#i know rugby lads are a bit gay but this is too much

[theflirtmeister]

who the fuck approved that headline

[rapunzelforlorn]

I made my friend watch heartstopper and I got his reactions for you to all enjoy

Ep 1

Fuck Ben!

Elle actually trans?

FUCK BEN!!

Rugby bros nice & accepting

Charlie is him

FUUUUUUUCKK BEN!!!!

Is ig the main communication method?

Does "x" mean more than kisses?

Ep 2

Charlie is just so supportive

Ben gives the ick

Let people have crushes

Why do school dynamics in shows never feel like they do in real life?

Tori's an odd one

Upset we got robbed Charlie getting his haircut and stressing too the barber

Nellie's barks fake??

What friends play in the snow like this?

Nick's mom read him like a book

Rocketman can't play drums lol

WHY'S THE TENSION SO GOOD 😫

Loving the comic effects

Tori is SO weird

Floor person confirmed bi

Ep 3

Nick going through the queer rabbit hole, fuck that's depressing 😔

Do we like Imogen?

Feel bad for Tao 😔

What's with the sequined clothes?

Tao's a bit dramatic

Fuck Harry

Fuck Ben again!!

Good on Charlie standing up to him

Tao IS dramatic

Imogen is a bit much but not bad?

Who throws parties like this??

Is this a hotel?

The sneaker squeak breaking the silence

God I miss this nervous tension

Nick absolute Golden retriever

Ep4

A boy, talking about his feelings?!?!

Nick never got that jumper

Imogen is too much lol still not sure if we like her

Tao & Elle?

Does this art teacher have a name??

Mr. Arjiya?

Gay people sport

I really want one of these rugby boys to step and be supportive of Charlie being on this team

Imogen...kinda annoying

ANNOYING

Ally 🤣

Tao🤜vs🤛Nick 🙈

Harry's a twat

Nick looking genuinely upset about being "friends"

There's nothing wrong with worrying about your teammate¡!!!!

Nick being ambushed, not cool

Not sure Imogen is bad, annoying yes, but doesn't know better

Ep5

Fuck monopoly

Not Imogen's dog 😭😭😭

Nick's so conflicted and it hurts

Saturday came so fast??

Tao's hair flaps gets me everytime

Wait...what about imogen???

Tao's overprotective, heart in the right place

Not the strongly worded DM 😭

Tao quick to judge

Smooching!!!

Tao & Elle 😏

Imogen, good friend?

Ep6

Nick has good taste in pirate movies

PotC confirmed Bi movie

Bi panic

Friends to lovers pipeline

Why does it always happen in band rooms?

Girl, with very queer haircut - "never would've guessed you were gay"

The ice cream truck song?

Anti-homiphobia cheese

Picnic bants

Shout out to this vlogger

Tara is SUCH a good friend

Such a supportive group

Charlie's excitement for the official date!!

What is this magical milkshake shop???

Where do they get date money?

Tao being oblivious 😐

A concert after all that dairy?!?!

Nick saying he might be bisexual and then saying I'm not sure feels very bixeual

Poor Tara

Tao having the longest legs and being the slowest runner

The subtle carhart on Nick's coat 😂

Ep7

Why is Tori so weird??

Charlie needs to work on standing up for himself

Rugby lad 😂

Sweet popcorn 🤢

Char?

Harry needs to piss off

Ben's a fucking creep AND a pos

Nick standing up to Harry, mint

Nick's mom know? Motherly intuition?

I really need Charlie to stand up for himself, love that he has people in his corner but I need him to step up

The "s" word

Art teacher complaining about crumbs like the counters & cabinets aren't stained with paint

Tao 😔

Elle's fits tho

Tao holding his own against Harry 👀

Tao & Charlie 😭😭

Ep 8

Harry's a twat, Tori confirmed

Tori still weird but good sister

Issac has been unbothered and in his lane all season, we stan

Don't you have to fill out papers to quit a team?

Nick & Tao bonding

Tao is good friend

Seeing the "typing..." appear & disappear is such a relatable agony

Elle is her

Why don't we have a sports day?

What's the point of all girls/boys school if they're seemingly right next to each other and constantly intermingling

FUCK OFF BEN

Charlie...STANDING UP FOR HIMSELF?? 👏👏

Charlie & Tao hugging it out 🥺

Kinda want more Issac

Tao & Elle 👀👀👀👀

Kith? No kith 😖

The principle over the intercom 🤣

Nick & Charlie locking eyes in the rugby match

💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗

The walk off!!!!!

Issac still unbothered and in his book lmao

"I believe you" 😭💜😭💜

Seagulls do not mean beach but okay

Proper date antics 💜💜

The beach is all rocks?

"In a romantic way, not just a friend way" 🤣

And they were boyfriends

We love a supportive mum

Ending with a montage, love to see it

All in all I think he formed the correct opinions but don't worry I WILL be educating him about baby angel Tori and solitare.

[veryblushyswitch]

Charlie Spring (tickle hcs)

I did some for Nick so I couldn’t not do some for the most adorable little gay nerd 💖 @happyandticklish @writingwitharlo @ticklepinions @nhasablogg @ticklishraspberries

*————————————————————————*

Lee:

*So we all agree this guy has super ticklish ears right? Nick likes to kiss his ears and flutter his fingers around them to make him scrunch up and giggle.

*Got tickled by Tori a little bit growing up, but was mostly tickled by Tao, Isaac, and Elle.

*The moment Nick found out he was ticklish- Charlie never knew he’d crave tickles so much after that.

*Giggles a lot and doesn’t really laugh unless you get his worst spots.

*Nick loves hearing his little giggles. Charlie gets so flustered when Nick tells him that. 💖

*He also has super ticklish knees that Nick loves to take advantage of.

