make sure she matched his vibe.

At that moment, the sex was great for him, but it was like the sex he had while in school; all about the pleasure that his dick got without concerns about love or the other emotional aspects of two humans connecting. They didn't make love. He just fucked her. And he was all about the fucking because he hadn't had it in so long.

But talking to her…hearing her tell him that she would be fine…she made him cry. She made him determined to push forth and plan the best strategy to free them all.

The elevator ride up to T'Chaka's suite felt long, but once he stepped out with Ometeko and Yejide by his side, his dip had returned to his step. His entrance into T'Chaka's private quarters was full of confidence.

"Uncle N'Jobu!"

T'Challa's voice surprised him and when N'Jobu turned to look at his nephew, his eyes grew wide for a second at how much older he looked. The twelve-year-old appeared before him in his royal purple pajamas, his once full head of curly hair cut short and tapered. His voice even sounded different. Clearly, puberty was upon him. N'Jobu's heart ached staring at him. He held out his arms and his nephew ran into them, hugging him hard.

"My nephew! What are you doing up so late?"

"I wanted to see you as soon as you arrived. I have missed you so much, Uncle!"

"Oh! How I have missed you too!"

N'Jobu saw his brother enter the room. No smile on his face. Just worry. And something else. Indignation.

N'Jobu saw another young boy standing off to the side, his big round eyes shyly watching N'Jobu as if he were in awe.

"And who is this?" N'Jobu asked, waving his hand for the child to step forward.

"W'Kabi, stop acting scared. It is only my Uncle. Uncle N'Jobu, this is my best friend, W'Kabi," T'Challa said.

"W'Kabi…W'Kabi? Why do I know your name?" N'Jobu asked. He could see the child wearing a blue night robe with the Border Tribe's dark blue sigil sewn into the collar. A horseman with a fluttering blanket wrapped around the shoulders.

"My father protects the borderlands, Your Highness," the boy said. He bowed his head to N'Jobu.

"Tankiso is his father,' T'Chaka said.

N'Jobu did his best to keep his reaction neutral. He knew the boy's father. Tankiso would be N'Jobu's inside man to help him smuggle the Vibranium out of Wakanda and into Niganda with Klaue when the time came.

"Pleased to meet you, W'Kabi," N'Jobu said. He held out his hand to shake, and W'Kabi stared at T'Challa first and then T'Chaka.

"Do not be foolish, W'Kabi, you can shake my Uncle's hand. He is a Prince like me. Not the King!" T'Challa laughed.

W'Kabi smiled and took N'Jobu's hand. It was a firm handshake and N'Jobu was impressed by the confidence he felt there.

"Alright, boys. Off to bed now. Prince N'Jobu and I must talk," T'Chaka said heading toward his private bar.

"Goodnight, Uncle," T'Challa said hugging N'Jobu once more. W'Kabi bowed and N'Jobu watched the two children leave the suite followed by T'Challa's personal Dora.

"They are like brothers," T'Chaka said handing N'Jobu a small glass of plum liquor.

Brothers.

If Erik were here, he would probably join along with his cousin, the three boys staying up late and giggling, maybe even running around the palace in secret like he and T'Chaka did when they were young boys long ago.

N'Jobu sipped the plum liquor thinking of his son. Erik would wear the silk robes of the Golden Tribe, N'Jobu's family sigil sewn into the collar. He could imagine hearing the sound of Erik's sweet laughter ricocheting off the high walls and ceilings of the Eastern Palace. The soft patter of Califia's feet would probably echo in the halls as she would no doubt be the one to hustle the boys back to bed. For a second, N'Jobu closed his eyes and tried to see her wearing his royal robes and returning to the large bed in his suite down below. He so wanted to make real love to her again. Body and soul together.

"No problems getting into the country, Baby Brother?"

"No," N'Jobu said opening his eyes back up and finishing the plum liquor.

"Sit," T'Chaka said.

N'Jobu padded over to the couch near the expansive window that reflected the twinkling of city lights below.

"Things are not well here."

"I have been made aware," N'Jobu said.

"Your thoughts?"

"I am shocked that the one man you have imprisoned, the one they say tried to plot an assassination…what proof do you really have to keep him incarcerated—"

"Proof? Are you implying that I would just throw someone into confinement just on a whim?"

"From what I have gathered on my own there has only been speculation and flexing—"

"Would you have me wait for outright harm to come to me or to someone in our family first?"

"Of course not—"

"Then why question my rule?"

"Will this man have a trial?"

T'Chaka waved his hand at N'Jobu.

"Enough. No more talk of this. It is not your concern."

