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wearebarca · 8 days

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Captured // Alexia Putellas x Original character pt. 5

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5

synopsis: Rosalie has never stayed too long at the same place. When the opportunity of a lifetime presents itself critical moment in her life, the photographer decides to once again leave behind what she knows and joins the staff of Europe's best football team.

Word count: 4,6k

18+ (eventually)

A/N: Spanish is from google translate so please be nice. French is my first language so all should be good on that part. Tell me what you think, be nice, enjoy.

The return to Barcelona wasn’t as smooth as their arrival trip. Rosalie had ended up with a seat next to Lucy, which was good because Lucy knew how to handle the younger brunette on a plane, but she couldn’t shake the slight disappointment she felt when she realized that she wouldn’t be sitting with the captain. Nonetheless she was still happy with her flight partner since she hadn’t seen much of the English woman during this trip.

Lucy had shown up at six at the photographer’s door, in full training gear and running shoes in her hand, and had forced the brunette to go out on a run with her to relax a little before the flight. They had ended up in a park with a track that circled a nice football pitch, and Lucy decided that it would be a great idea to challenge the runner on a race. Rosalie might be an experienced runner, but explosive speed was the older woman’s strength and an hour later, they were both lying on the field, panting like dogs, with Lucy undefeated. Running back was a completely different story for the defender who had used most of her energy on beating the younger woman in sprints. She was glad when she could see the hotel in front of us but groaned when the photographer lightly shoved her and yelled “ Race you there!”

At breakfast, Rosalie sat with her usual group, sandwiched between Keira and Ingrid, who made sure the brunette was occupied with conversation the whole time. Their goal was clear to the photographer who knew that they wanted her to focus on anything other than the plane trip ahead. Unbeknown to the pair, the task of keeping her distracted was already being fulfilled by the blonde sitting a few seats away from her.

Rosalie’s perception of the blonde had changed since their dinner the night before. Being able to spend some time with the captain without the pressure of work or football allowed Rosalie to see another side of the blonde that she hadn’t encountered before. Now, Alexia intrigued even more the photographer who wondered just how many sides the footballer keeps hidden.

Her daydreaming was interrupted by Keira who had been trying to get the French-Canadian's attention for the past minute. “ Hey, Frenchy are you still here with us?”

“ Oui, yes I’m sorry I was caught up in my own thoughts.” The brunette said, turning towards her friends.

“ It’s ok really, we just wanted to know if you were coming to team building night with us?” Ingrid said.

“ Isn’t that for players only?” the brunette said confused. Back with Arsenal, she never got invited to this sort of night, even if she was, or she thought, one of the player’s girlfriends.

“ Not necessarily no. It is just a normal night with friends and we’d like for you to come.” Keira said, smiling at the photographer.

“ I’d love to.” Rosalie said, turning towards Ingrid. “ When would that be?”

“ We were thinking about two weeks from now, after the game against Levante. I’m just trying to see how many we’re gonna be so I can make a reservation at the restaurant.” The Norwegian said, picking up her phone to look at options. The rest of the breakfast was spent organizing the supper, allowing the photographer to forget about their approaching departure. Unfortunately, her feeling of dread and anxiety came rushing back as soon as she picked up her luggage from the bus and walked towards the terminal. The flight went relatively well for the brunette, who stayed wide awake this time, leaning against Lucy while a bad comedy was playing on the small screen in front of them.

Alexia, who was a few seats behind the duo, could not help but wonder how the smaller woman was fairing and finally succumbed to her urge to make sure the photographer was alright by getting up and quickly trying to find something to say to justify her presence next to them. As she arrived at their seat, a small smile crept on her face at the sight of the brunette bundled up in her oversized hoodie, with her hood engulfing her head almost entirely. She crouched down next to her and took her hand in her own to give it a light squeeze. Without letting the photographer’s hand go, she turned her attention to the defender. “ Could you remind me again of yours and Keira’s departure dates for international break?” She asked the English woman who seemed surprised by the question.

“ Yeah sure mate,” she said, pulling out her phone to check her emails. “ Why do you need to know so soon? Isn’t it in almost two months?” she asked

“ Uhh, I’m just planning ahead.” She said, hoping that the older woman would not see through the real reason for her presence here. Meanwhile, the photographer had significantly relaxed since the captain had arrived next to her, and was putting all her focus on the way the blonde’s thumb was tracing soothing patterns on the back of her hand.

Too soon for the brunette’s liking, Lucy found the email with the dates she was looking for and gave them to Alexia, who had no more reason to stay with them. She gave one last squeeze to the photographer’s hand and walked back to her seat. Lucy, who was far from dumb, had a good idea of exactly why her captain had come to their row, and it surely wasn’t to know their departure’s dates. She sent a look to the younger woman, who simply answered with one that clearly said, : “Not now Luce.”

It was the middle of the afternoon when the brunette finally stepped in the comfort of her small apartment. She refused to let it show too much during their trip, but she was truly exhausted from the strain two plane rides in such a short amount of time had had on her, and as soon as her body hit the bed, she was gone and did not wake up until the morning after. The rest of her weekend was spent mostly working on the editing of the shots she had taken during their day off and training. She decided to go check out the Olympic pool near her place and swim a few laps to allow her body to recover from the week's intense running sessions.

For the players, the week after a match was always slower than their usual training, but for the rest of the staff, it was when their schedules would be the most hectic. Rosalie started her week by following a few players on a media appearance for a foundation that helps little girls persevere in sports, then it was media day which took by storm the whole training complex. Various interviews and fun videos were being filmed all over the facility and Rosalie’s job was to roam from station to station and capture the girls during their appearances. On top of that, the brunette had her usual training content to shoot and edit.

This week’s workload meant that coffee with her favourite couple wasn’t possible, which saddened them even though they understood why. Rosalie also postponed her night with the English couple who were very eager to bombard the Canadian with all the questions they had so nicely kept to themselves during the trip. It was a relief for the brunette, who knew that sooner or later, she would have to go through her best friend’s interrogation.

Weekend couldn't come soon enough for Rosalie. Friday would be a bittersweet day for the photographer who had to finish and send the media day content tonight at the latest for their release the next day, which most likely meant a late night at the office again. Her hunch turned out to be right as she checked the clock around four and realized that she wasn’t nearly done. The girls had already left and the training facility was dead silent when the photographer left her office. Rosalie almost jumped at the sound of her ringtone echoing in the empty car park. The name that lit up her screen made the brunette’s eyes roll as she picked up the call.

“ Non.”

“ Oui.”

“ Non, je viens de finir de travailler, Je suis complètement brûlée, pas ce soir.” Rosalie said in a whiny tone as she all but threw her bags in the backseat of her small sedan.

“Too late, we're already at your place darling.” Lucy said laughing. Rosalie could hear Keira whine in the background for her to come quickly because she was tired of waiting to eat. “ We brought your favourite, now get your arse here, we’ve got questions that need answering.” The defender didn’t even wait for the younger girl’s answer and hung up.

“Mais quel enfoiré.” Rosalie took all the detours humanly possible, just to annoy the older woman. At the sight of Lucy waiting by the stairs of her apartment, Rosalie felt like a child getting scolded by her mum. She took a deep breath and climbed the few stairs that were left between her and her apartment.

“ Took you long enough.”

“ Traffic, ya know”

“ Fuck off you cunt you did this just to fuck with us.” Lucy said as she followed the Canadian back in her flat.

“ Woah woah votre langage madame Bronze.”

“ You’re lucky we like you Frenchy.” She pulled out the bags of fish and chips she had brought while Rosalie pulled out beers for everyone. She eagerly took the plate that was handed to her and made a face at the first bite.

“ I know, it’s not like back home.” Keira said, stealing a few chips from Rosalie’s plate.

“ It doesn’t taste bad, it just does not deserve the title of fish and chips.” Rosalie said, bringing her plate and beer to the couch. The two women followed her, Keira beside her on the couch and Lucy on the ground, on the other side of the coffee table.

“ Ok I’m done waiting so now, what the hell is going on with you and Alexia.”Rosalie almost choked on her fish at the younger English woman’s question.

“ There’s nothing going on”

“ What do you mean? There’s nothing going on. She keeps staring at you!” Keira said in an animated tone.

“Rosalie, you fell asleep on her shoulder, in the goddamn plane.” Lucy added. The brunette was cornered, she could not lie to these girls, they were her family, they knew her too well.

“ She’s just.. she’s easy company you know. We get along nice.” She said, hoping that would be enough for them, but she knew it definitely would not be.

“ We all saw how you were looking at her on the last morning of the trip. You haven’t looked at anyone like that before, not even…”

“Don’t,” Rosalie quickly interrupted. She didn’t want to compare Alexia, even in the slightest bit, to the Irish defender. “ She’s just very intriguing, you know. I haven’t quite met anyone like her before.”

“ She’s a pure soul, that one,” Lucy said, staring at her best friend who was currently looking everywhere but at the two friends. “ She’s shy and closed off but once she opens up, she is truly one of the most authentic girls I’ve met.” She said with a fond smile playing on her lips.

“ Why are you guys telling me all this?” Rosalie asked. Sure, she understood that these women were her family and they simply wanted to know what was going on but this felt like more than the usual interrogation she would be subjected to. It almost felt like they were encouraging the photographer to pursue whatever was going on between the brunette and the blonde.

“ No reason in particular, we just want you to be happy.” Keira said, trapping the brunette in a hug.

“Ok you can let me go now, you’re crushing me” they stayed silent for a moment, contempt in eating their food and unwinding after their week, until Keira decided to break the silence.

“ She talks about you, you know? With Mapi and some of the Spanish players. They think I’m not good enough in Spanish to understand when they speak fast, but I’m better now, and I can understand some stuff.” Keira said, happily stealing more chips from the photographer’s plate, who was too stunt by the woman’s statement to react. Lucy on the other hand, could not hold back the laugh that came out when she saw the look on the younger woman’s face. A deep blush formed on her cheek as she got off the couch and walked to the kitchen to put away her plate.

“I’m sure it was probably something about the shoot or the most recent post.” Rosalie said, trying to occupy herself until her face would turn back to its original colour.

“ No, no I heard your name, than “guapa” was somewhere in there and then they all agreed.”

“ Kei seriously, that could be about anything.”

“ I’m telling you, they were talking about you.” Keira said with a wide teasing grin on her face. They went back and forth like that for a few minutes while Lucy was laughing at the interaction. The couple ended up staying over until past midnight before finally deciding to make their way home.

“ By the way, you’re coming to the beach tomorrow, I’ll send you the time and address!” Lucy said as she stepped out of the brunette’s apartment and closed the door behind her, not leaving time for her to give an actual answer.

The next day she woke up with a text from Lucy only containing a time and an address for a beach not too far from the city. Rosalie had no idea what to bring for this occasion so she assumed that since they were meeting up around lunch time, she should probably pack some food, a quick call to Keira confirmed her suspicion and allowed her to also add beer to the list of things to bring. She put on her favourite bikini with a pair of linen shorts and a swimsuit cover, grabbed her camera bag and her backpack and hopped in her car.

The Canadian had never gone through this part of the city and decided to go explore it on her next run. Her GPS led her to a small parking area in front of a path in the woods. She parked between Lucy’s Cupra and another car that looked similar to Lucy’s but wasn’t familiar to the brunette. On the other side of the car park, she spotted Mapi and Ingrid’s car as well as other nice vehicles that probably belonged to Barça players. When she arrived on the beach, Rosalie realized that this was more than just a hangout between a few friends. Lucy and Keira were here, along with Mapi and Ingrid, Patri, Pina, Vicky, Jana, Aitana, mariona and finally, Alexia.

Barking was heard along with the sound of rapid little steps coming her way. She was greeted with a small white dog she knew very well, along with a small pomeranian. Narla jumped around at Rosalie’s feet, too excited for the Canadian to pet her, but the small pomeranian kept scratching at her leg. The photographer bent down and picked up the small fluffy dog, who immediately licked her face.

A chorus of “Hola”’s and happy cheers was heard as the French-Canadian made her way towards the group, with the small dog still in her arms. “ Finally! We were starting to think you got lost on your way.” Mapi said, hugging her friend tightly and taking the bags in the brunette’s hands so she could greet the rest of the girls.

“ Blame Lucy, she told me to be here at twelve.”

“ I see you met Nala.” Ingrid said, approaching the photographer, hugging her gently to not crush the ball of fur who was getting comfortable in the brunette’s arms.

“ Oui, she’s a little angel,” She said, kissing the top of the dog’s head, “ Who’s the lucky owner? Gotta know who I need to fight in order to bring her home.” She said laughing.

“She’s Alexia’s.” Mapi said, with a cheeky smile, “ She usually takes a while to warm up to people.” Rosalie could feel the blush that was creeping up her cheeks.

“ Good to know…”

“ Ok, can we eat now? I’m starving.” Mapi said as she turned around, to make her way towards the coolers. Ingrid smiled at her girlfriend’s antics and beckoned the French-Canadian to follow her towards the rest of the group. She helped Ingrid and Aitana set up the little potluck while the rest of the girls were setting up some beach chairs and towels around. The sun was high in the sky and not a single cloud could be seen, the heat was quickly getting to the Canadian who decided that the swimsuit cover was not helping cooling her off. She got up and took off the shirt, her actions not missed by a certain blonde, who was in the middle of a game of touch. The action made Alexia completely miss, which made the little group snicker at their captain.

