#Medical Consent for sports

[zegrasdrysdale]

I have a request could you do where the reader is dating Jack Hughes and she is a singer and she is on tour and the whole Hughes family pull up to her concert and Trevor and Cole come too and he just can;t stop smiling up at her and after the consent they have a Taylor and Travis moment where he is everyone is waiting for her and she runs up to Jack to hug him

[ the alchemy ] j. hughes

➾ paring : Jack Hughes x famous!fem!reader

➾ summary : after boyfriend Jack, his family and a couple of his friends, reader runs up to him after and confirming the rumors surrounding their relationship

➾ warning(s) : a pov switch, an occasional use of “y/n” in Jack’s pov

➾ author’s note : been wantinggg to write something like this so ty anon for sending this in. also, i’m just using the alchemy as an original song for our reader in this fic. literally no other taylor song will be used lmaooo

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⦗Jack’s POV ⦘

He hasn’t been back to Jersey since before the shoulder surgery that took him out for the last handful of games of the season. There's a sense of déjà vu when his flight from Michigan lands. Jack feels good though, unlike the last time he was in Jersey, and has been medically cleared to resume light activity.

Light activity means attending his girlfriend’s first show of three at MetLife without his sling on. He has yet to see her play on this insane tour she’s been on for the past few months because of the surgery and watching the Canucks in the playoffs.

Jack’s been good and has been following his doctor’s orders so he feels like this would be a good way to celebrate.

After reaching out to his girlfriend’s security team, Jack got his family and a couple of friends permission to be in the VIP tent for one show. He has full access to the tent being her boyfriend, but he has to get permission to bring friends or family that aren’t her friends or family that is already on the list. He asked for his request to be kept between them since he’s trying to surprise her.

Will she find out anyway? Probably. He’s a big name in the hockey world, especially in New Jersey. Jack’s pretty sure the news will spread when he shows up before her set with his family. Especially with all the rumors surrounding their relationship.

Trevor and Cole even fly into Jersey after Jack told them that they could come to the show if they wanted. He picks them up from Newark International that morning. He goes to Luke’s apartment instead of the apartment he shares with (Y/N) since the two of them might want some privacy after the show. Quinn and his parents are already there when he walks in with his friends.

His mom sits with Quinn and Luke on his couch when he walks in with his friends. Trevor and Cole greet the oldest and youngest Hughes while Jack collapses on the couch beside his mom.

“Does your shoulder hurt?” Ellen questions. “Because I brought your medicine with us-”

“It’s okay,” Jack tells his mom. “I brought some with me and took one before I picked up Trevor and Cole. It feels good right now.”

She nods while Trevor and Cole put their things away in Luke’s only extra bedroom.

Jack has no idea what their sleeping arrangements are going to be tonight but he knows that their parents got a hotel room nearby while Quinn, Trevor, and Cole all stay at Luke’s. He offered them the extra bedrooms in the apartment he shares with his girlfriend but they told him that they weren’t interested in hearing what happens when they get home after the show. He wasn’t going to press on the issue so he dropped it.

Around three, Jack leaves Luke’s apartment with Trevor and Cole. The trio head to his shared apartment because he knows that (Y/N) has left to go to the arena. Jack is very much aware of when she leaves for shows. She likes to get there early to soundcheck, costume try ons, do a little rehearsal backstage, and decompress before a show. Especially one this big.

He changes out of his casual t-shirt and loose sport shorts into something more presentable. He throws on a dark blue button up and a pair of jeans. He puts on a hat and a pair of white sneakers to complete the look.

Of course, his friends tease him about his outfit.

“You could go without the hat,” Trevor says. “I mean, you’re seeing your girlfriend for the first time in how long and you’re wearing a hat? She likes your matted hair for whatever reason.”

He rolls his eyes. “My hair is not matted,” he retorts. “Sometimes a little greasy from sweating and being trapped under a helmet but not matted.”

Cole laughs and Jack grabs his keys from the little table by the door. “Just saying,” Trevor replies. “Just looking out for you, Jacky. All eyes are going to be on you until your girl comes on stage tonight.”

He nearly shuts and locks them in his apartment for the night after that.

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*

⦗ reader’s POV ⦘

Another show, another city. She loves touring and love interacting with the people that gave her this opportunity, but it takes a toll on her after a while. She’s exhausted and she hasn’t even made it to the European leg of the tour yet.

Plus, it’s hard being away from family and friends for weeks and months at time. She hasn’t seen her parents since before she left to tour and FaceTime has become her best friend when she wants to talk to any of her friends or her boyfriend. Especially her boyfriend.

There are no words to express how much she misses Jack and being able to be with him.

She misses their movie nights where they'd fall asleep on the couch with a bowl of popcorn on one of their laps and the next morning it would be all over the floor. She misses the late night cuddles and morning kisses. She even misses when Jack would be late for bed after coming home from a game and he'd just watch film from said game. She loves to join him and he just talks her through every play. It's how she learned more than just the hockey basics that she already knew from watching with her dad when she was younger.

While she's in her dressing room after rehearsals and soundcheck, she pulls out her phone and text Jack since he's been on her mind for a little bit.

hughesy ♡ - 3:04 pm miss you. wish you were here tn

hughesy ♡ - 3:06 pm wish i was there too. you're gonna kill it like you always do (i've been living on tiktok since tour started so i can watch videos people post)

hughesy ♡ - 3:10 pm still. wish you could be here tn. i'd like to see you in the crowd at least once before i leave for the european part of the tour :((

hughesy ♡ - 3:13 pm you will. pinky promise

hughesy ♡ - 3:14 pm can't break a pinky promise, jack

hughesy ♡ - 3:16 pm you know i don't. i love you. see you soon 🤍

With a light sigh at Jack's promise to see her on tour, she puts down her phone and leans back where she sits on the loveseat. Her eyes close for a second and she imagines Jack being in the crowd for one of her shows. Especially after she debuts her new song tonight that she wrote with Jack in mind.

She should probably tell him that she wrote a song about him that will basically confirm their entire relationship. She wrote it to sound like sports in general but everyone will know that it's about Jack. They've all but publicly confirmed their relationship at this point so everyone will absolutely know that the song is about Jack.

The next few hours fly by as she begins to get into her first costume of the night -- a sparkly silver bodysuit made with thin fabric and a pair of matching heeled ankle boots. Hair and makeup come in as soon as she's dressed to get her ready for the several hour show she's about to put on in the hot New Jersey air since it's the dead of summer.

By eight, she's itching to get on stage in front of her hometown crowd. She's underneath the stage with a microphone waiting for her cue to go up.

Her music begins to play and the lights go out. The crowd screams as her platform begins to rise. She pops up right before the lights go on and she opens the show with one of the first songs she ever released when she was literally a 16-year-old out of New York. No one had ever heard her before and a record label took a risk on her after a couple of YouTube covers that got maybe 100 views each.

After her first song, she glances at the VIP tent to see who decided to come. She sees a handful of her Hollywood friends that live in New York City, one or two of her friends that she's made in Jersey over the past few years.

Then she sees Trevor Zegras. Cole Caufield stands in front of him. Luke and Quinn come into view next. Jack is right behind his brothers. Ellen and Jim are with them as well. She can't help but smile when she sees Jack.

The crowd around the tent turns and looks to see what she's smiling at. They lose it and she hears shouts of "Jack Hughes" from that area of the crowd.

Her band begins to play the next song and she jumps right back into the show. Jack being at the show is on the back of her mind. She forgot how good he looks without his arm in a sling. He looks really good, and she can't do anything about it right now.

The surprise portion of the night comes too quickly, but she's excited now that she knows that Jack is in the crowd for her debuting song.

She stands in front of her microphone stand and glances toward the tent where Jack stands. The crowd talks amongst themselves while she prepares herself for the next few minutes.

Everything is going to change in about five minutes.

"I have been debating giving you guys this song since I wrote it a few months ago," she begins to say into her mic. "It's one of my favorite songs that I have ever written, and you will understand why soon. This song is very much unreleased and this is the first time it has ever seen daylight so please be gentle with her. This is my gift to you for everything you have given me over the last few years. This is called 'The Alchemy'."

The crowd absolutely loses their minds when she's done talking. The beginning chords begin to play and she begins to sing these words live for the very first time.

This happens once every few lifetimes These chemicals hit me like white wine

What if I told you I'm back? The hospital was a drag Worst sleep that I ever had I circled you on a map I haven't come around in so long But I'm coming back so strong

Every so often, she turns her head toward the tent like she's singing the song to Jack. It's really to check on his reaction to the song. She spots the huge smile on her boyfriend's face and she mirrors it as she sings.

Flashlights are in the air as she sings since the crowd doesn't know the words. This is what she means by the connection she has with her audience. They always find a way to participate in the show, and she loves them for it. They are what makes this fun.

So when I touch down Call the amateurs and Cut 'em from the team Ditch the clowns, get the crown Baby I'm the one to beat Cause the sign on your heart Said it's still reserved for me Honestly, who are we to fight the alchemy?

The crowd loses their minds when they hear the sports reference. She grins before she begins the second verse, once again glancing over at Jack. Trevor is saying something to him, but Jack's eyes are on her. He nods at whatever Trevor is saying without even looking at him.

Her smile grows as she begins her favorite part of the song. She turns her head and looks directly at Jack in the tent.

Shirts off, and your friends lift you up over their heads Beer sticking to the floor Cheers chanted, cause they said There was no chance, trying to be The greatest in the league Where's the trophy? He just comes running over to me

As soon as the last line leaves her mouth, the crowd is deafening. She smiles as she's met with such a positive reaction to the song. The crowd gets even louder when the song actually ends. She takes a step back and takes in this moment because it's going to live with her for a very long time.

The crowd keeps the same kind of intensity for the rest of the show, which is about another hour at least. She may have pushed it a little longer as a thank you to the crowd for being so kind to her.

A part of her can't wait to get off stage to greet her boyfriend for the first time in months. She told security to go get him, his family, and his friends from the tent during the last song because she can't wait any longer to hug him, kiss him, and tell him how much she loves and missed him.

She doesn't care how many eyes will be on her when she goes running to him backstage. She just confirmed their entire relationship to millions of people, maybe even billions of people. The last thing she's worried about is how many pairs of eyes are on her when she sees Jack for the first time since his surgery.

The platform she's standing on at the end of the show goes down under the stages once she's done thanking the crowd, her band, her dancers, and her backup singers. She scrambles off of it before it stops moving and is off running to find Jack.

Her heels click as she runs under the stage. She's blinded by the stadium lights when she emerges backstage. Some of the crowd that can see her cheers for her when they see her. It happens at all of her shows. Her eyes scan the entire area before they land on Jack talking with younger brother Luke outside the tent that leads back into the stadium and the dressing room areas. She takes off sprinting.