T'Chaka poured more plum liquor into his glass and he held up the bottle for N'Jobu.

N'Jobu took the bottle and poured more in his own glass. They both sipped and eyed each other. There was a knock on the door.

"Come in," T'Chaka said.

Whoa.

A voluptuous young woman with flashing eyes stepped into the room wearing a long mauve River Tribe styled evening tunic.

"Your Highness," she said, keeping her eyes respectfully downcast when she saw N'Jobu. She was beautiful, her hair tied back allowing her thick braids to fall down her back and N'Jobu knew exactly what she was there for.

"Prince N'Jobu, let us speak more in the morning. Breakfast with Baba and Umama in the sunroom?"

"Yes," N'Jobu said, standing up. He glanced at the woman again and he couldn't help but let his eyes wander over what his brother was playing with at night. He knew for a fact that T'Chaka had several women in rotation for many years. It drove their parents crazy. Umama in particularly hated mistresses being anywhere near the palace, no matter who they were messing around with. Rumor had it that their own father tried to have a young plaything early in his marriage to their mother, but Umama took an ancient knife that allegedly belonged to the very first Black Panther, Bashenga, and threatened to cut off his scrotum and end the entire royal line of Udaku forever if he ever brought another woman into the palace. The fact that he and T'Chaka existed let N'Jobu know that his Baba must've stayed on the straight and narrow. There was no doubt that his mother would kill their father and any woman he had back then or now.

No wonder they wanted T'Chaka married again.

"This is Dineo. She will accompany you to your suite."

N'Jobu's eyes widened.

"A nice homecoming companion for you. It must be tough to find a beauty like this out there," T'Chaka said winking.

Crude. Distasteful. What was this? From his own brother?

Dineo allowed her eyes to rest on N'Jobu's face and he saw her lips part when she got a good look at him.

"Goodnight, T'Chaka," N'Jobu said putting his drink glass on the bar and leaving the room. Dineo followed him and Yejide followed them both.

When N'Jobu reached the private elevator, he turned to her.

"I do not need you," he whispered discreetly so Yejide didn't hear. Not that she didn't already know what Dineo was there for.

"I must accompany you to your suite regardless. The King has demanded this. Please, do not cause me trouble, Your Highness."

Dineo rode the elevator with him down to his suite.

When they reached the outside of his quarters, Ometeko looked shocked to see Dineo at his heels.

"Do not ask," he said to Ometeko as he swept into his space.

Dineo was right behind him when the doors swung shut.

"I am here. You can leave," he said, surprised that the woman even stepped into his private sphere.

Dineo fingered her braids and then allowed her long lashes to flutter as she placed her gaze fully on his face, all pretense of deference gone. She wanted to be there with him. Gently tugging on the clasps that held her tunic closed, the loose clothing dropped to her feet.

Shit.

Her nipples stood at attention as she played with them, and all those curves that the tunic hinted at earlier were more than true once fully revealed.

"I am here for you, Your Highness," she whispered.

"I understand that, however—"

"I hear you are known to make women cry when you make love to them, Your Highness."

He hadn't had sex with a woman in Wakanda for almost a decade.

"Dineo—"

"I have heard all the stories from here to Azania about you. I want you to make me cry," she said stepping toward him.

If this were another time, he would be all over this girl and rearranging her insides. But he had a woman at home that knocked him off of his feet, even five thousand miles away.

He turned his back on her and headed to his bedroom.

"Do not make me have you escorted out, Dineo," he tossed over his shoulder as he pressed his kimoyo beads opening his suite's front doors.

"Your Highness," Ometeko called into the space without entering.

"Please see to it that Dineo makes it back to her own home," N'Jobu said before slamming his bedroom door shut.

###

"N'Jobu."

His body relaxed when he saw Califia's face on his computer.

She was snug in their bed inside their townhouse.

"Erik is still asleep. Do you want me to wake him?"

"No, let him sleep. I sent him a recorded video for him to see when he wakes."

"How are things?"

"I'm still feeling things out. My brother is dealing with some political dissenters, some policy changes...blah, blah, blah." He tried to make things sound mundane to comfort her.

"You're not tired? You should be exhausted."

"I am," he said.

"It's raining here," she said, "a good clean rain. Everything smells so good outside."

"You sound well, my love."

"It's the rain. It makes me feel brand new. But it's not the same without you here to enjoy it with me."

She sat up in bed and he saw that she was nude.

"Baby, really? You know I'm on the other side of the world and you sit up there onscreen with those beautiful tits teasing me?"

She fondled her nipples for him.

"You're killing me over here," he said.

She really was, he felt his cock fatten in his pants.