“Capitán, debería limpiarse la baba de las comisuras de la boca.!” Patri said, laughing at her captain 's flustered face.

“ Oy, callate idiota!” To be fair, Alexia was not the only one staring. The photographer had put on a dark green bikini that complemented perfectly her tanned skin and showed off her athletic figure.

“ Ella es muy caliente.” The comment came from Pina, who received a sharp slap to the back of her head.

“Behave”

“ Si Capitana.”

The food was finally set up and the group was called back by the rest of the girls to come eat. Rosalie mainly stayed with Ingrid and Aitana since she still wasn’t used to being with this many new people at once. She quickly found out that there was absolutely no reason to be shy around the girls. The atmosphere was very playful and the air was filled with laughter and bickering in broken English since they all knew that Rosalie and Keira weren’t completely comfortable in Spanish.

“ Rosie! If you want to make your Spanish better, I know someone who’s a very good teacher.” Patri said with a shit eating grin.

“ Si, si very patient, very good teacher. She would love to teach you, right Capitana?” Pina added, trying to hold back her laugh. The look the captain sent the girls would have scared anyone in their right mind, but the younger players were too busy laughing to notice their captain’s wrath coming their way. A sharp cry and a whine was heard when the football connected with the side of Pina’s head.

“Cállate, te lo merecías.” Alexia said as she pushed the younger girl towards the area they had been playing previously.

“ I don’t know if they were serious or not, but I kinda really do need help with Spanish. The online courses I’ve been taking are little to no help with understanding native speakers.” The brunette said as she set up her towel between Ingrid and another towel.

“I’m sure she would love to help.” Ingrid said with a knowing smile. The light sound of little paws hitting the sand caught the attention of the photographer who turned her head to see Nala strut her way. The little dog came over to the photographer to get a few pets then made a beeline to the towel next to her to pick up a little chew toy. Nalla then turned to make her way back to Rosalie to lay right in the middle of her towel. Rosalie laughed at the little dog’s antics while Ingrid smiled and turned to her friend.

“Now that your spot has been taken, you should go show these children how it’s done.” She said, motioning to the little group playing a game of touch. Mapi’s head shot up at her girlfriend’s words.

“ Yes, yes, let’s go, I want to see what you are capable of.” Rosalie let Mapi drag her up and to the group. She stood between Patri and Mapi and after a few passes, she was just as excited and hyped as the rest of the girls. They played for a while, working up a sweat with the sand sticking to their skin. Even though the brunette was focused on the game, she couldn’t stop herself from glancing at the blonde captain. She looked gorgeous in her light blue bikini, tanned skin glowing in the sunlight. She looked so carefree and genuinely happy. Their eyes met and both the women smiled wildly, until a particularly daring kick sent the ball straight to the ocean.

“ Rosie! You are a runner, si?” Patri said, lightly shoving the brunette to get her attention. “ The first to get to the ball gets to dunk the other one in the ocean!” She yelled, already taking off full speed towards the waves.

“ Hey! Non, that’s not fair!” She said laughing as she took off behind the midfielder who had too great of a head start for the Canadian to be able to catch up to her.

As soon as she reached the ball, she felt hands grab her by the waist and hoist her up only to launch her straight in the water. The photographer let out a loud shriek as she hit the cold refreshing waters. She could hear behind her the cheers of the rest of the girls who had made their way to Patri.

Rosalie walked out of the water, slicking her hair back with a sinister smile as she approached Patri, who was still caught in an uncontrollable laughter. She jumped on the player’s back and dragged her down in the water with her. Alexia saw this as an opportunity to get back at Pina for the teasing and grabbed the younger player, hoisting her on her shoulders and walking off in the water to dump her near the two other women who were busy splashing each other.

They all stay in the water for a while, teaming up against one another in a slashing battle. Patri and Rosalie against Claudia and Alexia. The footballers weren’t playing around and Rosalie quickly realized that she was in over her head. For the second time today, a pair of hands landed on her hips but this time, the touch sent shivers down the brunette’s back. She went still which allowed Alexia to swiftly pick her up as she carried the photographer away from the two other Spanish women, too busy bickering and slashing each other to notice the absence of their friends.

The midfielder set Rosalie down, but her hands on her hips stayed until she decided the woman was stable enough on her feet. “ I am sorry, I thought that you looked a little overwhelmed out there," she said, smiling at the smaller woman.

“They do play a little too rough for me.” she said, following Alexia as she started walking deeper in the sea. She was silent, only looking at the water stretching endlessly in front of her. Rosalie could see that something was bothering the blonde. Her beautiful smile had faded and her eyes held a worried look. “I can sense something is not right.” She said softly to the blonde who turned to look at the photographer.

“ It’s just that, the euros are getting nearer, national camp is in a few weeks and the girls are a little on edge with everything that has been going on lately.” The photographer was aware of the tensions in the national football scene in Spain. She knew that the players were fighting for better conditions and better treatment from the coaches, and she knew that this fight had cost some of the girls their chance to represent their country in some of the most important sports events. It was hard for the girls who had to stay behind . It was also hard for the ones who had decided to stay with the team but were enduring the poor treatment from the staff and management. Seeing these girls today, so happy and carefree, she could not fathom just how much pressure was resting on their shoulders.

“ Days like these are important, you know,” The photographer said, getting closer to the captain. “ They help unwind, allow you to forget about everything you know?”

“ I’m not very good at relaxing.” The blonde said, chuckling.

“ What do you like to do on your days off?”

“ I don’t know, I don’t get a lot of those.”

“ Ok, so what would a perfect day off be for La Reina?” The photographer said with a cheeky smile. Alexia gave the photographer a big eye roll before answering.

“ Probably going to get coffee, walk around the market. Maybe buy supplies to cook a nice supper and relax with a movie. Something simple I guess.” Alexia said with a distant look in her eyes. In this moment, Rosalie wished she could take all the pressure on the blonde’s shoulders and carry it for her for a little while, just so she could catch her breath. Unable to do such a thing, the brunette thought of the next best thing.

“ Tomorrow there’s no training right?”

“ Si, no training.”

“ And you don’t have anything planned?”

“ I was gonna train alone and work on some side projects, why?”

“ No you are not, because tomorrow, you are bringing me to your favourite coffee shop and to that market you talked about. Then you are coming back to my place and I’d like you to show me how to make Paella. I've always wanted to try making it but my cooking skills are horrendous.” Rosaie said in a tone that left no space for arguing. Alexia smiled at the smaller woman, she was surprised by the French-Canadian’s proposition but could not be happier with the turn this conversation took. She took the brunette’s hand and brought it to her lips. The action made Rosalie freeze on the spot as she felt the blonde’s lips graze the back of her hand, which sent a shock wave that traveled her whole body and made her breath hitch.

“ It is a date then.” Alexia said, letting the brunette’s hand go and walking back to the beach with a wide smile plastered on her face. Rosalie on the other hand, was still frozen at the same spot, trying to gather exactly what had happened between them. A deep blush had crept on her face and the woman felt hot all over. She lowered herself in the water, dunking her head to try and cool herself off, or wake up for this dream, but she emerged at the same spot, with the silhouette of the footballer walking in front of her, almost reaching the rest of the group, who was now sunbathing.

Walking back to her towel, she could see that Nala had moved to the top of Alexia's towel, near the blonde’s head. She was laying on her stomach, which allowed the photographer a clear view of the multitude of tattoos on the captain’s back. The photographer got comfortable on her back and shoved one airpod in her ear, leaving the other one free to hear the crash of the waves on the sand. She felt something fluffy brush against her hand and opened her eyes to see Nala had changed spots again, deciding to lay between the two women, making sure she was touching Alexia and Rosalie’s hand at once. With the soft music playing in her ear, the sound of the ocean and Alexia’s calming presence, Rosalies quickly surrendered to the week’s exhaustion and let herself drift to sleep.

#alexia putellas #barca femeni #barcelona femeni #keira walsh #woso community #woso fanfics #woso imagine #ingrid engen #mapi leon #alexia x reader #alexia putellas x y/n #futfem #lucy bronze

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bethanydelleman · 7 months

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Writing Villains (Advice from Jane Austen)

One of the reasons that I find Jane Austen's novels so wonderful is that they have amazingly realistic villains, some that are fully fleshed out characters. Austen's biggest strength is that she gives her villains clear, logical motives. In fact, for many of her villainous characters you can turn the entire story around and see a rational story from the other side.

For example, Lucy Steele. She doesn't attack Elinor out of mindless evil, but because Edward Ferrars is her golden ticket to wealth and she knows that Edward loves Elinor. Lucy might twist the knife a little on Elinor out of sadism, but generally she attacks Elinor in an attempt to secure Edward. When it comes to other characters, Lucy is overly sweet if she wants something from them, otherwise she acts normally. As an example, she leaves Marianne alone because Marianne is not competing for Edward and also can't do anything for Lucy. Anne, Lucy's sister, likes her. Lucy has friends and family she stays with, she's a fairly well-rounded person.

You can put yourself in Lucy's shoes, you can turn the entire narrative on it's head and play it out from her perspective and it would make complete sense. You could even make Lucy sympathetic! She probably sees herself as a hardworking underdog, trying to wrest her one chance at prosperity away from the conniving Elinor Dashwood. I'm sure she thinks the pain she causes Elinor is justified.

If you can't do that with your villains, then there is a good chance they are just evil for evil's sake. I picked Lucy Steele on purpose because I hate when the entire motivation for a antagonist female character is "bitches be crazy". Bitches may be mean, but almost always for a good reason.

Even Mrs. Norris, who is probably the most cruel of Austen's female villains, can be perspective switched. Her life is about being useful to the Bertram family so she can feel important because her married status/wealth is lower than she wished. As she must always be deferential towards the Bertrams, she takes out her negative emotions on those below her, the servants and Fanny, while also showing off how good she is at "managing" those people. (And yes, she is your childhood bully)

We often hear her perspective and she clearly sees herself as a useful part of the family and a defender of Sir Thomas's wealth. She thinks she's a good person! Which is also an important point: most people doing wrong do not believe that they are doing wrong. That is what really makes a villain scary. Mrs. Norris thinks she's helping Fanny in a very twisted way by teaching Fanny her station in life. If you asked her, she'd give you a self-justified answer and she'd probably actually believe it.

Another way to do a good villain is to just make a person very selfish. Henry Crawford doesn't sit around all day laughing about how much pain he causes women, he doesn't think about it. He only thinks about the fun of flirting for himself, not the harm to others. The glimpses we get into his perspective are not cruel at all. It's the same with Willougby, he thinks only of his own pleasure and tries very hard to ignore that he has crushed Marianne and destroyed Eliza Williams. When he is forced to accept that people were hurt, he blames everyone but himself.

Wickham thinks that he's a victim, Caroline Bingley is ambitious and doesn't care who she steps on to get to the top, Mr. Elton is insulted that Emma could even dream he's a match with Harriet but he can't touch Emma so he punches down at Harriet. They all make sense, they all probably believe that their actions are justified.

Also, imagine taking the heroine/hero right out of the story, would the villain still act the same way? If Anne didn't exist, Mr. Elliot would still try to bring himself into the Elliot family because he was afraid of losing the title. If Elizabeth didn't exist, Wickham would have had another favourite in Meryton. If Fanny didn't exist, Mrs. Norris would have found some other puppy to kick. The villains don't just appear for the plot of the main characters, they have their own reasons for moving around and messing shit up.

Lastly, explaining but not excusing (though unfortunately some people will excuse anyway but that's not your fault). Mary Crawford is mercenary and doesn't seem to believe that love is even a real thing. It's pointed out several times in the novel that her defects have to do with being raised in an immoral environment and a broken home. She was taught by her aunt to marry for wealth and disregard love. Austen doesn't excuse Mary, she doesn't give her a happy ending, but she does explain how she came to be. She's not just greedy, she has been taught that wealth is the best recipe for happiness. As an adult now, it is her responsibility to question that maxim or remain a villain.

Austen wrote amazing morally grey characters and "villains" (a term I used a little liberally here, some of them probably only count as antagonists, not full blown villains). I love how real and human she made her characters, it's something I aspire to myself!

Linking my Caroline rant because it's related, people remove her motives so often and flatten her into a "bitches be crazy".

#jane austen #villains #avoiding “bitches be crazy”#Lucy steele #mrs. norris #mansfield park #sense and sensibility #henry crawford #mary crawford

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agirlandherkinks · 5 months

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Controller Rumble (Breast Expansion)

Collab with @tabbycatpuppy, where we both wrote put our own spin on a story prompt :) Link to her story at the bottom of this Featuring: Characters I might not use again but tbh they're kinda fun (Lucy the human (she/her) and Cinnamon the anthro dog (also she/her))

Lucy and Cinnamon had always been close. They'd been practically inseparable since they met in high school, and when Lucy came out Cinnamon was there for her at every step of her transition. She taught her how to style her hair, despite having soft brown fur herself ("Trust meeee Lucy, I watched human girls like you do it all the time!"), dragged her to the shops for wardrobe makeovers, and discovered that baring her teeth worked amazingly at warding off weirdos. Neither of them were interested in dating, but they found each other sexy and were more than happy to hook-up (although all the fur occasionally made Lucy sneeze). And to celebrate 10 years of friendship, Lucy got her hands on something special.