Jack glances in her direction and smiles when he sees her. The crowd notices him and gets even louder when they realize who is waiting for her.

When she gets to him, she throws herself around him. Suddenly, it becomes just the two of them alone in the world. She buries her face in the crook of his neck and closes her eyes. Jack wraps his arms around her, one of his hands cradling the back of her neck.

"Told you I never break my pinky promises," Jack mumbles into her ear through her hair.

She pulls back and cups his jaw in her hands. Jack dries the tears that she didn't even know began to roll down her cheeks. "You're really here," she says, her voice shaky and hoarse from the show. "I can't believe you're really here."

He grins and nods. "I'm here, and I'd really like it if you would kiss me because I have been waiting months to kiss you," he tells her.

She captures his lips in a long kiss with no hesitation. The remaining crowd loses their minds above her and she smiles as Jack reciprocates the kiss. It's a kiss that's on the quicker side but it feels like an eternity.

"Are you ready for all this?" she questions, motioning around her as she asks the question. "You've always been watching behind the curtain but are you ready for all the eyes to be on you?"

"It's not much different than the eyes I already have on me," he admits. "I already have a ton of eyes on me so yes, I'm ready to share this entire life with you. Now that I've seen you on stage, I don't think I'll be able to stop watching you. You looked stunning up there."

The biggest grin forms on her face. "I missed you, Jack," she tells him. "So much."

"You're not going months without seeing me again," he promises. "I'll make sure of it."

And she believes every single word.

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[cherry-pop-elf]

Kiss it Better Pt:2

Curly x Reader

AN: Holy shit I did NOT expect all the love and support from the original like god damn! People begging for a part 2 and everything (I’ll make sure to tag those who asked for one at the bottom) Like oh my god thank you guys so much! This means the WORLD to me! As a disabled person trying to make his medical issues more accurate it means so much that yall love it and how I write in general! Thank you!

SUM: You and Anya were busy dealing with changing Curly’s wrappings together. Sharing stories, and just trying to stay positive. That’s when you just had to ask. What’s going on between her and Jimmy?

Warnings: Jimmy, sexual assault, Anya sharing her trauma so pls take care of yourself, medical gore, medical situations, light violence,

“Thank you again for handling Curly’s medication. I’m sorry I just-“ Anya would try to explain again how sorry she was that she was struggling to do her job. A job you could never blame her for. She’s been through a traumatic event of the ship crashing, and already had to try and save a near corpse. She deserves to breathe.

“Anya it’s fine, really. I’m his romantic partner as well. It be weird if I didn’t pick up some responsibility and tried to take care of him. You also deserve time to rest. You’ve done so much for him, and saved his life. Give yourself more credit. It’s not a sin to ask for help.” You would try and comfort her, as you would grab the fresh bandages for Curly.

He needed a lot of them, and they had to be changed out relatively often. He’s basically just exposed meat after all. The risk of infection was high, which you were wondering how he didn’t even catch any yet, so he needed alot of attention and care.

If only Pony Express had packed more, because the med bay was running out of them fast. Very very fast. Might be only able to maybe re wrap him a few more times now. Had you terrified because as much as you wanted to take care of him you had to leave some bandages for the rest of the crew. In case of another emergency.

You wish you could be doing more.

“We’re going to undress you. Is that alright?” Anya would ask Curly, who in return would give two blinks to indicate that he consented to being stripped. Was gonna have to be done but it was still so kind of Anya to still ask before hand.

The two of you would soon get to work on changing out his bandages. A very slow, careful, tedious job. One that normally took over a hour to do properly. So it’s time to kill some of that empty space.

“Ya know, this isn’t the first time over had to wrap up a certain someone because they got hurt. I remember a time when we were at a Ski resort with his family. Someone wanted to try a path that was meant for experts and before you know it someone’s returning to the lodge with his leg bone sticking out of his pants.”

Anya gave a little ‘oh my’ as you just laughed at the memory. Curly just adored sports. Especially the winter variety. You felt so blessed that he had a job that paid so well. Well enough that the two of you, and his own family sometimes, could go and enjoy vacations like that.

You wonder if the two of you will ever see the snow again.

“That sounds rather nice, minus the whole breaking his leg. To share a cabin together with someone. Cuddle for warmth together by the fire place. Sounds really nice.” She would speak dreamily. As if she knew it was simply that. A dream. Something that will never happen again. No matter how hard she tried.

Like something was wrong with her.

“I bet you’ll get that moment. When we escape here you’ll have a flooding of men and women coming your way. The brilliant woman who managed to fight death and win. Again and again. The most brilliant woman to ever live.” You would praise her, as you were very mindful of Curly’s catheter. As if that needed to be messed with.

“Yeah…..Maybe……” Anya didn’t really seem to actually respond. Was like she was just saying words for the sake of words. Had you wondering.

Even before the crash she had just started acting off one day. From being a cheerful woman who was gentle and full of smiles, to being so quiet and scared by the littlest of sounds. Like she expected someone to jump from around the corner and attack her. Any feeling of safety and comfort vanished.

You were worried.

“Say, Anya-“ You began to speak, while disposing the bandages safely into the bio hazard bag. “-Is everything ok? I mean duh we’re not doing to hot with being, ya know, crashed and all. But besides that. You just seem…..different.”

Anya seemed to not hear you. She simply worked on checking over Curly’s body. Hunting down any infections, looking for possible bed sores, monitoring his healing, and getting ready to do the ever so gentlest of sponge baths.

Anya did always get in the zone whenever someone was hurt. You figured she didn’t catch what you said because of it.

So repeated yourself, as you stood next to her. Impossible to miss what you were asking, as you would help Curly sit up and just move his joints to better reach with the sponge.

The only sounds in that room were Curly’s whines of discomfort. Whines to indicate truly how much pain he was in when even the pain killers can numb it.

“Anya….I know you can hear me. Is everything alright? Not to be rude but I’m kinda asking you a question.” You would be gentle, but she still couldn’t help but looked distressed.

“Anya what’s-“ You would reach a hand out, to comfort her, but the second it was raised towards her she would immediately flinch. Her startled reaction ended up even making her drop Curly’s leg on the table.

Oh that’s gotta hurt.

For a fleeting moment you put Anya on the back burner, and just focused your attention on comforting Curly. How he gave a weak sob from the intense pain.

“Shhhh I know Curly Fry. I know. It’s gonna be ok. It was an accident. You know she didn’t mean it. Shhh.” You would kiss his forehead, as Curly had a muscle spasm through his body from the intense shock to his system. So exhausted and in so much pain.

“It’s gonna be ok. I promise. I love you so much. Just think about our future. How we will get off this ship, and have that family. Have our own baby-“

The moment you said baby, that’s when Anya finally cracked.

Her hands were now covering her face, as she just broke down into sobs. Sobs that sounded so hoarse. Like she’s done it so many times that her body was just abused from it. Left you so worried and confused.

What the hell is going on here?

“Anya, what’s wrong? What did I say?” You would gently guide her to a chair, and worked on stroking her hair. Giving her as much comfort as you would to Curly. The same gentle love as he would get. Love she deserved.

It took a while for her to catch her breathe, and you didn’t rush it because it really seemed she needed it, but her own trembling body was finally able to quite down.

“I need to tell you something. I need to tell you something about Jimmy-“

You were quick to kneel down infront of her, and was ready to take in every last word she was going to say. Maybe what secrets she held could finally explain why the hell you all were crashed here. Why Jimmy crashed you all.

“Jimmy ra-“

That’s when the door opened.

As if that bastard had a sixth sense for whenever people were talking about him. That same annoyed expression, same sneer, same empty eyes.

All three of you kinda froze in time now. Looking at him, as he looked back at you all. Scanning you. As if judging to figure out what was being said before entering.

“Hey….Captain….” You swallowed, as you would return to standing. Anya herself remained in her chair, with her head down. Didn’t seem she trusted herself in showing any expressions right now.

“What were you guys talking about?” He asked, as he seemed slightly on edge. Like he hasn’t been sleeping well or had too much caffeine. Just this tension of paranoia was in the air. Like he was worried about something.

“Just about the bandages. We’re starting to run low, and Anya is just getting worried about having enough.” Wasn’t a complete lie. The best lies were the ones with truth sprinkled in.

“Of course he’s wasting our supplies.” He scoffed, before walking over to the table. You were trying to give Curly some respect with grabbing something to cover him up with, but it was like Jimmy wouldn’t let you. The stare he gave you, when you grabbed the clean hospital gown, made you just freeze in place.

It was just so full of hate.

It was just so full of disgust.

It was just cruelty in dark eyes.

It was just focused on you. As if Anya didn’t even exist right now. Like she meant nothing to him. Nothing but the wind in the air. Something you don’t even bother in registering every day. Like how you breathe in air in your lungs.

You don’t notice until it’s gone.

“Has he been given his medication?” He would ask you, as his hands would be firm on the bed side. Just seeming to assert his dominance with standing over the man. Like some got over the little people.

“Yes Jimmy. He’s been medicated. We are actually in the middle of washing him. It would be nice if there was some privacy-“ You tried to gently hint at, only for it yo fall on deaf ears.

"The crash really did do a number on you. You don’t even have a dick anymore. Just holes huh-?” Jimmy would scoff, as that was your final straw. You would give Jimmy a hard hip bump, and quickly covered Curly up. To give him dignity and respect.

“Hey-! Watch it! Don’t think because you are Curly’s little eye candy doesn’t mean you can go pushing people around-“ Jimmy would bark at you.

You didn’t feel fear.

Jimmy was messing with YOUR man now. Curly deserved dignity and respect. He doesn’t deserve to be called a ‘set of holes’ no way in hell. No one deserved that and ESPECIALLY not Curly.

“Will you just shut up?! What the hell are you even doing here?! Aren’t you the Captain now? Captains are suppose to be doing whatever it takes to help the crew. All you’ve been doing is walking around and insulting everyone! It’s like you don’t want us to be saved. Be a Captain and take some responsibility already-!”

The anger that he had for you was terrifying. You swore it was like a switch. He suddenly seemed taller, bigger, angrier, more intense. You felt like you were shrinking more and more. Like you would melt into a puddle under that heated stare.

But you refused to.

For Curly.

“Listen here you-“

SLAP

You smacked him across the face. Was like the world went mute. No one was so much as breathing. Just the stares of shock from Anya and Curly.

“Get. Back. To. WORK.”

You ordered, and he listened.

He would hold his red cheek, and walked away like a dog with its tail between its legs. As if he was all talk and no bite. That he couldn’t bring himself to be more than an angry voice.

Someone needed to keep him in his place.