"Let me really put you six feet under then," she said, peeling back the covers, showing him already plump glistening folds.

"Were you playing with yourself?"

"Mmmhmmm, right before you called," she sighed, her fingers plying her labia open.

"Fuck…Califia…"

N'Jobu groaned loud in his room and yanked down his pants.

Three fingers deep, Califia fingerfucked herself for him as he damn near stroked all the skin off of his dick.

When she came calling his name while staring at him, her legs spread wide, he shot thick ropes of his own cum onto his chest. He fell asleep to the sound of the rain falling on their skylight and her fingers playing with her clit ring, her voice softly telling him she loved him.

It was a blissful rest.

Chapter 21 HERE.

[astralgloss]

im a curious meanie so 1-134 muhahaha you get to relive the hell i just went through

etab i haTE U

1: Name

my name is marit lol but please just keep it mar

2: Age

i am 17 but i’ll b 18 in 2 months!!!!

3: 3 Fears

the dark, complete and utter loneliness, and clowns

4: 3 things I love

books, forest fruit tea, the sound of rain

5: 4 turns on

a nice smile that reaches the eyes, a nice smell, having a dog ngl, a soft touch

6: 4 turns off

extreme arrogance, insisting to pay for my meal if i want to pay bc its “what a man should do”, forcing lifestyles on me, not caring about my interests

7: My best friend

she does have tumblr but idk it but hey demi if u ever see this ur the bomb.com

8: Sexual orientation

im bi fam

9: My best first date

my bf and i went to amsterdam to go shopping and he followed me everywhere (even the bookshop even though he hates books) and idk i just love him it was a nice day

10: How tall am I

im 1,65m or 5′4″ but i can and will kick ur ass

11: What do I miss

nothing really??

12: What time was I born

ok so i asked my mom and she said i was born on a tuesday at exactly 12pm but i bet she’s lying

13: Favorite color

yellow!! im basic!!

14: Do I have a crush

well i sure hope so @ boyfriend

15: Favorite quote

to the stars who listen, and the dreams that are answered

16: Favorite place

my bf’s house tbh, specifically his bed

17: Favorite food

pizza, specifically the hot chicken one from ny pizza

18: Do I use sarcasm

nah fam (ofc i do im a little shit)

19: What am I listening to right now

god is a woman by ariana grande

20: First thing I notice in new person

how they look at other people when those people don’t notice it

21: Shoe size

38/39 idk the other size lol sorry 

22: Eye color

its blue but it changes with my mood (oh my god im so sorry im kidding please don’t hate me)

23: Hair color

im a blondie

24: Favorite style of clothing

sth casual but also a bit towards the punkish style, but i also rlly love looking tiny and soft and cute lol

25: Ever done a prank call?

ok so there’s this hotline for kids who have troubles with their parents and families but it was a shit hotline tbh so once i called it up with my friends pretending i was crying and the man on the phone asked me what was wrong so i told him that all my friends had fire type pokemon and i only had grass type pokemon and they kept beating me and i didnt know what to do and then man was so confused it was funny af

27: Meaning behind my URL

idk man i wanted a name that could b easy to remember and i was inspired by ridgeport tbh

28: Favorite movie

the perks of being a wallflower

29: Favorite song

Fav song atm is anything from p!atd's newest album and my fav song of all time is probably train of consequences by megadeth

30: Favorite band

megadeth lol

31: How I feel right now

pretty good but also annoyed bc i have to go to work in half an hour :(

32: Someone I love

my bf

33: My current relationship status

if u guys havent noticed by now im taken

34: My relationship with my parents

p ok

35: Favorite holiday

halloween/christmas

36: Tattoos and piercing i have

I have my ears pierced and thats it lol

37: Tattoos and piercing i want

i rlly want a few bookish related tattoos, like a tiny raven, a little lightning bolt, and the city of velaris and then i also rlly want a sleeve tbh but imma be a teacher and idk if i can :/ about piercings: i rlly want a helix or tragus and maybe get second holes in my hearlobes

38: The reason I joined Tumblr

ok so ive been on tumblr for about 5 years and initially it was bc i was Depressed™ and then about a year ago i found out about simblr and i was hooked

39: Do I and my last ex hate each other?

tbh i dont even talk to him anymore i dont rlly care about him in any way

40: Do I ever get “good morning” or “good night ” texts?

yes bih

41: Have I ever kissed the last person you texted?

hes my bf so yea lol

42: When did I last hold hands?

wednesday

43: How long does it take me to get ready in the morning?

about 45 minutes bc im lazy and i keep getting distracted

44: Have You shaved your legs in the past three days?

nope

45: Where am I right now?

in bed lol

46: If I were drunk & can’t stand, who’s taking care of me?

either my bf or my best friend

47: Do I like my music loud or at a reasonable level?

depends on where i am

48: Do I live with my Mom and Dad?

mom

49: Am I excited for anything?

tbh moving out but thats gonna take a few more years

50: Do I have someone of the opposite sex I can tell everything to?

