#silva wants a balance where everyone and everything is good.

[animeyanderelover]

Can I request Platonic zoldlyck gen hc?

God, I knew that this was coming at one point. I'm making reader in here a part of the family.

Tw: Yandere themes, unhealthy mindset, unhealthy relationship, possessive behavior, possessive behavior, obsession, stalking, clinginess, sabotage, threats, violence, isolation, death

Platonic Zoldyck Family Hc's

Zeno Zoldyck

🐲 He wouldn't admit it out loud but it's still somewhat obvious that you're his favorite grandchild. There is a certain soft spot the old man harbors for you and it occasionally shines through. He engages in games for children with you if you beg him enough, gives you gladly advice when you train and is always willing to listen to your problems. Zeno prides himself on his experience and the insightful help he can give you because of it. Zeno holds high hopes for you too so it happens very often that he ends up as your personal tutor to help you master the art of assassination. He wants you to succeed the family and their reputation for being the most dangerous assassins known so he teaches you techniques he isn't likely to reveal to anyone else. He's a good balance though since he never goes too brutal on you unless he knows that you can defend yourself and mixes rest and relaxation well with hours of exhausting training. If you manage to master his teachings and finish missions flawlessly, he's sure to always compliment and praise you warmly and grant you a treat.

Silva Zoldyck

🐺 Silva is incredibly possessive and from all children you're the one he spends the most time with. Kikyo, your maternal figure, rarely gets to see you and so do your other siblings since Silva consumes almost all of your time. He holds you in high esteem and has decided to train you personally in everything. He passes down his teachings that you shouldn't strike unless you're sure to win and goes a bit brutal on you. Hours and hours on end where he goes full beast mode on you even if you can't handle that level of strength yet. He only gives you a break when you're nearly about to faint from physical exhaustion and is very strict, scolds and chides you for everything you haven't kept in mind during the fight. He might end up sending you on missions that are highly dangerous if he sees it as a necessary step in your development as an assassin. Willing to spoil you a bit but only if you've fulfilled or even exceeded his expectations. Everyone in the mansion knows to not upset you or spend too much time with you though since Silva is sure to come after such people and punish them.

Kikyo Zoldyck

🔺 Kikyo has always been enraptured with you, even when you were still an infant. She's very obsessed and recalls your entire life so far as if it just happened moments ago. She's really clingy and when you aren't with her, you'll hear her shrill voice calling for you. There were times when you didn't come though and in such cases she ordered the butlers of the house angrily to find you and bring you to her, otherwise she'd kill them for their incompetence. She dotes on you and coddles on you in an excessive way, spoils you and dresses you up in all the finest clothes she can find. Money is of no concern. She likely never lets you spend much time with others since she's overprotective and is paranoid that anyone else besides her and her family will be a bad influence for you. So she's likely to kill anyone who she thinks will sully you. You're a splendid assassin in her opinion, she even insists that you should be together with Killua the heir of the family since both of you are more than suited. Spoils you after every mission you fulfilled, although she makes a terrible fuss over possible bruises or scratches, if you let someone even hurt you that is.

Illumi Zoldyck

🤎 Illumi usually appears void of all sorts of emotions but it's painfully clear for everyone that he has an unhealthy attachment to one of his siblings, you. He constantly hovers near you and stares intensely into everyone who steps too close to you or spends too much time with you. It's creepy and unnerving and even the well-trained butlers tend to get shivers. The man is also awfully possessive over his younger sibling and finds it unnecessary for them to spend time with the other Zoldyck kids, except Killua maybe. If he should be older than you he sort of expects you to obey his words since he's the oldest child and for that holds authority over you. Similar to Silva he holds high expectations for you and is sure to get rid of everything that might interrupt your determination to be an assassin. So you end up isolated as he monopolizes most of your time. It even happens that he follows you on missions assigned to you to see how you're doing with your job as an assassin. If you've done the job well you tend to get a few presents from him, his way to show you that he's proud of you.

Milluki Zoldyck

💻 Milluki is more demanding and bratty when it comes to his sibling's attention. He tends to spend a lot of time inside his room playing some games or watching some shows instead of being active but that doesn't mean that he should be underestimated. He can definitely be more mean to you, especially if you should be younger and he has a feeling of superiority for being older than you. In that case he commands you often a bit around and is slightly mad when you don't listen to him. Gets incredibly jealous if he finds out that you like one of his siblings more than him which results in him being more salty and rude to you although shortly after he tries to buy your favor by getting you games or snacks you love. Insists that you spend some sibling time with him huddled up inside his room which he locks up since he hates being disrupted when he has you for himself. He participates more when you're on missions, searches for information on the target which he gives you if you spend afterwards more time with him and it's not unlikely that he tries to install a tracker so he can check your location when you're away.

Killua Zoldyck

🪀 He spends most of his time with you during his early childhood since you're the only one who doesn't pressure him and just grant him a normal childhood. You're trained to be an assassin yourself but understand that it doesn't have to be forced upon him. Killua is clingy, often searches for you and sulks when he finds out that you have left for missions. He acts like a normal child around you, shares his food and snacks with you and even if he's embarrassed, he also loves it when you give him a big hug. When he leaves the family to participate in the Hunter exams, he comes up running to you and asks you if you want to accompany him. Sure, you're a dangerous assassin and don't even need a license but he just wants to take you away from the mountain and be alone with you. He's distraught when you decline his ask since you have to stay here but promise to wait for him. He tells Gon a lot about you as soon as he's become his friend, tells Gon his goal of leaving together with Alluka and you the family so all of you can be free.

Alluka Zoldyck

💝 Her and Nanika both adore their sibling a lot, shown by Nanika's willingness to grant only Killua and you freely wishes. You never abuse the kindness and affection Alluka and Nanika hold for you though since your sibling is precious to you. Alluka is essentially imprisoned in the mansion but you still insist on spending time with her which makes Alluka really happy. She always wants to play with you, wants hugs or to be lifted in the air only to surprise you with a kiss on your cheek or nose. She's very clingy and as a child she always was hanging on your hip like a monkey and that habit continues even as both of you grow older. Since she's never permitted outside, you always bring her souvenirs when you come back from a mission and tell her from all the things you have seen. When Killua comes to save her, she insists that she wants you to come with her and starts crying too. You gladly tag along though, relieved that your beloved sibling is finally free from this family. Alluka wants you to show her all the places you told her about during her time inside.

Kalluto Zoldyck

🏮 Kalluto is the silent type who walks behind you like a little duckling. He's the youngest and that makes him insecure a bit although he isn't above using that to his own advantage too if he knows that it'll guarantee him your attention. If you just happen to be the youngest one, he acts like your silent guardian as he's weirdly protective over you. Kalluto tries to impress you as he feels a need to prove himself, specifically if he really is the youngest. As much as he enjoys and loves seeing you doting on him a bit, he also wants you to see that he's just as much of a capable assassin as you are. He wants to watch you training since he idolizes you quite a bit and believes your fighting abilities and Nen powers to be really amazing. He's upset when he doesn't get to spend time with you for a longer while but rarely complains and instead keeps silent. He knows that it can't be helped when you have a job but he spends hours outside waiting for your return. He runs to you as soon as you return, tugs your clothes shyly as a silent way to ask for a hug.

[roanniee]

SO.

Let's try this again🤸🏻

Also Idil vibes strong on this one. I can't say Gil bc Gil calls Ate Sel smth specific like she does with me.

Ship the @mythos-blogs Crew

ps. here's the server <3

@admiringlove

Baby Sam is very hard working and focused on whatever she's doing that sometimes, she forgets to take care of herself. So, I see Sugawara Koushi with her perfectly, someone caring and understanding, but knows better than to let her overwork and tells her when enough is enough. The both of you do struggle with a few things, and when you fight or have insecure moments, you sit down to talk about it instead of shouting at each other. Overall, a really good match I say.

Baby Sam also kins Oikawa and I ship Oikawa hardcore with Suga LMAO

@ninjamomo

Me. That's my wife <333

Okay but for realsies. I ship Idil with Bokuto Koutarou. Bokuto and Idil would be just... soft love. I see dancing in the rain, bathtub relaxation hours together and cuddling in bed. Idil knows that Bokuto is a busy man, and Bokuto knows he is a busy man. But that doesn't mean that they were gonna let the relationship go. Oh no. Those two will hold on like a cat with his claws on the couch. A really really soft, supportive and strong love.

@tooru-luvs

I actually had a hard time with Ms. Zizi. See, I haven't interacted with her much. But, based on the interactions of hers that I see on my tl, I can see that she is very playful but also can be serious. Hence, why I say that she'd be amazing with Kuroo Tetsurou. Kuroo is playful and an overall gremlin, but he's very caring ang knows exactly when to be serious and how serious. He'll help her with anything he can help her with, but he also knows when no to because it's something Zizi needs to do for herself. Likewise, Zizi knows when to be cheery to make Kuroo smile, but also when to sit and talk to Kuroo about a delicate matter. They'd both ground each other, while matching the same playful energy.

@rokudaddie

HEY I CAN TAG HER NOW KSKSKS

ME ME ME ME ME

anyways hehe. Gly. Lovely, sweet, Gly. She's very caring, but my god does she also enjoy chaos. Hence, I'm putting her with Hoshiumi Korai. We all know Hoshiumi is a little gremlin with a heart of gold. The way these two are together would be immaculate. They're chaos together, but even with all the chaos, they have time to look at the other to make sure they're okay. PLUSSS! Hoshiumi will always unconsciously be touching Gly, just to make sure that she's there. Gly would unconsciously make sure that Hoshiumi is in her peripheral vision too.

@moonlit-island

Ooooh Raya! Raya is so damn sweet and caring and uplifting. I love her sm. Hehehe anyway I ship her with Tsukishima Kei. The Tarot cards said so, and so did the zodiac signs. SKSKS Anyway! Yes, a really good match. Raya's got a really good head on her shoulders, but I see her watching all the chaos from the sidelines, much like Tsukishima. When they're together, they'd start the chaos and then sit back and eat popcorn as they watch the world burn.

@laineeey00

Ate Laine? Some will definitely say Kita, because it's Ate Laine, but I say Hirugami Sachiro. Hirugami would be such a good man for Ate Laine. I imagine them sitting down in the living room, books spread out on the table. Just silence while studying, but every now and then, one of them would look up to look at the other, smile and then return back to what they were doing. Ate Laine makes sure that Hirugami takes breaks and Hirugami makes sure that Ate Laine isn't stressing so much. Just so cute honestly.

@betheydocrimewrites

Ah, Adult Sam. Hmmm. Adult Sam is a whirlwind of chaos and sweet, sweet angst. I definitely see them with darling Yamaguchi Tadashi. I see them in bed, Sam on his laptop, and him just hugging them tight when something they were writing was choking them up. But, Sam is just overall an amazing person that they deserve someone so sweet and caring like Yamaguchi. Obvi, it is reciprocated, and I see such a sweet love in the works.

@melsun

Oooh. Alice.

