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keerysfreckles · 1 day

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bad ideas right? — LN4 (au)

pairing: fratboy!lando x fem!reader (college au)

summary: during her senior year of college, y/n and her ex get too close for comfort. it was a bad idea, right?

warnings: swearing, kissing, alcohol consumption, sexual themes mentioned but no smut written, bit of a long fic, based on the song "bad idea right?" by olivia rodrigo

a/n: WHAT ON EARTH IS IN THE MIAMI AIR PLS HE LOOKS TOO GOOD

masterlist !

⋆ ˚ ｡ ⋆ ୨୧ ˚

y/n didn't remember why her friends dragged her to the 2-star bar at the edge of campus. her brain was becoming fuzzy as the night went on. she's had maybe five drinks, not that she was complaining. herself and her three friends were dancing ridiculously as a song full of bass blared through the speakers.

two of the girls makeup was starting to smudge, one had lost a single shoe, and y/n's loose black dress was definitely the wrong option for tonight. but none of them cared. they all needed this night out before the stress of finals month started.

y/n's phone rang multiple times in the past seven and a half minutes, but couldn't hear or feel the small vibration. on the ninth call she realised her phone was lighting up in her pocket. her eyes struggled to focus on the name, but soon registered the name and number to her ex, lando norris.

the asshole who broke her heart sophomore year. the dick who left her out in the rain after kicking her out of his dorm. the shithead who then ignored her for the following year because she told him what they had was "messy". y/n l/n believed lando norris was the bane of her existence.

so why was he calling her?

he missed her.

twenty three minutes before the first phone call, lando was pacing back and forth in his untidied dorm room. he debated calling for two main reasons. he truly wanted to apologize for the way he's treated her for the past two years, and he was genuinely curious on how she was doing.

the reason for calling her so late was simply because earlier in the day his thumb hovered over her contact to delete it. however, he internally scolded himself when he simply shoved his phone back into his pocket.

lando knew he fucked up with the girl. he knew he hurt her, but he fears he'll never know how much he twisted her heart and proceeded to throw it into the dirt.

so he called her. but was left on voicemail eight– now nine times. he could recite the damn recording after tonight. "hi, it's y/n. i'm probably out so if you'd leave a message that be amazing. thanks! bye!"

on the other side of campus, the four insanely drunk friends were trying to walk back to their two dorm rooms. their arms were all linked together as they walked slowly and in anything but a straight line.

in the span of five minutes the girls got maybe thirty feet away from the club, still laughing over nothing and everything at the same time. y/n groaned in annoyance once she felt her phone ringing again.

this time however, her brain skipped the part to take the time to look at who the caller was. so she answered.

"hello?" she giggles into the phone. she lets go of her friends arms, staying a few feet behind them.

"y/n," her heart twists and her throat tightens at the voice on the other end.

"lando," her voice is quiet.

"why didn't you answer any of my calls?"

lando doesn't miss the giggle and slight slur to her words as she spoke, "me and my friends were out. why? are you some kind of spy now? you just have to know where i am?"

lando goes to speak again, but hears y/n giggle after a curse word falls her lips. the girl can't help but laugh as she tripped over the small crack in the sidewalk, making her phone fall to the floor.

"y/n are you okay? do you guys need me to come get you?"

after two attempts y/n is able to pick up her phone, while one friend tries getting her off the ground.

lando doesn't get a cohesive response, now that two other girl's voices and druken laughter were flooding the speaker.

y/n finally gets to her feet and puts the phone on speaker, "lan, we're just going back to our rooms."

lando's cheeks flush lightly at the nickname he hasn't heard her use in practically forever. he runs a hand over his face, debating on if his idea is stupid or not.

he sighs, "just stay where you guys are alright? i'll come find you and take you back safely."

before y/n can respond, the line goes dead.

so now the four girls were spread out slightly on the cold sidewalk, at least four blocks from their building. two girls were trying their best to look up at the stars without falling over. while y/n and the other were sitting on the curb, leaning against each other.

lando would admit he's surprised that he didn't get a speeding ticket the whole time he was in the car. he took the route from y/n's dorm room, that he's only been in once this year, and drove in the direction of three different bars.

after no luck, he turned around and called y/n again. at the sound of her drunk giggles, he was starting to get annoyed. yes, this was his own idea, but he couldn't live with himself if he knew they were out and he couldn't do anything about it.

after several minutes, he finally got some sort of address out of the girl.

y/n could already feel her head pounding as her friend beside her continued to ramble on about the color green. y/n knew neither of them would remember this conversation in the morning.

her friend cut herself off, "ow! who turned the sun on?"

the "sun" was actually the headlights of lando's dark blue car. y/n leaned over to see him pulling over to their side of the road.

lando muttered out a curse word or two at the state of y/n and her friends. y/n watched as lando struggled to get the three of her friends crammed into the backseat of his car. he managed to get them inside without hitting their heads, so he considered it a job well done.

"c'mon," he held both hands out to help y/n off the curb. she subconsciously leaned into him while he helped her into the front seat. once he triple checked they were all buckled, he gave each of them a water bottle before driving in the direction of their dorm rooms.

the drive was quiet, despite the few druken burps let out between all the girls.

lando had a solid game plan once he parked into the front row outside of the girls' senior building. he would get one out at a time and safely into their room.

after getting one girl out of the backseat, y/n taps on her closed window, catching lando's attention.

"you're gonna need their passcode to unlock the door," her voice was scratcy, but lando could tell the water helped her sober up slightly.

lando thanked y/n after she told him both room codes, which made getting the girls inside much easier. he locked the car doors after each girl, and was quick as he could be to get them to their beds.

two girls were able to walk slightly, while carrying the third was just easier. now y/n was leaning against lando as they went up the single flight of stairs. he kept his grip on her while typing in the code, but y/n didn't let go when the door unlocked.

she silently turned and hugged him. the action caught him off guard for a second, before he held her head to his chest.

"are you gonna be okay?"

"i've missed you lan," y/n completely ignores his question, and he knows she's sincere when her grip slightly tightens on the back of his shirt.

y/n looks up at lando, losing her train of thought now that she gets a good look at him for the first time that night. her cheeks flush at how he's looking down at her, with his stupid backwards hat, and his stupid curls.

lando stares back at her, watching her widened pupils flick between his own eyes.

"i've missed you too," he fianlly admits out loud.

before y/n leaves to go in her room, she leans up to place a kiss on his cheek. the action instantly makes lando's brain fuzzy, as well as the girl's. lando smiles slightly before leaning forward to kiss y/n's forehead.

"call me if you need anything, 'kay?"

y/n nods, watching him now walk down the hallway. she lets out a loud groan once her head hits her pillow. her brain's telling her one thing, but her heart is telling her another.

she groans once more, knowing if she debated this any longer she'd only give herself an even bigger headache. she isn't sure if lando left the parking lot yet, so she throws on a pair of shoes without tying them, and runs down the hallway and back down the stairs.

she's surprised she didn't trip, but the thought leaves her head once she calls lando's name.

his movements stop, his hand halting on the handle of the driver's side door.

his eyebrows instantly furrow, "are you okay?" he doesn't get an answer, y/n only walks over to him with a certain look of determination filling her features.

"is something wrong?" he asks again, now that she's in front of him.

y/n doesn't answer again. two seconds pass until y/n pulls lando's face down to hers. the grip on his neck is soft and firm at the same time while her lips press to his.

lando kisses back almost immediately, one of his hands going to her waist while the other holds the back of her head.

"wait, shit you're not still super drunk are you?" lando pulls back, his lips barely hovering over hers, but concern filled his words.

"yes," y/n nods, "lan i've never wanted anything more."

she sucks in a breath, slightly regretting her choice of words. however her shoulders relax once a smirk makes its way across lando's face, before he's pulling her back towards him.

lando walks backwards, bringing y/n with him, before opening the door to the backseat.

y/n lets out a small laugh, "really?"

lando shrugs, "we can't really fuck in your room with your sleeping roommate." he pulls y/n with him, with her closing the door behind her immediately. her legs rest on either side of his, as his hands move to her thighs, starting to bunch up the material of her dress.

lando pulls away from the kiss once more, "you're sure you really want this?" he can barely concentrate on her answer while she threads the hair at the back of his neck between his fingers.

"i need you lan, please," she's desperate and she knows it, but she couldn't care less.

—

with lando's car now midly humid and smelling like sweat, he runs his fingers up and down y/n's back under her (his) shirt. he heard her breathing even out maybe three minutes ago, as well as her hand going limp by his waist. he knew she'd be out for the rest of the night.

9 am rolls around rather quickly, and y/n wakes up to a repetitive knocking. her eyebrows furrow before she wipes the sleep from her eyes. turning, she's met with a very amused roommate outside of lando's car.

"shit," y/n mumbles. she sits up while shaking a sleeping lando.

"lan, c'mon wake up, steph is outside."

lando wakes surprisingly easily, waving awkwardly at y/n's roommate as she gets out of the car.

"sleep well?" steph jokes, walking quickly after y/n who's almost running up to their dorm.

"want to explain why you were with a shirtless lando, sleeping in his car on this fine saturday morning?"

"no, no i don't," y/n replies while typing in the code to their shared room.

"you seriously slept with him? after what he did to you?" steph asks.

"we were just," y/n pauses, "sleeping."

steph lets out a loud laugh, "sure, and i was just on the phone with the president."

steph closes the door behind her, hearing y/n groan.

"what are you doing here?" she asks the others in the room, rachel and brianna, her other close friends.

"we got a call from steph saying to come here right away," rachel answers, smirking at y/n.

"now we know why this urgent meeting was called," brianna chuckles from y/n's bed.

steph pulls out one of the desk chairs before sitting, "y/n totally had sex with lando last night," she speaks up.

"steph!"

"shit, really?"

"y/n i thought you promised yourself not to be with him again."

y/n rolls her eyes, "i'm not with him or anything. i only see him as a friend."

steph can't help but laugh, as brianna chuckles, "lying to yourself won't help the situation hun."

a small vibration hums, and rachel picks up y/n's phone before squealing. "if he thinks you're just friends, then why did he just text you asking to come to his party tonight?"

"what?" brianna and steph practically jump to look over rachel's shoulders. y/n just grabs her phone as she reads the text herself.

"well, what if you guys come with me?"

brianna shakes her head, "nope, he asked you specifically."

"if he wanted all of us there he would've been more clear," steph adds.

y/n puts her head in her hands, her mind already swarming with what could happen if she goes to lando's stupid party.

her phone hums in her hand again, and she reads the text out loud knowing her friends would ask about it.

"it'd be a small hangout with maybe twenty of us, just want you to be there," y/n can't help but smile at the words on the screen.

her three friends gush at lando's text.

"we can help you with your outfit!" rachel squeals again.

"are you going to go for hot or slutty? or both?"

"guys!" y/n laughs, "the party isn't till tonight."

steph stands, "she's right. we'll get out of your hair so you can sleep, and get rid of this sex-driven hangover you have," y/n sends her a glare.

"just text us when you need us!" brianna calls before the three of them leave y/n alone in the room.

—

"when did you get this little number?" steph pulls out a small red dress from the back of y/n's closet.

steph, brianna and rachel came back to the room an hour ago. rachel helped with y/n's makeup and hair, while brianna and steph were trying to find the perfect outfit.

y/n already vetoed three of steph's picks, stating they were too much for a simple dorm party.

she continues shaking her head at both girl's picks, just making them groan.

"aha!" brianna now pulls out a short dark green velvet dress, with spaghetti straps that cross and twist in the back.

when y/n doesn't shake her head instantly, steph throws both her hands up, "she loves it!"

"no, no i never said that."

steph shrugs, "you basically said it without words."

she takes the dress from brianna, "it's not that bad. only problem is i can't wear a bra with it."

brianna laughs while steph explains, "if you're gonna get laid again, bra's only waste time."

"i'm not having sex with lando tonight!" y/n defends.

"who said anything about lando?" rachel jokes, making y/n's cheeks flush.

y/n triple checks her hair and makeup after steph threw a pair of converse at her, explaining how strappy heels are just another obstacle for horny college guys.

considering lando's dorm room was only a block away, y/n insisted she was fine with walking by herself. she sent the small four person group chat when she started walking up the two flights of stairs to lando's floor.

y/n didn't know why she was nervous. she saw lando less than twenty-four hours ago, and it's not like this is the first time being inside his room.

before anymore consuming thoughts fill her brain, she knocks quickly at the door.

damn, y/n thinks to herself, seeing lando leaning against the doorframe. she hates to admit it, but she doesn't think she's seen anyone look as good as lando does at this very moment.

white shoes cover his feet, with baggy jeans and a white t-shirt, with that stupid backwards hat covering his curls again.

"you just gonna stand and stare all night?" lando smirks, and y/n simply ducks under his arm to go inside. "sure, come on in, make yourself at home," he mutters while closing the door.

the first hour since y/n's gotten there goes by smoothly. like lando said, there was probably sixteen people crammed into his dorm room, with loud music playing and drinks were being poured left and right.

lando, subconsciously or not, stood near y/n almost the entire night. when he gave her a shot he stood next to her after she downed the alcohol. when there was a group talking, lando was sure to be around if y/n was there. at one point lando's hand was on the small of y/n's back, not that she was complaining.

as people started dispersing from lando's dorm room, y/n helped him tidy up. she threw any beer bottles or cans into the garbage bag lando held open for her. he asked if she needed a ride home, but assured she'd be fine considering she only had two shots the whole night.

"thanks for the invite lan," y/n smiles up at him as he leans against the door frame again, watching as she started to walk down the hallway.

"i'm glad you came," he states, making the girl turn to face him. "i'm sorry i've ignored you for the past two years, and treated you like shit."

lando looks down at his shoes, only to find the tops of y/n's shoes now in front of his. he lifts his head, seeing y/n was in front of him now, and not down the hallway.

"why did you treat me like that?" y/n's voice wasn't angry or filled with venom, she just sounded confused.

"i told myself i wasn't ready for the commitment of a relationship," lando's voice is quiet, as he regrets his past actions.

"it's stupid, believe me i–"

"would you tell yourself that now?" she cuts him off.

"what?" it completely catches the brit off gaurd.

"would you say you're not ready for commitment now?"

lando chuckles dryly, "i don't– i don't know y/n. where is this coming from?"

before y/n can think straight, her words leave her lips faster than her brain allows them to stop.

"i'm not sure if you've noticed, but i miss you lan. i really do. i think about you way more than i should, probably five times a day at least. almost everything i do reminds me of you and i hate it. i hate how i can't just call you to ask you to come over and watch a movie. i hate how much of an idiot i was when i actually walked away from your room," y/n takes a breath before continuing, not noticing lando's sincere look. "i should've turned around and tried harder to get you back, and i've kicked myself in the ass everyday because i didn't."

lando doesn't say anything at first, still taking all of her words in carefully. y/n swallowed before turning back around to walk away from the boy who broke her heart, she wasn't going to let him break it again.

her movements stopped once she felt a hand on her wrist.

lando simply pulls her back in front of him, catching her other arm with his other hand as she slightly tripped over her own feet. he moves his hand from her wrist to the side of her face.

lando's adams apple bobs before bringing y/n's lips to his. he stands up straighter once her hands reach his waist. y/n goes to pull away, but lando has other plans when he pushes the back of her nack, crashing his lips to hers.

the pair stumble backwards back into his dorm, moving around the small kitchen to go to his room. on the way, both of their shoes are discarded somewhere by the front door, as well as lando's hat and y/n's phone and wallet.

lando's shirt and belt are hastily taken off by y/n before he lays down on his bed, quick to pull the girl on top of him. he sits up slightly as the two begin to kiss again, a bit slower but more than passionate this time.

lando pulls back for a moment, taking in the sight of the girl in his lap. her hair already tangled in places from his fingers running through the strands. her widened pupils from anything but alcohol this time.

he leans forward again, capturing her lips in between his, as his left hand moves to her shoulder. the slow and intimate moment is new for the both of them, as he slowly pushes the strap of y/n's dress off her shoulder.

"i'll take care of you," lando admits, "i won't try and push you away this time."

"i won't let you," y/n whispers with a shake of her head, before pulling his chin to kiss him again.

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mj0702 · 2 days

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The other Bronze – Pt. 17

For Lunatic... keep fighting my little Girl♥️♥️

You really tried to stay awake to hide before Sarina kicked your door down. You REALLY tried – but of COURSE you fell asleep on your stomach sprawled out like a starfish. Keira always said it's just a Bronze-trade. Obviously it was – Bronzes are Stars so they sleep like starfishes. Georgia was squished into the wall by your foot against her lower back but she got used to it over time already so she didn't care anymore and just snored alongside you lightly. Next thing you knew was that your back felt cold – really REALLY cold. Your brain slowly started to catch up and you felt the cold even... moving. You jumped out of bed swearing loudly trying to get away from the cold when you came face to face with a stern looking Sarina Wiegman herself holding a small bucket in her right hand.

“Jesus fuck Mama Rina” you exclaimed turning around yourself trying to get away from the cold

“Oh no... you don't get to “Mama Rina” me until you worked off your punishment” the dutch replied strictly

“What the...” you tried to shook the cold off even more adamant now

The blonde head coach grabbed your shirt and lifted it slightly and suddenly there were about twenty ice cubes falling out of the back of your shirt.

“Now... get your stuff together you are going to join me, Alessia and Ella on a little trip” Sarina said serious

“Sounds like you want to kill us...” you mumbled but already started to change in some long sweats and Georgias trainings shirt

“If I wanted to kill you I certainly wouldn't have woken you up before” the blonde rolled her eyes “Cleats too”

“Cleats??” you asked confused “I don't have cleats”

“You do...” Sarina simply said pushing a box into your hands “... now get moving before you wake up your girlfriend who shouldn't have to suffer because of your....”

“Geniusness?” you provided smiling hopefully

“Stupidity” the blonde answered flatly

“I thought it was a good gift” you mumbled as you get pushed outside by Sarina herself

“Mornin” you mumbled getting into the mini-van next to Toons with Less in the second row

“Mornin” both of them mumbled back Lessi nearly back asleep already as Sarina got into the drivers seat starting the car

“You know what we dealing with?” you whispered to Ella who just shook her head

“Just know it freaking early” Toons mumbled back

“You'll see when we arrive” Sarina said from the driver seat and you could see her smirk through the back mirror

“That sounds bad” you whined under your breath “Can we please have some music?”

Sarina wordlessly turned on the radio which caused Ella and Less to wake up a little more what was what you hoped for. You couldn't die alone out there – you needed emotional support for dying. You pulled out your phone texting your girlfriend about your whereabouts and that you loved her and you will cherish the time with her even in afterlife.

“Drama much?” Lessi asked when she leaned in from behind reading your text

“I don't if I'll make it back alive” you defended yourself

“Better say goodbye to Kei and Luce too then” Ella mumbled her head against the window again

“Wake up beech” you said and kicked her ankle resulting in Toons jolting hitting her head on the window

“You shite...” the brown haired woman exclaimed lunging at you which threw you into a fit of giggles – that was until Sarina hit the brakes hard making all of you getting thrown into your seatbelts

“Do I have your attention now?” the blonde asked from the front “Because this is a punishment not a fun trip”

“Let us have a little fun before we die” you mumbled

“No one is going to die” Sarina rolled her eyes stopping at your final destination and all three of your groaned when you realized where you where – Old fucking Trafford

“Come on Girls... get going” the blonde clapped in her hands smiling overly fake as she got out of the car

“Told you we were dying... did you believe me?? No...” you pulled an annoyed face

“We believe you now” Lessi groaned as Sarina pulled open the back door ushering you out of the mini van

You walked after the blonde head coach like a line of ducklings behind their mother duck head hung low

“Okay... three laps to warm you up...” Sarina said as you pulled on your cleats which fitted perfectly

“These... actually fit” you looked at your feet surprised

“Of course they do... I had them custom made for you” the dutch looked at you confused

“Why?” you looked up just as confused

“Had a feeling you'd need them along the way” she answered smiling softly

“Thank you” you mumbled being touched by Sarinas gesture who just slightly squeezed your shoulder

“Come on... get going” the blonde said in her trainer voice and all three of you started to scramble away

“Guys wait... I can't run that quickly” you yelled after your two best friends

You were just over a round into your punishment when you heard a honk behind you making you jump to the left into the field taking Tooney out with you. The second you were out of the way the one and only Jill Scott drove past the two of you sitting comfortably on an e-scooter.

“Out my way you peasants!!” Jill yelled blazing past you

Toons and you needed a second to recover from the absurdity you just witnessed before bursting out laughing sprinting after Jill trying to catch her. It didn't take long for the two of you to catch up to Jill and the moment you were next to her you easily slide into her lap laughing loudly as the scooter swayed a little bit. Tooney easily jogging next to you while Less was a little further away from you.

“Get off me... you were ordered to run” Jill laughed trying to push you off her of course with no use since you desperately clinged to her neck.

“You should need to run to... you were involved too” you laughed then squealed as your actions caused the scooter to sway

“I'm old and retired... what's your reason” your Godaunt laughed trying to manoeuvre the scooter around the corner flag ending driving right over it

“I'm young and broken” you grinned sticking your leg out pushing against Ellas hip making her stumble in process

“Y/N BRONZE!!!” you suddenly heard Sarina yell over the whole pitch “GET OFF THAT SCOOTER IMMEDIATLY!!!”

“Oh shit...” you mumbled quickly shuffling off Jill trying to find your footing without any luck and you face planted into the field

“SCOTT.... TO ME!!!” you heard the dutch yell again and when you lift your head you saw Jill face draining from all colour turning around the scooter going the other way – away from Sarina

“SCOTT!!!!!”