*insert bf here*

51: How often do I wear a fake smile?

every time im at work lol

52: When was the last time I hugged someone?

wednesday

53: What if the last person I kissed was kissing someone else right in front of me?

lol bye

54: Is there anyone I trust even though I should not?

nope

55: What is something I disliked about today?

the fact that i have to work a day shift instead of an evening shift

56: If I could meet anyone on this earth, who would it be?

my internet friends tbh it’d be cool to meet all the people from my bookish discord or from @booptherat​‘s discord

57: What do I think about most?

what book i should read next

58: What’s my strangest talent?

i can finish a book in about 4 hours

59: Do I have any strange phobias?

not rlly? i hate the whole asmr thing tho ew

60: Do I prefer to be behind the camera or in front of it?

behind lol

61: What was the last lie I told?

i dont remember tbh

62: Do I prefer talking on the phone or video chatting online?

neither lol

63: Do I believe in ghosts? How about aliens?

look im not saying that believing that we’re the only living species in the entire universe is narcissistic, but it is. also dont fuck with ghosts

64: Do I believe in magic?

hell yes

65: Do I believe in luck?

hell yes

66: What’s the weather like right now?

idk probably cloudy and windy

67: What was the last book I’ve read?

fahrenheit 451 by ray bradbury 

68: Do I like the smell of gasoline?

nah not rlly

69: Do I have any nicknames?

i guess mar?

70: What was the worst injury I’ve ever had?

when i was 2 i fell from sth and slammed the corner of my eye onto the corner of a table and i couldve been blind but thank god im not

71: Do I spend money or save it?

both 

72: Can I touch my nose with a tongue?

yup

73: Is there anything pink in 10 feet from me?

post it notes

74: Favorite animal?

doggg

75: What was I doing last night at 12 AM?

reading lol

76: What do I think is Satan’s last name is?

idk man

77: What’s a song that always makes me happy when I hear it?

i gotta feeling by the black eyed peas lol

78: How can you win my heart?

give me a samoyed and a 1000 books

79: What would I want to be written on my tombstone?

“a boss ass bitch”

80: What is my favorite word?

fuck?

81: My top 5 blogs on tumblr

@cubersims​ @imvikai​ @ridgeport​ @cowplant-pizza​ @bloomlet​ @tiptoptab​

82: If the whole world were listening to me right now, what would I say?

spend fiddies, pet kitties, hold tiddies

83: Do I have any relatives in jail?

not that i know of lol

84: I accidentally eat some radioactive vegetables. They were good, and what’s even cooler is that they endow me with the super-power of my choice! What is that power?

the power to choose whatever power i want at any moment

85: What would be a question I’d be afraid to tell the truth on?

“do you like working here?”

86: What is my current desktop picture?

its an august background from @emmastudies​

87: Had sex?

yes

88: Bought condoms?

no

89: Gotten pregnant?

no

90: Failed a class?

yes

91: Kissed a boy?

yup, i’ve been kissing my bf for about 2,5 years now lol

92: Kissed a girl?

yup, i’m living the bisexual dream lol

93: Have I ever kissed somebody in the rain?

yes

94: Had job?

yes, im working at a movie theater right now!!

95: Left the house without my wallet?

tbh all the time now that i can pay with my phone

96: Bullied someone on the internet?

yea i used to but that was when i was 12 and i’d like to say that i’ve grown a lot in the past 5 years

97: Had sex in public?

nope

98: Played on a sports team?

yes

99: Smoked weed?

nope, even though i live like 20 minutes away from amsterdam lol

100: Did drugs?

nope

101: Smoked cigarettes?

nope

102: Drank alcohol?

yupppp, i love me some raspberry cider

103: Am I a vegetarian/vegan?

nope

104: Been overweight?

nope

105: Been underweight?

nope

106: Been to a wedding?

yup

107: Been on the computer for 5 hours straight?

lol all the time tbh

108: Watched TV for 5 hours straight?

yup

109: Been outside my home country?

yup, however never outside of europe tho

110: Gotten my heart broken?

a few times

111: Been to a professional sports game?

yess, i saw the dutch female volleyball team once!