“Can this damn ship get any more hectic?” You sighed with your fingers to the bridge of your nose. Just trying to think clearly.

That’s when Anya found her voice.

“I’m pregnant.”

You opened your eyes wide, and was frozen in place.

Did you hear that right? No no. No way. Why would she be pregnant? How would she get pregnant? Who would get her…

“Oh my god.”

You slowly turned around to Anya with the puzzle pieces falling into place. You finally realized what had happened.

Jimmy never was a responsible man.

@meheheasasa @letmebedelutional @trashcansally @balanahala562

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[dykeiism]

i feel inclined to differentiate between "reasonable rights and accommodations that should be given to trans people" and "blatant attacks on women's rights." i'll go as far as to say that most radical feminists will agree with me on most of these points, so if you want to learn about what radfems actually believe, this is your chance.

reasonable rights and accommodations for trans people:

equal opportunities for employment and housing

access to affordable and high-quality healthcare

transparent, unbiased, and publicly accessible research & meta-analysis done on the short- and long- term risks and benefits of gender affirming care

outlaw all forms of conversion therapy. outlaw gender exploratory therapy unless the patient is able to give informed consent. enforce strict science-based regulations on the therapeutic methods used

freedom of expression (i.e. the ability to dress however you like, and to use a preferred name)

widespread implementation of co-ed and trans-only spaces

legal protection against harassment and assault

these are all things that i, and many other radical feminists, wholeheartedly support. we also believe that trans people, like everyone else, deserve dignity, respect, sensitivity, and kindness from the people around them. what i'm seeing more and more of in recent years, though, is that the trans movement is no longer focusing on the aforementioned human rights. instead, i see an overwhelming about of trans activists making unreasonable demands that infringe on the rights of women. the demands are as follows:

the right to enter women-only spaces based solely on gender identity or expression (this includes shelters, prisons, locker rooms, and sports teams)

the ability to access medical transition as a minor under any circumstances, or as an adult unless other treatments have proven unsuccessful beforehand

widespread use of language that destabilizes women and female people as coherent groups that are also in need of rights

deplatforming anyone who criticizes the movement, no matter how polite, respectful, good-faith, or reasonable the criticisms are

i support the trans movement that advocates for the human rights of trans individuals. however, i cannot support a movement that allows males into women's spaces, that is medically irresponsible, that makes it impossible to discuss women's rights, or that opposes intellectual freedom. i don't think any feminist can support this in good conscience.

[brf-rumortrackinganon]

How is William's reason of not going to the olympics acceptable when he was literally mingling with other people through his work and privately? I mean the walkabouts, attending footballs games, attending concert.

Does it mean every person he meets particularly on walkabouts is medically assessed before going?

Because attending an international event on a different continent that his team has no control over and which 9.5 million other people from around the world also attended at the height of the summer Covid surge is not the same thing as attending local events that his team has full control over.

The private football games? William sits in the back row so there was no one breathing on him from behind. The people he goes to the games probably aren’t screened, but those guys definitely know not to be around him if they’ve got the sniffles.

The Euro football games? William sits in the royal box and there’s definitely a protocol for who sits there. Maybe they’re not getting swabbed and temperature-checked, but the people with access to that box and all the dignitaries who sit there know better than to be sick and go to an event. Additionally, William usually (but not always) sits in the front row when he’s on duty at a football game, so there’s less people breathing on him there.

That concert? He was in a private box with a very restricted number of people around him.

Those walkabouts? I’m only aware of 2 and those were tens of people, not the usual hundreds that pack in to small spaces that see him.

At the Olympics, he’d have been around thousands of people. He’d have been sitting smack in the middle of a crowd, no priority seating next to controlled open spaces for him. And considering that there were 40 Olympians confirmed to have COVID during the games (including some of the Australian team), that means there were far higher numbers of unreported cases, undisclosed symptoms, and asymptomatic cases. Then consider how quickly the virus spreads, how you can be asymptomatic but quite contagious, and the risk increases exponentially. All it takes is one person.

And, I’ll bet you didn’t know this, but the Tour de France actually implemented COVID restrictions after a number of athletes tested positive. If the Tour de France is implementing COVID restrictions 2 weeks before the Olympics are kicking off, then yes, Olympic organizers and global health experts were absolutely concerned about the Olympics turning into a superspreader event for the COVID summer surge.

And yes, everyone William meets - planned or on an impromptu walkabout - does undergo a health screening to meet him. No, they’re not getting swabbed and tested and temperature-checked, but there’s definitely an aide around who’s asking the people likely to meet William “hey, have you had any symptoms in the last couple of weeks?” If there’s an aide who goes around collecting people’s consent to be photographed by the media, there’s an aide doing health screenings. It’s not a foolproof system and yes, people can lie if they really want to meet or see William, but the point is that his team is controlling everything to the best of their abilities to help him help Kate’s health because they were and are in charge of planning and coordinating the events. They wouldn’t have been able to do that in Paris at the Olympics because they weren’t the ones organizing the events and managing the crowds.

It was smart that William chose not to go to the Olympics to keep his immunocompromised wife as healthy as possible because he and his team didn’t have the same control in Paris that they do over appearances and events in Britain. That alone is all the justification anyone needs.

I’ll close with this soapbox: William is smart enough to conduct his own risk analyses of where he goes and what he does. Why can’t we trust his judgement that an international sporting event in another country that the whole globe attends was much too risky for him to attend than a local event in his own city? You don’t need my analysis breaking it all down; you just need to trust that William knows what’s best for himself and his family. After all, he’s the one with all the information and data about Kate’s health, her treatments, her recovery, etc., since all we know is that Kate had abdominal surgery, she was in the hospital for 2 or 3 weeks, there was cancer present, she underwent chemotherapy, and sometimes she has good days and sometimes she has bad days. We don’t know how bad the bad days are. We don’t know what her medications are or what side effects she may be experiencing. We don’t even know if William is undertaking additional medical precautions - for instance, is he changing clothes and washing up in the mud room before he goes into the house to see Kate? How often is he washing his hands? Does he self-isolate for a day or so at KP after he goes to these events to avoid bringing something home to Kate?

We just don’t know. But William knows. All we can do is trust his judgment, and he decided that it was far too risky and medically unsafe to go to an international event with millions of other people in another country than to go to sports at a local arena.

If you don’t trust William’s judgment, then that’s fine. But this isn’t the incident to accuse him of covid hypocrisy. Just call him out for not working. (But note that if anyone does say that to me, my response is going to be “then why aren’t you upset that Queen Camilla didn’t go to the Olympics?“)

[stellar-solar-flare]

Volatile | Chapter 1/3 | Steve Rogers x Reader

Explicit - 18+ only - Minors DNI.

Steve Rogers returns from a mission only to be immediately alerted about a medical emergency: you, the Avengers Initiative's leading science expert, have been hit by a potent, unknown aphrodisiac on your own mission. Pressed for time and out of options, he has to, together with the AI's medical department, figure out a solution.

Mutual pining, smut with feelings, eventual happy ending.

Content Warnings: explicit sexual content, sex pollen, non-consensual exposal to sex pollen, dubious consent because Reader is under the influence of an aphrodisiac (but all sex is very much mutually wanted), protective & possessive Steve Rogers, Captain kink, praise kink, very light dom/sub elements, dirty talk, pet names, thigh riding, finger sucking, mention of non-con.

Reader specifics: She/her. Works as a science specialist in AI under codename Dr. Chiral for her chemistry proficiency. Six times PhD, an Avenger. Late twenties, no description of appearance given.

Alternate Universe: The Avengers Initiative (AI) continued SHIELD's work after its collapse to corruption, with Steve as the Head Strategist and Tony as the Director. The Avengers are living together in the Tower - Bucky has healed, and Civil War never happened because Tony and Steve worked through their differences like adults.

I do not own anything Marvel related. This is an unofficial fan work. No copyright infringement intended. This is a work of fiction. Any similarity to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events, is purely coincidental.

FIC MASTERLIST | AUTHOR MASTERLIST | AO3

Chapter 1: Verona

Chapter notes: Dr. Carolina Vinterberg is my original character, a regular face in my fics. Background Bucky Barnes/Natasha Romanoff.

3,179 words.

Over his years on Earth, and occasionally in space, Steve Rogers had seen a lot of things that had bordered on impossible and occasionally crossed well into it – his own existence not being the least. Aliens? Superweapons? Computer programs turned into sentient robots married to an actual witch? His best friend resurrected seventy years after his death and sporting a mechanical arm that could rip steering wheels out of cars? Sure. All fine. He could roll with it.

But this. This was close to taking the cake. He swallowed and folded his hands very carefully to rest behind his back as he was standing in the office of Avengers Initiative’s Head of Medicine, Dr. Carolina Vinterberg. He had been summoned the minute his jet had landed, not having had even the time to change out of the stealth suit. The shield sat strapped onto his back.

“Could you repeat that?” he said.

The doctor regarded him with her ever-calm, icy blue eyes and something about that neutral expression and neat blonde braid she always sported was so absurd, considering the situation at hand, that Steve wanted to laugh. Or scream. Or both. She was cradling a StarkPad on her arm and standing in front of a large screen that was showing toxicity profiles.

“A foreign aphrodisiac, Captain Rogers,” she stated. “Possibly of interstellar origin. Presumably affecting the hormonal levels of those who are subjected to it, resulting in heightened drive to pursue venereal gratification.”

The words made sense individually but as they were strung together, they didn’t seem to form a coherent sentence. Or rather – they did, but Steve’s head was screaming for any other explanation than the one he was deciphering. Anything but this.

“Horny,” Sam groaned from where he was sitting. “What the doc here is saying is that they both got really horny. I’m considering buying Tony a bottle of champagne for all that noise-cancelling tech. Would’ve been a long ride home otherwise.”

Steve closed his eyes, hoping that when he opened them, this whole nightmare would’ve vanished. God, he wasn’t looking forward to writing the strategic guidelines for future occasions of this one. Instead, when he opened his eyes, Dr. Vinterberg was regarding him as unfazed as she had been earlier.

“Sergeant Wilson is correct. Both agents subjected to the substance reached a heightened state of arousal within minutes of the exposure.”

Steve wasn’t going to think about it. He wasn’t. That wasn’t the priority right now.

“Did…” he coughed, even as he could tell from Sam’s expression that the answer was going to be no. “Did that result to any violations of physical kind? Anything non-consensual?”

Vinterberg shook her head, consulting the tablet as if she was reading routine blood-test results to Steve.

“It appears that the substance amplifies existing affections instead of creating them. Neither Sergeant Barnes nor Dr. Chiral expressed any interest in each other or in Sergeant Wilson, or in the medical staff that handled their quarantine, for the matter.”