Melian and Matsukawa Issei would make a very interesting pairing. Both independent yet still co-dependent on each other. Melian knows how to calm Matsukawa after a tough day at work, and Matsukawa knows how to keep Melian from stressing. Matsukawa would also hype Melian up so much?? Like any outfit Melian wears, Matsukawa's right there telling them how good and amazing they look and how well they matched the outfit up. Honestly, just a very functional household and I love that.

@lovemeian

oh oof Lavi. I want to say Meian but for reasons I cannot disclose, I won't say that for now. I will say though, that she will be so good with Dabi. Lavi has a few things she needs to work on, and Dabi is always there for her. Actually lbr, they both have issues to work on, but I feel like together, they'd overcome that. I feel like they'd?? Actually be so understanding of each other that it shocks and confuses others bc?? hello it's Dabi?? but yes, a really good match.

@writewithmarites

Me <3

Severus Snape. Ate Tes is chaotic. I'm sorry but her default in the server is chaos, especially with the bot around HAHAHAHA but anyway! Severus would be so good to ground Ate Tes, keep her from getting a little too chaotic BUT ALSO, he can help her when she's not taking care of herself. She also helpes him with his potions, and it makes the job easier on him. But of course, Severus is a slytherin, and most of the time he'd be the one inciting the chaos and we just don't know it. Anyway, Ate Tes is honestly so wonderful and I love her sm and she deserves someone to tame like the serious, bratty, angsty Severus Snape. <333

@saudade-mayari

ME. AGAIN LMAO. <3

ANYWAY

Nozel Silva. Nozel and Ate Sel. Oh gosh what a thought. Nozel is....arrogant, prideful, and he sees himself as someone more important than others. But, the man does know respect and he does care for people, especially Ate Sel. I have no doubts that Ate Sel can make that man kneel and follow her wishes, but I also know that Ate Sel would not let this man get away with his arrogance and pride. Nozel cares for her a lot. She's his partner, the carrier of the future of House Silva, and the only one that has caught his attention. He loves her, and that man would drop nearly everything for her.

@risumu

Eris! Eribabe and Ojiro Aran. Idek why. But the vibes would be so immaculate. I see road trips and early morning dancing in the kitchen to an indie song one of them is hyperfixated on. I also see late night walks to the convenience store, holding hands and just silence? Basking in each other's prescence. Eris definitely steals Aran's sweaters to the point that Aran buys two of his sizes so he can interchange them. One to give to Eris when the one she took doesn't smell like him anymore. Love all over the place.

@sunarent

Mel. That's it.

Okay but also, I see Iwaizumi Hajime. I was thinking about Suna but the more I think back about the things I know about Ali and our interactions, I see Iwa. I feel like they'd understand each other so much. And the love isn't seen much, not because they don't love each other, but because it's something they need to say really. It's more shown in the touches and kisses and cuddling. They know that they love each each other, and that's enough for them.

@tetsvhoe

Honestly I want to say Kuroo but.

Kozume Kenma. Gwennie works so hard and stresses so much. Her sleeping sched is unavailable lmao. Kenma would be so good for her because he knows how it is, to be stressed and not have an actual sleeping sched. I feel like they'd be good together. In all honesty, they'd probably take care of each other more than they would themselves but no one is complaining really.

@slutbench

MY BABYYYY. MY DAUGHTER. I LOVE YOU SM AND I SWEAR I'M NOT MAD.

I ship you with...

Azumane Asahi. Why? Because you remind me of Noya sometimes. Very energetic, a little bit of low moments and just a ball of sunshine in general. Asahi is perfect for you, Mija. He'd be able to just connect with her in ways others just don't understand. People would say that Asahi is too...soft? They'd say someone like Daicho or maybe Bokuto would be better for you, Mija, but really, he's perfect. Asahi and Gil. He balances her out in so many ways, even if no one else can see it.

@ushisrever

NIA!

Ushijima Wakatoshi. Really, the two of them are perfect. Stoic, quiet, can be chaotic. Very protective, even if the two deny it. Nia, you and Ushi are like...pillars? Support? Quiet, unmovable, but still, everyone knows you're both there, and you don't really leave people's minds. I see the two feeding off of each other's energy, especially when it comes to protecting others that they care about. (Looking at you, Lavi) I see hours where it's just her watching him playing in the background and he just looks at her, smiles, and then goes back to playing. It's really cute.

@sumebreaks

MAIA! HI! We haven't interacted much, I'm so sorry for that sweets. bUT BUT BUT!!!!

You're so sweet and caring and loving??? I really see you with Miya Atsumu! I see Tsumu bugging you to take a break and give him attention. BUT! I also see you?? Bugging him, telling him to get off the court or he's sleeping on the couch HAHAHA I feel like you two really just? Connect. Both playful, both caring, both are busy with their own things so there's not too much expectations that cannot be met for now. Idk I really see a love that's always there, no matter how busy they get.

@vindictivtsumu

AAAAAH DEVON HUN!

I love Devon and their writing so much??? Omg. Yknow who would be amazing with them? Akaashi Keiji. Akaashi is very articulate and just overall book smart in my opinion, and I see that him and Devon would fit so well. He is Devon's personal beta reader HAHAHAH BUT!!!!! Devon also watches Akaashi edit and points out anything that he missed. I see days when they're just sitting there, talking softly to each other that the sound of typing was louder. But that's okay bc you both are content and happy and in love.

@ricflairdrip20

I just met you not even 24 hours ago hehehe HIIII

I will not lie.

I asked for help from Ate Sel HAHAHHAHA

But!!!! She says Ukai Keishin, and honestly I see it. The nsfw-rp channel is the reason why and I'm not saying more HAHAHAHA I see nights when it's Keishin and her just? Idk having fun and being kids bc lbr that man can be a kid sometimes. I also see them taking care of each other in unconventional ways, ways that would not be okay for others, but it's her love language with him. V v v domestic.

I HOPE Y'ALL MYTHOS CREW LIKED THAT MATCHING UP BYE

[tobinheath]

Leah Williamson and Keira Walsh have shared enough “written in the stars” moments in their 23 years to make them feel that they were fated to be best friends. Since meeting on an England Under-15s camp, their football careers have played out with a striking, almost eerie, similarity. They each play for their childhood clubs — Williamson for Arsenal, Walsh for Manchester City — and have a knack of picking up the same injuries at the same time.

They both received their first senior call-up on the same day in 2017. The 2019 World Cup was their first senior England tournament: they called each other to celebrate even before they called their parents, which resulted in Williamson shrieking “bloody hell — what have we done here?” in tears outside a London branch of Nando’s.

Most memorably, Williamson made her England debut coming on for Walsh, in the final six minutes of a World Cup qualifier against Russia in 2018. “My mum’s just framing my shirt, pestering me for that picture,” Williamson says.

Walsh interrupts, giddily. “I think that’s the only time I’ve actually done a full-teeth smile. I was so buzzing.”

“Yeah,” remembers Williamson, “because I was game faced, and you proper smiled at me and I went…” before jerking her mouth into a tight-lipped, nervous smile, chuckling.

“If it was anyone else,” Walsh picks up, “I’d have been, like: ‘I don’t want to come off’. But as soon as I saw it was Leah, I was buzzing.”

This is life at the top for two of England’s most talented young players: phenomenal success and too many good memories to count.

Today, best friends will turn opponent and they will face each other in the Women’s Super League (WSL) for the first time this season — hosts Manchester City are fourth, four points behind second-placed Arsenal — with Williamson pointing out that in a pre-COVID-19 world, she would have stayed after the match with Walsh’s family in Rochdale, where Walsh’s mother Tracy is “just like my mum”.

Over the hour they spent together on Zoom, they are gloriously good fun: warm, ebullient and habitually careering into laughter. They balance each other out, Walsh says: she is “shy and awkward” — though you would not know it here — and Williamson is the “buffer” in certain situations, and the more “logical” one of the two. Williamson views Walsh as the honest one, sometimes brutally so. “I have to step in sometimes and give it a smile and keep it balanced,” she says. “If I play a game and I’m not actually sure how it went, I would text Keira, because I know I’d get the most honest answer from anybody, even if that means it’s not what I want to hear. I think that is where the respect comes from.”

To track the pair’s football careers has been to often forget how young they are. Walsh made her City debut a few months after her 17th birthday and in November this year, Williamson played her 150th game for Arsenal. It is common for those in women’s football to grow up fast but in conversation, one is reminded of the duo’s gleeful, wonderful youth. There was the time, for instance, they rented electric scooters one afternoon at the World Cup in France to explore with Walsh’s Manchester City team-mate Georgia Stanway. The room-mates — Stanway with Williamson, Walsh with Lucy Bronze — had a group chat titled “The three best friends and Lucy”. Stanway, the youngest England player at the tournament, sped ahead on her scooter and they had to “rein her back in”, Williamson says.

“You were being a bit of a Cautious Claire, weren’t you?” teases Walsh, turning to Williamson, “probably as you should do at a World Cup. I think we were just enjoying being kids, weren’t we? Obviously, we were playing, and the reason we were there was to win, but we have so much free time that we were just enjoying being the younger ones.”

“All the older ones… that’s what they kept saying to us,” says Williamson. “Kaz Carney was like: ‘Make sure you enjoy your time now, because hopefully one day you will be the senior ones and there’ll be a lot more pressure on you. Just have the best time ever, make as many memories as possible. Jill Scott — I mean, she was a bit more wild than we are — said she’s got some of the best memories ever from those early tournaments and she wished she could do it again. I don’t think we wanted to waste a second.”

Do not presume, though, that the pair are anything other than serious competitors. By 20, Walsh had won every domestic title going: the WSL, FA Cup and League Cup. Williamson has won the league once, the FA Cup twice and the League Cup twice, finishing as runner-up in the latter to Walsh’s City in 2019. Walsh, an artful holding midfielder in the mould of Sergio Busquets — she grew up watching clips of him and David Silva with her father — will be among the most important players in the England squad moving forward and Williamson, capped 17 times, is touted as a future England captain.

It has not always been easy, though. An early test came in the form of Williamson’s ankle injury, sustained playing for Arsenal against Walsh’s Blackburn Rovers in the FA Youth Cup final. It was so traumatic Walsh admits there are still occasions she will search for Williamson’s results, see her friend has come off and think, “Please tell me it’s not her ankles again. My mum mentions it to me. She’ll say: ‘Did you see Leah came off?’” She addresses Williamson. “Because I’ve seen you in person do it, I feel like I automatically panic. When I see you at camp two weeks later, you’re like: ‘Maybe I was being a bit soft when I came off — it’s nothing to do with my ankles’. But I know what you’ve been through with them, so it is the first thing I think about.”

Williamson, in her own words, “basically just snapped my ankle and everything in it” after misplanting her foot. Stretcher, gas and air, a wheelchair, a doctor advising her to go straight to hospital. “I’m trying to fight back the tears and she’s nearly crying looking at me as well,” Williamson remembers. She stayed at the game because Arsenal had lost the season prior and she wanted to collect her winner’s medal.