112: Broken a bone?

nope

113: Cut myself?

yes

114: Been to prom?

we dont do prom in the netherlands lol

115: Been in airplane?

yes

116: Fly by helicopter?

nope

117: What concerts have I been to?

k3 (only dutchies and belgians remember this), one direction, megadeth, and ed sheeran

118: Had a crush on someone of the same sex?

yupp

119: Learned another language?

i mean im from the netherlands and im fluent in english thanks to myself

120: Wore make up?

yuppp

121: Lost my virginity before I was 18?

yes

122: Had oral sex?

lol yes

123: Dyed my hair?

nope

124: Voted in a presidential election?

not old enough to vote :(

125: Rode in an ambulance?

nope

126: Had a surgery?

nope

127: Met someone famous?

nope

128: Stalked someone on a social network?

nope

129: Peed outside?

a few times lol

130: Been fishing?

nope

131: Helped with charity?

yep

132: Been rejected by a crush?

a few times

133: Broken a mirror?

lol yes

134: What do I want for birthday?

some books, money, cake, more books, makeup

[soap-brain]

‘sup i got tagged by @elroymarvelous (and i need to stop using ‘sup as a greeting jesus christ *tips fedora*)

aaand i’m tagging @bottomkirk @greetings-from-the-suffer-puppet @isthisspockspeaking @lieutenant-sapphic @loststarlight @wordssometimesfail @trappist-1p @autisticarchieandrews @greenjimkirk @plaidshirtjimkirk @jamest-kirk @subinnnnn @tomatosdumpster @thetardisismysoulanimal @random-fandoms-trash @thatpunktrekkie and anyone else who wants to do this! just consider yourself tagged :)

 THE LAST

1. Drink: black tea

2. Phone call: my dad? i think? i don’t call people unless i can’t totally avoid it

3. Text message: @isthisspockspeaking

4. Song you listened to: we built this city by starship

5. Time you cried: ???? probably last week or tomorrow

6. Dated someone twice: njoope

7. Kissed someone and regretted it: i’m unkissed, therefore...

8. Been cheated on: nah

9. Lost someone special: yup

10. Been depressed: lkjsldfjslfjklasjdflajs life is hell atm so yes, constantly

11. Gotten drunk + thrown up: literally every time i have as much as two cocktails?? i don’t get it tbh. and i didn’t even really get drunnk

3 Favorite Colors

12. yellow

13. blue

14. green

IN THE LAST YEAR HAVE YOU

15. Made new friends: yup!

16. Fallen out of love: didn’t even fall in love so falling out of it is kinda difficult

17. Laughed until you cried: the aquarium incident in physics lab the week before last. i’ve never laughed so hard in my life i think. cried again when we rehashed it

18. Found out someone was talking about you: i guess?? but i knew it already, and it wasn’t bad stuff

19. Met someone who changed you: uhh? maybe

20. Found out who your friends are: (does this year count as last year?? do we mean last calendar year or last 12 months? cause then HELL YES jesus)

21. Kissed someone on your Facebook page: thank god no lol

GENERAL:

22. how many of your Facebook friends do you know in real life: almost all of them, but there’re a couple where i only assume who they are tbh

23. do you have any pets: ... five cactuses. i bet that counts :p

24. do you want to change your name: i wrote a wonderful monologue about how ravenna is actually p great and i’m learning to be her at @greetings-from-the-suffer-puppet a couple days ago or so. my name makes me pretty damn unique, and i like it!

25. what did you do for your last birthday: went out to dinner with my family and got drinks with an ex-friend later

26. what time did you wake up: I OVERSLEPT AND WOKE UP AT TEN AM MY ALARM WAS FOR 6:30 FUCK ME

27. what were you doing at midnight last night: uh. @bottomkirk uhhh MADE ME watch the dramatic readings of my immortal

28. name something you can’t wait for: august 1, 2017, around 2pm (i’ll be done with my chem final by then and probably also through the post-final breakdown and hopefully already packing / having packed my suitcase)

29. when was the last time you saw your mom: two weeks ago (ish)

31. what are you listening to right now: the two illustrious construction zones a street over :D and whatever else comes through the window. also rain pattering

32. have you ever talked to a person named tom: yes my dad’s best friend’s name is tom and he’s a cool dude. weird, since he’s an artist, but cool

33. something that is getting on your nerves: well i’m mostly done with being insanely annoyed by the spn fandom, so atm it’s the mcu

34. most visited website: tumblurb

35. hair colour: ???? it’s like a dark blonde in places but the tips are light blonde. i’m considering becoming a redhead over the summer :D

36. long or short hair: mine? long. on people? whatever floats their boat

37. do you have a crush on someone: no

38. what do you like about yourself: ???? i think i’m getting a really good grip on my life but it does contain lots of internal crying

39. piercings: two in both ear lobes

40. blood type: 0+ i think. i’m sure about the 0 but i forgot my rhesus type

41. nickname: i don’t have one :( please give me one?