*Tao and Charlie have had their fair share of tickle fights. Most of them included Charlie losing, but if he gets Tao in the right places he can win in a matter of seconds.

*Tries to say he’s not ticklish but can’t help but giggle every time.

*Blushes at everything-

*Cant take teases either. They make him ten times more sensitive.

*Especially if Nick is whispering them into his ears.

*Elle loves to use her nails against his back and neck. Tao and Isaac think it’s hilarious how high pitched his voice gets when tickled there.

*Nick will wiggle his fingers against Charlie’s sides when they’re hugging or when he picks him up.

*Definitely a squirmer.

*Is okay with being pinned down by Nick but mostly prefers to be able to move around.

*He finds the trying to get away part of the fun.

*Enjoys making Nick chase after him.

*Nellie likes to give Charlie kisses which always leads to him giggling his head off and to Nick melting over the absolute cuteness he’s witnessing.

~

Ler:

*Charlie doesn’t know mercy when it comes to Nick.

*He can be a ruthless little ler when he gets into a mood. Most of the time Nick is the one on the receiving end unless he finds a reason to poke at Tao.

*(Inspired by @ticklepinions) Charlie loves sticking his hands and feet against Nick when he’s cold and will even shove his hands under Nick’s arms or under his shirt.

*Teasy ler for days.

“Aww what’s wrong, Nicholas? Too ticklish here?”

“I didn’t know strong rugby lads could be ticklish.”

“Those rugby arms aren’t doing much pinned at your sides. You’ll have to lift them up if you want me to stop tickling you~”

*Loves to kiss Nick’s palms to make Nick smile and giggle.

*Offers Nick back massages after a hard rugby match only to tickle him while he’s pinned. (He gives him a proper massage afterwards of course)

*Helps Elle tickle Tao when he’s being annoying or he just deserves to get tickled.

*Charlie and Nick have become a really good ler duo.

*Darcy and Tao have fallen victim to their tickle attacks a good few times.

*Has talked to Nick’s mom about how much he tickles him and his mom gave him tips on where he’s most ticklish.

*Nick found out and immediately went to Tori the next time he saw her. (Charlie got tickled by both of them after that)

~

Thanks for reading! 💖

[maraudersbutmuggle]

Autumn 2015. Part 1.

Content Warning: Unplanned Pregnancy.

Lily sat down biting her nails. She was very very nervous. If her suspicions were correct, her life would change forever. And not only hers, James' as well.

Lily took a deep breath and watched the results. There it was, positive. She was pregnant. This was the fifth test she had done in the past week. But five times certainly confirmed it.

"Fuck..." she murmured under her breath.

The soft knock on the door made her jump.

"Lily?" her mother called "Are you okay? Is everything alright? You've been there a long time"

Lily had been sick lately vomiting a lot. She told her mother that she had a bellyache. She thought perhaps it was only that. But not this. Pregnant.

Lily came out trying not to look pale or worried. "I think I ate spoiled biscuits" she chuckled Her mother's expression softened. "James is downstairs" she said "Maybe you shouldn't go out with him if you feel badly"

James. How was she supposed to tell him? He had a lot going on. Fleamont was sick. And James had to take care mostly of his family's company. James had given up his dream to become a professional rugby player to help his parents. Wasn't he sweet? Just the other day, James had been talking about whether or not Sponge Bob and Patrick were gay with Sirius. And now, they might have a baby. Fuck. Lily was nineteen. Just nineteen.

"I feel so much better" Lily lied and went downstairs to were James was.

James Bloody Potter. The very same wanker that asked her out and made ridiculous things for her. The lad she had hated (or thought she hated), was everything to her now. James Potter was everything to Lily.

As she climbed downstairs thinking on what to say or do, she stopped for a minute to admire him.

James was eyeing some of her mother's home decor. Just playing with them. Like a little kid. He thought no one was watching. James was so silly. He tried to grab one and almost dropped all of them. Lily's heart melted. How can someone be so adorable?

"Eheemm" she said biting her lip to avoid laughing. James put everything in order quickly and turned to look at her. He was flushed. Smirking like a fool, the kind of smirk he only got reserved for her. He rubbed his hair. Aarrg! James had no idea what that provoked on Lily.

"What are you doing?" Lily smiled "Nothing..." James said nervously "Sorry... Your house is nice. I was watching your baby pictures... You had bunny cheeks..." he snorted "I was just bit curious and..." Lily interrupted him with a kiss. "Mmm.... I don't know why was that about, but I am not complaining" James was beaming. Lily smirked before kissing him again. She loved the way James smiled when she did that. That's what James did. He made Lily do silly and bold stuff.

She wanted to kiss him all the time.

'That's why you are pregnant' Lily thought. Horny bloody bitch.

She had to tell James.

"Let's go for a walk, love" she said grabbing her boyfriend's hand. James nodded.

********************************

James talked happily about some silly stuff that happened with The Marauders on the weekend. How Peter got so drunk that he started yelling at the orange cones blocking their way. As if they could hear him. But Lily was not listening much...

Pregnant. At nineteen. Lily used to give the girls in Gryffindor pep talks about safe sex as a prefect. Even if she didn't practise sex herself. James was her first one.

Maybe it was at Halloween. When Remus and Sirius made this party at their apartment. Lily had drunk too much. And James had looked irresistible in that Vilma costume. It was Scooby Doo night. And they didn't use a condom. "I'm under the pill" she told him.

But fuck, turned out the stupid pill wasn't hundred percent effective.

And now Lily was at Uni, following her dream of being a journalist. With a possible baby in it's way.

Lily focused on James now. He was still talking about something, that Lily had no idea about. Lily smiled and James smiled back.

"Are you okay Lils?" he asked "Yeah" Lily lied James raised his eyebrow "I bloody know you, darling" he whispered.