“I think I played most of the game thinking, ‘I just hope she’s OK’,” says Walsh. “The only thing I actually remember from that game — not the goals or anything — was afterwards, I saw Leah on the side in a wheelchair with an Arsenal bobble hat on, having to wheel herself on to get her winner’s medal.”

A few months on from Williamson’s injury, Walsh damaged her ankle ligaments — it was an impact injury, and on her laptop, Williamson has pictures of her and Walsh “in wheelchairs at different times”. Walsh collected her second ankle injury at a training camp in La Manga, by which point Williamson’s ankles had betrayed her again. “We were both sat on the bench laughing because it was just crazy luck that we’d both done it again,” Walsh smiles. “I knew I couldn’t sit there feeling sorry for myself next to you.”

During their separate rehabilitation processes, they maintained the habit of visiting each other as often as they could. Their close friendship meant they were never allowed to share a room on international duty to ensure they didn’t isolate themselves from the rest of the group. Walsh was the class clown and Williamson the captain, meaning that “Leah would always get told off for me. They’d always be like: ‘Leah! You need to tell Keira she needs to be a bit more professional!’”

What it all meant was they had lost time to make up elsewhere. Each Christmas, Walsh would come to London from Rochdale and Williamson’s mother Amanda “would treat us to something from Jack Wills. That was like an annual little thing that we did, because I don’t think that I’d ever heard of Jack Wills, being from the north, until I met all these southerners at camp that used to wear it. I think I actually used to go down to see Amanda more than you, to be honest.”

What did they think of each other when they first met?

“You first,” says Williamson.

“No — you go,” Walsh replies.

“I’m going to big you up here,” Williamson begins. “Keira’s always been… she was always one of the best there, and you always want to be mates with the good ones.”

Walsh returns the favour: “I think I was quite jealous of you when you first came because everyone was like: ‘She’s amazing. I was thinking, I want to be amazing, as well, so I want to be friends with her.”

“That’s good, that we both thought the same thing.”

“There you go, then. That’s why we’re friends.”

“I’d say I’m your fangirl, Keira. I’m your hype man.”

Walsh has always been Williamson’s biggest supporter — “when you scored your first goal for England, I think I was happier for you than I would have been if I’d scored” — but probably has good reason to worry about Williamson calling herself a hype man. Before the World Cup, Williamson visited Cex, the second-hand goods chain, and spent £50 on some DJ decks to master during downtime at the tournament.

“I just looked across the corridor and I was like, ‘What is that noise? I’m sure that’s Leah’s room’,” Walsh recalls. “I opened the door and you had these big headphones on, mixing the decks. I saw Georgia just lying on the bed and I was like, ‘What is going on in here?’ They had the balcony door open and you were like: ‘Wait for the drop. Wait for the drop’. I was like: ‘OK – I’ll wait for the drop. You like your music, you are good with music and you actually might be very good. I trust you’. And the drop just never came.”

Williamson hoots with laughter. “Never came. I thought it would be so much easier than it was. It was so hard.” She shakes her head, jokingly rueful. “Massive flop. Massive flop.”

“I feel like you just try your hand at loads of random stuff,” continues Walsh. “I see you on camp and you’re like: ‘I’m doing the harmonica now’.”

Williamson says she has “found her calling” playing the piano in lockdown, but Walsh is unimpressed. “It’s just you try to give off this cool vibe and I feel like people don’t really know you. It just makes me laugh. What have you got — a lightsaber pen? And Star Wars pyjamas? People would just not think that. When you see the exterior of Leah, you would just think, ‘No – not Star Wars’. She’s done all these photoshoots, she’s dead cool, and then she just whacks out the craziest stuff and just makes me laugh.”

Williamson holds up her hands. “It’s true. I can’t deny it.”

The World Cup was particularly testing for Walsh, for whom fierce social media criticism left her questioning whether she wanted to continue to play football. Walsh has spoken numerous times about the impact on her confidence, but what was it like for Williamson, who did not feature as much as Walsh, to witness? She pauses. “I think it’s hard,” she begins, “because you just feel so powerless when you’re not playing. It’s not even like I can go on the pitch and have a shocker to save her from the criticism,” she laughs. “If I tell Keira she’s great, there’s a slight bit of her that’s… I’m her best mate, so I’m going to try and pick her up as much as possible.

“The main thing, especially from a squad perspective, is that we all know how valuable Keira is to us and how — I’m bigging you up here — she’s the centre of what we’re doing as a team. It just annoys me. I wish I could eradicate all those other people because we, as a team, appreciate her so much. That’s all I ever said to Keira – if anybody was picking a team, you’d be the first name on the teamsheet. But it’s hard to get… like I say, I’m her best mate, so I’m honest with her, but at the same time, she probably needed to hear that a little bit more.”

They didn’t talk about it so much, Walsh says. “Because you weren’t playing, I didn’t want to put that on you because I felt like it would be selfish,” she adds. “I thought, at the time: you know what? We’ll just make the best of it off the pitch, and I think that’s why we had such a good time.” Williamson’s first appearance, from the bench in the round-of-16 match against Cameroon, changed Walsh’s perspective “because I was just so happy for you that I didn’t care what people would say about me at that moment. People could say whatever they wanted because I’ve just played in a World Cup with my best friend. Not many people can say that.”

To be best friends, as professional athletes, is a balancing act: in any other walk of life, they would — could — rage at each other, moan, weep, get angry. As professional footballers, they are wary of distracting the other. “I know what you want to achieve, so my problems taking a back seat is fine with me if I know you’re going on to achieve what you want to achieve,” Walsh tells Williamson.

To Sunday, then, and what will happen when two best friends turn competitors for 90 minutes. Walsh smirks. “I feel like you try and keep a really focused head, and then I’ll just be like…” she cups her hands for a high-pitched whisper and springs up like a Jack in a box. “’Leah!’” Williamson rollicks back with laughter. “Then she’ll turn around and she’ll start laughing, but I do it because I know she’s going to laugh and I know that she’s trying to focus. I feel like I’m a lot more relaxed than you. You’re like, ‘Game face, game head, here we go’, and you just have that annoying friend in the background.”

Stanway is the worst, apparently, to the point where Walsh and Williamson will intervene — Williamson with a stern “we’re not having that today” when Stanway inevitably flattens her early doors. “We always text each other a couple of days, speak to each other earlier on in the week before we play each other,” says Williamson of her and Walsh.

“In the game and stuff, we have our little tiffs, and if I say something and she doesn’t agree with it, we’re both playing for the win, and we both understand that,” Walsh concludes, “but then afterwards, we’re straight over to each other.”

She starts to sign off, but Williamson beats her to it. “See you Sunday,” they chorus, in unison.

[it-was-all-a-beautiful-dream]

Silva Lining (Saul Silva x Reader) Chapter 11

Warnings: Mentions of infant death

Word Count: 1.8k

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-19 years ago-

As per usual, Farah was bored. She was home in the kingdom of Solaria and once again her family were throwing another ball. Of course she had to be there, she was part of the royal family after all. Her sister was Queen Luna Star, she couldn’t make the family look bad by ditching the event, especially as it was held in her honour.

Big ball dresses and small talk wasn’t her thing. This was temporary however. Soon Farah would be going back to Alfea to take over as Headmistress and she’d finally start living by her own rules. Her mentor and friend Rosalind would be there to guid her and Saul, a friend she had met as a student, would be there as the Headmaster of the Specialists. She couldn’t think of better people to be surrounded with.

There was one upside to the party. People from all over the magic realms had been invited and there was one person in particular that caught Farah’s eye. She didn’t expect things to go the way they did but one thing led to another and she and the mysterious, dark haired stranger found a quiet room in the castle and made love until the rise of the morning sun.

The story goes that she awoke from a dream, a prophecy. The stranger was never seen again and later was found to be the king of the Blood Witches, an enemy to the fairies. Three weeks later and Farah found that she was pregnant. The prophecy was coming true.

“A child, born on a Soul moon, half Fairy, half Witch. Powers bestowed by the Great Dragon, will be the balance between good and evil. The key to the lives of all those who harness power, they are the one true heir to all the lands.”

The former King and Queen of Solaria were ashamed of Farah. Hiding the truth about the pregnancy from everyone. Even her sister Luna kept quiet of the affair, as she did not want anyone else to have claim to the throne, prophecy or no prophecy.

Nine months later and a girl was born. Farah was elated, however there was a dark sinister plot she didn’t know about. The doctors were ordered to do something unforgivable by Queen Luna, under the pressure from her parents. Farah was told that the baby was still born, a spell cast on the newborn to make it seem as if she were not breathing. Farah was inconsolable. Maybe the prophecy wasn’t supposed to come true. But it was.

Queen Luna had a soldier take the baby to the first world and left it on the steps of a hospital, where it would be taken care of as a changeling, nobody the wiser.

Farah grieved for her lost child but finally moved on, becoming Headmistress of Alfea and leaving royalty behind. She didn’t speak to her family, didn’t mention her sister or her lineage to anyone and changed her last name. It was kept a secret so she could live a somewhat normal life. Eventually the story was re-told to her three friends, Ben Harvey, Saul Silva and Rosalind who all swore never to tell a soul.

Farah thought that part of her life was behind her, a mere, sad memory of something that shouldn’t have been. But she was wrong. 18 years later, Saul found a changeling crying in the woods over the body of a burned one. She didn’t know it then but Farah’s life would never be the same again.

——————————————————————————————————

-Y/N’s POV-

Growing up, you’d connected with books like Harry Potter. Something about you could connect with the main character. Treated unfairly over and over by families that were meant to take care of you. No belongings, no friends, a tiny room and worst of all… no parents. You’d sat in your room at nights pouring over the words in your books, imagining the magical life you wished you could escape to.

You wanted a group of friends like Ron and Hermione. The adventures, the power, the fun. Even reading those books would never prepare you for a moment like this. You’d dreamt about the day you found your birth parents, gone over and over the meeting in your head a thousand times. You hadn’t pictured it like this.

You were still in Farah’s office. She was looking at you, tears rolling down her cheeks. You were crying too, what were you supposed to say? You felt like you couldn’t breath. You’d always thought you weren’t wanted, that your parents had just given you up like people give up smoking after new years, but that wasn’t the case at all. She’d thought you were dead. She didn’t know… She didn’t know. You wanted to be mad, be angry but all you could feel was upset and confused.

“I- I don’t know what to do, I don’t know what to say, I don’t know… who I am.” You quickly swept the tears from your face and stood, knocking back the chair in your hurry.

“Please don’t run away Y/N, I.. I wanted to tell you sooner but I needed to be sure. I didn’t want to give you false hope and I couldn’t go through losing you all over again.” You wanted to scream, you didn’t know whether to hug the woman in front of you or run for the hills. It was all too much.

“Stella knows doesn’t she, that’s part of the reason Queen Luna took her, she’s my cousin…” You were sobbing again, more like hyperventilating. Saul had bust the door down as soon as her heard your gasps of air. In seconds you were in his arms and he was trying to get you to breath again. Your ears were ringing and you couldn’t concentrate. You just needed to get out of there.