42. relationship status: single pringle terrified to mingle

44. pronouns: she/her

45. favourite tv show: wtf kinda question is that. tos all the way

46. tattoos: i WANT but i’m so broke i don’t quite know how to afford food for the next two weeks haha

47. right or left handed: right

48. surgery: a couple minor ones, once getting my wisdom teeth out and once having a dark birthmark removed. also i think i had to get one of my milk teeth removed by the dentist :D also there was the glass table incident. me and my sisters all have actual scars from that glass table. i p much slit my lip on it and you can still see the scar! fun times! my other sister has a small piece of her ear missing bc of that table :D

50. sport: horseback riding (*cries* i wish i had a stable here), yoga, running

51. vacation: THIS STUPID QUESTION IS IN ALL THESE THINGS AND I JUST HAVE TOO MANY ANSWERS!! ugh. FINE. let’s do this as per the distance these places are away from me. berlin. the netherlands. sweden. the uk. iceland. italy (esp rome, venice and ravenna), france. greece (all the ancient cultures yay). barcelona. idk whether egypt is safe atm but egypt (the pyramids and that all). south africa. japan. china. australia. chile. brazil. mexico. the usa (a roadtrip. you know, the classic. also nyc??? i miss you. also hey i have friendos there!!). canada. OUTER FUCKING SPACE LIKE WHOA

52. pair of trainers: does this mean the shoes or a coach?? i do own shoes if that is the question. several even.

MORE GENERAL

53. eating: rn? nothing. but there will likely be pancakes today

54. drinking: water, and obscene amounts of black tea

55. I’m about to: study (lmao procrastination ftw)

56. waiting for: august 1, 2017, 2pm

57. want: a fucking break

58. get married: maybe

59. career: doctor!! (hey what do you call a nerdy doctor? a DORKtor ahhahahaha love me please)

54. drinking: as in alcohol?? ehh. i have half an apple cider in the fridge, and other than that there’re like two cocktails i like to drink, maybe three

WHICH IS BETTER:

60. hugs or kisses: i’m touch starved so i’m a slut for any kind of physical attention tbh

61. lips or eyes: i like lips cause then you can speak and eat food. i like eyes for seeing (though mine have a glitch. i need an expansion pack for them)

62. shorter or taller: i’m tall. small people are ok but you need to be careful so you don’t lose them in your purse

63. older or younger: ??? well i like kids and seniors can be assholes but also vice versa so idk 

64. nice arms or nice stomach: arms bring the food. stomach holds the food. GoodTM (personally? i’d like for my arms to stop having acne and for my stomach to be flat. thank)

65. hookup or relationship: relationship

66. troublemaker or hesitant: hesitant (i only pretend to be tough lmao)

HAVE YOU EVER:

67. kissed a stranger: nah

68. drank hard liquor: what qualifies as hard?? i’ve had vodka in my drinks, but they were cocktails, so ?? (actually we made moscow mules when i visited my parents and the recipe said to put in 4 cl of vodka but i’m PRETTY sure my dad put in more)

69. lost glasses/contact lenses: akjslöfdjasldfjasldf fuck me up. yes. also broken them. also you try to have -5 dpt and find your fucking glasses. i can see 20ish cm in front of my face clearly. when i lose my glasses i’m essentially fucked

70. turned someone down: yes, and it was a good idea

71. sex on the first date: ha no

73. had your heart broken: sure

74. been arrested: :D (no)

75. cried when someone died: irl? cried when someone almost died. movies? yes.

76. fallen for a friend: nope

DO YOU BELIEVE IN:

77. yourself: i guess so, yeah!

78. miracles: “magic is just science that you don’t understand yet”

79. love at first sight: no

80. santa claus: excuse you, this is americawashing. in germany we have the christkind. fuck off

81. kiss on the first date: maybe??