You bursted out laughing still laying on the grass when Less stopped right next to you

“Coffee break?” the blonde looked down at you as you rolled onto your back offering you a hand to help you up

“Scott took me out” you grinned while grabbing her hand and she hoisted you up “I just love that woman”

“I'm too old for you” Jill suddenly drove past you again and you looked at her confused before you saw Sarina coming over quickly with long powerful strides

Less and you looked at each other scared before scrambling away continue to run your laps as you heard the whistle

“Toone, Russo, Scott, Bronze... to me... NOW” Sarina commanded and the way her dutch accent blended in her normally perfect english told you you better listen

“Since you're all awake and oh so funny... we're gonna play a little game..” the dutch started and you screeched

“... told you she wants to kill us... we gonna need to fight each other – hunger games style... Less you want to be me ally??” you interrupted Sarina who just rolled her eyes

“... you're all gonna be allies... because all of you – yes Scott that includes you – will do a beep test... right here... right now” the blonde answered

“Uh... wifey is not happy with you” you snickered next to Jill who just looked at Sarina dumb folded

“I'm what?” the retired player asked

“These three wouldn't be able to pull something like this off...” Sarina waved towards Less, Toons and you “... so you were involved too and so you're involved in the punishment as well”

“Oh fuck me” Jill groaned out throwing her arms in the air

“I don't think you get any for a while... you pissed off the wifey” you snickered again squealing when Jill took a step towards you hiding behind Sarina

“I'm gonna end you Bronze” Jill looked at you seriously

“Pff... I like to see you try... Grandma” you shot back sizing up Jill Scott

“Bring it...” the brown haired woman growled but you saw it was show

“Do try and keep up, yeah...” you sneered – also for show

“Y/N... a word” Sarina pulled you with her to the side “... this is a punishment, yes... but I don't want you to overdo it, alright? I know your knees are weak so you are NOT going to try and keep up with Ella and Alessia – your partner is Jill”

“I can keep up with them” you answered arrogated

“But you won't – I don't want you to hurt yourself again” the blonde said strictly

“Yes Ma'am” you mumbled going back to the others and all of you went up to the starting line waiting for the whistle

“Bronze!” Sarina yelled as you sprinted past the cone beating the clock by mere seconds “You're out”

“What?? I'm not... I beat the buzzer!!!” you exclaimed angrily panting hard

“You're doing exactly what I told you not to do... you try to keep up with pro athletes and for the last four sprints you're ticking on the right... you're out” the dutch said firmly even going so far stepping in your way when you set up to start sprinting again

“I can do it” you growled

“I know you can... but I won't allow you to continue – don't make me pull the head coach card” Sarina held your stare “Stop Liefje... I won't hesitate to call Keira.... go walk it off”

You're breathing still laboured the anger playing into it you're continuing staring at the blonde before turning around starting to walk away. When you reached the side line Jill was waiting for you pulling you into her side

“You don't have to proof anything to anyone...” the older woman said pulling you along with her so that you kept walking “... you gave them a run for their money you know”

“I could've kept going” you sneered your breathing slowly calming down

“Not without hurting yourself further” Jill said softly “Sarina made the right call and you know it – on a scale from 1 – 10 … how bad is the pain?”

“Not more than I'm used to...” you lied but of course Jill saw right through it just raising an eyebrow at you

“About an 8...” you mumbled

“Fuck Cookie... we get this round done and then you'll let me look at your knee” the older woman groaned

“It'll sort itself out...” you waved off but you already knew there was no use

“It's either me having a look at it or your sister – and with your sister comes Keira... with Keira comes Leah... with Leah comes Georgia... you know how the chain works” Jill smirked and this time you groaned

When you got your round down Jill gently pushed you down onto the grass kneeling beside your right side touching and prodding your knee starting to rotate it in different direction keeping an eye on your reactions. When she rotate your leg to the outside you hissed and tried to pull away from her and Jill hummed knowingly

“Sarina...” the older player signalled for the dutch to come over which she immediately did letting Tooney and Lessi off their punishment who both collapsed into the ground panting like a locomotive

“She overdid it didn't she?” Sarina asked seeing how Jill was working on your knee

“You know her...” the older woman rolled her eyes “... of course she did – surprised she can put weight on it to be honest”

“She's right here” you grumbled

“You quiet” the dutch cut any comment of you off “Do we need a medic?”

“No” you exclaimed the same time as Jill nodded

“Toone... Russo... walk a round and then come over to help” Sarina yelled at your best friends who looked at you concerned but did as they were told

“What can we do?” Less immediately asked kneeling down on your left side

“Tell them they're being ridiculous” you grumbled annoyed

“Help her up and don't let her put weight on her right leg” Sarina said ignoring your comment completely

“Okay... come on Icebreaker... up you get” Lessi said as she already pulled you up Toons positioned herself in a way that you had no other chance to stand on your left leg and immediately grabbed around your waist holding you upright

“Hate it when you call me that Colin” you mumbled but immediately hissed in pain as you out of routine tried to step on your right

“I know...” Lessi said softly knowing you need your friends now “.. lets get you back to the hotel and try to hide this from the rest of the team”

“Thanks Less... you to Toons” you mumbled as the two basically carried you back to the minivan

“Always... it us against the world right” Ella smiled

“Minus your finger... because it nearly fell off” Lessi laughed

“Me finger REALLY nearly fell off – if it was any deeper...” Tooney exclaimed outraged

“You needed to go to the hospital... we know” you and Less laughed

“It was very serious!!” Toons exclaimed outraged

“It wasn't you muppet” you groaned as you tried to get into the minivan

“Okay wait...” Lessi said climbing into the bus and grabbed you under the arms “Tooney... push”

Next thing you knew was that you were laying on top of Lessi on the back seat

“Fuck me” you groaned out as your knee hit the backrest

“Sorry” Less huffed under you “thought that be a good idea”

“You three ready to go?” Sarina suddenly appeared next to the door

“Yeah... we loaded the cripple” Tooney grinned and you kicked her with your good leg

“Ella Toone...” the dutch warned

“Ready to go” Ella quickly said jumping into the car putting on her seatbelt

Sarina just shook her head smiling slightly closing the door before getting into the driver seat getting the three trouble maker back to the hotel

“Ella and Alessia... you go do some recovery and then breakfast – I'll take y/n” Sarina said after she killed the engine and your two best friends sprinted from the van leaving you behind to fend for yourself

“Come on Liefje... let's get you checked out” the blonde said softly offering you a hand when you robbed forward sliding out of the car wincing when your feet hit the ground

You probably would have folded if it wasn't for Sarinas strong hold on your arm.

“I've got you” the dutch said softly seeing you trying to find your composure

“It really hurts” you said and Sarina saw that you were on the verge of tears

“It's okay Liefje... you just overdid it – it's nothing bad” the blonde said calming you down

“What if it's teared again?” you whimpered

“It's not” Sarina said calmly still holding you upright “You may overstretched it a bit but that's all – a little ice and some quiet time and you're all good again, okay?”

“How do you know?” you nearly cried

“Because I remember in how much pain you were the last time you did your ACL – like it was yesterday...” Sarina said keeping her voice low and calm “... and right now you're nothing like this – so let's get you checked out and then we go get some breakfast okay?”

“Yeah sounds good” you said and tried to walk but whimpered immediately when you put weight on your right leg and Sarina adjusted her hold on you and held you now up around your waist

“What we have here?” Jack the young physio said – very happily for 6.30 in the morning

“Problem in the right knee” the blonde head coach answered for you as she helped you on the table “... she has an ACL history and overdid it with sprinting this morning. She can put very little weight on it but she's in a lot of pain and I want to have it checked out”

“No.. Mama Rina I want someone else” you whined as you couldn't deal with his happy attitude right now

“No...” Sarina sighed “... he's the one on call”

“I don't want him to touch me” you screeched when the young lad started to touch your leg

“Y/n please...” the blonde said calmly putting her hand on your shoulder “... relax for me okay?”

“I don't trust him” you said pain visible in your voice as you tried to pull your leg away from him

“Okay... Jack stop...” Sarina said seriously seeing you started to get really uncomfortable which normally ended with someone getting hurt

The young ginger haired man immediately stopped was he was doing and stepped away from you and the table holding up his hands in surrender. You were a legacy amongst the medical staff. You were anything but easy when it comes to aid your medical issues. There was a rumour that you once broke a physios jaw when he touched your throbbing ankle – you broke his nose... not his jaw.

“You want Lucy or Keira? Or Georgia?” the dutch asked softly knowing what you needed before you even said something

“Kei” you mumbled

“Okay... I'll go get her really quickly... you stay here... he won't touch you okay?” Sarina said softly fearing you would actually kill that guy

“Kay” you mumbled again laying down on the table your arm over your eyes

“Do NOT touch her... stay an arm length away....” the dutch addressed towards the physio strictly

“I'm definitely not touching her” Jack said slightly afraid of your reaction

Sarina nodded shortly and left the room

“It's not your fault” you said into the quiet room “I'm just not a fan from being touched from strangers – even less when I'm in pain”

“I understand that...” the ginger haired man said but stayed where he was “I choose this profession because I was actually a hard core introvert and somehow convinced myself I need to get out more – now I'm with people but I don't HAVE to talk to them...”

“I'll get you a coffee once I'm better...” you sighed deeply as another wave of pain hit you “You think it's fucked again?”

“You didn't leave me any time to get a good feel you know...” the physio answered “... but I don't think so”

“Yeah sorry about that... again” you chuckled slightly “You know... under different circumstances we could have been fast Frens”

“Then we'll be slower friends” Jack smiled

“It's Frens... not friends” you corrected him your eyes closed under your arm when you heard footsteps outside the room “Could you please act like I was trouble and cursed and threatened the shit out of you? I don't want my reputation to be ruined”

“I got you... should I shake in fear?” the physio grinned

“Just for my own sakes... you gay right?” you smirked

“Girl... I wear pink while the standard colour is blue... I think that's a dead give away” the ginger rolled his eyes

“Yeah about that... it clashes with your hair” you snorted

“Bitch please... I'm the one with the fashion sense... have you actually seen what you're wearing?” he shot back and you just had to laugh

“It was early and dark okay” you said “upset”

“That shirt not even your size...” the physio teased your further

That next second you heard the door open and two people entering

“Oh Bitsy...” Keira sighed “... what were you thinking?”

“Did she behave?” Sarina asked the young physio

“Didn't say a word...” the young man answered “... was kind of horror movie in here”

“She gets like this...” Keira interrupted looking at the physio “... don't take it personal”

“Won't... but I would really like to check her knee out... and get back to my coffee” the ginger said shrugging his shoulders

“Okay... give me a minute” the blonde said and Sarina understood immediately and pulled the physio outside with her

“Okay Bits...” Keira said softly after she pulled a chair over sitting next to you slowly prying your arm of your eyes so she could hold your hand “... what happened?”

“Sarina already told you” you mumbled turning your head away from her

“But I want to know from you what happened... why did you think you could keep up with Ella and Alessia?” the blonde kept her voice soft

“I just thought I could... there was a point where I could... and I...” you started but then your voice broke

“You always pushed yourself to far Bitsy...” Keira said as she gently moved your head so you had to look at her “... Sarina shouldn't have done this Bitsy... at least not without Lucy or me there... we know when it's enough”

“I'm not a kid anymore...” you grumbled angrily “... I can decide for myself”

“And normally you make good decisions... best example Georgia...” the blonde said softly not playing into your raising anger “... but when it came to competitions you always pushed yourself too much”

“I just want to..” you started before Keira interrupted you

“I know Bitsy.. and I wish you could... but you can't” the blonde said calmly “... you want to hear a little secret?”

“Uh-hu” you nodded

“Okay... I'll make you a deal... I tell you the secret and while I tell you Jack can look at your knee” Keira offered

“No... that ginger will just eat me soul” you said stubborn

“He won't” the blonde rolled her eyes in a loving manner “He's good – Lucy and I can vouch for him okay”

“If he hurts me I'll kick him in the balls” you grumbled but Keira already stood up to get Sarina and Jack back inside

“It is safe or do we need a muzzle?” the young physio asked and you could see the glint in his eye

“One kick... just give me one kick” you begged Keira who just bursted out laughing signalling the young man to start examine your knee

“Okay.... you know how Lucy worked at Dominos when she was at Uni?” the blonde started to distract you

“Yes... apparently she made the best pizza in the area” you rolled her eyes remembering how often your sister would brag about it “Yet when you ask her to make one for you she always orders Chinese”

“She made so many pizza in her life she can't stand them anymore” Keira smiled “Anyway... do you know how we met?” Keira smiled at you and after you shook your head she continued “I was over at a friends house and we were watching a movie and ordered pizza. Since it was fairly late – we were actually the last order of that day - Lucy delivered the pizza herself. She was on her way home and thought she'll just drop them off at my friends house. So I opened the door to find not only the one pizza we ordered but five – she had some “left overs” and thought she treated us to some free pizza. I was literally speechless and wanted to pay for them but she wouldn't let me. So the next day I went up to the shops down in Great Ancoats Street... asking for the tall dark haired girl which worked the last shift the day before. She wasn't working in that Dominos – so I went to EVERY Dominos in Manchester until I found the one she was working in. Her co-worker was very helpful asking me if I mean Lucy. Of course I said yes – didn't know her name before. He told me she wasn't in that day but she normally would work Saturday evenings. So I went back Saturday and there she was – bored out of her arse. She remembered me from the delivery and I asked her if I could buy her a coffee – just as a thank you of course”

“What happened then?” you said totally captured by the story

“After a little hesitation she said yes” the blonde smiled “But she asked me if she could bring her girl”

“EXCUSE ME?” you shot up into a sitting position just to get pushed down on your back again gently

“Wait...” Keira smiled “... I had the same reaction as you – just... not so obviously. I just thought that this must be a bad joke asking if she can bring her girlfriend after I kinda implied I would like it to be... more than just a “thank you” but I said “of course” since it was “just” a thank you coffee. So we said we meet next day at lunchtime at that small cafe a couple of streets down. I was bold enough to give her my number and said if anything changes to just let me know. So next day comes around and I wait at the cafe for her to arrive to receive a massage – 10 minutes after we said we meet up that she's on her way and she's sorry she got held up. I was FUMING. So I waited another 10 minutes when I spotted her walking down the park very slowly. I thought she was having second thought because she was OH so slow – but the when she rounded the corner I knew why she was walking so slowly...”

“Why?” you interrupted her impatiently

“... because of you. You were “her girl” and you just started walking and you wanted to walk everywhere. And of course she let you – you always had her wrapped you know. So there the two of you were slowly coming towards me with you looking so concentrated that it was just outright adorable. You held onto her finger so tightly and when you finally made your way over she just looked at me apologetic “I'm sorry but missy here wanted to walk”... I knew I was in deep shit right there and then. She was so sweet with you and oh my heavens you were the sweetest toddler I've ever seen”

“Oh gooooood” you groaned embarrassed as you heard Jack chuckle “... did you have too?”

“What? You were... and in comparison to now so well behaved” Keira smirked

“I was scared of you... you were much more ginger back than... soul eater” you sneered back but it had no bite to it

“You were in so in love with me that you threw an absolute tantrum when Lucy tried to pry you away from me when it was time to leave” the blonde rolled her eyes

“Did NOT” you said horrified

“Go ask your sister...” Keira waved off until she realized what she just said “Don't go ask her... you stay here until we know what's wrong with your knee”

“Knee is good” Jack interrupted quickly “Just rest it for a few days and you're as good as new”

“When were you done???” you asked surprised

“Around the time Keira thought Lucy stood her up” the ginger shrugged his shoulder

“Why didn't you say anything??” you looked at him lost

“I wanted to know how the story ended” he looked at you confused and Keira alongside Sarina bursted out laughing

“They ended up dating you ass nugget” you exclaimed “It's no secret”

“But first date stories are always so interesting...” Jack defended himself

“Ugh” you just huffed before pushing yourself off the table just to get held back by Keira

“Crutches” the blonde said strictly

“He didn't say anything about crutches” you whined desperately

“Learn to read between the lines...” Keira rolled her eyes as she accepted the crutches from the young physio

“But I don't wanna” you whined again this time with even more desperation in your voice

“Bitsy” the blonde warned “... I got pulled away from breakfast before I could even start eating my eggs on toast – I didn't have any coffee and I had to get rid of your overprotective sister who immediately KNEW it had something to do with you when Sarina came over to tell me you need me... DON'T play games with me now... get on them damn crutches and we can go get breakfast”

You quickly grabbed the offending piece of medical help and quickly made your way over to the door knowing Keira doesn't joke around

“Yeah I thought so” Keira yelled after you watching you crutch down the hallway “Thanks Jack... anything we should keep on eye on?”

“Rest it, ice it, 48 hours at least other than that... no..” the ginger smiled seeing how quickly you listened once Keira put her foot down

“Good... if you excuse me now... I have a breakfast waiting” the blonde squeezed the shoulder of the young physio gently before walking after you

“What the hell happened?” Lucy yelled out shocked seeing you stumbling into the breakfast room on crutches

“G fu...” you started smirking evilly before your girlfriend quickly shot up covering your mouth

“Don't get me involved... I swear Lucy... nothing to do with me” Georgia said panicky looking scared at your sister

“Still doesn't answer what happened” Lucy growled

“She overdid it trying to keep up with Toone and Russo” Keira simply answered sliding back into her seat pulling out the empty chair next to her and directed at you “Sit”

You sat down so fast that you were on the verge of falling back over with the chair if it wasn't for Millie who just walked past and like on autopilot pushing your chair back up preventing you from landing on the ground

“Thanks Mills” you said as the blonde just kept on walking holding up her hand in a “no problem”-manner

“What you want for breakfast?” Keira asked softly

“Can I have yours?” you pouted

“Lucy... get your sister some scrambled eggs on toast” the blonde sighed “and put some bacon on this plate too otherwise you'll have to run again in five minutes”

“Thanks Kei” you mumbled falling against the blondes side

“What about me? I'm running to get you food” your sister exclaimed upset

“Thanks Luce” you mumbled your eyes closing

“No Bitsy... no sleeping... we'll get some food into you and then you can go sleep some okay?” Keira stroke over your cheek softly

Seconds later Lucy placed a plate loaded with scrambled egg and some slices of toast in front of you some fruit in an extra bowl

“I didn't order that” you used your fork to push away the fruit

“You like fruit” Lucy looked at you confused

“No.. I like the fruit Keira makes” you clarified shoving a fork full of eggs as Keira smirked happily

“It's just fruit” your sister said lost

“I bet me ass there's mango in there” you mumbled around the egg in your mouth

“Don't talk with your mouth full” Keira rolled her eyes

“But she” you started to just get shut up by Keiras glare

“Eat and then rest” the blonde simply before starting eating herself

“I don't wanna go to bed” you whined as Lucy carried you on her back out of the elevator Keira following closely your crutches in her hand

“You have to rest” Keira said sternly

“But Tooney and Less are allowed to go to the zoo... I want to go to the zoo” you poked against Lucys cheek

“No” Lucy simply said trying to move her head away from your poking “behave and I'll let G into the room too”

Immediately your poking stopped and Keira had to bite her lip not to burst out laughing

“Okay... here's the deal... you rest and ice it for two hours and if you're good and ACTUALLY rest Kei and I'll take you to the zoo later okay?” your sister smiled while Keira opened the door to your room

“And G?” you asked hopefully

“Come on Stanway.. I know you're lurking in the shadows” Lucy yelled down the corridor and seconds later your girlfriend appeared out of the staircase exit smiling widely

“These two Lucy... I tell you – we're gonna have our hands full” Keira laughed as she saw G sprinting down said corridor

“As long as they use protection I don't care” your sister huffed as she gently sat you down on the bed

“Luce” you screeched “Ew!!!”

“What? I don't need you running around pregnant” Lucy grinned

“G is good... but not THAT good” you talked back and saw how your girlfriend – who just arrived at the door – was just about to run on instead of joining you inside the room “Don't you dare!!” you yelled before Georgia could bolt again

“You really want her to kill me don't you?” G said as she carefully entered the room

“Keira won't let her” you waved off

“As long as you don't get her pregnant” Keira grinned wide pinching Georgias cheek harshly

Your girlfriend rolled her eyes and climbed on the bed getting comfortably before you fell against her relaxing instantly not even complaining when Lucy carefully placed an icepack on your knee. Keira nodded her head for Lucy to join her outside and your sister immediately followed suit seeing how calmly you became just with the presence of Georgia

“You think we can leave them alone?” Lucy asked hushed as she quietly pulled the door close

“Of course... didn't you see how Bitsy was basically out the second she got comfortably against G?” Keira snorted

“We have to keep that bloody zoo promise don't we?” your sister sighed

“Oh yeah” the blonde smirked knowing you're going to be an absolute nightmare to control later

“Fuck” Lucy swore under her breath

“TOONEY!!!!” you yelled as you spotted your best friend outside the elephant enclosure

“LOONEY!!!” Toons yelled back running towards you

“No” Keira quickly said pulling on your leash “Crutches and no running”

“I can” you whined before you got interrupted again

“No” the blonde said again gripping your leash tighter

“If you throw a tantrum Bubs we always can go back to the hotel” Lucy “threatened” you

“That's not fair” you threw your crutches away and plopped down on the nearest bench “Tooney and Less are allowed to run around”

“Strike 2 Bitsy.... Strike 2” Keira sighed pinching the bridge of her nose

“But..” you started to whine

“No.. last warning... behave and play on our conditions or leave it and we go back to the hotel.... what will it be y/n Bronze” the blonde started to lose her patience

“Wanna see the penguins” you mumbled

“Okay...” Keira took a deep breath picking up the crutches “... then come on”

“Shit... Keira is mom” G mumbled behind the two of you which caused Lucy to burst out laughing

“Hi... hi little guy” you were pressed up against the window watching the penguins waddle around in their little enclosure

“She really is like a kid” Jill appeared in between Lucy and Keira picking a piece off her candy cotton

“Look who's talking” Lucy chuckled before grabbing a piece of candy cotton from one of her best mates

“Oi... leave me candy” Jill shoved Lucy away

“Keira keira keira keira” you exclaimed excited

“What Bitsy?” Keira smiled at your youthful energy

“Can I have 5 bucks?” you hobbled over to where Keira, Lucy and Jill were seated

“For?” the blonde asked a little suspicious

“You can buy some fish and feed the penguins” you said excited pointing wildly at a sign

“Bitsy... you're on crutches... you can't go in there... it's slippery and far to dangerous that you slip and hurt yourself further” Keira tried to explained knowing it would be so hard to get you to accept that you can't feed penguins this time “.. next time okay?”

“I don't want to do it... but I know someone who would DIE to feed them” you said happily

“You promise not for you??” Keira asked again looking at you expectantly

“Not for me... for a...” you nodded quickly before pausing “... friend?”

“Okay... just... if I see you in there I'm gonna tie you to me belt” the blonde warned pulling out her wallet handing over a five-pound-bill

“Thank you” you pressed a wet kiss to her cheek before hobbling off again yelling into the distance “Mister Penguin Caretaker Sir!!”

“Why do I have the feeling something is cooking here??” Lucy asked looking after you confused

“As long as it's not her going in there I don't care” Keira waved off

You were gone for about five minutes before you came hobbling back sitting yourself down on your sisters lap who accepted your choice of seating without any comments just laying her arm around your waist still talking to Jill

“Uh uh uh Lucy look... it's feeding time” you exclaimed starting to hop a little bit up and down in your sisters lap

Your sister looked up ending her conversation with Jill and her eyes popped nearly out of her head when she spotted LJ in wellies with a bucket of fish in her hand and about 15 penguin heads turning simultaneously into her teammates direction

“Why... does LJ have a bucket of fish in her hand?” Lucy asked shocked and confused at the same time

“Bitsy” Keira scolded the same moment

“What... I just wanted to do something nice for her” you defended yourself

“So you simply forgot the fact that LJ can't stand fish??” your sister asked her eyebrow raised as she watched how the colony of penguins waddled towards a completely done LJ

“Oh that was her?? I thought that was Lotte...” you said innocently bashing your eyelashes

You saw multiple phones getting pulled out of pockets by the Lionesses all recording LJ scurrying away from the penguins trying to find safety on a rock not thinking about how the animals were only interested in the bucket of fish.