You did the only thing you knew how to do well. You ran, taking Sauls hand in yours, you opened a portal and poof. Both of you disappeared from Headmistress Dowling's office.

Now, the truth is you thought you’d become stronger after all the training and the hard times you been through. But all this drama and truth takes the cake. How could you not run away after that overload of information?

Mums your Headmistress.. check

Dads the king of the Blood Witches…. check

Your future husband is your mothers best friend… check

Your bestfriend is actually your cousin… check

Your Auntie, the Queen of Solaria pretended you were dead and made you a changeling.. check

And to top it all off you were the answer to an ancient prophecy and apparently you were supposed to be the answer to the balance between good and evil. Just another day in the life of Y/N.

Even when you landed through the portal you were still hyperventilating. You wanted the ground to open up and swallow you whole. Saul was on you again in a flash, trying to calm you down before your powers went haywire. Hey, at least you had an explanation for why they did that from time to time. You were more powerful than you’d ever thought possible.

“Angel, please try and breath, copy me, in and out, it’s okay, I’ve got you, i’m here, look at me. Y/N LOOK AT ME!” Sauls pleading and authoritative voice seemed to snap you from your panic. Your eyes were full of unshed tears and you felt physically drained. His arms came around you and his chin rested on the top of your head. God, you wanted to be mad at him for not telling you but you couldn’t. It wasn’t his place to tell you and you knew that. Plus, being in his arms was the only place you felt safe, you weren’t about to ruin that. You needed Saul more than he would ever know.

You calmed, peeking out of Sauls arms to take in your surroundings. You don’t know why your mind had taken you here, this was the last place you or Saul would probably want to see. Asterdale. The wind swept through your hair and spray from the ocean below dusted your tear streaked face.

“Saul, please, tell me what really happened here. I need to know the truth.” He nodded. You pictured the barrier around the building coming down and a flash of electricity bolted from your hands, the ruins now visible.

“It all started with Rosalind…..” He dove into telling you the truth about what really happened. How Rosalind had lead Farah, Ben and Saul to believe there was no one in the village, burned ones were the only ones left. Apparently Sky’s father had been part of her plan too, he knew the truth and Saul and him had a fight.. ending in Saul killing his best friend Andreas. It was all Rosalind’s fault.. Rosalind, the person Bloom was trying to free from Farah’s spells.

——————————————————————————————————

It had been a few hours of just talking with Saul, laying in his arms, when you both decided to return to the school. By now, people would probably start to wonder where you both were and you didn’t need to make things any more suspicious. It was also still too dangerous to be out in the open like this.

Something about the school looked different to you now. Older, more worn down. Full of lies and secrets hidden in the walls. It was as if she sensed your presence. Farah was waiting on the steps outside, pacing nervously, your friends waiting along side her. You don’t know what compelled you to do it, one minute you were walking next to Saul, the next you were in front of Miss Dowling… your mum, and then you were in her arms. At first she stilled, shocked perhaps, then she hugged you with everything she had in her, tears flowing freely, mixing with your own. It felt right. It wasn’t her fault you were a changeling. If anything, it was just as unfair on her. The baby she was excited to have, was secretly taken away from her and for years she was lead to believe a cruel lie. You were pretty sure you even heard Saul sniffle from behind you.

Your friends had been filled in by Farah, she knew you would need support after the ordeals you’d gone through. There were no words for the shock everyone had experienced today. Yet, you still felt like something bigger was on the horizon.

The burned ones were still a major threat, Bloom was still having dreams about Rosalind, and Beatrix was locked up in some magic stealing cell. Most of all, you had a mother and a father and the King of the Blood Witches, well, he was still out there.

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okay so, this is a short chapter compared to what I usually post, it's more of like a filler chapter but I hope you still like it now you've learnt the story of the Reader and Farah's relationship! Please if you have any thoughts or ideas let them be heard in the comments!!! Please reblog/like/follow <3

CHAPTER 12 ------ CLICK HERE

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[tabloidtoc]

National Enquirer, November 16

You can buy a copy of this issue for your very own at my eBay store: https://www.ebay.com/str/bradentonbooks

Cover: Jeffrey Epstein’s madam Ghislaine Maxwell’s nights with Prince Andrew and teen Virginia Roberts Giuffre

Page 2: Brad Pitt kicked married galpal Nicole Poturalski to the curb after getting flak from his ex Angelina Jolie -- Brad’s relationship with Nicole hit the skids after Brad decided he needed to shore up his image during his ongoing custody battle with Angie and his focus right now is to get his dad image back on track and give Angie no more ammo to fling back at him

Page 3: Tiger Woods’ romance with Erica Herman has gone off course over legal troubles and wedding pressure and bickering over where to live and Tiger is so fed up he’s considering ditching his nagging girlfriend in Florida and moving back to his native California -- Erica’s been pressuring him to put a ring on it ever since she moved into his Jupiter Island mansion and that’s something he just won’t do and she’s already taken over his household buying new furniture and remodeling the master bath and building a new closet and hiring a gourmet chef -- California is looking better and better to Tiger who only moved to Florida to play on its tough Bermuda grass which helped improve his swing but now Tiger’s ex Elin lives in Florida with their two kids 

Page 4: Miranda Lambert is scoffing at ex Blake Shelton’s newly announced engagement to Gwen Stefani and she’s convinced Blake’s third walk down the aisle has failure written all over it because she thinks Blake’s bad to the bone and this marriage will wind up being a total disaster and after the hell Blake put her through Miranda can’t imagine his life with Gwen would be any different, lifelong bachelor Simon Cowell has had a change of heart since his horrific August accident and he’s finally ready to tie the knot with baby mama Lauren Silverman -- after spinal surgery to repair his broken back the entertainment mogul feels lucky to be alive and walking and the one constant in his difficult rehab after surgery has been Lauren and he wants to pay her back with a ring 

Page 5: Train-wreck Wendy Williams’ wacky behavior has TV producers scrambling behind the scenes to find her replacement after her unhinged performance on a recent episode of her talk show where she slurred her words and rambled incoherently -- there had been a hope a chatfest helmed by Nick Cannon could be a safety net should the daytime diva who spent a stint in a sober living house last year not be able to continue hosting but plans for that were pushed back after the comic made anti-Semitic rants in a podcast -- they also tried Jerry O’Connell when Wendy was out for three weeks last year but he tanked with viewers -- Wendy’s a mess and it remains to be seen how long producers will be able to put up with her problems before they decide to pull the plug 

Page 6: Grey’s Anatomy star Ellen Pompeo hinted that she may be making her final rounds -- Ellen who has starred on the show since 2005 and makes $20 million a year admitted she’s considering slipping out of her scrubs after the current season 17 but her departure could spell the end of the beloved series and show creator Shonda Rhimes has said it’s unlikely the show could continue without her but Ellen has also expressed her desire to spend more time with her husband and their three children

Page 7: Mariah Carey’s brother Morgan blasted her memoir as filled with lies and distortions and he’s considering legal action -- the book called Morgan and sister Alison her ex-brother and ex-sister and Mariah wrote Morgan had a long history of violence and when she was six he slammed their mother into a wall -- Mariah also wrote her siblings and mother were heartless in terms of dealing with her as a human being and once she got famous they started treating her like an ATM with a wig on but Morgan is fighting back and looking to hire a lawyer

Page 8: Reese Witherspoon’s marriage to Jim Toth is in the muck after the stunning collapse of his new business venture and tensions are mounting in the Hollywood power couple’s already troubled union now that the streaming service Quibi crumbled after less than six months leaving content acquisition president Jim out of work while Reese’s star continues to rise and there’s a real balance of power that’s been building up and that’s put a serious strain on the relationship -- living in quarantine added to the stress between them as Reese has been holed up with her two kids with ex Ryan Phillippe Ava and Deacon and her son Tennessee with Jim at the family’s ranch in Malibu

Page 9: Dementia patient Kenny Rogers cut his three adult children out of his $250 million will and now sources fear the late country legend could have been tricked into signing the document -- Kenny left everything to his 16-year-old twins sons with fifth wife Wanda and the will also stated it was his intent to specifically exclude his daughter Carole with his first wife and son Kenny Jr. with third wife and son Christopher with fourth wife and their issue as beneficiaries of his estate -- Kenny Sr. would never disown his own children according to the source especially since the singer’s son Kenny Jr. is incorrectly referred to Kenny Rogers III throughout the will -- the wording is not like Kenny Sr. and something is not right and his older kids are thinking about contesting the will 

Page 10: Hot Shots -- Kate McKinnon shot a Saturday Night live skit in NYC, Sophia Bush hit the road in L.A. with her co-pilot pup Maggie, pregnant Jinger Duggar Vuolo in Venice with daughter Felicity, Heidi Klum walking the streets in her native Germany, Snoop Dogg saluted young rappers as he accepted BET’s I Am Hip Hop award 

Page 11: Unwitting Jennifer Aniston and Gerard Butler once dabbled in the secret sex cult NXIVM -- the organization masqueraded as a self-help group but in 2017 it was exposed as a pyramid scheme for founder Keith Raniere who forced high-ranking female recruits to become his sex slaves -- in 2010 Jen and Gerry who were dating at the time wound up at one of the introductory seminars but they were turned off by the level of commitment expected and never returned -- they thought it was just a networking opportunity and had no idea what they were getting themselves into, cash-crunched Gwyneth Paltrow is facing hard times like everyone else and is looking to change her free-spending ways -- the belt-tightening caused by the coronavirus pandemic has even hit her lifestyle empire Goop causing her to shut down the London branch and make hard choices for the future -- Gwyneth may be worth $100 million but she and husband Brad Falchuk spend money like it’s going out of style on private jets they use on a whim and they own a fleet of fancy cars and pay steep salaries for staff who are at their beck and call 24/7 and it’s all draining their bank accounts -- they’re looking at making cuts across the board from personal trainers and chefs and drivers to the masseurs and beauticians who come to their house several times a week -- plus the couple believe it’s a bad look for them to be living so high on the hog when the rest of the world is suffering during the pandemic

Page 12: Straight Shuter -- Angelina Jolie spent years developing her own version of the Hollywood classic Cleopatra and now she’s livid that Gal Gadot has stolen the Egyptian queen -- Angie’s dream was to play Cleopatra the role that made Elizabeth Taylor an icon and it was to be the part that won Angie an Academy Award for Best Actress and now that’s over thanks to Gal who will be playing the Queen of the Nile instead, after ABC scrapped plans to honor Regis Philbin with a prime-time tribute Jimmy Kimmel insisted on honoring Regis on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, MSNBC talking head Rachel Maddow is fleeing New York for her Massachusetts farm after hanging a $2.3 million price tag on her NYC pad but Rachel didn’t want potential buyers looking through all the personal stuff at her apartment so all the personal pictures and books and clothing and everything else was shipped out and replaced with staged furniture, Ariel Winter and her dog (picture) 