82. angels: ehhhh

OTHER:

84. eye colour: slate grey

85. favourite movie: Wonder Woman (2017) dir. Patty Jenkins (elroy wrote this and imma leave this here), also the one with the whales, transporter 3 and a very specific version of cinderella

[bigyack-com]

Solo Electric Car Set to Hit U.S. Market

For decades, the country’s best-selling vehicles have been pickup trucks. Hulking, gas-powered models from Ford, Ram and Chevy have had a grip on the market that seems unbreakable.But there will always be companies that try to upend the status quo, powered by idealistic thinking and, ideally, deep pockets. One such company is set to take its shot this summer with a single-seat car called the Solo. A tiny, three-wheeled electric, it will be available in Los Angeles later this year.“So many vehicles are being driven by one person,” said Paul Rivera, chief executive of the Solo’s manufacturer, ElectraMeccanica, based in Vancouver, British Columbia. “Why does everybody think they need to drive around and leave three or four empty seats?”Nearly 90 percent of Americans who commute by car, truck, van or motorcycle drive alone, according to the Census Bureau. Positioning itself as a right-size alternative to hauling around all of that excess automotive tonnage, the Solo takes up about a quarter of the space of a typical S.U.V. It also looks like a car — at least from the front — with the usual hood, grille and headlights. Take a peek from behind, however, and it tapers down to just one wheel.Technically, the Solo is a motorcycle, though it’s fully enclosed and drives like a car with a steering wheel and foot pedals. It has only one seat, but it’s accessible with doors on both sides. It also has a trunk, and amenities common to a full-size passenger vehicle, including Bluetooth stereo, air conditioning and a backup camera.Having three wheels, it is not subject to the sorts of crash-testing the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration requires for street-legal, four-wheeled vehicles, but it does have a seatbelt and an integrated roll bar.The Solo isn’t the first small, three-wheeled car to squeeze into the crowded automotive market. The Bond Bug, an angular British three-wheeler in pumpkin orange, went out of production in 1974, after four short years. Carver, based in the Netherlands, has been making different iterations of its leaning, three-wheeled “man-wide” vehicles since the 1990s. And the Corbin Sparrow, with its striking resemblance to Mother Hubbard’s shoe, failed to take off in any meaningful way after going into production in 1999.“There’s been so many of these,” said Karl Brauer, executive publisher of Kelley Blue Book. “A lot of people want to solve the problem of clean, space-efficient, inexpensive personal transportation.”Microcars have tended to sell in microscopic numbers in a new-car market with millions in annual sales. Fiat sold just 6,556 of its Fiat 500s in 2019, despite their seeming ubiquity. Mercedes pulled its Smart car from the U.S. market after selling just 680 units last year. Toyota yanked its Scion iQ after selling just 482 of them in 2015.“It’s not to say a group of people won’t buy these,” Mr. Brauer said of the Solos, “but that group is in the hundreds, not the thousands, and something that sells in the hundreds is not saving anything: not the planet or our congestion problems.”He added, “If you can’t get tens or hundreds of thousands of these to sell, it’s not having any sort of meaningful impact on any of these problems it’s supposed to be solving.”Mr. Rivera, ElectraMeccanica’s chief executive, declined to reveal initial production or order figures for the Solo. While its Chinese factory is capable of making 20,000 vehicles a year, “we won’t do that right out of the gate,” he said. “We will launch very slowly and methodically.”ElectraMeccanica has its roots in a decades-old Italian company that built replica Porsches in the 1960s. That company relocated to Vancouver in the 1990s and created the ElectraMeccanica subsidiary in 2015, from which the Solo was born. Two batches of earlier generation vehicles have been manufactured so far, in limited quantities, some of which are still being driven in Canada.The new production version of the Solo will be manufactured in Chongqing, China, in partnership with the Chinese motorcycle manufacturer Zongshen Industrial Group, a company that already makes about three million motorcycles annually. ElectraMeccanica plans to set up a North American assembly facility within the next two years.After launching in Los Angeles later this year, ElectraMeccanica will expand sales to San Francisco, Seattle and Portland — early-adopter cities in states that also have generous incentives for electric vehicles. California provides a $750 rebate for the Solo; Oregon, $2,500. Mr. Rivera said the Solo would expand to the rest of the country over the next 18 months to two years, then globally.Taking a page from Tesla, which sells its cars through retail stores rather than dealerships, ElectraMeccanica is offering the Solo through shopping mall kiosks, starting with two in the Los Angeles area — Westfield Fashion Square in the San Fernando Valley and Westfield Century City. Together, the malls have 24 million visitors a year, according to a Westfield official.Malls in California are closed now because of the coronavirus outbreak, but the Solo kiosks will be up and running when the state’s stay-at-home orders are lifted, possibly this month.The coronavirus is changing the transportation landscape in ways that seemed unthinkable even two months ago. Public transportation ridership is plummeting throughout the country. Cars are suddenly unaffordable to millions who have lost jobs. And the threat of climate change remains very real.So maybe — just maybe — the Solo has a chance. Arriving on the market when travelers are hesitant to touch what others have touched, it provides for social distancing. Priced at $18,500, it also costs about half as much as the current average sales price for a new passenger vehicle ($35,667 as of March 2020). And it has zero emissions, allowing for up to 100 miles of travel per charge at a top speed of 80 miles an hour. It recharges with Level 1 or 2 chargers.“Conceptually, it makes sense,” said Juan Matute, deputy director of the Institute of Transportation Studies at the University of California, Los Angeles. “But what’s socially desirable and environmentally beneficial isn’t necessarily personally optimal.”American drivers tend to buy “the most capable or largest vehicle that they need,” Mr. Matute said, even if they need that capability for only 5 percent of their trips. Thus the popularity of pickup trucks and S.U.V.s. While the Solo’s price is far less than an average car, it may still be a stretch for many during a downturn. And even though 50 percent of electric vehicles sold in the United States are sold in California, installing the infrastructure to charge them is an additional hurdle, Mr. Matute said.Regardless of whether the Solo finds a market in Los Angeles or elsewhere in the United States, it already has an unequivocal fan in Leona Green. The owner of the Greens and Beans deli in New Westminster, British Columbia, Ms. Green has been driving a first-generation Solo every day for three years.“It’s adorable,” she said. Driving her little green Solo with a custom “Han” license plate, Ms. Green uses the car to deliver sandwich trays, four of which fit in the trunk. It is small enough for motorcycle parking, and she spends about $15 a month on electricity to recharge it.“Not a day goes by that people aren’t stopping and taking pictures of the car, even after all this time,” she said. “I love it.” Read the full article