“And thank god for that,” Sam muttered under his breath.

“Considering she and Sergeant Barnes were exposed to the substance simultaneously while they were investigating the laboratory, it is reasonable to assume that if it had been just a simple pheromone attack, they would’ve expressed interest in each other,” Dr. Vinterberg explained. “But that has not been the case.”

Alright. He could deal with that. The carnal nature of the substance aside, it did sound like a standard exposure to a foreign pathogen. It was a good thing that he was informed of the incident, but it seemed like both Bucky and you were still… indisposed. And Vinterberg certainly wasn’t the person to try to ease him into bad news – she would’ve led with them, if there had been any.

“So, what happened out there?” Steve asked, forcing the tone of his voice stay even.

Sam looked at him, clearly as excited to have this conversation as Steve himself was, but they both realized the need to be professionals, especially around such a delicate topic.

“We went into the laboratory and Chiral and Barnes were examining the backroom where they kept this stuff. There must’ve been some kind of invisible trigger that broke a couple of the bottles, releasing the vapor in the air. They both exited immediately and activated the quarantine protocols, but I can only assume they both got a good whiff.”

The quarantine protocols. Steve might get his own bottle of champagne for Banner and Stark for that one. All the mission Quinjets were supplied with a FRIDAY-controlled system that would, upon an agent requesting it, release a large bulletproof-glass cylinder that would surround the subject much like the Hulk Containment Field had done. With thrusters in the bottom, the cylinders would automatically float into a separate containment area on the back of the jet. They allowed for radio transmission to and from the cylinder but filtered out everything, keeping both the one subjected to a substance and other agents safe. Alright. So, that meant that Sam had probably gotten an earful once he’d gone to check on you and Bucky but otherwise, it seemed like the team had gotten off easy.

Wrong expression for the situation. Wrong. Steve nodded at Sam, absorbing the information, and turned to Vinterberg.

“Even with the mission immediately aborted, by the time the Quinjet was here, both Dr. Chiral and Sergeant Barnes were under the influence of the substance to the point that they weren’t able to act or express themselves coherently,” she said. “Considering the previously existing physical relationship between Sergeant Barnes and Agent Romanoff and the consent form signed by Agent Romanoff, I decided that the best course of treatment in Barnes’ case is to, as the idiom goes, let them ride it out. They’re currently in containment room 2A, and we’re monitoring Barnes’ vitals via the wireless sensor system but otherwise giving them privacy, unless either of them activates FRIDAY’s emergency protocols.”

Containment room. That was good news – those rooms were more hotel rooms than hospital ones, designed for quarantining the ones that needed to be quarantined but who didn’t need any further medical care. Dr. Vinterberg had the necessary authority to greenlight a decision that was, even if unconventional, clearly a treatment of a medical condition and if Nat and Bucky wanted to bang it out, good for them – that definitely didn’t need Steve’s involvement. Vinterberg sat down behind her desk and put her pad down. She didn’t look even remotely fazed as she met Steve’s eyes.

“However, Dr. Chiral’s case is much more complicated.”

No. No. No. Not you. Not this way. Not when Steve hadn’t been there to protect you. He had had a schedule conflict, another mission that had required him and Tony specifically and that old Hydra lab he’d sent you should’ve been a routine data extraction, all the intelligence information had pointed towards it... With difficulty, he reeled his spiraling thoughts back in.

“She doesn’t have a romantic, or otherwise physical, partner listed in her file. Considering her diligence with her medical paperwork and the pre-mission information updating protocols you yourself have implemented, Captain Rogers, we can safely assume that to be an accurate assessment of the situation,” Vinterberg said. “Any standard treatment option for cases like this has had no effect so far – the substance, presumably to maintain an optimal physical state for continued sexual activity, has sped up her metabolism and overclocked her entire system. She is burning all sedatives out faster than we can safely administer them, and we have legitimate medical concern for how long her heart and brain can take this. It also appears that simply achieving a climax isn’t enough to offset the effects of the substance. When comparing the data of Dr. Chiral and Sergeant Barnes, it appears that the presence of a partner is crucial.”

In any other situation, the simple image of you writhing on your bed, moaning, fingers buried in between your legs would’ve required Steve to dump a bucket of cold water on his head but now, his head was only focusing on the fact that you were in danger. Because of a mission he’d greenlit you to go to.

“Especially with no medical precedent, we are concerned that if continued, this could be fatal for Dr. Chiral,” Vinterberg said. “Which is the only reason I’m willing to relay you the information that she has, exclusively and rather explicitly, asked for you, Captain Rogers.”

For a second, Steve’s brain flashed into white static. He was pretty certain his mouth had dropped open.

“Asked me to… What exactly?”

“Participate in sexual activity with her,” Vinterberg replied, and Steve thanked all the gods that watched over universe for her robotic demeanor as a million thoughts flooded into his brain.

You wanted him. At least, some part of you wanted him. He had had his hopes, his fantasies, and he had been so close to asking you out but backed off at the last second, afraid of possible rejection affecting your working relationship. You weren’t his subordinate – as a leading science expert of the AI, you ranked as high as he did – but with the intensity of the line of work you’d chosen, there was no room for any kind of personal bad blood.

Showing aside the image of his name falling out of your lips like a feverish prayer took every last drop of Steve’s willpower. He straightened up to remind himself of the position he was in and cleared his throat.

“Even if Dr. Chiral has asked that, that’s not consent. She’s under the effects of what appears to be a drug that heavily alters consciousness. She is unable to give proper consent.”

Dr. Vinterberg nodded.

“I agree. Again, this is an unorthodox approach and from a medical standpoint, her current consent isn’t a valid one. However, with the limited timeframe and limited options, I am forced to bring this option to the table,” she said. “Sergeant Wilson is here because Dr. Chiral gave him a message to relay just prior to, effectively, losing consciousness. It was meant for you, Captain Rogers. I’d like you to listen to what he has to say before he leaves the room as we go into more detail regarding Dr. Chiral’s medical information.”

Vinterberg nodded at Sam, who turned in his chair to look Steve properly. His shoulders were tight.

“Yeah, Cap, believe me that after this I’ll be out of here before I lose the last ability to look any of you in the eye,” Sam gave him a dry laugh. “But Chiral told me to tell you – if I understood it correctly since she was shouting it through the containment chamber glass and on the verge of losing it – that she remembers the moonlight in Verona. I don’t know what that –“

“I do,” Steve said, his mouth getting drier.

Your fifth mission together, for the first time just the two of you. The moonlight dripping through the stained-glass windows in a church in Verona, the gunshot still ringing in Steve’s eyes and his palms extending over your bleeding thigh. He was had been trying so hard to not focus on the widening pool of blood underneath you that had stained the marble floor, instead looking into your eyes and counting seconds for an extraction team.

Just focus, Ace, alright. Stay with me. Look at the moonlight. Look how pretty it is. I need you to stay with me.

The look in your eyes, the softness of your face even through the pain that had had to be excruciating. Your hand, still holding the glass vial that had gotten you shot but that would also later be the downfall of an international drug operation.

I’m not scared, Steve. You’ve got me. I trust you.

In the present, both Dr. Vinterberg’s and Sam’s expectant gazes were on Steve.

“It seems to imply that she knew what she would be asking. That she wanted me to know that she trusts me.”

Dr. Vinterberg nodded. She didn’t ask further questions – she clearly understood it meant a lot to Steve but didn’t really seem to consider the details her business.

“That would be in line with the fact that in her medical file, she has granted you the power of attorney over her medical care, should she be incapacitated. There is an obvious conflict of interest here, rendering the document itself null and void, but it does highlight the trust she has. And there was a recording on her StarkWatch,” Dr. Vinterberg said. “I took a look at it, as the time it had been made coincided with the mission.”

“As is your right under the Medical Emergency Breach Protocol,” Steve nodded. “Is the recording relevant?”

“That’s for you to decide. It appears that Dr. Chiral meant to send it to you,” she said, turning to look at Sam. “Unfortunately, Sergeant Wilson, I’m going to have to ask you to leave. Any further details of Dr. Chirals medical state and the recording –“

“I understand, Doc. Trust me, I got more than enough details when we started sorting this mess out. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ll go find a tub of holy water to sink myself into.” 

Sam headed out, patting still-stunned Steve on the shoulder as he did. As soon as the door closed after him, Vinterberg tapped the buttons of her pad, and the StarkWatch on Steve’s wrist vibrated as it received a message.

“Take a look.”

Steve pressed the button on the watch to project the 4K hologram display above it. When starting the recording, you had managed to deploy the camera drone from your device, but it floated almost uncomfortably close to your face. The glass containment chamber surrounding you was so well lit that he could see every detail of your face, the drops of sweat on your temples, the sweaty sheen on your cheeks. You were drawing air in like you were drowning, your chest rising and falling with your rapid pants for air. You writhed in the skintight mission environmental protection suit that clung to your every sweet curve. It was just you, as the section you were in was separated from the one that held Bucky, for security and privacy that had proved itself to be a wise choice with this incident.

“Steve, oh, fuck, Steve, something is happening to me and I think… Oh god, I need you, I need you, please, just please…”

Steve kept his calm but only just barely. The whimpering tone of yours shot right into his veins, and a part of him was already ready to give you everything you asked, but he needed to focus. In the message, your eyes cleared up for a moment.

“Hell, I really hope this is transmitting but Steve, I think… Bucky was already asking about Nat and that probably means this isn’t mindless, that it’ll be you I’ll be asking to…” your eyes glazed back over and you ripped the zipper of your suit down, revealing a thin tank top, “Fuck, these clothes, I’m so hot, Steve, please, make the burning stop, I need you, I need you to –“

Thankful for the camera angle that blocked most of what was happening in your containment chamber, Steve kept his focus on your face as you tore the suit off and struggled with the clearly constricting bra underneath the tank top. It didn’t do him much, since the feverish, wanton look in your eyes, your mouth parted in gasps, then your teeth biting down on your lower lip as your hands cupped your own chest felt plenty indecent. He saw you try to battle for control for a few more seconds and in a feat of the same self-discipline that had made you PhD times six, you won.

“Steve, I want you. Regardless of whatever this is. I’ve wanted you since Verona and oh fuck, your hands, your big strong hands on my thigh… Steve, I don’t want you to do this if you don’t want me, they’ll find a way that doesn’t involve… you fucking me until I can’t walk, until I can’t see straight, god, if your hands are that big I wonder how big –“ you panted, then shook your head and managed to continue, speaking as fast as you could to make use of the little time you knew you had left, “I was too much of a coward to tell you in Verona and afterwards but I’ve wanted you for a long time and I really didn’t want you to find out this way but I want you, in other ways too and not just… you deep inside me, your body covering me completely as you press me against the wall, fuck, it’s so hot in here, Steve, oh, fuck, I want you to –“

The transmission cut off. Dr. Vinterberg’s poker face hadn’t even flinched. She looked at Steve.

