#when there SHOULD be one because players start YOUNG and they need to be protected nurtured and educated

[doux-amer]

Thinking about how Dele was thrown under the bus at Beşiktaş and getting mad again. :)

[yeeterthek33per]

Loved and Landed (Steph Catley x Reader)

A/n Requested

-------

Steph lives a busy life.

There's her football life. Obviously.

There's her schooling life.

There's the life she lives with her friends and family.

And then there's the life with-

"Steeeeeph, come on, I wanna get there early, I'm not dealing with Katie leaving something for me to find, again."

There's incessant tugging at the sleeve of her red Arsenal hoodie.

Of course, her football life keeps her the most busy.

Especially when she has to drive it to and from home all of the time now that Kyra's living in the house as well.

It had been a hectic process, but the young midfielder had settled in quickly, taking in the familiarity of the Aussie herself and her club teammates' closeness around them.

Quickly becoming a child amongst the older girls on the team, much like a sibling to them, within but a few months.

That being said.

Kyra was a little shit.

And she knew it too.

A demanding one at that.

Hence why Katie had taken to knocking the young brunette down a few pegs.

Her cockiness was starting to show under the protection of the older girls, so the Irish captain had been messing with her enough to take the invincible mindset away from her.

Leaving her ultimately latched onto Steph now.

A lot.

"Seriously, Steph, please, I can't deal with her leaving shaving foam in my boots again."

The older woman raises an eyebrow at the pleading look on Kyra's face.

"You did this to yourself, Ky. Katie's only retaliating because you decided you were king shit enough to put hair dye in her shampoo."

The younger girl whines.

"Don't you think she's retaliated enough? I've had my shoes violated, my shin guards replaced with slightly smaller ones. I mean, the other day, my water bottle was filled with pickle juice. Pickle Juice! For gods sake."

Steph sighs, rolling her eyes slightly, grabbing the last of her stuff to shove into her pack, she gestures to the front door, to which the midfielder eagerly hurries out of and towards the car, waiting impatiently for the defender to unlock it.

"You've seriously gotta apologise to Katie or something. The girl has ten siblings, I can't imagine she hasn't spent her whole life dealing with bratty behaviour from little shits like you."

Kyra scoffs as she hurriedly buckles herself in.

"Rude."

"The truth."

Steph smirks at the small pout that forms on the other girls lips.

"Hurry up and drive."

"So bossy."

-------

As expected, they arrive with hardly any other people around, decidedly much earlier than any of the other girls. Katie wasn't the earliest of player's anyway, so Kyra really shouldn't be worried about her beating them there.

Still, the youngin looks exceptionally nervous as she peaks into the changing room and gingerly makes her way over to her cubby, scanning it with a ridiculous level of detail.

Steph can only shake her head, watching the young girl sheepishly wander around the room, checking for what may well be hidden traps.

Maybe she should talk with Katie about getting her to take it down a notch.

The Irish woman was nothing if not relentless when it came to getting back at someone.

The last thing the team needed was a midfielder with serious trust issues stemming from their infamous yellow card magnet of a winger.

"Ky, relax. She's not even here yet."

"Yeah, but you never know."

"Seriously, it's game day, relax, she won't-"

"Oh, hello, you two. Stephy. Kyra."

The ever so loud and joyful Katie enters the changing room with a bang of the door as it slams open and hits the wall.

Her smirk quirks up a little wider at the sight of the midfielder, who's looking rather sheepishly around her rather than at the Irish woman herself.

"You two extra early today, eh?"

"Ha, something like that."

Steph gives her a look as she nods in Kyra's direction.

"Give the poor girl a break, would ya? I think she's been thoroughly humbled."

Katie snorts in amusement, eyeing her up.

"Eh, she’s fine. I wasn't gonna do anything."

Steph raises a brow at that.

"....Yet."

There it is.

"Of course. Don't mess around too much, though. We still have a game to play, McCabe."

She lets out an unconvincing hum in response, right as some of the other girls start to filter in, Caitlin one of the ones to settle into her cubby beside the defender.

"What's up with the kid?"

Steph snorts.

"Ask your girlfriend. She's been torturing the poor girl."

Caitlin rolls her eyes, turning to Katie, who's now got a cheeky glint in her as she eyes up the younger of the three.

"Katie."

"What? I didn't do any-"

She stops at the look she gets from the Australian, grumbling as she relents and turns back to her cubby.

-------

Kyra's finally able to escape the locker room out of sight of the defender the moment the Irish woman is distracted.

Heading down the hall towards the physio room, she ends up coming face to face with and bumping face first into someone.

She groans when she rubs at her face and her backside from where she landed on it as she stands up again with the help of her assailant.

The person is stood in a royal navy uniform, a patch on her shoulder with three horizontal gold stripes and a small circled loop on the top, hair slicked back and tight into a bun behind her head.

'L/n-Catley' the name badge reads.

Confusion crosses her face which you quickly notice.

"You're Steph's teammate right?"

"Uh yeeaah? Who are you?"

"It's a long story and sorry about the bump there. I uh, I don't know if y'all know yet but I might need your help. The staff were nice enough to let me in but I need an escort here."

"Where are you going?"

"I got told to wait for one of the trainers in the staff room?"

"Can I ask what you're doing?"

"Waiting to see Steph, but don't tell her, it's supposed to be a surprise."

Kyra is extremely sceptical, but she leads you down the hall to where the trainers are situated and one of them recognises you immediately, hugging you and dragging you into the room.

She's even more confused when the staff member is nearly in tears.

Wait.

Navy uniform.

Here to see Steph.

L/n-Catley on the name badge.

There's no way.

"Are you... Are you married to Steph?"

You chuckle softly, rubbing the back of your neck.

"Yes I am. If you can't tell it's been a little while since we've seen each other."

"Yeah, I can tell, her house is far too empty for the size of it."

"Ah, so you're the new roommate. Kyra, right?"

"She's been talking about me?"

You nod.

"We would call every two weeks. When she found out you were moving to Arsenal, I couldn't tell if she was happy or mad because you'd already trashed her white towels."

"Hey! That was not my fault, the wine just fell... on it's own."

There's a sheepish look on her face.

You chuckle softly.

"She'll be fine, the pattern was ugly anyway, we needed new towels... Don't tell her I said that."

Kyra smiles at that.

"It's great to meet you, then... How are we planning this out?"

"I'll have my sister here sneak me somewhere I can wait and surprise her at the end of the game."

She nods.

"Alright, I better get going then before the girls come looking for me for pitch inspection."

You nod back and give her a warm smile.

"Oh, I'm Y/n, by the way, Lieutenant Commander Y/n L/n-Catley."

-------

The roar of the almost entirely red and white crowd as the girls enter the pitch is as usual, deafeningly loud.

Home games are always the most adrenaline instilling games, ones where their fans are always the loudest, chanting and screaming every time one of their own touches the ball.

Steph can still hardly believe it.

The growth in the game. Breaking records every single home match so far.

The FA Cup semi-final was no different it seems.

Her eyes subtly scan the crowd as she jogs out behind the others, shifting from clapping fan to clapping fan. There's an air about the crowd.

A massively high inducing air, one that she can feel in every nerve ending in her body as she practically bounces around the pitch in warmups.

She brushes it off as it being a semi final type of high.

Aston Villa would be a difficult opponent and she assumed that was the reasoning.

-------

It seems she's proven wrong in the first ten minutes.

It doesn't take long for Stina to score, the home crowd immediately losing their minds, and they barely have time to recover just two minutes later when the Swede swoops in for the double.

By the fourty-fifth minute, they know they have the game. Four to nil over the Villans thanks to a Stina hattrick and a goal from Frida. Her heartbeat is thumping in her ears as they approach the final minute.

This is the part they're in the dark. How many minutes left of stoppage? How much longer does she have to defend?

The players are taught not to worry about that. To just play until the whistle blows. And she does.

But she can't help the nagging awaiting of the whistle, wondering when it will go.

The moment it does, there's celebration, relief, and a lot of cheering and screams and congratulation from the air around.

A pair of arms and legs wrap around her from behind as Kyra jumps on her back, the young Australian whooping into her ear.

"Onto the finals, Stephy!"

The defender chuckles and celebrates with the team, the announcer shouting out the home teams win to wind up the crowd once more.

As they do the celebration walk around the pitch, the announcer announces player of the match, and then one more announcement catches her ear.

Her head snaps toward the tunnel the moment she hears it, heart stopping at the words of the female announcer.

"And finally, one last round of applause. Let us congratulate and welcome back someone very special to one of our own. Lieutenant Commander Y/N L/n-Catley returning from fifteen months of duty at sea with the Royal Navy."

And truly, there you are, her wife.

Dressed to the nines in your Black, long sleeved uniform, hands clasped behind you, standing with a wide, almost teary smile as you watch Steph bolt across the pitch towards you, catching her with little effort as she jumps into your arms, knocking the cap off your head with the force.

The rest of the Arsenal girls stand shocked, looking between themselves and their left back at the sudden appearance of a totally new member of the Catley family.

Before they can even try to work out who you might be to Steph, the defender has her lips pressed to yours tightly, tears streaming down your face.

The sensation of finally being able to kiss you, her wife. HER wife, has her trembling against you, her stomach twisting and curling as you hold her tight against you, your own hands shaking as they rest on her back.

It had been the longest stint you'd gone without seeing each other, having been on a cramped ship for the majority of that time.

Even having been used to long times apart, the immense relief of being able to hold your person, your love, YOUR wife, after so long. was like nothing else you'd ever experienced.

And you were glad you had all the time in the world to experience it now.

When Steph's finally able to pull back and look you in the eye, hands holding your face, eyes scanning your features, noting a small scar under your right brow, and then returning to make eye contact again with you, albeit very tearily, much like yourself.

Lifting your own hands, your thumbs swipe away the tears on her cheeks, leaning down once more to kiss her, forehead leaning against hers.

You take in the immensity of the screams of the crowd all of a sudden, especially the crowd around the players' tunnel.

With that, she buries herself back into your hold, her nose buried into the crook of your neck.