Before Lily could answer, a footie ball came rolling towards them. A little kid running after it. James stopped the ball with his foot . The little boy was running and tripped over, letting out a gasp. James and Lily went to aid him.

"Are you okay, lad?" James smiled at the boy with such softness. Lily realized the boy must've been 5 years old or something, no more. The boy was about to cry. But James spoke kneeling in front of him. "It's okay lad, don't cry. Did you hurt yourself?" The boy shook his head. Lily kneeled down with them. "Then it's fine. You have no idea how many times I've tripped..." James continued "I've hit my face with the payment. BAM" he gestured. "Yeah" Lily added laughing "He can be very silly" The boy was looking at them amused. "Yeaah. That's why my nose is funny" James continued "I used to be very handsome" The kid laughed. "You wish" Lily joked rolling her eyes to entertain the boy. "He is very ugly, isn't he?" "Oi!" The little boy laughed even more. Lily's heart melted. And she could see James' as well. They could do this. They could be parents. "I'm James and this ugly girl is Lily" "You're ugly!" Lily pretended to be offended. James smiled. So as the boy. "What's you name?" He opened his mouth but before he could answer.

"Jonah! Jonah!!"

Lily saw a middle age woman came running towards them. "Mummy?" "I told you not to get far away!" she grabbed her son's arm. She looked angry. She eyed James and Lily as if they were going to hurt the boy. "He fell" Lily explained "We were just helping" "Thank you" the lady said reluctantly. "There you go, lad" James gave him his ball. "Thank you, sir"

James smiled. "Let's go Jonah. Quickly!" his mother said angrily. "Your father is waiting for us" Jonah looked sad again. But grabbed his mother hand and followed her. She was practically dragging him away.

James sighed "Honestly, if they don't want children why do they have them?"

'We're a having a kid James' she thought 'Do you want it? Do I want it?' But she didn't say anything, instead she said. "C'mon babe. Let's go for icecream"

Maybe it was the fucking pregnancy hormones. She craved sweet. And a lot of it.

*********************************

The next hour, Lily let James speak. She had a lot going on on her mind. Would James react well? Would he want to be a father? Right now?

"Strawberry or chocolate icecream?" James asked holding both cones.

"Chocolate" Lily grinned

"But..." James said raising an eyebrow "If you have to eat one for the rest of your life?"

"Why?" Lily was already devouring hers

"Hypothetically..."

Lily smiled. Sometimes James was so mature and serious. But others, he still acted like a kid. And Lily loved him.

"Easy..."

"Chocolate..." they both said at the same time.

James knew her too well. Lily laughed, and her boyfriend smiled deliciously.

"But you'll get tired of too much sweet eventually" James added

"That's why you order the sour ones" Lily took a bite from James' cone.

"And we combine them" James kissed her cheek.

James took out his phone and took a selfi of both of them. James made a silly face. He was so happy. Suddenly, Lily felt sick of all the chocolate.

"James... I need to tell you something" she interrupted. James stored his phone. He looked confused. "Okaay...." "What... What would you do if I..." Lily swallowed "If I had problem. Like a big, massive problem" James looked worried. "Is everything okay? What happened?" Shit. "No nothing bad" Is it bad? Or good? "I'm fine, everything is fine" During those times Lily knew that saying things like that brought the worst thoughts. "It's just..." "Lils, please you are making me worry" James said rubbing his hair. Why was he so handsome?

Lily took a deep breath. This was the time. "I'm pregnant" she said.

James' smile disappeared slowly. His eyes widened. And the strawberry cone dropped to the floor.

[morganapengdragon]

An English guide to fanfic 1

So I've read a lot of fic set in England lately, by writers who don't have anyone to 'brit pick' what they've written. But everyone deserves to be able to write stuff set in this hellhole of a country so if you don't have/want a brit picker but still want some general advice I'm gonna make a series of posts which might help with making your fic sound a little more natural. I'm gonna start with education because that's the one I've seen people have most problems with.

This is a long post so be warned

Education

There are 3 main parts of the school system (for comprehensive schools in England, I know it's different for rich people and people in Scotland/Ireland/Wales).

Primary school:

Primary school spans ages 4-11 and the years are

Reception: ages 4-5

Year 1: ages 5-6

Year 2: ages 6-7 (some schools make a split after this point, with the younger years referred to as 'infant' school and the older years referred to as 'junior' school)

Year 3: 7-8

Year 4: 8-9

Year 5: 9-10

Year 6: 10-11

A couple of information tidbits:

A lot of schools teach sex education in year 5 and 6. They tell you what sex is and what periods are. The year is split into boys and girls. They don't really talk about gay people, trans people or contraception.

It's not very common now but some schools will do a SATS exam in year 6. The grades go from 1-5 with 5 being the highest. They mean nothing but we all used to get stressed about them anyway.

Kids can also choose to do an 11+ exam if they want to go to grammar school. I never did it so I can't help you there. Some places in the country put more emphasis on the importance of grammar school than others (looking @@@ Kent) and some places don't have any grammar school at all.

Hard hitting insults when I was a kid were things like 'nerd' and 'weird'. We don't really use 'geek' much. 'Damn' and 'hell' aren't swear words here and kids will sometimes say them.

Most primary schools have uniforms

Secondary school:

Secondary school ages are 11-16 and the years are

Year 7: 11-12

Year 8: 12-13

Year 9: 13-14

Year 10: 14-15

Year 11: 15-16

There are 4 MAIN types of secondary school (afaik)

Comprehensive schools (like the one I went to) are your standard school. You just kind of have to live close to it to get in.

Grammar schools work kind of like comps but you have to pass the 11+ exam. Not everyone takes this exam (I never did, my closest grammar school is fuck off miles away). Apparently you get a better education there or something. Idk man but they like to make fun of the local comprehensives.