“Just drop the bucket!!!” you heard Rach yell from the side of the enclosure

“She can't hear you Rach” you yelled over a wide evil grin on your face

“If they come any closer she might die” Jill laughed at the frightened face LJ was spotting

“Gooooood” you said happily and smiled

“Bubs!!” Lucy scolded you “We do NOT wish teammates to die”

“Yes we do” you mumbled under your breath and Keira threw you a wink

“Look how happy he is Luce.... can I have a Penguin??? Pleeeaaaase” you begged your sister pointing at a smaller one who just got pushed around the bigger ones trying to get to the fish

“Bubs... Penguin are cold weather animals... we live in Barcelona... Spain... warm weather..” Lucy sighed

“There are south african penguins...” you simply stated “... they're used to warm weather”

“No Penguins” your sister said and you knew it was final which didn't stop you at trying again – just at an other address

“Keira” you literally just started before

“No Bitsy... no Penguin” the blonde shut you down immediately

“Not fair” you grumbled but seconds later bursted out laughing seeing how LJ hung of her rock with the Penguins pulling on the welly and her pant leg nearly pulling her off the rock

“Where do you want to go next Bubs?” Lucy asked you to distract you from LJs suffering

“Sharks” you said amazed

“They don't have Sharks here” your sister looked confused “Never had”

“But I saw a sign... next to the restaurant we went” you looked at her just as confused

“That... was in Barcelona” Lucy knew what you were talking about “Seriously... are you okay?”

“Why wouldn't I be?” you shook you head lightly

“You just mixed up the places... hard core mixed them up” your sister said slowly

“And? You know I don't know what I'm talking about 90% of the time” you shrugged your shoulder seeing with great sadness how a Caretaker finally decided to help LJ out of her misery

“Okay... I'm not even going there” Lucy shook her head “... so... what else do you want to see?”

“Snakes?” you asked hopefully

“Ugh no... a 100% no” your sister shuddered at the pure thought of going into the reptile house

“Lucy Pleeeaaaase” you begged but your sister with pleading eyes

“Not in a million years... take Jill” Lucy shuddered again turning around to face her friend to just find the place next to her empty “... where the fuck is she?”

“She sneaked off the second she heard “Snake”...” Keira rolled her eyes “... Oi Mearps... you interested in snakes and stuff?”

“God no” Mary actually gagged “These.... things can stay far away from me”

“Yeah same” your sister mumbled “Sorry Bubs – no snakes”

“I can go with her” Georgia offered because she couldn't stand seeing you sad

“You hate snakes” Keira looked confused at her best friend

“What I hate more is seeing my girlfriend sad” your girlfriend shrugged her shoulders

“Could you please stop knocking on the window??” Georgia said desperately standing about five meters behind you as you knocked slightly on the window of one of the snake trying to wake it up

“I want a good picture” you mumbled knocking carefully again

“It's sleeping... let it sleep... please” your girlfriend begged

“It's behind glass babe... calm down” you rolled your eyes spotting a caretaker “... excuse me sir?”

The guy looks up and you could tell immediately that he recognizes Georgia who still stood in the other corner of the room her face white

“Yes?” the brown haired man came over looking at you expectantly

“Is there ANY chance I could hold one of those babies?” you smiled widely pointing at the snakes “I offer autographs and pictures with any Lioness you fancy”

“Sure... but not the venomous ones” he shrugged his shoulders and offered his hand for you to shake “I'm Dave”

“Y/n...” you shook his hand grinning while Georgia groaned in her corner

“I know... great move with this spanish guy” Dave grinned just as wide as you

“Thank you” you grin happily “Any player you always wanted to meet?”

“Keira Walsh?” he asked getting quite shy

“Keira??” you exclaimed a little taken a back “Why?”

“She's an amazing player... always sees the open spaces and creating chances” Dave shrugged

“Yeah no problem... Stanway go fetch Walsh” you said at your girlfriend making a shoo-motion

“I'm DEFINITELY not letting you alone with these boneless things” Georgia exclaimed knowing Keira would rip her throat the second she'd come around the corner without you

“It's not like they're gonna eat me” you rolled your eyes “Right?” you looked at Dave

“Big Mama could...” the man shrugged his shoulders “She's our 6.5 meter long Anaconda... she could eat you”

“Uh... I wanna meet Big Mama” you exclaimed excited clapping your hand

“No you don't” your girlfriend said “Keira will absolutely KILL me if you get eaten by a XXL-snake”

“She won't... Lucy will be faster” you grinned

“Awesome” Georgia mumbled

“So... here we have Baby Mama” Dave said after he opened one of the glass boxes pulling out a small snake “... she hatched about 3 weeks ago.. she's about a meter now... still has a lot to grow until she's as big as her Mama”

“Oh my god G look...” you said absolutely in awe “... LOOK”

“No thank you” Georgia swallowed hard

“Come on you...” you said before pulling her over “Isn't she cute?”

“Yeah... cool” the blonde mumbled shifting so she would stand behind you

“Can I touch her?” you ask carefully

“Sure... she got a rat two days ago so she won't be overly pushy to get some food” Dave said holding up the snake for you to pet her

You on the other hand had a different plan. You quickly grabbed your girlfriends hand and pulled it forward so she would touch the snake without realizing it before her brain could catch on.

“Oh my god” Georgia screeched trying to pull her hand back

“Well done ba... G... you touched it” you smiled sweetly as you released her hand

“You... are pure evil” your girlfriend huffed out

“I'm a Bronze” you smirked before accepting the snake from Dave holding it proudly “Take a picture”

“Why??” Georgia asked confused

“I'm literally holding an Anaconda.... that's something special” you shot back and G took out her phone taking a bunch of pictures before you gave the snake back and thanked Dave for the opportunity telling him to meet you outside for his pictures with Keira

Keira was NOT happy you again weaselled your way into getting what you want – this time holding a deadly snake. She also didn't care that both Dave and you assured her that Baby Mama wasn't deadly at this stage but Keira simply doesn't care and let you know quite strictly

The rest of the day you were put back on the leash by Mrs. Walsh herself while you hobbled next to her. You tried to convince her to give you another 30 bucks for Lion food and then tried to hackle with the caretaker to volunteer LJ if you could make the Lions sit around you for a picture but much to your dismay Keira heard you and immediately interrupted and slapped your head. You were absolutely dead on your feet once you all made your way towards the exit with Less, Toons and you trying to bolt one last time seeing the flamingos in their enclosure a little further back. Leah predicted you tried to break free the second she heard Ella exclaim “FLAMINGO!!” and grabbed into your Dino-Harness so you wouldn't use the moment of surprise against Keira

The second you sat in the back of your Car with Lucy and Keira up front and Georgia to your right your head rolled to the side onto your girlfriends shoulders and you were out cold

“She asleep?” Lucy asked before she even had the car in reverse

“Out cold” Georgia answered sliding down a little bit so you would be more comfortable

“Good... let's keep it this way... she caused enough chaos for one day” Keira said but smiled nonetheless

“You love her and her shenanigans” your sister chuckled

“Of course I do... otherwise I would've murdered already” Keira chuckled back “You think we can get her into bed without waking her up?”

“Challenge accepted” Lucy grinned “Stanway you're gonna help me”

“Okay Ladies listen up...” Sarina said loudly so everyone would hear her “... we have one training session left and my personal mini-me has a little surprise for all of you”

“I have?” you asked completely confused about to push a Marsbar into your mouth

“Yes you do” Sarina says rolling her eyes

“Yes I do” you repeated trying to sound as convincing as you could

“Snack-bag” the dutch helped you out looking at you pointing

“UUUUUHHHH... RIGHT!!!” you finally catched on “We'll have so much fun”

“Do you want to explain to the rest of the class what you've planned?” Sarina asked getting a little annoyed

“Yeah... okay... we're doing teams of four and one of three.. I don't care who is teaming up but the team of three gets an advantage... we're doing a chase... start is right here and finish is Wembley... chase goes through the whole city with different stations to check off... the time difference between first and second and second and third will be the time you get to shop in Tesco – whatever you can get in a cart and carry yourself... so.... may the odds be in your favor and chase starts...” you looked down on your (Lucys watch you stole two years ago) watch “.... now”

Immediately there was a big scramble and the most experienced players like Lucy, Keira, Alex, Mearps, Millie and Leah get pulled from one side to the other by the younger ones who wanted to be on the best team. You grinned widely and offered Sarina some of your candy as you took the chair next to her

“I really REALLY hoped for this... look how LJ and Niamh pull Lucy around” you smirked seeing your sister getting pulled and shoved along

Of course Leah had to be the spoilsport again whistled once so everyone stopped moving

“Okay... we have five teams of four... team leaders Lucy, Keira, Mearps, A, Millie and I.... we gonna do it the old-school way – the Alex Scott way” Leah said firmly looking at her fellow Lionesses

“Okay... two out of three or ko-system” Lucy nodded seriously

“Ko-System” Leah answered holding Lucys glare

“Rock – Paper – Scissors - Shoot” Leah and Lucy said quickly before Lucy groaned when Leah chose Rock while she went for scissors

This went on until Millie came out on top allowing her to choose her team first.

After all the teams were selected they took off like the house was on fire and it gave Sarina and you some time to yourselves

“Are you okay Liefje?” the dutch asked lovingly

“Yeah...” you mumbled chewing a little bit on your lip

“Try again, hm?” Sarina took your hand carefully

“It just hurts” you said sadly

“You're knee?” the blonde asked trying to get you to talk

“No... that's okay... hurts to see them all play” you answered starting to chew on your lip again

“Oh mijn Liefje” Sarina sighed getting were you came from “... you'll get back out there again too – maybe not on that level but I know you will get back out there... you still have it I can see it every time you glance at a ball – just don't give up”

“There's something else” you mumbled

“What is it Liefje?” the dutch smiled

“Can you... I don't know... order Lucy to let me got to Munich instead of Barcelona after Camp?” you pleaded with big eyes

“Oh no... I'm not getting involved in that” the blonde laughed loudly “Try Keira”

“Can we all still go out tonight?” you asked now seeing the first team sprinting past the window obviously completed the first task

“Of course... I promised you didn't I? What is the advantage you wanted to give the team of three? Who are the team of three?” Sarina smiled noticing how you changed the topic

“Lucy, Less und Lotte” you answered just as you saw your best friend sprint pass

“LESS!!!!!!” you yelled after her after you opened the window which caused her to come to a stuttering halt nearly falling into a bush

“God Damnit Nut....” Lessi yelled back “WHAT?? I'm on a timeline here...”

“Come here you plonker!!!” you waved her over and handed her a piece of paper “Here... you can go straight to zone 3... you are one down so you get a little joker”

“Thanks Nut... I love you” your best friend snatched the paper out of your hand started to run again

“Nut?” Sarina looked at you smiling with a raised eyebrow

“Short for Nutcase.... Toons says it's short for Nutcracker... I like Nutcracker more” you smirked

In the end Millie, Rachel, Georgia and Tooney won the little chase you organized and they had 5 Minutes to load their carts up – of course they only loaded sweets and everything they weren't allowed to eat normally. Tooney was even such a good friend and made Millie climb the shelves for your Dweebs and Millie made sure to grab a whole bunch.

After that you all got ready to go out. Lucy made you change your outfit four times until Keira stepped in telling her to leave you alone and that you looked beautiful in your skin tight pants and your (you must admit it was on the line of slutty) tight blood red corset-like top. Lucy grumbled the whole way to the Club about how you were to young to even go out with them and that you should stay back with Sarina and how she should personally deliver you to the dutch woman. Again Keira came to your aid telling her ex to finally shut up and leave you be.

Georgia and you were dancing to “smack that” by Akon. Your girlfriends hands on your hips as your back was pressed to her front. Her head rested on your shoulder as while you were grinding shamelessly against her front as she was swaying you both from side to side. Was it sexual? Yes. Maybe too sexual? Just a tad but in your opinion there was no time than the present. It was one of rare uninterrupted moments between the two of you since Lucy was worse than a drug dog in a warehouse full of crack – she was EVERYWHERE. Just this morning at breakfast she appeared out of thin air like David Copperfield as Georgia was about to sit down next to you and shooed your girlfriend away to the other side of the room. So yes you enjoyed every second you can spent with your girlfriend to the fullest. Just like now as your eyes were closed feeling Georgias breath against your neck where she sneakily pressed light kisses to it while you mouthed the words to the song.

Your sister on the other hand wasn’t so happy about what happened on the dance floor. She herself was seated between Keira and Millie who made it their mission to let the two of you get some “alone” time together as they sandwiched Lucy so she couldn’t get up. Of course it was all a “coincidence” that neither Millie nor Keira understood the repeatedly “Get up!! I need to speak to Georgia” – the music in that club was just “too loud”. It didn’t stop your sister from trying to divide you two from her table at the other end of said club.

“YOU WON’T SMACK ANYTHING STANWAY!! HANDS WHERE I CAN SEE THEM!!!” Lucy yelled from the top of her lungs which just cause Keira to burst out laughing as you turned around in your girlfriends arms intertwining your fingers behind her neck pulling her down until your noses touched.

Georgia knew what you wanted. It was the fourth time this night you requested a kiss from her but just like the first three times her eyes flickered over to the table the older Lionesses occupied and she saw how Lucys eyes never left the couple. So just like the first three times your girlfriend moved her head to the side and pressed a soft kiss to the edge of your mouth. And just like the first three times your eyes flew open and you looked at her questionably. Georgia looked at you with an apologizing face and shrugged her shoulders as if she didn't know what else to do. But as usual help was on the way – in form from Rachel, Tooney, Less and Mary. The four watched the whole interaction from their place at the bar as Less turned slightly towards her friends

“This is getting ridiculous... can't Lucy just back off for a hot minute and let them just enjoy their time together?” Alessia asked upset feeling sorry for the two of you

“It's her baby sister” Mary threw in as she tried to reason with Less

“Mary look at me” Less said and waited until she had Marys undivided attention “Do I look like I care... G and y/n deserve a little time to themselves”

“It's not like we could do anything” the Keeper shrugged her shoulders

“Oh but we can” Rachel grinned “I'll even take one for the team”

“Oh god... Rach... what's going on in that messed up brain of yours?” Mary groaned

“I'll distract Lucy and you get G and y/n out of here... I may or may not know that there's a hotel room waiting for them in a different hotel so they at least have a few hours together... here Tooney... give them this and tell them with regards from Sarina” Rachel said as she pushed an envelope into Tooneys hands

“Rach you're mad...” Mary stuttered

“Maybe... but these two? They're Sam and Kristie material... I recognise love when I see it... they deserve it” the blonde shrugged her shoulders but grinned

“Why do I always get roped into shit with the three of you?? Don't answer that... just... let's go” the Keeper rolled her eyes.

“Okay... just a moment” Rachel grinned as she turned around to the barkeeper to order a new drink. Three minutes later there was a new Vodka Cranberry placed in front of her which she took after she took a deep breath

“Okay... Mission Smurf can start” the blonde said as she turned back to Less, Tooney and Mary

“Smurf??” Tooney asked confused

“They always had to hide from Gargamel... and honestly... Lucy acts all Gargamel right now...” Rachel shrugged her shoulders again “Kinda looks like him too”

“Just... wow” Mary rolled her eyes “But let's get this on the road”

The four women pushed off the bar in sync as Rachel made a beeline for the Lionesses table. Millie knew the second she saw her best friend that Rachel had planned something and as she saw the Vodka Cranberry in her hand and her eyes fixed on Lucy she just knew. While Lucy was still distracted by yelling towards her sister Millie got the attention of Keira nodding towards Rachel. The blonde midfielder immediately understood and moved just a tiny bit away from her ex girlfriend who of course didn't notice.

Meanwhile on the dance floor Less, Tooney and Mary kept an eye on Rach as well as G and you so they could immediately spring into action when Rachel did whatever she had planned to distract Lucy. Mary was blessed with the assignment of clearing the way as subtle as possible once Tooney and Less grabbed you two to push you out of the club. The four even went so far to order an Uber for you. So the planned contained Rach taking one for the Team, the three muscleteers (as Tooney dubbed them) getting you out of the Club and into an Uber sending you off to whatever hide away Sarina chose for you. Sounded simple, right? No. It got around the Club that some of the Lionesses were in so even if Mary just casually hovered nearby the couple she got asked for autographs and pictures. She tried her best to keep the attention to herself since she didn't want to put you into the spotlight for dancing with G. So when the Keeper saw Rachel two steps away from the table she excused herself from some fans with the promise to be back in five minutes.

Rachel locked eyes with Millie for a split second and the brickwall just nodded. So Rachel did what every good friend would do. She “stumbled” and threw her Vodka Cran all over Lucy Bronze. Lucy was so focused on you and your girlfriend that she didn't see the blonde forward approaching the table and as she felt the wetness on her face she sweared loudly, her eyes leaving the dance floor to murder Rachel with her glare.

The second Tooney and Less saw Rach stumble they quickly made the few remaining steps towards G and you to push you forward with force.

“Jesus Fuck Toons... what the hell” you exclaimed shocked as you felt your best friend pushing into your back

“Walk” was all that Tooney said her voice stern as she kept an eye on the table

You didn't really had a choice so you walked with Tooney pushing you to walk faster. You looked ahead and saw Mary – clearing the way? What the hell was happening?

You turned your head to look at your girlfriend who had the same confused look on her face as you. She herself gets pushed by Less who also turned around every step to look at the table if Lucy was still distracted

And boy – Rachel did a good job flinging her drink at Lucy. Fully on target your sister was covered from head to chest in Vodka Cranberry furiously trying to clean her face at the moment with Rachels “help” who watched you and G get pushed out of the Club while she used a hand full of napkins to cover Lucys face. As the blonde forward saw that the five of you slipped through the door she stopped “cleaning” your sisters face

“I'm so sorry Luce... there's a step” Rachel slurred a little bit trying to sound a little tipsy

“There is no Step Daly” your sister sneered still trying to clean her top before she remembered what her task was beforehand and her head shot up scanning the dance floor for her little sister

Millie and Keira did an amazing job holding in her laughter as they watched the whole scene unfold. Millie threw Rachel a subtle “Good job”-glance while Keira acted like she didn't knew what was happening

“Where are they?” Lucy asked and Keira couldn't pin down if her voice was angry or panicky

“What?” the blonde midfielder yelled a little louder to leave the impression she didn't hear due to the loud music – Kei understood Luce just fine

“Where's y/n???” your sister yelled back not catching on that Kei played her

Keira looked over the dance floor before looking back at Lucy just shrugging her shoulders

“Where's Stanway and my sister?!!?” Lucy now yelled at Rachel

“How should I know... you are the guard dog... not me... I'm just out of drinks... I'll get me a new one” the blonde shouted back turning around walking off towards the bar a grin spreading on her face as soon as her back was towards Lucy

“Fuck” your sister swore loudly as she pushed herself out from behind the table – this time without Millie stopping her

Kei threw Millie a questioning look and the large blonde just nodded towards the bar where Rachel high-fived Less and Tooney as Mary kept her promise and signed some more fan stuff.

“They did good there” Keira said as she sat down next to Millie

“Hell yeah – I was about to punch Luce into fist-invested dreamland” Millie said as she sipped on her beer “They deserve some time alone... If I was y/n and Lucy would have pulled that shit with me the whole week I'd probably have snapped on day two”

“I tried to warn her...” Kei shrugged her shoulders “I told her to leave the two alone but she won't listen – stupid habit of Bronze women...”

“Let's just hope they enjoy their time together... did Luce just seriously sweep the toilets? As if... y/n is too much of a germaphobe to get it on in a club bathroom stall” the larger blonde laughed loudly as she saw your sister coming out of the toilets

G and you were still flabbergasted as you got pushed into a waiting car and Tooney pushed an envelope into your hands

“With best regards from Sarina” the brown haired woman said before she threw the door shut and the car began to move

“What the fuck just happened?” your girlfriend was the first to speak “And where the fuck are we going?” she looked at the driver

“The Savoy, Miss” the driver answered politely

“What?” G asked confused

“I got called to drive you to The Savoy” the driver answered again

“G” you whispered out after you opened the envelope as your girlfriend was still occupied being confused

Inside the envelope was a booking confirmation for a room in one of the best Hotels in London for two nights – all expenses paid by Sarina Wiegman herself with small note to enjoy themselves and have fun.

“G” you said again this time louder and more firm

“Yes?” your girlfriend finally let go of the questioning the driver – who you named James. He looked like a James

“Look” you shoved the envelope in her hands

“Jesus” Georgia breathed out after she quickly scanned the document “This must have cost a fortune”

You had tears in you eyes as you pulled out your phone – ignoring the 74 missed calls from your sister – to call Sarina

“Mama Rina” you whispered into the phone as soon as you heard the call connected

“It's okay Liefje – you both deserve it... I observed what you went through this week... both of you... just enjoy 48 hours of uninterrupted time together” the dutch woman said lovingly knowing exactly what her adoptive daughter wanted to say “I arranged for your baggage to get moved as well... don't worry about anything other than be at the airport on time”

“Thank you Mama Rina” you spoke slowly as your girlfriend still looked shocked at the document in her hands “It means the World to me”

“Us..” G mumbled next to me as she looked up her eyes still wide

“Yeah... it means the world to US Mama” you smiled slightly as you held your hand out for Georgia to grab which she immediately did intertwining your fingers

“Your welcome Liefje” the dutch woman smiled on the other end of the phone “Enjoy it”

“We will... so much” you said smiling as well

“Oh and Bubba?” Sarina said just before she hung up “Just one Glass”

And with that the line went dead. You looked at your phone confused after Sarina hung up.

“What?” your girlfriend asked when she saw your confused look

“She said “just one glass”... what's that supposed to mean?” you looked at Georgia confused

“I guess we're about to find out...” the blonde smile pointing out of the window as you pulled up to the luxurious hotel

“Fuck me sideways” you breathed out as you looked with wide eyes at the golden statue on top of the entrance

“If you ask nicely” Georgia mumbled and smirked while you just slapped her in the stomach with the back of your hand

“Behave Stanway...” you smirked back as your car came to a stop right in front of the entrance

“I try.. but it's been a while since I had you all to myself” the blonde spoke lowly as man in a expensive looking suit opened the hind doors of the car to let you climb out

“They have car penguins G... this is really high end shit” you mumbled as you glided out behind her

“Yeah... so act like we fucking own it” your girlfriend mumbled back so no one other than you heard her

She held out her hand which you grabbed grateful as Georgia already started to walk inside pulling you along with her. Her stride were confident as if she really belonged in Hotels like this. You on the other hand just gaped at everything. It was so luxurious your brain just couldn't comprehend it.

“Hello and very welcome to The Savoy London. My name is Rita and how may I assist you today?” the young girl behind the front desk smiled at you politely – or she smiled at G politely obviously recognizing her while she basically ignored you.