Your eyes scan the pitch, watching the applauding or shocked expressions of the players.

You'd already known her teammates didn't know she was married, however their shocked expressions still have you chuckling.

All except Kyra's wide smile as she watches the two of you and you give the girl a wink.

"I can't believe it. You're here."

It's half whimpered into your shoulder, and you just barely hear it over the crowd.

"I'm here. I'm home."

"They finally let you on leave?"

She's using a half joking tone beneath the watery chokes and sobs.

"Better than that, Love."

She pulls away shocked.

"You mean.."

You smile down at her teary eyed.

"I'm home for good, not retired but they're giving me an office in London. Full time hours still but I won't be needed for duty anymore."

She frowns softly after a second.

She knew you'd always hated the idea of an office job.

Catching the look on her face, you knew what she'd be thinking about.

"I don't care where it is, or what I'm doing. I'm just glad I'm home, with you. I've had my fill of travelling and front line work for a lifetime."

Leaning your forehead back against hers, you let the moment sink in.

You'd known it was coming for months now, haven spoken to your superiors, and them letting you know there was a position available remotely, you'd taken it in a heartbeat.

If it meant coming home to your girl, you'd have done anything.

A small throat clearing a couple feet from you, the team had moved to stand around the pair of you, eager to ask questions of the brunette in your arms.

You nudge her softly with a small giggle in her ear.

"Babe, I think they have questions."

"They can wait a little longer."

You don't fight her on it just letting her settle into you again, holding you tightly.

The moment she does let go, she's grabbed by the shoulders and interrogated by the team rather swiftly.

Leah stands arms crossed.

"Now Stephy, when did this occur?"

Steph sheepishly smiles around her at her.

"Alright alright, Gunners, meet my beautiful wife, Y/n. She's been in the navy since she turned eighteen, we met five years ago when she was on leave in Australia. We started dating less than a month later and she left on duty about four months later. We got married after three years, bought a house right before she left a year and a bit ago. We haven't seen each other in person since then. Until now, that is."

And just like that, you're immediately dragged into the group rather swiftly, squished into several hugs.

A firm handshake and then a tight hug from their captain, especially. The Scot making firm well you know how quickly she'd bury you should you hurt their defender, despite the fact you'd known Steph longer and you chuckle, nodding in agreement at the stern look turned cracked smile she lets go.

When you're finally free, Steph takes no time tucking herself under your arm and wrapping hers around you, looking up at you slightly with a proud, elated smile, eyes still slightly teary.

Returning the expression, you press a small kiss to her nose.

"Welcome home, Baby."

You shake your head.

"Congrats on the win, Baby, this is your moment right now. Go celebrate for a bit, we've got all the time in the world now."

She pouts but relents with a small peck and nudge.

"KYRA, YOU KNEW?!"

The shouts of the Irish captain make her jump but chuckle a little as a gloating midfielder teases the rest of the girls.

Yeah. She was in for it.

-------

[jaegeraether]

Sunsets and footballers (Part 27)

Lucy Bronze x Reader (25)

Masterlist (other parts here)

It was Thursday, day four, and YFN woke feeling like she’d actually slept okay after her late night phone call with Lucy. They hadn’t talked for long after, she’d insisted Lucy get some rest for training and vice versa, but it had made her wake with a smile. Somehow, she’d managed to wake before Jordan and so she made them breakfast. She’d learnt that Jordan was a big fan of cold breakfasts for training days and hot breakfasts for game days. She’d also realised that Jordan liked acai breakfast bowls like herself and made her a small one before settling onto the couch with Blu.

“Breakfast on the counter for you, wifey.” YFN grinned as Jordan padded over, still half asleep.

“You know, it’s so nice to have roommate again.” Jordan mustered up a smile with a yawn.

“Aw mate, you’re just saying that so I’ll make you breakfast every day.”

“Remember the spaghetti for lunch on game days!” She winked and joined her on the couch.

They settled into their breakfast and YFN was finally awake enough to look at her phone. Tonnes of notifications, there always was. From her team, to players, to Lucy sending her a morning selfie. She stared at that for a while, getting butterflies and a little smile on her face must have appeared because Jordan made fun of her for it. Lucy was a notoriously bad texter according to Jordan, but she’d been good with YFN so far. She liked the extra space anyways, it created mystery and even more need.

Her stomach dropped when she saw notifications that she hadn’t seen for a while. They were Instagram messages again, though this time the usernames were a bunch of random letters and numbers. Curiosity dictated she open them, even though she knew she shouldn’t. Whoever it was had sent her photos and videos of Lucy and Ona Batlle at training and outside. She had to admit, the photos did look like they were flirting, though she knew all too well that images could capture the wrong idea. Ona seemed to be very touchy, very hands on, and Lucy appeared to be doing nothing to dissuade her. She was grinning and seemably liking the affection. But that wasn’t the main issue she had with it. It was the way Ona looked at Lucy, like she was completely head over heels in love with her. Her heart dropped with her stomach and she put her phone away, shaking her head. There goes her morning happiness.

In the afternoon YFN had had enough and found herself researching a bit about the relationship between the two. She was in the waiting room of a doctor’s office, zoned out. She knew she should have asked Lucy but didn’t want to start drama while they were so far apart, and to be quite honest with herself, she was a little upset at the way the pictures painted Lucy with Ona.

YFN had kept replaying one video in particular. It seemed to be after a game and Ona was talking to people in the crowd that she knew, reaching up to greet them. Lucy noticed and walked over, limping on her sore knee after what must have been a tough game, and the amount of times they looked at each other sneakily was unmistakeable. The video was tagged for just a weeks before they’d met. She watched the particular part when Lucy moved around her, her body almost touching Ona’s as she moved unnecessarily close to her, her hand almost grabbing at her waist. Lucy gave a wave and a grin to the people Ona was talking to and the young Spaniard looked at Lucy with big eyes and a smile. She shook her head, frustrated, and put her phone back in her bag.

The images had kept coming all day long, and they were tagged with dates. She was disappointed in herself for looking at them, but she needed to, to protect her heart. What if Lucy and Ona were really a thing, and she had let herself fall too far with Lucy? Or what if the distance was a factor and Lucy would need someone around more? YFN felt the vital need to protect that part of her that she’d guarded so strongly for the past three decades. Where the fuck were the photos coming from? Who? Logic said it must have been Kristie, but why wasn’t she saying anything?

“YFN YLN?”

The cocktail party effect worked and her head shot up. She followed the doctor into his office and then found herself at the mercy of his tools.

“It must be a relief to see the end of these!” He said as he removed her bandage.

“Very much so. The other doctor said there would be a scar..?”

He nodded. “Let me get these stitches out and you’ll see.”

The process was easy and at the end, she could see the three inch scar she was left with, which cut through the very end of her eyebrow. She pouted. Eyebrow slits seemed to be popular in England; she was just glad it was obvious that hers wasn’t intentional. The scar was still more red than pink, but he’d assured her that it would fade slowly over time, however, would always be visible. Strangely, her first thought was of Ridley, and she wondered how she would feel when she saw it.

Lucy: Why do you feel distant suddenly..?

YFN felt her stomach sink. She’d responded to Lucy in the afternoon after she’d sent multiple messages. Before she could answer, Jordan took her phone again for another look.

“What the fuck?” Jordan repeated, looking at the images again. “Who sent those?”

YFN shrugged and sighed. “Does it matter?”

“I’d like to know their motive. This is disgusting.”

YFN gave another sigh. She’d been down all day, and being made worse by the continuous images and videos.

YFN took her phone back and replied to Lucy.

YFN: I think I just need a little bit of space, Luce. I need to get my head together.

Lucy: Is it work? Has it been overwhelming? I can help..

Her lips trembled as she read that message. Her Lucy. Always trying to help. She felt so vulnerable having let Lucy in so quickly, and so far. Was it a lapse of judgement?

“My best guess is Kriste and her little gang. I knew she’d be back, she’s insane.” Jordan looked at her scar and frowned before giving her a little kiss on the forehead. She leant back and noticed how upset she was getting. “Is it Lucy?” She asked, gesturing to the phone.

YFN nodded. “I told her I need a little space to get my head together.”

Jordan cringed a little. “Ah, that won’t go down well with Lucy..”

A tear slid down her face and Jordan wiped it off with the cuff of her shirt.

“It’s okay to need space..”

She nodded and hugged her friend before replying to Lucy.

YFN: No. Work has been great. Exciting. I just need a little space.

She didn’t know how to word it better than that. After the day she’d had, she just needed space from that whole mess, and unfortunately, that included Lucy. She knew it would be upsetting her, but she hadn’t wanted to tell her the real reason. She had a game to train for, but she also hadn’t wanted to just not reply. She felt that would have been worse.

Lucy calling…

YFN rejected the call.

YFN: Lucy please.

Lucy: Don’t do this please. We need to go through things together. I know you’re not used to that, but I can help.

Why did it feel like a break-up? She sighed. She needed her space. She needed to focus on the overwhelming stress that came with the new job, and she didn’t have the capacity to pretend everything was okay with Lucy when it wasn’t. It was as simple as that. So, she made the half-asleep decision to screenshot all of the messages, photos, videos she’d been sent, and send them to Lucy.

YFN: I need space. Please.

She read the last message back and softened, seeing how harsh it was, so she followed up the message before immediately throwing her phone to the other side of the room for the night.

YFN: I’ll get my emotions together and then we can talk.

YFN was standing in the bathroom of Leah’s London apartment, looking into the mirror at the scar on her face. It was Friday evening now, and she’d had the worst sleep of her life, her brain not able to stop going down that negative path. This never happened to her. Mainly because she never let anyone so close to hurt her. She wasn’t this person. The one who overthought everything and didn’t trust people. She loved people. But her past had crept up on her in the most unexpected and vigorous way.

She traced the scar lightly, knowing that Lucy would have to look at it and blame herself. Of course, she would. It was Lucy.