"So, Cinn." Lucy stood between the TV and Cinnamon, who was reclining upside down on the lounge, ears perked. "We've known each other for a long time now, and I need to say I can't imagine anyone kinder, or sweeter, or more fun than you. I feel incredibly privileged to know you, and so I wanted to make today special." Clearing her voice and wiping moisture from her eyes, she pulled out a pair of game controllers from the front pocket of her cow-print dress. "You're still into breast expansion right?" Cinnamon's eyes widened to saucers, and she launched herself at Lucy with her tail wagging uncontrollably.

Half an hour later, after they managed to detach themselves, they had the controllers set up and were ready to play. Both controllers were solid black, contoured, and surprisingly comfortable to the touch. Cinnamon's however, connected to a collar around her neck of the same material, with a stylized little dog bone hanging off it. Lucy booted up the console, and Cinnamon's devices gave off a soft rumble and began glowing violet.

"If these things work like they say they will, every time you lose a game your collar will do... something, and your tits should grow."

"If I lose. You're gonna have to work for this one, cutie." Cinnamon gleefully navigated to Super Smash Bros, eliciting an eyebrow raise from Lucy at the name, followed by a groan as she remembered how bad she was at it. Most controllers weren't even made for paws, but from watching Cinnamon's furry digits pilot her character and grind Lucy's into the dust, you would have thought there was no difference. Cinnamon 1 - Lucy 0.

Cinnamon 2 - Lucy 0.

Cinnamon 3 - Lucy 0...

...

Cinnamon 9 - Lucy 1!

Lucy cheered while Cinnamon stared at the screen in disbelief, competitive pride having made her completely forget why they'd started playing in the first place. But then her collar tightened against her throat and began gently rumbling, sending strange sensations through her body. The vibrations settled in her nipples, causing her to gasp as it began sexually stimulating her. Then, she let out a startled "Yip" as her breasts expanded from B's to C's in a mere second, pushing against the cropped tube top she was wearing. Panting and trembling, she locked eyes with Lucy and grinned lopsidedly. "That was. So. Fucking cool."

Cinnamon 10 - Lucy 1.

Cinnamon 10 - Lucy 2!

Cinnamon was ready to change this time, although the rumbling was stronger than before. Her tongue lolled in pleasure as her tits exploded out again to D cups, feeling heavy and warm as she struggled to adjust to her new weight. She could see her nipples poking through her clothes, and let out an involuntary whine from how sensitive they were when she pawed at one. Out of the corner of her eye she could see Lucy trembling a little, and made sure to tease her by 'absentmindedly' squishing them. It was only to work Lucy up, but Cinnamon couldn't deny that it made herself hornier than expected.

Cinnamon 11 - Lucy 2. Cinnamon barely won, and that was only because Lucy was more distracted by her tits than she was.

Cinnamon 11 - Lucy 3.

Cinnamon whined loudly, as the collar rumbled more and more intensely. Not only was it literally making her boobs quiver and bounce into each other, but she could feel the pulsations spread to her pussy, pleasantly massaging every inch of her insides. She panted, pressing her back against the lounge as the vibrations suppressed all conscious thought, carrying her away on a wave of bliss. Lucy, eyes wide, slowly reached over and scratched Cinnamon behind her ears, eliciting a pleased growl from whatever primal part of her brain was currently in control. Cinnamon moaned as she grew once more, her top skintight around her burgeoning E-cups. It took much longer for her to calm down, and even then she felt much flightier, disorientated, and horny than before. The weight of her breasts, and the sensation of how the fabric streeeeeeeetched to contain them was... distracting to say the least.

"Hey, Lucy~?" she panted.

"What is it Cinn?" Lucy replied, clearly struggling to not stare at her friend's burgeoning chest.

"One more game? Aaah~" Cinnamon leaned forward and gasped, the motion having made her tits wobble and bounce and briefly shorting out her brain.

They picked up their controllers, but from the start it was obvious that the canine didn't have much fight left in her. Her boobs partially blocked her view of her controller, and every motion sent them bouncing and brought a low whine out of her. Lucy was struggling to focus too, next to such an erotic scene. She was hyper-aware of the sway of Cinnamon's breasts, the desperate noises echoing in her throat, and was she... rubbing herself through her booty shorts? It was too much. They had to finish now.

Cinnamon 11 - Lucy 4.

Cinnamon began quivering again as her collar activated, looking wide-eyed at Lucy as she loomed over her. Lucy bent down, and pulled up one of her friend's ears to whisper, "I need you."

Cinnamon's only response was a strangled "please~", awareness already fading from her eyes as her tits jiggled and cunt throbbed. Lucy moved her friend so that she laid on her back, then climbed onto the lounge with her. Rubbing Cinnamon's belly, she asked in a patronizing tone of voice "Who's a good girl? Is it you? Is it you?" The doggirl barked happily, feeling proud at the tone but not understanding the words in her haze. Lucy smiled lustfully as she hiked up her dress and pulled out her cock. Cinnamon moaned as Lucy pulled down her shorts, dispelling all thought of foreplay from the human as she unconsciously rammed into her pussy. She gasped, feeling how intense the rumbles coursing through Cinnamon were. She thrust, again and again, fondling her friend's tits, whispering encouragement in her ears, sending waves of pleasure into their already addled minds. And then, Lucy felt Cinnamon's pussy convulse and clamp around her dick, as the doggirl howled with pleasure. Her tits rocketed to F-cups, breaking her shirt, and soaked Lucy with juices from her orgasm as she mindlessly pawed her furry, heaving chest. Lucy slowed down, then disengaged, gently cupping Cinnamon's snout as consciousness returned to her eyes.

"Have fun?" Lucy asked.

Cinnamon giggled, turning over and reaching into her bag, "You didn't cum, did you?"

"Nope", she responded slightly ruefully, starting to settle her dress back over her legs.

"Good." The canine's eyes took on a predatory gleam, and her paws moved in a blur and fastened something around Lucy's neck.

Lucy jerked her head and stood up, and was surprised to hear a jingling follow her. She tentatively touched her neck, and found a cow bell and collar. Blushing a deep crimson, her eyes tracked to her controller, now held in Cinnamon's hands.

"I maaaaay have also bought one of these bad girls for you. Why else do you think I asked you to wear cow-print?" The doggirl licked her lips, then settled on the floor to watch the show, tail wagging.

The controller lit up.

Lucy gasped as her collar started rumbling, faster and faster and faster, until it felt like a constant buzz. She collapsed on all fours as sensations rushed through her faster than she could process, moaning loudly as her nipples and cock began to vibrate. Anxieties, worries, thoughts, all of them swept out of her brain under the sensations, and she gasped in amazement as a pressure mounted in her chest. With one, two, three sensual moans, the human's tits inflated from A-cups to D-cups, pressing against the fabric of her dress with nipples double their original size. The sheer joy of getting so big brought tears to her eyes, and she would have cried if the vibrating hadn't spread and distracted her. She felt rumbling on top of her head, and winced as it felt like something had pushed through it. The same thing happened above her ass, but she could... feel something there? Turn her head, out of the corner of her eye she saw a... tail? And bringing a hand to her head, she distinctly felt little horns. She sighed in delight as she willed her tail to give an experimental sway, and it obeyed.

Another wave of pleasure went through her body as her tits expanded again, and with only one arm to hold herself up she buckled onto her chest. The feeling of her nipples vibrating against the ground was euphoric, and she adjusted her legs so her cock could get the same treatment. It felt so good. Getting bigger was so nice. She needed to...

"Moooooooooooooo~"

Lucy let out a long, low, moo as her tits grew and smooshed into the ground, reveling in living out hucow fantasies she'd thought impossible. Her dress had finally shredded, revealing a pair of massive breasts that strained against a tiny cow-print bra. She mooed more as she grew to G's, then H's, gasping in delight as she saw milky spots leak onto the carpet. And it felt like her panties were getting tighter and tighter and tighter, like her dick was growing too...

She felt something pull her head up by the horns, and stared into a pair of beautiful big brown eyes. Cinnamon, her foggy brain said, the prettiest girl ever... Lucy smiled sleepily, tail flicking in content.

"Ok Lucy," the doggirl said with visibly false coolness, "You can't just writhe there all day and tease me like that. Do you wanna fu-" The hucow burst into motion, shoving her friend to the ground and going straight for her pussy. Cinnamon barked in surprise, then lapsed into a euphoric silence. It felt like a giant, meaty vibrator had been shoved inside her, relentlessly stimulating her clit and G-spot. Her eyes rolled in her head and she started moving unconsciously, twisting around to get to Lucy's tits. She grabbed one and started sucking on an engorged nipple, gulping spurts of fresh, clean milk. Each tug brought a moan and a thrust from her friend, until they settled into a hazy rhythm, surrendering control to their desperate bodies. The cock inside Cinnamon and the boobs she was suckling kept expanding, as the collar struggled to compensate for all the growth Lucy needed. And each time it would bring a scream of pleasure from one or both of them, sending them to greater highs and a greater frenzy, tails lashing against the ground and the air and their own bodies.

And then, in a moment that felt like it lasted forever, the collar rumbled one final time. And they came together, with a moo and howl of delight.

Huffing and weak from their exertions, Cinnamon managed to push her torso upright. She smiled tenderly at her friend, who clearly needed a while to come down from that experience, and nuzzled her cheek. Surveying the room, the shredded clothes, stains on the floor, couch that she hadn't even known they'd overturned, the canine giggled. Worth it, she thought. And when she read the controller manual, she laughed out loud.

Apparently you needed to win two games in a row to reverse the effect of one game's loss. And Cinnamon would make her hefty friend earn all 18. But looking at those sexy mountains of flesh spilling from Lucy's chest, she wondered if she'd be willing to keep a few cups...

Link to tabbycatpuppy's story :)

#breast expansion #expansion #cock expansion #hucow transformation #ally's kinks

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balladofmyramblings · 1 year

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I’ve seen my fair share of…interesting BOSAS takes (Tigris and Snow’s relationship doesn’t make sense, Sejanus wasn’t important to Coriolanus/Coriolanus’ character, Dean Highbottom was inconsistent, people just called Lucy Gray Lucy instead of LG or something, etc) but never has one irked me as much as people saying the ending was rushed or out of character or didn’t make sense.

The ending is a representation of their whole relationship. Yeah, it’s rushed, because it lasted 3 months and they were prepared to spend their life together after that. No, it was completely in character. Yes, it made total sense, because what else would have convinced Coriolanus to go back, if not the idea that he was safe?

First off, elaborating on the rushed point, be so fr. 1, the book was getting a bit long anyways, and 2, it couldn’t have been long and drawn out. How quick their relationship crumbled and we were shown Coriolanus’ true loyalties shows so much I can’t even begin to explain it, but I’ll try.

It shows how Lucy Gray valued family and trust. She’d already talked about how much trust mattered to her, and she’d been hurt so badly before she needed it. She needs trust, and she doesn’t just need it for herself. She needs to be able to trust him, and she needs him to be able to trust her. When Coriolanus obviously lied about the third person he killed, Lucy Gray realized that neither of those things were there.

It shows how Coriolanus valued himself and the capitol above all else. He was going to, and tried to, kill Lucy Gray. The person who, just 10 minutes ago he was prepared to spend the rest of his life with. He did that because he couldn’t be guaranteed loyalty, and because he realized she definitely didn’t belong to him. Coriolanus’ view of Lucy Gray- that she’s a pet, or something just for him, is entirely effed up and he can’t see that, so he clings to it. He clings to that idea of her being his and when it’s proven false, he can’t let go of it.

Lucy Gray was there when Coriolanus lied to her about the killing, and there was only one person he could have also killed. She was wary of him then, what he was capable of, but she didn’t know for sure where his loyalty truly laid until she saw the look on his face with the guns. She knew then that the Coriolanus standing before her she couldn’t trust, and she knew what that meant, and Coriolanus knew she knew what that meant and he couldn’t deal with the fact she wasn’t completely infatuated with him.

It’s also worthy to mention how easily Coriolanus started to see Lucy Gray differently. He justified his killing of her to himself, as we see in the whole “she’s a victor, maybe Billy taupe was right, etc” page. He thinks that it may have been an act all along, and can’t deal with the fact he fell in love with someone who could turn on him so easily. So he justifies it and makes stuff up and uses all he can to convince himself of the devilish nature of Lucy Gray.

Coriolanus’ deep, unwavering faith in the capitol is shown here so clearly I feel like it’s bleeding into my eyes. He was so ready to leave her (also how he thought she’d be ok with it also proves how he sees her as completely loyal) when he realized he was basically innocent. He is only ever scared of the capitol when it could harm him.

Their whole relationship was a whirlwind, and could never have had a breakup 3 chapters long. It needed to be quick and easy, all ties cut. The fate of Lucy Gray also needed to be a mystery, because nothing else in his life is. The constant worrying of if she’d ever tell, if she’s alive or not, blah blah blah unsettles him just like he deserves it to. We don’t get an answer to if Lucy Gray came back (probably not though), we don’t even get an answer if she’s alive.

In conclusion, the end of BOSAS was very fitting, and though unpredictable and fast, it was right.

#also maybe gonna elaborate on the other takes #ballad of songbirds and snakes #bosas #ballad of my ramblings #coriolanus snow #hunger games #katniss everdeen #the hunger games #lucy gray baird #district 12 #dr Gaul #sejanus plinth #Lucy gray

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fleetingvow · 1 year

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‘ DEAD WEIGHT .