“Hi... I have a reservation for two for two nights for... what does it say?” your girlfriend looked at you expectantly

“Reservation is under your name” you said remembering the name on the booking confirmation

“Ah yes... Already got your reservation pulled up. Two nights in the Junior Suite for two guests under Stanway” Rita already said as she tipped furiously on her Keyboard.

You suppressed the urge to roll your eyes at her obvious fan girl moment. You mean – this place probably has celebrities coming and going 365 days a year so why was this blondie swooning over YOUR girlfriend. You pull her at her blonde extensions over the front desk and tell her to keep her eyes to herself. Yeah – that sounded like a reasonable plan. Even better you could scratch her eyes out and

“Babe?” G looks at you expectantly

“Yeah?” you answered putting on a fake smile getting pulled back into reality

“You want to have dinner here or want to go outside explore” your girlfriend askes looking at you weird

“It's not that late – I would love to go out a little and maybe tomorrow have dinner here?” you said sweetly smiling so fake you had to gag internally while Georgia threw you a last weird glance before turning towards Rita (another internally gag) speaking about dinner reservation for tomorrow night.

You decided to mark territory a little bit and pressed your body firmer into Georgias side. She didn't really acknowledge it but her arm automatically sneaked around your waist to hold you tightly. You threw a victorious smirk at Rita (there was the internal gag again) as you listened to them two discussed dinner times and tables. Who in the hell discusses dinner tables. It's a piece of wood on four legs – not that hard. But apparently there where many options such as at the window... river side no river side... with direct lighting or indirect lighting... they even discussed HOW MANY GLASSES!!!

You got quite impatient knowing Rita (there it's again) playing on time so you chose the more... direct approach. You pressed your face into the crook of Georgias neck starting to nuzzle and lightly kiss her neck smirking when you felt how she grabbed your waist just a little tighter and the light sharp intake of air.

“Behave” Georgia pressed out between gritted teeth as she still smiled at the receptionist who FUCKING FINALLY got the memo that your girlfriend was very much taken and handed out your room cards.

“Thank you Raven” you smiled overly fake as you picked the room cards out of her hands “You were very helpful” you said before you pulled G away from the front desk towards the elevators

As soon as the doors of the elevator closed your girlfriend hugged you from behind and chuckled

“Didn't think you'd get jealous Babe?” you heard her chuckle directly next to your ear as you just huffed in response

“Should I have waited till she asked for your number or gave you hers? I thought I was being... helpful in showing her that she doesn't need to waste her time” you raised an eyebrow which G saw in the elevator mirror doors

“I mean... I think I still have a spare jersey laying around if she wants my number” the blonde laughed lowly teasing you

“Not the number I meant” you growled and playfully elbowed her in the rips

“If I can recall correctly you let me run after your number for weeks... you even threatened Tooney to nail her feet to the goalpost if she'd give me your number” G grinned as she started to kiss the back of your neck

“Upside down... I threatened her to nail gun her precious feet to the crossbar... upside down” you corrected your girlfriend as your head fell to the side to grant her more access to your neck

“So violent” G teased as she bit down lightly

“Fuck” a low moan escaped your lips

“Soon” your girlfriend chuckled against your neck

#lucy bronze x reader #lucy bronze #keira walsh x reader #lionesses x reader #woso image #georgia stanway x reader

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a-dauntless-daffodil · 3 days

Text

Vaggie: “Charlie? Can I have a pick-me-up?”

Charlie: “!! YES!!! OF COURSE ALWAYS!!!”

Charlie: “Uh- where to start, um- Oh oh oh! You have the most AMAZING laugh whenever you to relax enough for it and your voice is INCREDIBLE really easy to get lost listening to- You take skirt wearing to whole other level, you snore SO cutely in your sleep, and even if it’s a little concerning how fast you are with that spear, it’s also really kinda h-”

Vaggie: “I meant literally, babe. Like, thanks for making me blush, but…”

Charlie: “Ohhhh you want UPPIES?”

Vaggie: “Girlfriend-based personal vertical augmentation- yeah. I’d, I’d like uppies. Please.”

Charlie: “One vertical upgrade via your girlfriend coming right UP!” (giggles) (picks up) “Heheh, how’s this?”

Vaggie: (is up picked) “Perfect, sweetie. Now carry me over to Alastor?”

Alastor: “?”

Charlie: “Okay?” (starts walking) “…why…?”

Vaggie: “I wanna punch him in his stupid smiling extremely punchable face.”

Alator: “Oh I AM flattered!”

Vaggie: “Great he’s given implied consent to a beating, let’s go.”

Charlie: “Okay.” (turning around) “We’re not doing that.”

Vaggie: “We don’t have to. I’ll do the punching, all you have to do is go over there and hold me at eye level.”

Charlie: "Vaggie-"

Alastor: “Get on a level with ME? Rather impossible for you, I’m afraid. You simply lack my, dare I say DEPTH of vision, ha ha! DO take care you don’t suffer from altitude sickness in the attempt through, hmm?”

Vaggie: “Two seconds of being held up to his face, Charlie, that’s all I’m asking.”

Charlie: “Vaggie, that’s still assault on my part. That’s assault with a deadly weapon, even!”

Vaggie: “I’m not armed?”

Charlie: “Are you breathing?”

Vaggie: “Uhh, yeah..?”

Charlie: “If you’re breathing then you’re a threat.”

Vaggie: (grinning) “Aww, Charlie.”

Charlie: “ESPECIALLY to guys like Alastor. No offence, Alastor.”

Alastor: “Compliment accepted!”

Vaggie: (beaming) (didn’t hear him) “You’re just saying that.”

Alastor: (annoyed dial tune) “Ahem. Well, I just said-”

Charlie: “I’m saying it because it’s true, and my ex still instinctively flinches at any HINT of a red hair bow at around chest height.” (switches to cuddling vaggie) “So let’s go be a threat over here instead, okay? Out of Alastor punching range.”

Vaggie: “Still within spear throw.”

Alastor: “Ahh yes, your darling divine toothpick. How quaint!”

Charlie: “Would you really wanna get his blood all over your spear?”

Vaggie: (HEAVY SIGH) “Nnnnno… I guess not.”

Alastor: (honestly insulted) “Rude.”

Charlie: “Didn’t thinks so!” (muttering) “The way you fawn over the stupid thing when it get’s so much as a stupid little smudge from me poking it in it’s stupid perfectly polished face…”

Vaggie: “What?”

Alastor: (evil static) “SHE said-”

Charlie: “Nothing! Petty revenge always ends up biting you in the ass! Anyway.” (grins brightly) “We’ve got better things to do than punch people in the face!”

Vaggie: “Good point.” (touches charlie’s jaw thoughtfully) “...this angle is pretty useful for more than just punching.”

Alastor: “AhaHA! And there is my cue to get off the air!”

Charlie: “Yeah…?”

Vaggie: “Yeah..”

Alastor: “Indeed!”

Charlie: “Like for tongue wrestling~?”

Vaggie: “….”

Alastor: “….”

Alastor: “Oh dear~!

Vaggie: “….”

Vaggie: “What.”

Charlie: “Well if it’s combat you’re after- we COULD have a battle for dominance. Y’know. With our mouths.”

Charlie: (wink)

Vaggie: “….never mind. You can put me down now.”

Alastor: “Oooh~”

Charlie: “!! NO NO WAIT I TAKE IT BACK-”

Vaggie: “Charlie. It’s seared into my brain.”

Alastor: (grinning) “Dreadful! Truly dreadful!”

Charlie: “NOOOO NO NO UN-SEAR IT! UN-SEAR IT FROM THE BRAIN!!!!”

Vaggie: “I don’t feel up for punching anyone either anymore, so don’t worry.”

Charlie: “Would, would punching put you back in the mood!? Vaggie please wait hold on just one sec-”

Charlie: “ALASTOR! CAN YOU COME OVER- NOOO DON’T WALK AWAY, I NEED-”

Charlie: VAGGIE!!! Wait!! I’m sorry! Please wait up! Please I’m sorry I just got SO in the mood and kinda COMPLETELY lost my mind with your talking all low right next to me like that, like when we-”

Alastor: (distantly) “Dear ones~ I am not yet out of hearing range~”

Vaggie: “Good. Suffer.”

Charlie: “I’m suffering IM SUFFERNG! PLEASE!!!” (trailing after girlfriend) “Vaggiiiiieeeee..! S-smooches????”

Vaggie: “Sweetie, I can’t even look at you right now.”

Charlie: “We could do the smooches without looking!!!”

Vaggie: “Even worse. Every time I close my eye I see your tongue suited up in armor, waving around a sword.”

Charlie: (horrified) “No! NO!!! IT’S SUPPOSED TO BE A METAPHOR!”

Vaggie: “Metaphorically speaking, I’ve been scarred.”

Charlie: “Th- then let me kiss it better!”

Vaggie: “Not how it works, babe.”

Charlie: “ARGH!”

Angel Dust: “Hey’a tootes! Guess who’s back from LONG and HARD day of… the fuck is wrong with her?”

Vaggie: “She’s fine.”

Charlie: (clutching vaggie’s arm) (wailing) “FANFIC RUIN LIVES!!!!!”

Angel Dust: “Ain’t that the truth. Porn tip- NEVER try adapting a smut fic for the screen. Choreography’s a nightmare…”

Vaggie: “Wow thanks for the amazing advice that we definitely needed.”

Angel Dust: “Ya welcome.”

Charlie: “We might still need it! Right Vaggie!? We might still be doing stuff like that in future-”

Vaggie: “What we could really use right now is a few drinks. Angel, I’ll spot yours if you can convince Husk to open early.”

Charlie: (slumping over bar) “I hate my life.”

Angel Dust: “That’s cute, Charlie-horse.” (lean down to whisper at vaggie) “Ya sure she hasn’t already had any...?”

Vaggie: “I’m sure-”

Charlie: “-the whole PROBLEM is me NOT GETTING ANY!”

Vaggie: “Annnd now everyone knows it, perfect.”

Angel Dust: “Oh now this is JUICY!”

Charlie: “What everyone? I only told Angel…?”

Vaggie: “Angel can’t keep anything to himself, including himself.”

Angel Dust: “Spittin’ nothin’ but truths tonight, huh Maximum Vaggige? Cherri will love this- I’m gonna need ALL deets! Wait right here and I’ll get Husker fluff to loosen those gossipy tongues right up!!”

Vaggie: “Great. More tongue stuff.”

Charlie: “UGH.”

Vaggie: “….”

Charlie: “…”

Vaggie: “Charlie.”

Charlie: “Meh?”

Vaggie: “I swear, if I could kiss you right now without physically cringing, I would.”

Charlie: “...Vaggie.”

Vaggie: “Yeah?”

Charlie: “What if we’re never able to kiss again?”

Vaggie: “…”

Charlie: “…Vaggie this is the part where you say don’t be silly and reassure me.”

Vaggie: “I know.”

Charlie: “Tell me I’m being silly, Vaggie.”

Vaggie: “Charlie, I… I will always love you, no matter what.”

Charlie: “That’s-”(sitting bolt upright) “THAT’S NOT REASSURING!”

Vaggie: (slumping next to her at the bar) “Where the FUCK is Husk and those drinks.”

#hazbin hotel #charlie morningstar #vaggie #chaggie #alastor the radio demon #angel dust hazbin hotel #incorrect quotes #utter silliness #i don't know it just happened #im sorry charlie

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galedekarios · 2 days

Text

minsc & gale

recently i've been doing a playthrough taking minsc along during the limited amount of time we do get to connect with his character in the game and i have to say he's growing on me in a way he didn't in previous titles.

i wanted to take the opportunity here to write a short post about his relationship with gale because that, too, is something i found myself enjoying despite the (too) few interactions that we have between them.

minsc's initial thoughts about gale

Player: How are you and Gale getting along? Minsc: I do not wish to speak of the wizard. Minsc: I could not have said it better myself. - Player Option 1: Gale's great - what's your problem with him? Minsc: He came to me one night with a little book of mischief - full of words and their meanings. Minsc: 'Posterior', he says. 'Can you say 'posterior'?' I refused! Minsc does not need to know the language of wizards. Player: 'Posterior' isn't wizard-talk - it's another word for 'butt'. Minsc: It is an inferior word. Far too long to use in a battle cry, which is where a 'butt' belongs. Minsc: Gale would do better to educate himself in the ways of sword and steel than to throw these pointy words at Minsc. Minsc: Ai, yes. Gale also owns a cat. A cat with wings! That is most unnerving for poor Boo. Player: You should give him a break - he's only trying to help. Minsc: Never! If he is not careful, Boo will shred his books and use them as bedding! - Player Option 2: Did you know that he has an explosive magical orb in his chest that could destroy a city? Minsc: WHAT? Minsc: That is a thousand times more interesting than anything that has ever been written in a book. Minsc: GALE! MY GOOD FRIEND! WHERE ARE YOU? MINSC AND BOO WOULD LIKE TO HEAR ABOUT THE EXPLODING.

they may not start off on the right foot, but with gale's genuine interest in other people's cultures as well as his perception and easy-going nature that changes:

sorcerous sundries

Minsc: Minsc has never trusted places such as this. Too much of a wizard's power can be simply packaged and picked up. devnote: Grumbling as we make our way through the shelves of Sorcerous Sundries Minsc: Well, picked up by all but Minsc. When he touches the many delicate little jars, oh how the wizards shout and stare! devnote: Revealing that his objection of Sorcerous Sundries is not in fact a deep philosophical belief that wizards have too much power - they just make him feel stupid and awkward when he pokes at their things Gale: Fear not, Minsc. You have a wizard at your side who positively encourages such curiosity. You'll fit right in. devnote: Reassuring Minsc: Obliged, wizard. Should we find our way to a weaponsmith, Minsc will rough you up a little - so that you too can fit in. devnote: Warm, comradely, would genuinely be doing Gale a favour

i feel like it truly speaks to gale's character that he doesn't dismiss minsc here - neither his feelings of inadequacy nor his innate curiosity about the things he perceives as wizardly.

it would've been very easy for gale - the wizard prodigy, the former chosen, to archwizard - to act the part of the haughty scholar, akin to the arrogant wizards that minsc describes in this banter, looking down on him, shouting at him, but gale doesn't.

gale reassures minsc, encourages him, telling him he'll fit right in. it reminds me of the way he treats karlach and fostering her interest in books and reading. another pair of seemingly polar opposites that still find a connection. i do think gale is quite natural at this, despite his long time spent in isolation.

and minsc does appreciate it - his tone changes to one of warmth, one of camaraderie - and i think this is also when minsc's perception of gale changes: from the annoying wizard to someone he sees as a companion and friend.

rashemi traditions

Minsc: Gale. Minsc worries you might send a fireball up his butt, with all of this stringy hair in your face. Gale: Is that why you keep your head shaved? I assumed it was a custom of some sort. devnote: Curious, referring to Minsc's origins Minsc: Oh, no! Most warriors of Rashemen wear long battle-braids, weighed down with stone. Minsc can show you, when next we camp? Gale: Thank you, but I'm more wizard than warrior. I'm not sure my scalp would stand up to such a plaiting. devnote: Very politely declining

i like this banter for several reasons: i think not only does it show the progression of their relationship with minsc offering to show gale the traditions of his homeland, gale also shows the same curiosity he shows many different cultures and ways of life, same as he does with lae'zel for instance and githyanki culture.

when he declines minsc's offer, he does so politely, without insulting minsc's traditions, putting the onus on himself instead. he's the wizard, not the warrior.

house of hope

Minsc: Gale! You will perhaps able to explain where Boo has not - what exactly is the difference between a devil and a demon? Gale: A fascinating question, one that boils down to which criteria we choose to apply. Are we speaking about the physiological? Theological? Etymological? devnote: In teacher-mode - up for an in-depth, intellectual discussion Minsc: Eh. Just how-to-kill... -ical. devnote: Non-plussed, echoing Gale's ending every word with 'ical' Gale: Oh. Then for your purposes, they are exactly the same. devnote: Disappointed

this banter genuinely made me laugh. again, i like how it shows the progression of their friendship, to the point of where minsc goes from finding gale annoying to imitating his speech. and gale doesn't put it beyond minsc to have an 'in-depth, intellectual' discussion... even if he is disappointed by the end of their banter, realising that minsc's priorities are... elsewhere.

wychlaran

depending on your party composition and who you take with you, minsc can also call gale his wychlaran.

The Wychlaran, meaning "wise old women" in the ancient language of Halardrim, also known as the Witches of Rashemen outside their lands, were the spiritual leaders of Rashemen, communing with the spirits and guiding the souls of the Rashemi people.

minsc does use it, too, to describe a special bond and a sense of duty and protectiveness to the people he ascribes this title to. he did so in bg1 with dynaheir and in bg2 with aerie.

elminster

Minsc: It must be difficult for Gale to imagine great Elminster a-courting. Writing poems. Doing... certain... deeds. Gale: Long before my time, thank goodness. That's not an image I care to dwell on. Minsc: Ugh. It is difficult for Minsc to think of, too. Let us speak no more of it. Minsc: ... Minsc: Of Elminster and the sex, I mean.

another banter that did genuinely make me laugh despite the seriousness of the situation, especially given the bond that elminster and gale share as well, which speaks of paternal feelings on elminster's part that come with a certain sense of responsibility, as well as gale's admiration, but also often exasperation with his former mentor.

on a more serious note, minsc offers great insights in his interactions with gale and gale's story:

mystra and the vremyonni

The vremyonni or Old Ones were an arcane brotherhood in Rashemen. Men that were arcane spellcasters in Rashemen had two choices, exile or to join the vremyonni. Many vremyonni were kept alive for eons by longevity magic. Vremyonni were expert weaponsmiths and magic item creators. On very rare occasions, vremyonni would fight in the defense of Rashemen. Vremyonni used secrets of magic that even the Witches of Rashemen did not use, destructive spells forbidden among the wilds of Rashemen, in case such magic was needed. The Running Rocks harbored secret strongholds of the vremyonni. All vremyonni wore masks.

Minsc: Gale reminds me of the vremyonni of my homeland. The man-mages of Rashemen. Minsc: While the girl-folk go on to rule as wychlaran, Weave-touched boys were hidden away. Trained to work their craft in silence and secrecy. Minsc: It is an old custom, not well-observed. In truth I thought it born of caution, after some catastrophe wrought by wizardly men-folk of old. Minsc: Now I wonder if it was not done to hide them from Mystra, and the snares she sets for young and prideful boys, hm? Minsc: Though this suggests that Mystra has never tempted a witch into foolishness. Not that I would blaspheme by suggesting otherwise. Minsc: I forget why I began this long and winding story. Yes Boo - we have been spending too long around the wizard.

i think this is a very interesting banter, especially since it's also only marked to trigger if gale agrees to return the crown to mystra.

it's easy to dismiss this banter, laugh it off as just another instance of minsc being minsc, but i think it's important to consider it within the context of game canon and what has been shown to us.

it's a story and everything within a story is there for a reason.

another great insight from minsc comes if gale is pushed towards the crown by the player:

gale and godhood

Minsc: Who among us has not been spurned by a lover? But a word of advice, if Minsc may be so bold: Minsc: Let the wizard lick his wounds. Write some rickety rhymes, and weep most manfully into his hamster's hide. Eh - his cat's hide. Minsc: But... his boasting is unbecoming. 'Claim godhood', he says? Will this make him any less a man with a half-mended heart?

again, minsc does at times share great insight into other characters and he does so here again with gale:

will this make him any less a man with a half-mended heart?

i think it quite accurately goes straight to the crux of what makes it so very easy to push gale towards godhood: he is hurt. he feels abandoned. by his goddess. by his former lover. both as a mystran and on deeply personal level.

he is drifting, seeking something to hold his head above the water. if it's not the protag's love or friendship, it will be the crown.

anyhow, i never expected to write this when i first learned that minsc would be a companion, but i truly did enjoy him and his interactions with gale in particular.

#gale dekarios #gale of waterdeep #minsc of rashemen #baldur's gate 3 #bg3 #baldurs gate 3 #bg3 meta #ch: gale dekarios #ch: minsc #vg: baldur's gate 3 #series: baldur's gate #meta: mybg3

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fkinavocado · 2 days

Text

a very indulgent exploration of what could've, should've been...

Don't Worry Darling (SPIN-OFF) - Masterlist, Author’s Notes & Warnings / alternatively, read on wattpad

Part One (word count: 6.2k)

“... Jack? Excuse me, Jack? Is that really you?”

The man reluctantly stopped in his tracks and turned around, recognizing the woman but having forgotten her name. “Oh… hi there, uhm…?”

“Emma. It’s Emma. You remember me, right?”

“Yeah, you’re, uhm… you used to work at the hospital…”

Emma approached him, noting he wasn’t keen on breaching the gap himself. Poor fellow, she thought. He looked a mess. She was surprised she’d even recognized him. “Oh, I’m still at the hospital! How are you, Jack? You know, we’re all worried about you. Why didn’t you take us up on our offer, hm? We’d have loved to help you any way we could… It can’t have been easy. Gloria told us she came over once with a home cooked casserole but no one answered the door. She assumed you’d moved. Which is good, we thought. But we couldn’t get a hold of you, you must’ve also changed your number…”

Jack wasn’t really making eye contact. His gaze downcast, a hoodie atop of a beanie on his head and an oversized, worn out puffer jacket that almost swallowed him up. He looked very poorly even hidden behind all that. His facial hair unkempt, as was his hair tucked underneath his beanie, seemingly longer strands of it all messy and straw-like peeking out. His glasses loose at his temples. His face was hollow cheeked and she really feared he wasn’t looking after himself properly at all. But what really stood out to her was the bouquet of flowers he was carrying.

“Yeah… I moved out of there. Too many memories.”

“Those were her favourite… pink roses,” she mused. “You miss her so, don’t you, Jack? You can’t even bear talking to me about her, you poor man, even after all this time… What must you be going through… do you– agh. This is so insensible of me to even ask. Forgive me. But if it’s any consolation, us at the hospital haven’t given up hope. We still think she’s out there, somewhere, our Alice…”

Jack cleared his throat and took a step back. “I should get going…”

“Of course. Do take care of yourself, Jack. And if you ever want to reach out, you know where to find us. Take all the time you need.”

“Thank you,...” he stammered a bit, not knowing what else to say. He walked for a while in the wrong direction, just in case the nosy woman decided to follow him.

He hadn’t moved. That would’ve been near impossible, and since he managed to dodge the bullet while the police were sniffing around for the longest time, he figured there wasn’t any reason to do so anymore. But he couldn’t have her know that, which is why he never answered the door to the other woman with the casserole either.

After making sure she wasn’t following him, he resumed his walk home. He wished he could find some type of work from home. He’d be saving so much time and money on the commute, plus he’d always be there, which was quite imperative, all things considered.

What if there was a power outage? The one time that’d happened, there’d been dire consequences. Consequences he hadn’t had to endure. And he simply couldn’t allow that to happen again.