She sighed and stood back, wondering if she was too exposed for the charity event. She knew Lucy would see the photos and her stomach sunk thinking how she’d barely talked to her in the past two days. She missed her with a craving she’d never felt before.

Her phone vibrated and she answered, wandering back out to living area.

“Lucy keeps messaging me..”

“I’m sorry, Dory. I can’t… I just…” She felt her phone vibrating again, knowing it was either another text from Lucy or another photo sent to her, but she would look at neither one. To preserve her sanity, she told herself.

“I get that you need your space. Trust me, no one understands that more than I do, and the photos did seem a bit suss, but I know Lucy. She’s just nice to people. She takes people under her wing, and I know she took Ona under her wing when she was asked to convince her to go from United to Barca. Ona obviously has a bit of a crush, but Lucy only has eyes for you.”

“Those photos are so recent.. I just keep feeling like they had something before Lucy came over for the International Break and we met. And the World Cup photos were so intimate, god!”

“Well, I can’t say whether they’ve ever had anything because Lucy is very private, even with friends. As for the World Cup, they obviously didn’t send you the video where Lucy is walking away from Ona and trying to get away. Ona is apparently very affectionate. That’s all Lucy has told me.”

YFN sighed and rubbed her forehead in stress, stopping herself quickly so she didn’t ruin her makeup. “They’re driving together and there’s fan photos of them outside of training..”

“You and I spend a lot of time together outside of training.” She pointed out. “Plus, Ona lived with her for a little bit when she moved over. They live close to each other now.”

That made it slightly worse. “I…I feel scared.”

“Oh, chicken, I’m sorry. I should be there with you right now.”

“You have training, and I’m with your ex.” She looked over at Leah who was talking to the hairstylist putting the finishing touches on her hair.

“How is she?”

“It’s always hard to tell, she always looks so mad until you get her talking.”

Jordan laughed at that. “Yeah, she does have a tendency to look like that.”

“She’s asked about you a few times already..”

“Did you tell her much?”

“Just that you‘re almost ready to start speaking. She’s still hung up on you, Jords.”

“Oh well I know you’re serious if you call me that.”

YFN looked at herself in the reflection of the car window, her eyes lingering on the scar the makeup artist had managed to tone down. It was still visible, just less red around the edges. It was still healing. Leah took her wrist with purpose and moved it away from her scar, placing it on the car seat.

“It looks great. You look great. Plus, MJ will actually be pissed if she sees you ruin her makeup.”

Leah had asked her stylists to also style YFN, including a dress. They were matching; Leah in an all-black suit, accentuated with a gold necklace and her wavy blonde hair down, while YFN was in a tight black backless dress, her golden, sun-kissed hair in an elegant tussled braid that looked a lot easier to create than the hours it took. She had small heels on and was somehow still a little shorter than Leah.

As they walked the carpet together, Leah made sure she was calm, as she wasn’t used to so many cameras. She’d told her to “Just look at their watches or hands” so that the camera flashes didn’t blind so badly. YFN became more aware of just how much they looked like a couple, regardless of the fact that Leah had introduced her to everyone, including in her interviews, as her friend.

The night was entertaining and managed to take her mind off the drama for a while. Apparently, it had for Leah too because they were both laughing and having fun conversations which didn’t involve much about football and partners, besides the minimal networking. YFN had originally planned to network a lot, but most of it didn’t feel right, and she only would when the conversation would flow that way, or Leah would insist on a particular person and help her out.

“Lumos is a fantastic opportunity for women, of course, I just think the men need something the same. It’s a bit sexist just focussing on women, no?” His name was Mark and he was… a twat.

“On the contrary, this is an opportunity for the women’s game to finally have a modicum of the publicity and attention that the men’s game gets. And beyond that; the right kind of attention.”

He shrugged, clearly done with the conversation. “I disagree, but I will say that at least Joe is doing what’s best for the football community by staying a silent partner in this. The last thing you need is the controversy that she brings.”

YFN frowned, not understanding what he was referring to. Joe had been brilliant so far. Had she been involved with controversy in one of her other companies? If so, that’s something she’d failed to mention. He walked away before she could ask.

“Just ignore him, he has no idea what he’s talking about. He always does that.” Leah said supportively and gave her another glass of champagne. She accepted gratefully, and Leah watched her down the entire thing before speaking. “So, why has Lucy tried to call me twice tonight?”

“Did you-”

“No. I didn’t answer because we’re at an event and having fun. Her messages didn't seem too urgent, they were just asking about you.”

YFN shivered and pulled Leah’s jacket a little tighter around her, having started to regret the backless dress immediately upon arrival. After a few seconds of thought, and judging the caring expression in Leah’s eyes, YFN let herself admit to Leah about the photos and videos she’d received. Leah looked at them all with a calm expression. Calculating. The Captain.

“And you told her about these?”

“She didn’t understand why I needed space, so I eventually sent screenshots.”

“I see..” She didn’t realise, but Leah could see she was pulling away from Lucy slightly.

“Maybe it’s for the best..”

“Don’t do what I did. Don’t fall into that trap of pretending it’s for the best when it’s not. I’ve made that mistake, and I can’t watch you do the same.” Leah was fully focussed on her, as if she were saying it to herself before making the mistake of leaving Jordan. “I’ve known Lucy a long time and I can honestly say that I’ve never seen her so happy. We all saw it at the pub. You probably didn’t realise but she couldn’t take her eyes off you, mate. And that takes a lot to admit, because Keira’s my best friend and I saw them together a lot.”

“You really still love her, don’t you?” YFN knew it was a personal question, but she could see it in her eyes.

Leah was a little surprised also, but was brave enough to admit it. “I do.”

“Can I be honest with you?”

“I hope you’re always honest with me but go ahead.”

“You said you were weak when you let her go. You convinced yourself it was for the best and you lied to her. Now she knows the truth, and I may not have known you then, but I know that the woman who’s standing in front of me right now is definitely strong enough to have not made that mistake, and to not make it again.” She stepped closer to Leah. “I’ll tell her that, Leah, but I’m giving you a warning in advance.. if you hurt her-”

“I won’t..” She whispered, suddenly a little emotional that YFN was going to advocate for her to Jordan.

“Leah, I met Jordan on a beach, where I watched her sit for hours every evening, just looking out over the water until the sun was down. She was shivering and broken, but still she sat there. Still, she came back. I walked over to her to make sure she was okay. That’s how we met.” Leah’s face was dropped as she was trying to hold together what little composure she had left, and failing. “I called Lucy just so she’d have a friend. I held her in the rain as she cried for you.” A tear slid down Leah’s face. “To be fair, I’ve held her multiple times as she’s cried for you. I may not have the history that you all have together, but I know Jordan. If you fucking hurt her, Leah…” She trailed off but Leah got the message.

“I won’t.” She said again, stronger, and YFN held her eye contact until she realised that Leah believed what she said was true.

[lem0n-writes]

You should hmmmmmm write fatherly mercs NOW 👿👿👿👿👿

If u want to teehee

Mercs being Fatherly for you since yk ur fatherless and stuff also scout bc he’s ur lame brother

Scout

He isn’t really the person you’d want as a father figure, but he can definitely act as an older brother or just a sibling in general!

Scout also gives me fun but weird uncle, so if you want an estranged uncle who is pretty dumb, funny, and kind of rich??? then yeah he’s a good choice.

The kind of guy to watch sports and yell at the players even though he doesn’t know the rules, that’s so father of him

He would then proceed to try to teach you the sport, and he will fail.

You guys just end up playing catch in the yard, but y’all quickly abandoned the gear after Scout heard an ice cream truck

You walk home together eating your deformed character popsicles, Scout’s arm around your shoulder, and the sun setting

Heavy

If you need a father figure, you came to the right person

He had to be the ‘man of the house’ for a while since his father died when he was young, so he kind of gets how you miss that paternal relationship

He’s very good at comforting and helping you when you aren’t feel well or having trouble with things even though he doesn’t speak English very well

I think having three younger sisters contributed to that

When you guys get closer, Heavy starts watching you on the battlefield more and keeping you near him, just to make sure you’re doing ok

He worries about you even though you guys do this every day, but he just can’t help worrying for you!!

Heavy would read you books in Russian, even though you don't understand much of it, and it reminds him of reading to his sisters when they were younger

When you visit Medic, Heavy watches the doctor closely to make sure he doesn’t try implanting any animal organs that don’t belong, but don’t worry, Medic takes a liking to you too because Heavy likes ya :)

Engineer

Is it just me or does he just give me like childhood nostalgia? Might just be because I'm from Texas too

If you start sticking to him like a lost puppy, he'll quickly go with it. He'll be looking out for you on the battlefield even though you’re a smart kid

Engie will definitely teach you a bit about engineering if you're interested too! He's very happy to explain anything and everything, not only engineering stuff, but it'd lowkey just be him info dumping

He will update your weapons more often than the other mercs, but that also means you guys sometimes have little adventures trying to fix your weapons or hunting down the occasional bread monster herd

Y'all have fun though, and your weapon gets updates, so win win?

He reads stories to you and Pyro too, mostly fiction ones though like the Grimm Brothers' writing.

Speaking of Pyro, you two are basically siblings now, good luck. Engineer has a little nook for you two to hang out in while he works into the nights. If you and Pyro fall asleep there, he'll walk you back to your room, maybe read you a silly bedtime story if Pyro's still with you two, and wish you a good night

Medic

He’s a questionable choice for a father figure, but he's silly <3

You’d probably be in the infirmary or calling him a lot if he starts feeling protective of you, but he thinks it’s sweet that you always get your injuries taken care of in this line of work. Like if you get a paper cut, you make sure to slap a bandaid on it, y’all know what i mean?

I don’t know how to explain in a way that doesn’t sound weird, but Medic is weird so eh?