Private/public school. You have to pay to go to these types of school. I don't really know the ACTUAL difference between private and public but from what I can tell, public is more expensive and fancier. I think their version of primary school is called prep school?? All of the years work differently and every time a public school kid tries to tell me something about their education its gets more confusing. Rich people.

Boarding school. This is basically a private school but you live there and it costs more money than all of my possessions put together. There are quite a few, with some of the most famous being Eton, Harrow, Winchester etc. They are usually either all boys or all girls schools (those three are all boys schools). Rich people.

More detailed infos:

Year 7-9 is referred to as 'lower school' with 10 and 11 being 'upper school'

The exams taken in year 11 are usually GCSEs. These used to be called O-levels for some reason and lots of older people will sometimes call them that by mistake.

Kids choose which GCSEs they want to do at the end of year 9, and start learning the material in year 10.

Maths, science and English are all compulsory and make up 5/6 GCSEs (one maths, two English, two or three science).

Most people do about 10 and can pick from all of the other subjects what they want to do.

We don't really have a 'locker room' culture????

It's quite common for people to go to all girls or all boys schools.

Schools here are nowhere near as big as American schools. We probably won't have high budget theaters or particularly large sports areas.

I've never heard anyone talk about 'funding'???? Just assume nothing is funded, arts and sports alike. We do lots of fundraisers for anything expensive like rugby tours or school productions.

We still have that weird culture thing where like if you're smart then you can't be popular or play sports???? Strange.

Sitting at a specific table at lunch time isn't really a thing. Actually most people brought lunch from home and then would just sit somewhere outside. A lot of the buildings would be closed during breaks.

Not many people really drive to school.

Sixth form/college

After you finish secondary school most people go into either college or sixth form (or a sixth form college). Years are

Age 16-17: sometimes called year 12, sometimes called lower sixth, sometimes called first year

Age 17-18: year 13, upper sixth, second year

Sixth form:

Some schools have an attached sixth form. A variation of the school uniform is often worn, or students will be asked to wear smart clothing or something

There are also sixth form colleges which are a bit more informal, less of a school environment. Students usually tend to wear their own clothes and call teachers by their first names. They're usually viewed as well.

The qualifications earned at the end of year 12 are called AS levels. They count partially towards your final A level grade. Students usually do 4 and drop one at the end of the year. You can do more if you want tho (I did five and died). You can do whatever subjects you want. Like. Literally nothing is compulsory. You wanna do art, music, dance and anthropology? Fuck it why not?

The highest AS grade is an A. B and C is a pass. D and E are fail marks. U stands for ungradable i.e you got so few marks that your exam isn't even worth a grade.

At the end of year 13 you do A levels. You need 3 to get into uni. Some people do 4. They always regret it.

Grades for A levels are the same as AS but they go up to an A*.

Some schools do a thing called the International baccalaureate. I don't understand what it is and frankly it scares me. I don't know how it's graded or what you need for uni. It's a mystery.

Sixth forms can be comp/grammar/Private/boarding same as secondary school.

College:

You can do a bunch of different types of qualifications. Most popular are usually B-Techs and Diplomas.

You usually only study one subject as opposed to four.

From what I gather, the point in doing a B tech is it's more practical and less theoretical and aims to help you get the skills necessary to go straight into the work force.

Unis kind of have to evaluate B-techs fairly, but they don't like them.

Nobody thinks very highly of B-Techs unfortunately bc they're considered to be less academic and easier. Idk if that's the case but there you go. People will sometimes refer to shit versions of other things as 'B-Tech'. For example, Pepsi is just B-Tech Coca Cola. Boris Johnson is a B-Tech Donald Trump.

I know nothing about the grading system for either of these qualifications im sorry.

In a sixth form college there will be people doing A levels and also people doing B techs all in the same building.

University:

I won't go too much into detail but basically you get a degree at the end of it and degrees usually take 3 years to complete. Years are first year, second year, third year etc.

Some courses are longer and some people will do a year in industry in their third year, making their overall degree time 4 years.

Tuition is currently £9,250 per year. I have never met anyone who hasn't gotten a loan for this.

Most people also apply for a maintenance loan. You get money proportional to your family income. The highest is about £8,500 per year. Idk what the lowest is. Some people choose not to take out this loan and their parents give them financial support instead.

The pay back plan for these loans is super lenient, doesn't affect your credit score and is wiped clean after 35 years. Most students think of their loan as more of a tax than a debt (tho we all still cry about it).

People don't live in dorms. We call them halls of residence (or halls for short).

Most people don't live in halls after first year, they leave and find shared housing.

Most halls aren't catered.

Most halls don't have shared rooms.

Because we study so few subjects at A level, we do have this system in the UK where you take a bunch of different unrelated subjects in your first year and then decide on your major later. Instead you apply for a programme already knowing your major. So when I applied to university I applied to the BA French and German Linguistic Studies course at a number of universities.

Different courses have different entry requirements. So it's easier to get into uni to study History than it is to study Maths.

Each 'class' is referred to as a module, and all of your modules are usually related to your main degree title.

Stereotypically STEM students think that humanities students are dumb. Humanities students think STEM students are arseholes who don't know how to read so if you wanna have that kinda jock/nerd type rivalry but in uni then humanities/STEM is quite a good one.

We call all of our lecturers by their first names. Sometimes we go to the pub with them. I watched a documentary about gay porn with one of them. It's chill.

I've never seen anyone show up to a lecture in pyjamas. People would think it's weird.

We refer to clubs as 'societies'. I love being part of the Musical Theatre Society. It's sounds so much more impressive than club.

The English version of Ivy League is Russel Group. The most prestigious Unis outside of Oxford and Cambridge tend to be: Durham, St Andrews (Scotland), Imperial, LSE and Warwick.

Slang and Groups

We don't really use the word 'jock'. In my school we called those guys the 'Rugby Lads' because they all played rugby.

