#House footings in Australia

[surefootingsau]

Revolutionising Construction: Explore Concrete-Free House Footings for Sustainable Building Solutions

House footings in environmentally sensitive areas, remote locations, or projects with tight budgets or time constraints can be done using concrete-free footing. The footings are made from different types of materials and the leading companies in this sector offer products like these made from high-strength steel and have a unique hybrid design. One should not worry about the strength of these footings as these are known to offer the ability to withstand gravity, uplift, shear and moment loads.

House footings in Australia offered by the leading companies also have directional piles to help in missing underground services like trees and existing strip footings. Often people think that these concrete free footings might not be able to handle challenging soil conditions which is not the case.These concrete-free footings are best in the sense that they do not require any excavation that eventually saves time and this product is actually contributing towards sustainability.

Deeper Insights About Products and Services Offered by Footings Companies

Design: When it comes to designing such steel footings they need to be done after considering conditions like loading, soil specifics and the layout of the building which is to be made correctly.

Engineering: The leading companies offer the best designs and also have the certifications for complying with the Building Code of Australia. Also, the companiesoffer their services for the certification of projects as well.

Installation: The leading service providers can do the installation of the product and hence help the clients complete the project in time also if one chooses theDIY routeone can take the help of the specific installation manual.

Micro Pile Footing System: These footings offer a great way to complete construction projects. These systems are great when it comes to sustainability and one can get reliable results.

Residential: These systems can be used for supporting the houses and decks and also one can use these systems for supporting the retaining walls. This footing system is not very deep and also is not very shallow and hence offers the best support.

Reach out to the leading companies offering concrete free footings and get a quote whether you are planning to build a residential or commercial building.

Source

[taradactyls]

The posts about the December solstice is so funny as someone who lives in the southern hemisphere. Everyone in the northern hemisphere talking about the winter solstice and finally getting more sunlight again and hoping to survive the dark winter months, wishing for snow, frolicking in the evergreen forests at midnight etc etc,

meanwhile, the vibe in half the southern hemisphere is 'the peak of summer approaches, you know what this means, lads...

'SPIDERS BE UPON YE'

[batshit-auspol]

In 1975, North Korean ambassador to Australia crashed his official Mercedes-Benz while drunk driving. Knocking on the door of the nearest house looking for help, the ambassador was aghast to find the door opened by none other than the South Korean ambassador.

Having immediately fled the scene on foot, the next morning the North Koreans visited a local Mercedes dealer in an attempt to buy a replacement car. This did not go well however as - after picking a car - the North Koreans were told they would have to wait a few weeks for a delivery, as the display car had already been bought by the South Korean ambassador. There was much screaming.

Days later, without telling anyone, the North Koreans abruptly abandoned their embassy and fled back to Pyongyang.

Sources [1], [2], [3]

[josephquinnswhore]

Christmas Eve - joel miller x female reader

summary: Christmas Eve with your husband.

word count: 2k

content warning: fluff..slight insinuations to sex, girl dad joel, heavily pregnant reader, anxiety surrounding pregnancy, birth etc. Pre established marriage, joel is in his early 30’s. no outbreak. I think that’s it?

a/n: it’s chrissy eve in Australia… 10:15pm as I’m posting this. Merry Christmas to all my moots / fans of Joel / Pedro / whoever reads this. Love you all x

Lights draped around the window frames and along the porch were strung up, emitting a golden glow along the cleared pathway to the front door. Tinsel is tightly wrapped around the wooden frame of the steps to your front house, complete with a beautiful wreath on your front door.

Through the curtains, you could make out Joel’s figure up on the step ladder, hanging more lights in the living room.

As you step foot into your home, the harsh wind follows you as you tap the snow off your boots on the doormat, a freezing breeze curls up your neck, making you shudder.

But as the front door closes behind you, all you feel is warmth. The ugly Christmas sweater you wore has poorly stitched reindeers, snowflakes and the ugliest shade of green you’d ever seen. Alas, You’re shocked to see Joel wearing his matching sweater as you step through the threshold of the living room.

Tinsel hangs along the hallways, the smell of the pine tree fills your lungs with warmth. Never did you think it could be possible to crave a smell—until now. The fresh scent of pine tree that Joel had cut down, he and Tommy had lugged it into your living room to use as a Christmas tree upon your insistence.

He turns to face you, raising an eyebrow at your messy hair and few intact snowflakes on your sweater. In hand, you’re clutching a sacred tin of powdered hot chocolate.

His ugly Christmas sweater is the same as yours, but red. His dark hair is littered with greys, feral curls untamed and his face framed with a pair of thick specs. The rainbow lights he’s hanging up with a hammer and nail reflect in them for a moment, before he removes them. His sweet, warm brown eyes meet your own.

“House looks good baby,” you call softly, admiring how beautiful the decorations looked with his determination, not allowing you to do anything more than decorate the tree, and wrap the gifts, since it was your favourite part about Christmas, excluding the gingerbread baking.

He climbs down the ladder, hooking his glasses through the neckline of his sweater, setting the hammer and nails onto the flat surface at the top of the step ladder.

“Without your vision this never would have come to life. Sarah’s going to love it.” He preens, stepping toward you. “How was it out there?” With an all recognisable voice of concern, you smile.

It was beginning to snow outside, and Joel was anxious the entire time you’d been gone.

“Chaotic, shopping on Christmas Eve isn’t for the weak. I had to practically fight an old lady to get this tin of hot chocolate you know?”

His soft laugh breaks the tension of his anxiety, just glad to have you back. His arms snake around you, resting on your hips. “Sounds like you needed your man to come with you hm? I’ve got no problems protecting my girl from the oldies.”

“I can handle them, plus.. I’m glad you stayed. Sarah’s going to be so happy when she sees all of this. Did you remember to do Santa’s footprints with flour?”

Tsk. “So much distrust baby, course I remembered, I ain’t the one with baby brain y’know?”.

You roll your eyes at him, shoving his chest lightly. “And who’s fault is that, hm?”

Joel chuckled as you rolled your eyes, knowing how much you secretly loved his teasing. He followed your gaze to the lights before smiling, proud of his work.

"I’ll take half the blame, honey," he said,

“If you don’t recall, I’ll recite the way you begged me to get you pregnant—“

With your cheeks warming you interrupt. “Alright.. alright. I remember.”

His thumb leaves your waist, curling into your cheek to caress you softly with adoration. "I’m glad you convinced me, baby. You look so beautiful, you’re glowing.”

Your cheeks feel warm at his praise. The warmth of the fire crackling inside of the living room begin to ease the ache in your joints, particularly your knees and ankles.

“I look and feel like a whale.” It had been hard on you, anyone could see, with your stomach so round and swollen, the Christmas sweater struggled to stretch over your stomach to cover it entirely.

Joel shook his head, slipping his warm hands underneath your sweater to caress your aching stomach in a soothing notion.

"No," he protested softly. "You look like my beautiful, pregnant wife who is about to bring a little bundle of joy into the world. Half of me, and half of you.”

With a soft hum, you find yourself smiling. The thought warmed your heart, a small bundle of love, made of you and him. “Flattery will get you everywhere with me, Joel Miller.”

"Hm?" Joel hums in return, planting a kiss on your cheek, his nose nudging your own. "That's good to know, I might have to use that to my advantage."

He leaned in to whisper in your ear, his hot breath sending a shiver down your spine. "Maybe... it'll get me everything I want."

With a baited breath, you breathe out a shaky response. “And what is it that you want?”

"Hmm..." Joel pretended to ponder about it for a moment, his hands sliding down to rest on your hips again, fingers curling into the curved surface.

"Since you asked," he murmured, his voice low and enticing. "All I really want for Christmas is to spend it with you. But if you're looking for a more tangible gift, I guess I could think of a thing or two."

With a roll of your eyes, you snag a candy cane off of the tree beside you, and uncurl the plastic and stick the hooked peppermint lolly into your mouth, sucking the flavour off with a pop.

“Hot chocolate first.” You insist, kissing his cheek, leaving sticky residue on his warm skin. “I didn’t drive through a snowstorm and fight an old lady for nothing.”

You shake the tin of chocolate powder as if to remind him, garnering his attention.

Joel chuckled wipes the sticky candy cane residue off his cheek. “You got it mumma. Hot chocolate first, then I'll tell you what I really want for Christmas."

Joel gestured towards the couch by the fireplace with one hand and an expectant gaze.

"Go take a seat and relax. I'll make the hot chocolate, and then you can tell me about that beautiful baby of ours and how you’re feeling."

He swats your ass softly, amusement clear in his voice.

“Thanks baby. For everything. My feet are killing me.” Minutes later you graciously accept the warm mug of hot chocolate, the white mini marshmallows are soft and starting to melt.

"Anything for you baby.” You know he means it too.

He took a seat on the couch beside you, the leather sinking under his weight. "How's everything been today? Any contractions?"

You shake your head with a small mouthful of the gooey, warm, sweet drink. “No, nothing yet. I feel like she’s never going to come at this rate..”

A soft hum vibrates within your chest as he encourages you to shift towards him, and he props your feet up onto his lap to remove your shoes and socks, promptly massaging your swollen ankles.

“Do you think she’ll come before the new year?”

Joel continued massaging your ankles, looking down at your huge baby bump as you rubbed it tentatively, he can sense some anxiety coming from you as a first time expectant mother.

Sure, you’d practically raised Sarah since she was twelve months, but this was different. A newborn, the birth.. that was all new to you.

"Hard to tell, baby," he said with a thoughtful expression, not wanting to cause you any stress. "But judging by how big you are, I wouldn't be surprised if she decided to make her debut soon."

He looked up at you, his gaze meeting yours as he decided to pry further, coaxing the truth from you. "You feeling ready for the big day yet?"

“I’m terrified,” you admit in a gentle whisper between you, a sudden sense of vulnerability curates between the two of you. It makes it all the more real.

Joel's expression softened as you admitted your fears, his fingers pausing in massaging your ankles. Watching as you set your now empty mug down onto the coffee table, having satiated your sweet tooth.. for now.

"Hey, I get it," he reassures quietly, his thumb gently rubbing circles on your foot in a comforting gesture this time, rather than a massage. "Giving birth is a big deal, baby. But you're gonna be incredible. You're strong, you're capable, and I'll be right there with you every step of the way. I promise.”

Joel smiled warmly, squeezing your shoulder gently as you slowly processed his words of encouragement, that no matter what happened through the birth, you’d soon have a family of four. “You’re right.. it’s all going to be okay.”

"You're damn right it's going to be okay," he said with conviction. "Because we've got each other, Sarah, and our precious little girl.. Sadie, right?”

He moved his hand from your feet, leaning closer to place his hands on your stomach, feeling his daughter actively kick at his affectionate touch. Seeing you nod in confirmation. “Yeah.. Sadie.”

"Just think, in a few days, you'll be holding our baby in your arms."

The thought is overwhelming, a small baby in your arms, Sarah, who had turned six earlier in the year. She was stoked to be a big sister, asking every day when the baby was coming. Constantly cradling your heavy stomach with her small hands, singing as she prompts the baby to kick.

The image of innocence, a young child that still believes in Santa, which will hopefully carry into the next few years of your lives.

The thought makes you smile, wrapping dozens of presents for everyone and sticking them under the tree for all of you, your family of four plus Tommy and Maria who annually joined you for Christmas celebrations.

Joel glances around the living room, taking in the sights of the lights and the decorations that adorned the house. The tree stood in a corner, covered in colorful, homemade decorations from Sarah, the topper at the top of the tree shaped like a snowflake coloured in with a half dozen colours being Joel's favorite of them all.

"You know," he said softly, his hand still resting on your tummy. "This is going to be our last Christmas as a a family of three..."

The thought makes your heart ache with guilt or perhaps anxiety, biting into your lower lip. “It’s all a bit much isn’t it?”

"Yeah, it is," he admitted, his voice thick with emotion. He was getting older now, creeping into his early thirties. To start over again, he felt a little out of practice.