During battles, when he knows the Heavy is safe, he’ll run off to top off your health, even if you’re only down 5 HP, and he saves his Ubercharges for you and Heavy <3

But since you’re getting injured a lot, Medic decides to teach you some first aid past the basics

If you’re interested, he’d teach you more advanced biology and even let you assist in surgeries! You guys bond over spinning Scout’s organs around, and Scout is not happy about getting his lungs switched around with his kidneys

All this time in his medbay got his doves quite used to you, so they now have favorites, you and Heavy. Although, now sometimes Archimedes tries to sneak away from their dad to follow you

Heavy always brings Archimedes back to Medic after you give them treats

Spy

Oh boy

If Spy begins acting in a fatherly way towards you, you must be something special

And Spy doesn’t have the best track record with children, Scout and the kid from the Smissmas comic, however Spy does still care

It would mostly be shown through gifts or praise for your exceptional work, he’s just very proud of you!!

While you’re great and all, he still watches your back to keep you safe from energy spies, and she teaches you new tricks to surprise the enemy team

It’s a nice challenge for you while also bonding with your sort of father figure!

When you learn a new skill, he’ll be singing you praises to the team for the next few days and expect to find a shiny gift from them in your room that night

“Bien joué, you have done well this past week”

[definitelynotshouting]

*cough* slides over a bowl of soup any hunger au thoughts...? /nf

-🍂

HELLO TEA ANON WELCOME BACK TO THE HUNGER AU SHOW

... i should probably make a masterlist of this au at some point. Anyway.

I've been thinking a lot about worldbuilding and how Players form, and just. Players in general?? Which, in an au thats specifically about a Watcher, that might seem a little silly. But i like to think about what the general baseline is seen as, to really dig deep into the differences between them!!

For Players, i think theres two general ways they come into being-- spawning in, or being born. Obviously the second one is a familiar concept so we dont need to talk about that, but spawning i think is actually more common for Players than being born. I imagine its a bit like new stars forming-- bits of code split off from the Greater Code and coalesce, forming all the components needed to make a Player. There's no infancy stage for spawned Players-- while some might spawn in younger than others, they generally tend to be young adults.

Im honestly thinking that, when Players first spawn, new servers do too. Singleplayer, of course; their first spawn and first spawnpoint, a protective cocoon from the harshness of the in between. This is where a spawned Player learns the difference between breathing and becoming, and where they acquaint themselves with the rules of the world around them. This is their casting off point-- eventually, most of them outgrow their first world and move onto newer ones, some multiplayer, some single, some hardcore, some modded. And most don't return, either, and the server is eventually recycled back into the Greater Code by one of its cosmic decomposers (eg: viruses).

The other thing im thinking about when it comes to Players is how they look when they spawn in. The thing about Player code is that there's layers. You have the type that's surface level, which dictates what your appearance looks like, and then the deeper code in charge of things like memories, personality, stats, etc. Because code is so scrambled in the beginning of a Player's spawn, the surface code is completely randomized!!! Players can look like anything at all, anyone at all, and can even have non-human traits from the outset. I also think this surface code can be fairly easily manipulated; learning to play with your own surface code is about the same level of difficulty as learning to code your own website, and occurs with a similar amount of regularity (which is to say, it's definitely not uncommon, but there are some people more adept at it than others, and a definite learning curve at the start). Playing with your surface code means you can make yourself look like anything, by give yourself new physical traits or just modify existing ones. It's usually recommended to do this with a spotter, though-- someone experienced with surface code who can look over your changes before you implement them to make sure there aren't any glaring mistakes, and step in if something glitches or you need help.

So yeah those are my current hunger au thoughts with regards to worldbuilding!! I'm also still picking at what Listeners are like, as well as their and Watchers' ecological niche in the universe-- I'm tempted to say both have a much more brittle, and less adaptable code structure, which makes their type of feeding an even more vital and necessary part of their survival. Gotta keep that code from deteriorating, after all!! Anyway thank u for asking, i am always happy to receive hunger au questions, and if anyone has specific questions they want to ask that is great and often gives me a good direction to jump off of when explaining stuff :]

[alreadyjackbestfriend]

Midnight rain

PAIRING: JACK HARLOW X READER

GENRE: Angsttttt

A/N: so.... yeah.... i'm a taylor swift fan. I've had a very tiring two weeks, but I wrote this in a rush of inspiration (like almost always lol), I needed to get it out of my system. wondering whether to write a one shot for each midnights song 👀

I UPDATED MY MASTERLIST!!!

Rain, he wanted it comfortable I wanted that pain He wanted a bride I was making my own name Chasing that fame

Behind all that player facade, Jack was in love with love… but that changed when you arrived, because he went from being in love with love to being in love with you, but after a while… that changed again.

You loved him back, but your heart was young and you felt that there was still a lot to experience, you were ambitious and you knew that Jack was too, that's why you believed that it would be many years before the relationship was formalized and you started a comfortable and small life with children and rings on your fingers. However, Jack's whole world had changed when he met you, he felt he had met his destiny, and his ambition to conquer the world turned into an ambition to have a life with you.

That's why, when you opened the medicine drawer and found a small burgundy box with a ring inside, your world fell apart. You ignored it for as long as you could, convinced yourself that maybe Jack was saving it for a friend, after all, he hadn't tried to hide it very well. You avoided every invitation to romantic dinners, especially if it was in a fancy restaurant, fearing that moment would come.

It came like a postcard Picture perfect, shiny family Holiday, peppermint candy But for him it's every day

“You should have known that the day you met his family”, you thought every day since you left him. A happy family, his parents together, a good relationship with his brother, joking about grandchildren at the first family dinner. You smiled and thought: "Surely he is thinking in ten years, maybe fifteen..." and you managed to fool yourself for a while.

My boy was a montage A slow-motion, love potion Jumping off things in the ocean I broke his heart 'cause he was nice

There was a moment where you couldn't help it anymore, and you just let it happen. Jack knelt on the kitchen floor, the burgundy box in his hands. Your eyes filled with tears and his chest heaved with happiness, but it was quickly replaced when without even asking the question, you started to shake your head: your tears weren't from happiness. His smile fell. It was all over.

He was sunshine, I was midnight rain

The first time you saw Jack, his smile was bright and his body exuded a comfortable warmth when he hugged you. Always happy, always laughing, that's what you loved most about him: his joy and optimism. At the same time, your body was a true reflection of yourself, running your icy fingers down Jack's back, giving him chills, but making him laugh; the lyrics of your songs mostly sad, letting the pain inspire you most of your life; always behind him and holding his hand, afraid of new people, but feeling safe every time Jack introduced you to someone hugging you from the side, with a protective arm around your shoulders, letting you know you were never alone. Sometimes people joked about how different you guys were, even your star signs were complete opposites. The moon and the sun had met, if only for a brief moment.

I guess sometimes we all get Just what we wanted, just what we wanted

Five years after ending your relationship, the night after Jack's wedding, you won your fifth Grammy, for your most successful album to date, the one that had broken all records, both your personal ones and those of the rest of the music scene. You gave a speech with tears in your eyes, your heart overflowing with feelings… you and Jack: each had gotten what you wanted most in life one night apart.

Jack watched your speech on the couch at home, cuddling with his wife, and heaved a deep sigh when he heard you thank your past loves for being the great inspiration for your album.

And he never thinks of me Except when I'm on TV And I never think of him Except on midnights like this

[givemewallywestorgivemedeath]

so ace is dating emiko. I kinda wanna see a issue where the arrowfam and the flashfam tried to have dinner together while Barry and Ollie try to keep quiet and not start a political debate with each other

Maybe not all together at first but I would definitely like to see Ollie, Dinah, Roy, Connor and Mia kinda vetting Ace. Ollie, Dinah, Roy and Connor have all been on a team with Wally before and all of them knew him pre kids so they kinda have a baseline for 'young West boys' and it's... probably not great. Roy and Connor are both some of his best friends but they absolutely know what he used to be like. Wally was a bit of a player. Ace isn't but he's probably going to have to prove that to them.

Also Ollie isn't a huge fan of Barry and Mia has seen Bart at his absolute worst (Teen Titans years) so they're probably all wary of the new Kid Flash dating one of their own.

On the flip side? The Flash family meeting Emiko? It's probably going to be worse lol.

Right off the bat the majority of that family has time travelled to the future and knows (or has a rough outline) of how everyone else's lives will play out. Hell, Iris wrote an entire book on their futures. So, either A) she's going to walk in and half the room will know that Emiko and Ace will eventually get married and have kids (which would be insane to hear at 16 years old when you aren't even a year into dating) or B) half the room will know when, how and why they eventually break up.

Even ignoring that, Iris and Wally are super protective of their loved ones and would 100% be worried that Emiko would break Ace's heart. I mean, Wally deliberately stopped Dick and Jesse's whole thing because he was worried about Dick (who was a player at the time) breaking his sister's heart (she was head over sneakers for him) and he was also concerned for Bart when he had a love interest because Wally thought he was too young. Who can forget how 12 year old Wally tried to break up Iris and Barry because he thought 'she should be dating the Flash?' Wally is protective. And Iris honestly isn't any better.

Avery would probably interrogate Emiko. That one is practically canon. Ace is her guy, her best friend, her partner in crime, her sort of brother. When Ace needed help for a date with Emiko he went to Avery for help. Avery is Ace's wingman and she would be all over Emiko looking for possible red flags.

And then on top of everything else??? Bart would start messing with Ace. Let's be real, Bart, Jesse and Wally have a relationship where they tease each other about everything. Especially relationships. And I don't think Bart would exclude Ace from that (no matter how much Ace might want him to)

So yeah. It'd be a disaster

[bluejaysandblackbats]

Daily Planet Classifieds

Fandom: DC Comics, Superfam, Young Justice 98, Titans

Summary: Laney Hausler is currently attending classes at Metropolis University when he sees a boy with his face in the library. At first, he thinks he's seeing things. Later, he starts to realize something strange is going on.

Conner Kent lives off-campus with his friends, but he sees a boy who eerily resembles him, and he hires a private investigator to look into the life of his doppelganger.

Chapters: 5/?