Anthony Lockwood x Female Reader

SYNOPSIS. the reader’s skills got rusty and with anthony breathing down her neck all the time, well, things that were better off unsaid were spoken. that’s when four became three. ( 6.87k words )

CATEGORY. angst. slight enemies to lovers ( not completely lovers because i write and stick to slowburn. )

WARNINGS. anthony being a total dickwad. usage of profanities. off the timeline. netflix series based. usage of “y/n”. lots of parallelism in statement structures.

NOTE. characters are aged up. written in third person’s omniscient point of view. room add-up for plot purposes.

REMINDER. this fic is written and copyrighted by ©fleetingvow on tumblr. do not rewrite or repost on any other platforms without my permission.

TAGS. @superpositvecloudshipper

𝗛𝗘𝗥 𝗦𝗜𝗚𝗛𝗧 𝗪𝗔𝗦 shrouded in a misty veil. The room had turned bleary as soon as she stepped out of the bathroom, wrapped in her bathrobes. She closed her eyes and opened them again in a desperate attempt to regain her composure. When her feet led her to her room, she felt the pull stronger than what she had been feeling when she was washing up. Y/N gripped the doorknob and opened the door with a groan, and then there was a voice. A mere whisper to her ears.

“Help me!” She turned around, only to see no one but the pen she picked up from a previous home many months ago, mistaking it for the one Lockwood handed. It was surely just her imagination. They already contained the source from the previous mission, destroyed it even. George had done his research and there was only one soul that haunted the home. She was sure no other soul was left behind. Besides, Y/N made sure to set up a schedule to return the object to its rightful place.

However, just now . . . she felt as though it wasn’t just her presence that graced the room. Her eyes scanned her surroundings. There was no one, nothing. Why was it getting harder to breathe? The ringing, they were back again, but this time, it was higher in pitch and volume. She put both palms on her ears in order to block the noises, but it was too loud!

That was until she heard the knock on the door followed by the voice of someone more human, natural in his voice, “Prepare quickly, Y/N. We’re moving swiftly tonight, we have two missions!”

She didn’t respond. It didn’t seem like it mattered when his footsteps were already fading. The girl slowly ran her fingers through her damp hair, taking a deep breath to calm herself down. It was just her imagination — that ringing. But there was a protruding thought that maybe, there was something wrong with her, and she couldn’t place whatever it was.

Although, there was something far more important than that. She needed to be present for this other case. Y/N had been lacking for the past few days, and she was under the pressure of redeeming herself to prove something to Lockwood.

And she was going to prove it well.

THAT HURT! God, it hurt so much! There was no other thing in her mind than how much it felt, causing electric shock through her body, wanting to rip her ears out to just. get it. to stop!

“Fuck!” Y/N exclaimed, losing her grip on her rapier therefore also failing to protect Lucy from the ghost that hovered before them. The clang of the blade on the floor only triggered a louder sound in her ears, putting her mind into shambles as she scrambled to the floor to regain possession of her weapon.

Before she could, however, Lockwood had already slain the ghost himself, buying them more time to pull themselves together. “Lucy!” Lockwood hurriedly rushed to her aid as she panted, refusing the help Anthony was offering.

“Y/N?” Lucy called, her voice combined with worry over the girl’s well-being. “Are you okay?”

It didn’t look like she was, but it was certainly better than before. The ringing had stopped, and what was left was an overcoming fear of when it will occur again. Her forehead was covere din beads of sweat, her mouth gasping for air, and clammy hands clutching the handle of her sword.

She had, in fact, once again failed to redeem herself. And what had she done? Make a complete fool out of herself to Lockwood who only looked at her with disappointment painted oh-so-vibrantly all over his face.

“I covered the source with the net!” George excitedly announced as he made his way into the bedroom where everyone was. It had been a rare occurence before that Lockwood allowed George to do this type of work, but since he’s proven himself to be the hero in most scenarios, he trusted him.

Y/N glanced up at George. She wasn’t mad at him. As a matter of fact, she was grateful for him, not just for containing the source, but also putting an end to the tension in the room. “Are you guys okay?” he proceeded to question.

She stood up from the floor and lowered her head before mumbling, “We’re fine.” She then walked past him swiftly and out of the room with shame as her feet led her to the gardens of the home.

“She’s definitely not fine,” George breathed out. Both of his companions looked at him in a questioning manner. He shrugged, “She’s been acting odd for the past few weeks - months, even. Am I the only one who noticed?”

“You’re always the one to notice something, George.” Lucy commented with a smile. Anthony did not appreciate the conversation, no matter how little. He’d much rather they didn’t talk at all.

“Stay here. I’ll talk to her,” Lockwood ordered. George and Lucy nodded followed by exchanged glances with subtle wide eyes. They knew it was not a good idea Lockwood would follow her, but what could be done? They just hoped he wouldn’t make an arrogant fool of himself again.

“WHAT WAS that?” Y/N’s ears suddenly perked up from the voice. She plastered a sarcastic smile as she replied, “You found me, then.”

“This is no time for foolish remarks, Y/N. What was that all about? You had it. Lucy could have been hurt! You could have gotten hurt! Do you realise what you’ve just done?” Anthony exclaimed. The leaves crunched from under his feet as he marched his way forward to the girl.

“You’re saying that as if I’ve done it intentionally. Is that what you think I do? Sabotage the team?”

“I’m not saying that,” he frustratedly protested, facepalming before placing his hands on his hips, his coat pushed back. “What I’m saying is for you to pull yourself together. Where are you, really? This, this state of yours is going to get us all killed!”

“Lucy’s fine! I’m fine!”

“You both wouldn’t be if I hadn’t stepped in and you had made an absolute mockery of yourself in the situation! You were flailing! Can I even trust you with simple tasks?”

“You call fighting off a type two, simple?” She fired back, trying her best to hold back her anger when she knew she had fucked up.

“We’ve done it before! We’ve dealt with harder cases. What’s going so wrong now?”

“Of course you’d say that! Everything’s easy for you, right?” Lockwood was taken aback by her words, yet instead of processing her words and taking it as a reminder of his past conflicts, he took offence of it, triggering his sense of authority and anger. “If it’s so easy, why don’t you just work with yourself? If you’re so obsessed with perfection, why don’t you eliminate mistakes and put down the team? Because that’s you, right? You’re the one who’s always so bloody perfect at everything!”

His eyebrow twitched as he blinked at her, his face getting softer, yet still inconsiderate as he lifted his head to the side and clenched his jaw. Anthony momentarily fixed his gaze on the floor before placing it back to her. His voice had become monotonous. Cold.

“If you hate me so much, why don’t you just leave the team?”

There was a moment of silence. If the rapier didn’t pierce her heart before, it definitely has now, but it wasn’t the steel sword that did its damage. It was those exact words he had uttered so confidently in her face. There was no hint of regret there when she searched his eyes. There was absolute nothingness.

Suddenly, the coldness of the wind got into her eyes — did it really? Or was she just finding an excuse to mask the reason behind her slightly blurry eyes. Y/N blinked and swallowed her spit in order to remove the lump in her throat. It was useless. She nodded slightly, her face stiff as she tried to muster up her thoughts to create a better expression.

But there was no better reaction.

“What?” she asked for confirmation. Lockwood slightly shifted in his position, standing upright. He looked at her eyes and down to her shoes slightly, taking the sight of the disappointed girl. He swallowed his spit, licking his lips.

“You heard me.”

“So, that’s it then?” she mumbled, trying her best to disguise the betrayal in her voice.

“That’s it.” Anthony replied in a stern tone, not leaving her eyes. “Don’t be so surprised now, Y/N. If it helps you feel any better, maybe you could still start somewhere — just not here.”

“You’re a fucking dickwad, do you know that?!” She yelled.

“I’m doing this for the team.”

“Like shit you are!” She exasperatedly gesticulated her hands in the open air and continued, “You think George and Lucy would fucking applaud you after they find out? I thought we were family! What now? I fuck up, and suddenly I’m gone for good?”

“You could just say n—”

“No, because that’s not it, isn’t it?” She bitterly interjected and combed her fingers through her hair irately. “You’ve hated me from the start! You ignore me every chance you get, but when you’re not, you berate me! You look at me as if I’m about to fail, and you undermine me every single time!”

“I don’t undermine you. I look at you, and I see transitions of how things start and how things end,” he started, chest heaving up and down from his bottled feelings of anguish and rage, not to her but to himself. “I don’t know what it is about you that makes me doubt whatever it is I doubt. You were good at what you do, but you’ve been lost for the past few months. We don’t have a hold of you now, and you’re not telling us anything. To be completely blunt and forward, Y/N: Whenever you’re present in a case, something goes wrong.”

Even to herself, she could admit that he had a point. Every mission that she had with her friends, everything ends up a little bit too complicated than it should. She did feel like she was the cause for the performance of the agency lately. That information itself made her heart sink at the bottom of the pit, pushing her to another depth as he spoke once again.

“You’re a dead weight.”

That statement felt a little hypnotic that it proceeded to ring in her head. Now that was it, why did she feel defeated now? She felt as if he just called her useless. Huh, maybe that’s what she was. Completely and utterly useless for the best agency London has ever seen. She was the dead weight in their group, the failure.

“I just haven’t been myself. I—” Then, there was a silver streak of water that cascaded down her face. She cleared her throat and looked away, wiping the tear with the back of her hand as she sniffled and blinked away the glinting waterfall threatening to spill. “I’m sorry.”

Anthony’s chest felt different with that statement. His eyes that showed no remorse softened at this current sight of her, but there was something at that moment that told him to resist it. He had to stand firm, and he knew to himself he’d do just about anything for the sake of the team, even if it had to be removing Y/N from it.

The thought of questioning whether this decision was right began to rebuke him.

“Y/N, I’m only doing this for the best of everyone’s well-being.”

“You already said that,” she replied and took a deep breath, avoiding eye contact with him. Then, she shrugged her shoulders and laughed to herself in bitter humour. She unsheathed the rapier from her side and took a few steps forward to the boy who gave her a puzzled look.

She took his hand and offered the handle of her blade, closing his palm with hers. Y/N forced a smile on her lips, looking up to meet his eyes. They were close.

Just. This. Close.

Y/N had seen his eyes numerous times before, but under whatever spell, she never got tired of it even despite the sharp daggers it threw at her. Her heart shattered once more, this soft gaze she’d sometimes thought was an illusion made the broken shards leap hopelessly that it left her dizzy for another minute or so.

The wind in the garden gently whispered.

Anthony felt this feeling before, but he dismissed it just like he’d always done. It was something that he believed to be unworthy of his attention. If he looked the other way, what of the path that he worked so hard for?

“Y/N, I—”

“I’ll be gone by morning. Don’t tell the others . . . for me please, would you, Lockwood?” She whispered. Goddamn it, she was going to go! Anthony couldn’t do anything. His body and soul were both locked in the position of looking at her, paralysed as he tried his best to catch his breath. His eyes quickly paid a glance to her lips before switching back to her eyes.

He hummed in response.

There was a palpable tension in such an open space. The girl decided to have had enough of it, leisurely stepped away without breaking eye contact, and walked off with his head turned to watch her figure fade away with the distance.

SHE SAID SHE’D be gone by morning. It was 3 AM, and he wasn’t sure what morning she was referring to, but surely she’d use more time for rest and packing her things. It wouldn’t be so early. He paced back and forth, almost creating a six feet deep grave of his own in front of her door, his hands secured in his pockets. His furrowed eyebrows almost reached each other to knit a whole line on his face, but he soon stopped with a sharp exhale.

Anthony realised how wrong he might have been. The fact that both Lucy and George don't know anything made him feel even more guilty knowing damn well they would have his head and ego once they learn of what he did. Not only that, he felt incessantly bad for being cruel with his choice of words without consideration to what Y/N’s explanation could offer. To be completely honest, he wasn’t even thinking straight! He had no clue where the idea of eliminating her from the team came from.

His mind hadn't been at peace nor was it sober in his library when they got back home. Y/N shut herself in her room after an awkward dinner in which they both pretended everything went well. Lucy and George, bless their poor naive innocent souls, seemed to buy it with Lucy feeling a little bit hesitant.

It was 3 AM, and he was at her door.

At her door.

His hand slightly lifted to knock her door, but it stopped mid-air. Lockwood sighed, pulling his hand back in his pocket with a shake of the head. He’d been horrible, and disturbing Y/N’s peace no matter how fleeting, would be more displeasing.

Anthony’s footsteps faded with Y/N listening intently behind the door, wiping her silent tears. He was outside her door for half an hour during her moment where she wrote her letters individually to the members of the team. She didn’t want to open the door, but her desire to speak to him drove her to a decision that if he knocked, she would let him in. If he asked that she returned, she would.

But alas, he didn’t do any of those, leaving her to conclude that his decision was final, and his words were deeply meant and intended. It was her fault, after all.

And maybe the agency would be better off without a dead weight.

WHEN MORNING CAME, Anthony was jolted awake when George shook him back to consciousness in the library lit with the sunshine pouring through the window. As soon as he fluttered his eyes open and saw the light with George’s frantic silhouette, it had been a clear indication that he was too late.

“Y/N’s gone!”

There was an unpleasant sensation in his stomach, bad butterflies taking control over his system. He quickly sat up and ignored the pounding headache he gained overnight. Anthony turned to George, “Since when?”