“It only went into more and more explicit detail of her fantasies from there,” she said. “I consider this, together with the message she gave Sergeant Wilson and the fact that she has demonstrated trust in you, to be acceptable grounds to greenlight this approach, should you yourself give your consent to this, Captain Rogers. Especially when weighed against the possibility of permanent damage to Dr. Chiral’s body. It is a volatile, unpredictable situation but such is the nature of this line of work.”

You had begged for him. You had begged for him. You had wanted him since Verona, since almost six months ago, and you wanted him still. Wanted him now. Needed him.

I’m not scared, Steve. You’ve got me. I trust you.

Somewhere far away underneath the sound of blood rushing in Steve’s body, Dr. Vinterberg was talking about how both of you had been tested negative for any STDs and you were on birth control, how the sensors on your wrists would continue to measure your vitals and the medical team would be given an alert if something dangerous was happening in your system, but other than that, you would be given complete privacy. But there was only one thought in Steve’s mind anymore, pushing all others out.

“Where is she?” Steve asked.

“Containment room 2B,” Dr. Vinterberg answered, staring at your vitals on the pad. “Considering there wasn’t much we could do, we wanted her to be as comfortable as –“

As the door closed behind Steve, Vinterberg realized she was talking to an empty room. Her expression unchanged, she nodded to herself and tapped her pad to authorize Steve’s access into Containment room 2B and activate the protocol that would shut off all surveillance from the room, save for the emergency system that would keep monitoring your vitals and allow either of you to evoke safety protocols. With that done, she made a few short notes onto your file and Steve’s file, jotting down the fact that consent had been established as extensively as was possible in current circumstances. Finally, she ordered herself a latte from FRIDAY’s system and pulled up the notes for her newest research paper, slipping back into blessedly calm world of meiotic recombination.

Next Chapter >>

[allthecanadianpolitics]

February 15, 2024 — We, the undersigned, strongly condemn the Government of Alberta’s planned changes to gender-affirming care, education, and sports in the province. These changes amount to an attack on trans people, and in particular trans youth. On January 31, 2024, the Premier of Alberta announced sweeping policy changes that will disproportionately impact trans, non-binary, and gender-diverse youth. The changes include restricting and/or blocking access to gender-affirming care for minors, requiring parental opt-in for sex education related to gender identity and expression, and requiring parental consent for name and pronoun changes at school.   As feminist and gender equality organizations, we recognize that feminism is deeply interconnected with trans liberation — supporting the rights of trans, non-binary, Two-Spirit, and gender-diverse people is essential to protecting ALL women from violence and discrimination. 

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Tagging @politicsofcanada @abpoli

[sweeter-innocence-fics]

Hospital (Pietro Maximoff First Kiss Drabble)

Word Count: 1238

Notes: I'm in the middle of NaNoWriMo but I wanted a break from novel stuff. warning for medical stuff/injury

---

Pietro’s chest was rising and falling. That, coupled with the steady beeping of the heart monitor, told you that he was alive. That had been questionable for a little while. You hadn’t been there when he’d been shot, but from what Clint had told you, it had been bad.

He’d been bleeding out when they managed to get him back to the helicarrier, where they patched him as quickly as they could. It had been enough to keep him alive while the rest of you were trying to stop the world from ending. You hadn’t even known anything was wrong until the battle was over.

It was ridiculous how much the news that he might die had affected you. You’d known him for less than a week, and half of that time had been fighting against you. But there was something about him.

He had seemed so vibrant. So alive. Indestructible. The thought that his life could be snuffed out so quickly frightened you.

That must’ve been it.

When a superhero dies, it reminds all the rest of the superheroes that they are, in fact, mortal too. That was why you were so shaken when you saw the medics working over him, trying to desperately stop the blood that was draining from his body.

It wasn’t anything to do with the embarrassing double-take your heart had done the first time he’d smiled at you. It had nothing to do with the way he flirted and showboated. Or the way he stroked a lock of hair behind your ear while you had been preparing for the trip to Sokovia, like it was nothing.

Sure, he was beautiful. But you weren’t upset that he might die because he was beautiful. You weren’t so shallow or superficial. He was just too young and too powerful to die. That was it.

All of this to say that when you found out that he was recovering, your heart had skipped a beat. Your feet had carried you towards the medbay without your consent.

You just wanted to see that he was okay. He had been your teammate, however briefly. There was nothing more to it.

You were surprised to find that his sister wasn’t in his room when you got there. From what you’d heard, she’d barely left his side since the battle. She must’ve gone to get some sleep, or eat, or shower, or something.

A small, selfish part of you hoped that she wouldn’t come back too soon. But that was because you wanted to avoid awkward small talk. It had nothing to do with you wanting Pietro all to yourself. That would be ridiculous.

And now Pietro was alone. If he woke up, he’d be disoriented. He might feel abandoned. You didn’t want that. So you decided that you would stay until Wanda got back. You sat down in the chair beside the bed.

You were surprised by how little medical equipment he was hooked up to. The last time you’d seen him, he’d had an oxygen mask over his face, and all manner of things sticking out of him.

Now, his face was bare, and the cannula in his hand was the only visible evidence that he was hospitalised right now. That, and the heart monitor, which was still beeping steadily.

Asleep, he looked much younger than you realised. Aside from the short, neatly trimmed beard he was sporting, he could’ve almost been a child.

Before you realised what you were doing, you reached out and touched his hand, which was lying limply on the bed beside him. He stirred, and you pulled back like you’d been burnt.

He coughed, and opened his eyes. He stared up at the ceiling for a moment, unseeing, and then his eyes fell on you. You were loath to admit it, but when his face broke into a smile, your heart stuttered.

“Prinţesă,” he said, his voice weak. “You’re here.”

Heat rushed to your cheeks. He’d given you the nickname, which meant princess, when you first met, due to the tiara that was a part of your superhero costume. It wasn’t something you’d chosen yourself, and Pietro drawing attention to it embarrassed you.

He didn’t look like he was mocking you right now. He was smiling, but it wasn’t the cocky, arrogant one he’d worn on the night the Avengers attacked the Hydra compound. No, this was a much gentler smile.

“I came to check on you. To see if you were alright.” The words came out stilted. Why were you here?

“Well, I thank you for that. It’s always a good day when the first thing I see when I wake up is a beautiful woman.”

Your stomach lurched. You stood up so quickly that you almost knocked over your chair.

“Well, I’m glad you’re feeling better,” you said, trying to keep the hurt out of your tone. For a moment, you thought you might have been feeling a genuine connection, but he was a flirt. You were just another girl to him. “I should go.”

You headed for the door, but he called out, “Prinţesă, wait.” And when that didn’t work, he said your name. You stopped in your tracks. You turned to look at him. His smile was gone. “Please don’t go?”

Awkwardly, you walked back to your seat and sat down. You didn’t know what to say, but he was looking at you so earnestly that you couldn’t meet his eyes.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “If I misread the situation. I thought you…” He trailed off. “I just like spending time with you.”

“From what I hear, you like spending time with lots of women.”

He grimaced. “You’re more than just a pretty face, prinţesă. You’re smart. Funny. Beautiful, but you already know that I think you’re beautiful.” With every word, you could feel your face grow hotter until it was unbearable.

You met his eyes. “Are you serious? Or are you just playing games with me, Pietro?”

“I never play games when it comes to the heart. If I was casual about this, you would know. I don’t want to be casual.”

Like a magnetic pull, you found yourself shifting closer to him. He sat up a little, making space for you in his space. The beeping of the heart monitor, which had been so steady when you’d walked in, was starting to increase in speed. You couldn’t help but feel a little bit pleased with yourself.

When your faces were inches apart, you said, “I don’t want to be casual either.”

His lips were dry against yours. His good hand came up to caress your cheek, and you felt tingles go down your spine. You tried to deepen the kiss, but he pulled back, just a fraction.

“I haven’t brushed my teeth,” he said.

“I don’t care.” You leant back into his space and kissed him hard. You cupped his face with both hands and his hand fell to your waist.

Neither of you heard the door open.

“Oh my god.” The voice sounded more exasperated than surprised. You leapt back from Pietro, almost tripping over your chair, but you righted yourself just in time.

Wanda was standing in the door, a grocery bag in her hands. “I brought your snacks,” she said to Pietro, dumping them at the end of his bed. “I’ll be back later when you two are done.” Pietro snickered. Your cheeks burned.

Masterlists.

Taglist: @mrs-kai-anderson @ang3l1te @missryerye @mcximffs @noz4a2 @rottenstyx @starmansirius @xlucyintheskywithdiamondsx @lanemarvels @marrigold-2002 @kathrinchek @alternativeprincess @annocaprosmaloka @thrutheburnout @idkman5335

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[chieana]

Kinktober 2024 - Prompt List

It's that time of the year again, lovelies! Link to the collection at the end of the post.

Day 1

Emetophilia Puppy Play Mating Cycles/In Heat Begging

Day 2

Dub-con Time Travel Medical Kink Murder

Day 3

Fabric Kink Lingerie Vaginal Feminization

Day 4

Blood Kink Collars Whips ABDL

Day 5

Small Penis/Breasts Angst Possessiveness Impact Play/Spanking

Day 6

Menstrual Kink Gore Dark Sports

Day 7

Gangbang/Group Sex Dacryphilia Torture STI Kink

Day 8

Master/Slave Bondage Pregnancy/Lactation Biting

Day 9

Snuff/Whump Hybristophilia Enemas Sex Toys

Day 10

Sick Kink Anal Praise Kink Vore

Day 11

Bestiality Piss Kink/Omorashi BDSM Edgeplay

Day 12

Mirror Sex Aquaphilia Cigarettes/Cigars Enemies-to-Lovers

Day 13

Revenge Religious Kink Virginity Enthusiastic Consent

Day 14

Nude Sex Frottage Dom/Sub Hand Feeding/Feederism

Day 15

Stalking Unsafe Sex Communication Cock Warming

Day 16

Clothed Sex Fluff Kink Discovery Drugs

Day 17

Supernatural Kidnapping Rape/Non-con Temperature Play

Day 18

Smut Horror Daddy/Mommy Kink Friendship

Day 19

Creampie Make-up Underage Hybrids

Day 20

Femdom Voyeurism Public Sex/Exhibitionism Foot Job

Day 21

Body Part Kink Fear Play Plushophilia Artistic Kink

Day 22

Punishment/Funishment Cock Ring Abuse of Authority Shower Sex

Day 23

Character Death Self-Harm Asphyxiation/Breath Play Monogamy

Day 24

Hand Job Hurt/Comfort Gags Hair Kink

Day 25

Pedophilia/Ephebophilia Humiliation Masturbation Blowjob

Day 26

Big Penis/Breasts Trans/Detrans Kink Edging Filching

Day 27

Hate Sex Polyamory Orgasm Control/Delay/Denial Breederism

Day 28

Incest Crossdressing/Gender Swap Selfcest Fantasy

Day 29

Sounding Intoxicated Sex Omegaverse Extraterrestrial

Day 30

Abuse Wholesome Drowning/Waterboarding Knifeplay

Day 31

Free Day!