Page 13: Ailing Joni Mitchell opened up about how she’s still struggling to get back to her old self five years after a debilitating brain bleed -- after Joni was found unresponsive in her Bel-Air home in 2015 she said she was forced to relearn everyday tasks because the aneurysm took away her speech and her ability to walk and although she’s showing slow improvement she hasn’t been writing or playing the guitar or the piano, Randy Travis is defying all the odds as he plans the greatest comeback in country music history as he is making amazing progress after suffering a massive 2013 stroke that most believed would end his career forever and he was given just 1% chance of survival and even after he pulled through doctors believed he would be bedridden and unable to speak -- instead his grueling rehab efforts have miraculously put him on the road to realizing his dream of returning to the spotlight -- some of his motivation is financial; last year he sold his Nashville home and released his memoir which was fueled by his need to pay medical expenses after years of not being able to perform

Page 14: Hollywood Hookups -- Channing Tatum and Jessie J have split again, Cole Sprouse and Reina Silva dating, Kate Beckinsale and Goody Grace split 

Page 15: Ariana Grande is raising eyebrows with her raunchy new record Positions -- the former squeaky-clean Nickelodeon star who has been dating real estate agent Dalton Gomez spouted off X-rated odes to an unnamed lover on the LP, six months after sidelining her marriage to former quarterback Jay Cutler Kristin Cavallari admitted there are good days and bad days but insisted it’s been nice to be able to focus on herself and figure out who she is now and what she ultimately wants out of life, hotel heiress Kathy Hilton is joining The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills as a friend of the main cast which includes her half-sister Kyle Richards

Page 16: Crime 

Page 17: On Drew Barrymore’s talk show a psychic guest channeled the spirit of one of the host’s former in-laws but the man in question is very much alive -- medium Anna Raimondi told Drew she sensed the aura of a judge causing Drew to burst into tears and named David a relative of her ex-husband Will Kopelman claiming he’d passed but Judge David Kopelman is alive and still going strong -- Will slammed Anna was a submental hack and said he was surprised that Drew chose to give oxygen to someone like that

Page 18: American Life 

Page 20: Cover Story -- Prince Andrew is desperate to quash explosive testimony by his pedophile pal Jeffrey Epstein’s accused madam Ghislaine Maxwell but the socialite’s second secret deposition is torpedoing his return from royal exile -- after Ghislaine danced around details of her relationship with the disgraced Duke of York in testimony released a few weeks ago Andrew is sweating bullets about her second grilling under oath which contains details of their intimate friendship and nights with Epstein’s teen sex slave Virginia Roberts Giuffre 

Page 22: Don McLean viciously slammed ex-wife Patrisha Shnier as the worst person her ever knew but in their ongoing war of words she maintains he was abusive to her -- Don is still bitter over a 2016 domestic incident at their home in Maine that landed him behind bars and led to divorce after 30 years of marriage

Page 26: Matthew McConaughey confessed he nearly turned his back on Tinseltown to be a wildlife guide like late Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin -- he made a splash in a string of blockbuster rom-coms in the ‘90s and ‘00s but he was eager to move on to meatier movies and even passed on a $14.5 million paycheck in 2010 to seek more substantial roles and the struggle left him considering other careers such as a wildlife guide, Jamie Foxx has been crushed by the death of his beloved sister DeOndra Dixon who was born with Down syndrome

Page 28: Good Catch -- Bachelor stars who are still up for grabs -- Jon Hamm, Owen Wilson, Drew Carey

Page 29: Benicio Del Toro, Ryan Seacrest, Matthew Perry, some stars seem to say I do at the drop of the hat -- Larry King, Jerry Lee Lewis, Billy Bob Thornton 

Page 32: Olivia Munn was caught on camera flashing what looked like engagement bling on her left ring finger as she exited a gym following a morning workout in Los Angeles but she reportedly broke up with boyfriend Tucker Roberts last year leaving fans wondering who bought the stunning sparkler 

Page 36: Health Watch 

Page 42: Red Carpet -- Michelle Pfeiffer 

Page 45: Spot the Differences -- Allison Janney on Mom 

Page 47: Odd List 

[thestorychannel]

March 12, 2013, Tuesday.

It was just another sunny summer day, my friends and I went to class, mounted on our bikes, Always we cut a path along the forest trail.

That day, we were anxious to get to school, because it was our first day in high school, and like any good teenager, we created high expectations regarding this phase of our lives, but we knew that anything that gave wrong could mark us over the next three years ending our social life at school.

To be hon­est, I didn't care for that, however, my friend Ricardo decided it was going to be popular, and ended up taking us for this teenage movie cliché, and as a good friend that I am. I decided to try to be less weird than normal, but apparently fate didn't want that for us, and to report the succession of bizarre things that happened, I decided to write a diary.

So, continuing. We were twenty minutes from school. The Emília Silva High School, name of a remarkable personality of our small town, which died there about ten years ago.

We were following Highway 27, with a slope almost infinite, a place with virtually no sign of people, it took hours to pass a car over there. 

Although it was still around from seven in the morning, the sun was already killing, but the wind that swinging the trees helped to improve the feeling of warmth, Ricardo, Carmem and I were going up the slope, and at the we reach half of it, we get off the bikes and follow dragging them, to the top, and just ahead, almost hidden in the through the bush, there was a small dirt path that cut through the woods, an excellent shortcut to get to school.

I remember that with his tongue out Ricardo said:

– Oh, Lucas, slow down ... I'm dead.

We followed the path we used as a shortcut, there were several leaves scattered on the floor. However that day, something strange caught our attention, a macabre scene that left Carmen paralyzed ahead.

When I saw her there, I asked:

– What happened, Carm ...?

Before finishing the question, I came across the reason for the reaction of Carmen. Before our eyes were several dead birds, spread over several meters. We were amazed by the scene, Carmen questioned:

– What happened here, who could do a barbarity of these, my God?

Nobody had answers for that, I wondered. – "he would be some bizarre natural phenomenon, or some hunter without scruples could have done that?” – After some time there, we followed the path among the dead birds, during the Ricardo started to theorize, he said:

– This may have been done by some predator, or even the power lines may have affected the navigation of birds ...

I thoughtfully interrupted him:

– I don't think so, no predator would do that, and I also think that is no possible what the power line to have affected them, the high towers tension are too far away for that, I believe it has been caused by a hunter.

Carmem bent down and picked up one of the birds, and watched him attentively, and said:

– No, he wasn't a hunter either, look, there's no injury in these animals.

I was thoughtful, and it soon came to my mind that this could be some disease, then I scolded:

– Throw it away, we don't know what caused their death, it may have been some kind of illness ...

At the same moment Carmen released the bird, and tried to clean the hands. We continued on our way, Ricardo and Carmem continued to theorize about what happened, I remember that they even considered a species alien invasion, something related to a program conspiracy that the two attended.

After fifteen minutes of walking, we arrived at our new school. And soon I recognized several students from the old school, many fraternized as if they had not seen each other for years, and soon the groups started to form, athletes to one side, hipsters, patricinhas, nerds and geeks to another. Sincerely, I felt like a real teenage movie cliché.

I looked at my friends, and I could see their excitement, nor did it look like they had seen the scene of the dead birds minutes before. Ricardo soon started chattering:

– Staff! I think we should come up with everything, good impression, do you see those guys over there?

Ricardo pointed to a group of boys who wore uniforms of the college football team, I soon realized that Erick, son of Mayor, he was there with his class, and as soon as Ricardo pointed towards them, Erick recognized us.

– Holy crap! – I said.

– What's it? – Ricardo questioned.

I started to walk away slowly and commented:

– That's Erick and his gang, let's get out of here!

Days before, while we were making a horror movie recording unintentionally, of course, an accident happened, a purse full of fake blood fell off the bridge we were on, and soiled Erick and their gang that passed down there at the time of accident, since then we've been chased.

We drifted away, however, Erick had already noticed, and said:

– Oh guys! Look, those nerds who got us dirty in that day ... come on let's get them!

We're screwed, I thought, so the day was supposed to be a day normal school, became a chase, and suddenly everyone were watching us, but not because we’re rocking, and yes because we are being hunted.

We left our bikes on the ground and ran out towards where we had come from, and with every step we took Erick and the gang they seemed to be closer. We were almost back on the dirt path When Carmen saw an old hut, with the door open, hut the one who had a reputation for being haunted, and said:

– Let's go over there!

We then decided to go there. As we entered the forest, Erick was almost reaching us, so I did something, I remembered that had a slingshot in my bag, so quickly I caught it. I saw a stone ahead, without thinking too much, I caught the stone, then aimed towards them, when I shot, hit the leg of Erick, who fell off balance and fell. It only made them angrier with us, but at least it time to distance ourselves.

Upon arriving at the haunted hut, we look back and don't we saw more of the bullies, it looked like we had made it. We sat on the stairs, Carmen looked into the hut, which had been abandoned for years, and a strange wind cold leaves through the door, even chills us. However, our calm was short-lived, we began to hear the screams from Erick and his gang, who said:

– Let's get you, you nerds, show up!

We knew that if we stayed there, we would be beaten, so Carmen and Ricardo entered the hut:

– What are you going to do? – I asked.

– What you think? – Said Carmen. – Let's hide.

I was reluctant:

– But what about the ghost stories?

– I'm more concerned with the living now ..., shall we?

Realizing that the bullies were coming, I went in with them in the hut, as we passed through the door, a chill took over of us, the place was completely abandoned, full of webs spiders, rats and dust, Ricardo leaned against the door slowly. And we were hiding behind it for minutes, while listening the screams of Erick and his gang outside. They said:

– Let's get you guys no use hiding!

To make matters worse, one of Erick's friends stopped in front of the door, and he reached out to open it, but Erick questioned:

– What are you going to do?

– I'll look for them here. – Answered your friend.

Erick shook his head, and said:

– Don't waste your time, those cowards wouldn't have the courage to hide there, let's look for them later, let's go!

They then left, and we remain hidden by everal minutes, until we think it's safe.

– Can we leave now? – Asked Carmen.

I took the phone out of my pocket to see the time, however,

it was unloaded.

– Damn it. – I said.

– What it was? – Carmen asked.

– My cell phone discharged ..., but I think the time has passed

enough.

So, we decided to get out of there. We stood up and stood at the in front of the door for a minute, listening but not listening nothing from outside, except the wind and birdsong.

I opened the door slowly, but when we realized, something strange had happened.

[superleezathomasworld]

Ali Riley Talks about Her Joining Orlando Pride

After almost ten years playing abroad for FC Rosengård, Chelsea, and Bayern Munich, Ali Riley is returning to the United States as the newest member of Orlando Pride. Just Women’s Sports caught up with Riley to talk about her jet setting decade, goals for the upcoming season, and why now is such an exciting moment for soccer in the United States.

You’ve played in the US, England, Sweden, and Germany. Can you talk a little bit about your journey?