There were so many things that could go wrong while he wasn’t home.

Plus, if he worked remote he could take on a full shift. As it was, he had to work part-time, which wasn’t nearly enough to make ends meet. But the commute and all the prep he had to do were taking up too much time, time he didn’t want to waste here.

Finally arriving home, he made sure to secure the front door- the lock and all 3 of the bolts.

Checking the computer screen, he only had 40 minutes left. The woman had made him late, what with all the detours he had to make to be sure she wasn’t following him.

Canned tuna it was, then. Again. No time for cooking. Not that he had much in the fridge anyway.

He always felt antsy between the time he got back home and logging in. He wanted to get everything done and out of the way as soon as possible- cooking, laundry, cleaning (more like tidying up, the apartment was far from clean even by his standards), everything on autopilot, peeking at the computer screen every now and then to make sure he didn’t miss his log-in window.

With 20 minutes to spare, that was his que.

“Oh!” He rushed back to the kitchen to retrieve the flowers, then using the keys that he wore on a chain around his neck for safekeeping, he unbolted yet another set of locks on the bedroom door.

There she was.

His heart always swelled in his chest seeing her there, safe and sound. Everyday day, without fail, a sigh of relief escaped his lips once he entered the bedroom. He’d probably never stop worrying while he was away for work.

“Darling, I… miss you all the time…” he hummed the lyrics to a song he used to sing to her often, placing the flowers in a vase by the bed. “Got you flowers, your favourite! Even that pesky Emma from the hospital remembers they’re your favourite. You’re so loved, hm? My precious girl.” He sat on the edge of the bed and reached to caress her supple cheek. “But I love you the most.”

Jack knew he did. Who else would do all this for her? Nobody! He tended after her, emptied out her waste bags as well as checked the respective connecting catheters were secure in place, cleaned her up, all without so much as wrinkling his nose. He replaced the IV, taking note that there was some bruising on that arm so he made sure to switch, he removed her compressive socks and massaged her limbs thoroughly before putting them back on, even made sure to hydrate her lips though she was getting all her nutrients through her IV, hell- he thought of everything. He did it all for her happily, and would do much more if needed.

She’d done so much for them, too.

She still did!

But long gone were the days where he’d see her come home from back to back shifts at the hospital, with barely any time to get some sleep in before she had to head back, all because she had to support the both of them all while paying off her student loans.

Medschool was so expensive. Had he met her before he’d have talked her out of that career path. He’d have talked her out of any career! No. That was his job. He was the caretaker. He was the breadwinner. It’d been like that since the beginning of time. It was only natural for the man to provide. The fact that she’d had to for all that time had been killing him, every day that he had to sit at home and wait for her to get back from the hospital only to see her defeated, exhausted, drained beyond belief.

Resident doctors were paid shit but strung out to the max. Especially surgeons.

Meanwhile, Jack had struggled to find a job for the longest time. Unlike her, he hadn’t gone to college, let alone university. His parents couldn’t afford it at the time and he knew better than to tie himself up in student loans. He’d had odd jobs but nothing really ever stuck. He had no real skills, and every entry job demanded some form of higher education nowadays.

Plus, someone had to do house chores, cook and clean. And they couldn’t afford help.

It’d been eating him up inside. It was all backwards!

All up until he’d met someone online and got to talking over a game of World of Warcraft. This guy swore up and down about this dark web programme he’d found, but it was all very hush-hush, and Jack had to put in some serious gameplay time until he managed to extricate the info out of him.

The guy was very paranoid about telling him and even used a code system for what to look up. Jack took the lead and before long, he fell down the rabbit hole of what he now knew to be the Victory Project.

He got so immersed trying to digest all this new info being thrown his way all of a sudden that he nearly got caught listening to one of the podcasts when she’d gotten home from the hospital one day. He’d even forgotten to call the plumber. Boy- had that pissed her off.

She was already on edge all the time. Never had any time for him anyway- but if she got upset over silly little things she shut him out completely.

He felt emasculated. Rejected. Reduced to a housewife.

Jack smirked to himself, as he tended to her whilst pondering all that. Securing the straps back around her wrists he mused at how things had changed. “I fixed it for us, I told you I would. Now you’re the one who’s waiting for me just as we speak. And I don’t even come home to you in scrubs, do I? No, I come home to you all handsome, suit and tie and ready to get my fill of you. Never too tired for you, am I darling? You’re such a great cook, god knows my mouth waters just thinking of all you’ve slaved over for us to feast on, but all I wanna do is feast on you instead. Aren’t you lucky?”

Jack watched her expressionless eyes for a moment as if waiting for her to answer him back, and promptly remembered to apply her eye drops, noticing they looked extra blood-shot than normal. He then finally got comfy in bed next to her. He couldn’t wait a moment longer. He was hard already just in anticipation of the way she’d excitedly open the door for him. The door to their lavish home, and their extravagant life together that he’d earned for the two of them. Him.

He fixed the device around his own eyes and turned it on, taking her hand in his.

“Welcome to the Victory Project. There are currently 72 active users.”

Nothing beat this. The pleasant, warm afternoon air sweeping through his perfectly coiffed hair as he rushed to get home to her from the Victory Headquarters. Here, the weather was always perfect… whereas, in the apartment, he had to keep the heating on a lower setting, the bill was ridiculous during the colder months. He always had to wear layers and layers, but not in the bedroom- no, he kept a radiator in there. All for her. He had to switch it off for safety reasons while he was away at work but it wasn’t like she was aware of her surroundings anyway! All the more reasons why he had to find something remote so he could work from home and clear up all these little things that bugged him about the whole arrangement.

But he didn’t want to think about all that, not while he was here. No, here, those problems didn’t exist. This was his preferred reality, this was what he chose to believe was real. All the rest was just a means to an end.

He could feel all his exhaustment leave his body the closer he got to the house. He seldom wondered why she couldn’t have done the same for him coming back from the hospital. Why she couldn’t just leave all that baggage at the door and be glad to be home, back to him, where he waited for her like a lovesick puppy with separation anxiety.

He knew the answer to that now, of course, and that was all Frank’s merit- the brain behind this whole thing. He’d listened to his podcasts for a long while before he enrolled into the program. There was no way she could ever respect him within their given dynamic at the time. The roles were reversed and she couldn’t allow herself to be a woman to her man.

He’d fixed it, though, and boy, had Frank been right.

Every day, without fail, he knocked on the door coming home from work and there she was- all smiles and carefree and so eager to please him, in any way he saw fit. All because she respected him now. He was the man of the house, he was the breadwinner, he put a roof over her head, he got her all her little heart desired and kept her satisfied and happy.

Which is why when nobody answered the door he was a bit taken aback.

Using his key that he’d rarely ever had to use himself to unlock the door, he let himself in and carefully inspected the silent house.

He knew, realistically, that there was no way something could’ve gone wrong- there was no crime in Victory. No one had broken into their home. But still, he searched the house tentatively. “Alice?”

Everything was spotless, and most striking of all, he couldn’t smell a trace of the homecooked meal he’d so been looking forward to. That tuna was enough to sustain his physical body, but not his large appetite.

Reaching the bedroom, he furrowed his brows with worry upon finding her… sleeping. Passed out on the bed, clad in her street clothes. She’d seemingly come back home from town exhausted and must’ve stretched her bones a bit by the looks of it.

He contemplated waking her up. Maybe crawling between her thighs and having her gasp awake at the feel of him lapping languidly at her folds. He loved waking her up like that, and she did too. She loved being loved on, and Jack absolutely loved pleasuring her. She was so much more responsive, so much more sensitive to his touch, he could pleasure her over and over for hours on end. Probably ‘cause of all the practice he was having on a regular basis. And maybe he adjusted some settings regarding his stamina while creating his profile too, but at the end of the day, why not? He did it for her. All of this was for her!

Jack grunted to himself before closing the door to the bedroom so he wouldn’t perturb her sleep, deciding last minute to forgo his initial plans. Funny he’d been reminiscing about how things used to be just in time for this to happen all of a sudden.

It must’ve been a glitch in the system or something. This wasn’t in line with what he’d designed for themselves. Here, they were never tired, ill or imperfect in any way. Jack made a mental note to look into this after he logged out.

In the meanwhile- he’d never tried his hand at cooking here, where presumably he’d be a lot better at it than he was in reality.

Just like with everything else.

Alice blinked her eyes awake. She took in her surroundings and hesitantly stood up on the bed in the dark room, letting her sight adjust.

How did she get back here? Not here, here. She had an inkling of how she’d managed that- but back to the house, from the Headquarters. She couldn’t remember making the trek back.

Maybe she didn’t have to.

Maybe this was the default setting she woke up to everytime after entering… the simulation. Because, what else was this if not that?!

How long was she out of it? Judging by the darkness surrounding her, a good few hours. Perking her ears up, she could hear music- so Jack was home too.

She cradled her knees to her chest, trying to let it all sink in. She hadn’t had time to properly digest what had happened, in her unconscious state.

Hell, she was surprised she could even remember.

But this explained it… explained all the fuzzy deja vu-like flashbacks she kept having. Explained her brain fog and all the things she just couldn’t follow through in her train of thought. Explained why she sometimes couldn’t account for most of her day until Jack came home from work, almost as if she’d been on auto-pilot.

Explained all the vivid “dreams”.

They weren’t fanciful dreams, idealistic wishes of a progressive feminist world for which she’d gotten shock therapy at the Victory’s doctor’s orders.

They were her memories.

Waking up tied down to that bed… her own bed, from another life, had been traumatic, but she clearly was still in shock to be so calm about it.

She hadn’t been calm initially of course- not when she couldn’t move her arms or blink her eyes shut.

She’d managed to slip out of the confines, her wrists weak and frail and barely recognizable, yanking her IV out of her vein by accident- she hadn’t even known it was there!, all in an effort to get those things that forced her eyes open off of her face.

She’d been hysteric. Tried to muffle her own screams, because she didn’t know who was around to hear them. Tried to calm herself down, but the more she noticed, the more she hyperventilated. Like the fact that had both urinary and rectal catheters sticking out of her. Then she noticed how emaciated she looked, almost like she couldn’t even recognize her own body. She couldn’t feel her limbs, she felt numb and achy all over, bruises all across her skin from sitting still for so long. Her throat was hoarse, she couldn’t really scream that loud even if she wanted to.

She’d fumbled out of bed and immediately collapsed to the floor. She was too weak to stand, and she prayed she hadn’t broken any bones in her fall. She sat there crying in a fetal position for god knows how long, thinking of all the fractures she’d fixed in the OR, and all her knowledge that had gone to waste.

All her life that had gone to waste!

This room, this bedroom- her old life came back to her in a flash, flooding all her senses. It felt like everything was finally clicking into place, and despite how miserable and utterly devastated she felt, it was a relief to finally figure it out.

With the way nobody came rushing into the bedroom, she knew she was alone. Unless Jack was at this computer, headphones on– oh god. She felt her mind split into two trying to reconcile the fact that these two very different men were one and the same!

She was alone strapped to the bed- which could only mean one thing. He wasn’t constrained like she was. He hadn’t been forced into this. Unless they were being kept separate… both victims of this sick mindfuck.

Because… surely– surely Jack couldn’t be behind this.

… Could he?

Scrambling for the door, determined to get some answers, she reached for the doorknob.

When she couldn’t get it to open, she mustered up all her strength to stand up- but still- it was no use. It was locked. And with the way it felt it looked like the door had been tampered with, bolted shut from the outside, not just locked.

She was trapped. A prisoner in her own home. She eyed the windows next and even if by some miracle they weren’t bolted shut too- she knew she was too weak to try and use the fire escape. She’d surely succumb to her death trying to evade. She needed a plan- a better plan.

Her brain was scurrying to come up with something-anything, all the while dry heaving at the sight of her waste bags still attached to her by those catheters and the overall stale smell of the room, but she knew that with how dehydrated she was, vomiting would take her out completely at that point. She head to keep it together, had to–

She’d heard what she recognized to be the front door. Her blood froze in her veins. She didn’t know who it was, she had no idea who was behind all this. She had no clue where Jack was, if he even was part of this– her heart told her no, he couldn’t have, but at this point she had no way of knowing what was real or not, let alone what this all meant.

She couldn’t risk being found conscious. She was clearly being kept in a comatose state, treated as one such patient at least, and the fact that she’d woken up from that induced state was definitely not intended to happen.

She remembered what had happened before she woke up like this- she’d reached the infamous, off limits Victory Headquarters. Because a plane had crashed in that direction, and the trolley driver didn’t believe her nor wanted to take her there!

She’d made the trek all the way there… it’d taken her ages, in the scorching sun- and finally, finally, she’d reached the imposing building, in hopes of finding some help or at least some answers at that point!

Next thing she knew, she’d woken up strapped to this bed. Her bed, in her old bedroom, from her old life that had been stolen away from her!

She needed to gather as much information as possible, and the only way she could do that was to get back into that bed and pretend she never came to.

There was no other way.

She hurried as best she could, barely making it back to the bed, made sure she was laid out in the same outstretched position. By some miracle, the catheters were still in place, their respective bags on the floor by the foot of the bed. The hardest part was fixing whatever that contraption was over her face and around her eyes. It dug deep into her flesh and she remembered to wipe any traces of tears from her face when new ones began rolling down her face. She was surprised her body could even produce them with how parched she felt. She then inserted the needle back into her bruised vein– which was sure to get infected at this rate, whoever was doing this to her was amateur at best, or they didn’t much care to keep her alive. She didn’t know which prospect was worse. She slipped her wrists back through the strap loops, hoping it wouldn’t be obvious she’d gotten them a bit loose when she struggled her way out of them.

And then she’d waited. And waited. And waited. All the while a bright red light scanned her eyeballs systematically, no doubt whatever was used to induce her into that trance or whatever it was that created the optimal parameters for the alternate reality to take place. She couldn’t even wrap her mind around it. She couldn’t even begin to understand how it worked- all she knew was that it was all too real to be just a dream. No. That was a controlled environment. The world simulation came to her again.

Her whole body froze as she’d heard the lock, then what she counted to be 3 other bolts on the bedroom door. She could only see directly above her, and that barely- but she could hear him when he came in.

Smell him, even.

And it wasn’t the smell of expensive cologne she’d grown used to, but a more familiar smell. A smell that felt more real, more ingrained in her subconscious- that of clothes he’d dug out of the laundry hamper to wear a few more times when everything else was too dirty even for his own standards, mixed with canned tuna and the faintest amount of deodorant that did nothing to mask the fact that he’d skipped showering for a day or two.

Her heart sank when she heard him hum to himself the song that had been stuck in her mind for ages- the one she’d been humming herself but couldn’t remember where she knew it from. This is where she knew it from. It’d been their song, in a way, a song he’d made up just for her.

“Darling, I… miss you all the time… Got you flowers, your favourite! Even that pesky Emma from the hospital remembers they’re your favourite. You’re so loved, hm? My precious girl.” She felt him sit on the edge of the bed and tried her best not to flinch when he leaned in to caress her cheek. “But I love you the most.”

She could feel her eyes well up with tears. Tears she couldn’t even blink away.

He then started tending to her and she mustered up all of her willpower not to lurch at him when he’d gotten her out of her restraints- she knew she was no match for him, not in her weakened state by any means.

He was doing this to her. It was him! All while declaring his love for her. She felt her heart break into a million pieces, all the while forcing herself not to make any movements and break her cover. Not even when he cleaned her with wet wipes up and checked the catheters, emptying the waste bags. God- she wished she was dead. For a while she zoned out completely, much like rape victims. She just let it happen to her, dissociating from her body completely, mentally checking out.

He’d eventually poured what must’ve been eyedrops into her sockets and that brought her back to reality. Whatever reality was anymore…

And then… to her utter shock, she felt him get in bed next to her. The familiar clank of the device she’d placed back onto herself could be heard and she realized he was putting on the same headgear.

He was… joining her? He was willingly putting himself through this? Sure, he wasn’t forced into it against his will, there was nobody strapping himself to the bed, nobody feeding him through an IV and treating him like a comatose patient.

But he was entering the simulation the same way she was. Through that headgear.

Is this what he did everyday while he was “at work”? Was this the infamously secret Victory Project that she couldn’t even ask him about- exiting that alternate reality and coming back here?

She heard him switch it on and then the whole room went dark before a projector of sorts played a familiar black and white scene on the ceiling, above the bed. She felt him interlace his fingers with hers and she was done for- she couldn’t fight it. Whatever this was, it was working fast, making her slip into unconsciousness almost immediately.

Followed directly after by her waking up in her other bedroom. Unrestrained. Nothing to force her eyes open. Clean. Rejuvenated even.

But scared shitless.

Traumatised.

Heartbroken.

She didn’t know how long she stood there, trying to make sense of it all in the darkness. Thankful to be able to move freely, thankful to feel like her old self, but well aware that it was all an illusion, that her real self was held hostage somewhere god knows where. Helpless, frail and alone.

She felt conflicted. Why was he doing this?! Why had he done this to her? She’d heard him say he loved her most. Heard he’d brought her flowers, even though she couldn’t even see them. Felt him tend to her, he was doing a lousy job at it but was keeping her alive and she could tell he was trying his best, being gentle, careful, thoughtful even when the reality was he didn’t have to. Not when, for all he knew, she was unconscious.

This was insanity.

There was no other explanation. No other justification. She understood the nuances- could see why this was- on paper- a better life. But it was fake! And most of all, it wasn’t her choice!

She’d been forced into it, against her will, without her even being aware of it! Her life had been robbed away from her. Her family, her friends, her hard work. The only common denominator… was Jack.

She didn’t know how to go about it, but if there was any chance of her escaping, she had to play dumb and pretend she knew nothing.

She wasn’t sure how she could face him knowing what she did, but she had to. She had to buy time, enough time until she could put her plan into motion.

She didn’t know if she’d succeed, but she had to try. She had to. She had to escape, claim her life back, good or bad.

She got off the bed, marvelling at how strong and healthy she felt, as opposed to how she’d collapsed on the floor in her real body. That alone emboldened her, she had to go face the music.

And face the music she did. Jack had put a record on, blasting it at high volume with little consideration to her being asleep. No surprises there.

But as she approached the kitchen, she took in the sight of him… cooking. Or, trying to cook.

Apparently, you couldn’t tweak everything in this alternate reality. Or maybe he didn’t care to fumble with his cooking skills. Because he’d definitely perfected some of his other skills–

“You’re awake!... I didn’t have time to set the table.”

“What’s going on?” She watched him scurry around the kitchen, trying to do a dozen things at once and failing.

“Well, I’m making you dinner. Now, we were supposed to have five courses. Unfortunately, I think we’re down to about three.”

She took note of the mess, especially the way something was about to catch on fire on the stove.

“That– don’t look at that. That course is officially off the menu.”

That’s when it clicked in her brain– the fucker had switched up his accent! He had a British accent here! Oh, she could laugh if she didn’t feel like murdering him. She reminded herself it wouldn’t be the real him she’d be murdering, though. No, for all she knew if she harmed him in any way here, she might end up trapped inside this simulation forever if her plan failed. Or until her real body died, with no one to tend for it, even as poorly as he was, in the real world.

She had to thread carefully. “What happened?”

“I got a little aggressive with the seasoning.”

“How long have you been home?”

“Uh, a few hours.” He proceeded to make even more of a mess in his attempt to jump from one dish to the next. “Okaaay. Nope. Don’t look at that. That’s– Okay, so I’m making that roast, you know the one you made for my birthday? Only with a few changes…”

“I was here when you got here?”

“Yeah. Asleep in the bedroom. Do you put carrots in a roast?”

“How did I get home?” That was a reasonable question. Last thing she knew of this reality was she’d reached the Headquarters. She needed to know if anyone knew about it.

“Trolley, I think.”

“Wait, so he came out and got me?!”

“Who are you talking about?”

“Jack, I got off the trolley. I saw a plane crash.”

“Alice, I think I would’ve heard if there was a plane crash.”

“No, Jack, I saw it…”

“They tend to be rather loud…”

“... and I started walking–”

“–and hard to miss.”

It was dawning on her that she wasn’t going to milk any info on this out of him. He was going to pretend the plane never crashed, of course, whatever that even meant for this simulation. Or maybe the plane crashing was only visible to her version of this altered reality. She couldn’t know for sure. But he seemed unconcerned otherwise. She didn’t think he knew she’d gone there. She really must’ve re-entered right back into the bedroom, after all, she, along with all the other women, were never meant to go up there, the Headquarters were off-limits.

Meaning that was probably from where the men entered. Since they were the only ones who came and left. The women were probably all bound to their own respective beds back in the real world, they were never meant to leave the simulation. It made sense why she’d found herself back in the house- where she belonged. And it made sense if that was where the man entered and exited since that’s where they all allegedly went everyday for “work”.

Her heart sank at the realization that it was highly probable that all the other women were victims, just like her. Unless everything and everyone else was a simulation around them.

“Hey. Are you okay?”

She tried not to flinch when Jack finally noticed she’d zoned out whilst trying to process all of this, and touched her shoulder, taking a better look at her.

“No…I don’t know–I’m not…”

Before she could react, he pulled her into his arms. That smell of expensive cologne hit her again, overriding the smell of stale clothes and canned tuna from her recent memory. And his embrace felt so familiar, so comforting, that for a moment she allowed herself to pretend like this was the person she knew to love her. The person she couldn’t wait to come back home from work everyday. The person that made her smile and laugh and moan and cry tears of happiness. She knew him well, she loved him with all her heart. And she was reluctant to accept that this man was the same that was keeping her strapped against the bed. Because that was the reality of it.

But this version of Jack that was holding her felt so real as well…

“I had a really weird dream. A really weird dream…”

“I’m sorry.”

Her heart sank. Was he, sorry? She buried her face deeper into his chest and held her breath, stifling a sob as tears flooded her eyes immediately. She wanted to break down in his arms and ask him why he’d done this. She wanted to give him a chance to explain himself. Wanted for him to somehow, magically, make it all better.

But she knew there was no way for him to do it. There was nothing he could say or do to justify what he’d done to her, even if his intentions didn’t seem as evil as they truly were to him.

Because she knew Jack. She knew he’d probably convinced himself somehow that this was the only way out of the miserable life they were living- and be it as it were, it was her life! He’d had no right to steal it from her like that.

“Do you know what weird dreams make me? Hungry.” He fed her a carrot he was holding jokingly then turned her around as she chewed absentmindedly, her mind racing, still taking in the reality of what her life was. Or the alternate reality, more like it.

Jack cupped her face, searching her eyes and declared solemnly, “Alice, I want to be honest with you about something.”

She almost choked on the carrot she was chewing on. Was he–

“I don’t think these mashed potatoes are gonna work.”

She swallowed, a bitter taste in her mouth at her naivete. “That’s because you need to boil them first, baby…”

“I knew it… I knew there was a step missing. Such an idiot,” he smiled bashfully.