“I don’t know. Lucy called her for breakfast but she didn’t answer. She never didn’t answer! So we went up there to check, but all her things were gone.”

He got to his feet and went straight to Y/N’s provided room where all traces of her existence were never found, except for the envelopes clutched in Lucy’s trembling hands. Her face wasn’t warm and welcoming at all as she furiously questioned, “What did you do?!”

“She’s left the agency!” Lucy exclaimed.

“Why?” George asked in response.

“Ask Lockwood. Apparently, he’s the one who talked to her last night after the mission.”

“What are those?” Karim gestured towards the envelopes Lucy had. She raised the letters with their names engraved in jet black ink.

“See for yourself,” she answered and shoved each of the letters to the designated receivers. The girl then furiously marched out of the room, leaving behind both George and Anthony to themselves. Karim opened the correspondence and trailed his eyes along the letters scribbled on the tear stained paper, his face growing bitter word for word as he finished.

The boy turned to his companion, “You’re unbelievable.”

Lockwood wore the same frown he wore in front of her door a couple of hours ago. George left him in the room to self-reflect between the four walls of nothingness but the lingering memories of who used to occupy it.

He looked at the letter, opening it as he scanned the wirds carefully written yet stained with tears that dried on the ink that spread on the fibres of the paper.

“Anthony,

I didn’t tell them, if that’s what you’re worried about, but I’m not sure if my explanations will suffice. I know Lucy and George are smarter than you give them credit for. Whatever happens, I want you to continue the agency with them. They’re your only family left.

I loved the memories with you and the others and I will continue to treasure them until it’s my prized possession that you will have to seek one day. I hated you for a while, and maybe I hate you now, but there’s nothing but the truth that you make a great leader, and I hope your passion will lead them to the path they want, and their loyalty will not banish even after eternity.

For a while, Lockwood, your home had been my home. Our home, but after tonight, it seems as though you gave the key to the wrong person. I hope you will find a better one worthy of the team.

Do not look for me. I will find a good place to find myself and start again and recover. And once I recover, I swear to George and Lucy, I will write. Take care of them.

I’m sorry,

Y/N.”

He wanted to crumple that letter, but that’s all he had of her. Each passing second that he stared at the empty room made him feel guiltier and guiltier. The blood in his veins rushed as he turned crimson with rage. Anthony had never been one to lose composure of himself, especially when he was angry, but it was different this time.

He knew to himself that he blew it. He had fucked up and now he was not the only one that was paying. Because of his arrogance, the house lacked Y/N’s annoying laughter, her awkward morning small talks and idle chatter, the familiar creaks on the wooden stairs because of how loud her feet become when she’s excited for a new case.

Her seat remained empty, devoid of the girl's presence. Her favourite cup had been set before the chair without any mark or stain of the hues she usually wore on her lips. The smell of coffee George brewed earlier for her wafted in a room, serving as an object to rub it in their nose of the bitter tension she’d left behind in that very room.

Lockwood cleared his throat, “Our next mission, er.”

Lucy’s scoff caught his eye, “Give us a break, Lockwood.” She put her mug down, her eyes piercing through his, speaking, “When will you ever learn to not only care about yourself?”

“Lucy, not now.”

“Yes, now.” George intervened. “No one knows why Y/N left, except you. Her family wouldn’t want her back even if she writes that on her Christmas list. You know it to yourself too, that’s a dumb excuse.”

“She left the agency because she made her choice,” Anthony monotonously replied, and quickly regretted it as he sighed and spoke again in a much gentler, more emotion-filled voice, “It was the best for us all.”

“Did she make that choice, or did you? No wonder she left.” Lucy mumbled as she was not having any of it. She slammed her feet on the floor and stood up to leave the kitchen with George leisurely following behind.

Y/N TOOK IN THE rotten interior of the home. Everything was mouldy and abandoned. It was an odd thing, for sure. The house was supposed to be sold months ago! Why was it deprived of human presence? Something was not right, especially with that voice slowly creeping in her ears again.

She wasn’t alone in that place.

“Help me,” she heard. There was a guess there. A guess she’d been doubting for weeks but knew to be believed by her subconsciousness. The girl grabbed the pen from her pocket and sighed, closing her eyes to allow itself to commune with her.

“What do you want me to do?” She questioned.

It was a bad idea, but it was daylight. The power of this type of entity, whatever it is, should be weak by now. Y/N felt herself being pulled in a deep void, forcing all her energy to go down with the force. It was her mind that felt lightweight and then her body with static. All sounds from her surroundings started to become collectively like the sound of electric waves until it was an absolute nothingness.

Just then, an ornate box appeared among the fog, its gold embellishments covered in crimson hues, dripping on the now visible desk. The event happened so fast, and what was once a flurry of foggy mess was now a warm room lit with glinting candle lights from above the ceiling before it turned into a ghost of the olden times. The doors were being pounded from the other side, followed by voices who furiously shouted a name.The girl looked around to see a cadaver on the floor, severely tortured and bloodied. Then, she looked at herself, taking note of how her hands were covered in the same liquid as on the floor.

“What happened here?” she whispered to herself in a frantic tremble.

“Give us the box!”

She looked at the object now in her hands. Every inch of her appearance had changed into someone else, feeling their sense of determination to hide and clutch the treasure in her possession. She turned frantically to look for a way out, but just as she was about to run for it, the door burst open and there came three men, one with a pen in his hand.

“You’ve signed the agreement my father’s given you!” She didn’t know why or how, but it must have been the ghost that kept haunting her that said it.

“Will it matter any longer?”

Just as she screamed, the world had turned into a fading vision. Y/N woke up with a gasp, finding herself on the floor with the piles of stones and rubbles, debris from the structure of what once was a home of an aristocrat. There it was again, that ringing. The girl groaned from the consistent hearing disturbance.

She stood up, only to find herself in an entirely different room. Her eyes made a quick scan of the structure. That was when she found an unusual glint inside the crack on the floor. “So that’s why.”

The death glows would have been seen by Lockwood before, but he didn’t, only because the home had been renovated long before it got destroyed again. The floor had been covered by another layer of floor.

Then, a glint caught her eye, the moonshine had reflected its light where she saw the intricate box. Quickly, she crawled over to it and pulled it out of the crack with force. The box was the same as before, only old and rusty. The surface was covered in dust and old traces of blood.

The ringing stopped, replaced by a series of the hushed voices of a woman. Y/N flailed side by side, falling on her knees as she crawled to grab ahold of the intricate box covered in dust and other filthy muck. “What is this for? What should I do?”

That’s when she realised the sun had finally set and she was in deeper trouble than she was. A glowing light appeared behind the door frame as it continued to hide. Her breath hitched, grabbing ahold of the rapier she managed to steal from Anthony’s library.

“I will help you! You’ve tormented me enough,” she mumbled, holding the rapier up as a barricade between her and the ghost.

The ghost let out a deafening shriek as it frowned at her, hovering through the air before her eyes.

“I promise!” Y/N exclaimed. “Just let me help you!”

However, it was not easy making deals with a dead-undead visitor made up of ectoplasm and substantial despair and anger toward the living. The ghost charged forward, making her lucky enough to move out of the way. She yielded the sword, and the luck of the draw struck again when she managed to hit the visitor with her iron blade, buying her more time.

The girl opened the box, revealing a pile of papers and an old silver pocket watch eaten away by old age and exposure to oxygen and insects that created their own home within the chest. The cobwebs were occupied by several tiny eight-legged creatures causing her to cringe as she dropped the box and shook the spiders off.

Upon the contact of the crate with the floor, a glowing spot appeared.

She looked at the ghost of the woman that haunted her. It stopped mid-air for a while before continuing with her new entertainment of tormenting the girl more. Y/N’s eyes widened at a sudden realisation.

That was it!

For the first time in a long time, she finally felt like she wasn’t being an absolutely bloody idiot. “I have to destroy it, don’t I? For you to find your peace, is that it?”

That was when she frowned and muttered under her breath, “But that’s not your source.”

Then, her ego was kicked off the curb with her guts. A hand reached out from the glowing spot on the floor. “That’s someone else’s source!” She raised her rapier and quickly wielded it to hit the box, preventing the ghost from coming out of it.

The first visitor shrieked again and charged forward as Y/N fumbled on the floor, miserably looking for the pen. Her breathing was audibly fast, waving her sword desperately through the air to ward off the ghost that had been restless in chasing after her.

She scanned the cracks, there was nothing. Then, under the desk, nothing. That’s when she noticed the object she sought right next to an empty cobwebbed shelf on the floor next to a book.

Y/N removed her sword out of the way, darting towards the pen to grab ahold of it, quickly swerving to get rid of the visitor. After that, she hit the box again and once the glow disappeared, her fingers found themselves holding onto the chest for dear life. She put the smaller object in it, and placed it between her side and arm, her other lifting the rapier up.

Dumb! Literally dumb!

Her foot got caught in a lifted crack on the floor, causing her to plant herself on the floor. A groan emitted from her lips as she tried to ease the pain on her chest. Upon realisation, she swiftly turned and held her sword up, fighting the phantom.

“My ears hurt from your constant shrieking!” she yelled.

Due to the movement of her arms, the box had slightly drifted away from her clutch as she busied herself warding away her enemy. “I even wonder why it isn’t Lockwood that you could have bothered! You would have been at peace by now, but no. You chose the weakest link! I’m practically useless, and I might possibly be losing my talent! Now you’re the one who’s mad? I didn’t choose me! You’re the one who screwed up!”

Maybe she was the mad one, in different terms. She was talking to a ghost, for Chrysler’s sake! Even worse, having a verbal feud with it!

If only Lockwood could see her now.

That was until the ghost disappeared after a swift, almost invisible lightning speed strike. She gasped for air and turned around to see what the cause of it was, but no. What’s better is to destroy the sources and get peace once and for all. She sat up and crawled over to the object, grabbing a nearby rock and destroying it for good. The pained wailing finally died down as she loudly caught her breath, exhaustedly falling on her back with her sword clattering on the ground.

“L/N!”

That voice. That god-awful voice. She closed her eyes shut, unable to open them for a second due to her strong will to rest and recover. Look, now she was even hallucinating Lockwood calling her by her last name. It was impossible that he was there, and even if he was — she laughed slightly. He couldn’t be. If he was, she would tear the world apart just to get away from him. She wanted to be millions of miles away from him, avoiding his gaze, getting rid of his smell, and that stupid voice with that arrogant tone of his. He had crushed her dreams and hope like it was nothing, even with just a brief conversation, everything that she clung to in that agency faded in one statement that she wished she never heard from him.

But good riddance, right? At least now she knew it was the wrong agency for her. She wasn’t cut out for this kind of work.

“L/N.”

“Can voices just stop — ” she angrily mumbled, almost in a slur of words, “ — pestering me all the time? Can I just have peace for once? Is that too much to ask for?”

“If they stopped now, you wouldn’t hear what I have to say now, would you?” Now that was it. The girl’s peace had been completely shattered once and for all with that single question built in a rhetorical structure. Her eyebrows now knitted together — an exaggeration, but they almost did. Just a little smidge and they’d be meeting. It couldn’t possibly be him, could it? Her heart fluttered both bitterly and in a way that she hoped that there was hope, but knowing Anthony, he was only here as a figment of her hostile imagination. He wasn’t truly here. That would be asking for too much — only she didn’t ask anything to send him here.

“I’m sleep-deprived,” she muttered under her breath.

It took Lockwood his whole body and soul to stop himself from smiling. He thought he wouldn’t see her here, that she would be off somewhere else, and not the usual destination she would go to whenever she was upset.

A hallucination: that’s what he was to her as of this moment. She still had her eyes closed, refusing to open her eyes, and what was worse was the constant question whether she refused to see the disappointment of a world with Lockwood there or the opposite.

Then, that’s when she felt a gentle contact at the back of her neck, slowly lifting her from the ground. Panic covered her bones and took over the nerves to her brain as she mentally screamed repetitively.

She quickly opened her eyes to see him kneeling just before her, holding her as if she was a fragile glass compared to all that he's seen in his entire life in his basement.

He was there.

He was real.

He was touching her.

And he was — "Your hands are cold."

"I don't care, L/N."

There was something different. All the passionate hatred she had for him was slowly starting to well up in her chest, but being swallowed by a big flurry of adrenaline that made her blood flush in her veins faster.

It was his gaze. They'd changed into something atypical. Too . . . soft, and upon realisation, the double volume of her disdain started knocking her off again.

"No," she mumbled and quickly sat up, pushing him away from her as she scrambled to get her rapier and stand up. "You can't just come here and play the hero, and look at me like that! No!"

Confusion changed his expression, "I just helped you."

"Why do you do this to me?" Her voice has all but given up standing sturdy. She trembled both in excessive fatigue and strong emotions. "You can't just — just look at me like that after you made me feel like shit! And then what? You pity me, and you say sorry and things will go back to being shit again and the cycle continues? What do you think I am?"

"I—"

"You what? You're sorry? Why did you come here? To tell me worse things, that I'm hopeless or that maybe you're so noble that you just felt the need to help me get started with my life?"

Lockwood understood every bit of what she was saying. Her absence in that home has made him realise just how much of a cowardly bastard he was. How undeniably much of an asshole he had been to her and how much hell he'd pay. Her wrath was just the start of it.

But his understanding was growing weary. He knew in a way that Y/N had her wrongs too, "You never told us about the voices."