[thisdaynews]

Manchester City 4-1 Port Vale: Tom Pope revises John Stones prediction after FA Cup defeat

New Post has been published on https://thebiafrastar.com/manchester-city-4-1-port-vale-tom-pope-revises-john-stones-prediction-after-fa-cup-defeat/

Manchester City 4-1 Port Vale: Tom Pope revises John Stones prediction after FA Cup defeat

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FA Cup: Manchester City 4-1 Port Vale highlights

Port Vale’s Tom Pope told his Twitter followers he would shine against John Stones, duly did so and – despite FA Cup defeat – just about ended up with a Manchester City souvenir for his efforts.

The 34-year-old striker could not have dreamed after his summer tweet, stating he would “get 40 a season” playing against Stones, that they would face off in the FA Cup six months later.

After heading the equaliser in a third-round tie Vale eventually lost 4-1, Pope wondered if he was given the cold shoulder from Stones’ team-mates as he looked to swap shirts with a City star after the game.

“I managed to get Zinchenko’s – the rest of them pied me off,” he told BBC Sport.

“I never dreamed I would score and would have been happy to have a few touches.”

‘It’s actually 50 a season’

Tom Pope headed Port Vale level before Sergio Aguero put Manchester City 2-1 up

In June, after watching England lose to the Netherlands on television, the former Bury, Rotherham and Crewe forward wrote: “I know I’m a League Two player, I know he plays for England, I know he’s on £150K a week, I know he’s a million times better player than me but I’d love to play against John Stones every week!

“I’d get 40 a season.”

Immediately after defeat at Etihad Stadium, he tweeted: “I’d just like to say I was completely wrong and bang out of order to say I’d score 40 a season….. it’s more like 50.”

A fine glancing header duly gave Pope one goal from one game against the Premier League winner.

Port Vale’s Twitter account promptly called for their front man to be given “a knighthood right now”, but goals from Zinchenko, Sergio Aguero, Taylor Harwood-Bellis and Phil Foden were enough to send holders City into round four.

Selfies, wine and laughs at Popey

Both sets of players shared selfies in the Manchester City changing room after the fixture, and Vale manager John Askey said: “City could not have treated us any better.

“They have really looked after us. They invited the players in after the game and they have been having a bit of a laugh, especially about Popey and John Stones as you can imagine.

“Tom might be on Twitter tonight. I hope he doesn’t get himself into trouble.

“I wish he didn’t do it, because sometimes it can wind the opposition up, but if he goes and does scores, then you can’t argue.

“He tries to do it in a humorous way and there is no harm in what he does. It causes him more problems than it does the football club.”

Askey was invited to share a glass of wine with Pep Guardiola after the defeat and said the City boss showed himself to be a “true gent”.

“When the equaliser went in, did you think you had a chance,” Askey told BBC Sport.

“I was waiting for someone to pinch me and wake me up. No, I thought I was dreaming. It wasn’t just that it was a goal, it was the way it was scored as well.

“I am just a bit disappointed with the goals that we conceded – two were VAR decisions which were within a whisker of being offside – and the first one was a deflected shot that was going wide. I couldn’t have really have asked much more from my players.”

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