It’s a pretty crazy story. I was drafted to play in the WPS [Women’s Professional Soccer League] out of college, almost ten years ago exactly, which is crazy. I don’t feel a day over twenty-two, so hopefully, I still play that way. But when that league folded, the only opportunity I got was in Sweden with FC Rosengård. They needed a left-back, so I went over there from training in Germany. I had one bag and no warm clothing. I just showed up, met this team, played a game a few days after I arrived, and then we won the Super Cup. It ended up being the most amazing thing that could’ve happened to me. FC Rosengård was an incredible team, and so I kept extending my contract, and Sweden became home.

How did you end up playing in England and Germany?

In 2018, I just felt like it was time for a change. I had a clause in my contract that I could leave, and Chelsea was interested in it. I went over there at the start of the English season and halfway through my last season in Sweden. But I injured my foot right as I arrived and was out for three and a half months. It ended up being plantar fasciitis, which was horrible. So though I loved the team, I never really got into a flow there. And after the World Cup, Bayern Munich needed a fullback. They saw me play and they were interested, so I had another amazing opportunity. Bayern Munich is another huge club and they were in a league that I had trained with before going to Sweden. I talked with Chelsea, and they were understanding of my situation.

Did you consider going back to Sweden?

Definitely. But I had a couple of conversations with the club in Sweden and they didn’t lead to an offer right away. Plus, after my experience in Chelsea, I was kind of like, I can handle anything. I was so hungry for a new experience, and the allure of playing at Bayern Munich was strong. The facilities, the resources, the talent on the field, the discipline, the technique – I was blown away. The facilities were built maybe two years ago, and they could compete with men’s facilities around England, at least, and I’m sure around the world. Driving in every morning gave me chills. It was so professional on the field.

The transition wasn’t perfect, though. The language was hard to pick up, and there were already two other fullbacks from the German National Team, which made it tough, but I loved the competition. Looking back, though, it was kind of a crazy decision.

So Sweden still feels like home?

Oh, yeah. I bought an apartment here. I met my partner. We want to settle down in Malmö, build our home here. We have a dog. I know Swedish. But as I was becoming surer that Sweden is where I want to be in the future, I also started realizing that I don’t have a lot of time to see my family and friends in the US. So when Orland said they were interested, it was such amazing timing. It’s a fresh start for me at a club that wants to have a fresh start after coming last in the league last year. And there are faces that I’m very familiar with, both on the team and around the league. It just feels like it was meant to be.

Any nerves about returning to play in the US?

It’s never easy going to a new team. Even if I am American, you still feel like a little bit of an outsider. It really is like coming from overseas. I’ve gotten my Swedish passport and I have my New Zealand passport so I’m like, “Oh my gosh, I feel like a foreigner.” One thing that is always helpful is knowing someone on the team and having that comfort and family feeling. For me, Marta [Viera da Silva] has been a close friend. This will be the fourth team we’ve played on together, which is crazy. At my age, you don’t need everyone to like you, but it’s nice to have someone that feels like family.

What’re you most looking forward to in terms of coming back to the States?

My English has definitely gotten worse, so it’ll be good to improve my grammar again. But it will just be great to have so many familiar faces around and to be closer to my parents. Florida isn’t that close to LA, but it’s closer than Sweden. I’m also excited about the food and the lifestyle and the excitement around women’s football — or soccer, I need to say now — in the US. There will be so many opportunities off the field to be out in the community, do charity work, build my brand. All that is going to be much easier and those are all things I’m passionate about. And the sun. I love the sun.

What’s got you excited to play for Orlando Pride in particular?

I’ve heard so many good things about coach [Marc] Skinner from both people who have played for him and against him. Obviously, things didn’t go as hoped last season. But I’ve spoken with Marc and I can hear how passionate and ambitious he is. That’s an environment I want to join. He isn’t satisfied with how the team did last year, and that’s kind of how I feel. I want to prove something, and so does he.

The fan base is also really impressive. That was one of the disappointing things in Germany and something that Sweden also struggled with a bit. But the numbers in the US are really impressive. I just think female soccer players are so unbelievable and so inspirational. It’s not just about soccer. It’s about balancing this passion and growing the game, while also inspiring people and living a balanced life. I think that’s why players like Ashlyn [Harris] and Ali [Kreiger] are sticking around, even though last season didn’t go that well. It’s still a really cool place to be.

Maybe I’m projecting, but do you think it will be tough once you’re back in the US to return to Sweden?

It’ll be tough, for sure. But I think that’s why I want to do it now. Play my best, give everything I can, and know what an amazing life is waiting for me in Sweden. I’ve learned a lot. I still feel like I’m the fittest I’ve ever been, and I’ve developed so much of my game from playing in these different countries and training with these players. I think I still have my style of play that made me successful in the WPS and college, but I’ve definitely developed in other areas. I’ve grown a lot mentally and emotionally. Honestly, after the experiences I’ve had in the last couple of seasons, I feel like I’m ready to take on the world.

http://bit.ly/39EszLu

[chaos-weekly]

“That was the worst pickup line ever,” Nollie greeted, but a hint of a smile shone on her face. London flashed her a grin, surprising himself with how genuine it was. Maybe he needed more of her fresh air than he realized.

“Who said it was a pickup line?” London challenged, grabbing the rollerblades he’d bought with Bishop earlier that day. He still needed to put them on, but at least he knew they fit.

She cocked an eyebrow at him. “Everyone. Everyone knows you were using a pickup line.”

He sat down on the park bench and started unlacing his boots. They were the stylish kind, not the practical kind.

“I’m gonna need some clarification on who exactly saw this supposed pickup line,” he teased, using air quotes around pickup line. Nollie rolled her eyes at London, so hard he thought they might pop out of her head. But her smile had grown.

“My best friend. Who then showed it to at least two other people—both flirty guys—who agreed it’s a pickup line.”

London grimaced a little. Of all his pickup lines, it had to be one of his worst that got passed around her friends? Couldn’t it have been one of his more clever ones? He needed to improve his reputation, not make it worse.

“That’s vague on details. Who’s your best friend? Is it that actress you were with at the gala?” He wasn’t sure of the woman’s name, so London didn’t try and remember it. But he had seen her peppered throughout Nollie’s Instagram feed. After following her account, he had definitely stalked it. She was hot in the photos, but something about her grace and joie de vivre didn’t carry over from real life. She was even better in person. Which said a lot.

Nollie nodded, sitting down next to him and switching to her rollerblades. They were beat up and well-loved.

“Yeah, Didi Silva. She’s my roommate, too, so she knows everything that goes on in my life.” Nollie rolled her eyes at this, but she didn’t seem upset by it.

“So you told your best friend about me?” London teased, gently nudging her shoulder with his. Nollie returned the contact with a flat look.

“I tell her about all my new friends.”

Okay. She had said friends. And it wasn’t like London wanted to date anyone. But friends didn’t typically have the same attraction or tension that he and Nollie shared. Not that he wanted to get into another relationship.

“Who else are your friends?” London wasn’t asking to be nosy or inquisitive. He genuinely wanted to know. Nollie didn’t seem like the type to let very many people in fully. He’d have to learn how to be her friend slowly, but not too slowly. London still wanted to be around her and with her.

“Ainsley,” Nollie listed instantly. She stood, extending a hand to London without prompting. He smiled graciously and took it, but he made sure she was the one to drop his hand. Which took a second or two longer than usual.

“He seems interesting,” London said.

“In a good or a bad way?” Nollie’s voice had gotten a little tight. Probably defensive of her friend choices, and it wasn’t like London was going to judge her for them. They had to be better than Kendall’s crowd.

“Good. And neutral,” London answered after some thought. “Who else?”

“Xander Presley, I guess. He’s Didi’s other best friend, so he’s over a lot.”

“I’ve met him before a few times. He seemed fun.” Except maybe in a bad way, but London respected that. Parties, sex, the occasional illegal substance? What was wrong with that?

“That’s one word for it,” Nollie laughed, already lightening up around him. It made London grin wider. They skated forward, super slowly for his sake, towards the main plaza of the park. It was next to the skate park, and he wished he had brought his board. London hadn’t gone skateboarding in a while, and this made him miss it.

“What about you? Who do you hang out with?” Nollie asked, speeding up to come in front of London and face him. She was skating backwards now, not worried about what was behind her. She was fearless.

“Bishop Jeong,” London answered as quickly as she had named Ainsley. He had other friends, drinking buddies, a couple other people he hung out with, but not many. And no one else as close as Bishop. For three years his life had been added on to Kendall’s, which always took priority. He’d lost track with most of his old friends outside of the tattooing business. But Bishop and he had become close two years ago.

“Really? I didn’t see that one coming. But it makes sense.” She looked pensive, but turned to face forward before London could inquire more. “C’mon, slow poke!” Nollie called over her shoulder, her long hair flying in the wind. If she hadn’t been so exciting and beautiful, London would have groaned at the thought of skating faster. But Nollie made this actually bearable. She’d done that for him during the shoot, and she was doing it again now.

It took London a few strides to speed up, but he chased after Nollie until he caught up, right at the edge of the pavilion.

“So how do I skate backwards?” he asked. That’s what they had come for, right? To teach him.

Nollie grinned excitedly. “Just like how you skate forwards, but backwards.” The laugh that echoed from her after speaking was dazzling. It took a half second longer than usual to process her words, too distracted by her laugh and the way her wind blown hair framed her face.

“Helpful.” Cheeky was more like it. Nollie grinned and spun in her rollerblades.

“Where’d you learn to do this so well?” he asked a few minutes later, after he’d gotten more stable skating forwards and turning. They were doing laps around the area. Or rather, London was doing laps. Nollie kept coming back and forth from the center, messing around with tricks and other methods of skating. If she hadn’t been so distracting, London was pretty sure he would be as good as her by now.

Nollie’s smile dimmed, tainted by some thought that she didn’t share. “I’ve been doing this since I was a kid. I keep up with it when I have the chance.”

London barely noticed her smile changing, but he was pretty sure it had. “That’s me with skateboarding,” he told her.

She fell into stride next to him, matching his pace. “You’re a skater boy, huh?” She nudged his shoulder with hers, nearly knocking him over. Not because of her impact, but because she was so distracting. London swore profusely, but he managed to regain balance before falling.

Nollie looked somewhere between amused and guilty. Her hand covered her lips, stifling a laugh. She wasn’t doing a great job. Man, she was worse than Bishop.

“Did the tattoos not make it clear? Or the motorcycle? I’m a bad boy,” London said, smirking at her playfully. She rolled her eyes, blushing just a bit.

“Yeah, I’m sure you are.” Nollie shook her head before skating ahead of him, taking the corner with ease. London slowed down, and he had far less grace, but he didn’t fall. That was what mattered here.

“What? Don’t believe me?” he teased. He was about to offer to show her, but then London figured his suggestive meaning would probably ward her off. It was too early for that, even if her long legs were shown off perfectly in her shorts. Even if she was absolutely breathtaking in every way.

“Hm, I don’t think you’re as bad as you pretend to be.” Nollie was definitely teasing back now, making London grin wider again. She had slowed down, so he decided to do something stupid. He sped up, catching her with an arm around her shoulders. He wanted to go for the waist, but this seemed slightly less flirtatious.