"It's a lot to take in, baby, I know. But that doesn't mean it's a bad thing. We can do this together, Tommy and Maria will help.. we aren’t doin’ this alone. Sarah will adore our little girl. And I know you’re goin’ to be an incredible mother.”

Ever the romantic.

With a wry smile and your heart swelling inside of your chest, you offer him what he had indignantly prompted for earlier in the evening. “Want to try and get this baby out?”

Your hand trails through his hair with a suggestive smile. Joel raised an eyebrow at your suggestion, a sly grin spreading across his face.

"Hmm... Now that's a proposition I can get on board with, baby."

[bbokicidal]

"You're So Much Alike." - [B.C.]

Summary: Where you meet his mother for the first time and capture a picture that you will treasure for years to come.

Warnings: None, just a lotta fluff.

Notes: Based on the photo above where Chris recreated his childhood picture w/ his mom.

"When was this?" Your eyes turn to your boyfriend beside you and his head tips in your direction, eyes following only a moment later. A bright smile is plastered on his face as he was previously having a conversation with his mom to the opposite side of himself.

His teeth grit as his lips pull apart in a quiet hiss of thought. "Ah... Mm." His lips press together, brows furrowing as he looks at the picture. "Think I was.. four? Three? Three or four." He nods curtly, eyes drawing up to where you stare at him. ".... What?"

Your smile grows the longer you peer up at him. He doesn't seem to realize how absolutely adorable the photo currently in your hand is. "Nothing. I just love you."

Chan's eyes wander over your own before he giggles, his hand falling to rest on your knee. "I love you too, sweetheart."

"Oh, I was so young here." His mother reaches for the photo, gently taking it from your hand to look down at it. The look on her face seems to say without words that it brings back wonderful memories she couldn't ever forget.

"Please," You murmur, catching her attention with a soft smile. "You look the exact same, Mrs. Bang."

It was kind of his mother to offer to show you baby photos of him. You hadn't necessarily expected it during your first meeting with her, but she seemed more than excited to show you the silly pictures of Chan in the bath, or pictures of him covered in birthday cake when he was two years old. He'd gotten a bit embarrassed at the bath pictures, begging his mother not to show them to you before she countered back with; "What? She's seen it all before anyway!"

And you couldn't argue with that, laughing along as you squeeze his hand in your own. "I mean, she isn't wrong."

You felt incredibly lucky to be able to tag along on this opportunity - visiting Australia with Chan for the first time. The majority of the day is spent relaxing at his family home and getting to know his family; Unfortunately Lucas and Hannah are with their friends, which you can't fault them for, but you get to spend the day with his parents. And Berry, of course.

Their pup seems to take a love to you, following you around instead of sticking to Chan. She sits at your feet while you lean against the kitchen counter and watch his father cook lunch for the group of you; And she treads only a foot or two behind you as you move to dance with Chan's mother in the dining room to the soft music that plays through the house. The room is filled with laughter and the soft banter she exchanges with you on how she may have to steal you from her son with just how charming you are.

Lunch is quiet and soothing, bodies filled with warm home cooked food and Chan's mother asking just how the two of you met - where you saw yourself in ten years, what kind of career you were interested in, and how you felt about her son. Typical first meeting types of questions - But, she seems happy with all of your answers and while you aren't looking, shares an exchanged glance with her son that is telling him to marry you.

It ends as you excuse yourself from the table and move to help Chan at the sink, washing the dishes from preparing the meal and drying them off as he handed them to you. He smiles at you helping him out, about to tell you to go shoo so he can take care of it himself and let you relax. His eyes wander in your direction as you suddenly ask if his father needs another wife - widening in surprise and whispering a soft, "Excuse me?" in shock.

"What? He's literally you but a little older!"

"Are you tryna marry my dad right now--"

-

His father excuses himself from the home about an hour later, something work related beckoning him away. His mother suggests a walk around the park Chan use to run about in when he was little and you eagerly agree, wanting to see more of the local scenery. It's pleasant, a breeze wafting through your hair and brushing over your shoulders as you go. Berry's leash is held careful but firm in your palm and she treads nearby, tail wagging in excitement at just being out.

Without being fully aware of it, you'd fallen behind the mother-and-son duo after being caught up in admiring the nature around you. As your eyes draw back to the pair ahead, you stop walking and Berry takes a few more steps before halting as well. She turns to look up at you in curiosity and when you crouch down, she comes closer to rub her nose against your arm. Hand digging in your pocket, you pull out your phone and let the pair continue walking without disturbing them. Lifting your phone to snap a photo, the picture on your screen looks lovingly familiar to one you had seen earlier.

Chan seemed extremely grateful when you showed him the picture later on - and his mother even more so that evening. His father peeked over her shoulder before gently giving the woman a shake of admiration, hugging her around the waist shortly after. "Jessica, you don't look a day over thirty." And she laughs, swatting at his arm.

Your eyes dart to Chan's and he blinks, meeting your gaze a moment later. Your eyes narrow. "Why am I just now finding out that your mom's name is Jessica?"

[preciserestumping]

Cost Of Underpinning A House Australia - A Comprehensive Overview

Whether you’re looking to purchase a new home, renovating your existing one or just want to improve the stability and strength of your foundation, you may be wondering how much underpinning a house Australia costs. After all, it is an expensive undertaking that needs to be done properly.

Underpinning A House Cost – A Comprehensive Overview

There are multiple reasons why your house foundation might need underpinning, from deterioration or subsidence to poor building techniques from the past. Regardless of the reason, it’s a big job that requires professional help.

Underpinning is a major construction process that involves the excavation of soil beneath your property to support its structure and reinforce it. It can be expensive, but it’s the best solution if you notice signs of damage.

The cost of underpinning a house Australia will depend on the method used and whether it’s a simple repair or a full-scale overhaul. Some methods are more costly than others and your chosen underpinning contractor should discuss all possible options with you before quoting a price.

Chemical underpinning, on the other hand, is a cost-effective alternative to traditional concrete underpinning. This is because it’s less labor-intensive and involves a less invasive method than concrete.

Resin injection is a common method of underpinning that uses resin-based products to seal cracks and weaken foundation walls. The resin binds together soil particles that have been loosened by water or other environmental factors.

This method is particularly effective on sandy soil. However, it’s not suitable for all properties.

Other types of underpinning include mass concrete and pier and beam. The latter is more suitable for large foundations, while the former is ideal for smaller ones.

The price of underpinning a house in Australia will vary depending on the location, condition and size of your foundation and the underpinning method that you choose. Generally, a structural engineer will be required to assess your property before any underpinning work is carried out.

Structural engineers often provide additional services including a report on the condition of the existing foundation, an engineering report on how to fix the problem and advice on which underpinning method is best for your home. They can also advise you on the need for other repairs, such as regrading your property to drain water away from the foundation or installing drainage systems.

A structural engineer will also conduct a soil test to measure the soil’s strength and integrity. This is necessary because different kinds of soils can cause damage to your foundation.

Another option is to use a sophisticated underpinning technique called soil permeation grouting. This technology works by saturating the soil with microfine cement that is pumped into the hole through injection lances.

Underpinning a house is a major project, so it’s important to find an experienced and trusted underpinning contractor to get the job done. Make sure that your contractor will be able to deliver on their promises and that the price they quote is fair and reasonable.

Precise Restumping & Underpinning successfully maintains a reputation for delivering quality, reliable and sound services to clients all over New South Wales, with a licensed builder that personally oversee all works.

[limarkova]

Yandere Batfam x Neglected Reader x Yandere Al Ghuls

Pt 2.

Prev Next

*Author's note: OMG. Thank you guys so much for all the engagement on the first part. I didn’t think my first post would get that much reaction. Also yes I am spree writing this is! If you notice a mistake let me know. PS, the school named in this chapter is fictional and does not exist in the real world.

Alfred listened to the ringing phone line waiting for Bruce to answer. Seeing Miss (Name) in the hallway had been a surprise. He was fairly certain she was supposed to be away at Miss Rose's Boarding School for Young Woman in STEM. After two years of studying in the UK it was strange to have her appear without any notice. Especially since she hadn't visited or sent word in the past.

"Hello Alfred." The line stopped ringing and Alfred was greeted by Bruce.

"Master Bruce. Have you gotten any word from (Name)'s School about a sudden break in the school year?"

"No, why?" Alfred narrowed his eyes at the phone. Well that didn't make sense. Surely her school would notify them if she left.

Alfred began going through his memories. When was the last time Miss Rose's had called the manor? He couldn't seem to recall, they did have the manor's house number on file. "Well she just arrived at the manor and get into a bit of a scuffle with Master Damian. He thought she was an intruder and because I didn't know about her return I couldn't inform him about her in advance. Thankfully she seems unharmed but that was not a good foot to start their sibling relationship on."

There was a pause on the other end of the line. "That’s odd, we should have received some kind of notice. Alfred can you call Miss Rose's to see what's going on. I'll wrap up business here quickly and be on the next flight home."

"I will see to it sir." The phone call ended. As Alfred began looking for the correct number to call next, Dick came into the room.

"Hey Alfred, why didn't you tell me baby bird was coming back?" Dick gestured behind him towards the kitchen.

Alfred shook his head slightly, typing in the school's name on Google. "I was not aware she was returning today."

Dick blinked twice, "Wait, what? Her school is in Australia, how did she get on an international flight with no one being aware of it?"

"Her school isn't in Australia." Alfred's eyebrows scrunched together. Dick's mouth made an 'o' shape before clamping into a thin line. Alfred narrowed his eyes at the look before correcting Dick, "Her school is in Birmingham, UK."

"Right, right. Umm, still though how did she get back here without anyone being notified. Even than it's the middle of October, shouldn't classes still be in session." Dick placed his hand to his chin. His eyes took on the focus look he got when he was working on a case or solving a puzzle. Alfred finally got the number written down. Dick looked up at Alfred. There was this dawning look on his face, "Hey Alfred."

"Yes Master Dick."

"Something is really wrong here, we need to keep an eye on her."

Alfred nodded listening to another phone line ringing in his ear, "I agree."

You had to come up with a plan. Escaping the facilities hadn't happened because of rash promises of passion. No it took a year of observation, planning, and waiting. It took you learning every detail that had been place in front of you. Yes you had emotions and gave yourself little dramatic moments but you can't live there.

You grabbed an abandoned notebook on your desk. It was covered in stickers with the first three pages being scribbled on. You ripped them out before beginning to write out everything you knew about the facilities. One they had access to all kinds of medical equipment but it was older equipment that struggled to work sometimes. Two the gaurds were heavily arm with scratched up weapons. The scratching was probably where the serial numbers would've been. Third they had issues getting supplies from a Sionis. Fourth it was based in Gotham evidenced by you being able to find the manor days after escape.

On the next page you wrote out your family member's names. You also add in the new people, Duke Thomas and Damian Wayne. You had written down Talia but stopped to think for a minute.

Yes, your father had likely cheated on your mom with her. But did that make her guilty of destroying your mom's romance? Did she even know about your mother? Maybe your mom was the reason she left causing that line in your mother's diary. Even than you need to focus on the experiments. You could worry about your mother's betrayal later. You scratched Talia off the list.

When you flipped to the next page, there was a soft knock on your door. It creaked open revealing Duke. He offered you a soft smile as he poked his head into your room. "Hey, are you doing okay?"

You looked him up and down. Duke was new to manor and you still couldn't tell if he was visiting or lived here now. A small part of you questioned if he knew about your kidnapping. Did any of your siblings actually know what happeneded or had Bruce just told them the boarding school lie? Did he plan to do it to them too once you proved a success?

You turned back to your notebook scribbling the questions. You'd need to look into during your investigation, "I'm fine."

"I heard about Damian attacking you in the hallway." Duke inched into your room. You turned back a page and underlined Damian's name. Even if he had nothing to do with your suspicions about your father, you were not going let him act like him towards you. Duke chuckled nervously behind you, prompt you to close the book. Can't have them finding out... yet. "Is there someway I can maybe cheer you up? I mean you're clearly upset about something and I want to help if I possibly can?"