We don't really use the word preppy/peppy whatever because I literally don't know anybody who is like that.

Try 'Drama kids' instead of Theater kids.

The kids who do drugs and don't come to school are called road men. Even the girls. To do road is to deal drugs but you don't really hear people say that much.

If we can't be bothered to say a teachers full title we will usually call them 'sir' or 'miss' but not really ma'am.

'Hall Pass' isn't a thing.

Our school did have prefects but fuck if I know who they were. They didn't really have any extra responsibility or power.

School uniforms are a thing in most schools. The things people did to make themselves seem cool were things like rolling their skirts up super short, wearing the rugby ties on match days, trying to get away with shoes that don't TECHNICALLY break the rules but are deffo not allowed, wearing as much make up as they could get away with, without teachers noticing. Our school was p strict on uniform tho in comparison with a lot of schools in my area.

If your accent doesn't fit the standard for your area it will affect you in some way (depending on your accent).

Homeroom is called registration

Gym is sometimes called the sports hall

People don't really go to school matches unless they're dating sb bc we don't have bleachers.

Home ecenomics was called Food Tech and Textiles in my school

Woodshop or whatever is called DT (design and technology)

People don't get as involved in extracurriculars in school (but they do at uni).

We DO have houses and we get points given to out houses like in Harry Potter but unlike Harry Potter literally nobody gives a fuck. In my school they added a whole new house and moved everyone into new houses and literally nobody noticed and nothing changed.

There is a BIG difference between comp schools and all of the other kinds in terms of culture. I didn't know this until I went to uni and started joking about the time some kid started throwing chairs in RE (religious education) or when so and so tried to set our French teacher on fire and literally all of the grammar school kids were like O.O WTF.

Slang and school culture will also vary a lot depending on where you live. I live in East London which is not a very well off area but it IS in london so my experiences would match with that.

Everything is completely different in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland so like.... Sorry.

[capseycartwright]

005 from the prompt list BUT in a rugby au please bc it is the greatest sport and I need a robron rugby au and you are the best honestly xxxxxxxxx

#005 - i don’t want to get up, you’re comfy.

Aaron’s got a bruise blooming on his hip, Robert notes. He hadn’t noticed it earlier, not in their haste to undress each other, both of them frustrated and needing release after their loss against Wales.

But he was noticing now. It was a bad one, the kind of bruise Aaron was going to wear like a battle scar for weeks, the edges already mottled black and purple. Playing against Wales always resulted in a few injuries, and more so when they were playing on England home ground - Wales had come to Twickenham to fight, and fight they had done.

Aaron was always a target, in these games. Robert remembered when he’d come up onto the England squad, a grumpy looking twenty one year old, the ballsy scrum-half who’d made it to the Leicester Tigers squad at barely twenty.

He’d been jealous, at the time. Robert was used to being the golden boy of English rugby - he’d gone through the academy for the Wasps, leaving Emmerdale behind at sixteen in favour of chasing his dreams of professional rugby, much to his fathers distain. Robert had been called all sorts - the one to watch, the golden boy of English rugby, one of the greatest props of the last decade.

He liked it, he liked the attention - and then Aaron had come along, silent and stony, and one of the best rugby players Robert had ever seen. They’d played together, Aaron’s first six nations game. He’d come on as a replacement in the second half, and managed a try in his first minutes on the field.

It had been nothing short of spectacular, not that Robert would tell him to his face, but that had been the moment he’d wanted to know more about Aaron Dingle, another Yorkshire lad who’d made his moves to chase his dreams of getting to wear that white jersey and play for his country.

“You’re thinking too hard,” Aaron said quietly, pressing a thumb to Robert’s forehead. “The game is over, Rob.”

Robert sighed. “It’s over, and we lost,” he said. “We should have won it.”

“I know,” Aaron said, propping himself up on an elbow, careful to avoid the KT tape on Robert’s shoulder. It was more precaution, than anything else, but he’d landed awkwardly during a tackle, and the team physiotherapist was reluctant to risk Robert missing the next game on injury grounds. “We should have, but we didn’t, so we’re just going to have to look to the next game, aren’t we?”

“I want it so badly,” Robert admitted, thinking of all the world cups he’d watched, all the times he’d dreamed of being part of the England squad that would win it, and win it on home soil. That dream felt like it was slipping away, bit by bit, and their next game against Australia already shaping up to be a tough one.

“So do I,” Aaron hummed. “How good would it feel, to win?”

“We’d party for days,” Robert grinned, pressing a soft kiss to Aaron’s lips. “We could even take a holiday.”Aaron pulled a face. “That wouldn’t help the rumour mill, would it?”

Ah, the rumour mill.

Robert had all the faith in the world in rugby. He’d never been a religious man, but the way he loved rugby felt a lot like how other people might worship God - but there was no denying it wasn’t a sport with many gay players.

No, that was wrong. The gay players existed, but they didn’t come out until they retired.

The thought of keeping this, them secret, until they were both off the pitch and into their golden years of retirement was depressing, in all honesty. Robert figured he had a good seven years left playing professional rugby, provided injury didn’t get him first, and Aaron? Aaron had a decade left, fifteen years if he kept playing the way he did.

“Do you ever think it could work?” Robert asked. “If we told people.”

Aaron was quiet for a second, thoughtful. He was sort of out, the kind of non-confirmed, common knowledge sort of out you got so often in sport - he’d never denied his sexuality, but he’d never confirmed it either, and every time the rumour mill got too curious, he always managed to pull an epic try, or tackle out of the bag, and turn the focus back to where it was supposed to be, on his rugby skills, on the pitch.

“I want to believe it would,” Aaron said, stroking a thumb against Robert’s cheekbone, the nasty cut there from a bad tackle making Aaron wince as he looked at it. “But I don’t know for sure.”