Thankfully, Nollie laughed when she shrugged him off. “Okay, time to try skating backwards. I think you’re ready.”

London did not feel ready.

“Start here, like this,” she instructed, crouching down and repositioning his legs. He let her do what she needed to, too busy watching her graceful movements (and her slight cleavage) to really care that she was telling him what to do. London usually hated that, but Nollie made it easier.

“Okay,” she announced, standing up with a proud grin. “Try it. Just like skating forwards, but you’re going backwards.”

For some reason, Nollie’s advice made a little more sense now. So he tried it, and London grinned as he managed to skate backwards at a decent pace.

“This is—“ He fell before he could finish his sentence, legs sweeping out from beneath him. London swore again, and many times thereafter, as Nollie rushed over. He didn’t bother getting up by himself. He’d just fall again.

“Are you okay?” she checked, crouching beside him. London gave her a lazy smile.

“Dandy.”

“Good, then I can laugh guilt-free,” she giggled. That was another thing he usually hated, being laughed at. Bishop got away with it because he was Bishop, but apparently so did Nollie.

“So kindhearted,” London quipped. Nollie sobered up at his sarcastic—and very much joking—remark.

“Sorry. Let me help you up.” She didn’t make eye contact while helping him.

“Nollie, you’re welcome to laugh at me. You did manage to sweep me off my feet.” That was a pun pickup line, so it was better than the saving his life line.

Nollie chuckled weakly, something having changed between them. She wasn’t skating as close to him, and she seemed absent from the situation. She was also leading them back towards the bench where they’d left their shoes.

“It was a rock that swept you off your feet,” she corrected.

“Says who?” London feigned offense.

“My eyes. I saw a pebble under you right as you hit it. Sorry for not saying anything.” Nollie still wasn’t making eye contact, and he frowned.

“You’re fine. It was funny.” And it gave him an opportunity to flirt with her, but he’d messed it up somehow.

“You could’ve gotten hurt,” Nollie pointed out.

“And I would have had a friend right here to nurse me back to health,” he retorted. London wanted things to go back to how easy they had been a few minutes ago, but how did he do that?

Nollie rolled her eyes, but that hint of a smile was back. “I should get going, but thanks for meeting up with me.”

He smiled freely at her. “I had fun. I’ll see you soon, Nollie.” He almost called her Nolls, but he didn’t want to repeat his mistake from the gala. She already seemed upset enough. He’d send her a text later to make sure she was okay.

Wait. London wasn’t dating her. He didn’t want to date her. He just wanted to be friends with benefits. But friends did care about each other’s wellbeing. So it wouldn’t be weird for him to check in later. Before he could think much of it, Nollie waved and skated away, her shoes tucked under her arm.

Why was she always the one running from him?

[torentialtribute]

Everton boss Marco Silva retains full faith in Jordan Pickford despite keeper’s high-profile errors

The international 1945 The English went through a scorching afternoon at Newcastle last week

The Magpies returned from 2-0 to the break to beat the Toffees 3-2

The suspect's refusal to defend his decision before the court of St James & # 39; Park full-time

Door

David Charlesworth, Press Association Sport

Published: 16:02 GMT, March 15, 2019 | Updated: 16:02 GMT, March 15, 2019

[19659090] Marco Silva, manager of Everton maintains that he remains confident in Jordan Pickford, but admits that the England keeper must learn to channel his emotions.

Silva refused to include Pickford's display in St James & Park, where Everton's two wasted goals lead to a 3-2 loss when he called for collective improvement.

& # 39; I am the first here and my players are always behind me because I am the first to take on all the responsibilities of what my players do on the field.

& # 39; We knew before the game, I also knew when I played in Newcastle, the atmosphere is not always the same for him.

& I understand everything people say about Jordan.

& # 39; What I want in Jordan is to continue to work in the same way with the same desire, and to improve what we need to improve with him, with more emotional balance at times when he can do it.

We as a team must also be different. We have to react in a different way, because if you look at the goals that we have admitted, then we have to be aware of the differences at that time. & # 39;

Pickford was one of England & # 39; s star men running to the World Cup semi- men on their surprise. last year's finals, brilliant rescue of a penalty in the shootout victory over Colombia in the last 16 years.

He has been named in the team for the upcoming Euro 2020 qualifying double header against the Czech Republic and Montenegro and is likely to remain Gareth Southgate's first choice. ]

& # 39; During a career, he must understand that at some moments everyone is happy with you, other times when some people say good things about you. It's normal in football.

& # 39; These people may be writing something about him now, they are the same people who celebrated Jordan's good performance eight, nine or ten months ago & # 39 ;.

He awaits the result of a contribution from the Football Association for inappropriate behavior, but Silva found that he did not act aggressively or disrespectfully toward officials.

He said: & # 39; I have not yet received the answer. Of course, whatever they say to me or what they did, I am here to respect. I asked them and now I wait.

& # 39; At that time I was not happy, first of all with ourselves and with some decisions, too.

& # 39; I did not use any offensive words or anything like that and at the time I was not happy with the two decisions. I was clear with what I told the referee and the assistant about the situation. & # 39;

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[365footballorg-blog]

Stop Silva, stop Man City? What it is like to face Pep Guardiola's side

It is derby day in Manchester on Sunday and Darren Fletcher knows only too well how difficult a trip to Etihad Stadium can be.

The former Manchester United midfielder was thrashed 7-2 there[1] while playing for Stoke last season and, having experienced “one of the most difficult games of my career” that day, is well aware of how not to play against the champions.

He is hardly the only one to have endured a difficult day at the Etihad though – City have only lost twice in 44 home Premier League games under Pep Guardiola, winning 33 of them and scoring 122 goals.

But United are one of the two teams to have won there against Guardiola in the league, thanks to their thrilling 3-2 comeback victory in April,[2] and Fletcher believes there is a way his old side can line up to get another positive result this weekend.

What not to do vs City: ‘The gaps became huge’

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Fletcher: “We got it wrong that day. We actually tried to press City high up the pitch and the problem was the game became too stretched.

“Not everyone in the team bought into it, and not everyone followed the instructions – and that is where danger comes.

“Some of our players pressed, but some didn’t and the gaps became huge. It ended up becoming a disaster. There were too many spaces, and also too many players.

“City had all of their players in the midfield area, dropping in between the lines, and we had too many people in areas that could not affect that.

“Stoke had got a point at City the previous season[3] playing the same way but that day we got it wrong and we got punished for it. As a player, to be out there and be part of that, was not a nice place to be.

“It was horrible, actually. Looking back now, it was one of the most difficult games of my career.”

What will United do? ‘Inbetweeners in a circle press’

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Fletcher: “I am not expecting United boss Jose Mourinho to use a high press like Mark Hughes did with Stoke last season and again with Southampton when City beat them 6-1 on Sunday.[4]

“I think Mourinho will set them up to be very solid, but not to sit as deep as they usually do.

“Instead I think they will use what I call a circle press, or a half-way line press, where you are not too deep but not too far forward either.

“So a lot of your players are maybe 10 yards either side of the centre-circle, which means you are trying to be a little bit brave with your defensive line and you have also got your strikers in a good distance.

“That way, there are no big spaces in the middle of the pitch for City to exploit.

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“If United’s defence is higher than normal, City can just play balls over the top – so the position of goalkeeper David de Gea is important too.

“His defenders will have to trust him to be in the right places to deal with certain balls so they are not worried about City’s forwards getting in behind.

“If it works, United’s outfield players will be in a sort of in-between position, where they can be a threat on the counter-attack but also put a bit of pressure on City when they are on the ball.

“That is what they did so well in the second half when they went to the Etihad at the end of last season, and fought back from 2-0 down to win 3-2.”

Long ball City? ‘They like to ping a pass forward’

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Fletcher: “Whatever your strategy is against City, you have to be careful because they are a very clever team.

“People think they play total football out from the back but their gameplan is actually to get the ball into their front players as quickly as possible.

“And, whatever space there is to exploit out there, they exploit it.

“If you put too many players forward to press, they will play that hard, long and low ‘ping’ pass forward, which is different to a normal high long ball because it is harder for a defender to get there first. Ederson is a master of it.

“They want their three front players to go one-on-one if they can and, whoever is playing in their attack, they will back themselves to beat their man because they are so fast and skilful.

“Everywhere on the pitch, the balance of where to go hunting for the ball or drop deep when you are playing them is so hard to find. If you get it wrong, they will punish you.”

City’s key man? ‘Silva is their Scholesy’

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Fletcher: “City have so many fantastic players but there is one who is more influential than all the others in terms of making them tick, and that is David Silva.

“When you play against them, you can see Silva has got the respect of all the City team.

“I would relate it to how my United team was with Paul Scholes. You would sometimes be in a good position yourself but if ‘Scholesy’ was there, you would just give him the ball.

“You might think to yourself that is crazy for a professional footballer to admit but, when it happens, that is the ultimate respect.

“Everyone did it with Scholesy, not just me. I have seen players like Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney do the same if Scholesy was free, and just give it to him.

“It happens naturally when you are out on the pitch, and I see it happen with Silva now.

“Yes, Raheem Sterling is arguably their form player and is so dangerous with his runs, and how he penetrates defences and gets behind them.

“And they have got Sergio Aguero too, who is always such a threat, but Silva is the one for me who is the heartbeat of that team.”

How to stop Silva? ‘Herrera can be United’s hero’

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Fletcher: “I quite like man-for-man marking as a way of stopping a key man for the opposition, and it is something I have done myself in my career.

“But I did it against what I would call classic midfielders – players more like Cesc Fabregas, Steven Gerrard or Frank Lampard.

“The problem with doing that against City is that, if you man mark David Silva, he is quite comfortable dragging you all over the pitch, knowing what you are trying to do.

“He will go and stand on the left wing, so you will be playing right back. And then, say, Leroy Sane will come inside and your right-back will be playing in the centre of midfield.

“United have to try to stop Silva somehow, though, and for them to do that, I think Ander Herrera has to play.

“Having been in the United dressing room with him, he is one of those players who remembers everything the manager says, and is constantly reiterating those points to the rest of the team.

“Not every player does that, because some of them are so tied up in the game themselves, but Herrera does not just remember his role, he remembers other people’s too.

“He is that influential to the whole team, plus he is aggressive and he can set a tempo for United when they get the ball back.

“I like him and I would have him in the team because he would play an important role. He could go up against Silva and make it a difficult game for him, which does not happen very often.”

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References

^ thrashed 7-2 there (www.bbc.co.uk)

^ thrilling 3-2 comeback victory in April, (www.bbc.co.uk)

^ a point at City the previous season (www.bbc.co.uk)

^ City beat them 6-1 on Sunday. (www.bbc.co.uk)

BBC Sport – Football

Stop Silva, stop Man City? What it is like to face Pep Guardiola's side was originally published on 365 Football

[megadarkbouquettidalwavethings]

Javi Gracia: ‘Effective, rather than thrilling’ – what can Watford fans expect?