He continued to ramble on. You looked around your room as he talked. Eyes landing on your closet you had a slight realization. In your time at the experiments, you had grown. They may have torture you but they hadn't starved you. After all they need you healthy to ensure 'proper' results. The only clothes you had that fit you were probably the ones you were wearing. "Actually there is something."

"Oh! Yeah, what do you need?" Duke smiled brightly. It was as if his teeth were glowing with inner light. If your siblings and by proxy Duke had been told a lie, playing along with it would be smart. After all planning and observing meant staying unnoticed. You offer an unsure smile hoping it would play into what you were saying, "It's a long story but I left the boarding school in a hurry so I completely forgot to pack clothes."

"Okay." Duke made a weird face. Crap, that's not good.

"Yeah and I had a grow spurt so, most of my clothes here don't fit me anymore." You rubbed the back of your neck. Duke's face shifted into realization at your words. Crisis averted for now. You plowed ahead to keep him from asking about the school, making up a lie was not a good idea right now when you knew nothing about theirs. "I need to go clothes shopping. Can you take me to the mall?"

"Of course. What time did you want to go?" Duke made an awkward finger gun gesture towards. He looked tense. Not the tense you saw from the gaurds when you started pressing the line. It was more like the intern in the experiments who never looked at you directly.

You grabbed your notebook and stood. There's was a small backpack by your desk. You slid the book in before sling the bag over your shoulder, "Can we go now?"

"Yeah, let me just stop by my room to grab my keys and wallet." Duke held the door open for you. The walk to his room was quiet and slightly tense.

When he stopped at a door on the second floor you couldn't stop yourself from blurting, "So, you live here?"

"Oh yeah." He walked into the- his room. There were a few posters and some knick knacks on the few bookcases. More importantly there were moving boxes in the corner. Some of them were disassembled but a few were still intact with clothes scattered around them. In fact most of the room was covered in stary papers, clothes, etc. Duke grimaced, "Haha, I just moved in two months ago. Let's agree to not tell Alfred about the mess."

"He probably already knows and is silently judging you." A nervous laugh bubbled out of your stomach. The information swirled inside of you uneasily. Two months was awhile but not long in the grand scheme of things. Plus if Alfred didn't mention you than Duke probably didn't know anything. That would make him innocent in your kidnapping.

"Ahh here they are!" Duke's voice broke you out of the mixed up thoughts in your head. He was holding a silver chain with a dark brown wallet and several keys hanging from it. In his search he had basically ripped apart his laundry basket. He kicked the mess back towards the now mostly empty basket, "You ready?"

"Yeah. Can we get something to eat well we're out?" You felt ridiculous asking. It was another stark reminder of how normal everything but you felt.

Yet Duke didn't hesitate to smile at you and offer his hand, "Heck yeah. There's this awesome pizza place in the mall the serves the biggest slices I've ever seen."

"I don't remember the last time I had pizza."

"No way! Let's go, we need to get you a slice ASAP. This is a pizza emergency." Maybe you could make a new normal with him. Once you destroyed the experiments. Duke Thomas was officially off your list for now.

Something had shifted in Duke. He remembered asking his parents for a little sibling when he was four maybe five. They had kissed him on the forehead and told him that they didn't need another kid when they had a perfect one in front them. It had made him feel happy for a little bit but he always held that small hope.

He thought he would get that with Damian. To a degree he did but it didn’t feel right. Damian was too competitive and strong willed. Duke didn't feel like a big brother, he felt like a contestant at worst, a good friend at best.

Taking (Name) to the mall today had made him feel like a big brother. Seeing her slowly relax around him and get excited over tiny things. Like the cute dress at Justice, the pizza slice that was as big as her head, and the look on her face when she saw Barnes & Noble. He probably spent his whole allowance for the week but he didn't care. He had made his little sister happy.

They had one last stop to make before going home, Claire's. Duke insisted that she look around well he grabbed something. He went straight to friendship necklaces. There were quite a few to choose from. Crystals, Cats, The Wicked Musical. Than he saw it. Two pastel tie-dye koalas hugging each, it was perfect. Duke immediately grabbed it before going to find her.

That's when he noticed something was wrong. She was staring at something and shaking violently. The look in her eyes told him that she had gone off somewhere else mentally. He looked towards what she was looking at to see the piercing station.

There was an attendant cleaning off a newly open needle. The smell of alcohol wipes and disinfectant clear in air. He placed himself in between her and sight. "What’s wrong, kiddo?"

"I wanna go home." (Name) didn't speak above a tight whisper. Something in Duke began howling. This was wrong, she shouldn't be scared. He was there to protect her.

"Okay, but first I need you to tell me something. Where are you?" Duke tried to remember what they do for Jason when he gets like this. Fuck why was it so hard to remember grounding right now.

"I don't like needles." Her eyes flicked to his. They were wide and blaring with barely contained rage.

"That’s okay, but I need you to tell me where we are." Her eyes narrowed and her mouth tighten. He continued on, "I need to know you're here with me. Mentally."

"The Mall."

"We can go." Duke grabbed her hand gently. They paid and left. Once they were in the car, she relaxed again. Duke palmed the necklace in his hand. He had taken it out of the package. His own necklace was already around his neck.

She was staring out the window. The look in her eyes made Duke pause. She was watching the setting sun like it was first time she was seeing it. Mute awe painted her face like a classical painting. Duke pulled the little koala out of his pocket, "Hey, I got you something."

"Is it half the back seat?" She looked behind her to the bags. Barnes & Noble, The Childern's Place, Justice, and Build-a-Bear. Four places that equated to Five separate bags. Duke snorted before bursting out laughing.

"No. Jeez no, it's this." He held out the little koala necklace to her. Her eyes looked towards his own chest, where the other koala already hung. A friendship necklace. She took it into her hands gently. That classical painting look returning, mixes of sentimental joy and some unnamed human emotion that was baffling.

"Thank you, Duke."

"It's no problem." Duke wrapped his arm around her in an weird side hug over the center console. He had always wanted a little sibling and now that he had one he was never to going let her go.

"We might want to get back to manor before curfew." (Name) pointed to the digital display announcing 6:15pm. Duke cursed, shoving his keys into the ignition. She began to laugh hysterical. The manor was two hours away and 'curfew' aka patrol debrief was at 7pm. Duke flew out of the parking lot with manically laughing ten-year-old.

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@stove-top96 @00hellohello00 @mysticalhills

[threeacttragedy]

Entry 17: The One About All the Hot Air

Oh, hey, hey, hey – what is that over there?

No, not that –

That!

Ah, fuck.

Is that what I think it is?

Yeah, yeah, it looks like some sort of hot air balloon.

Ugh, it’s that fucking wannabe Wizard! Get that manipulative shit-fuck outta here!

Seriously, don’t let it set foot on land. It’s not welcome on this side of Oz.

Someone release the flying monkeys! Like, now. Knock it out of the sky.

Wait, I thought the Wizard liked green. This weirdo has a red balloon.

Bitch, I didn’t say it was the Wizard; I said it was a wannabe Wizard.

Oh, no wonder it’s steering that balloon like a fucking clown.

Hell, I don’t even think we need the monkeys. That idiot is going to crash and burn itself straight into the glass walls of the Emerald Palace.

Well, you know what they say when you start throwing stones in a glass house…

It is slightly amusing (and a tad concerning) to me that children are always led to believe that the villain of “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” is that bitch of a Witch of the West when the worst character traits are actually portrayed by the Wizard himself. And, by “worst character traits,” I mean that he was a master manipulator who conned an entire city into believing he held some form of great power.

Did you know that in the original story the Emerald City wasn’t really that green? Sure, it was made from green glass and emeralds, but the Wizard required everyone to wear green-colored glasses so that everything appeared greener than it actually was. Weird, that. And, even more weird, people bought it! “Here, put these glasses on and you’ll see everything exactly the way I want you to see it.”

Yeah, yeah, yeah, I’m fully aware “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” is a work of fiction, but the idea that people can be easily manipulated – especially by someone with “power” – is not fiction.

That’s what today’s piece of “hot air” is about – fandom manipulation and the power of suggestion. And who better to manipulate an entire fandom than the media? It’s unfortunate that I have to give the media power in this story – and even more unfortunate that I have to give it to rag-mags and social media – but the reality is information is power, regardless of whether it’s misinformation. In fact, MIT Sloan did a study in 2018 demonstrating how false information spreads through social media, namely, Twitter, six times faster than true information. Disturbing, right? I don’t even want to know what the going rate for misinformation is in 2025.

And, of course, since I opened today’s story with a visit to the Land of Oz, we may as well take a day trip over to Australia. Remember how I told you Australia deserved an entry of its own? Well, this is it. No, not really. I did say this was a day trip, not a sleep-over, so it’s not going to be chucked full of shiny bracelets or ways to “keep a good girl down.” It’s just our starting point today.

In my first entry, I briefly described what brought me into this fandom. It was something Luke said – and not really what he said, but how he said it – that left me intrigued. He was being interviewed on the Bowral red carpet by “Gretchen from the Philippines.” Yes, that’s literally how she introduced herself! Could I instead refer to the nice lady by her real name (Gretchen Fullido)? Sure, but “Gretchen from the Philippines” is far more fun. Plus, it sounds kind of whimsical. Any ways, Gretchen (from the Philippines) asked Luke if, “in real life,” he’d support friends-to-lovers. Luke’s response was, well, a bit jumbled, which was what sparked my curiosity because his previous answers that day were, for the most part, articulate: “I would – I would support friends – I feel like it’s not something that – that I have in my li – that I resonate with – that I’ve experienced. But, you know, if my – if my friends wanted to explore a relationship with one their friends, go for it. I’ll support it.”

Something in the way Luke answered that question was like suddenly being able to see the forest for the trees. At that moment, I was convinced Luke had always been in love with Nicola, and everything else that went on during that particular red-carpet event (and thereafter) simply christened the USS Lukola. However, that comment by Luke – and a subsequent one he made in New York – would result in the addition of a lot of trees to our enchanted forest.

Now – I apologize – we need to borrow a hot air balloon, preferably one that can travel through time, and jump forward to November 5, London-time. I promise, we will return to Oz momentarily.

Oh, fuck.

What now?

That ridiculous faux Wizard is right behind us. I thought I told you to send in the monkeys!

Dammit, you said we didn’t need them! I left those fuckers back in Oz.

Well, umm, I think we might need them now.

Why??

Uhh, do you see those four-legged beasts on the ground chasing our balloon?

Oh, you mean those coyote-like creatures?

Yeah, but we’re not in the Americas – and those ain’t coyotes…

Ah, here we are: November 5, Claridge’s, London. This was the evening Nicola attended the Harper’s Bazaar Women of the Year awards. We’re only stopping in real quick to steal a piece of the speech Nicola gave that evening. Okay, got it! Let’s get the fuck out of here!

The part of the speech I wanted to share was this: “I did a six-month press tour for Bridgerton, the show which I love, and I’m so proud of. The amount of inappropriate questions I got asked about my appearance, about my relationship…”

Hold up. Relationship? What relationship?

Did she say “relationship” or “relationships?”

Does it fucking matter?

Well, I guess not. But what does it mean?

I could tell you what I think it means… Wait a hot-air-balloon-minute – where the fuck have you taken us? I told you we needed to go back to April 21, Aussie-time. This looks like Soho in January.

Shit, sorry. Let me fix that. Here we go…

>>> 

Umm, hey, where’s that weird little red Wizard? I swear it was just behind us…

Eh, probably got stuck in Soho, hahaha. Guess it missed its exit.

Do you think that’s a good idea?

Yeah, sure. It’ll be fine…

We’ve returned to April 21, Bowral, Australia. Now, at this point in the timeline, World Tour interviews were already well underway. In fact, the first two parts of EmEdits on YouTube are entirely pre-Australia interviews, making up roughly 6 ½ hours of screen time. I’m not the least bit surprised that “Gretchen from the Philippines” asked Luke what his thoughts were on “real life” friends-to-lovers. The chemistry between Luke and Nicola was hard to ignore.