She laughed at that. A manic laugh, but he didn’t seem to notice. Not at how incompetent he was at such a basic life skill- who the hell tries to mash raw potatoes?!- but at how hopeful she’d been for a moment there, believing he was about to confess everything just like that, out of the blue.

“Let me put a pot on…”

“No, no, no–”

“Come on, let me–”

“Make us some drinks. Relax.” He pulled her out of the kitchen and into the lounge, declaring “I am your chef tonight!”

Lord knew she desperately needed a drink at this point, so she sighed heavily, getting to it, when he stopped her in her tracks, “hey!”

“Hm?”

“You love me?”

She swallowed the lump in her throat. She replied like she used to, back in the real world. Something she didn’t remember ever doing here, but it just came to her by reflex now that her memory of her past life had come back to her fully. And for some reason that she couldn’t explain, she meant it, still. “The most.”

Jack seemed pleased with her answer, and resumed his ‘cooking’. Alice turned to the whiskey bottle and downed two doubles, one after the other.

How was she ever going to get free when her stupid heart had meant what she said?

She couldn’t allow herself to be fooled by this false reality any longer. Couldn’t allow to slip into his arms again and pretend he loved her when this was anything but love.

So she waited. Waited until he fell asleep that night (thankfully all the “cooking” had seemingly tired him out and he didn’t try anything)- praying this meant he was truly asleep.

Got dressed, tiptoed out of the house and geared up for a long journey to the Headquarters. She couldn’t risk taking the car and waking him or the neighbours up, alerting them with this unusual behaviour. There weren't any trolleys late at night by any means- everyone was sound asleep.

Everyone but her.

She was no longer asleep.

A/N: i've been meaning to get to this for the longest while! hopefully it scratches some itches we've been left with. i had fun writing this first part. more to come 👀

💕 like & reblog if you enjoyed this, lovelies, and most importantly, please come share your thoughts on it here 💌

🦋follow me on wattpad to get notified whenever i post something new/update!🦋

#dwd #don't worry darling #harry styles fanfiction #harry styles fic #harry styles writing #harry styles smut #jack chambers #florence pugh

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blondwhowrites · 2 days

Note

Hello! This is my first time writing in and I just want you to know how much I love love love your blog!!

I was wondering if you’ve ever written anything about brothersbestfriend!Mattheo. I just imagine he’d feel super guilty at first, fooling around with his best friend’s sister. Maybe he’d try to break it off but reader would get all sad and pouty, insisting that her brother will never find out.

Whether the reader is biologically related or adopted is up to you. I also did not intend for it to be this long—ANOTHER ADDITION TO THE PRINCESS MULTIVERSE

Oh my god—You being Theo's pretty younger sister and Mattheo just being absolutely obsessed with you!!! He always thought you were interesting. You've always just kind of been there, kind of tucked in a corner, watching as he, Theo, and Draco played together. You were weird in your own little quirky way—quiet, introverted, but not shy. No, you weren't at all shy, just simply quiet.

Mattheo always felt drawn to you in a way he really couldn't understand. You two just coexisted with each other, and it stayed that way until his sixth year, when you suddenly became 'beautiful' in the eyes of society. He always knew you were gorgeous, the most beautiful girl he had ever met, but now other boys and even some girls were starting to realize it too. The whole Slytherin gang becomes your impromptu guards on the orders of Theodore Nott. Suddenly, Mattheo is walking you to all of your classes and being forced to watch over you at parties—and that's when it really starts to go downhill for him.

You're the most wonderful being to ever exist, and holy shit, does it hit Mattheo HARD. You tend to ramble about the weirdest things like human anatomy, and your army of stuffed animals, and he's just nodding along admiring you like you're some sort of goddess. You give him little trinkets as gifts and he has a whole entire box full of them because he wouldn't ever dare throw them away. He's in love—there's no denying it. He'd done the one thing he swore he would never do...he fell for his best friend's sister. You immediately notice because, A, you've been watching Mattheo your whole life, and B, you know how to read people like a book. So, being the little shit you secretly are, you one day put on your prettiest outfit and waltz on down to one of the infamous Slytherin get-togethers, which is basically just a secret rave with how intense they can get.

Of course, Theo is huffing and puffing while being forced to watch his little sister flirt with some random girl and Mattheo—oh dear lord he is FUMING. At that point, he knows you know because the whole entire time you're sending him little glances and faux innocent smiles.

You're strewn across his bed, crying and whining as he brutally thrusts into you not even caring if you're a virgin or not because you had the absolute audacity to be a brat and he made sure you were absolutely okay with him being rough beforehand. He's whispering just the NASTIEST things into your ear. 'yeah—you like being fucked by your brothers best friend? If I had known you were such a slut I would've done this a lot earlier' His hand is wrapped around your throat, he's got you in doggy style, pressing your head down against the mattress and watching your eyes roll back. Your cunt is just gushing around him and he knows if he doesn't stop he's gonna become addicted to your pussy—which isn't really saying a lot since he's already addicted to you. By the time he's done with you you've cum more times then you can count and you are one second from just passing out.

It's like his whole entire personality switches because he's suddenly cooing sweet praises as he cleans you both up. He's pressing soft kisses to your lips as he tells you just how much he adores you, and Mattheo just knows he can't let this go—he can't let you go. He eventually, and very hesitantly, lets you go back to your dorm after making extra sure nobody is around.

That night, he just stays up, laying on his back and staring up at the ceiling. He's in a messy situation and he knows it, but honestly he doesn't really seem to care about how Theo would react if he ever found out about you two. In fact, the next day he pulls Theo into an empty classroom and locks the door. Theo doesn't even have time to react before Mattheo just spills everything. He could've ranted about his love for you for hours on end, and he's prepared to do that—that is, until Theo yells at him to shut up and is like, 'Mate, I knew this would eventually happen, so I've had years to prepare myself for this. My sister has been in love with you for years, and I'm sick of it, so please, for the love of Merlin, just take care of her and we are good.'

You are in your dorm reading about how bodies rot over time when Mattheo just busts in and grabs your book, placing it down, and kisses you silly. 'You're mine' he states as if you don't have a choice in the matter—and you really don't. The rest of your day is just spent in your dorm with him in blissful domestic peace.

Theo can finally rest in peace because HOLY SHIT—Mattheo is as dumb as rocks because how the fuck did it take him LITERAL years to realize he has feelings for you 😐

#reader insert #slytherin boys #harry potter #mattheo riddle #mattheo riddle x reader #bbf!mattheo riddle #mattheo riddle smut #mattheo riddle blurb #mattheo riddle headcanon #Mattheo riddle prompt #mattheo riddle blurb 🐍

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cute-sucker · 3 days

Text

now you knew that rafe was trouble, that wasn't the issue.

yet you liked the way he always seemed to know what you wanted. the bag you had been looking at for ages? yours. the cute puppy you always had wanted? yours. did you want that small top in every colour of the shade of pink? yours.

you liked the way he treated you. as if you were his little bunny, and you acted the part, coming to his office for his lunch, his heavy hand on your mini-skirt, and his hot breath fanning over your shoulder. you would beam at him, and he would smile smugly at you. people would sometimes look over to see you, a cute girl in his domineering stance.

this was the dream life. he got what he wanted, a nice life with a nice girl. you were wife material, no you were dream girl material. you didn't care that he was a bit mean, or that he would get in your face sometimes. no, he was your dream man.

after all, everything that he did was for you. the last time you had gotten in trouble with him, which ended up in a scuffle at a bar when a guy looked at you for too long. rafe hadn't asked you to change your outfits - some guys would have, after all, you were wearing a skimpy dress that bunched up at your thighs, and boosted your chest - no, rafe had simply told him to fuck off and to get some manners.y

then he had told you to go to the car so he would deal with it. he had come back with blood splattered on his white shirt and a bruised hand. you had felt so bad for him, slowly reaching to hold his hand. sometimes he would brush you off at times like this, but instead, he let out a harsh breath, and let you hold his hand.

when the two of you reached your house, he had parked the truck to a stop, his steely blue eyes searching yours. his hands cupped your chin, and you felt your heart skip a beat, as you desperately gazed into his eyes "y'know 'm doing this for you? being proactive. being your man. it's what you deserve,"

that had scared you, but you willed yourself to be stronger and nodded eagerly. it was what you deserved.

as a kook, a trust fund baby, you knew you were going to get handed off to some man, some ravenous man that would take your body as your worth. when your father had told you that rafe cameron was going to be that fine man- you had cried for weeks on end before your blind date.

your friends had told you he was a hottie, sure but one with a cruel facade. he blew past girls like a chain-smoker would to a pack of cigs. he had that frat boy feeling, and he was older. not too old, but enough for you to feel like a kid compared him. and now here the two of you were, tethering on the line of being engaged and you were scared? sometimes you would stand by the edge of the country club's pool to watch him laugh and scour the area for girls. you would always hide before his eyes reached yours.

but now you couldn't reject him.

so, you forgot about that time. blocked it out. instead, you decided to throw a party with your girls, stems of cherries in your mouth, and a sweet facade laid out for you. your girls were linda and marry anne. you were the hostess, handing out the drinks, and trying to make sure everyone was happy.

finally, when things calmed down, you found yourself lying by the pool while mary anne recounted her story with the pool boy. the sun felt nice on your skin, as you felt yourself relax.

marry anne giggled, nails sparking in the light, her bikini top itty bitty as she shimmered closer, "i don't know what to think of him. he's so innocent. nothing like the men we have to cater to. i liked it." then she blushed, "what! stop, don't give me that look."

linda bit the straw of her drink, and shook her head, "you know what, i don't think the men are a drag, i mean c'mon you know she," linda murmured out dainty finger point at you, "she's had her fair share of men. and now rafe! how nice," she swooned fixing her blond curls.

it was here that the two of them traded a look. a look that was unwelcome.

you felt your eyebrows furrow, as you wiggled out of your position, and gave both of them a confused look, "what about him?"

suddenly things went dead silent, as linda let out a sharp giggle, almost uncomfortable. you felt the hairs on your arm stick up, "guys! what about him?" now you were demanding, as marry anne gave you a pointed look, as linda continued to shake out her hair.

"okay. well i think he's kinda of a dick? like remember that shit he pulled on in new years?"

you shook your head, sighing, "i thought you guys got over that."

"he got mad at you trying to kiss a guy for new years! he was practically having sex with that disgusting girl down by the bay." linda blurted out, eyes bugging out of her head. you found your arms wrapped around your waist, feeling defensive.

"well, i was kinda promised to him? y'know. i shouldn't have tried to kiss that anyway," you murmured out softly. at this linda let out a laugh, to which marry anne silenced her.

"listen honey, i think you should be careful. promised or not. you have freedoms, and rights as a girl," marry anne continued, with a raised eyebrow, "and me for one- i would not be able to handle a man like that-oh-"

a hand snaked behind ur shoulder, and you turned around to face the person a beam on your face. "hey!" you giggled out before realising rafe was there. he was wearing that white shirt that made you go crazy for him, and while you wondered why he was there; he had a strange look on his face.

"mary anne, linda, nice to see ya guys. taking care of my girl? i bet you are." rafe muttered, turning back to look at you. you were practically ready to jump into his arms, a clear pout on your face. it was almost as if he knew that you needed him.

you sighed, and leaned into him, before whispering something into his ear. "don't wanna be here anymore."

at this, you saw rafe's eyes flash with anger, before grinning that snarky smile you knew so well. all of a sudden you were straddled on his lap, like a little girl as you played with his rings. he was inspecting lina and mary anne with a look of predators. "so, what are you guys talking about?"

linda quickly blurted out, "nothing! nothing at all. y'know what, i think anne and i should go. gotta an appointment at 5." mary anne looked close to rolling her eyes, but nodded before getting into more discussion. their smiles looked fake, as they gave you a quick wave, and ran as quick as their heels could take them.

you found yourself lying in rafe's lap, completely tired. he was brushing out the baby hairs out of your face, before softly dropping a kiss on your forehead. you exhaled, wiggling closer to him. he was never like this. so full of love to share.

"gonna make you mine, all right?" he whispered in your ear, before nipping at your jaw, "gonna give you my kids, a house full of them, and some better friends, bun. you're the sweetest."

and just like that any thought of leaving him was gone.

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thestarsarebrightertonight · 12 hours

Text

cinnamon girl // theodore nott x fem reader

"violet blue green red to keep me at arms length dont work"

playlist : cinnamon girl - lana del rey

summary : everyone knows you have a crush on theo , even he knows! so when you randomly start avoiding him one day , theodore cant help but go crazy.

sunshine reader , y/n used , hufflepuff reader

"theo!" you called out happily , running to the boys side and catching his wrist to stop his strides down the corridor, "hi, ive been meaning to talk to you!".

he looked at you , seeming displeased and just grunted in response , turning away and not even looking at your smiling face that admired him so softly.

"so you have a match on saturday and i was just wondering wether i should support you or hufflepuff? i always try and do my best in encouraging you but when youre against my house it becomes difficult-"

"i dont care do whatever." he said simply , finally turning to look back at you with an annoyed face.

your expression dropped for a split second , a moment so small it was hardly detectable but for that single second your smile dropped completely. and theo noticed. he thought that was probably the first time in your whole life youve stopped smiling. and the first time youve dropped your delicate hold on his wrist.

but you quickly regained composure , smiling up at him although not as sweetly as before , it almost seemed strained this time , "right , thats fine. ill just see what i can do closer to the time. bye theodore"

theodore. ouch. theo watched as you walked away silently , not turning back at all. he tried not to read too much into you , he didnt want to think he cared enough to, but hearing you call him by his full name and not theo? he hated to admit it stung a little more than he thought it would.

----

"hey!" you said enthusiatically as you sat down besides your close friend hannah , she looked up from the desk and greeted you back.

usually in charms you found yourself sat besides her , talking all lesson or admiring theodore , but you could help but avoid his side of the room like its the plague.

the plague being the pretty ravenclaw girl that for some reason was sat next to him as they discussed something civilly. usually theo sat with mattheo or alone since mattheo wasnt regularly spotted in charms , so to see him sat next to a girl youve never seen him with? you felt your heart shatter right onto the ground around you.

"y/n? are you listening?" hannah tried to ask you until she followed where you stared and saw theodore with the ravenclaw , "oh".

you nodded besides her , forcing a tight smile onto your lips and finally dragging your eyes from them , "its fine , everyone knows he doesnt like me back, i guess i was just in denial about it."

hannah saddened at the forced laugh that you let out , pulling you into a hug and rubbing your back , "he was never good enough for you anyways. youre a whole galaxy and theodore nott is the moon , nothing compared to you."

"i love the moon," you said softly as your eyes began to well up with tears.

hannah pulled back and scanned the room before grabbing your hand , "professor flitwick isnt here yet , leave now and if he asks ill say you were sick. go to our dorms and ill get snacks from the kitchen and we can stay in tonight , sound good?"

you smiled happily at her , "thank you hannah"

she returned the smile with a light nod before handing you your bag and shooing you away , watching as you left the classroom hastily.

failing to feel theos eyes that burned into your fleeting figure.

---

the next few days were odd for theodore nott. something felt missing but he couldnt quite place his finger on it...

that was until he made eye contact with you in the hall and watched in suprise as you looked away and practically sprinted down the corridor , rather than coming up to him with a bright small and a new topic to rant about.

and he didnt like it. not one bit.

for the rest of the week he picked up on the things that you did - or didnt do.

how your smile would drop when you made eye contact with theodore. how youd talk happily to lorenzo and then make an excuse to leave as soon as theo tried to join the coversation. how you stopped sitting next to him in potions and instead sat with hermione , chatting away to her and not noticing the glare theodore sent towards the both of you.

but the one thing that pushed him over the edge was when he flew out onto the quidditch pitch and immediately searched for you in the stands , only to spot you waving at diggory , wearing his jersey?!

theodore had never felt jealous before -lies- but in that moment he held onto his broom a lot harder than before , his whole body felt hotter and his eyes glared holes into cedric diggorys back.

lets just say that throughout the match he made sure to shove diggory with every chance he got , eventhough none of it was necessary as they had completely different roles in the game.

"nott get off diggorys fucking broom and do your job!" adrian shouted at him from across the pitch , making theodore roll his eyes before giving cedric a last shove and flying away.

from the stands you watched theodore in confusion ,along with the rest of the audience , staring as he yet again flew in the path of cedric and shoved him to the side before contiuing to chase the hufflepuff chaser.

"it seems like nott is more concered in giving the golden boy diggory a good push rather than actually fulfilling his job , typical slytherins playing dirty in my opinion-" lees comentating was cut off by professor mcgonagall clearing her throat , "sorry professor."

----

the match had ended and purely because of the rest of the slytherin team , they won , however the poor performance of theodore threw the whole teams goal points off.

"what the fuck is wrong with you theodore!?" draco shouted as the team entered the changing tents , "if i hadnt gotten that golden snitch we wouldve lost AND been the comedic relief of all the other houses!"

theodore let out a heavy sigh before sitting down on one of the benches with his head in his hands , pulling his hair aggresively, "shove off malfoy im not in the mood".

"all this because of some hufflepuff mudblood wearing diggorys jersey-" draco started again , before being pushing harshly by a now infuriated theodore.

"the FUCK did you say malfoy?!" theo screamed in his face , being pulled away by lorenzo who tried to calm the situation.

"guys we won and thats all that matters!" enzo tried to reason with the furious boys.

"barley , berkshire! theo over here nearly fucked everything up because of childish jealousy!" draco shouted back , venom dripping off his words.

"who said i was fucking jealous?" theo shouted back as majority of the team turned to him with disbelief.

"you nearly dropped the quaffle twice because you were too busy figuring out how you could shove cedric on the way to the goalhoops-" mattheo started before being cut off by the curtain of the tent being pulled back.

revealing a girl covered in bright yellow , covering her eyes and trying to walk into the tent without falling, "c-can i look?".

the whole tent gaped in shock before lorenzo finally spoke up , "yeah..yeah you can look y/n dont worry."

you quickly uncovered your eyes and blinked as they adjusted to the light , looking at the scene before you which showed theodore being held back from draco by lorenzo and a disapproving mattheo stood in front of the lockers.

"theodore what are you-" you started before being cut off by the boy shaking his head rapidly.

"stop - stop calling me theodore i cant stand when you call me that."

you stared in suprise as theodore shrugged off lorenzos hands and walked over to you, this was possibly the most emotion the boy had shown to you.

"oh uh right sorry , i just wanted to say well done for the match. i was rooting for hufflepuff but there isnt any other team that deserve it more than you guys!" you smiled awkwardly as the team thanked you a short silence following , "anyways , theres a certain hufflepuff thats a bit gutted about his loss so im gonna-"

"diggory?" theo asked with a sour tone as he stepped closer to you , not breaking eye contact.

"yeah , hes upset but i said if he lost id make him a crochet blanket to make him feel better so-"

"but you only make me crochet things." theodore said coldly as you stuttered again , unfamiliar with this behaviour from theo.

"ha , yeah i do but um , i didnt think you liked them so i thought id just put my efforts elsewhere!" you laughed awkwardly.

"the blanket you made him's on his bed , he takes it home aswell because he cant sleep without it-" mattheos teasing was cut off by a sharp glare from theo.

"shut up riddle!" theo seethed before turning back to you.

"no dont be embarassed theo - its nice to know you love it!" you said , finally regaining a comfort in theos presence at this news.

"i love you." he stated simply as the whole room fell into a dead silence.

your mouth hung wide open , as did his teamates before they were ushered out of the room by enzo , your moment with theo requiring the upmost privacy.

"you- you what?!" you asked in pure shock as the final player exited the tent.

"i love you," theo stated again as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"but- but you like hate me , you dont even reply when i talk or smile at me-" you ranted.

"youre right, i hate you. i hate how you love me more than anyone else has before you... i hate your hair and your perfect smile.... and i despise how you make me feel," he stepped so close that your bodies touched and his hand rested on your cheek firmly , "but theres a very thin line between love and hate."

you gaped up at him in suprise , "theo-"

he quickly took a step back and walked to his locker , pulling out a top, more specifically his jersey that he now handed to you.

"take that god awful jersey off i dont think i can handle looking at it for one more second" he said bitterly , staring down at the yellow top you wore with distaste.

"i love you too." you said , still frozen in place and staring up at him.

"i think everyone knows that princess." he said with a laugh , the first laugh youd heard from him in a long time.

a blush spread to your cheeks , both at his words and the addictive sound of his soft chuckle.

"why have you always ignored me if you love me?" you asked still being slightly unpleased with his random confession.

his smile dropped as he frowned and looked at you sympathetically , "i just thought you were doing it all for fun , maybe to mock me or something. i tried to shut out the fact i like you and it clearly didnt work , i was just ...scared." he confessed in a moment of complete vunerability.

you admired him with care and empathy as he spoke from his heart so purely , before your face cracked into a teasing smile , "you know i wasnt actually rooting for hufflepuff?"

he smirked wrapping arms around your waist and pulling you in closer ,"oh really?"

you nodded and pulled the braid in your hair over your shoulder , to reveal the dark green bow that wrapped around the end of it.

theodore grinned upon seeing this as you both giggled , a sweet first kiss following the heart to heart.

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hiddenlife-manager · 3 days

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I beg i beg i beg, i’ve read your latest Carlos fic repeatedly, PLEASE give me a part two, please please please i know it isn’t everyone’s taste but ITS MINE PLEASE

Carlos Sainz Jr Anal x femReader

cw... raw, cock, nsfw, anal sex, slight praise kink, creampie in ass, plot, hair gripping, hair pulling, simple sex due to injury, soft dom carlos, overstimulation, lube usage, lack of female pronouns, and lack of breast mentions, etc

notepad... hehe you ask and you recieve I wanted to go with a slight softer point of view in this due to his appendix being removed. I am like down for an anal series cause when i tell you I HAVE A LIST OF POSITONS. Anyway one down of the two stories I am writing for this month.

Part One

“He did it again. Carlos Sainz has won the Australian Grand Prix.” You heard an announcer state through the monitors hung on the walls in the Ferrari garage. You shook your head and placed your hands on your head to breathe for a moment. This race left you stressed, your mind worrying only about Carlos's current condition. What comforted you was seeing his car cross the checkered line, which allowed you to see Carlos was perfectly fine. You fanned yourself off rather quickly and rushed off with the rest of the Ferrari team to join the crowd.

Carlos drove his car into the garage and got out slowly, with the help of others, due to his inability to move rather quickly. He pumped his arm up in the air, walking to the crowd of all his team members; they hugged and cheered his name for this amazing win. The group high-fived or hugged him to celebrate. He eventually reached you, hugging you tightly, not letting you go for even a second, still wearing his helmet. Your lips kissed his hemelt, saying goodbye. He took his helmet and neck support off and celebrated with Lando and Charles before heading to the podium while you clapped the entire time.