[enddaysengine]

Alberta's Transphobic Government

I try really really hard to keep this blog about RPGs and writing. I really do. But when someone comes for my students, fists gets thrown.

We've seen the rise of transphobic legislation in various US states, as well as in Saskatchwan and New Brunswick. Now Alberta has joined the party. Despite the premier pointing out that there are trans youth in her extended family (I don't know how close the relation is, but somewhere in her close family) and swearing to not marginalize trans youth in the last election.

And ohhhh boy oh boy, my home province is once again aiming to hit the bottom of the barrel

Here's the tl;dr (quoted from the article):

Top and bottom surgeries will be banned for minors aged 17 and under. Doctors say bottom surgeries aren't performed on youth and top surgeries are rare.

Puberty blockers and hormone therapies for gender affirmation will not be permitted for children aged 15 and under.

Youths aged 16 and 17 will be permitted to start hormone therapies for gender affirmation "as long as they are deemed mature enough" and have parental, physician and psychologist approval.

Parental notification and consent will be required for a school to alter the name or pronouns of any child under age 15. Students who are 16 or 17 won't need permission but schools will need to let their parents know first.

Parents will have to "opt-in" their children every time a teacher plans to teach about gender identity, sexual orientation or sexuality. Alberta law currently requires parental notification and gives them the option to opt students out.

All third-party teaching materials on gender identity, sexual orientation or sexuality will need to be approved in advance by the education ministry.

Transgender women will be banned from competing in women's sports leagues. Smith said the government will work with leagues to set up coed or gender-neutral divisions for sports.

This goes well beyond what SK and NB have passed. It violates the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, but Smith doesn't care and will likely use the Notwithstanding Clause to bypass it. Parents, medical professionals, and educators have all reacted with justified outrage. It is clear to those of us who care about youth that these policies will kill.

There is flattly no way in hell I will be deadnaming my students. For a government that says they want to remove red tape and bureaucracy, making parents opt-in to every single lesson involving anything other than heteronormativity sure seems like trying to use red tap to make teaching anything other than their ideology impossible.

What can you do to help?

If you are in Alberta, raise holy hell. Call your MLA, show up at the protests, add your voice to the chorus screaming that we don't want this.

If you are in Canada, there are also demonstrations in support of trans youth going on across the country. Let your MP know as well.

If you aren't from Canada, solidarity and visibility help! We've all seen how this shit has gone down in Florida and elsewhere. We need to stand together to stop this tide.

If you have business ties to Alberta and are able to divist them, please let the Alberta government know you are planning to do so if these proposals become law

Donate to 2SLGBTQ+ organizations in Alberta.

This is not the content I want to go viral from me... but if I have to choose one, make it this one. Please help us proect our kids.

[stinetoftdk]

A better world

I am born intersex, which in my case mean that I was born with both male-typical and female typical sex traits. I was assigned the male sex at birth and because I reserve the right to be in disagreement, with that designation, I am also what is called transgender.

I see myself as a woman, but neither as male nor female.

I have a need to rearrange my sex traits, in a manner where my body will become sexually unambiguous, to the extent that is possible, to alleviate my severe discomfort associated with having male sex traits, as a woman.

I am on early retirement (welfare system, for physically/mentally ill/handicapped people), because of traumatic experiences forced upon me in the Danish healthcare system, on the basis of my status as both intersex and transgender and I have co-founded a human rights organization that aim to spread awareness of the existence of intersex people and what that means, while also working towards recognition of intersex persons human rights, especially on the right to self determination of what happen with our own bodies, that no medically unnecessary procedures are performed against our wishes or without our personal, free and informed consent (Physical integrity) and the right to highest attainable standard of health.

Just as is the case with male and female bodies, there are illnesses and problems related to being male or female, the same is true for different intersex variation, and there are many ways in which someone can be intersex.

As is the case with my variation, issues with expressing ourselves in social situations is often observed, there’s an increased tendency towards anxity, autistic traits are observed in 30-50% of all people with my variation, symptoms of the non-hyperactive form of ADHD, as well as difficulties in regulating our own emotions.

I drew the shortest straw and unfortunately I have traits of all these issues, which I think also had significance in my early retirement. That said, I of course do my very best to find solutions so that I can one day contribute to society, the same as most others, but with a differently wired brain that doesn’t at all match up with how the Danish labour market function, finding a solution has proven very difficult and I have been psychiatrically evaluated to never be able to improve my chances of ever being able to keep a job.

I hope and keep my fingers crossed that in time I can find something that suits my neuro-atypical brain.

One of the ways that helps me regulate my emotions, perform better socially and regulate my negative autistic traits has been to participate in sports. I have a particular interest in martial arts and moving my body has a calming effect on me which also helps me not feel less anxious.

For me, martial arts is a form of very physical therapy, where I can burn a lot of energy, but at the same time, it’s a way for me to achieve the weight loss that is required in most places around the world, to become eligible for gender affirming surgery.

I believe it’s important that we as transgender and intersex persons, share our experiences and lives with society, if we are able to, to participate in fostering a better understanding of who we are and thus create a better society where, we can live our lives as equals, with the same opportunities and rights, as the rest of the population.

I believe that this instead of polarizing, if we have the courage to be vulnerable and have our voices heard, can help create a shared understandings and recognition of the diversity of all people.

It would mean a lot to me, if you would share this post, because the only way I can participate in making a better world, is by reaching a bigger audience.

As intersex and transgender people, we need your help and support to create a better Denmark (and world).

(The photo is from a conference I attended a long time ago, but the message is still relevant)

[yandere-paramour]

Can we hear more about Asteria and Jaime? What are their interests?

Just to reiterate for new people who don't know, Asteria and Jamie are Atalanta's parents. When Asteria was in her mid-20s, she accompanied her mother on a business meeting with another prominent family. She met the heir of their business, technically her own counterpart, but once she saw the beautiful second son, she had to have him. Jamie was more than a little freaked out by the domineering heiress suddenly very, very interested in him, but the Montclairs made an offer of marriage, and his parents (eager to get in with the Montclairs) agreed and basically sold him off without his consent. He's tried to run a few times but when he tried to take Atalanta and run when she was 4, he got put in solitary for a month and never fully recovered. He doesn't try to run anymore, he's a model husband.

Asteria is very similar to her daughter. She likes to exercise and looks pretty damn good for her late-40s. However, her sport of choice is tennis. She practices tennis every day and often plays with Jamie too. Her hair is slightly past her shoulders and she keeps it immaculately curled. It's the same color as Atalanta's, and they have basically the same face and build, but her eyes are dark brown. She usually wears similar suits to Atalanta, but as she's grown older, the suits are becoming just grey and black with multicolored blouses. And unlike Atalanta, she ALWAYS wears heels, making her 6 feet. She's extremely charming and vibrant, the epitome of a high-society lady, and she's only complete with her perfect husband in her arms. Her mom waited a long time to pass the company onto her so now she's holding on a little longer before she passes it to Atalanta, but now she really only does remote paperwork. She has her own personal assistant and her main hobbies are yoga, book club, and brunching with the girls. She has many friends, both from school and the business world, and she meets with them for lunch and brunch often. She kisses her perfect husband on the cheek (he needs a lot of rest), and heads off.

Jamie is pretty, delicate, and effeminate. He has dark brown wavy hair (Darker than Atalanta's), and large hazel eyes that he passed onto his only daughter. He has an average build with little muscle (Asteria likes him soft) and he's about 5'9". He usually wears soft sweaters and trousers, most usually soft colors like blue, green, grey, maroon, and violet. He's a very soft-spoken man. He doesn't talk much anymore, and when he does, his voice is kinda high and soft. He's gotten to the age where he needs glasses to read and his hands are soft and warm. His main hobbies are reading, taking (supervised) walks in the manor's garden, playing chess, painting, sketching, and baking. Asteria is a stricter yan than her daughter, so she only allows him to have soft hobbies. Anything more strenuous than a game of tennis, he's not allowed to do. He doesn't really have many friends and he doesn't go out much, especially when separated from Asteria. He has a manservant (Carter Thatcher) he's close to who takes care of him. Carter is loyal and kind and looks after his master and keeps him company. Jamie is kind of fragile so he sleeps a lot and is often depressed, so Carter makes sure he eats and takes his medication and tries to keep active.

(You know, I really enjoyed writing this. From now on, feel free to send in questions/comments/asks about Asteria and Jamie.)

[callsigngray]

Stay safe (Ghost x Fem!reader)

A/n - y’all this is my first fanfic that I’m posting on here and this is also posted on my wattpad but all my other major fanfics are the ones you can also find on my wattpad but please enjoy this if you will ! , also sorry if the fic is shit I’m loki tired as fuck rn and please do not repost my work without permission or consent on any other website!!!

Warnings : blood mentions , needle mentions , there is cursing , shit ton of fluff and things like that , also there is a use of y/n

***********

It had been a long day.

You had been on an assignment for about two days now and shit was it hell. The last thing you remember is the sound of gunshots and screams echoing throughout as you had barely made it out alive in one piece with soap , ghost and the others. It was a firefight as the enemy had known you all were coming and all of your cover was blown as it had been a trap. You took many hits throughout the mission , not telling anyone as you really didn't take a liking to the idea of going to medbay and seeing the medics. You never liked it much and you probably never will as you often grew distant from touch as it made you uncomfortable. You hid your injuries fairly well from everybody and nobody had questioned you about it when the extraction team had come and gotten everyone out of there as quickly as possible. Cuts , a small but not deep stab wound and other small injuries littered your body as you winced as your hands were shaky as you touched the skin around your cuts and wounds , leaving you in only your sports bra and cargo pants as You stood in the small bathroom that had been assigned to you in your quarters. you stood looking in the mirror seeing the red crimson that lied smeared around on your body. You saw the purplish yellow and black bruises that littered your sides from the amount of hits you had taken and the cuts on your ribs and the small stab wound on your side that thankfully didn't go deep. You rummaged around under your bathroom sink to find a small container that read ‘medkit’ on the front in bright red lettering and you brought it out and opened it. You found a small needle and thread in the kit and you sighed as you looked at your festering and bleeding wound. You grabbed the lighter you kept in the medkit as well and you sparked it , igniting the flame and you ran the fire under the needle to disinfect it you then pulled out a string from the thread and You managed to loop the thread into the small loop hole in the needle after a few tries and you stood with shaky hands as you began to stitch. The sharp end making contact with your soft flesh as you sucked back a cry as you made work with what you had. As your slowly weaved the thread and needle through your skin your hands trembled as the pain was too much , the tears pricking your eyes as you bit down on your lip trying to hold back as you felt the searing hot pain. As you tried to continue working You heard a small knock on your door , causing you to freeze. Your head turned to the door and you tried to gain your composure as you wanted to see who it was but to not let them know what state you were currently in.