“I’d do it, if I thought it wouldn’t affect us,” Robert admitted. “I don’t want to be the bisexual English rugby player. I want to keep being me, Robert Sugden, England’s top choice number three.”

“Let’s not think about it now,” Aaron said. “We’ve still got the rest of the World Cup to play.”

“True,” Robert agreed, glancing over at his watch. “You should probably go, we’re going to get called for training soon.”

“I don’t want to get up,” Aaron grinned, that stupid, infectious smile that always twisted Robert’s heart in his chest and got him to agree to anything, fixed in place on his face. “You’re comfy.”

“You should sell that scoop to the papers, you know - Robert Sugden, a comfiest prop in England.”

“I haven’t tested out the other props,” Aaron grinned cheekily, easing himself into a sitting position. “Anyway, I think they’d be more interested in how good your thighs look around my waist. Did you see that article the Mail wrote that was just fifteen different shots of your arse? The country is in love with your legs, Sugden.”

Robert grinned. He’d definitely read the article in question, and he’d definitely enjoyed the ego boost. “I’ll make sure they write one on your arse next, don’t worry,” he said, smoothing a hand over the firm muscle of Aaron’s arse. His boyfriend had a body to die for, and Robert would have given anything to stay in bed and keep indulging in all of his favourite parts of it, but they had training, and press, and tactics, and all the boring parts that came with playing professional rugby.

Just, give him a ball and get him on a field and he was happier.

“I’ll see you in a bit,” Aaron said, leaning in to press a lingering kiss to Robert’s lips, savouring the feeling. It was easier to sneak nights like this during the six nations, during the normal season, but the world cup was different, and they’d been lucky to sneak off after the post-match commiserations, the squad cursing the fact they couldn’t drink away their sorrows after the two point loss to Wales.

“I’ll see you in a bit,” Robert echoed, watching as Aaron snapped his Team England tracksuit bottoms over his hips, wincing as the elastic snapped back against the bruise on his side.

Aaron Dingle was always a sight to behold, but even more so when he was like this, half naked and sleep soft, the powerful, athletic scrum-half he was on the pitch a softer, calmer man in Robert’s bed, the kind of man who snorted at Robert’s dumb jokes, and kissed him like Robert was worth fighting for.

They were worth fighting for, Robert knew that much. But with a World Cup win slipping from their grasp, and more than a few doubts about how accepting their profession might be, he couldn’t help but wonder if they had any room to fight at all.

[faunahudson]

settle | self para

Who: Fauna Flanagan and Percy Flanagan with mentions of Rory Flanagan, Conor Flanagan and Sawyer Hudson Where: Belfast When: Feburary 2020 What: Fauna and Percy discuss his opinions on her future Warnings: emotional abuse, derogatory language, Percy Flanagan

It’s pouring with rain the night in February that her father comes to collect her from uni. It was an odd thing that in her adult life she’d begun to rely on lifts, since her and Rory had almost never been collected from school beyond primary. This had partially been because Percy had accused Mary of coddling them by doing so, but mostly because they liked the independence of walking or getting the bus. Fauna had always enjoyed the opportunity to read one of the many paperbacks that she kept crammed in the bottom of her bag. While Rory claimed to like the social aspect of the bus referring to him and Dobsy accusing Tired Pete in the year below of having a gay love affair with the bus driver because he always got off with an under twelves fare way into his teens. It also made people suspect them less of being Tories because their parents didn’t drive them, made them seem more normal. Fauna had liked it that way less reason for people to look at them, and with her headphones in she could ignore the commentary on her sex life that had always followed her back then.

It had been funny, appearing at uni in Belfast. Despite being the new girl things actually weren’t all that weird, she wasn’t ostracised the last way she had been during high school, everything was different in her new classes. In the weeks leading up to her first day there had been the bubble of fear that it would be like it had been in Dublin, that the videos would be found and the rumours would start up all over again. But instead she had been greeted warmly. After classes there were invites to pubs and cups of tea offered, everyone wanted to get to know Sawyer. A few people had even asked about Alexis, which they laughed about over their daily FaceTimes. How funny it was that people liked her when she didn’t really need them to anymore. This new warmth from people had meant that she seldom needed to walk or to take the bus because there was always someone’s car she could cram into, but on this particularly rainy Tuesday she’s been at the clinic later than she expected and there’s no bus for an hour. She knows Sawyer will be working, so she calls her home phone hoping to catch Maurie or her Ma to beg a lift and maybe some dinner. The phone rings twice, when it picks up she goes to talk immediately the way she usually would but she’s halted by.

“Fauna.” Her father says obviously having recognised her number, his tone not annoyed or accusatory for once which makes her immediately wonder if he’s drunk.

“Hey Da, is Maurie there?” She asks, hoping that if he is truly good and drunk he’ll just pass the phone over and she won’t have to prolong their interaction.

“No, her and your Ma went over to your grandparents.” He isn’t drunk, she can tell that by now. If he was drunk he would have put the phone down after delivering that message. “What did you need them for?” If he’d been any other person in the entire world she would have told him it was nothing and then tried to rummage around in her bag for enough change for a cab into town. But she knew if she told him that it was nothing then it would start a fight where he’d demand to know what she was hiding from him, and her feet ached too much for that.

“Oh I was just gonna try and beg a lift from the clinic, scran something from Ma. You know how I am.” She says, though it’s not true. He barely knows her at all. There’s a pause, which lasts longer in her head than it probably did in real life because she’s so fucking cold.

“I’ll pick you up, we’ll go for a pint.” Those were the last words that she expected to come out of his mouth, and she blinks in surprise.

“Why?” She asks before she stop herself, it’s always a terrible idea to question Percy and her heart sinks as soon as she says it. That’s always the problem with living with someone who you can completely be herself with, she forgets that she has to put her guard back up with other people.