The Australian red carpet also introduced the hand holding, which – if we took another magical mystery tour over to May 9, Italy – Nicola and Luke agreed was a sign of “love.” I suppose I could buy the excuse that one or both had so much anxiety they needed the other’s hand to remain calm on the red carpet. But, nah, I wouldn’t buy that at all – for one very specific reason. When Luke and Nicola were seen leaving (I believe) the Milton Park Country House on April 23, Luke instinctively reached for Nicola’s hand as they were descending the steps. Why? This reflex by Cool Hand Luke was as natural as a pregnant woman touching her stomach. I ask again – why?

There’s only one answer.

It’s the answer that fits with the Claddagh ring. It’s the answer that fits with the side jaunt to Galway. It’s the answer that fits with their natural chemistry, the hand holding, the canned “shared experience” and “unique relationship” responses, the playful sexual innuendos. It’s the answer that fits with Luke’s “the best foundation for love is friendship” bracelet. It’s the answer that fits with Nicola’s remark about “[t]he amount of inappropriate questions I got asked…about my relationship…” It’s the only fucking answer that makes sense.

But, the real kicker is, why don’t people believe that is the answer?

Why is it so hard to believe that Luke and Nicola could be in a real-life relationship?

That’s easy – because the Man Behind the Curtain told us so.

Who is the Man Behind the Curtain? Well, that’s also easy. It’s collectively the rag-mags and the social media creators on the prowl for a following. It’s the spread of misinformation at its worst and it’s so incredibly easy to do with, say, a pair of green-colored glasses.

Like I said, “…put these glasses on and you’ll see everything exactly the way I want you to see it.”

There was one major plot twist that came out of the World Tour, and you already know what that is. The seed was planted with a New Year’s Eve kiss, fertilized with blurry pictures, a compulsory hallway hug, and copycat photos, and encouraged to grow with a bit of junk news and a lot of social media innuendo. Now, I’m not saying the video and photographic evidence that was presented was fabricated; I’m simply suggesting the narrative that came out that evidence was skewed. The media, namely, social media creators, pushed us to plant Lutonia trees while Luke’s actions (i.e., not acknowledging the existence of Lutonia) told us to “pay no attention to the Man Behind the Curtain.”

Uh, so, what you’re saying is we shouldn’t have left that wannabe Wizard in Soho?

Ah, shit! I forgot about that fucker!

The unfortunate thing about the Lutonia narrative was that it was bolstered by insinuation that Luke would never be interested in Nicola. Now, whether these remarks were deliberately planted, or they were simply seedpods carried away by a storm, they were not overlooked by Lukolas – or Nicola. In fact, Nicola herself brushed upon it in her Harper’s Bazaar speech: “The amount of inappropriate questions I got asked about my appearance…” Yes, I’m referring to the suggestion that Luke preferred “brunettes” over “blondes.” Somehow this narrative was conveniently supported by the existence of – lo and behold! – the brunette “friend of a friend” Antonia, who happened to be slender. Again, whether it was intentional or not, the push by, initially, social media creators (and later gossip rags) to link Luke to Antonia inadvertently called the blonde in our story – Nicola – fat. I refuse to dance around that word because it is exactly what this disgusting narrative implied when it chose to compare Antonia to Nicola. Regardless of whether these gossipmongers “corrected” themselves by replacing “thin” with “brunette” and “fat” with “blonde,” the implication was that Luke would never be interested in Nicola because she had thick blonde hair. This was incredibly upsetting and confusing to many Lukolas because it was contrary to Luke’s behavior towards Nicola throughout the World Tour (and in Bridgerton behind-the-scenes clips).

I decided months ago that Luke was incredibly transparent. And, by that, I mean he’s terrible at keeping secrets. Luke himself admitted his “tell” to this was pulling at his ear – now go watch the World Tour with that information in mind. It’ll give you something to do, at the very least. Luke’s sincerity is also why the blonde versus brunette nonsense just doesn’t take flight for me. Any ways, as I hinted at earlier, Luke’s comments on the Bowral red carpet and his later comments in New York City about friends-to-lovers would – again, unfortunately – give the Man Behind the Curtain ammunition to debunk any real-life relationship between Luke and Nicola. Luke was quickly labeled as being “…dismissive of something ever happening between him and Nicola…” Those are literally the words The Tab used in an article dated May 22 to explain Luke and Nicola’s differing commentary about real-life friends-to-lovers. In fact, the article is titled, “Luke Newton has revealed the reason he’d never date Bridgerton co-star Nicola Coughlan.” Oddly – but not really given the source – Luke never actually said he would never date Nicola. But that fact didn’t stop it from becoming a theme of the World Tour – Luke didn’t believe in friends-to-lovers therefore he would never date Nicola – even though, by the end of the tour, Luke’s stance on this had seemingly changed. That’s not to say the rag-mags misquoted Luke – they didn’t – but the narrative they coiled around his words attempted to shut down the idea that Luke and Nicola would ever date in real life because Luke wasn’t interested. But what Luke was saying was that he believed in love-at-first sight. “I actually don’t think friends-to-lovers is something that happens in my life. If I meet someone, I know immediately.” Now, take that statement with the fact that Luke has repeatedly stated he remembers everything about the moment he met Nicola.

The above examples of gossip and innuendo are simply par for the course. The media manipulates facts all the time – whether it be through social media chatter or rag-mags putting their own spin on ordinary commentary – but this type of manipulation is not what puts the fandom in danger of itself. In fact, most of the gossip and innuendo that took root during the World Tour would have dissipated almost immediately after it ended – if it hadn’t been for Papsmear.

Yeah. That was disastrous.

Come to think of it, it was awfully convenient, too, don’t you think?

Absolutely. And you know what else was convenient? That little wannabe Wizard was –

Oh, yeah, I heard that, too! That clown has been trying to hand out green-colored glasses ever since!

Yep. Tried to give me a pair and I told it to go fuck itself and its little glass cat, too. I mean, they weren’t even name brand glasses. Fake ass, bitch.

All jesting aside, if you haven’t noticed already, I do, on occasion, use my writing to call out the fandom, usually as a whole. I mean, we are in this together, right? Actually, no; we ceased being Collectively Delulu after a few unsavory characters were bitten by the Hunter’s Moon and followed Nicola through the streets of New York and London. There was a major – and rather unexpected – shift in the fandom when the rabid Jakolas appeared from the dark corners of our enchanted forest. And I’m sure you’ve realized at this point in my story that I have one particular – oh, shit, I just realized I don’t even know to which fandom our wannabe Wizard belongs. Ruh-roh. Regardless, that motherfucker is in my peep sight because it is a perfect example of how fandom manipulation has reached a new level of toxicity.

Typically, I don’t care what part of the fandom you’re on. My general attitude is, to each their own. If you’re a Jakola and you find yourself spending an average of 15 minutes each week reading my Lukola blog, I applaud you for peeking outside of the den hole. Best not let Alpha find out, though. It’s all in good fun, right? I often find myself getting a good laugh from Jakola stories, especially when they theorize on the Woman Behind the Curtain. Question, though – did you find her? In all seriousness, if I didn’t consider Jakola and Lutonia perspectives, I would be borderline Conscientiously Stupid, now, wouldn’t I? After all, the desire for knowledge is what ultimately gave our Scarecrow his brain.

However, what I don’t find “in good fun” is when social media creators prey on more than one side of the fandom under phony pretense, namely, that they “just want Nicola to be happy.” Oh, these Cowardly Lions may argue that they’re simply being “neutral” – and, yes, I’m sure some instances of this do exist – however, neutrality does not embrace openly ridiculing one fandom over another, especially on a platform that is touted by its owners as being a “safe space” for everyone. The problem with these so-called “neutral creators” is that they’re only here for social media engagement – the clicks and the giggles – and they defect to the other side when the going gets tough. If you, too, take issue with this kind of creator, be soothed in knowing that when you play two sides, you find yourself with two-times the number of enemies.

What makes these so-called “neutral creators” – actually, let’s just call them the “Defectors” – so poisonous to the fandom is that they are made from the grease drippings found at the bottom of the barrel of the Conscientiously Stupid. The Conscientiously Stupid are one thing – they are the ones using their platforms to spread misinformation because they choose to ignore exculpatory evidence (i.e., they’re headstrong in their beliefs) – but the Defectors are typically the ones creating the misinformation and feeding it to the Conscientiously Stupid and then hanging them out to dry when the information proves to be false. The Conscientiously Stupid who refuse to “lose the battle” then resort to bullying (more so than usual) the Sincerely Ignorant of an opposing fandom. And in defense of their Sincerely Ignorant comrades (or simply because they’re sick and tired of the Conscientiously Stupid preventing anyone from having nice things), the Fact Finders – unceremoniously, I might add – have taken their own place on the battlefield (oh, yes, they are absolutely your tactical commanders). Now, the entire fandom is at war with each other – all because some wannabe Wizard – a Defector – convinced people to look through a pair of shiny, green-colored glasses. More than once.

Is it appropriate – or perhaps a bit catty – to put “ceasefire” here?

Ah, yes, well, uh, we have found ourselves a bit far from Oz at this point, haven’t we?

I suppose – but we are trying to help Dorothy find her way back home, and at least we now have an idea as to how she got lost.

Maybe one day we will get her back to Kansas.

Yeah, maybe.

Oh, silly me! I forgot to sneak in a sly reference to Dorothy’s third companion – the Tin Man! He’s perfect for the end of our story. You know, in the book, the Wizard was just an ordinary man who stumbled into his Ozian existence on a magnificent hot air balloon and took advantage of the power that Emerald citizens bestowed upon him. Yeah, yeah, yeah, the Wizard preyed on the naïve using deception and the power of suggestion and invoked fear in anyone who dared to question his authority –

Uh, where are you going with this?

Give me a minute!

Like I said – shit, where was I? – Oh, yes, the Wizard was just an ordinary man, and ordinary people are flawed. We all make mistakes. This is where our Tin Man comes in as he represents love and empathy. Yes, empathy; the ability to put yourself in someone else’s shoes, to understand and forgive, to take into consideration someone’s redeeming qualities –

You know that Wizard defected in his hot air balloon before taking Dorothy home, right?

Wait, what?

Okay, okay. It was Toto’s fault but the Wizard sure as shit didn’t come back for her!

Hmm, you’d almost think Toto knew the Wizard’s true colors all along…

“Au revoir, Wiz.”

[inuyashaluver]

would you be able to write a cute leah x reader fic where reader gets ill and leah being the good girlfriend she is takes care of reader till readers better

i’ve got you - leah williamson

leah williamson x reader

description: in which you don’t listen to your girlfriend and now you have to deal with the consequences

warnings: mentions of sickness

a/n: we love a comfort sick fic!! thank you so much for the request, enjoyyyyyy ❤️❤️

⋆ ★ ⋆ ★ ⋆ ★ ⋆ ★ ⋆

you and your girlfriend, leah were soulmates and everyone knew it. it all started when you joined arsenal when you left australia to join the wsl.

leah was the first one to come up to you all those years ago, a friendly smile on her face with a gentle extension of her hand the moment you stepped foot inside the door.

“hey, I’m leah, we haven't met officially” she said almost sheepishly, her cheeks lightly dusting with pink as her eyes shone into yours. you smiled back with an equally bashful smile.

you've always admired leah from afar when you played against each other, though, you never went up to her out of your own nervousness.

“hi, I’m (y/n)” she smiled because she already knew your name, she’d kept it in the back of her mind ever since the first match you played against each other.

you were breathtakingly gorgeous, and also a player she found difficult to mark when you would approach from the midfield. you were in her mind rent-free, her admiration for you not subtle at all.

“if you ever wanted to..uh, be shown around the area, maybe we could get a coffee or something?” she clears her throat after the sentence left her lips, anticipating rejection from your blank stare, only you surprised her when you started to giggle slightly.

“i’d love to, how about tomorrow?” you suggest, your sweet smile melting her heart as you maintained eye contact with her, “tomorrow is great!” she grinned, wincing slightly at how quick and eager she had responded, but you made all those thoughts wash away.