Characters: Jonathan Lane Kent, Conner Kent, Eddie Bloomberg, Rose Wilson, Bart Allen, Cassie Sandsmark, Cissie King-Jones, Clark Kent, Lois Lane, Meloni Thawne, Vic Sage, Slade Wilson

Relationships: Past KonBart, Clois

Additional Tags: Father-Son Relationship, Father-Daughter Relationship, No Powers AU, Found Family, Stalking, Family Secrets, No Powers AU, No Capes AU, Complicated Relationships, University AU, Roommates, Private Investigator, Twins, Multiple POV, First Person POV, Obsession, Psychological Drama, Complicated Relationships, Unrequited Love, Platonic Relationships

Chapter Five: The Doppelganger (Laney's POV)

I sat in the library study room, reading the first five chapters and annotating the pages as I read. Rose and Eddie sat with me because I needed at least three people to book a room. Booking that room was a mistake. That was when things became strange. I glanced upward and saw a face that looked unmistakably identical to mine. I thought it was my reflection in the glass, but it couldn’t have been. Something came over me, chilling me to the bone. I stood up and prepared to follow him, but he disappeared. I wasn’t convinced I’d seen him at all. “Lane?” Eddie whispered. I sank into my seat and ran a hand over my face. 

“I should go home and lie down,” I whispered, “It’s getting late.” Rose nodded. 

“Yeah. Let’s go home,” Rose replied. We lived in walking distance from the campus, so we walked home in the dark. Rose and Eddie didn’t say much, but I could see the concern on their faces. I showered first, attempting to lather away my supernatural sense of dread. I couldn’t explain it because I didn’t want to give voice to such an outlandish idea. Eddie showered after me, and Rose heated up leftovers. “Want some?” 

“What is it?” I asked. It smelled good, but I’d never seen anything like it. 

“It’s ginger tofu… And these are green veggies in a coconut sauce. Here,” Rose whispered as she grabbed a fork from a coffee cup of plastic silverware. I ate a forkful of the tofu, and my eyes widened. “Eat the green vegetables. The coconut milk will cool your mouth down.” 

“Oh no, it’s not—. I don’t mind the spice. Do you think we can order this for dinner tomorrow?” I questioned. 

“Yeah. If you tell me what freaked you out at the library,” Rose whispered. 

“I saw myself. I mean—. I saw someone identical to me walk past, but the other one disappeared before I could get a closer look,” I whispered. 

“You should be careful,” Eddie announced, startling me. Rose turned around wide-eyed as if chastising Eddie for sneaking up on us. “What? Haven’t you ever heard those stories about doppelgangers? Abe Lincoln? Queen Elizabeth? Percy Bysshe Shelley?” 

Rose raised her eyebrows, tightening her lips into a scowl. “Eddie, I swear to god, it’s not the time for scary stories,” Rose warned. She seemed protective over my innocence. I doubt Eddie meant to scare me as much as he did. Scary stories intrigued him, and he seemed eager to share in a childlike sense. He didn’t have a malicious bone in his body, so I don’t believe he’d tell me if he thought it’d hurt me. So, I tried to humor him as much as possible. It’d been two weeks, and I quickly grew to love them for all their quirks because they never condemned me for mine.

“Sorry, Lane. Rose, tofu, please,” Eddie whispered as he leaned over the couch. She smiled and gave him a bite from her fork. I still had Eddie’s words in my mind as we ate. “We need to get a TV.” 

“Yeah, definitely… And a DVD player,” Rose added. 

“I’ll hit up the thrift store and see what I can find in a dual VHS and DVD player,” Eddie whispered. I decided to do it myself as a surprise for them. Father gave me more than enough money for the month. So, I could afford to buy a TV and video player. I only watched TV when I was at the hospital with Father. 

*

I woke up before Eddie and Rose to go to the store and check out TVs. “Hello, sir… Excuse me. Sir?” I asked. The worker in the aisle smiled at me, and I relaxed my shoulders. “Sorry. I don’t know much about TVs, but I want to surprise my roommates by getting a nice television for the living room. One of my roommates is a film major, and he has a lot of old VHS tapes,” I explained. He took me to the TVs and showed me the ones with the best sound and picture, and he showed me the ones within my price range. I didn’t see a difference in most of them, but I settled on a TV I thought everyone would like. The cashier gave me a student discount and a coupon for appliances. I held onto it for later. 

When I went to the thrift store, there wasn’t much help, so I walked around until I found the electronics and found the nicest VCR and DVD player they had. It still had the remote, but it didn’t have batteries. I looked through their books and bought something for myself as well. I was surprised that my cab driver was so patient, so I tipped him for his troubles once he dropped me off. I carried the boxes under my arms to the elevator. 

Eddie and Rose sat at the counter eating breakfast when I got home. “Whoa, what the hell?” Rose half-exclaimed as she got up to help me. “Eddie, look what Lane did.” 

“I wanted to surprise you guys. You’ve been so kind to me, so I wanted to buy the TV as a token of my appreciation,” I explained, “I don’t know if I got the right one, but—.” 

“Dude, Lane, you rock. We’ll pay you for the TV—.” 

“It’s a gift. Don’t worry about it,” I interrupted, “I wanted to do it.” Eddie and Rose hugged me. 

“We should have a movie night to christen the new TV. What should we watch first?” Eddie asked. They stared at me, and I shrugged.

“I don’t know. I’ve never seen a movie before,” I answered. Eddie gasped. 

“We have to do something special for you. Actually, this could be fun,” Eddie replied as he left the apartment without a word. Rose stayed behind. 

“What’s the deal with the movie thing? How’s it possible that you haven’t seen a movie? Ever?” Rose questioned.

“We didn’t have a TV at home… The only times I ever watched television was at the hospital, and it was always the news or educational shows,” I replied. Rose softened as she often did when I said things she couldn’t relate to. I made her sad. I could tell by the way she looked at me sometimes. “I know movies are meaningful to Eddie because he grew up around the process, but are movies this—? Is it that strange?” 

Rose smiled at me. “You’re not strange. You’re unique, and we love that about you. You’re not like anyone else… It’d be different if you acted like a creep, but you’re a regular person. That being said, it’s weird that you’ve lived in the United States your whole life and never seen a movie,” Rose half-joked, “That shit’s insane.” 

I chuckled. “I wanted to surprise you guys for your kindness… And Eddie’s gone and done more for me,” I lightheartedly sighed, “At this rate, I’ll never be able to repay—.” “Bullshit. You’re a great roommate. You’re clean and quiet. You’re considerate and open-minded. You never complain about anything—. Damn… Maybe we don’t deserve you,” Rose teased. I thanked her and shook my head.

[imaginariaextraordinaire]

Extraordinary Attorney Woo was at its best in the early episodes when the drama was all about weirdly banal cases that offered a portrait of contemporary Korean society, albeit through the soft-focus lens of a K-drama. The stakes were low, but the entertainment was high and every case offered a little bit of insight. Like the case about the 'wardrobe malfunction' at the wedding.

This was undoubtedly one of the best episodes in Extraordinary Attorney Woo. I doubt anyone would have anticipated that an episode that began with a husband putting his arms around his wife to protect her modesty would end with a wonderful statement in favour of queer love. The episode started with a celebration of a patriarchal institution and systematically broke it down with every consecutive scene. I thought the cherry on the cake was Woo Young-woo being the young woman's ally, but there was yet another fantastic twist in the tale after that when the young woman came out to her father.

My other favourite episode was Lee Bong-ryun as the idealistic, feminist lawyer who appears for the two married woman who go to court in the hope of bringing to light the sexism in corporate policies. This was such a charming watch because it showed us two perspectives — that of the scrappy, solo fighter that Lee plays; and the sensitivity that a big player can show when it has people like Kang Ki-young's Myung-seok displays. Lee is also such a joy to watch, especially in the bits with the judge. I loved that the writing made it clear that even though Hanbada won on paper, the real triumph was the women's who were not fazed by the court verdict. They knew they didn't stand much chance of winning, but they went ahead because they wanted their dissent to register and be part of a public conversation. The end of the episode, with all the women gathered together, was just full heartmelt. In fact, this was the episode that made me wish there would be a second season in which Young-woo would join Lee's firm.

Yet for all the charm that this drama has, it has two major stumbling blocks. One is the character of "Tactician Min-woo", who is initially the kind of person who has a full victim complex even though they have no reason to feel victimised. Then, in the last few episodes, the drama decided Min-woo had to be redeemed. Most characters have a redemption arc; in Min-woo's case, it's a spike and we're supposed to accept that he's actually a good guy (despite all the odious things he did and said earlier) because Su-yeon likes him. I'm sorry, but it makes no sense. Even if I assume that love is irrational (insert eye roll here) and thus Su-yeon, without warning, finds she's forgotten all the things she (justifiably) hated about Min-woo, the drama needed to make Min-woo apologise to Young-woo. He was a proper bully to her and the heart eyes that the drama makes at Min-woo in the last three episodes makes it seem as though his bullying shouldn't be held against him. That's messed up.

Similarly, what is up with Young-woo's dad? I understand that parenting is tough, but he's constantly making it about his troubles and his challenges, and the drama suggests this is acceptable. From early on, the drama makes it seem as though Young-woo breezes through life while her father suffers heartbreak after heartbreak because she's on the autism spectrum. Both as a child and as an adult, we're told she doesn't offer him comfort when he needs it. Of course it's valid to talk about how difficult parenting can be, but there should have been some indication of how difficult it was for Young-woo to make sense of the world around her.

It's also really problematic how Young-woo's dad considers her his property. The show doesn't address how he seems to encourage Young-woo to break up with Jun-ho — which could be seen as a way of ensuring she stays with her father and under is control. Control seems to be a major part of being a father in Bae-soo's book and the drama is happy to give him control over Young-woo's life. It's as though she 'owes' him that power because of all the challenges he faced while raising her when in fact he was doing what he signed up for. After all, he's the one who insisted Tae Su-mi have the child rather than opt for an abortion (as though her concerns are a sign of moral corruption which they're not). Arguably, his decision to set up a gimbap shop rather than pursue his law degree is irresponsible as a single father, but the show insists he's being heroic. In contrast, the show has no sympathy for a young Su-mi, who finds herself pregnant as a single young woman. There's no hint given to how difficult it must have been for her to convince her family to let her have the baby or how hard it was for her to give up the newborn child. Later, we're to have no sympathy for Su-mi as a parent — her response to finding out her son is a hacker is melodramatic and appalling — as though it's a cakewalk to raise a preternaturally intelligent kid who can go around hacking any device in sight.