She halted. She really didn't have any other reason than she didn't want to appear weak and bother anyone. Besides, she doubted the existence of the voice. But there was no excuse.

"I wanted to figure things out on my own," she stated before turning to leave. Before she did though, he spoke.

"I look at you," he started as she stopped and slightly turned to her side but not completely enough to meet his eyes, "like this, not because I pity you, Y/N."

That was her name. Her first name.

"I look at you because I've been. Whenever you were unaware that I was looking. I've always seen you from the start, hence why when I said you reminded me of how things begin and end, it was because you were the first person to make me get up from my bed and the only person I want to see when the day ends. When I'm tired and weary." He then averted his gaze to the ground, "I looked at you like that earlier because I couldn't bear to look at anything else or see you in another state."

"I regret everything that I said, and I wanted you to know how hard it's been to look at your door and think that in the next few days, someone else or no one will occupy that room knowing that there were traces of you — any traces, just anything but physical. It's been torture, not just for me, but for both Lucy and George. So, I thought maybe you'd gone to the place you've been going to peculiarly for the past few months," he continued.

Indeed, he knew her, watched her, examined her.

Possibly even admired her. From afar. But he looked the other way, believed the other way because how could he afford that? How could he afford these feelings knowing he had nothing? He had himself, but he did not have anything stable that he could give her. Will that make her happy? Not at all.

"I'm sorry," he breathed out. "I know it's not enough, but I'm willing to prove to you how sorry I am. Just — I want you to know that I never intended things to be so bad and out of control, and I never meant to hurt you. I thought I was doing the right thing, but this isn't an excuse. I just want you to know that I regret everything."

"You are not a dead weight, Y/N. If anything, you're a breath of fresh air, and you make things easier every time one of us feels down. You make the mornings lighter, the end of every exhausting day a moment of opportunity to think about how thrilling life can be. You make the next days, weeks, months, and years something to look forward to. When you left, thinking about those future moments without you with us, it feels empty and terrible. A few hours without you had turned us into malfunctioning lunatics. We're in shambles — I'm in shambles. What more with days? The truth is, it's not you that's the problem. I keep causing you pain, and I'm trying to be better, because I want to be better for you. When the time comes that I do, I will try to be the best. You deserve that. It will take time, and that is why I'll understand if you don't want to return to the agency with me."

Come to think of it, as she observed his state, his Lockwood hair wasn't in its best today. His eyes looked tired and bloodshot. His always tidy flat clothes were wrinkly and his tie was out of place. He looked like he'd been through hell, and his next elaboration explained why.

"Thinking about you every now and then, especially now, I've always shifted in my seat, trying to decipher just how you affect me this much. When I found the possibility of how, I felt the sense to hide it. Every smile that you caused, I hid it all, because secretly I love bickering with you every chance we get, because I get to see the thrill in your eyes and the fire that you hide. I thought that maybe if I hated you, I would selfishly gain more feelings and learn to embrace the things I might possibly find distasteful if my feelings started the other way. And I did, I managed to admire everything you hated about yourself. You've made me feel things strong enough that whenever I run away, I still end up going back to you."

"Lockwood," she finally spoke and swivelled to face him completely. "Anthony."

"Yes?" He eagerly lifted his head to wait for her response.

She chuckled, "I thought you were about to recite Mr. Knightley when he was confessing to Emma."

That's when he laughed and nodded, accepting the fact that maybe he said too much that all she could reply was Jane Austen’s Emma joke, "Well, I have been told that I have a knack for paraphrasing."

"Do you mean all that?"

"The bickering part, most especially."

"Do you want us to bicker now?"

"I think we're already starting," he commented, which made them snicker.

"I'm sorry," she stated. Lockwood thought that was her way of telling him that it was too late. His heart was pierced by a shard of mirror which he failed to use earlier for self-reflection. That was when she smiled, "I just don't know what to say."

"You can start by accepting our job offer. We, er, have an open position looking for someone with a talent like yours," Anthony cheekily replied with a playful smile. "Our agency is one of the most prestigious agencies in London, and we ensure the safety and warm welcome — new addition, of our team, old and new. Do you accept, Y/N L/N?"

“Didn’t you hear what I said earlier? I think I’m losing my talent.”

“And you still managed to beat a type two with a frenemy in one night with a rapier, a pen, and a box?”

"You're a bloody idiot." She defeatedly let out a breath of joy and relief.

"I'm taking that as a yes. Come on, if you say yes, we'll bicker nonstop and you’ll get endless coffee privileges."

"You're a bloody idiot." She defeatedly let out a breath of joy and relief.

“Just so we could hate each other again, and be able to speak about our fondness more.” offered his hand for her to take. She leisurely took it, trying to ignore the warmth her hand provided to his cold one. He was holding her. Touching her, when a few hours ago, he couldn’t even as much as lay a finger on her.

And when they got back home, the block had been covered with missing posters of Y/N, with additional apology notes and “Lockwood sucks!” extras. That was true.

#anthony lockwood #anthony lockwood x reader #anthony lockwood x reader angst #anthony lockwood angst #anthony x reader #lockwood x reader #lockwood x you #anthony lockwood x you #anthony lockwood imagines #anthony lockwood fluff #anthony lockwood x y/n #lockwood and co #lockwood & co #lockwood and co x reader #lockwood & co x reader #anthony lockwood fic #anthony lockwood fic rec #lockwood and co fic rec

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theinternetarchivist · 1 month

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JASPER MENTIONED RAHHHHHH

BUT AT WHAT COST 😭😭😭😭

OKAY but in all honesty I find the theme of happiness and simplicity to be SO interesting in this story because it’s a topic almost everyone deals with

For Frankenstein well- we’re seeing it play out. She never got to be happy, her experiment ended with everyone she held close dead. So when she sees people like her thrive, she can’t help but feel jealous which is a COMPLETELY human experience and is something I’m sure everyone can relate to, to a degree

Jekyll also grapples with something similar, but not as a scientist, but in relation to his queerness for the most part. The theme of simplicity is STRONG with him, like how he said “why can’t I want anything simple. I want to want what they want” or even when he tells Jasper that Rachel will leave him for something simpler, he wants to be happy, he wants life to be simple, but it’s impossible for him so he expresses jealousy similar to Frankenstein- albeit in more passive ways

Hyde also kind of fits into this, but on the topic of his identity. He doesn’t know what his identity is, he’s a part of Jekyll yes but in a way he’s also his own being. His life crashed around him when Lucy basically called him out (AS SHE SHOULD TBH) as a fraud essentially- he doesn’t know what it *means* to be happy, or like what it would mean to him

I would go more in depth with other characters but I’m tired rn and am about to leave on a field trip so for now my thoughts will remain unfinished, but I will say this: what happiness is and what simplicity means is definitely the theme of The Glass Scientists in my opinion, and in my opinion it’s portrayed in such a good way especially because of its’ queer themes.

#the glass scientists #tgs #TGS analysis #analysis #listen I mightttt be reaching #but idk these are just my thoughts

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stylerm2world · 1 month

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I really disliked this episode and will probably stop watching. My comfort show, now feels unrecognizable. It really sucks to say that.

How this episode handled Tim’s perspective of the breakup was so out of character to me. Tim’s complete lack of acknowledgement for how he hurt Lucy and trying to pretend things were normal, “you clocking out?” was baffling.

When a person you claim to love, asks for an adult conversation, you decide your best response is “I have nothing for you,” is disgraceful. I don’t understand how you dismiss the request, shrug your shoulders and don’t even make an attempt. To add insult to injury, the indifferent way he talked about her to others felt so disrespectful. I no longer recognize this character. To me, the character they have built for the last 5 years, would never have been that deliberately cruel talking to or about Lucy. Clueless, sure, cruel, no.

Once again, I come back to this terrible writing. I didn’t recognize Tim. I understand the purpose of him yelling at Aaron was a call back of season 1 Tim, but it ignores all of Tim’s character growth. Tim’s character development from his friendship with Lucy, even more so, than the romantic relationship feels like it’s been completely forgotten. It feels like a betrayal of Tim’s character development. Tim’s progress was one of the best storylines on the show.

At this point, the repair Tim would have to make with Lucy and their relationship, even friendship, feels insurmountable to me. How do you go from saying I love you two episodes ago to this bull. The writing is atrocious. The one small caveat that might make all of this make sense is if this is all some master plan to trap the doctor. Even so, Tim has traumatized Lucy. It’s a betrayal trauma.

I can acknowledge Tim’s pain and trauma. I get he is going through it, absolutely. I have so much empathy for him. I am a therapist and work with clients like this all the time. I always understood where he was coming from, until this episode. His PTSD can be a reason for him acting this way, but it’s not an excuse. The utter lack of remorse and cruelty for purposely hurting someone you claim to love, feels so unlike this character. So I am done.

Really unpopular opinion: I wish Wade would have validated Lucy’s feelings rather than just telling her to tell Tim everything she said.

Side Note: I am so tired of female characters being portrayed as sooo understanding and empathetic that they accept any treatment because “he loves me.” I am tired of seeing female characters trivialized to the point they throw themselves on the alter of men’s emotional immaturity and unavailability. Tim’s right, Lucy deserves better. Normalize women walking away from men who claim to love them, but treat them like shit. Love without trust is not viable.

Add in Lucy’s WOC character being sacrificed for white male character development feels ugly.

#chenford #the breakup #the rookie

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mazzystar24 · 22 days

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bestie im starting to feel like we aren’t getting buddie after the mess that was tonight’s episode… this just gives anti-eddie people more material to bash us with and it also means a bunch if buddie fans are about to jump ship bc eddie’s a cheater… i’m losing faith in tim minear this feels very character-death-y

Hi anon!

This episode in my eyes just killed whatever 5% of me that still wasn’t fully sure that Marisol would be written off and now I’m 100% that bitch edy is on her way out so small victories

This episode was neither here nor there on the buddie front but it did have the domestic scene obviously and also the potential for Eddie dealing with why he wants a mother for Chris so bad could be a great way to get buddie even if they’re going about it in a very odd and kinda🙃 way

As for it being character death or Eddie being a cheater it may just be because like I wanna go into psychology so I do tend to look at things from all perspectives and like empathise with more things that make others be like..no- but the way I see it grief makes people do fucked up shit, it doesn’t make it okay but it makes it understandable and worth noting, and he hasn’t slept with her yet (and I doubt he will) so right now it’s sorta a grey area between cheating and emotional cheating, like for me I would defend him so hard if people try to bash him for this (unless they do go a complete shit route but again Tim loves these characters sm I doubt he would ever do that) because he’s dealt with so much trauma and shit over the years that it’s understandable to be flawed and do shitty things occasionally and now he runs into this woman who’s the mirror image of his dead wife? No one can say how they’d react in that situation

Again I’m not saying I like this storyline or that cheating is okay if you’re traumatised but what I’m saying is that it’s pretty far from character death like hen cheated on Karen with her ex because they had history and it was complicated and she was in a weird place and people found a way to forgive her and look past that and buck kissed Lucy due to his underlying issues and we got past that and I think that if any circumstance makes emotional cheating understandable it’s seeing someone who’s the split image of your dead wife

Tim minear I still trust you but I am side eyeing you - like if you were driving a car rn and I was in the passenger seat, I wouldn’t hop out and call an Uber but my hand would be inching toward the Jesus handle because you’re scaring me sometimes

Thanks anon🫶

#911 #buddie #evan buckley #911 abc #eddie diaz #911 fox #evan buck buckley #911onfox #buckley diaz family #asks open #send asks #911 spoilers #send me asks #answered asks #asks

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theflyindutchwoman · 6 months

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Look, you're out of your depth on this. Look, I've been riding with you for two months. You project the rogue cop thing, but you are always on the right side of the law. If you came all the way over here to psychoanalyze me, you wasted your time. No, I I came here to remind you that you'll regret helping her. Because it's not gonna change her. But it'll sure as hell change you.

| ANATOMY OF A SCENE - CHENFORD EDITION 1.07 - The Ride Along

One of my favorite thing about these two is how protective they are of each other. This is a trait they both share. Tim might be called the 'fierce protector' but it absolutely goes both ways. Lucy is exactly the same. From the very beginning. There was an inkling of that already when she volunteered to go pay a visit to Isabel after her overdose : she was trying to shield Tim from more pain, from seeing who his wife was living with… or in which conditions. And that makes this scene a touch sadder since all that effort went to nought. He still ended up having to go there… Fortunately for him, he is not as alone as he thinks he is. Lucy is waiting for him outside. Watching over him.

I love how you can see her hesitation when she leaves her car. It was one thing for her to (rightfully) call him out on his behavior on the job, it's another to insert herself in his private life after their shift. She may have been confident enough to pull off her prank with the money clip, but this is far more personal. And he does look a bit angry at first. Only, unlike last time, it's not because he thinks she's out of line. At least, not entirely. I believe there's some genuine concern for her here : if anyone ever found out she was here in the first place, she could get in trouble. He knows the risks he is taking, even without removing the evidence. He accepted them when he agreed to help his wife and broke into her place. But Lucy is pretty much risking her career… for him. And it says a lot about her character that, despite everything, she still takes that chance. Especially since as far as she believes, he may have removed the drugs, which could put her in a precarious position of having to either lie to protect him, or rat him out.