“its a date” you winked, only leaving her when kim called you over for some introductions to your new teammates. leah’s heart was about to implode, she couldn't believe it. you and her were going on a date.

and fast forward 5 years, she still couldn't believe how far you both had gotten. now dating, moved in together and happier than you ever could be.

–

you and leah were polar opposites when it came to the mornings. your girlfriend loved a good sleep in, she loved it so much she would beg you for 5 minutes more without a fail.

you, however, have always been a morning person, preferring to wake up earlier to have more time to get ready and do odd tasks around the house.

leah admired this quality about you, she loved to watch you move around so effortlessly, looking extremely beautiful as you presented her a cup of tea as soon as she woke up, made perfectly just how she liked it.

though what confused her about this morning, is that you were still in bed when she woke up. leah being up before you was extremely rare and only really happened on her favourite days of the year: your birthday, your anniversary and christmas.

you were cuddled up by her side and she smiled instantly when she looked down at you beside her, though it fell into a frown when she noticed the slight increase in your body heat.

you were always the perfect amount of warm to her but today you were a little too warm and leah didn't feel right about it. she moved some stray hairs on your face, your eyebrows in a slight furrow showing your discomfort.

it was until she heard a little sniffle coming from you that her alarm bells began to ring, her girlfriend was sick. she gently peeled herself from you, moving into the bathroom to find a washcloth, wetting it with cool water, wringing it out and promptly making her way back to you.

she gently rolled you on your back and placed the cool cloth on your forehead, hoping it would bring down your body temperature. leah shook her head as she watched you sleeping, knowing this was because you refused to wear your jacket in training yesterday.

she chuckled remembering how insistent you were fine. she was excited to give you a look that just screamed ‘i told you so’. though, she put it aside for now. instead, she left the room quickly, calling staff members to let them know you both were not coming in today.

you slightly stirred when the bed dipped slightly, leah sitting beside you watching you sleep. you suddenly sat up right, frantically looking at the clock and realising you were both going to be late for training.

“babe, why didn't you wake me up?” you croak, attempting to get out of bed before leah stops you, “baby girl, you're not going anywhere” she said with a stern tone, her hands resting on your shoulders as she gently pushed your back to rest on the backboard of the bed.

“lee, we can't miss training, the game’s coming up” you rebuttal, sniffling as you looked at leah in an attempt to not look as ill as you could.

“we’re not going to training lovey, you're sick” she exhales through her nose, squeezing your cheek affectionately as you look at her with a dumbfounded expression.

“i'm not sick” you scoff, arms coming together and crossing over your chest. leah raises her eyebrows amusingly, her stubbornness was rubbing off on you and she wasn't sure whether to be proud or concerned.

“baby, you're sick, you have a fever and you've got the sniffles” she smiles, her hand moving to rest on your blanketed thigh, “i feel fine to go to training” you groan, avoiding eye contact because you knew she would catch on to your lie, your throat extremely scratchy as you tried to hold in a cough.

“really?” leah said cheekily, her finger hooking under your chin to make eye contact again, you pause for a moment. “yeah” you say simply, unable to stop yourself from sniffling,

“my girl, you are sick and we are staying home, end of discussion” she grins mischievously, standing up and moving towards the end of the bed.

she gives you a shit eating grin before grabbing both of your ankles, you yelp slightly when you feel her pull you down so you were laying down again, your head resting on the pillow.

“leah cathrine!” you laugh slightly, hearing your girlfriend giggle along with you, “that’s me, gorgeous” she grins up at you, moving around the bedroom to put on some sweats and a hoodie.

“i’m popping out for a second, lovey, i just need to get some bits for us” she kisses the crown of your head despite your refusal, “i'll be back, okay?” she affirms,

“i love you” you give her a weak smile, leah smiling back sweetly without missing a beat, “i love you too” she coos, almost sprinting out of the door to get to the shops.

–

she came back about 30 minutes later, struggling to open up the door with all the bags she had in her hands.

when you heard the keys clank on the ground and several curse words escaping your girlfriend’s mouth, you trudged out of bed to open the door for her.

she exhaled in relief when she made it to the kitchen, thanking you with a kiss to the forehead before giving you a lecture after realising you weren't where you were supposed to be.

the only words you really comprehended were: “you should be in bed”, “i can't leave you for two seconds without you doing something you're not supposed to be doing”.

you couldn’t help but laugh when leah dropped all the bags on your kitchen counter, stopping when she gave you a stern expression. "did you buy the whole shop?” you grinned, a little cough escaping your throat that leah winced at.

“no, missy” she tutted, “i got medicine that the pharmacist recommended, extra tissues, soup, other dry foods, tea and other little things” she shrugged after she verbalised her list to you.

your facial expression visibly softened when leah finished, something that your girlfriend noticed and her cheeks dusted with pink at how affectionately looking at her.

“thank you” you say softly in awe, leah smiles sweetly at you, gently moving around the island to grip your hand, walking you into the living room. the couch was already prepared for you with pillows and your favourite blanket.

“you rest here and i'll make you something to eat” you raise your eyebrow at her and she rolled her eyes, “shut up” she chuckles, turning on the tv for you and slowly bringing over medicine, tissues, cough drops, anything she could get to help you.

–

after you ate, leah made you move over so she could slot behind you, even though you begged her not to so she didn’t get sick but she refused.

she cuddled up to you, letting you rest on top of her while her hands rubbed up and down your waist gently.

“have you felt sick just today?” leah asked you softly, “i felt sick last night” you admit in a guilty voice, “baby, why didn't you tell me?” her voice laced with concern as you rested your chin on her chest to look up at her.

“I didn't want to bother you” you mumbled, her hand cupping your cheek gently, making you lean into her touch, “you're never a bother, my love, never” she says firmly, telling you she was serious.

you nod, moving your head slightly to kiss her palm. she gives you an affectionate smile, her hand moving to the back of your head to pull it down to rest on her chest again.

“let's have a nap, baby” she whispers, “i've got you” her free hand rubbing comforting circles on your back, sending you to sleep in no time.

she smiles when she feels your deep breaths brush against her collarbone, the way your body perfectly fits against her own as your body rises and falls.

she loved you so much she couldn't believe it. and she knew you felt the same because she felt it everyday. as she watched you sleep, she knew she would do anything you needed from her, and that was a promise she intended to keep.

–

about a week later, you and leah returned to training again, many of your teammates excited to see that you'd finally recovered. and leah was happy to see your cheeky self was back to normal when people asked how you were.

you lovingly stating that ‘leah had cured you’. she’d roll her eyes every time you said it but you both knew she loved it. her pink cheeks never gave her that animosity she wanted.

⋆ ★ ⋆ ★ ⋆ ★ ⋆ ★ ⋆

you know the drill - pretend it’s you!! ily lessi baby

liked by alessia and 44,232 others

leahwilliamsonn: comes back after a week of being sick and gets herself two goals - she drives me insane

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yourname: maybe it’s my secret to success??

↳ leahwilliamsonn: don’t go around trying to get sick again, missy

↳ yourname: no promises

↳ leahwilliamsonn: such a little shit

↳ yourname: you love it

↳ leahwilliamsonn: sure

[travelmanposts]

Sydney Opera House, Harbour Bridge, Sydney Ferries, Australia: The best way to see the Opera house, Harbour bridge and Sydney's Skyline, taking one or many of the ferries is the way to do it. Since there are quite a few ferries at CIrcular Quay that are part of the Opal Transport system, they are the same fare as a train ticket in town. The ferries offer a inexpensive option to see the magnificent Sydney harbour from a very different perspective...There are other 2 ways to get from Sydney Harbour Bridge to Sydney Opera House by taxi or foot... Sydney Ferries is the public transport ferry network serving the city of Sydney, New South Wales. Wikipedia

[hussyknee]

TIL the Australian guy that put on the single greatest piece of improv theater ever caught on camera during his wrongful arrest passed away this August from cancer.

For those who don't know: in 1991 an investigator who suspected this man of credit card fraud called the cops on him at the Chinese restaurant where he was dining with a friend. To expedite the arrest, he led the police to believe they were arresting a high profile criminal of some sort.

Police surrounded the restaurant, corralled the waiting media (who had somehow gotten wind), and interrupted Karlson's lunch.

"He was as calm as anything," former police detective Adam Firman says of the moment he arrested Karlson in the restaurant.

"He was happy to go with us. Well, as happy as you can be, to be arrested. Until he saw all the media. And that's when he just went berserk."

The lines Karlson delivered have since become classic quotes in internet culture.

"Gentlemen, this is democracy manifest!" Karlson declares to the cameras as he's wrestled into the police car.

...

"As soon as we drove away, he stopped and he said, 'That was fun,'" Firman says.

"There was no fight getting him out of the car. Nothing. It was all put on for the cameras."

The drama behind the rant

The Brisbane police who arrested him that day didn't know that Karlson had been a criminal and a serial prison escapee. He was also a part-time actor.

By the time he was 34, Karlson had spent most of his life in homes and prisons.

His first escape was in 1966. He was on a train going from Boggo Road Gaol to face a breaking, entering and stealing charge at Maryborough Magistrates Court. He got out of his handcuffs and jumped off.

Two years later, after he had been locked up in McLeod Prison Farm on Victoria's French Island for another theft, he convinced a local fisherman to give him a lift to the mainland.

Three months after that, he was picked up in a stolen car carrying safe-breaking tools in Parramatta. Just before his trial, he impersonated a detective and walked out of his court cell. Finally, he was captured in an apartment on Sydney's North Shore.

That's when his life took a dramatic left turn.

Sentenced to eight years in Parramatta Gaol, Karlson was put in an unusually large cell with an inmate named Jim McNeil.

This chance encounter would become destiny manifest.

McNeil had heard about Karlson impersonating a detective, and he thought it was hilarious.

He welcomed Karlson into his cell. The two men bonded over making foul-tasting alcohol in the cell's washbasin from raisins and yeast, and shared histories.

They had both grown up poor, even by the standards of their rough-and-tumble neighbourhoods. Adults had abused them physically and sexually. And they'd both stolen and scammed a few shillings for their families when they saw the chance.

After encouragement from Karlson, McNeil wrote a play about cellmates who brewed grog. They put it on in prison, and Karlson played a leading role.

Both had discovered talents they didn't know they had. McNeil kept writing on his smuggled typewriter, and Karlson kept acting. The plays became a hit among young Sydney intellectuals, many who had been campaigning for prisoners' rights.

Within four years, their work got them out on parole a combined 13 years early.

Best friends

Karlson and McNeil's friendship continued outside the prison gates and they moved into a house in Richmond together.

The two men stuck out like sore thumbs in their new-found scene of artists and intellectuals.

Neither man had set foot in a theatre, but McNeil's plays were already being performed across Australia. He felt that, with the success of his plays, he'd never need to resort to crime again. On radio and in the press, he would give didactic rants about the brutality of the justice system.

Karlson, meanwhile, got parts in the prime-time crime dramas Homicide and Matlock Police.

They remained close.

"The lovely bloke. I love him," McNeil told an interviewer around the same time Karlson named his son Jim McNeil Karlson.

Karlson described them as best friends.

But McNeil's alcoholism killed him in 1982.

Karlson couldn't travel to the funeral in Sydney for legal reasons.

"I … with a bodgie [fake identity], booked up hundreds and hundreds of dollars worth of flowers and wreaths," he says.

Final days

McNeil's plays weren't subtle. They were screeds aimed at a society that arrested and tormented unfortunate men for petty crimes.

"The message is: look what you're doing to people," he told one interviewer.

He went on to tell a story about an Aboriginal cellmate. "He was illiterate, he was poor. He had nothing. And he stole thruppence ha'penny. And then he got three and a half years. That's a penny a year.

"Prison is the best way to show what's wrong with the outside."

His final play was about two cellmates in Parramatta. He named it 'Jack', and finished it in a drunken haze.

"Do you know I'm here?" shouts Jack the character. "Do you give a f*** where I am? No. No, you don't give a f*** where I am. Pricks. Democrats."

Fifteen years later, Jack Karlson declared "Gentlemen, this is democracy manifest!" to the waiting cameras and an enduring audience.