‘’One minute..’’ You called out , voice giving out in the end as it cracked slightly as the pain wasn't helping. Oh how you wished to go to the medics but you were too stubborn.

‘’ its me Y/n’’ The deep and husky British voice came out from behind the door , sounding slightly muffled as you listened. Your eyes widened as you realized who it was and your mind started to race.

It was ghost.

‘’ let me in…please?.’’ He asked as he pressed his forehead against the door waiting for you to answer. You sighed , knowing you weren't going to be able to hide this from ghost you slowly walked to the door and opened it to see the familiar skull masked man that you've grown to love. Ghosts eyes widened as he saw what state you were in and he immediately went into the bathroom with you and closed the door behind him. ‘’ why didn't you tell me it was this bad?..’’ His voice was firm yet gentle , the concern for you was evident in his eyes as he looked you over. ‘’You knew?..’’ You say confused. ‘’Of course i knew , your shots grew sloppy , you walked on a limp and you were hunched over after the mission that's more than enough to tell y/n.’’ Ghost sighed. ‘’I didn't want to go to the medics..’’ You say quietly as you wipe your eyes and sighed. Ghost shook his head and he looked at your side to see how you stitched it and he shook his head. ‘’ i know and your gonna get a bloody infection one day if you keep doing this’’ He says in a disappointed tone as he sees you stay silent. He sighed as he got closer to you and he rummaged around in the medkit that you had placed on the sink counter and he grabbed a roll of disinfectant and a roll of bandages. He looked down at you , his tall stature looming over you. ‘’ just sit down okay , let me take care of you alright luv ?.’’ You just nodded and sat down on the toilet seat and you watched as ghost took off his gloves revealing his large and calloused hands. He then gently grabbed a soft pad and opened the disinfectant bottle and poured some on the pad and he kneeled in front of you and he looked you over before everting his glaze onto you. ‘’ may i?’’ He asked as he didnt want to make you uncomfortable with anything he did. You gave him a nod of approval and he gently cleaned around your wound. Only he was the one to be able to touch you in such ways , only he had gotten a pass as he was your lover. As the pad came into contact with your skin you winced as you felt the burning sensation. Ghost then gently unrolled the bandages and started to wrap your side , the soft white cotton meeting your skin as the hard part was over. His touch was warm and gentle , he was a soldier and a brutal one at that and yet who knew how gentle this man could really be. He took care of all your other small cuts making sure nothing went unchecked. As he finished up he cleaned everything up and placed everything back under the sink and then turned his attention to you. His hands made its way to your face and he gently cupped your cheeks ,His hands warm and loving. ‘’ Please tell me next time. I don't want to find you dead one day in this bathroom due to shit like this’’ His tone was quiet and gentle , almost a plea. You nodded and leaned into his touch as his thumbs ghosted over your cheeks and he wiped away at the tear streaks that were on your face from before. He pulled one of his hands away and he lifted his mask only above his nose and he gave you a soft smile as he pressed a small kiss to your forehead. You gave a small smile and you lifted your hand and gently cupped his cheek as well and he gently pulled you closer to him. Before another moment could pass you let out a small yelp as he lifted you up into his arms gently and he held you bridal style , Your eyes widening a bit as you didnt expect the sudden movement. He then kissed you on your lips , this kiss warm and loving. The feeling of his lips on yours was like a dream all over again and you smiled a little into the kiss. ‘’ promise me you'll you'll stay as safe as possible when out on missions’’ Ghost says gently as he walked with you in arms out of the bathroom and gently placed you in your bed.

‘’I promise , i'll stay safe‘’

‘’good girl ’’

[shadowgast-recs-weekly]

Sports AU's: A Shadowgast Rec List

This week, we have Sports AU's! Check under the cut for 9 fics that feature a wide range of sports, and don't forget to comment and kudos if you like them!

When the Lights Go Out by 06151126 (27309, Teen) Reccer's Content Notes: No Content Notes

Essek is a Formula One racecar driver. Caleb signs on to be one of his mechanics

Reccer says: I know nothing about F1 but I'm still incredibly invested in this series

3 Turn by MithrilWren (7290, General) Reccer's Content Notes: No Content Notes

Figure Skating AU: Essek tries to get to know the new competitor Caleb Widogast, but with every bit of new information the man seems like more of an enigma.

Reccer says: I love the way the Essek POV is written, very insightful and curious.

overture: excerpts from a curtain rising by hanap (5091, Teen) Reccer's Content Notes: No Content Notes

Caleb accompanies Yasha to the make-or-break performance of Beau's career, only to find himself captivated by Beau's new partner - Essek.

Reccer says: A beautiful work. Reading this feels like actually watching a ballet performance.

Shapes in the Smoke by Luckyowlsfoot (2817, General) Reccer's Content Notes: No Content Notes

The Mighty Nein are invited to a Dynasty performance. It's not quiet what they were expecting.

Reccer says: I Liked It!

Dancing Cheek to Cheek by soot_and_salt (3871, Mature) Reccer's Content Notes: No Content Notes

Essek Thelyss is a prodigy at ballroom dancing. But he's tired of the competitions until he meets another dancer - named Caleb Widogast.

Reccer says: It's a wonderful, emotional work about two people stumbling upon each other.

gloaming’s end by toneofjoy (41065, Explicit) Reccer's Content Notes: Choose Not to Warn

Bren wants to be the professional rock-climber the Ceberus Assembly always wanted him to be. Essek already is the most successful climber, and Bren can't help but be captivated by him.

Reccer says: Another beautiful look in the world of climbing - Bren and Essek have a unique dynamic and the world building is amazing.

The following fic had 3 recs:

I’ve been lost before (and I’m lost again, I guess) by toneofjoy (165080, Explicit) Reccer's Content Notes: There are discussions of doping, eating disorders, chronic illnesses, PTSD, past hospital-related and medical trauma, past psychological and physical abuse, suicidal ideation, and past dubious consent,

A professional rock climbing AU: Essek ran away from his problems and settled in the seaside city of Nicodranas. When Caleb Widogast joins their team at the Tidepeak rock-climbing gym, everything changes. Caleb has plans to take down his old coaches, and Essek has secrets.

Reccer 1 says: Compelling character dynamics all around, great development arcs, and cool mapping of canon onto an AU premise.

Reccer 2 says: The world-building and character development are amazing and one can't help falling in love with climbing through this fic, because it is so well fleshed out. Reccer 3 says: it’s THE Climbing AU. this fic made me laugh, cry and watch 30 min analysis videos of rock climbing.

The following fic also had 3 recs: song of the moment by 2manyboys (6143, Teen) Reccer's Content Notes: No Content Notes

The Thelyss brothers are amazing ice hockey players. Caleb and Beau go to a game to make money, and the brothers are a safe bet. They meet, and the Empire sibs want to start playing as well.

Reccer 1 says: so fair it’s only one chapter but i’m so so interested in the world building and alternative hockey rules + magic! and politics! Reccer 2 says: There's an amazing amount of worldbuilding in here while still keeping the general shape of Exandria in it. I was instantly hooked.

Reccer 3 says: The worldbuilding is incredible. The details of the sport, incorporating both magic and physical moves, are so neat. Love seeing Essek and Verin interact. Caleb is so horny about how Essek is using magic during the game. Chef kiss, amazing.

And there were 2 recs for the following fic: Uncharted Waters by empressofwizards (11598, Teen) Reccer's Content Notes: None

Essek Thelyss has one goal at the Olympics: to win. After hours and hours spent in the pool training, there is nothing that will distract him from grabbing gold. Or so he thought. The intriguing swimmer from the Empire might prove otherwise.

Reccer 1 says: I liked it!

Reccer 2 says: I liked it!

Aeor is for Lovers is an 18+ Shadowgast Discord server. The above fanfic recommendations were pulled from our community for this weekly event. All fics, unless otherwise specified, will primarily feature Shadowgast. Have any questions about what this is? Check out the FAQ! Next week, we’ll be back with fics that feature rumblecusp/travelercon!

[batsplat]

i've noticed you refer to casey's 'mystery illness' and i was wondering, is that not his chronic fatigue? i wasn't following motogp back then but he's mentioned being previously misdiagnosed, so i assumed that the 'mystery illness' he suffered from in 2009 was the chronic fatigue he's since been diagnosed with.

ah, so there's a couple of reasons I use 'mystery illness' to denote it. the first is that it's not quite as straightforward as just labelling it 'chronic fatigue'. the second is that this was how the illness was referred to at the time, which I think is key for understanding how that year played out and how the entire episode was perceived. this is a sport that was horrendously ill-prepared to deal with an 'invisible' ailment that wasn't easy to diagnose, and the ambiguity and confusion are kinda central to the whole story. you've got ducati taking it upon themselves to spread inaccurate information about casey's health against his wishes, the muddled and irregular communication from his own camp, frenzied speculation in the press and from various pundits... if casey could have just clearly pointed to something, it would've made things a lot easier. but he couldn't - that's why it's a mystery illness

just to provide a basic timeline of how this went... casey started struggling around the time of mugello, but it became obvious to everyone else during catalunya. he was exhausted after the warm-up, slept for a couple of hours - and ended up fading badly in the race itself, struggling in the brutal heat that day and barely hanging onto third place. you can see it when you watch the race back (as we should all do regularly imo)... he's almost collapsing in parc fermé, gets a chair and medical attention before even making it to the podium, and he's barely upright during the podium celebrations. he just about makes it to the presser. he thought afterwards he'd recovered, maybe it was just a regular illness... but then he was struggling again during assen, depleted by the end of the race. in laguna, same story

it is at this point that ducati decide to issue a press release 'diagnosing' the problem:

except, you know. that wasn't actually casey's illness. and casey wasn't exactly thrilled with ducati's press release

so he's going through a lot of tests at this point, week after week, consulting a bunch of different experts, and they're coming up with all kinds of explanations - like, for instance, the idea that he'd been trying too hard to recover from a viral infection. but of course, this wasn't just an innocent mistake from ducati. it was part of a pattern of behaviour in them suggesting he just wasn't fit enough