The show never gives Su-mi a chance. The first time we see her, we're told she's privileged and benefiting from nepotism (she inherited the top spot at the law firm from her father). In the court case that she fights, we see Taesan's methods range from unscrupulous to being corrupt. Then she makes the offer of giving Young-woo a job in Taesan's American branch — not out of the kindness of her heart, but because she wants Young-woo out of sight and out of mind as she runs for the position of the Minister of Justice. Instead of approaching Young-woo, she goes to Bae-soo first. Again, the show doesn't see anything weird about that. Similarly, the CEO of Hanbada talks to Bae-soo when she's politicking, as though Young-woo is incapable of thinking for herself. Perhaps the most glaring example of Bae-soo's controlling streak is when he makes a deal with the CEO of Hanbada and tells her that Young-woo can be used for the CEO's ends only once. At no point does the show encourage the viewers to ask what gives Bae-soo the right to decide this? That too without even discussing the matter with Young-woo. At no point does anyone, least of all Young-woo, point out that Young-woo's life is her own. Her father does not get to make decisions about her.

It's a major problem that both the older women in Extraordinary Attorney Woo are shown as immoral and villainous. Tae Su-mi is demonised for having wanted an abortion as a student and ultimately, she has to lose her professional success — she excuses herself from the ministerial race — in order to be considered a good mother. That's disappointingly regressive. Meanwhile, we've been through 16 episodes, but we still don't know why the CEO of Hanbada has such a hostile relationship with Tae Su-mi. The show takes the time to explain (unconvincingly) how Tae Su-mi's son found out the secret that practically no one knows, but it doesn't feel the need to give an explanation for the animosity between these two women, who are both heading up law firms. It's almost as though the show is urging the viewer to go with the stereotype that women are inclined to have catfights with one another. It's a sharp contrast to the friendships Young-woo has with her girlfriends, but it's worth noting that neither of these friendships are with people who can be considered either her equal or her senior. Geurami may have some street-smart qualities, but she's quite obviously neither as smart nor as successful as Young-woo. There's less of an imbalance between Su-yeon and Young-woo, but it's clear that Su-yeon knows Young-woo is the better lawyer. She never competes with Young-woo.

For a show that began with so much heart and gave us so much to love, the last few episodes have felt disappointing and occasionally careless. After Young-woo described herself as a narwhal in a conversation with Su-mi, I expected to see a narhwal outside her train window in the last sequence. Instead, it was the regular humpback whale again and as beautiful as these VFX bits are in Extraordinary Attorney Woo, it would have been nice to see a narwhal swimming with a pod of belugas.

[phanfictioncatalogue]

Opposites Attract (2) Masterlist

part one

A Light & His Soul Snatcher (ao3) - natigail

Summary: Phil was the most powerful magic wielding human of the decade, even when he was just a child. He was what his people called a light - someone that was a pure source of magic. He'd been forbidden to leave his house because his parents were terrified that he'd attract soul snatchers, which was horrible creatures that consumed innocent souls. But Phil was a curious little one and he was bound to step outside eventually.

Dan had been a stupid young boy, who'd gotten too obsessed with the magical culture and peer pressured into doing something really dumb, just because all his friends had done it. His soul had been broken and locked away, never to be seen or felt again, as his body was doomed to roam the world as a soul snatcher. But Dan would be granted a second chance.

When the two meet, the impossible happens. Lights have always fallen prey to soul snatchers before and Phil should really be dead and Dan should really be fed. It doesn't quite go like that.

An Angel in a Leather Jacket (ao3) - bakingphaninmymind

Summary: An argument starts it all. Hell comes after for Dan Howell, the school pastel boy. He only wanted to help, but got backstabbed in the end. From a safe position in the school hierarchy, Dan is up to neck in an affair he never had and starts finding threats in his locker. He needs someone on his side if he wants to make it to the end of high school. A mysterious punk boy promises him protection. The condition Dan needs to meet, though, is far from normal.

Are We Soulmates? (ao3) - Sb1235

Summary: Phil had always been a closed-off, anti-social outcast. Dan is the most intimidatingly popular boy in school. Will a relationship ever work in a seeping-with-drama, secretive, and excruciatingly painful world called high school?

Baby, They Ain't Got A Clue (ao3) - cafephan

Summary: Dan, the shy new kid in school, is asked to prom, but his date stands him up. Phil, the popular outgoing kid in school, is stood up by his date too.

bruised knuckles (ao3) - orphan_account

Summary: Daniel James Howell. The tough, sarcastic bad boy. A lot of people fear him, others envy him, some even admire him.

Philip Michael Lester isn't one of those people. He hates, well maybe not hates, Dan and Dan knows exactly why.

chemistry (ao3) - howelllesters

Summary: Based on the prompt ‘sporty!dan is lab partners with computergeek!phil and magic happens.’

Drunk Words Are Sober Thoughts - danhasacrushonphil

Summary: The opportunity of a life time comes in the form of Phil Lester actually showing up at a party, all tattoos and bright blue eyes. Dan's been crushing on him for far too long, so getting the chance to play Never Have I Ever with his crush? Yeah, he can't pass that one up. What could go wrong?

Flower Crowns and Footballs (ao3) - sadia_xoxox

Summary: Dan Howell, a delicate pastel princess, starts at a new school and is shown around by the school's best footballer, Phil Lester. While on the surface the two seem to be complete opposites, will they attract or collide?

Jackets (ao3) - FoxyAtlas

Summary: Phil Lester, bad boy who wears the same leather jacket to school every day and makes a hobby out of scaring people. Dan Howell, future valedictorian who prefers a varsity jacket, and refuses to be shaken by anyone, bad boy or otherwise. And how they come together through a high school track, an English class, and a failing videography program.

Kissing at a Christmas Party (ao3) - softphiily

Summary: Dan and Phil are best friends, but they are complete opposites. Dan is a popular sporty football player while Phil is a quiet nerd who loves to read and write. They’ve been crushing on each other for a while without knowing the other one likes them. Dan plans to finally confess his love to Phil at a Christmas party.

Like I'm Living at the Edge of the World (ao3) - transdimensional_void

Summary: Sometimes Goth!Dan makes nerd!Phil feel like he’s living at the edge of the world.

Lonely in Conflict, Cast as a Convict (ao3) - andthenshesaid-write (ladyknight1512)

Summary: Dan is a vampire who can’t remember how it feels not to be lonely. Phil is a vampire hunter living in his brother’s shadow.

When they meet, they find acceptance in each other that they don’t find anywhere else, but there are secrets and other forces at play trying to keep them apart.

Lungs Filled With Flowers (ao3) - worriedpeach (skeletonflowers)

Summary: Whenever Dan has a bad day, he always knows that Animal Crossing will be there for him no matter what. When he finds a friend code written on his desk, he immediately adds it into his DS, despite not knowing who it could be.

Maths Notes and Flower Doodles (ao3) - DavineNaughter

Summary: Phil Lester is that dorky guy who always doodles on everything. Dan Howell is the school's most popular boy and star athlete. They don't see much of each other, and when they do it generally involves punches and Phil getting injured. But then they're sat next each other in a couple classes and paired together on a project, and that may change. Throw in some homophobic douchebags, a super sassy sexual Chris, and a sprained wrist, who knows what could happen. Based on a Tumblr post.

More Than Just The Game (ao3) - benotafraidofwriting

Summary: Phil's just trying to survive the school year. Cue a certain football player who throws everything off.

Opposites Attract (ao3) - KaytheJay

Summary: Dan is a nonbinary pastel person. Phil is a badass punk. They both have feelings for each other but believe that the other couldn't possibly like someone like themselves.

Pink Roses (ao3) - roryonice

Summary: Popular!FootballPlayer!Phil comes up with creative ways to ask Pastel!Dan to Prom, but it doesn’t work out the way he’d hoped.

Put Your Heart in It (ao3) - TheUKAmazingDan

Summary: Dan didn’t expect his first kiss to happen in the office of the school nurse, especially not with the athletic motorcycle-riding sex-bomb Phil Lester.

//soft and neat\\ (ao3) - ode_to_phan

Summary: Dan’s entire world was made of simple things, such as cherry blossoms, lilies, and hot chocolate on cold days. Phil’s, on the other hand, was heavy metal, bright hair colors, and piercings. They seemed like complete opposites. But... were they opposites?

teach me how to kiss (ao3) - cityscaped (touchofgold)

Summary: Dan is a typical notorious bad boy smoker who couldn't give a shit about anything. Phil is a quiet librarian nerd who spends too much of his time in an abandoned tower in school. After rumours were spread that Dan had slept with many girls, and his two friends finding about it, Dan's dirty little secret is exposed.

Dan has no idea how to kiss.

And what does he do? He gets kissing lessons from Phil.

The Meeting Place (It's a Pastel/Punk Thing) (ao3) - AnotherPhanficWriter

Summary: Pretty boy Dan is a little pastel wearing homosexual (out and proud) and can't wait to go to university in the next few months, while his punk bad ass neighbor and classmate, Phil, wants nothing more than to cause havoc, ruin plans, party and smoke. Dan and Phil go on a school trip and on the way back are in the St Pancras train station next to The Meeting Place statue, this is where the two boys are placed under a spell. The two wake up the next day to find that they've switched bodies.

the truth is rarely pure and never simple (ao3) - ZozeeWrites

Summary: dan is natural athlete, the top player on his college ice hockey team. no one knows that he is actually really smart and is transferred into the Honours Literature class. that is when he meets a literature nerd, phil, who just might be able to give his life a little more importance.

we have more in common than i thought (ao3) - manicpixieidiot

Summary: bad boy!dan has a bit of a secret crush on nerd!phil, and when grouped with him in class he uses the opportunity to convince him to come to a party. (what happens next will shock you!!) (not really, no shocks don't worry)

Who Would've Thought? (ao3) - pasteldanhowells

Summary: Phil is really into literature/English in school, and Dan’s a “jock”. They’re total opposites, but find themselves being paired up together for a project in English class, and Dan eventually finds that Phil isn’t as bad as the entire school makes him out to be.

who'd have known? (ao3) - CallofTheCurlew

Summary: Nerd!Dan and Badboy!Phil meet at a club Dan isn't even sure he wants to be at. But it's his last year of university, and those are made for memories. Allegedly.