The entire day was filled with interviews that he had to participate in. Carlos's win was important for multiple reasons; it showed his worth as a driver and also made him the only person so far to break current world champion Max Verstappen's streak. Yet he finally arrived back at the garage and walked slowly, his one hand resting on his side, where his appendix was and where the bandages currently are. He embraced you, allowing you to give extra support by placing your arm behind his muscular back.

“Another win for Carlos Sainz Jr., and right after getting his appendix removed, it is quite impressive.” You spoke with nothing but a joking tone. He looked down at you and kissed your lips quickly. “Amor, cállate.” He laughed while the two of you walked to the car. You helped him in carefully and couldn’t help but laugh just a bit.

“I am simply stating a fact. Perhaps all drivers should get their appendices removed. Well, except for Alex, his appendix is gone.” You two sat beside each other in the car, his hand slowly going up your leg. He didn’t care if he had his appendix removed or just raced; he wanted his part of the deal. Ever since the first time he made it to the podium, he wanted his gift. It had been four times in total, and now he wanted it again. “Recuerda el trato.” He whispered in your ear; he knew speaking in English risked the driver hearing it, and you had learned the saying, so you knew what he was saying.

Your lips were on his the moment the both of you entered the hotel room. The door shut behind you two, but you made sure to be careful with Carlos. You were well aware he was still recovering and was feeling slight lingering pain. You grabbed his hand the second you two stopped kissing and slowly walked him to a chair. You sat on his lap, being careful.

"Carlito, I will never forget,” you smirked, kissing his neck and slowly going down his body. “Besides, I have been planning the best way to do this.” Your hands reached his zipper and slid it down. His cock came out, and it was clear he was worked up. You heard him let out a gentle breath, but no moan. You wanted to take your time, but knowing Carlos, he just wanted to be with you. You sat up, walked over to the luggage, and pulled out the lube. You tossed it to him, and even if he was recovering, Carlos never missed it and caught it with ease.

“Amor, you are truly rushing.” Carlos paused but chuckled, shaking his head and running his hand through his dark and soft hair. He opened the bottle and squeezed it onto his cock. You walked over to him. You were still standing, and Carlos was sitting staring up at you with his signature smile on his lips. Your hands touched his cock and began to spread a generous amount of lube. “I don't mind, eres mia after all.” He groaned and threw his head back. Your hands were working around his cock, and smirked.

“You love this, Carlos. I know you're sad. You can’t fuck my ass every single day.” He placed the bottle to the side and grabbed your hair, pulling you up and kissing your lips. He let go of your hair and placed his hands on your hips, rolling through your dips. He helped you onto his lap so you didn’t hurt him. You decided to just rely on the lube his cock had, knowing it would take longer for you to get him in you.

You slowly lowered your ass onto his cock and groaned as you gripped his shoulders and fell forward. He didn't care; he loved how weak you got. You moaned as you slowly made him enter and stretch you out. You were clearly struggling to take him in. You got him half way into you, but you had to stop. You pulled yourself off of him and were breathing heavily.

“You can take it.” He whispered in your ear, caressing your hips, and you fully put yourself on his cock and moaned loudly. You couldn’t believe how good it always felt. You were out of breath from him being inside of you. Slowly, you started to go up and down, moving the way you knew he liked it. You rolled your hips each time you went down on him, and you could hear his soft grunts. “Perfecta…” He groaned as you were slow.

“Love being on the podium, Carlito?" He smirked as he kissed your lips and held your hips to go up and down at a faster pace. You were a mess from the way he was softly praising you; he loved your body so much that he desired this more than any man. His hips slightly buckled up into your ass, and he was able to pull out a louder moan from you. Your hips went faster while moans began to slip from your lips, and he continued to kiss you, attempting to disguise the moans through kissing. It was clear he was feeling just as weak as you were; the feeling of tightness was overwhelming, and he loved your thighs against his.

“Si, si asi!” He groaned as you went faster and faster on his cock. You were grabbed onto his shoulder with one hand, and your other pulled at his hair, gently snaking up from behind his neck. He smirked as you were being very vocal through moans but no words. He may have just gotten out of surgery, but he needed this; he needed you and your ass. You had everything he wanted. He continued to praise you in Spanish.

“Me vengo!” You moaned. He loved you using the Spanish that he taught you. He placed his lips on your neck and began to suck as he took over, fucking your ass. You were clearly slowing down, and he would continue as you shook. Your orgasm hit you hard, and he cared very little, his cock ramming into your ass, your arms holding onto him weakly. “So much…” You moaned, but you were nothing but a mess, moaning and crying out loud. He loved the noise you made. It was clear you were perfect for him. He eventually felt himself get closer and closer, ramming harsher into your ass until he came inside your ass. You let out one last sigh of pleasure as you fell on him weakly.

“I need to teach you more Spanish words.” He pulled out of you, and he helped you off him as you leaked his cum, and he kissed your neck. “Estoy cansado y tu.” You nodded, and he was still weak from his surgery, but he sat there, hugging you tightly and brushing your hair with his hands.

#fanfic #x reader #oneshot #formula one x reader #formula 1 x reader #formula 1 smut #formula one smut #f1 smut #f1 x reader #carlos sainz x reader #ferrari carlos #carlos sainz #carlos sainz smut #carlos sainz jr #cs55 x reader #cs55 smut

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infactmrmeowz · 1 day

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Hello, could you make a headcanon of the One Piece characters if they found out that the reader was abused in the past and what would they do if they knew who it was? I know it might sound strange but you could still do it, thank you

One piece characters- what will they do if they found out S/O was abused in the past

No problem pooks

content warning: Swear words, mention of abuse, beating people up! Gender-Neutral terms for both y/n and the abuser themselves.

Luffy: What I think Luffy would do, is probably the same thing that he did when he found out his other crew members abusers, kick their ass!! But when you vented or simply explained what happened, he really wasn’t listening. He just wanted to know who it was so he can make them pay the price. He isn’t one to comfort someone directly, just tell you that you’re a good S/O and move on. If you expect him to sit down and have a nice long chat with you, don’t. But if you expect him to kick someone ass for you, be prepared.

Zoro: Zoro is more an observer than an action taker, butttttt when you vent he will listen to you!!! You are part of the crew. When I say listen he will, may not act like it but he is. He just may say “ I’m sorry “ and move on from the day, he really isn’t good with emotions, but don’t get me wrong, he does think your badass for taking all that in and yet be the person who are today! But will never say that. Never. but what will he do to your abuser? He won’t fight them…when you’re around. He may just sneak out of The Sunny to find him, and take care of it himself.

Sanji: unlike Zoro and Luffy, he is very good at emotions and what to do or say, he will make you your comfort food and drink, sit down beside you and listen. He will get very angry when your telling the story, may interrupt you to say how much of a terrible person they are to do some such as yourself.. and he will do that a lot 😭 he knows how it feels to be abused and have emotional or physical trauma from abuse. but he would full on go HAM on the person that dare lay a finger on you. While doing that he will talk the abusers ear off saying how much of a great S/O you are. Law: He’s good at emotions and trauma, Espiecally after what he experienced. He will listen to you, very carefully asking the questions that need to be asked. Mostly on how are you feeling at this moment, physically or mentally. He will take this story(s) in consideration, he will treat you differently, more kindly, but he will see you as a brave person for taking all that in. But the question is what will he do.. like Zoro he won’t do it when you’re around, unless you directly told him you want to be. But he would make them feel pain like they did to you.

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rainbowsky · 1 day

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Sorry I've taken so long to address this, I've had a very busy day and didn't have time to finish this post (which I started yesterday).

I'm talking, of course, about the incredibly controversial situation surrounding DD right now. I've gotten some messages about it so I figured I'd give my thoughts in a bigger post so that I don't have to keep repeating myself.

(CW: racism, spoilers FPU)

I know that by now most people are aware of the situation, but I'm going to start from square one for those who are just catching up on the topic.

There is a scene in Formed Police Unit where Chinese UN peacekeeping troops need to rescue a group of citizens who are surrounded by terrorists. In order to accomplish this they disguise themselves as people from the community. This being Africa, the troops were disguised using blackface.

Yes, I am saying that DD and his castmates appear in the film in blackface.

I am not going to post a picture of that here. It's just something I can't post on my blog. I understand that many of you will want to see for yourself so I'll link a clip of the scene, which was posted on Weibo. Please be aware before clicking - this is full-on blackface. Always take care of yourselves, and if you think it might be upsetting to you don't click. You don't need to see it to be a 'good fan'.

Background

For those who may not know, this movie was filmed years ago, in 2021. During those years I have seen many anti attacks against DD, claiming that he is racist and has worn blackface. Here's the photo that was circulating back then.

At the time I thought the makeup that he was wearing was likely anti-reflective black paint or camouflage paint such as is used by snipers (which he played in the film). I assumed that he was wearing his own hoodie over part of a military costume, because he was wearing a cammo shirt and what might have been combat trousers.

I was certainly not expecting full-on blackface from this movie.

There's no getting around it - this is extremely difficult to look at.

Blackface is widely viewed as offensive and racist. It shouldn't be hard to understand why. Putting on another person's ethnicity like a costume is deeply insensitive, particularly when you consider that BIPOC (black, indigenous, and other people of color) are so frequently targeted, exploited and marginalized. For those in positions of privilege and power to put on the appearance of the people who they oppress and exploit... it's just shocking and awful.

Blackface is most frequently talked about in an American context, but it's actually a problem globally - including in China. More on all that here.

The film

I have not actually seen the film, so I don't know much about the context beyond what is being discussed in the fandom. As I said earlier, in the film a group of UN police officers need to infiltrate an area in the community and take on disguises in order to do so.

In promotional media this film is being presented as based on true stories from real missions*. It seems the situation in question really happened on a Chinese peacekeeping mission, and the UN troops disguised themselves as black citizens in order to infiltrate and extract the endangered captives.

*I'm going to give them the benefit of the doubt on this because it doesn't change how I feel it should have been handled.

This is important context that is being conveniently left out of much of the backlash about this situation. People are outright claiming that DD plays a black person in the movie - that he wore blackface to perform a role that a black actor could have played. This simply isn't true, and people making these claims are antis and liars. There's simply no excuse for not knowing the full context.

Having said that, I don't really think it matters how it ended up in the film. I do not think there is such a thing as a palatable or appropriate use of blackface. In this day and age it is nearly universally understood to be racist, and it's extremely controversial.

I can understand if they were trying to be accurate to the mission that they were portraying, but surely there are other ways they could have accomplished this scene (perhaps with the clothing but not the blackface). 'Historical accuracy' isn't as important as cultural sensitivity, not by any stretch of the imagination. In the interest of respecting audiences they could have adapted the scene to make the use of blackface unnecessary.

I really see no excuse for anything like this in 2024.

Audience reactions

Chinese sensibilities around these topics are very different from what we are used to in the West.

According to fan repos audiences initially didn't recognize any of the actors, and once it became apparent that they were in disguise, laughter erupted around the room. In fact, most fans are laughing a lot at the photos and video even on social media (although some Chinese netizens have been upset by it and have voiced complaints to various stakeholders).

It is also being widely discussed on Chinese social media as an exciting scene of heroism in the film.

I feel the need to point out that the laughter and mockery is a huge part of the harm, here. As if it's not bad enough that these actors are performing in blackface and presenting a perversion of black ethnicity, it also becomes an opportunity for audiences to mock and disrespect black people. It's become an opportunity for social media to be filled with racist jokes and mockery.

Roadshow statements

There have been some clips circulating of PR and roadshow moments with black cast members and some black audience members who have spoken up in support of the film and to thank the cast and crew for telling the story. Here's one example.

International fans have been dismissing those statements as ignorant or coerced, which I think is offensive and deeply fucked up. There's no planet on which I'm going to - with a totally straight face - say that a black person's response to the movie is not legitimate just because it doesn't comport with my own view.

This is a complex issue and there are inevitably going to be a lot of different perspectives. I hope people won't exacerbate the problem by supplanting black voices on this issue with their own, no matter what's being said. If there's any manipulation going on, let's assume it was in their choosing supportive black figures to speak for the film rather than claim that the black spokespeople are insincere.

China has a lot of issues with racism, there's no doubt about it. It's a huge part of why so many people try to whiten their skin, or why they mock each other when their skin gets tanned/darker. There is a lot of sinister, fucked up stuff going on in China around race - both in the country and in their dealings with other countries.

But we can't claim to speak for black people in China, particularly when they are speaking for themselves! I would hope this is extremely obvious!

Where's DD in all this?

It's understandable that bystanders will react to what they're seeing and might immediately deem it unacceptable - and DD along with it. Their reactions are valid, but as fans I hope that we can look at him with a bit more empathy. I hope that we can take a moment to try to see things from his perspective.

DD has been interested in and an avid fan of black culture since he was a small child. We've all seen how much he immerses himself in hip hop, street dance and the accompanying music and fashion. And yes, he's been accused of cultural appropriation in the past for wearing locs and durags.

However, I think fans need a bit of perspective here to get a sense of where DD might be coming from. Here's a guy who loves black culture, who has close friends who are black, who regularly works with black artists and who supports black artists, in a culture where racism against black people is prevalent and often extreme.

I think DD would probably be amazed to hear the accusations of racism against him. He likely has very few people in his orbit who are anywhere near as supportive of or as closely connected to black people as he is. He likely stands out in his circle as being particularly into black culture and connected with black artists, and probably regularly faces ignorant questions or digs from people around him about his close association with black artists and culture.

Not just because of racism alone, but also due to the racist parallels the government tends to draw between black culture, street dance, hip hop, etc. and criminality/moral degradation*. It's likely that ignorant people in his orbit have expressed concern or wariness toward him because of these associations.

*That is, until breakdancing became an Olympic sport, then they were suddenly onboard with some of it.

I'm not saying that he doesn't have a lot of learning to do (and if this situation becomes what I think it might become, he'll have a big opportunity to do so), I'm just saying that his ignorance isn't mean-spirited. He's coming at this from a totally different angle than any of us are, and he is immersed in a totally different cultural perspective than our own. In his world, his interest likely makes him a bit of an anomaly.

So those painting him as a horrible racist... it's just not how I see it.

The element of choice

I've heard many people say that DD 'didn't have any choice' about this role, that turning it down would not have been an option or that he would be under some kind of threat if he didn't take this role. I don't agree with that characterization of things. I don't think it's quite as 'gun to the head' as a lot of fans paint it.

I think it's more likely that he simply didn't realize that the role would involve blackface when he accepted it, or that he thought that blackface in this context - to infiltrate a terrorist cell and save civilians - would be fine. We don't need to depict China as forcibly compelling actors to take unwanted roles if we want to make sense of this. There are simpler, more logical explanations.

DD wouldn't have been the one deciding how to depict the scene - he didn't have that power in 2021 - but I also doubt he would have had a major problem with it given everything we know.

We must overcome our Western tendency to see things only from our own perspective. This has a totally different cultural context in China, and the voices we listen to about it should not be issuing exclusively from white faces that are not at ground zero of this situation.

Final thoughts

This film has had me worried from day one. I think most people have been expecting it to be full of offensive portrayals and propagandistic fuckery. There are so many ways in which a Chinese film about the UN is potentially a sticky, tricky mess. This blackface thing is likely just one problem on a towering pile of problems.

However, I'm not going to sugarcoat this - this has the potential to be a real shitshow for DD, and I am concerned. Especially if this film gets an international release.

We need to brace ourselves, because I don't think this is going to just disappear. DD has endorsements with international brands, and this could definitely cause backlash for those brands unless the issue is addressed and the scenes removed. There's no planet on which brands like Chanel and Lacoste can afford to have one of their spokespeople plastered everywhere in blackface.

If this film gets an international release and those scenes are left intact, it's possible he will lose some brands.

Let's hope it doesn't come to that, but let's face it - things like this have consequences, and that's why it's so important for producers and artists to be sensitive about what they're portraying.

While I think there's some endorsement risk here for DD, and the potential loss of some international fans, I want to be clear about one thing: I don't think this will threaten his career overall. In China this just isn't an issue in the way it is internationally.

I do hope the film team addresses this issue in some way, ideally by removing the scenes. They just finished doing a massive edit to remove ZZH from the film, surely they can handle something like this. But let's not hold our breath...

Everyone has the right to make up their minds about DD. As I've often said, being a turtle isn't for the faint of heart. That's not just because turtles are frequent targets for bullies, or because we have to constantly live with uncertainty and doubt.

Being an international turtle also isn't for the faint of heart because there are a lot of cultural and political minefields to navigate, and many ideological differences to adapt to. There's a huge learning curve and a lot of unknowns, and turtles who want to survive have to make peace with the fact that we and the boys are from different worlds in many ways. We may never know where they really stand on issues that are important to us.

However, in this case I feel confident that I know where DD's heart is on this issue. He simply doesn't hold hatred, disrespect or disdain for black people. Quite the contrary.

I think we'd all just feel a lot better if he had a good grasp on how to be a better ally.

And while we're waiting for that, I think we should put our money where our mouths are and learn more about these issues ourselves, both in China and locally at home. We want DD to be a better person; let's be better people too.

#bjyx #yizhan #ggdd controversies #please rebloggers don't tag with his name or the name of the film #i don't want this outside the turtle circle - the fan wars are horrific

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raven-at-the-writing-desk · 3 days

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after your post about malleus i finally said to myself “yeah i can’t force myself to pretend like i like any of the dormheads”. not like i hate them, but after their blots were over i felt like nothing in particular has ever changed about them. the only person who made me think yeah he’s a changed guy is vil. i was really surprised when in chapter 6(if it wasn’t the end of 5th? can’t remember) he apologised to the boys, his acceptance of his own mistakes and awful doings made him skyrocket in my mental tier list

[Referencing this post!]

Mmmm, I'm in a similar boat when it comes to the dorm leaders but for my own reasons; I like the vice dorm leaders a lot better simply because I tend to enjoy characters who play "supportive" roles (butler, bodyguard, knight, older sibling, etc.).

I don't know if I agree with the idea that the dorm leaders (well, + Jamil instead of Kalim) didn't change after their OBs. I believe that we miss out on seeing a lot of their development because it happens off-screen and we the players don't spend every waking moment checking up on the OB boys--but they definitely do change. More specifically, right after their OBs and sometimes upon their returns in the subsequent books. Just because we do not personally witness every step of their development doesn't mean it didn't happen.

Let's look at one example with the first dorm leader. After his defeat, Riddle cries and confesses he doesn't care about the silly rules, he just wants to enjoy his time with everyone. During the unbirthday party that follows his OB, Riddle sees some roses that are not entirely red and his peers expect him to lose his temper again. Instead, he laughs and says he can overlook it, then invites everyone to help him paint them properly. Riddle expresses similar restraint with his anger in book 2; he adopts a policy of strictly chastising and then trying to fix the problem instead of immediately collaring rule transgressors. (The exceptions being with, of course, the wrongdoers of book 2, like Leona.) Then, in book 6, we see Riddle struggling with his character change, as he is shown to still heavily rely on absolute rules and laws to govern his actions, and relies on himself to be the judge of them while shunting out others. It's only when he butts heads with Azul that he's able to be a little more flexible and recognize his peers' strengths. This makes sense, because the time period between book 1 and book 6 is only about 6 months; a complete shift in one's character and worldview won't happen that quickly, nor completely. Riddle must have been working on himself a lot and consciously trying to repress his anger--and he's imperfect at it. This is fine!! Character growth can be messy, slow, and non-linear--and this is true of how the dorm leaders change over time.

As for Vil (since he was specifically cited in your ask!), I'm of the opinion that his early book 6 apology was not the result of a character change. Vil was already very mature and self-aware prior to OBing; I think he would have still apologized if he thought something going wrong was genuinely his fault, as he holds himself to high standards and would acknowledge when he has fallen short of them (even in regards to morals). This is implied in his behavior before he overblotted too; in book 5, Vil repeatedly claims he will defeat Neige using his own power, fair and square. When he falls into despair and resorts to dirty methods to take his rival out, VIl is appalled by the "ugliness" of his actions and begs his classmates to "not look at [him]" because "[he's] so ugly" (referring to his ugly character/morals). This means he was aware of the cruelty of his actions and how they poorly reflect on him (ie he would have felt guilty and apologized afterwards about it anyway). Vil typically comes off as harsh, but he's truly noble when it comes to accepting when he has fucked up. I feel the real change in Vil is something that Rook highlights: the importance of loving oneself, regardless of what others may think of you. This development is made more apparent in book 6, which is the follow-up book to Vil's and allows him a time to shine. Whereas in book 5 Vil was obsessed with being a "hero" and public opinion, book 6 Vil declares to Idia "there are no heroes or villains" and that he is still "fairest of them all" (echoing a line Rook says in book 5), even as a withered old man.

I don’t want to ramble on for too long!! If you’re interested in reading about how the dorm leaders (+ Jamil) are grappling with their character arcs following their books, I’d recommend this post. It only goes up to Vil since the analysis is very book 6 heavy. I’d recommend this one for Idia, but be warned it does not take into account book 7 events since it was not out at the time of writing.

#twisted wonderland #twst #Leona Kingscholar #Azul Ashengrotto #Jamil Viper #Riddle Rosehearts #Kalim Al-Asim #Vil Schoenheit #Idia Shroud #Malleus Draconia #disney twisted wonderland #disney twst #notes from the writing raven #Rook Hunt #book 1 spoilers #book 6 spoilers #book 7 spoilers #book 2 spoilers

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jimblejamblewritings · 2 days

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love letters and second sons | part 1.

Summary: The princess is finally ready to debut in society. But before she does, she decides to disguise herself and see the true faces of the ton.

Author's Note: Hello! Yes, I'm here with a wip before finishing my other stuff. The Bridgerton girlies have got me. Congratulations to you all. So before you read this, please read: I Hate Accidents by @i-hate-accidents AND Over The Garden Wall by @homeofthepeculiar AND The Ultimate Deception by @maximoff-pan. These stories are some of my favorites and really inspired this fic.

Warnings for the Series: light sexism in line with the times, light classism in line with the times, mental health stigma, shitty doctor care, smut, suicide attempt (will get it's own warning when the time comes),

Pairing: Benedict Bridgerton x princess!reader

Word Count: 5.4k

Author's Note: To those who have read my other works, you'll notice that the author Mercutio's stories are something special

My Dearest Ton and Wonderful United Kingdom,

I am pleased to welcome you all to the start of another social season. Of course, people love and look for love all year round but each year the season just seems to invite love to blossom. I hope all of you find the match to your souls. Marriage is a business but can it not have love as well? A business built with love surely must be a business that tries to last. I ask our respectful citizens and subjects of the United Kingdom to make love a part of their search.

I would also like to ask about businesses that do not involve marriage or love. How are you? In the business of health, is everyone safe from all sickness? In the business of finance, does everyone have enough to eat and clothe themselves without falling into poverty? Are businesses afloat even if only by a small margin? How are you? Truly, I want to know. If you would like to write to me, please do so. The royal mailboxes should still be in perfect condition.