The way she gets slowly closer to him, trying to bridge the gap and reach out to him… She is so nervous, knowing she's overstepping a line. But she cares too much not to say anything. She has been able to see right through his walls the moment Isabel showed up and this just shows how perceptive she truly is. And her assessment of Tim is pretty spot-on : as much as he likes to paint himself as this rogue officer, he does try to stay on the right side of the law and not cross a line he can't come back from. His morals, his code are what separate him from someone like The Hawke. And tampering with evidence would have definitely changed him. Lucy's behavior also stands in stark contrast with Isabel here : Tim's wife was earlier begging him to betray what he stands for and believes in whereas Lucy is imploring him to stay true to himself. Obviously Isabel was under the influence of the drugs, so she didn't even realise what she was asking. But this moment still aligns with Lucy's attitude, how she has never tried to change him, only broaden his horizon and give him a safe place to allow him to be vulnerable. Melissa does a terrific job at conveying what Lucy is feeling here, between the slight hesitation in her body language and the little crack in her voice.

'It's not gonna change her. But it'll sure as hell change you.'. This is such a powerful statement, one that shows how much she cares already even though at this point, he hasn't given her a reason to. And that realisation fully hits him. It's really a turning point in their relationship. Tim is left completely speechless after that… Because I don't think anyone ever cared like that for him. Angela and Talia were there for him after Isabel's arrest, but they're his friends. Talia was even invited at his wedding. Lucy, on the other hand, is his rookie and barely knows him… But she still took that risk to come and try to talk him out of doing this. And that is so overwhelming for him that he can only turn away abruptly before his mask starts to slip.

Lucy looks so worried at the end : she doesn't know for sure if he has crossed the line or not… I honestly think that he had already made the decision not to take the drugs (as implied by the fact that we see him leave) and Lucy's support brought him some modicum of comfort… as much as the situation allowed.

#the rookie #chenford #chenfordedit #lucy chen #tim bradford #1.07 #Anatomy of a scene - Chenford Edition

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nagirambles · 4 months

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Rambling about Fairies - Manga Chapter 200

Warning: generally negative.

And so the decharacterisation of Juvia begins. Like, I get that Gray was the reason she broke out of her rain woman slump and all, but her new hairstyle and her friendships within the guild came from Lucy and Cana. Why does everything get reset all the way to Phantom era just because of Gray?

I feel like this could've been some kind of deep character building moment in the long term-- it could have been Juvia realizing she was being overdependent on Gray because the second he discards her (he wasn't holding on to her particularly to begin with) she dissolves back into being socially inept. It could've been her moment to go from focusing on Gray to focusing on herself and her own goals. Does she return to this form because it's the one that Gray saved? Did she want his attention again, so she reverted, so Gray could save her again? I wish it went in that direction, because then there would be something. But there wasn't. This was just Mashima's brand of humour, and it's what begins Fairy Tail's downward spiral.

Which is ridiculous! She spent so much time away from them in Nirvana and Edolas and was fine until Happy told her about Edolas Gruvia!

It's so unhealthy and I wish I could be joking right now, but I can't. It isn't even portrayed as negative unlike her usual stalker shenanigans. God forbid, when it happened in Avatar it was entirely stated that Gray was the one that needed to be brought back to their side because Juvia's not okay without him. Sure, Gray needed to be brought home, but no one mentions how Juvia is way too fucking dependent on her man that she's somehow completely unable to take care of herself once he's gone! She made herself sick and wandered about like a zombie without any meaning left in her!

What did she spend so many months in the guild for, if she somehow never experienced family enough to remember it after Gray left? Even Phantom Lord taught her the meaning of 'being accepted regardless of your flaws/baggage' and you're telling me Fairy Tail gave her nothing except crippling overdependence on Gray?

When did she become someone that only lived for Gray? Where is my strong and brutal, desperate to prove herself, confident, self-sacrificing shy girl? Where is the girl that just wanted Cana to accept her, where is the girl that hurt herself to save Gray from Meredy, where is the girl that brought Gajeel to Fairy Tail because she didn't want him to be alone after Phantom disbanded? Where is the girl that, when mind-controlled, cried because she didn't want to hurt Lucy anymore? Where is she?

I really feel like this moment and the later Avatar situation could've been a character building moment to enrich both her and Gruvia as a dynamic. Rather than Avatar completely tuning all the blame on Gray, it should've been a moment where Juvia herself went to save Gray and bring him home. She proves her place later on, during the Water Make moment--- but that's about her love for Gray. What about her pride as a member of Fairy Tail, as family, as Juvia Lockser, the strong and independent rain girl that now knows the sun? Where the fuck is she, Mashima? Why were we robbed of the moment where Juvia, after growing as a member of Fairy Tail, went and brought Gray home to a place that would accept him after he turned to the dark side? Where is Juvia bringing Gray into the sun to bring their development and relationship full circle? Why is Gruvia going up and down like a cheese grater?

#rambling about fairies #fairy tail #ch200 #edolas arc #i have biases i'm sorry

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bloodynereid · 1 month

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Burnt Longing

part 4 of Those Sunlit Kisses! you can find part 1 here, part 2 here and part 3 here.

pairing: robert 'rosie' rosenthal x fem! oc (lucy everett)

warnings: assumed death, really bad coping mechanisms, crying, mentions of alcohol, swearing, mentions of smoking, angst with a happy ending

description: lucy gets a call.

a/n: i made the mistake of listening to sufjan stevens while writing this and nearly ended up sobbing like a small child so that was fun. anyways hope you enjoy the last part before the epilogue! i had so much fun writing this series (not really this last part but yk). also pls make sure to read the previous parts or else you will be VERY confused. OH and this isn't about the real people just the characters portrayed on screen!

Lucy felt herself float off again, the words in front of her were becoming blurry as tears started to pool in the edges of her eyes. She bit her lip, hard, in an effort to make them go away and tried to refocus.

The smell of coffee, ink and paper surrounded her at the desk she shared with Martin, one of the older correspondents who more or less hated her. It was a small mercy that he was off on assignment that afternoon; he wouldn’t be there to witness her complete breakdown.

She hadn’t cried since she got the news, instead she threw herself into writing and now it seemed like her body was done fighting the battle against grief as tears fell down her cheeks.

Lucy thought back to the horrifying phone call she had gotten in the middle of the night about a week ago, maybe longer. God, time was starting to blur.

The loud ringing of her phone pulled her out of a deep slumber, making Lucy stumble around until she finally lit the hallway light and got to the living room just in time to pick up the phone before the last ring.

“Hello?” She asked groggily, coughing slightly trying to clear her throat that was clearly thick with sleep.

“Lucy?” She perked up at the familiar sound of Harry’s voice.

“Yeah? Is everything alright, Harry? Is this about the travel arrangements for next week be-”

“It’s Rosie.”

The tone in his voice made an ice cold chill run down the length of Lucy’s spine. Her instincts were screaming at her to run, to do something but she stood frozen as Harry’s voice sounded more and more muffled. The ringing in her ears intensified as she uttered some words in response to one of Harry’s questions and then clicked the phone back into the receiver.

She felt like a ghost from that moment on as she got back into bed and didn’t move until the sun started to shine through her window.

Sleep had evaded her grasp for the days after, the only thing that seemed to get her to finally rest was quite a few glasses of rather strong scotch.

Lucy wasn’t really sure she was actually at work at that moment. She was aware that she had written and delivered two articles in the past few days which according to her editor were some of her best work yet but she didn’t feel real.

There was a cold feeling encasing her body like a shroud, that knowing that she would most probably never see her darling Rosie again was chipping away at her soul.

Lucy knew she wasn’t the best at coping with grief, and there was a large possibility that Rosie was still alive. He had promised to come back to her after all, but she could never be sure. Not until she heard his voice, saw his ocean blue eyes and ran her hands through his curls.

She couldn’t believe that it was a month ago when she last saw him. When she last kissed him. When they last hugged. When- Lucy muffled a sob with the palm of her hand as she blurrily looked around the newsroom.

The feeling of complete desperation hadn’t gone away since she had heard those horrible words. Lucy had done what she had always done and threw herself into work but it felt different this time. It was like her other half was just gone. Void.

Lucy wiped off the tears that started to fall from her eyes and looked at the hand written pages of notes in front of her. A brief exhale later she started to gather them together into one not very neat pile and shoved them into a folder.

She then briskly walked over to Johnson’s office, watching as her editor typed away at his typewriter - probably writing an angry letter to the promotional people that came in that morning. He still hadn’t gotten another assistant and now had to deal with typing things out himself.

“Hey. Is it alright if I leave a little early today? It’s rather slow today.” Lucy said, trying to keep her voice from shaking. She could already feel the tears starting to pool in her eyes once again.

“Of course, Everett. Uh- are you alright?” Johnson said as he looked up for a moment and grimaced slightly.

“Oh yes. Of course. Just tired.”

“Right. Will you be alright by tomorrow?”

“Yes, sir. It’s nothing a good night’s sleep can’t fix.” Lucy knew that the only thing that could mend her broken heart at that moment was the news that Rosie was alive but her editor didn’t need to know that. Not when he literally fired his last assistant for just messing up his coffee order.

“Wonderful. See you tomorrow then, Everett. Good job this past week.”

“I try, sir. Thank you.” Lucy tried to smile slightly as Johnson looked at her for a moment before nodding and going back to angrily typing out something.

The streets of London were crowded and Lucy desperately tried to keep things together for just another fifteen minutes until she reached her flat. She kept getting jostled by passing strangers and annoyed mothers.

The only time she took a moment to stop and breathe was when she saw one of the many wreckages that the German bombs had caused. She thought she was desensitized to it all by now but it still made her heart ache whenever she saw the ruins of lives that could have been.

Rosie was one of the reasons why more German bombs weren’t dropped and Lucy just kept getting reminded of the man she so desperately loved. The world just wasn’t fair. It was like she saw his ghost everywhere.

Cold bed sheets welcomed her in when she finally collapsed into bed. The open bottle of scotch that sat on the bedside table burned her throat as she took a gulp of the burning liquid.

Lucy also went to grab the pack of cigarettes she had swiped from Martin’s side of the desk that morning. She hadn’t smoked in a while and she knew that if Rosie saw her right now he would be disappointed. But he wasn’t there and that was part of the problem.

So Lucy lit up a cigarette and sat cocooned in bed until several hours later the sound of the phone ringing filtered through the flat. She laid still as it seemed to get louder and louder, taking drags of the stolen cigarette until the phone stopped ringing.

The last time she had answered that damned thing, her entire world had stopped. Her irrational mind supplied her with the tortuous idea that the call would be to inform her this time that Rosie was no longer M.I.A. instead that he was K.I.A.

The phone rang again. And again. And again. Until Lucy had no other choice than to angrily stub out the end of the cigarette and walk over to the living room. Where with trembling hands she picked up the receiver and pressed the cool plastic to her ear.

“Lucille Everett speaking.” She answered cooly, clutching the cord with such intensity she could almost feel it penetrating her hand.

“Lucy? Darling? Are you there?” Lucy’s heart stopped for a moment and then restarted when she heard Rosie’s voice through the receiver. This couldn’t be real. She had to be dreaming. A strangled breath fought its way out of her throat as she dropped the phone back to the receiver.

A moment later the phone rang, and Lucy bit her lip as she traced the black cord. Her heart was thumping and she couldn’t believe that this was happening. She gingerly picked up the phone and pressed it to her ear.

“Rosie? Rosie? Are you real? Are you alive?” She whispered, not allowing herself to hope too much. This might just be some scotch induced delusion after all.

“Yes, sweetheart. I’m okay, I’m here. A little banged up but I’m alive.” Lucy let out a relieved sob and collapsed onto the couch cushions.

“I thought- you promised you would make it back to me.”

“I did and I have. I would never leave you by choice, Lucy.” Lucy felt herself smiling slightly at Rosie’s familiar American accent. The fog slowly began to lift from her brain and she let herself to giggle slightly. Probably sounding completely insane but who cared? Her Rosie was alive.

“God. Rosie. I love you.”

“I love you too, so much.”

“Never do that to me again, you hear me Robert Rosenthal? I don’t think my heart can take it.”

“I swear on the love I have for you, darling. I’m here, alright? I’m going to be here for the rest of our days.”

“I sure hope so because I’d rather not be marrying a ghost.” Lucy said as happy tears rolled down her cheeks, her laughter sounded foreign to her ears. It was a sound she hadn’t thought she would make again.

“I promise that when this is all over I will get that ring to you.”

“You better, my love.”

“Lucy! Lucy! There’s a call for you.” Lucy turned around from the celebrations and looked as Margaret passed her pointed at the phone hanging off the wall.

“Thanks. Can you hold my glass?” Margaret nodded as Lucy passed her the champagne glass she had been sipping prosecco out of. She could hardly believe that it was the end of the bloody war! When Churchill had announced it on the radio it felt like the weight of the world suddenly disappeared from her shoulders.

“Hello? Lucille Everett speaking.” Lucy said as she pressed the familiar weight of the phone to her ear.

“Lucy! Darling! Let’s get married.” Rosie said, clearly laughing - making Lucy's already joyful heart burst.

“I thought we were already doing that!”

“Yes, well…”

“Rosie. I want to marry you but you said you wanted me to meet your mother first, hmm?”

“Alright but we get married right after! And I just know she’s going to love you.”

“Well we have all the time in the world now, darling.”

“Yes, we do. Are you coming up here soon? I haven’t seen you in too damn long.”