Javi Gracia guided his Malaga side to a win in the Nou Camp in 2015

Watford sacked head coach Marco Silva on Sunday and quickly replaced him with Javi Gracia – a man largely unknown to English football fans.

Spaniard Gracia has been out of work since June, when he left Russian club Rubin Kazan – his most recent job after a 10-year coaching career in his homeland and in Greece.

He has signed an 18-month contract to become the 10th manager to work under the Pozzo family at Vicarage Road since 2012.

But who is the 47-year-old? What can Watford fans expect from a side under his management? And have the club made the right decision to let Silva go?

‘Effective and balanced team, rather than thrilling’

Spanish football expert Andy West

Nobody in Spain will be surprised to see Javi Gracia back in management, because he has regularly been linked with a number of high-profile jobs – including Athletic Bilbao, Sevilla and former club Malaga – since leaving his brief tenure with Rubin Kazan last summer.

Most recently, he was reportedly lined up to take over at Espanyol if Quique Sanchez Flores decided to leave the Barcelona-based club and accept the offer he had from Stoke City.

The demand for his services stems largely from two highly successful seasons in charge at Malaga, where he enjoyed consecutive top-half finishes between 2014 and 2016.

His team’s achievements during that period, including a 1-0 victory at Barcelona in the middle of the Catalan club’s 2014-15 treble-winning campaign, were largely based on excellent defensive organisation, with Malaga conceding just 35 goals – only one more than Real Madrid – as they finished eighth in his final season at the Rosaleda.

Juanmi – who would go on to play for Southampton – scored the winner as Gracia’s Malaga won in the Nou Camp in 2015

His teams do not play flowing, attacking football but operate with good positional discipline and are very hard to break down, so Watford fans can prepare for an effective and balanced team rather than a thrilling one.

A mark of his influence is how badly Malaga have struggled this season – they finished in the bottom half last season and are bottom now, having gone through four different managers since Gracia departed just 18 months ago.

His most recent job ended in frustration after just one season, with Kazan finishing in mid-table and Gracia blaming difficulties in communication for his failure to get more out of his players.

But he speaks good English so that should not be a problem at Vicarage Road, and many fans in Spain will be intrigued to see how copes in a new league after coming close to taking over at many clubs in La Liga in the last few months.

‘Team spirit had ebbed away’

BBC chief football reporter Ian Dennis

In announcing Silva’s departure, Watford described Everton’s approach for the Portuguese in November as the “catalyst”.

Things had not been right at the club since they turned down the Toffees’ £8.5m offer. It did not go unnoticed among the Watford hierarchy that Silva did not kill the speculation.

You compare his stance to, say, Burnley boss Sean Dyche when he has been linked with jobs. He will come out with a line that he is fully focused and concentrating on the job. Silva never did that, and the owners believed he had lost focus. They have seen the spirit ebb away from inside the club.

I have been saying for a while that Watford are a club on the slide. Perception is everything. Last season, people would say Walter Mazzarri was struggling but Marco Silva made a strong start and everything was fine. The hard facts are Watford are four points worse off now than at this stage last season.

Watford have got a lot of flak for the hiring and firing, and chopping and changing of managers, but there is no instability in the boardroom. There is a clear focus.

‘Gracia fits the profile’

Independent chief football writer Miguel Delaney

It’s a remarkable turnaround. Marco Silva is a manager who it was reported Manchester United were looking at in the long term. They were impressed with what he’s done. Chelsea had an eye on him.

He’s gone from that, and everyone talking about how good his coaching is, to a relegation with Hull and a sacking, which is incredible.

It’s hard not to get the feeling that he tried to make too many jumps too quickly, having just come to England.

I was talking to an executive at a Premier League club recently, and why they still like young players from Spain and Germany, rather than England, is because of how good the coaching is, and Gracia is the latest in that.

Malaga have had their own issues in the past few years, and he’s helped stabilised the club. It fits the profile for Watford.

Funny reason for Silva sacking – Lescott

Former Arsenal striker Ian Wright on 606

Marco Silva’s character will be called in to doubt. If a player reacted like that, we’d be criticising him and rightly so. If you want to go and you get that kind of offer, sometimes it is too much to deal with.

Philippe Coutinho was able to do that at Liverpool, Alexis Sanchez couldn’t at Arsenal, Marco Silva couldn’t as a manager. His team stopped performing. Bigger clubs will see that as a fault in him

Watford think things out. They had a plan to see how he would react to the interest from Everton and they think he hasn’t reacted in a positive way. They would have been feeling other people out.

The way Watford have been getting rid of managers anyway, I’m sure they are always looking.

Your reaction on #bbcfootball

Alphonse: Watford did the right thing over Silva. Team had lost its way. Silva responded in an apathetic manner and the team has been feeling that apathy ever since.

Prince Gyimah: Gracia is la decima manager for Watford in six years. They’ve trampled on Chelsea’s record of sacking and appointing.

Watch Silva’s final MOTD interview

Mark: Sooner or later, all of these sackings will backfire on them.

Nick: Marco Silva sacked, while Watford sit in 10th place. A dreadful decision by the Watford board. Let’s just admit it, no-one in Watford will manage longer than one single season.

Johnny: Sacking Silva is probably the best move for both him and the club. Something wasn’t right after Everton’s approach but he’s a good manager so shouldn’t find it hard to get another job. Watford can rebuild now but it’s risky this late in season when facing relegation.

Joe: Watford have made a colossal mistake firing Marco Silva. Clubs go through down times but he had them playing some tasty football earlier this season. Massive mistake in my opinion.

Kim: Watford are an average at best club, with no trophies ever. They are doing well at 10th place in the Premier League and so they decide to sack their seventh manager in the five years since the Pozzo family took over. Will they fall eight places and get relegated?

Chris: It really makes you wonder what owners expect these days. They were 10th. With the greatest of respect were Watford expecting Champions League football next season?

The post Javi Gracia: ‘Effective, rather than thrilling’ – what can Watford fans expect? appeared first on Breaking News Top News & Latest News Headlines | Reuters.

[fmlfpl]

Lineup Lamentations - GW16

Our Transfers, Captains, and Starting 11s for the week.

But kind of just Walsh’s this week. Alon is in the thick of busyness / working / editing videos / etc... He can’t fully lamb in this moment.

WALSH

TRANSFERS:

OUT: Sane and SWard

IN: Ramsey and Moses

I fired on the midfield transfer early in the week to avoid losing .2 in it. Ramsey seems just like a good guy at a good price to provide value over the incoming good fixture run for Arsecast. Happy to welcome him into the side to replace Sane. The triple City mid didn't really pay off very well as they have been sputtering a bit lately so removing the most expensive one before the Derby seemed sensible.

I've been agonizing over what to do with the other transfer all week.

Initially I was leaning towards doing Jones to Alonso, but with Jones fit again it feels bad. He's still a fantastic option and although he may miss the odd game here or there because he's made of glass I don't want to fuck him off. SWard, on the other hand, looks to have run his race. I still have Pope but after the recent fucks by Burnley having the double no longer feels great. The fixtures toughen soon for them so I am happy to cash in on the .3 gained selling value to get rid of Ward. Unfortunately I was .1 away from getting Alonso in, so I have decided to go for Moses. He is surely more of a rotation shout than Alonso due to Zappacosta being there, and Moses could well be rested this weekend, but I'm going in for the long term here. It puts me in triple Chelsea defense which I have been shouting so I will hope that they will rake in the clean sheets and I fly. Moses stats were off the page last League game and he's always been a favorite of mine. I would've preferred Alonso for security of starts but I didn't want to take a hit so I'm jumping in with Vic. He's also a massive diff which is always fun.

GK:

Pope. Obv. Watford have been scoring for fun on the road..Burnley tight as fuck at home. We'll see who wins out. Still like the value in Pope and while we discussed possibly turning him into Court on the pod it feels bad. I'm going to stand by him likely until Heaton returns.

DEF:

I'm running four defenders out this week. Chelsea trio Azpil, Christensen, and Moses go...as they will be going for me for a while. At West Ham derby isn't the greatest clean fixture as derby's are always unpredictable as we know but regardless, as mentioned above, this is a long term play. I'll generally fly in any given GW that Chelsea keep a clean which I am backing to be more often than not with their fixture run. Big shout, but it feels good. Main issue is blocking myself off of Hazard but hopefully I am still able to get points in my attack with the other guys.

Finally, own goal master Lewis Dunk gets a start for me this weekend at Huddy. Huddy are shit, and they aren't a top four side, so Dunk probably won't score an OG again. Or he will. Fuck. I am benching Jones.

MID:

New friend Ramsey is in. Soton are fucking shit so let's go.

Salah remains of course. Nothing to see here. Not concerned with whatever bullshit was bandied about today in the media about his back or whatever. 

Rounding out the midfield are my two City guys - Razzy and Silva. Not a great fixture, but I still like them both. Silva is singlehandedly destroying my team value as I have already lost .4 and look sent to make that .5 after he drops tonight. Of course he drops after scoring a goal on a 9 pointer because price changes >. Although City have been a little twatty lately, Silva and Raz still feel like good FPL assets to me. Stats have been fine and shit. I did consider Silva to Coutinho but in the end decided I had a greater impact at points by getting in the third Chelsea defender rather than trading out someone who is still very good in Silva. Hope it works out. Probably won't.

FWD:

Kane and Bob go. Bob's brace and then double return along with how electric Liverpool have looked gives him a stay of execution in my team. Being off pens isn't helping and his stats aren't too good but I'm going to just hope he continues to run into points with Liverpool looking free scoring once again.

CAP:

It's Kane. It was always Kane. Hope he rewards my patience and faith tomorrow. The rest midweek in UCL was much needed, so hopefully he is feeling fresh and sexy and puts Stoke to the sword. Stoke are just the most fucking shit side of life I'm going to stick with the lad. Go on my absolute son.

ALON

Hello all,

Alon here...

I’m busy as fuck on a big project (music video that I’m editing) and am too fucked to write up a lambs right now. Also I have no fucking clue what move(s) to make as I’ve been pretty off of planet Earth and AFK all week with this video. Will probably go balls deep in the Slack later tonight and talk to everyone and try to figure out where to go with my transfers and shit but for now, I just don’t know.

My team is:

And so things I’m thinking about remain the same as things on the pod this week... My defense is shite, Vert is a fucking dickface, Sané probably needs to go, I want Hazard, I want Coutinho, and I need more transfers. Everything I’m toying with RE: a double swap of like Morata and Sané out doesn’t feel excellent to me. It’s all very lateral even though Haz is such a better pick then Alvy is. Hmph.

We’ll see how big of a nightmare -4, -8, -12 hit I take and tank my season even further then it’s already been tanked.

Everything in the balance.

Fucking hell.

Good luck to everyone. And apologies for not responding to anyone this week on Slack/Reddit/Twitter/Facebook etc... I’m swamped af... can’t wait for matches tomorrow...

<3,

Alon