“Because you need a fucking lift and I’m the only one in, god it’s not complicated Fauna Eloise.. sometimes I wonder what they teach you up there because it’s not bloody common sense.” Percy snaps.

“Sorry Da.. you’ve just never picked me up before.” Fauna responds, trying to mollify him. “Thanks though.” She adds, he’s not actually punished her since that time at parents week but she doesn’t really want to go through it again.

“Text me the address.” He says, and honestly even though she’s sure she’ll probably live to regret it right now she’s just grateful to think about getting out of the cold. A pint, is a pint after all. Though Percy hadn’t done anything particularly heinous since Sawyer punched Harold at new years, so she supposed she was about due for him to do something to remind her why she hated him so much.

Percy has brought his favourite Porsche coupe and it arrives a lot sooner than Fauna thought it would. She’d almost expected he’d keep her waiting, to punish her for questioning his motives. She dashes through the rain and slips into the front seat, to find Percy listening to the rugby. “Thanks for the lift Da, it’s vile outside.” The weather is usually a pretty safe topic, Percy hates the rain. There’s a brief conversation about the state of the roads, and what she was doing at the clinic before he looks at her and says.

“You can drive can’t you? Why don’t you have a car?” Fauna has to bite her lip hard to keep from laughing at this question. God he really didn’t have any idea what life was like did he? As if her and Sawyer could think about running a car when all they had to live on was the few shifts that she could take at the ER, his barely minimum wage earnings at the pub and what was left of her savings. They could barely afford groceries some weeks, and she’d been shoving the council tax bills underneath the freezer until Maurie had insisted that they take an envelope of ‘Christmas money’ to get rid of them.

“Yeah I can drive, you gave me a lesson once remember?” She reminds him. That was probably the last time that he’d volunteered to spend time with her that wasn’t to give her a bollocking. The lesson hadn’t been terrible to be honest, mostly because Percy liked feeling in control and like he was the smarter one of the two and Fauna didn’t mind learning when she thought the skill was useful. “Canne afford a car though, don’t really need one anyway I only really go to uni and to the pub. Sawyer borrows Glens car sometimes.. if we’re gonna go visit Nana or something.”

He grunts in recognition of the lesson. “You’d have more than enough money if you lived at home.” That’s the second time that evening that he’s stunned her to silence, and so she just stares at him like a fish. Was he really suggesting that she should move home?

“I mean.. I guess. But me and Sawyer are happy where we are I think. It’s nice to have a place of our own, weren’t really supposed to live together at school. ” She responds eventually, she wants to ask him why she would ever want to move home when he’d all but shoved them out of the door when they’d lived there for the month after Ohio. “Besides my single is a bit small for both of us. Sawyers a big lad.”

“Hm.” Is all her father replies it’s not like she expected him to laugh, she doesn’t think he’s ever laughed at one of her jokes but she does have to wonder where he’s going with all this. Her hands fidget in her lap as she waits for the penny to drop but he doesn’t press her on the topic. After a brief silence they pull up to one of the fancy country restaurants that Percy loves where the prices make her teeth hurt. She’s been uncomfortable with this kind of thing since she was a little girl who wore her wellie boots to church. As a kid she used to say she wasn’t hungry anymore and she didn’t want to go inside, which would usually cause him to call her ungrateful and all but yank her from the car while Rory wailed that he wanted Mcdonalds. Even now as an adult she wants to tell him that she’s not dressed for this kind of pint, and that she still stinks of the clinic. But again she knows that it’s not worth fighting over so she pulls the hood of her coat up and trudges with him inside. 

Percy knows the girl on the door, and he speaks to her in an odd charming voice that Fauna knew he had but had never experienced first-hand. She thinks about this version of her father occasionally though, when she’s wondering how Maurie or her Ma ever ended up with him. It’s this charming Dominant they thought they were getting claimed by, not the bad-tempered man who can never be wrong, that ended up raising their kids. They’re shown to a table, and handed expensive looking leather bound menus. Fauna almost doesn’t want to open the thing, but her stomach is growling so she scans the print for the cheapest thing on the menu.

“It’s on me.” Percy says as if reading her mind. It’s early in the dinner for him to declare this, one of his favourite games when he brought her and Sawyer out was always to order and then ask them to pay at the end of the meal. Watching them try to scrap around for enough money to cover the extortionate tab, before the waitress told them that Mr Flanagan had already paid. It was the kind of humiliating mind game that Percy specialised in, always reminding them that they relied on him, that they needed him. Fauna considers asking him whether or not he’s sure he wants to pay but that’s another question so instead she says.

“Thank you very much Da, you didn’t have to bring me out here. I’d have taken a half eaten bag of crisps.” She jokes, her stomach rumbling as her eyes scan over the options. While she’s not a fan of fancy places, she is looking forward to eating something that she didn’t make in that one pot that never seemed to have quite lost the burned crust that she’d created when Sawyer had distracted her while she was trying to make red wine gravy.

“I know, you’ve always been willing to eat any old shit.. Take shit from everyone. You shouldn’t settle though, not about food and not in your life Fauna.” Percy says, and Fauna is starting to wonder if this is all about Sawyer somehow. Percy had been awfully nice to Sawyer since the incident at new years and she now had a creeping suspicion that he’d just been biding his time, lulling them into a false sense of security.

“I mean I actually do just really like cheap food to be honest with you Da, I really enjoyed the American preoccupation with junk food while I was there. As for everything else, I don’t really think I’m settling. I thought I was doing pretty well to be honest, I left a school that I didn’t think was gonna give me a fair shot, I’m studying to be a doctor at the best school around and I’ve got an amazing boyfriend.. what more could I want?”