Your Band is Weird (ao3) - orphan_account, uraniumreader

Summary: Year is 3005 and everything is pretty much the same, except bands, music, and anything fun and/or entertaining is banned. Phil is an 18 year old nerdy kid who works at a bookstore and has never strayed from the rules, content with the strict rules that his society has given him.

Dan is a 17 year old high school drop out, lives with his friends in a shitty apartment, and has never followed the rules. Ever.

However, after meeting, their lives and the lives of those around them begin to change and their world will never be the same again.

Yellow Love (ao3) - worriedpeach (skeletonflowers)

Summary: The deal is to make bamf!Dan Howell want to date Nerd!Phil. But how can he go through with it when Dan’s eyes are the colour of chocolate and he has a dimple that makes Phil’s knees weak? He decides he can’t go through with it because he’s too afraid of falling in love before Dan ever will. With a Christmassy twist at the end!

[strangeite]

your OCs, hand em over

Oh boy oh boy, I hope you're ready for the wall of text coming your way!

Let's start with Candor. A tiefling paladin, oath of the ambling rose (homebrew I got from an itch.io bundle) - it's his duty and his calling to go wandering around helping whoever is in need. Just a Real Good Dude. If someone were to specifically design the Goodest Dude, just a real nice, helpful, earnest guy, this would be him.

I played this motherfucker for two years (with some breaks) before the other players found out that that's exactly who he is.

Enter Izz, a changeling. Stolen from their family by the Changeling Protective Services when they were very young and placed with a changeling family, where they were raised and trained to be an information thief/assassin. Specifically to take on the family's Persona of Varna Shadowhawk, who has been passed down through the generations. As you might imagine, this was not a great time for Izz, or their two adoptive siblings.

They were very isolated, but, as another Persona Karim, Izz managed to make a friend. Veylan, a tiefling oath of the ambling rose paladin who passed through town every so often. Their friendship grew over the years, with Izz learning about this crazy thing called "morals" and slowly growing discontent with the role they've been assigned but keeping it secret from their family. (It should be noted that because of some cool homebrew stuff my DM is doing with changelings, the different Personas are really fully different people with their own memories, so it was really Karim becoming friends with Veylan; Izz only got what scraps of memory they could carry over from Karim, plus a handful of days where they met with Veylan as themself but looking and acting like Karim).

That worked out great... until their older sibling, Ged, caught on, and decided to take matters into their own hand and fix the problem leading their sibling astray. So they went and killed Veylan, while looking like Karim. Karim found Veylan dead, snapped back to Izz and killed Ged in a fit of grief and rage and probably a bit of a mental break (the homebrew stuff involves rolling on the madness tables in the DMG in certain situations if I fail a Wisdom saving throw (for which I have a -1); and even outside of mechanics Izz just straight up has a host of mental illnesses/neurodivergencies that they've never been given the tools to cope with and manage).

In a fugue state of grief and despair, Izz took Veylan's breastplate and holy symbol and made the Persona of Candor... and basically tried to replace themself with him and lived solely as Candor for the next 12 years. Cut to the party running into a certain assassin, one of our party members working for the Changeling Protective Services and coming to Candor for help looking for a changeling from the Shadowhawk family who's been missing for 12 years, and then Izz's younger remaining sibling, Yan, showing up in Candor's tent when the party is out on the road being worried about Izz bc they didn't know what had happened (and then stabbing them and running when Candor/Izz refused to come back to the family).... And the whole Candor/Izz situation is crumbling.

Turns out they didn't make Candor quite right and he's not as separate as a normal Persona, essentially sharing the same slot as Izz (or in terms of the metaphysical representation of their minds that the changelings have, is in the same room). He was able to remember some information from Izz that he shouldn't have, and Izz has access to all of Candor's memories (though most of their own are currently locked away thanks to 12 years of living as someone else), and they're able to switch between each other at will.

Izz has also (re)learned from Yan (who was captured and has basically been adopted into the party) that Varna isn't a normal Persona either, but more of a curse. She kills and consumes the other Personas until eventually it's just her and the core changeling Persona and they face off, but regardless of who wins they become her. "The Singularity." But apparently Izz managed to stop that, somehow, when they made Candor. I don't know what's up with that yet, cuz the one chance I've had for them to explore the house of their mind they couldn't get out of the first room (it required a Wis save, and they are apparently incapable of succeeding on those. Then they got interrupted cuz they gotta go rescue their vampire not-yet-boyfriend from the hornet's nest of undead hating clerics and paladins).

...So that's my buy one get two free OC (with plans to add more down the line. Avery is going to be a blast when she gets made). I hope you... enjoyed? And for those of you who have been following along at home, maybe all posts I've been reblogging for the last three months and the accompanying collection of tags make more sense now. Or maybe this just highlights what a mess it is ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Clearly I am down to talk if there are more questions.

[footballpads4u]

Top-Rated Football Helmets Under $100

Football is a great sport, but it can also be dangerous. That's why it's important for football players to wear helmets. Helmets can help protect players from head injuries, which can be life-threatening.

But helmets can be expensive, especially for young players. That's where top-rated football helmets under $100 come in. There are a number of great options available that won't break the bank. In this article, we'll take a look at some of the best top-rated football helmets under $100.

What to Look for in Top-Rated Football Helmets Under $100

When shopping for top-rated football helmets under $100, there are a few things you'll want to keep in mind:

Safety: The most important thing to consider is safety. The helmet you choose should meet all relevant safety standards.

Fit: The helmet should fit snugly but comfortably. It shouldn't move around too much when you shake your head.

Comfort: The helmet should be comfortable to wear. You shouldn't have to worry about it getting in the way of your playing.

Price: Of course, you'll also want to consider the price. Top-rated football helmets under $100 are available in a range of price points, so you should be able to find a pair that fits your budget.

Best Top-Rated Football Helmets Under $100

Now that you know what to look for, here are some of the best top-rated football helmets under $100:

Riddell Youth SpeedFlex Helmet: This helmet is designed for young players who are just starting out. It's lightweight and comfortable, and it meets all relevant safety standards.

Schutt Youth Vengeance 360 Helmet: This helmet is designed for young players who want a high level of protection. It's made with high-quality materials and construction, and it meets all relevant safety standards.

Xenith Youth Z10 Helmet: This helmet is designed for young players who want a comfortable and lightweight helmet. It's made with a unique, ventilated design that helps to keep players cool and dry.

Cutters Youth Revolution Speed Helmet: This helmet is designed for young players who want a helmet with a sleek, modern design. It's made with high-quality materials and construction, and it meets all relevant safety standards.

G-Form Youth Flex Hybrid Helmet: This helmet is designed for young players who want a helmet that is both protective and flexible. It's made with a unique, shock-absorbing material that helps to protect players from head injuries.

Conclusion

No matter what your budget is, there are top-rated football helmets under $100 available that will provide your child with the protection they need to stay safe on the field. So don't sacrifice protection just because you're on a budget. With a little research, you can find a pair of top-rated football helmets under $100 that will help your child play their best game.

Here are some additional tips for choosing top-rated football helmets under $100:

Shop around: Compare prices from different retailers before you make a purchase.

Look for sales and discounts: Many retailers offer sales and discounts on football helmets throughout the year.

Consider buying used helmets: You can often find used helmets in good condition for a fraction of the price of new ones.

Ask your teammates or coaches for recommendations: They may be able to recommend a specific brand or model of top-rated football helmets under $100 that they've had good experiences with.

[roobylavender]

Sometimes I feel like the older I get the more I hate social media and truly feel bad for the generation of kids who have to grow up with it especially without any direction from the adults in their life because social media is still new to them as well. Like kids from the age of 15-21 because truly I feel like adulthood and the dumb mistakes have the most around this age and it isn’t until you are like 24/25 where things feel like they start to work themselves out.

Also I would never ever want to be famous. Like imagine everything you do being there for the world to see. If you have a mental illness it plays itself out on a large scale. Can’t even imagine people who have major anxiety and that much attention on them for everything thing they do.

And it’s funny because I feel like you don’t realize how old someone is until you past a certain age. Like to me 21 is still a kid like it is also the age where most mental illnesses like bipolar etc start to present themselves and like by then parents can’t help because under the law they are adults.

Sorry I know this is random but your soccer post just made me think of how we treat people who have eyes on them and etc.

yeah for sure. and since you bring up football what i will mention is i find it curious how we've started to have conversations about the harms of child labor in the film/tv industry but do not apply the same rhetoric to athletes. i really don't think there is anything useful in nurturing athletes to debut at a senior level on a renowned stage so early bc there are simultaneously two things that happen when they have access to that kind of stardom. it makes them into easy prey for people who want to manipulate that stardom, and it completely warps these kids' sense of wealth and maturity and boundaries. they don't live a real life. they don't grow up in an environment where they're allowed to make mistakes and actually learn from them bc on one hand their audience of thousands or millions would never dare to give them the space to learn and on the other hand their amount of wealth inevitably makes them immune to wanting to learn. like when you're more or less insured bc of the fact that it took your club or team or whatever to buy you for several hundred million dollars, they will do whatever it takes to protect you bc you're an investment. so you're subsequently robbed of actually learning to live like everyone else bc the scales of accountability and failure are completely skewed for you. and it makes me deeply sad bc like, why! there is no need to start a career so early into your life. obv sports are something you commit extensive time and practice to and that's understandable but i do think young athletes being thrown into these senior level teams on the world stage is something that should be cut back on. i think i remember seeing a chart recently of the number of top five league games some retired players in jude bellingham's position had played by the time they were his age and the difference is simply astronomical. not only are we committed to a culture that sets up these young people to have warped psyches, we're also destroying their body early on while they're at it. it's just so deeply sad and at some point all i can feel is pity for the people who are a part of it. the cost of living that kind of life is enormous and most people simply don't recover or ever regain the self awareness they were robbed of as young adults

[sunmmon8689]

FOR WHOM DO WE LIVE?