It would be his most unforgettable performance.

From 7news:

So how did Karlson improvise a performance so poetic, so theatrical and so amusing?

“Of course, I was somewhat influenced by the juice of the red grape."

Karlson spent his last years as a painter, incidentally selling many paintings of his own infamous arrest, and helping make a documentary about his life that's yet to be released. He died aged 82, surrounded by family and was widely mourned.

"Tata and farewell" legend. Hope the internet never forgets you. ACAB forever.

[musicforastylesrestaurant]

Skydiving.

word count - 1.4k

The camera then cut to a video of you walking up a grass hill towards a big house, you were wearing a white play suit, your hair tied up in a pony tail as you fiddled with your wedding ring, something that you often did when you were nervous.

You walked up to the house, walking through it and letting your feet lead you outside.

You peered your head around the corner, making eye contact with all of the contestants.

Oti Mabuse,

Tulisa,

Danny Jones,

Dean McCullough,

And Jane Moore.

“Ahh!” Tulisa ran towards you the second she saw you and embraced you in a hug. You recognised all of the people in front of you which you were glad about.

You had met Tulisa a few times over the years, a few times when Harry had performed on the x-factor.

“It’s so nice to see all of you,” you grinned, after Danny Jones brought you in for a hug.

“Can’t believe Harry Styles wife is stood right in front of me,” Dean couldn’t wrap his head around it. “— think you can give him my number when we get out of here?”

You laughed, embracing him.

Danny smiled, before bringing everyone around him into a hug.

“Campmates!”

The sound of helicopters in the air brought you out of the hug, you lifted your head up, linking arms with Dean.

“What is that noise?” He asked, mouth falling agape.

“It’s a helicopter!” You exclaimed, pointing your hand up into the air. “— holy cow!”

Soon enough, six helicopters could be seen.

“Six?” Danny widened his eyes. “Are you having a laugh?”

Jane pointed to one of the helicopters. “It’s Ant and Dec!”

The six camp mates started jumping up and down, you had to admit that you were a little bit excited.

“Six helicopters,” Danny could hardly contain his excitement as he counted all the people around him. “One, two, three, four, five, six!”

It felt like something out of a movie as the double act walked towards the six of you, you gulped.

“Here comes trouble!” Oti gasped.

“Look at you, you all look gorgeous,” Ant grinned and held his hands out.

Dec smiled. “— welcome to Australia!”

“Now take in all that’s around you,” Dec continued, an evil glint to his eye. “— because you won’t be here long.”

You gulped, one foot kicking the heel of your other foot out of nerves.

Was it too late to back out?

You and Dean exchanged a look.

“You all about to take part in a race to become the first leaders of camp,” the shorter host began explaining. “— down there are six helicopters, each for one of you.”

“Oh god,” you eyes widened slightly. “I know where this is going.”

Ant pointed at you all. “Before you take off you might want to grab yourselves a parachute! Because you’ll all be skydiving out of your chopper!”

Danny started pumping his hands up into the air.

“Someone’s excited.”

Danny let out a laugh. “— I don’t know why I just thought I’d celebrate.”

That got you laughing.

“Once you landed, you’ll meet your other celebrities.” Ant continued. “— you will then have to pick a celebrity to partner up with.”

Dec instructed. “The pair who win the race will become the first leaders of camp and that comes with perks.”

“You’ll be sleeping in the comfort of the leaders lodge and will be exempt from the first bush tucker trial.”

Ant then remembered something as he turned to his best friend. “I’ve just realised we’re terrible hosts, we haven’t offered them a welcome drink.”

“I’m fine thanks.” You smiled, making everyone laugh at you.

Just as you said that, a waiter came walking over, holding a tray of drinks in his hand.

“The welcome drinks are not very welcoming,” Dec expressed, “— this is blended bull’s penis and fish eye with vomit fruit garnish.”

Oh god, you were going to be sick.

“The order in which you finish your drinks will be the order in which you jump out of the helicopter, which will then result in the order you pick your partner.”

The six camp mates then walked over to pick up one of the glasses and you made the grave mistake of smelling the contents.

Your never doing that again.

“The race is about to begin,” Ant stated. “Ready…steady…go!”

You placed the vomit fruit up to your mouth and chewed on it as fast as you possible could, your eyes were closed, focusing on anything but the food in your mouth.

You then brought the drink up to your mouth, drinking through the straw, you pulled away and gagged, nothing came up but you were close.

When you looked up, you noticed Danny was almost done and Tulisa was close behind him.

There was no way that you were going to come last.

The straw came back in connection with your mouth and you drank like your life depended on it.

Danny finished his drink first, placing his drink on the table, and Tulisa came third, followed by you in third, Jane in fourth, Dean in fifth and Oti in sixth.

The next think you knew, you were running down the hill towards the helicopters, a man with a parachute waiting for you.

Up, up and away.

As Harry approached the beach area, was when he spotted a few other celebrities stood there.

“Harry!”Melvin exclaimed, running over to give the man a hug. “— long time no see!”

“Hi, how are you?”the singer asked, stepping away from the embrace.

“I’m good,” Melvin smiled. “You?”

Harry nodded his head as he fiddled with his wedding ring. “Yeah, m’good, tired but good.”

The next camp mate approached, it was Colleen Rooney.

So then everyone was there.

GK Barry,

Alan Halsall,

Barry McGuigan,

Colleen Rooney,

And Melvin Odoom.

“So this is it then?” GK asked, looking around at everyone. “— honestly im shitting it, not going to lie to you all.”

Suddenly a ringing sound became known to the celebrities, Harry pursed his lips.

“What’s that?” Colleen asked, hands on her hips.

“Shall we have a look?”

Alan leaned forward and hesitantly pressed the button, Harry stood there, eyebrows furrowed.

The ringing stopped.

“Celebrities…” it was Ant.

“How are you all feeling?”

“M’palms are sweaty.” Harry murmured, wiping them against his shorts.

He was wearing a pair of cream shorts with a white tank top with a matching cream top over the top.

“Well we can help with that because you are about to take part in a race to become the first leaders of camp and they will sleep in the leaders lodge and will be exempt from the first bush ticket trial.”

“However, the race has already began, five of your fellow celebrities will be skydiving down next to you and will be picking one of you to be part of the team.”

That was when Harry realised that one of those contestants would be his wife, and he knew for a fact that his wife was immensely scared of heights.

So scared that on the flight out of here, she was practically in his lap during the take off, he had to hold her down in the seat.

“Once your picked, you will then leave the beach and continue the race.”

You were shitting it.

There was no way that you would be able to jump out of this helicopter.

Oh god.

Oh golly gosh.

The professional skydiver was sat behind you, attached.

You looked out of the window and watched as Danny exited the helicopter and shortly after Tulisa did the same.

Now it was your turn.

“Are you ready?”The skydiver asked, shimmying the two of you closer to the open door.

“I don’t think I can do it.” A start tear fell down your face as you contemplated the idea of skydiving.

And then your mind drifted to Harry.

What would he be saying to you if he was sat next to you.

“Y’got this m’sunshine.”

“M’so proud of you already.”

“Let’s do it.” You took a big intake of breath as you were shuffled even closer.

And when the light turned green you were propelled out of it and flipping through the sky.

A scream ripped through your chest.

But once you had stopped flipping, it was one of the most amazing things you had ever seen.

You were above the ocean, you could see things for miles.

“This is amazing!”you exclaimed, as you fell.

Danny was the first to land and he partnered up with Barry and Tulisa picked Alan.

When you landed, you fell softly but rough on the sand, you were quickly unclipped and you ran forward to pick a partner.

And when you approached, you got the biggest surprise of your life.

“H?”

He grinned up at you sheepishly whilst rubbing the back of his neck.

“Sunshine!”

taglist: @luvr4miya @thurhomish @shanice

[humiliatemeplesse]

That's right faggot, eighteen hours to Australia then turn around and come back. My socks are sweaty as fuck being in these leather dress shoes the whole time. I'm gonna lay down and wind down while you massage my sweaty socked feet with your face. Later I'll inspect the house and everything better be perfect or I'll fuck your cocksucking mouth HARD with my stinking socked foot, bitch.

[dokifluffs]

Their Kid(s) Falling Asleep on Him | Sosuke, Makoto

Pairings: Sosuke X no one, I made him a dilf, Makoto X Reader (female)

genre: domestic, fluffy goodness yuhhh

Author’s Note: more free 😤😤 and makoto with them triplets hahah

Ikuya // Rin, Haru 

gif from @makeusfreefromthisfandom

Sosuke: ft. Rin

“We’re back,” you called out as you pushed the door shut with your foot before stepping out of your shoes as Rin did the same, settling his luggage down

You had just picked him up from the airport as he returned from Australia to come back home for a few months

With his mother and sister away on their own vacation, he waited for their return in just a few days so he could actually get into his house but for now, he would be staying with you and Sosuke for the time being

It was great timing since his flight got in at such an early or late hour but he was back just in time for dinner time

Sosuke stayed him, watching over S/N, giving you a break from baby duty for just a bit but stepping in, the house was silent although the lights were on

No crying, no talking or laughing or anything but the sound of the air conditioning running

“Hm? Where’s Sou?” You stepped in as Rin followed, leading him toward the living room and up the stairs to the guest bedroom

Until stepping into the living room you two could hear it

The snores of Sousuke

His massive body stretched and laid back in his recliner with S/N laid right in between his arm and his body at his side

You knew he must’ve been tired too since today was his day off as a swimmer but not as a father

He woke up at the brink of dawn to your son’s cries, changing and soothing his baby boy, trying to get him to sleep again but it only worked for a little until the little boy woke once again

Not to mention he stayed in the nursery too, doing his best to make his little boy sleep, resisting his own temptations to sleep but to no avail did he succeed

“Oh my gosh,” you smiled, voice getting softer as walked beside

They were so precious together

Sosuke was such a big man - a lot of beefy muscles on him and how wide he was

And right beside him was a baby as long as his forearm that laid right beside him in the exact same position

They laid still, both their left arm draped over their stomachs as they slept

Rin snapped a picture, for sure sending it to the two of you as you were too in the moment to even look at anything else, let alone your phone

“My baby boy,” you whispered as you knelt downside Sosuke, bringing your hand to the head of your son

And it was like your son just knew your touch, he stirred in his sleep, stretching his dainty body, letting out a big yawn as he opened his mouth as wide as he possibly could

He wriggled about in Sosuke’s arm, making him wake up too

“Oh, hey, you’re back,” he yawned, sitting himself up just a bit but not inclining the chair back up

The three of you all looked down to S/N as he wiggled about, doing his best to turn over onto his belly

But alas, it wasn’t easy since he was in between sosuke’s body and arm

Sosuke  lifted him up with ease and sat him down on his abdomen  

You played about with him, kissing his chubby little hand, playing with his short hair that matched Sosuke’s

“So how was your flight?” Your husband looked up to him, striking up a conversation with his best friend

“It was fine, not long..” And they went on talking while you continued playing

They went on talking for about ten-ish minutes

But it was getting much too long

“I’m gonna go make dinner.” You stood, hungry enough, taking S/N off of Sosuke’s abdomen, letting him sit up

“And you,” you kissed your son’s mocha cheek and walked around the chair, approaching Rin

“Meet your Uncle, Rinnie~” You cooed as you handed off your son to the tall, lean swimmer

You disappeared into the kitchen as Rin looked at your son, the two of them already having a stare off

But it wasn’t long until Your curious son took hold of the red head’s semi-long hair, pulling at it

“Ow, ow, ow,” he tried to get the little boy off and away, but making sure that he didn’t hurt him at all

Sosuke just smirked in amusement before intervening, taking his son back into his arms

And it was like magic again - knowing his parents’ touch

He immediately settled down and instead of pulling onto anything or anyone, he took hold of Sosuke’s shirt sleeve, resting his head on his dad’s shoulders

“What a nice first interaction.” Rin rubbed his head as the two of them walked to the kitchen, joining you where you were

gif from @makeusfreefromthisfandom​

Makoto: 