“You live in a pokey one bedroom flat and you can’t afford a car, you and Sawyer should be thinking about a house of your own.” Percy declares, and honestly Fauna is just glad that Sawyer was included in whatever weird fucking conversation they were about to have. 

“I mean once I’m qualified Da.. we’ll work on a claim and then we can start to think about getting a house and stuff. But I’m in med school right now, that’s you know.. expensive.” She wants to mention her trust fund, because it would solve every single problem that he keeps talking about. But she’d rather try to work out where he’s going with all this first. 

The waitress arrives at that point, and Fauna hasn’t even really thought about what she wants though she decides to use this to her advantage. “Can you order for me Da? You know what’s good here better than me” Percy actually almost cracks a surprised smile at this, letting a Dominant order for you is good manners in his book. Fauna has never been opposed to this kind of power exchange when it’s consensual, though usually not with her father. But she knows that he thinks she’s a terrible submissive, that she’s not willing to follow any kind of rules so little gestures like this can occasionally help with keeping him in a good mood. He orders her something with goats cheese that Maurie apparently likes and a regular pint. 

“I know you think I’m some kind of monster, because I won’t just let you and your brother waste your lives. And you act like I’m a cunt because Ive always tried to stop you from parading yourself around like a whore and acting like a nasty little brat.” Percy says, and Fauna takes a long drink of the pint that’s just been put in front of her. Vodka would have been better. Just when she was thinking this was going well. “But I push you because I know you can have more, and because I always wanted you to find a decent claim. Unlike your moron of a twin, I always knew you had potential. You’re decent looking like your mother, and nobody would ever shut up about how clever you were even when you were a kid. Though it was always like pulling teeth getting you to show it. Obviously there was no chance of you going into the business because you’ve always been submissive and overly emotional.. but I pushed you to do what you were good at.” Fauna wants to say that yelling abuse and emotional manipulation go a little further than ‘pushing’ and that if he really wanted to push her he could have offered to help with medical school but she holds her tongue. “I’ve always been trying to teach you not to be a chump and to be able to stand on your own two feet like I had to. Nobody gave me a hand out.” 

In a world where Percy wasn’t the worst person on the planet , Fauna might have spoken about him with pride. He was self made after all, his friends were always clapping him on the back and talking about his clever investments outside of the business. But he’d soured every page of his biography with his actions, and left her uninterested in knowing how he made the money that he so loved to hold over her and Rorys heads. The money that he used to manipulate her mother and Maurie into submission, and literally the only thing that made him any difference from the drunks that he sneered at on a Saturday night. 

“You’ve been making improvements though I’ve noticed, since our talk in Ohio. You’ve been more like a submissive should be, less crass, not dragging yourself out of bars like a tramp. Minding your manners.” Percy says, and Fauna raises an eyebrow. “And New Year reminded me something.. that I’ve been too hard on you particularly in a way. I always lump you and Rory in together because everyone else does. Which was never good for you, you don’t want people thinking you're a layabout junkie like him. I gave you the same treatment because I thought you needed the same push to succeed. But you’re a submissive and so I shouldn’t expect you to be able to do things for yourself. You’re supposed to be weak, you should be obedient.” In her mind Fauna punches him square in the jaw, and she stays visualising that as the waitress puts something that smells delicious in front of her. “But when the Yank fucking battered Harold, I realised that getting you under control was about finding you the right Dominant and shaping him. At first I thought the Hudson boy was a total waste of fucking air since he’s a skint drifter, with no decent family to speak of, American and he seemed like a pansy. But then I realised he’s got balls, and he seems to have enough of a grip on you that you’re no longer spreading your legs for anything that breathes.”

There’s a part of Fauna that feels some sort of twisted pride that her father is starting to approve of Sawyer, the words that are coming out of his mouth in many ways disgust her. But that stupid little girl who just wouldn’t give up hope that her Dad would someday be proud of her was jumping up and down that her Dad thought Sawyer could be a good match for her. 

“I am committed to Sawyer.” She confirms for the millionth time, always feeling a little sick when he brought up the idea that she might have sex with anyone else. “And he’s a really, really good Dominant.”

“Hm.” Percy responds as he tucks into his steak. “It’s his future I’m interested in, like I said you two can’t spend your life in that dirty little flat. You need to be looking ahead, and I mean to help with that. You need to keep focusing on uni obviously, and on being a decent submissive. But I can help give him a push in the right direction.”

Fauna has no idea how to respond to this decision making process, because on one hand she wants to try and shield Sawyer from everything that comes along with having Percys attention. But if Percy warming up to Sawyer meant that he might relax on his one strike and you're out policy, then it would help them both sleep a little easier at night. So she doesn’t really say anything for the rest of dinner, he makes a cruel remark about her being greedy when she wants to order dessert, and takes several very underhanded digs at how much Rorys rehab costs which she can’t ignore and has to bite back on. But it’s probably the longest they’ve ever been alone in a very long time. 

When he drops her off back at her apartment he reaches into his wallet, and pulls out a wad of twenties. “Buy yourself a bottle of decent booze.” He instructs. “You should be able to serve something that’s not shite when you have people over.” She has no intention of using the money for that, but she thanks him all the same and gets out of the car without feeling totally like shit for once. Which in turn makes her feel guilty, like she was betraying herself and Rory somehow for not totally hating every second that she spent with Percy. For letting him get away with at least half of what he’d said, Rory would never have sat there passively while he insulted the flat that her and Sawyer worked hard to afford and Sawyers parents who were good hard working people. Yet despite all that he’d said, Fauna considered the meeting to have gone well, and she just didn’t know if that made her a bad person or not. 

Glancing up at the apartment building she could see a light on, and that familiar relief of knowing that she could talk to Sawyer about what was worrying her spread over her body. So without agonising further, she punched in the key code and disappeared out of the rain. Leaving what she could of her guilt and unease behind her.