🎄There are many different answers to the question, “For whom do you live?” Most of them are somewhat noble. Parents live for their children, doctors live for their patients, teachers live for their students, officials live for the people and so on. However, some answers are shallow such as “I live for you” which is often of young couples. But all of these answers are considered somewhat noble because there is a purpose for them to live, even it is very small.

🎄We have listed many things that people believe they live for. However, no matter how ideal it is, there is always “him/her” in each person’s way of life.

🎄Parents say that they live for their children, but the truth is that they live for themselves, too. The children are their love but also their refuse at old age. So still “because of themselves” in their love for their children.

🎄So is the affection of husband and wife. Husband and wife love each other because they see that the other person loves him/her and can make him/her happy. If one cannot bring happiness to the other, he/she cannot become the purpose of the other’s life. Wordly sentiment always has such reciprocity. Humans’ ego is hidden behind their love and hard to be recognized.

🎄We see, what ones live for, whether noble or lowly, is secretly controlled by their self. But it’s better to live for someone/something than to live emotionlessly without ideals or purpose.

🎄For ones who don’t commit suicide because of losing a bet on a football match, what should we advise them?

🎄Tell them:

- Be alive to bet again, but not on the soccer ball but on the law of Karma. The soccer ball rolls back and forth from one person to another, and it was merciless and temporary. There is a ball of sin and blessing that kicked by human conscience, hence it needs our care. Sometimes it rolls into the sin zone, and sometimes the blessing zone. You should be the player who keeps the ball from moving into the dark, preventing life from falling into sin. This ball is your conscience and life, let kick it.

- But now I run out of money.

- So, be a poor worker, accepting to start again from nothing like so many other people who start with their empty hands. However, they have a big heart and conscience and are willing to bear hardships to build their career. Keeping living and kicking the ball of sin and blessing. Try to prevent the ball of your life from rolling into the dark. It is better than many other balls.

People have many reasons to commit suicide, but if we give them new love or hope or ideals, we can save them.

🎄People have many reasons to commit suidcide, but if we give them new love or hope or ideals, we can save them.

🎄We only fear that someone will answer, “ I live for myself” because it is cruel. Those who advocate living because of themselves are destroying the world. Why? Because each person owes a huge number of favors. Parents raise them, teachers educate them, the country keeps them safe, and the planet protects them. So if we say we live only for ourselves, we are indeed cruel and ungrateful people.

🎄But how to not live for ourselves? Maybe so far we haven’t much benefited the world, the country, or the people, but first, we have to determine not to live for ourselves. This is our vow for our current life and countless lives later.

🎄Those who have this thought at an early age can certainly do many great things in life.

🎄Everything that comes to us is an opportunity. When we have money, when someone gives us a ride, or when someone gives us power, and so on, are opportunities. And our current life is also a big chance for our way of living for countless lives later.

🎄Choosing it doesn’t mean we can live its way right away; however, we will decide to pick a noble life so that it will nurture our soul and lead us in our endless cycle of reincarnation.

Collected.

#moralityconsulting

#improvemorality

#healthy

#lifestylemorality

#healthy

#moralityineverydaylife

#lifestylesconsulting

#consulting

[redwineconversation]

Lyon - Montpellier OLPlay Postgame Interviews

I hate it when OLPlay uses this "journalist" because she is both the definition of softballing and circlejerking. Like she somehow makes the interview about herself (she is the Director of the Youth Academy). When you compare her questions to the ones that Timothee Piron, Coralie Ducher, and Jul all ask, there's a notable difference in quality.

In all due honesty as well if Becho wasn't interviewed I probably would have skipped this interview, but it's also cold outside (by LA standards) so I am hiding in the warmth of my apartment.

@OL Comms Dept: Starbucks, Dr Pepper, Veuve Clicquot Champagne, really anything you want to toss my way, totally fine with it.

VICKI BECHO INTERVIEW

Journalist: Congratulations, Vicki, on being a starter for a big game. A good performance from your part, and an important win.

Becho: Yeah, well, I thought today's game was really important. We needed to take back the lead and that's what we did. We seized the opportunity. We did a good first half, that being said, we should have finished it off sooner. We did that in the second half and that's the most important thing.

Journalist: There was a lot of progress. I've known you for a while now. But there was a lot of progress when it comes to protecting and keeping the ball, lots of runs and cutting inside. What's left? Working on headers? [Becho missed a blatant chance by sending a header wide]

Becho: Yeah. I am working on it a little bit in training. I'm trying to improve on that. After that, I think that since I arrived at Lyon, we've worked a lot on me playing with my back to goal, also on my - how to say this - timing my runs. I think I've improved quite a bit. So, it's nothing but positive, and I hope it continues like that.

Journalist: One determining factor: already three assist in D1 Arkema [French league]. That's another thing. Being a goal scorer is good, being able to assist, that's also important.

Becho: Well as I said, what I think is most important is to help the team first. After that, it's just statistics. For now it's just to enjoy yourself and help the team. That's the most important thing.

Journalist: We'll end it on that good note. Thank you.

SONIA BOMPASTOR INTERVIEW

Bompastor: Obviously it's a nice feeling. It's true that we had that opportunity before the game to retake our place as leader. I'm happy that we did what was necessary in terms of results to become leaders again, even if ... Well, the league is being a bit unpredictable this season. There are some very close games. There are a lot of games left for us, a lot more battles ahead of us. So we're going to concentrate on us, stay focused, continue working and well, take the games one at a time. But anyway, it's a positive, we had the opportunity and we took it. So it's interesting for us.

Journalist: Playing against a team like Montpellier who really went all in, we saw that as soon as Olympique Lyonnais took the pressure off from the press, this team started to get into place [with the block].

Bompastor: Yeah, it's true that I rather liked the beginning of the first half for my team. There was a period of about 20 minutes which were a bit more complicated, then we finished the half a little better. I think it's the first half we had, even two, chances that we should have converted. The discussion at half time was basically "we have to continue [like this]". We made a few changes, especially in the style of play, how we did defensively when we didn't have possession. In terms of offense I thought we were pretty good. In the second half we just believed. We were able to create these chances, we were efficient. On the one hand the first goal is good, it did us some good, and the second really gave us a comfortable cushion. So that's a good thing.

Journalist: A quick work on Vicki Becho. We talked about her on the pregame show. A good showing. She's a young player who is improving.

Bompastor: Yeah. Well, in any case, Vicki did well tonight. It's consistent with her last appearances, with how how she does in training. So it was a good moment for us to show our faith in her, and tonight she proved that, well, she has quality. When she has confidence she is able to creat opportunities, make runs, dribbling in 1 v. 1 situations. She had some chances to score in the first half. It'll come, but she has to continue to work hard, keep up the confidence. In any case it's really encouraging.

Journalist: We had the chance to retake the lead. We didn't drop the ball. Is it also a message sent to Paris Saint-Germain? And it's good for the upcoming game against Montpellier in the Coupe de France.

Bompastor: Yeah, exactly. I was saying before, we had the opportunity in the first half of the season when we played Guingamp [EAG] to increase our lead against Paris [Saint-Germain], we weren't able to do it. We unfortunately lost the home game against Paris, and that again had been another opportunity. And when you're a big team, you can't let those opportunities slip away. Today we were able to do it. From a mental aspect, it's never easy to say to yourself, "we're playing this game to take back our place as leader" [kinda disagree with Bompastor on this one because it downplays Lyon's absolute pure hatred of being seen as anything other than deities]. It can add quite a lot of pressure. So I'm proud of my players, because they were capable from a mental aspect to channel that desire and energy to get the win.

Journalist: We're playing Montpellier as soon as next week. How are you going to prepare for the game and how are you going to approach it?

Bompastor: Well it's true that we're actually used to playing the same opponent from one week to the next, it's the case for the Champions League. [lol at Bompastor's quiet flex] So let's just say it's the same configuration as a Champions League game. We just did the home game, there's the return game next. The advantage is that we're hosting again. I think that's a really important point. But this win obviously gives us a lot of confidence. Now, as we do each time, we're going to analyze [the game], take away the important points, see what we can improve, because there are things we can improve on. And continue with this confidence and serenity. And have the same objective - beat Montpellier next week.

Journalist: One last question and I will let you go. Any news about Selma Bacha? How serious is it?

Bompastor: It's still too soon to say. Selma felt some pain in the hamstring. A hamstring injury that she's suffered from before. So we'll do some tests on Monday. I'm not super optimistic but we'll see how the exams go to know a bit more. I'm crossing my fingers.

Journalist: Thank you, Sonia.

SARA DABRITZ INTERVIEW

Journalist: You were voted Player of the Game on OLPlay. A great performance this game, with a goal. I think that must make you happy, because you are coming back from injury.

Dabritz: Yes, good evening. Thank you a lot for that. Today, I'm really happy because we - we won a really important game today. It was difficult, against a good Montpellier team. And today we're happy because we took back first place in the league. We need to continue like that.

Journalist: How are you feeling? You are returning to competition. How are you feeling physically and in terms playing style?

Dabritz: I'm feeling really good physically. It's true that after my injury it was going to take a bit of time. But I am feeling better and better. I feel good physically. And today I think we all had a good game with a good quality of play. We created some chances. Then we won 2-0 today, it was really important, and we're really happy.

Journalist: It's important because you took over first place again. And it's important because you're playing Montpellier again next week in the Coupe de France.

Dabritz: Yeah, it's true that it's important for the confidence as well. We are on the right track, with three wins in our first three games [of the year]. We need to continue like that, and work hard in training sessions to prepare for the next games.

Journalist: Thank you, Sara.