The day was gorgeous, the sun was bright with just a few clouds floating up there, the world so big as you sat on the balcony, smelling the sea mist blowing all the way up

A scent you grew up smelling here, alongside Makoto yet it never got old

There was always a refreshing yet also nostalgic feel that came with the mist

The wind blew through your clothes, against your skin as you sat on the small yet plush couch that was right outside your shared bedroom’s balcony, having one of the best views of the sea

You let the breeze carry your thoughts and mind, going where it would take you

Meanwhile

The living room was filled with the breeze of the ocean coming through the windows, making the sheer white curtains float up in the air, letting all the beautiful sunlight in

Makoto sat on the couch, playing with the babies as they rolled and crawled about on the deep couch that was just the right size for his tall and bigger structure

His two daughters cooed, crawling onto each go his thighs while his son, the youngest of the triplets, rest on his shoulder, holding onto his shirt as he insisted on being held in his father’s arms

He managed the three of them as the time approached for their nap time

“You guys ready to go sleepsies? Hm?” He hummed, though he knew that they couldn’t understand just yet, as he used his free hand to rub his daughter on his left’s back, switching hands holding his son to help his other daughter on the right rest, the both of them leaned back onto his thighs

The two of them were a little noisier as they cooed, than his son, who was already peacefully asleep in his arms

“Sleep well,” he spoke quietly to the three of them

He sat still in his seat, his eyes couldn’t decide who to stay on so he would look at all three of them, going back and forth

He was there when they were born and he knew how much bigger he was like his own dad in the family

But they were just so small

The sound of the distant waves filled the silent home as he rubbed his hand down his son’s back, hearing his short breaths right beside him

He moved his son, despite his sleepy protests, changing his position to rest on his lap, laying him down there

“Shh, it’s okay, buddy,” he spoke kindly, holding his legs and supporting his back to make sure he didn’t accidentally kick his daughter’s head

And then it hit him

Like, of course he knew that they were sleeping on him

But it hit him

He reached into his pocket, pulling out his phone and shot you a text

“I just realized that I can’t move.”

Reading his message sent mixed feelings - did something happen or was this a joke?

You headed back in, your eyes adjusting to the less bright room and you headed right downstairs

“Makoto?” You stepped right into the living room, approaching the couch where you could see his head and his shoulders right over the top edge of

“What do you mean you’re- awwwww,” you melted upon seeing the sight before you

Your three babies were asleep right on top of him, curled up in their own little balls

“How long have you sat like this? Do you need to use the bathroom?” You laughed quietly

“Haha, no, but I’ve sat here for I think like ten or fifteen-ish mintutes.”

“Aw, let’s take them upstairs to their actual beds,” you whispered as you quietly lifted one of your daughter’s off of him, letting her rest on your shoulder while he handed you your baby boy so he could lift your other daughter

Standing, he took your son back into his arms

But of course this didn’t go as smoothly

You baby boy began to cry in makoto’s arms, his cries sounding right into the stairs’ echo, waking your daughters too

Fortunately for you, the daughter you held only woke, whining, teary eyed without actually full on crying just yet

Getting to their shared bedrooms, the two of you worked to soothe your babies before setting them down into their cribs to sleep

Each with their own mobile with sea creatures spinning as a sweet lullaby played

As you looked down to the both of them lovingly, your felt a pair of hands snake around your waist and pulled you just until your back met his chest, his arms wrapping around as his chin rested on your chin

“We did that, Makoto,” you whispered, the two of you breaking out into a silent laugh at your random, but true, comment