Of course, if you have something urgent then I am sorry but you must come to the palace and request an audience. My valets hold all letters for a day or a few out of safety for everyone. But rest assured, I read every letter once received.

I would also like to say that I can feel the winds of the ton calling me to grace their presence and to stop being rude by ignoring them. Naturally, the wind is very rude to say this and then cut through my dress and chill my bones even when it is snowing. But I digress, the wind is right. The time for introduction must be soon. And a lovely time that will be. I cannot wait to meet you all.

Yours truly,

A Not So Young Anymore Youngest Princess Y/N Hanover (Truly, I need a proper surname and not just the name of my father’s house)

My Dearest Ton and Wonderful United Kingdom,

Would you like to know what I have learned yesterday? I know the Americas are still a touchy subject for some but I hope you don’t mind me talking about it, just to share my studies. Philadelphia is the center of American debate. So many great men (and women that have probably gone unnamed but aided their counterparts in their quest of education) have lived and are currently still living there.

Going to America simply for a debate sounds terribly dreadful. But what if we had one here that wasn’t relegated to just the universities. An entire city becoming a center of debate seems incredibly foolish, not to mention disruptive to its current residents, but buildings of debate do not seem like a bad idea.

Even if some feel like they aren’t smart enough, they should participate. Ideas are nurtured by sharing them. May some debates lead to great compromise and understanding and maybe even propositions for laws.

I, for one, debate with my father every day on which science is the most important to teach to young children and which science can wait until university should they like to pursue that path. He believes all of it. I believe that medicinal science is too much for a young mind and they only need to be taught how to mind their health until they can understand better. What do you think? I am delighted to hear your opinions. Maybe mine will be swayed.

Yours Truly,

Youngest Princess Y/N Buckingham (I am trying out new surnames until one I like sticks)

My Dearest Ton and Wonderful United Kingdom,

I apologize if my stance may be radical but nothing in society ever got done if the start wasn’t a little radical. I believe that young women should be properly taught about relations… let me just say it, sex. Not when they are children, no, but when they are about to debut. Consider it. You all know that as a royal, despite being a woman, I have been taught all things. Everyone is aware that I know what sex is. But if I and my sisters were taught sex so that we may be aware of malicious advances and be able to protect our virtue first rather than waiting for our virtues to be saved by someone and risk them being too late, then others should as well. Therefore, I implore all mothers and governesses to teach their young ladies about to debut what sex is. And to fathers who may be without wives, please find any woman to teach your daughters.

I shall return with more radical ideas for a better and more prosperous United Kingdom.

Yours truly,

Youngest Princes Y/N Kew

The printed letters delivered to London, had everyone enthralled in the early morning. Some people that lived close enough to the central town square didn’t bother with the prints and went straight to the wooden pin board there to look at the princess’ handwriting on the original letters. Whenever the Young Princess or the author Mercutio Quick wrote, people stopped and paid attention.

Princess Y/N was the people’s princess. The one who listened to their complaints and wasn’t cheap on her charitable acts. She was so much like her father, Farmer George. Even with his illness he still ran a good country… when he was in charge. So much better than her eldest brother, George IV. Then again, any royal sibling was better than their eldest brother, even if only by a very small percentage. Everyday the public hoped another child would challenge George the Younger. They would rally their support behind them.

They were hoping that any day George IV’s daughter, Charlotte, would have an heir. If she was pregnant then it would be so easy for the public to support her and convince either George IV to step down or convince Parliament to present a motion to King George. They would have a ruler and an heir. Charlotte the Younger would be the easiest transition for George IV to understand.

But neither her father nor husband seemed to care about the lack of heir. But the thought of succession and coups and duels was forgotten for a moment to read the Young Princess’ letters welcoming them to the new social season with new balls, debutantes, and drama.

In the Bridgerton house, the family ran around like chickens with their heads cut off. They were trying to get ready to present Daphne to the Queen while also trying to read the Young Princess’ letters. Benedict laughed as he slapped his copy of the letters.

“Mother would have a fit if she had to speak with Daphne about sex.”

“I’m surprised she would even suggest such a thing,” Colin said as he returned to reading the first letter, thinking he might actually write to the Young Princess about his familial concerns and wanting to travel desperately but being unsure about leaving them.

Eloise finally smiled as she came downstairs with the rest of her siblings. “I for one think it’s rather refreshing. She is right. Our mamas should be teaching us more than just how to meet the Queen… Daphne! You must make haste! Do you think she heard me?”

Colin rolled his eyes. “She most certainly did. But on the matter of the princess, what is wrong with a woman’s husband teaching her about sex?”

“Everything is wrong with that.”

“Hmm.”

He looked down to reread the paper, wondering if he could understand what the princess actually meant. Even though the letters were left at home, talk of the princess never ceased. How could it? The monarchy’s youngest princess might actually be joining them. Everyone wanted to know what she would look like, not in the face of course. Even her fourth brother didn’t take off his mask until after five months of being introduced to society and he was the shortest time it took to see the royal children’s face.

“Do you think she will be tall like her eldest sister or short? Plump?” Eloise asked as their carriages started their way towards the palace. “I’d imagine I’d be very lovely and plump if I could be stuck in a palace all day with the most wonderful food imaginable. Not that anyone should ever value a woman based on her body but Penelope has stated that her sisters are terribly upset because all the dress makers have started saying that plump is going to be in fashion once again in only a few years time and by the time they become plump it’ll be out of fashion again.”

Daphne looked out the window. “I wonder if she’ll look like the Queen or the King. Oh, what makeup do you think she’ll wear? What mask did she have created for herself? When do you think we’ll actually see her face?”

Violet touched the knees of all her girls. “Whatever she is like, do not be rude and gawk. The poor thing will already have the vultures’ eyes on her all night. If she even comes out tonight. Perhaps it will be at a ball this week. That would be quite a fantastic introduction. I do hope she at least meets us this season.”

Francesca smiled. “I imagine her dance card would be quite full.”

“She’d have bracelets of dance cards going up to her arm,” Daphne agreed.

“But she isn’t coming into society yet. She’s just introducing herself to us,” Eloise said.

“She’s still a princess royal. A very well-known one at that. There’s no way the men would pass on an opportunity to dance with her. They’d want to start making their intentions known now, get ahead of everyone else.”

The boys’ carriage was speaking of a different matter entirely. The princess and Mercutio had written to the ton at the same time. With the presentation to the Queen taking up so much of the day, most people wouldn’t be able to read his work until later that evening. Colin and Benedict simply couldn’t wait. Colin sat with his brother as he drove the carriage and read the story out loud:

“Arsehole,” Cecilia muttered.

Ignoring the sharp stinging of her backside, she hopped off the bed to find something to put on. All she needed to accomplish was getting back to her room, clothed. She knew there must have been some spare clothes in their dressers. It was just a matter of sorting through which garments were hers and which belonged to the others. She had been sorely mistaken to ignore the three members of nobility behind her, thinking they hadn’t heard her.

Lovell scrunched up his face, resembling a rat. “Is receiving another punishment something you really care for? Because this attitude you’ve acquired is going to earn you one.”

“Piss off.”

“Is that any way to talk to your dominants?” Madison asked, adjusting herself in Tommy’s arms.

Cecilia scoffed as she walked towards the door, placing one hand on the doorknob. “Lavender.”

The other three faces fell at the use of that forbidden word. Cecilia’s hand reached up ever so gently and wiped away tears. She wondered if the tears were for her former lovers or for finally realizing her mind was deluded to think she would be with anyone above her station such as Lovell.

“I don’t want this anymore.”

“Cecilia.”

“You never believe that I don’t enjoy breaking our established rules. You only listen to Madison.”

“Cecilia.”

“It is clear you both like her more than you desire me. I am down.”

“Cecilia.”

“You shall see me around this manor, doing my job as I always have. But that is the extent of our relationship.”

“Please, just give u—”

“Good day, Lord Parham. Lord Newall, Lady Wilcher.”

“Riveting,” Colin said as he finished reading. “Mr. Mercutio has done it again.”

Benedict nodded. “Indeed he has. I was a bit worried when he announced that he wanted to dabble in the themes of erotic pleasures in his stories but this was just as enjoyable as all the others.”

“Agree… Oh, it says here that they have earned a publishing deal. The penny stories will still come out once a week, chapter by chapter but readers can also purchase a book if they would like to keep the story properly or are in a rush to read it. I for one will be buying the books.”

“I second that.”

“I wonder what his next story will be about. Actually, no, I wonder what our dear sisters and mothers can be talking about.”

“The princess, no doubt.”

”Do you think any of our brothers will approach?” Eloise asked in the women’s carriage, more to herself than anything.

That made Hyacinth’s face light up. “If one of them marries the princess does that mean we get to be princesses too?”

“As if any of our brothers even could or want to.” Francesca pulled her face away from the window.

“If anyone is going to bring them to the marriage mart,” Daphne started as she fanned herself. “It would be the princess. Anthony would be a good match for her.”

Violet laughed, thinking of the idea. “A viscount and a princess are a perfect match.”

All talk of the princess stopped as they approached. The worst thing that could happen could be a footman overhearing them and mistaking their speech for malicious gossip rather than light-natured and report it to the princess or the queen or even worse, King George himself. They would forever be ostracized from society.

From upstairs, you watched from a window where you knew no one could see you even if they looked up. How you desperately wanted to be down there. All the men were dressed up and looking like penguins. Handsome they were but still penguin-like in silhouette. And the women’s dresses. Some, while upper class, were of a lower social standing and wore older dresses that looked just as gorgeous as the empire and rather shapeless dresses of today.

But today was not your day. You actually weren’t sure when your day would be. Your mother and father let their children choose when they would be introduced to society. Of course you all had to wait for a certain age and it had to be a date at the start of the social season but you could pick the day. And unlike your last sibling, you wanted it to be at a ball instead of the selection of the Diamonds. You didn’t even care which ball it would be. Perhaps it was selfish but you did want a day all to yourself or at least a day with you as the main focus. But that wasn’t this year. Or any year perhaps.

You were excited to finally leave the walls of the palace if you were allowed, having proven yourself capable of not causing an incident. Unfortunately, you couldn’t say you had proven yourself without illness. You weren’t that lucky. You and all your siblings were locked inside until the royal physicians could observe and confirm that you weren’t sick with whatever madness your father had. They didn’t have to observe you. That was also why you picked a ball instead of today. You wanted to prove you didn’t need a chaperone literally holding your elbow. You wanted freedom like your siblings. Freedom to explore that you weren’t sure would get because of your illness.

After a nearly fatal drowning in the lake — an event your siblings still get chewed out for at least once a month — you started showing symptoms like George did. For you it wasn’t about if you would be as sick like your father. It was about how bad and how quickly the illness would get.

You didn’t get to see George as often as the others. The doctors thought you shouldn’t be around him for prolonged periods of time unless it was after an episode. They thought that too much exposure would make you more like him instead of better. They wanted to send him to Kew but you promised that you wouldn’t go to his quarters as long as he got to stay at Buckingham.

Charlotte, silly as it may have been, had hope. They caught your sickness early. Nine was a very young age to almost go mad. Maybe you could be saved from a cruel fate unlike George. They were too late for him but not for you. Of course this only brought jealousy from your siblings who didn’t feel like they got as much affection anymore. Every time you even twitched, it became about you. They could never hate you. It wasn’t like you asked to be sick. But it was hard to be around you. Everyday visits became once a week. Still, you cherished those visits. Like the one yesterday. They expressed their sympathies and hopefulness that you would get to introduce yourself and maybe it could even be this year or maybe this month.

You could have scoffed. After what you did just two days ago, you were unsure. The daylight came into your room before you were prepared for it and you had been convinced that Buckingham was on fire. You couldn’t be calmed down until you jumped into the water fully clothed. Immediately, you pulled yourself out of the trance but no one really cared. The royal physician had been called anyway and you had ruined all chances of attending the presentation to the Queen.

“Your Highness!” a voice disturbed your thoughts and your eyes from looking at your siblings’ carriages leave in the morning. Your lady-in-waiting approached you with a paper, an entire pamphlet. “It’s already spread through the ton like a fire. We haven’t read it yet. We figured new literature would be a treat for you.”

“Thank you, Pandora. Shall we read it in the kitchens this morning when we return home?”

“Not your room?”

“I’m so terribly sick of my room and the washroom and the balcony and the bedroom.”

“You are getting restless.”

“It’s only a matter of time. Maybe even tomorrow it’ll happen. And soon it will only be a couple of years at most before the mask is gone. By the way,” you said as the two started to leave. “Did you hear about the Feather girl that fainted? Is she alright?”

“Oh yes, she’s fine.”

“Good. Have someone send flowers to her tomorrow with an inquiry about her wellbeing after taking such a tumble. Oh and no flowers to the Diamond. I want to meet her myself one day. Now, let’s read about this… Lady Whistledown. She already sounds like an interesting woman.”

Interesting it was indeed. The maids and kitchen staff hung onto your every word as you read the pamphlet. You weren’t exactly sure how you felt about the pamphlet yet but Pandora was right about one thing. It was literature. Lady Whistledown seemed bold enough to list subjects by name. By their entire name as if she wasn’t afraid of any repercussions. You supposed she wouldn’t be since Whistledown was obviously not her real name.

It wasn’t the subject of what she published that bothered you. A lot of it was standard gossip that goes around during the social season but it was her personal opinion. She almost seemed to want the ladies she wrote about to have miserable ends like inquiring about Daphne Bridergton’s flame burning out quickly. The lady must know that what she published could ruin a reputation. Gossip is no longer gossip when publicly written down. It has the potential to become fact.

You slapped the pamphlet against your hand. “Well, I suppose Mercutio Quick from York will no longer be the entertainment of the ton. Sad, and right as I earned a publishing deal too. Perhaps, I should take up a different art. Like making dresses for all my days or learning to play the harp and cello properly so it sounds better than a dying whale according to my brothers.”

The cook shook his head. “Your stories are very entertaining. Even Lady Whistledown couldn’t stop that.”

“Thank you for saying that. I am rather jealous that she is penning under a woman.”

“But you have chosen a name based on your favorite characters, have you not?”

“I have but maybe I should’ve chosen better. This Lady Whistledown might be making more change for women then I hope to accomplish.”

At this, the staff scoffed. Pandora cleaned up your dishes from the kitchen island in front of you.

“Your Highness, with the utmost respect, you are the one who is going to do more for women than this Whistledown. Everybody already wants someone other than your kind brother on the throne. They’re all praying your niece gives them any child so they may protest for her with the added benefit of an heir. They love her and what you write about in your letters make her seem even better. Hell, they love you and they don’t even know you. They listen to you. And with your words, Princess Charlotte the Younger will be on the throne and you will prove women are more than capable of whatever and we might have real change. Is she still on board?”

“Yes. She hates her father as much as anyone else does. George is nice once you get to know him… sort of. But Lettie approves as long as I agree to be in her court. I said yes of course.”

“Then it is settled. Thank God we might actually get change in our wretched lives. Now you must wash up and oversee the Bridgerton gowns before they are sent off. Shall we pick certain ones from your wardrobe?”

“Give the Diamond the one with lace and her family’s colors. Pick whatever you want for the rest of them. Oh and patterns must be on the Feather mother’s dress. I noticed she wears the most ill-favored ornamented dresses but she seems to like them. And put in an order with the modiste, I should like to do this often if this first gesture goes well and the gift wardrobe will need more clothes than it has at present. Clothes for the lower classes as well, nothing that could get them attacked and the clothes stolen off their bodies.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“And, by the way, I already washed up.”

“Yes, but now you’ve been sitting amongst smoke and smells.”

You gave up your fight and nodded as you jumped down from your stool and began the walk to your room. No one was around today. They wouldn’t be for most of the social season as they had other duties, including watching your siblings. Despite your madness, you weren’t the biggest concern at all. It was your rakish brothers in brothels, your sisters constantly leaving their husbands or suitors, and all of them sneaking away. You paused for a moment before walking quicker until you reached your room.

Why couldn’t you sneak out? Now would be the perfect opportunity. And no one was looking for you. It would be so easy to scale the vines up the garden wall and just have fun for a moment. You washed up quickly and put on a very simple dress — one more like the style of today rather than your father’s time. Grabbing a cloak and your mask, you put them down on the bed before sitting down at your writing desk to pen a letter. The slam of the door nearly made you jump out of your skin. You calmed as you realized it was just Pandora.

“Oh, good. It is just you.”

“I have the Bridgerton and Featherington dresses but what do you mean it is just me, Y/N?”

You stood up, abandoning the letter now that someone was around. “I am going out to see the ton.”

“What?”

“It is still dark. I have a map, my cloak, and the mask. And I have a very clear destination with vehicles that will get me back in the most discreet of ways should I need to use them.”

“Your Highness.”

“Pandora. I am nearing my introduction to society. You will all have to let me go at some point. I know everyone cares for my wellbeing but my happiness is gone. I am seen as nothing but my illness. Before I have an episode in public like the king, let me meet the ton. Let me not be Farmer Y/N for a brief moment of my life before I am a farmer forever, before I stay in that garden just like Father.”

Pandora’s mouth shut. She simply locked the door and unlocked the window. “You must return before your midmorning promenade and snack. Since you ate downstairs, I can convince them to overlook your absence of a breakfast request. And don’t take your mask. It’s better if they don’t know who you are at all.”

She gasped as you hugged her.

“Thank you, Pandora! Thank you! You are truly the bestest friend a woman could have.”

“Just go so you can come back quickly and I can have my sanity back.”

You closed the window, shocking Pandora as you pulled a picture frame off the wall to reveal a staircase that led outside. The door was hidden behind the trellis covered in vines and flowers. You pulled the hood over the cloak over you. The last thing you did was check for your bracelet and if your papers were inside. Until you were introduced to society, all the royal children had bracelets that couldn’t come off unless cut off. There were just in case measures with the eldest two but became necessary after so many nights sneaking out. The bracelet wasn’t going anywhere but you didn’t want to lose your birth certificate. It was your first safety measure. Even if you were kidnapped or harmed, you’d be returned to the palace for a pretty penny. You did pull your sleeves down so your bracelet wouldn’t be noticed.

You couldn’t contain your smile at the excitement of being out. London was so different without all the noise. The brothels and pubs were starting to close down for their few hours of rest and relaxation. You stuck to streets where you could see all the action but wouldn’t be easily spotted. No one bothered you until you arrived at your destination.

The footman stood to attention. “May I help you?”

“Yes, hello. I bring a package from Buckingham House for the Bridgertons, courtesy of Princess Y/N.” You handed him a letter with your official stamp at the end of it.

The footman’s eyes went wide as he handed you back the letter and ran inside. The Bridgertons looked up at the frantic knocking, pulling slips over Hyacinth and Daphne before telling the footman he could enter. The Bridgerton boys came upstairs after hearing the heavy pounding of their employee’s footsteps running up the multiple stairs.

“Is there a problem, Marshall?”

He panted before taking in a deep breath. “The Young Princess’ lady-in-waiting is here, bearing gifts.”

“WHAT?!”

The Bridgertons collectively yelled before the scramble happened. You tilted your head when you saw the windows open and a maid shake out some bedsheets. She squeaked when she looked down to see you. You laughed as she ran back inside. It couldn’t have been more than five minutes before you were escorted into the house by a very out of breath footman. The Bridgertons stood on the steps at the end of their entrance hall in chronological order with their mother starting the line at the very bottom step. Nervous smiles graced their faces when you finally reached them. You curtsied to which they curtsied or bowed back.

You gave them a second to assess you before speaking. Even though it wasn’t true in the slightest, everyone thought the ladies-in-waiting and manservants were reflections of the royals themselves. Not in character or value but in appearance. They figured they could form some sort of picture as to what the young masked royals looked like. If you were ugly then surely the princess was too. You hoped they at least found you to be average looking in appearance.

Anthony Bridgerton — the new head of house from what you remembered of your studies — stepped from behind his mother to greet you formally. He bowed once again, deeper, before offering up his hand. You settled yours in it to receive a chaste kiss.

“To what do we owe this sudden pleasure, Mrs…”

“Keaton,” you lied, just using Pandora’s last name.

“Mrs. Keaton?” He didn’t recognize the name as one belonging to an upper class member of the ton. He wasn’t sure he recognized the name at all.

“Apologies, I should explain. The princess doesn’t distinguish in her court, we are all there to work. All women are ladies-in-waitings, all men are valets. Regardless of station, regardless of marriage.”

“So, I am to take it that my earlier statement was incorrect.”

You nodded. “Simply Miss Keaton.”

“Well that sounds like very forward thinking actually. All the same, it is our pleasure to meet anyone in her highness’ court.”

Violet smiled as she watched the interaction. If her son was close to anyone in the princess’ court, especially someone that seemed so close to the princess as to be sent here, then he would be able to meet the princess with good graces. He’d be ahead of any man by leagues.

“Princess Y/N has sent me on her behalf. She extends warm greetings to the Bridgertons and the Featheringtons whom I will meet after our encounter. The princess congratulates Miss Daphne Bridgerton for earning Diamond of the Season as well as congratulations to the Dowager Viscountess for raising such a fine woman and to Viscount Bridgerton for chaperoning and keeping the family together therefore allowing his sister to shine.”

He cleared his throat and started to smile. “Please give the princess all of our thanks for the most kind of compliments.”

“And she would like to assure Miss Bridgerton that I have not been sent on behalf of any princes. Her brothers will not be bothering you today.”

They all chuckled when you laughed.

You set the first box down on the table next to you and opened it. “The princess has brought new dresses for the ball. The Diamond and the rest of her family should have the opportunity to shine with the utmost and wholehearted respect and support of the Crown. Please, enjoy them.”

The family ran to the table, picking out dresses and suits and matching them to the person’s name on the paper pinned to each garment. They kept singing praises and admiring the outfits. Violet turned back to you.

“When are you planning on visiting the Featheringtons?”

“In an hour or so, I must be back before the princess’ morning promenade. She has a very busy day afterwards.”

“Will the princess be introducing herself this season?”

“Hyacinth!” Anthony and Violet yelled at the same time.

You laughed. “It is no trouble. I’m at liberty to answer as the princess’ head valet.”

“Valet? I thought you said they were all men. They are usually all men.”

“If the princess should become heir to the throne then she will receive a male valet alongside me. For now, it is just me. The Crown believes someone of the same gender should always be with her should she need to confide in someone about very personal matters.” You took a breath before testing the waters. “Such as affections of the heart.”

It had dawned on you in that moment that you could spy on the ton. When the time came, you would still have to dance with all the bachelors of the United Kingdom but you at least you would have a better picture of them. You’d have to apologize to Pandora for the countless strokes she was about to earn from you but you couldn’t make this your only time sneaking out.

Violet smiled, knowing she was right. “Well, would you like to stay for breakfast?”

“Oh, I wouldn’t want to impose.”

“It would be no trouble at all. We have more than enough room. Eloise, dear, if Penelope is to come over please request that she do so now.”

(part 2)

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