now, obviously, even if this were true, it would still be blatantly unethical to spread around medical information about your rider a) without their consent, and b) that is also inaccurate

another thing to note about the donington race - this was a mixed conditions race where the ducati team were the only ones to take a gamble on wet tyres, basically... hoping it would rain enough to make it worth it. unsurprisingly, this did not go well and they were horrendously slow, they were heavily criticised for this choice, but casey explained it like this:

wishful thinking or calculated risk, this kind of thing helped make it obvious that this situation was unsustainable. in the run up to brno, reports started circulating that casey wasn't going to race. let's just check out the language that was used to describe this:

now, this may shock you to hear, but the sport of motogp in the year 2009 was not exactly at the height of sensitivity when discussing mental health issues. so a lot of the stuff you read from the time period, you kinda go 'well first of all, that wasn't actually the issue, but even if it had been the issue this would be a fucked up thing to say or even speculate about'. once this theory really started gaining traction, around the time when casey just kinda... up and disappeared from the world of motogp (without much in the way of open communication to the public)... well, that's when the discourse got increasingly ugly

there's a lot of stuff you could rattle through here, but let's just stick to a few key flashpoints. first off, this is what the beloved kevin schwantz, 1993 motogp champ and one of casey's favourite riders growing up, had to say:

as well as this:

obviously, he's entitled to his personal experiences in struggling with motivation when rainey retired - except he's using it to speculate about casey's situation, which is considerably less justifiable. and the other bits give you a feel for the common tone of the discourse at the time. the uncertainty over what casey's illness actually was, how little information anyone had to work with, the feeling that casey should just be competing - and the speculation that his problems were primarily or even solely 'in his head'. bringing up how casey wasn't fulfilling his contract, how it was a disappointment, how this might just be about resentment towards ducati...

when casey returned from the illness, he brought up schwantz pretty much unprompted in an interview:

in his autobiography, he adds the following:

Those comments really upset me and I lost a lot of respect for Kevin because of them. For him to say something like that was another example showing me that experience counts for nothing. The media often turn to former riders for an opinion, which would be a good thing if they stuck to what they know. Sadly, often their opinions are outdated and they don't know the half of it but talk endlessly as if they do. In this case, Kevin Schwantz knew nothing about my medical condition and shouldn't have commented on something he knew nothing about. For somebody who had been through a lot of tough times himself with injuries and such, you would think he might understand. It was disappointing but he wasn't the only one who had something to say. Everybody had their own opinions. A rider doesn't go from being ultra-competitive for two years and then just drop off the face of the earth because it's 'in his head'. It is absurd for anybody to even think that. If it was depression, lack of motivation or fear I would have said. People like Chaz and Leon believed in me because they'd known me for so many years and knew I wouldn't just switch off like that. But not many people stood by me through the uncertainty. Adri, Mum and Dad, Filippo, Livio, Chris Hillard, I could practically count them all on two hands. Even within my Ducati racing team, which only a year before had felt like family, there were doubters. I think a few of the guys believed me when I said something was physically wrong but others didn't. Some of the friendships I had grew stronger through all this, and some of the friendships disappeared. In a way that was a good thing. It gave me a better perspective of what racing meant to me and what people really thought of me, who I could trust.

(of course, casey did also separately have an undiagnosed anxiety disorder that even at time of writing his autobiography he didn't really understand, so some of this should be read with that context in mind. the key bit is the frustration he experienced as a result of knowing there was something physically amiss but having no answers at hand) (very much a topic for another time, but a lot of the discourse also ended up suggesting it had been valentino who had 'broken' casey and was responsible for this alleged psychological malaise. valentino didn't personally contribute to this narrative and stuck to wishing casey a swift recovery, but you also can't really leave this out when discussing either the illness or the rivalry as it was a big talking point at the time)

speaking of ducati... well, the main thing they were doing in casey's absence was attempting to hire jorge. which isn't an issue in and of itself, except they were willing to pay him a lot more than they were to casey and allegedly offering him number one status:

(the article also reports that dani was being touted as a possibility by ducati if they couldn't get jorge, or to have a direct switch between yamaha's jorge and ducati's nicky hayden, a plan which amusingly was said to have valentino's full support)

in casey's absence, the ducati/jorge thing progressed far enough that at one point it was being reported as basically a done deal. obviously, in the end it wasn't a done deal, and jorge ended up signing a one year extension with yamaha for 2010 (still hedging his bets, depending on how the situation with valentino played out) - but the damage was already done. here's how casey talks about it in his autobiography:

They'd told me when we signed a contract for 2009 and 2010 that they didn't have any more money for me, didn't have money for development but now suddenly they could afford to shell out like that for another rider? Considering what we had achieved together, I couldn't believe it. I felt I had been stabbed in the back by the people I trusted and who were supposed to trust me. I was blown away, and not in a good way.

also this charming comment from marlboro:

this all prompted retirement rumours, yamaha rumours, all kinds of rumours, and obviously in the end casey moved to honda a year later anyway. you have to say one side ended up rather better than the other from that divorce. when casey returned, he was immediately competitive, with a podium in estoril following two home races at phillip island and sepang. while the ducati's decline continued apace in 2010 and rumours continued to circulate that casey just wasn't the rider he once was, he was able to dispel them definitively with the aforementioned move to honda

one more thing though: what was the mystery illness? the problem if you just say it was misdiagnosed but was actually 'chronic fatigue' all along is in how it erases some important context. this was seen as a possibility at the time, and he had been diagnosed with chronic fatigue before, but was actually dismissed as the primary explanation for whatever reason. from casey's autobiography (published in 2013):

I had seen doctors about some tiredness back in Australia in 2006. They said I had chronic fatigue syndrome, which they put down to a combination of my diet and my busy schedule. But this time it was far more serious and it seemed that no matter what I tried to do to make myself better I only got worse. I started having more recovery drinks made up of milk and whey powder and my condition continued to deteriorate even more rapidly. I didn't suspect that what I was doing to help was causing even more problems.

and from an article from the time:

you know that last bit of the autobiography excerpt? where he mentions the recovery drinks were part of the problem? so, at the time casey believed the main problem was lactose intolerance

the thing is, a lot of more recent articles have said he was 'misdiagnosed' with lactose intolerance and I'm sure I may have used the phrase myself as a way of denoting 'there was clearly something else going on too'. but... I'm not sure that's entirely accurate? read this from his autobiography, and decide how you're convinced that it was a misdiagnosis:

Before going back to Australia for the next race at Phillip Island we decided to try lactose again, just to confirm that it definitely was the source of the problem. Within the next day or two I started losing my usual energy. In a way, this made us happy because I could finally confirm what the problem was. After that it was like a whole new world. For ten years it had seemed to me that a lot of food tasted the same and I could go a whole day without eating and not be hungry. Once I knew what the problem was and knew what to do everything started to smell and taste good. Even the amount I ate doubled! Adriana could see a huge difference almost straight away. And not just physically: 'I love cooking but any time I'd ever put anything on the table for Casey in the past, even though he was always polite, I could tell he wasn't enthusiastic about it. I was like, "I just cooked that for you!" Now he actually started to enjoy my cooking and that was one of the happiest days of my life.' For a while I didn't go near lactose at all but then we discovered Lacteeze tablets and with them I can pretty much eat anything I want. Adri makes tacos, creamy pasta sauce with vegies and traditional Slovakian dishes like svieckova, which is beef in a carrot sauce, and knedle bread. I could finally eat my favourite dessert - sticky date pudding with custard - without getting sick afterwards. I was always pretty skinny and even though I trained my backside off I never put any weight on. But now my body suddenly started filling out and I started to actually put weight on and gain some body fat, which I'd never had before.

I'm not a doctor, but I'm pretty sure that's not how the placebo effect works

and then in 2019 it's framed like this:

and also:

plus when he's talking about it in that four hour long podcast interview thing, he kinda frames it as saying he'd continuously struggled with these physical issues but they didn't cause his actual retirement. to my reading, it seems that he's had some form of chronic fatigue for a long time, plus some of his issues may have been triggered by epstein-barr virus which he got during his career - but the specific severe problems he's describing in-depth in more recent interviews concern what he's been going through after his retirement

this is obviously quite a complicated medical history, and I wouldn't say it's 100% clear what exactly he was struggling with at what point of time. how do you accurately describe that? I'm not sure just calling it 'chronic fatigue' would be accurate, right? personally, I think 'mystery illness' works as a descriptor because a) this exact phrase was widely used in reporting at the time, and generally I'm trying to accurately describe events from the pov of that time, and b) because it gives you the key bit of information - that nobody knew what it was, including casey. it's just useful shorthand, really, not much more to it

[yesloulou]

i’m not sure if you know because it seems only a select few spoke about it, but you know a lot so i thought i’d ask. there’s obviously some drama that happened w italiano and daniel, but it seemed to rly spark last year, and people said it was bad of italiano to talk about daniel’s broken wrist taking 6 weeks to heal. i might be stupid 🤡 but what was the issue with him saying that? after stuff i’ve seen i’m generally anti italiano myself, but i never understood the big issue about him stating 6 weeks. do you by any chance happen to know why it was so bad, and could explain it? 🥺

(i don't really know a lot but thank u 😭 and this is just what i think)

the first layer is that medical information is very, very private stuff regardless of whether he's a public figure or not. it's as private as it gets. and since daniel and michael apparently didn't end things on good terms in 2022, it was obvious that michael divulged daniel's health information to the media without daniel's consent, which was inappropriate.

the second layer is that it was unprofessional. bc daniel's health situation wouldn't just affect himself, it had bigger implications for the operations of one of the only 10 teams competing in a billion dollar sport. information is power and when and how they would've chosen to reveal that information was also power. for example something as simple as leaving the audience in the dark could generate drama and buzz around this sport, which (good or bad) could then turn into views and views turn into money. one of the many ways this information could’ve manifested into value but didn't, bc michael italiano decided to be mr big shot.

anyways <3

[piqued-curiosity]

trans rights matter, I hope a bird shits in ur coffee

What rights? The right to a public washroom? You have that, you just want to go in the opposite sex’s washroom instead of your own. The right to participate in sports? You have that, you just want to participate in the opposite sex’s sports instead of your own. The right to body modification? You have that. The right to force others to believe in your belief system? That’s not a right. The right to other people being attracted to you? Also not a right.

I’ve never said that actual rights for trans people (such as safety, right to informed medical consent, etc.) don’t matter. I just don’t believe in gender, and don’t believe trans people should be allowed to walk all over women and our sex-based rights.

Also, I don’t drink coffee. Creative insult, but quite weak. Good try though!