“Yes, we did,” he hummed before turning, pressing a kiss to your neck

~~~~~ Thanks for reading! Masterlist for more! Please do not repost anywhere else!

[libraryofloveletters]

Chapter One: United Front

Jenson Button x Teammate!Fem!Reader

Warnings: new teams, friendships are being built and brought down at the same time, jenson is a bit unsure how to feel now that the spotlight isn't on him, jealously, championship fights are coming from inside the house, so many feelings, the basis of the story is being built here, the initial sweetness wears off.

Word Count: 2,520

Author's Note: welcome to the new series! I promise I will try to be consistent, I'm excited to see what's in store.

Bound By Fate Masterlist

--

Young and naive; the headline that covered all the front pages from the moment you stepped foot on track.

You, y/n l/n, were all but 22 years old when you had your Formula One debut. Mclaren had been good to you, Ron was more than happy to have you on the team - young, fresh talent, no one does it like you.

The first year had been painstakingly hard, it was a big jump from test driving. A fuck up on a closed track doesn't have a much of an impact as one on a full, live track with thousands of people watching. It took you a few tries - Australia, Malaysia, China, Bahrain and Spain before you found yourself in sunny Monaco.

Your first points, your first podium finish. It was insane to think you managed to get your first points and podium on the same day.

That was the day you knew you were doing what you were supposed to be doing. That you did deserve your spot there and you were going to do everything in your power to prove to everyone that you were worthy of it.

You proved your worth, despite getting a late start on your point scoring, you managed to rack up 73 points over the course of the season. By the end of it, you were all but 4 points short of the championship podium. Speaking of championships, you remember the day as if it was yesterday.

The rain brought a sense of excitement with a tiny bit of fear. You and Lewis were starting P6 and P7 and the current championship contender, Jenson Button was in P12. All he needed to do was score 5 points, needing to move up from P12 to P4. He didn't do it coming in one place short but still winning the championship by a landslide, washing Sebastian and his own teammate, Rubens, out.

When the news broke that Jenson would be moving to Mclaren, you felt every emotion possible; happy, sad, nervous, scared, calm.

You had no idea what you were in for, unsure if you two were going to get along or if he'd be an arrogant stuck up prick. Up until that point, you had very minimal contact with Jenson. A hi and hello in passing, a chat at press conferences; you weren't part of the inside jokes or the hang outs, you were there to race and that was that.

It took only the pre season and before you knew it, the two of you clicked like the last two pieces of a puzzle.

"When your drivers get along, it's easier to work, to fight for wins, for championships." Jenson read the quote from Ron, a bass added to his voice as he paced the length of your hotel room. The two of you had returned from dinner not too long ago; a post podium tradition you've built in a short time.

"He'd be pissed if he heard you," you tell him, sitting cross legged on the bed. Jenson shrugs, tossing the newspaper he picked up from the lobby onto the nightstand, flopping down next to you.

"Oh well," Jenson tells you, looking over at you. "Good job today, I don't think I told you."

You two had come in P1 and P2, Jenson taking second place as he's done the last 3 races.

"Yeah, thanks." You smiled, "you did well too."

The two of you had been in contention for the championship all season, fighting for P1 and P2 back to back all season. This was your second season as teammates and you were having a better run than the first time. The first season, you were close, right behind Sebastian and Mark; you in P4 and Jenson in P3.

It was a year of dominance for McLaren, for you and for Jenson.

Despite what the reporters were predicting, you and Jenson were as close as always, nothing but 4 single points separating the two of you.

4 points was all that separated the two McLaren drivers going into the summer break, you in P1 and Jenson in P2. You had one more race before the break, a chance for Jenson to push himself into the first place spot for the break.

You weren't giving in.

Friends or not, you had cemented yourself in the P1. You belonged there, you worked too hard to let it go. You'd do anything to make sure you stayed there, playing dirty if need be.

--

You and Jenson find yourself sitting apart from each other, Sebastian and Fernando between the two of you. There's a sea of reporters in front of the 4 of you; the 4 drivers in the first 4 slots of the championship.

All but a few points keeping all of you apart, it really was anyone's game at this point.

The first reporter speaks, starting the questioning. "Jenson, as we head into the summer break, do you feel confident that you can secure those 4 points and ultimately beat your teammate in the standings?"

Jenson chuckles, glancing over at you. "It's possible, 4 points isn't a lot but knowing y/n, she's going to put up one hell of a fight."

You smiled at his response, nodding. Sebastian chuckles, nudging you with his shoulder. He knew you just as well as Jenson did, the two of you have had it out on track. You gave it your all every race, you didn't have anything to lose.

The same reporter added another question but directed to you now. "Y/N, with the upcoming race this weekend, do you plan to give Jenson a bit of a break and let him secure those 4 points, or will you be pushing hard to keep your position ahead of him?"

You picked up the mic, "why should I give him a break? I know we're teammates but we're not fighting for the good of the team, we're both in contention as of right now. Both Jenson and myself are here to win, a win is a win. I know Jenson wouldn't give me a break, so I'm not planning on giving him one."

The reporters seem to be eating up the answers from both you and Jenson, the spotlights were on you two. There's a few more questions being asked.

You and Jenson are the picture of perfect teammates, or at least, that's what you want everyone to believe. On the surface, you're both laughing, exchanging inside jokes, and giving off all the right signals of camaraderie. But beneath the surface, something's shifting; something neither of them seems to notice yet.

Small moments linger too long, words are said with just a touch more edge, and there's a tension in the air that no one can quite put a finger on. The rest of the room feels it, though, the subtle cracks beginning to show, the invisible divide growing wider with each passing moment.

It’s only a matter of time before it all comes to a head, and when it does, no one will be able to pretend it was ever fine.

Dismissed from the press conference, you find yourself prepping for the race, going  through your usual routine. You get dressed, pull your hair back into a braid and you get yourself hyped for the race and always, you wait for Jenson, the two of you heading to the grid together.

P3 for you and P2 for Jenson. Sebastian was on pole with Fernando in P4 along with the rest of the cars lined up behind you.

It was windy and grey, you looked up at the sky, trying to see if the rain would come down. Your engineer, Mac, tells you not to worry about the weather. If need be, you'll pull in and switch to wets.

You didn't like this.

There’s a gnawing feeling in the back of your mind, your stomach twisted in on itself. A sense that something’s off, but you can’t put your finger on it. Everything looks fine on the surface, but there's something about the way the air feels thick.

You can’t shake the sense that something is about to go wrong. You just don’t know what or how.

It’s like waiting for a storm you know is coming but can’t quite see. The feeling lingers, heavy, and all you can do is wait for the shoe to drop, knowing it’s only a matter of time.

You look up at the sky once more, the grey clouds rolling in over the Hungaroring, you can't help the unsettling feeling that's creeping up on you.

There's a hand on your shoulder, bringing you back to the present. Jenson stood in front of you with a cheeky smile, "taken up bird watching, y/n?" He asks.

"Shut up," you huffed, smiling at him with your arms folded over your chest. "Ready?"

"As I'll ever be."

"Good luck." You smiled and Jenson returned the smile. "Yeah, you too."

You put your helmet on, getting into the car. Last minute checks to make sure comms were working and everything was in order. You go over weather changes and the plan with Mac once more before he pats your head, giving your shoulder a squeeze and the grid clears off.

You couldn't shake the feeling of impending doom. One last look up at the grey clouds, the fans standing around with umbrellas and ponchos in case of the rain. Your focus on the lights ahead.

3..

2..

1..

Lights out.

It’s been a tough race, the kind that keeps you on the edge of your seat. The three of you, fighting tooth and nail for P1, constantly swapping positions. Every lap felt like a high-speed chase between you, Jenson, and Sebastian. You had the advantage at some points, then Jenson would slip past, and Sebastian was always lurking, waiting for any opening.

The intensity of it was like nothing else, the tension thick with every corner.

Just as the race was reaching its peak, the skies darkened. What had been a perfect, dry track quickly turned into an unpredictable nightmare.

The rain began to fall, light at first, then harder, turning the surface into a slip and slide. Drivers were forced to change, and the pace slowed dramatically. Every move became a calculated risk, and tire management was now as crucial as ever.

With the rain coming down harder, the decision was made: time to pit for wets. The pit crews were ready, and as you peeled off into the pit lane, the world outside seemed to blur. Tires were changed quickly, but it was a crucial moment, getting it wrong could cost you.

When you rejoined, the race was no longer about who was fastest, but who could keep their cool as conditions got difficult.

In the end, it was Sebastian who managed to hold on, keeping P1 until the checkered flag waved. You pushed hard for that last minute move, and came in just behind him to secure P2. Jenson held his ground, taking P3, making it a tight top three right to the finish.

Despite not getting the win today, the results put you in a good spot.

With that P2 finish, you still managed to maintain your lead in the championship standings, staying ahead of Jenson and Sebastian as the midseason break rolled in.

It’s a small gap, but it’s enough.

You head into the break in P1, with the knowledge that you’ve got what it takes to hold onto the top spot. The competition is strong, but the battle is far from over. Every point counts, and you’ve just set the stage for what promises to be a hectic and messy second half of the season.

You all stand together for the photos at the top of the podium, the bright flashes of cameras filling the air. There’s something different about Jenson.

You can feel it, a subtle coldness coming from him, a distance that wasn’t there before. As you glance his way, you catch his eye for a split second, but instead of him acknowledging it, he quickly turns to speak to Sebastian, his attention fully on the German.

The moment is brief, but it leaves a strange feeling lingering.

You tell yourself it’s probably nothing, just the exhaustion from such an intense race. Emotions run high after a race like that, and maybe the tension is just getting to everyone. You try to brush it off, chalking it up to the pressure of the day, the fatigue that comes with giving it everything on track. But even as the photos continue and the celebrations roll on, you can’t help but wonder if something's changed.

The 3 of you together for a photo, covered in confetti, champagne and rain, there are smiles on your faces, your arm around Seb, bottle of champagne in your free hand. Jenson's focus is on Sebastian, he doesn't even so much as look at you.

After the podium, you head straight to the press pen, where interviews are lined up and the usual buzz of reporters fills the air. You and Jenson are across from each other, each doing separate interviews, the distance between you both oddly noticeable now, the tension from before the race smothering everyone in its vicinity.

The reporter in front of you smiles and asks, “How’s everything going? How are you feeling after today’s race?”

You nod, trying to keep things positive, even if there's a strange weight hanging in the air. "I’m good," you say, smiling. "Happy with the points, happy for the team. A double podium is a good result, and we’ll take it."

Meanwhile across the pen, Jenson’s interview seems to take a different turn. When Jenson was asked about his race, he didn't hold back.

“I wish I’d been P1," he says bluntly. "But I’m focused on the bigger picture. The championship is what matters. What other drivers get in the standings? Doesn’t make a difference to me.”

The reporters picking up on the contrast, turn back to him. “Y/N had some nice things to say about your drive today," one of them says.

Jenson barely looks up, his response flat. "I’m sure she did," he mutters, brushing it off without a second thought.

It’s a small moment, but the tension in the air is palpable. Everyone in the room feels it, the growing divide between you and Jenson.

Somehow, you’re the only one who doesn’t see it. For you, it’s just another race, another round of interviews. The contrast between the two of you couldn’t be more apparent.

You, still smiling, still positive, unaware of the ice that’s slowly creeping into Jenson’s tone. You had no idea what was brewing just beneath the surface. You hadn’t picked up on the subtle shift; the small moments when Jenson used to smile at your jokes, the times he’d offer advice after races, the camaraderie you thought you shared.

Now, it was like you were looking at a stranger.

But it’s clear to everyone else that something’s shifting, and the cracks are starting to show.

---

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see the masterlist to add yourself to the taglist!

[humongousgothskeletonfarm]

TGR CHAPTER 7 THOUGHTS

- oh! possible implication that laila has been assaulted before and that’s why she was so quick to realise what grayson did to jean :(

- jean working so hard not to give into the aggressive tendencies he learnt at the nest (slapping someone for not getting a drill right) he’s trying sooo hard he’s healing slowly but surely :(

- i think i said this when i was reading tsc but jean and aaron both sitting in silence during their therapy sessions with bee is so funny to me they r so similar but they hate each other

jean, aaron and neil could be the funniest, meanest and strongest friend dynamic if only they would all get over their disdain for each other long enough to realise they are all the same

- jean keeping his wristband on from the 4th of july party is so cute he had such a good time

- AARONS TRIAL IS HERE

- “Andrew threw it halfway across the street, and the look on his face said he had every intention of sending the journalist after it.” my shaylaaaaaaaa god i know this is kinda funny but it’s just so fucking devastating that he is about to have all of his trauma put on the stand for everyone to see and tear apart and make comments on just so his brother can be found not guilty

- WHAT HAPPENED BETWEEN KEVIN AND ANDREW

- the guards having to physically move nicky away from fighting with his parents :(

- god laila i love u sm

laila brushing jeans hair while jean gives commentary on the match is so wholesome, giving each other comfort and a distraction to ground them

- FUCK YEAH AARON CLEARED OF ALL CHARGES MOTHERFUCKERRRRR

- “Andrew would have burned the judge’s house to the ground if he turned on Aaron. Maybe he knew that?” THIS IS SOOOOOO !!!! ANDREW LOVES AARON ALSO KEVIN CRACKING JONES

- kev complaining about the fact that mack cancelled practise is so funny to me

- as much as i say i would want to be friends with jean, i fear that (like andrew) he would actually hate me and be so mean to be and i probably would cry

- “They are scared of us,” Kevin noted. ​Kevin agreed, then: the cars were an attempt to buy the perfect Court’s discretion. “Should they be?” ​Kevin took his time responding, and then just sent, “Remains to be seen.” OH KEVIN I LOVE U U R SO MUCH BETTER THAN THE RAVENS U DESERVE TO TELL UR TRUTH

- 🤞🕯️manifesting andrew (and possibly neil) travel with kevin for the interview🕯️🤞 im begging for any crumbs of my faves

CHAPTER EIGHT

- kevin day jeremy knox friendship is so fucking wholesome,, jeremy just wants to give kev a tour of LA!!!

- YESSSS ANDREW IS HERE IM FUCKING SCREAMING THANK U NORA I NEEDED THIS IM ACTUALLY GRINNING AND KICKING MY LEGS RN CANT WAIT TO SEE SOME KEV/ANDREW AND ANDREW AND JEAN BANTER

- “Vodka, generally,” Kevin said, “but I can work with beer.” i snorted

- idk kevin and andrew sharing a suitcase is adorable to me

- “Dreadful as always,” was the sour response. “But they are twice as worthless off the court as they are on it, so I will suffer them for two more years.” oh kevin u love them really

- “Only if Neil develops a tolerable personality,” Kevin said when Jeremy asked, and Jeremy tried to pass a laugh as a cough. — again, kevin u love him really

- NEIL U LITTLE SNEAK LMAOOOOO JEREMY ACIDENTALLY PUTTING HIS FOOT IN IT BY SAYING HES SHOCKED NEIL DIDNT COME TO VISIT JEAN AGAIN

- oh god i forgot about andrew and california and it’s literally two weeks post trial jesus christ

- JEREMY RECOGNISING JEANS ATTRACTION/CRUSH ON KEVIN???

- “He will be Court,” Jean said. ​“So will you,” Kevin said. !!!!! AHHHHHHHHH !!!!!!

- laila wanting to talk to andrew coz he’s such a good goalkeeper is cuteeee

- completely unrelated side note, i’m currently in the middle of the chapter but my favourite reality tv show is on (married at first sight australia) and unfortunately i am unable to multitask

- “before Jean sent Kevin a sullen look and said, “Jeremy is studying for law school.” ​Kevin’s jaw dropped. “No.” ​He rounded on Jeremy,”

jean and kevin ganging up and taking the piss out of jeremy is hilarious

- JEAN DESERVES PEACE!!!!

- i’m now watching how to get away with murder aka my current hyperfixation, sorry tgr!! ur in the back burner for a sec

- ok we’re back!!

“I have no reason to fight,” Kevin said. “Everything I want and need still lies ahead of me; it is a waste of time to look back so long as that holds true.” THIS IS SOOOO DEVASTATING

and then he says

All I want in life is to play the perfect game.” After a beat he added, “And to know why you are applying to law school.

- kevin really does profess his love for his friends by telling them they deserve to play Court with him

- “Thank you. You’re a good friend, Kevin. I hope you know that.” ​“He and I are not friends.” ​“But you’re mine,” Jeremy said, and said again, “Thank you.” yeah this just stabbed me and kissed me lightly on the forehead at the same time

CHAPTER NINE

- “It’s in my contract,” Jean finally said, because what else could he do but bite his tongue and bow his head? “I agreed I wouldn’t misrepresent the Trojans in public. I will behave.” oh jean but you’ve been forced to do that your whole life :(

- i really enjoy how nora has written jean’s ability to speak english, she doesn’t gloss over the fact that he moved to america and was forced to learn and use the language with very little prior knowledge of it, or forget that plotline entirely and make him unreasonably fluent but rather there are words he doesn’t recognise or know how to pronounce, he falters at reading english even though he can speak it and he sometimes needs help with translating

- “ In quiet French he said, “I should not be here for this.” ​Kevin put his hand over Jean’s to hide the half-moon marks Jean was tearing into his skin. “Stay with me,” Kevin said, just as soft, and Jean forcibly relaxed his death grip.” IM CRYING THEIR RELATIONSHIP IS SO COMPLEX

- “I would prefer not to entertain such hypotheticals. I know it’s not your intention, but it puts the burden of his death on us: the Foxes for their spectacular victory or Andrew for doing what was necessary to save Neil’s life. And I will not argue on that last point,” KEVIN DAY GROWS A SPINE SO HE CAN DEFEND HIS TEAM HIS FAMILY HIS BEST FRIENDS

-“I grieve him, but I reserve my outrage for the system that led him to his death. You do not understand what it is like to be a Raven: the unrelenting pressure to perform to perfection, the suffocating legacy that weighs down your every move. It is that environment which cost Riko his life, as it did so many other Ravens this summer.”

“I’m sorry; it’s just an unexpected line of questioning. You’re the last person I expected to buy into the Ravens’ sensationalism, especially seeing how you’ve covered the Trojans for the last six years. USC’s endorsement should be more than enough to settle the debate, I would think.”

“The Ravens are out of line, and I am out of patience with their tedious antics. They should spend less time dragging Jean through the mud and more time rebuilding their nonexistent defense line. They’ve lost their major players,” he insisted. “Zane graduated, Jean transferred, and Grayson…” ​Kevin didn’t bother to finish that thought but gave a slight what can you do wave of his hand. Letting a camera see this heartless side of him was unprecedented; “

KEVIN DAY V INTERVIEWS

2 | 0

he is bolddddd tn we love to see it

(he learnt his mouthiness from neil aka king of interviews)

- i have to say, if there’s anything i take away from these books it’s a reminder that parasocialism and hero worship of celebrities/powerful famous people will end badly and always make u look a fool for defending someone who will never know u exist in spite of their horrible actions. i never want to be one of those dick riding diehard raven fans who chooses to look past all of the incredibly obvious warning signs

- OH SHIT OH SHIT OH SHIT WTFJEANS PARENTS WERE ARRESTED OMFG NEIL WAS THIS UR DOING

- andrew asking jean if grayson ever touched neil :/

- oh riko u absolute sick fuck u fucking freak i hate u sm im so glad ur dead

- ANDREW ASKING “Spoil the surprise for me. Did Neil kill Johnson while he was in town?” IM GIGGLING IM SORRY HE KNOWS HIM TOOOO WELL

- “fair-haired rat” ANDREW IS COPPING TOO MANY STRAYS FRIM JEAN THIS CHAPTER FIRST JEAN CALLS HIM TINY NOW THIS

- “You are an idiot,” Jean accused him. “You were barely fast enough to save him last time. The next time someone takes a swing at him, you and your brisket lungs will have to watch him die. I wouldn’t have given him to you if I’d known you would just throw him away so carelessly.” BRISKET LUNGS TOOK ME OUT OMFG JEAN U LOVE NEIL U CANNOT HIDE THE FACT THAT U GUYS ARE BESTIES FROM ME UR SO CONCERNED FROM HIS SAFETY AND U KNOW EXACTLY HOW TO NEEDLE ANDREW

- “Our damage control needs damage control. I will never do an interview again.” ​“Don’t lie. You like the sound of your voice too much to give this up.” ​Kevin conceded with a light shrug. “

yeah actually they are so brothers coded