“What have you been drinking, Major?”

“Lucy…”

“Alright! I’ll stop teasing. I’ll be there when Harry can find me a place to stay.”

“Croz!” Lucy pulled the phone away from her ear and shook her head at Rosie’s antics. She pressed it back and heard some muffled talking before a loud indignant yelp was heard.

“Hello Rosie’s sweetheart! I’m Bucky.” Lucy let out a laugh as she heard the voice of the man Rosie so admired.

“Hello there.”

“Oh she’s British! Why didn’t you tell us, Ro- hey!”

“Sorry about that, darling. He arrived last month and has only been causing too much trouble.”

“It’s alright, Rosie.” Lucy said with a laugh, “I’ll see you soon, yeah?”

“Of course. I cannot wait to marry you.”

“That makes two of us, I love you.”

“I love you more.” Lucy heard as various other men’s voices chimed in with ridiculous imitations of Rosie’s accent before the line clicked.

The world was suddenly theirs again and Lucy couldn’t wait for the rest of her life. A life she would share with Rosie.

i'm sorry??

taglist: @justheretoreadthxxs @callumsgirl

#rosie rosenthal #robert rosenthal #robert rosie rosenthal #masters of the air #mota #mota spoilers #mota fanfic #mota oc #masters of the air oc #masters of the air x oc #rosie rosenthal x oc #rosie x oc #robert rosenthal x oc #my ocs <3 #harry crosby #nate mann #maria writes

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cfr749 · 2 months

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I still dont understand how you went from Lucy supporter to this nonsense. She is again just a vehicle for the man pain and you are celebrating it. Disappointed and disgusted

Welcome back, anon! First off, thanks for sending two rude messages so I can respond to one and use the other to block you 👋

To be clear, the only reason I’m giving this the the time of day is because I think the “man pain” issue is worth addressing.

I’m always open to talking about this show and issues with misogyny, representation, race, etc. Even with people I don’t completely agree with.

What I’m not gonna do is discuss it with someone who can’t converse like a rational adult and finds joy in sending toxic, judgmental anonymous messages, so this little exchange of ours is over after this.

I am so sorry that my feelings about the show don’t line up exactly with what you want them to be. Sounds like you have some pretty strong feelings of your own though, so here’s an idea 💡 : post them on your own blog!

Shockingly, I’m capable of considering that there might be multiple perspectives on specific decisions the show makes. And that more than one of them can be valid at the same time!

I completely get how this could be viewed as growth for Tim at Lucy’s expense. I agree that sucks. I’ve posted multiple times that I will be LIVID if Lucy doesn’t actually end up with any type of storyline of her own or character development resulting from all the shit they put her through, and just ends up as a supporting character in another Tim-centric SL.

But, I can feel that way and also have other opinions all at the same time:

- I am glad they let Tim be the flawed human instead of the victim.

- I’m glad they didn’t villify Lucy in the breakup because god knows how quickly this fandom would tear her to pieces if she ever did to Tim what Tim just did to her.

- After years of Lucy doing barely anything on screen other than the odd UC op and propping up storylines for Tim and Chenford, I’m glad her character is 3-dimensional again both in the relationship and outside of it.

- I am heartbroken over the break up. I can’t watch the scene without bawling my eyes out. I feel nauseous thinking about it. But I am also glad they now have another chance to get it right this time for Chenford. Specifically because I love Lucy. Because I feel like she deserved so much better than what she got the first time.

- I’d love to see Tim value her and fight for her instead of just having her drop everything on a dime for him bc he deigned to look her direction after getting dumped by his girlfriend.

- I’d love to see him deal with all his unresolved baggage and realize what a complete and total idiot he is for throwing away what they had.

- And I’d love to see Lucy [continue to] recognize her own worth and thrive in the meantime. I am SO proud of who she’s been this season. And I hope she becomes even stronger and more sure of herself.

- I hope she recognizes she deserves so much better than what Tim gave her and that his decision has nothing to do with her worth (even if it feels like that at first), and I hope she *demands* better from him before even considering taking him back.

I’m not psychic. I don’t know what they have planned for the rest of the season (and no, I’m not gonna jump to conclusions off of a few vague interviews either). Maybe I’ll love it; maybe I’ll hate it. We’ll see.

Either way, I’m clear that’s it’s still just a TV show and that these are fictional characters. Are you?

#Chenford #the rookie #go touch some grass anon #but get off my lawn first #my asks #see lana ramble

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itzgruvia · 2 months

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Gruvia Week 2024

Day 6: Apathy.

type: Hurt/comfort, soft, happy ending.

characters: Gray Fullbuster/Juvia Lockser, Cana Alberona.

this fanfic is also available in AO3.

The Guild’s entrance doors were open with so much force that it almost came off from it’s hinges, the rowdy ambience was quiet down immediately once they saw the ice mage’s scowly face, not that he wasn’t grumpy all the time but he looked furious.

He looked at Cana who was drinking from her big barrel of wine, but stopped once she took the appearance of Gray who was marching to her.

“Hey, Gray” she said wearily, Cana never gets on Gray’s bad side but once she does, she prefers to avoid him as much as possible because he can be a bit hot headed.

“Is something wrong?”

“What did you and Juvia drink in your mission?” he said sharply, crossing his arms as he looked down at her.

“Um..” she began to think and tried to connect the events of their journey yestereday.

Cana dragged her blue haired friend on a mission to find a burglar in a village, they accomplished it with no sweat and the villagers were more than happy to offer them a meal and some wine which Cana really had her fill.

There was also a village woman who lived alone and offered to stay in her inn since no one really goes by their village, her hospitality was kind.

“I think wine?” she said hesitantly, her mind grew black after enjoying her party with the villagers.

“Be sure Cana! What did they give you in that village?!” Gray snapped, his tone was harsh and probably scared.

“I don’t remember! What’s wrong with you?” she replied, bothered by his sudden outburst; he breathed in, and pulled his black hair up with his hand.

“Gray, why don’t you tell us what’s happening first? Then we could try and solve the problem” Mirajane suggested gently, Cana nodded next to her, Gray can’t blame her for something she doesn’t know or wasn’t aware of.

Gray breathed in, and took a moment to answer.

“Juvia is not herself today” Cana’s heart dropped, did she miss something yesterday? But she was completely fine, they were talking and laughing with each other on their way to Magnolia.

“She seems emotionless, like nothing is making her happy or sad or mad” Gray continued as he sat down in the stool next to Cana, his fist tighten and his shoulders were tense.

“She doesn’t smile at all, it’s like when she was in Phantom Lord but worse”

The guildmates were circling him now, Gajeel was frowning with concern, his arms crossed.

“There must be something she drank Cana, you have to remember.. Please” Gray pleaded, his eyes were frightened, of course he will be, Juvia is very dear to him and to see her emotionless suddenly will make him panic.

In fact, she currently feels scared for her friend’s wellbeing. So she sat straighter, her mind was still woozy with her endless drinking but she is confident she can track the events of their previous encounter.

“Okay i do remember a woman who owned an inn, she didn’t look suspicious or anything but her place was empty, we thought maybe because the village didn’t have travellers to walk by, it was very windy and we didn’t want to face a storm in our way so we got in” she explained.

Everyone was murmuring amongst themselves, it is very clear that the village woman had something to do with it.

“Did she offer you something?” Lucy asked.

“Yeah, like two bowls of potato soup and wine, she gave me two of those big barrels but Juvia didn’t want to overdrink herself so she just gave her tea” Cana suddenly gasped, it finally made sense, the tea was the cause for her friend’s issue.

“ That bi-”

“Let me go find something about this tea, she could have fused it with something” Levy suggested while she went rushing to the library.

“I’m coming too” Lucy added, she squeezed Gray’s shoulder as a reassurance before she left.

“ and we will find this witch and break her spine” Gajeel said, cracking his knuckles, Lily already on top of his shoulder ready to fight.

Noticing his friend’s silence, Cana put her hand on his shoulder.

“Hey, are you okay?” she asked. Gray sighed and closed his eyes and shook his head.

“I can’t go with Gajeel, i have to stay with Juvia”

“I wasn’t even asking you” Gajeel opposed him with his usual gruffness, and left without a word.

Cana rolled her eyes at his attitude.

“I have to go back home” Gray said, getting up from his seat as he sighed, he was stressed, Cana can see it in his frown, he is stressed and worried about her.

“I am coming with you” she added, abandoning her sweet alluring drink aside, which Mira’s eyes widened with surprise.

“You don’t have to” replied her friend, his gaze was understanding and tired as he looked at her. It twisted Cana’s heart, she hates seeing Gray like that, it made her guilt eat her up.

She should have known better, an old woman in an abandoned inn, what worse could happen?

“ no i want to, it is kind of my fault anyways” she hooked her arm with his and dragged him to the doors, she didn’t want to waste her time arguing while Juvia is alone at home.

Gray smiled lightly, she can tell that he was grateful for her company, on their way out he received a couple of back pats and support, they know that Juvia will come back the way she was again.

“I’ll send you a message to your Lacirama once Levy and Lucy find something” Mira called out, and they waved back in response.

Once Cana stepped foot into their house, she felt a sense of coldness, it was an unusual feeling, Juvia and Gray’s house always had warmth even if it’s residence was an ice mage. It was unsettling.

“Juvia, I am home” Gray said their usual greetings, but it was met with silence. All Gray could do was sigh.

Once Cana was led to their living room she was shocked at the state of her friend, Juvia looked so broken, her face was blank, her mouth was hanging open slightly, and was her face paler than usual?

“ Is it just me or does her face look blue?” she asked, her eyes still locked on Juvia’s frozen posture on the coach.

“No, she does look more blue” Gray replied, her worry grew worse.

“Hey Juvia, do you remember Cana?” Gray approached her, and gently gripped her shoulder.

“She doesn’t remember us?!” she asked, and he nodded sadly, Cana was bewildered, how come a single witch affect her friend’s memory like that?

Juvia didn’t answer.

She slowly walked over to her and bent down to her knees, she rubbed them gently, and all Juvia could do was just glance at her, emotions were long gone from her blue eyes, now she looked soulless.

Cana felt disheartened, no wonder why Gray was desperate, she felt disgusted that her friend was deprived of her own emotions..

“Don’t worry Juv, you will be alright” Cana assured, giving her a smile. There is hope for her friend, she will come back and act like she used to.

She hopes so.

Gray wrapped his arms around her from behind the couch and put his head on top of her, caressing her arms. He didn’t care that Cana was there, nothing mattered to him anymore except for Juvia.

This all feels surreal to him, once he realised that she wasn’t moving this morning he began to panic, he thought some kind of bug crept into her head and messed with her system, she couldn’t even get up without him leading her.

Stripped from her own emotions, not even sorrow was visible in her eyes yet all Gray saw was grief.

Juvia was trapped inside a spell, and all Gray could do was wait, and he hated that he couldn’t do anything to bring his Juvia back, her enthusiasm, her smile, her love, her dramatic expressions.

It’s not fair, she worked so hard to get to where she is now, and they took that from her, they took it.

They took it.

Gray had to calm down, he could feel his anger creeping inside of him like hot boiled water, he wanted to break something, he wanted to hurt something, he wanted to kill.

Kill that witch.

But Juvia needs him the most, everything will be dealt with later, he swallowed down his feelings and breathed in the air to calm his nerves.

It took 3 hours for Lucy and Levy to dig out a clue, it turns out that the spell that made Juvia emotionless was called ‘Apathy’, once a person drinks it, he will feel like his senses are leaving him slowly.

It made Gray’s stomach churn with the idea that Juvia felt every emotion leave her mind and heart, it means that she was also scared, terrified that she could not feel anything.

It took a day to find a cure, but by the end of the day, Juvia finally had her senses back slowly, it started with fear. Juvia didn’t what’s happening to her or how it was happening, she was anxious, stressed and terrified.

It was very hard for Gray to try and comfort her every time, she always felt like something was trying to get her, his heart was broken in pieces but that didn’t stop him from being there for her.

And then sadness, and gradually she got her emotions settled and stable.

Gajeel came back after successfully ‘smashing her head with his iron fist’ which made the master question him if he really did that or if he was overreacting.

It turns out he didn’t kill her but he did knock her out.

Much to Gray’s disappointment.

“Juvia, you really don’t need to do this”

His partner has been cooking plates of food and dishes with extra desserts, and Gray is grateful for it, he won’t deny any of her meals if only she gives herself a break from cooking everyday.

“This is the least Juvia could do because of what she did!” she refused to budge from her spot as she stirred a pot of chicken soup.

“That was not your fault” Gray sighed when she didn’t reply, hyper fixated on the pot in front of her, her ears were deaf.

He can already feel a headache coming. But he could have her screaming and yelling her love for him than having her sitting in a chair staring in the void like she was dead.

The warm hand on his arm snapped him from his circling dark thoughts, Juvia’s gaze was worried.

“Gray-sama, are you alright?” she asked.

Gray smiled warmly and brought her to his arms, she immediately reciprocated , giving him a tight hold of her own.

“Yeah, I just want you here for a while” he responded, enjoying the gentle warmth of Juvia’s body against him and living in the moment of blessing.

#gruvia week 2024 #fairy tail gruvia #fairy tail #gray fullbuster #gruvia #juvia lockser #gray x juvia #fairy tail 100 years quest #fairy tail juvia #fairy tail gray #juvia loxar

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